Field experiment was carried out during spring season of 2013 at the N.E. Borlaug Crop Research Centre, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) to study the effect of production factors for efficient and economic use of limited resources for optimizing sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) production. The soil of experimental site was sandy loam in texture having pH 6.98, organic carbon 0.72%, available N 230 kg/ ha, P 18.8 kg/ha and K 255.8 kg/ha. Among the absence of single production factor, plant protection was found the most crucial production factor for sunflower production with reduction of 32.9% in seed yield followed by weeding with 23.2% in spring season in Tarai zone of India while other factors like fertilizer and thinning were equally important as these factors may reduce 20-23% sunflower seed yield alone. Similarly in absence of two production factors, fertilizer + plant protection had the highest seed yield reduction followed by plant protection + thinning. Therefore the plant protection and fertilizer management need special care for boosting sunflower production in spring season in India.

Keywords: Production factors; Sunflower; Plant Protection; Thinning; Weeding.