14 May An overview of Sunflower in India
भारत में सूरजमुखी का एक सिंहावलोकन Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is one of the few crop species that originated in North America. It was probably first introduced to Europe through Spain, and spread through Europe as a curiosity until it reached Russia where it was readily adapted. The high-oil lines from Russia were reintroduced into the U.S. after World War II, which rekindled interest in the crop. Production of sunflower subsequently increased in the Great Plains of United States as marketers found new uses for the seeds as an oil crop, a birdseed crop, and as a human snack food. In India, sunflower as an oilseed crop introduced in 1969, prior to which it was used as an ornamental plant (Wikipedia). Six states with Karnataka in the lead are the major producers of sunflower in the country. Karnataka with a production of 3.04 lakh tonnes from an area of 7.94 lakh hectares followed by Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Orissa and Tamil Nadu are major sunflower producing states of India (Fig 1). Sunflower production follows a systemic weather risk as about 80 per cent of the area is under rain-fed production. In terms of productivity, Bihar leads with 1402 kg/ha followed by Tamil Nadu with 1328.7 kg, although both the states have less...