Sunflower is a new crop in India. Its oil is used for human consumption while oil cake is utilised for cattle feed.
Conditions of Growth
Sunflower is a crop grown in India throughout the year. It may be raised both in the Rabi and Khar if seasons. It requires 15° to 25°C of temperature, less than 50 cm of rainfall and well drained loamy soils. Frost causes extensive damage to the crop. In northern India it is sown from mid-January to the end of February and harvested before the onset of summer monsoon.
The per hectare yield of sunflower is 549 kg in 2000-01 (33.87 per cent increase over 1983-84 yield) which varies from 1561 kg in Haryana tool 370 kg in Karnataka. During 1983 84 and 1995-96 the area under the crop has increasing from 6.96 lakh ha to 21.58 lakh ha (210% mere” during last 12 years or 17.5 per cent annual increase while the production has witnessed phenomena growth from 3 lakh tones to 13.24 lakh ton 341% increase during last 12 years or 28.44% annum gain).
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Karnataka is the largest producer sunflower (area 52 per cent and production 34.25 cent), followed by Maharashtra (area 24.81%, diction 24.66%), Andhra Pradesh (area 15.04% production 23.29%), and Haryana (area 3.01 cent and production 9.59%). These four stars together contribute 95 per cent of the total area 92 per cent of the total production of sunflower in country.