Sunflower

A monsoon crop. Sow in Jun–Jul, harvest in Sep–Oct.

Check it on your land
Season
Kharif
74% of its area. Also grown in rabi.
Ready in
95 days
about 3 months
Water
310–360 mm
over its season
Temperature
17–34 °C
0° survives 5–45 °C 40°

When to sow and harvest

Kharif 74% of its area
Rabi 23% of its area
Today: rabi sowing time
J J A S O N D J F M A M
Sow Growing Harvest
The year starts in June, with the monsoon. Your district can shift a few weeks.

Will it grow on your land?

Water
Season

Pick a place and water to see if it suits your land, and what it earns.

What it needs

Temperature

17–34 °C
0 °C40 °C

Survives 5–45 °C.

Water

310–360 mm over its season
Jhansi Basti Almora Bagalkote Raichur

Worked out where most of it grows. Rain and irrigation together.

Soil pH

4 acidic7 neutral9 alkaline

Likes neutral soil. Grows from pH 5.5 to 8.

Soil

  • No salty soil
  • Needs rich soil
  • S Needs plenty of sulphur and boron
How the soil score works

Source: FAO ECOCROP crop requirements (via OpenCLIM/ecocrop); FAO-56 crop coefficients (Allen et al. 1998); IMD gridded daily rainfall (0.25°); IMD gridded daily max/min temperature (1°).

Fertiliser for one acre

Not covered yet. Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra for the dose.

Watch out for

Not covered yet. Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to watch for.

Mandi price, month by month

Best month
February, ₹5,433
Lowest
August, ₹4,550
₹5,433
₹4,550
J F M A M J J A S O N D

Rupees a quintal, typical across India's mandis.

Government minimum support price (MSP): ₹8,343 a quintal for 2026-27.

Source: Agmarknet daily prices and arrivals (India Data Portal).

Where it grows in India

Area grown in India
2,09,939 ha
2020-21
Average yield
1.0 t/ha
2020-21
Most area
Tehri Garhwal
Uttarakhand
Best yield
Shivamogga
2.4 t/ha

Districts with the most area (recent figures)

The map colours each district by yield, for districts growing it on at least 100 ha.

  1. Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand 32,417 ha
  2. Gadag, Karnataka 18,287 ha
  3. Bagalkote, Karnataka 17,698 ha
  4. Raichur, Karnataka 15,173 ha
  5. Vijayapura, Karnataka 13,608 ha
  6. Koppal, Karnataka 13,577 ha
  7. Chamarajanagar, Karnataka 13,443 ha
  8. Belagavi, Karnataka 12,521 ha
  9. Kurukshetra, Haryana 10,656 ha
  10. Haveri, Karnataka 8,574 ha

Sunflower yield

  1. 0.3–0.7 t/ha
  2. 0.7–0.9 t/ha
  3. 0.9–1.2 t/ha
  4. 1.2–1.5 t/ha
  5. 1.5–2.4 t/ha
No data

Source: Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare). 1998-99 to 2020-21.

Where yields are highest

  1. Shivamogga, Karnataka 2.4 t/ha
  2. Ambala, Haryana 2.2 t/ha
  3. Ranga Reddy, Telangana 2.0 t/ha
  4. Panchkula, Haryana 2.0 t/ha
  5. Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab 2.0 t/ha
  6. Ludhiana, Punjab 1.9 t/ha
  7. Siddipet, Telangana 1.9 t/ha
  8. Patiala, Punjab 1.9 t/ha
  9. Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar, Punjab 1.9 t/ha
  10. S.A.S Nagar, Punjab 1.9 t/ha

Only districts growing it on at least 100 ha.

Source: Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare). 1998-99 to 2020-21.

Across India over the years

Yield (t/ha)

0.0 0.5 1.0
1998-99 2020-21
Latest 1.0 t/ha in 2020-21

Area (ha)

0.0 1.2M 2.5M
1998-99 2020-21
Latest 2,09,939 ha in 2020-21

Only years in which most of the usual districts reported are shown.

Source: Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare). 1998-99 to 2020-21.

Soil and yield

How district soil tests line up with this crop's yields across India.

  • Districts with more soil short of zinc tend to have lower sunflower yields (weak pattern, 136 districts).
  • Districts with more soil low in nitrogen tend to have higher sunflower yields (weak pattern, 137 districts).
  • Districts with more soil medium in nitrogen tend to have lower sunflower yields (weak pattern, 137 districts).
  • Districts with more soil that is neutral tend to have higher sunflower yields (weak pattern, 136 districts).
  • Districts with more soil high in potassium tend to have lower sunflower yields (weak pattern, 137 districts).
  • Districts with more soil high in phosphorus tend to have higher sunflower yields (weak pattern, 137 districts).

A pattern is not proof that soil causes the difference.

Source: Soil Health Card – soil nutrient analysis (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare).