Pest
Head borer (Helicoverpa)
Signs · Green-brown caterpillars bore into the back and face of the head; holes and droppings.
Manage · Hand-pick larvae; bird perches; spray as per label / your KVK when larvae are seen on heads.
All crops
Oilseed · Asteraceae (sunflower family)
Sunflower
Surajmukhi · सूरजमुखी · Helianthus annuus
The spring crop — sown at the tail of winter, harvested before the monsoon.
In Punjab, Haryana and western UP sunflower is grown as a spring crop: sown in late January–February after potato, toria or sugarcane and harvested in May–June. Hybrids give high oil yield in about 100 days, but the crop needs regular irrigation in the hot months and bees for good seed set.
- Sowing
- 20 Jan – 15 Feb
- Harvest
- 15 May – 10 Jun
- Duration
- 95–115 days
- Yield
- 7.3–10 q/acre
- 18–25 q/ha
Flowering · roots shown through the soil
At a glance
Sunflower in one look
Seed needs soil warmer than about 10°C to germinate, so sow after the hard cold. Temperatures above about 38°C at flowering reduce seed set; harvest before the monsoon rains.
Sowing time
20 Jan – 15 Feb
Harvest
15 May – 10 Jun
95–115 days from sowing
Temperature
20–30 °C to grow
10–25 °C at sowing
Soil
Well-drained loam to clay loam
pH 6.5–8
Seed rate
2–2.4 kg/acre
5–6 kg/ha
Spacing
60 × 30 cm
3–5 cm deep
Irrigations
6–9
3 critical stages
Yield
7.3–10 q/acre
18–25 q/ha
Season
AugSepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJun
Grown most inPunjabHaryanaUttar Pradesh
Tolerates mild salinity but not waterlogging.
Seed to harvest
Watch sunflower grow, stage by stage
Scroll through the season. The plant in the glass tank grows to each stage — roots and all — and every card says what the crop is doing and what you should do in the field that week.
Stage 1 of 7
Sowing
Day 0–3
- 1Day 0–3
Sowing
Seed is dibbled into the warm south side of the ridge.
Your job · Two seeds per spot, 3–5 cm deep; pre-emergence weedicide.
- 2Day 4–12
Emergence
Seedlings push up two thick seed leaves; cold soil slows this down.
Your job · Fill gaps quickly with extra seed.
- 3Day 13–30
Seedling
Pairs of rough, heart-shaped leaves form.
Your job · Thin to one plant per spot; first hoeing.
- 4Day 31–50
Star bud
The stem thickens and a small star-shaped bud appears at the top.
Your job · Top-dress nitrogen, earth up and irrigate.
- 5Day 51–70
Flowering
The head opens: yellow ray petals outside, hundreds of tiny florets inside opening from the rim inward.
Your job · Bee boxes, borax spray, irrigation every 8–10 days.
- 6Day 71–95
Seed filling
Seeds fill with oil; the heavy head bends down.
Your job · Irrigate, guard against birds and head borer.
- 7Day 96–110
Maturity
Back of the head turns lemon-yellow to brown and the bracts dry.
Your job · Stop irrigation and harvest before the monsoon.
The seed
Good seed is half the harvest
Use certified seed of a variety bred for your region, at the right rate, and treat it before sowing.
One seed
≈ 11 mm
Seed rate
2–2.4 kg/acre
5–6 kg/ha
1000-seed weight
—
Recommended varieties
PSH 996PAU hybrid for spring sowing in Punjab.
PSH 1962PAU hybrid with good oil content.
KBSH 44UAS Bangalore hybrid widely grown in the north.
DRSH 1IIOR Hyderabad hybrid with high oil content.
Seed treatment
- 1Treat with carbendazim or thiram at 2–3 g per kg seed against seed and seedling rots.
- 2Metalaxyl (Apron 35 SD) at 6 g per kg seed where downy mildew occurs.
- 3Buy fresh hybrid seed every season — saved hybrid seed gives an uneven crop.
Field & sowing
Prepare the land, then sow at the right gap and depth
Dibbling on the south side of east–west ridges
Layout
Ridges & furrows
Row to row
60 cm
Plant to plant
30 cm
Depth
3–5 cm
Land preparation
- 1Clear the previous crop residue and give a pre-sowing irrigation if needed.
- 2Plough 2–3 times and plank to a fine tilth.
- 3Make east–west ridges with a ridger.
Sowing, step by step
- 1Make ridges running east–west, 60 cm apart.
- 2Dibble 2 seeds per spot on the southern slope (warmer in February), 30 cm apart, 3–5 cm deep.
- 3Thin to one healthy plant per spot at 2–3 weeks.
- 4Earth up the rows at about 30 days to prevent lodging.
Feeding the crop
How much fertiliser, and when
These are the standard doses for a medium-fertility field. Your Soil Health Card can raise or lower them — test first, then feed.
Nutrient dose
Nitrogen (N)24 kg/acre · 60 kg/ha
Phosphorus (P₂O₅)16 kg/acre · 40 kg/ha
Potassium (K₂O)12 kg/acre · 30 kg/ha
Plus 8 t/ha (3.2 t/acre) of well-rotted farmyard manure or compost.
When to apply
- 1At sowing: half the nitrogen and all phosphorus and potash.
- 2At about 30–35 days, before earthing up: the remaining nitrogen.
- 3Give potash only if the soil test shows it is low.
Micronutrients, sulphur & biofertilisers
- 1Sulphur 20–30 kg/ha through SSP or gypsum raises oil content.
- 2Spray borax 0.2% at ray-floret opening to improve seed filling in the centre of the head.
Bags for your field
For 1 acre of Sunflower
What to buy
Urea
1
bag · 39 kg
DAP
0.5
bags · 35 kg
MOP
0.5
bags · 20 kg
Nutrients in it: N 24 kg · P₂O₅ 16 kg · K₂O 12 kg
Also add farmyard manure or compost: 3.2 t
- Don't put it all in at once: follow the timing on the Sunflower page.
- Your Soil Health Card can raise or lower these amounts. If you have one, follow it.
- Using SSP, NPK complexes or gypsum instead changes these amounts; the nutrient dose is what matters.
Not yet checked against a package of practices. Confirm the dose with your KVK before you buy.
Urea has 46 % N; DAP 18 % N and 46 % P₂O₅; MOP 60 % K₂O. Urea comes in 45 kg bags, DAP and MOP in 50 kg.
Water
6–9 irrigations — never miss the critical ones
A crop forgives a late irrigation at some stages and punishes it at others. These are the days that decide yield.
Day 35
Day 60
Day 80
SowingDay 115
Critical irrigations
- Day 35Bud (star-bud) initiation
- Day 60Flowering
- Day 80Seed filling
Watering tips
- 1Irrigate every 8–10 days once April heat sets in; sandy soils need more often.
- 2Bud, flowering and seed-filling stages must never be dry.
- 3Avoid irrigating on windy days after heading — heavy heads lodge.
- 4Stop irrigation about 10 days before harvest.
Protection
Weeds, pests and diseases to watch for
Walk the field every week. Most problems are cheap to stop early and expensive to fix late. For any spray, follow the label dose and check with your KVK.
Pest
Jassid (leafhopper)
Signs · Leaf edges turn yellow, then brown, and curl downward.
Manage · Spray only when damage spreads, as per label / your KVK.
Pest
Birds (parrots)
Signs · Seeds picked out of maturing heads, especially along field borders.
Manage · Scare birds in the morning and evening during seed filling; sow in a block with neighbours rather than a small isolated plot.
Disease
Alternaria leaf blight
Signs · Dark brown spots with yellow halos on leaves, stems and the back of the head.
Manage · Seed treatment; mancozeb spray at first spots, as per label / your KVK.
Disease
Head rot
Signs · Soft, brown, water-soaked patches on the back of the head after injury and rain.
Manage · Control head borer (wounds let rot in); avoid overhead irrigation; remove rotten heads.
Disorder
Poor seed set in the centre
Signs · Centre of the head stays empty or with chaffy seeds.
Manage · Keep 2–5 bee boxes per hectare, borax spray at ray-floret opening, and never stress the crop at flowering. Gently rub heads together with a cloth in the morning if bees are few.
Weeds
Common · Bathua, itsit, motha and grasses
- 1Pre-emergence pendimethalin, as per label / your KVK.
- 2One or two hoeings at 2 and 4 weeks.
- 3Earthing up at 30 days also buries young weeds.
Harvest
Harvest on time, dry it well, store it safe
A good crop gives
7.3–10q/acre
18–25 quintal per hectare
Hybrid seed holds about 38–42% oil.
When is it ready?
- 1Back of the head turns lemon-yellow to brown.
- 2Bracts around the head turn brown and dry.
- 3Seeds are hard and the hull shows full colour.
Harvesting
- 1Cut the heads with a sickle.
- 2Dry the heads in the sun for 2–3 days, face up.
- 3Thresh by beating with sticks or with a sunflower thresher.
After harvest & storage
- 1Dry seed to about 9% moisture before storing.
- 2Store in bags in a cool, dry place; crush within a few months for best oil.
Golden rules for sunflower
- 1Sow on east–west ridges on the southern side — the seedbed stays warmer.
- 2Do not sow after mid-February; flowering then meets May heat.
- 3Keep bees nearby for a fully filled head.
- 4Never miss irrigation at bud, flowering and seed filling.
- 5Plan harvest before the monsoon arrives.