Bajra (Pearl Millet)
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 3,089 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹5,000–₹8,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹3,000–₹6,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 1 irrigation short
- Needs care: Cool in November
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 1 irrigation (5 cm) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 250 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 20 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 180 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 25–35 °C on average, and survives 12–40 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 32 °C / 22 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 30 °C / 15 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Bajra (Pearl Millet): 7 out of 10 (okay).
Not in the score: zinc, iron and boron.
- Soil here is often more alkaline than it likes.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of manganese.
Likes pH 6.5–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 3.9 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 81% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 81% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹2,090 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹2,600 a quintal, the middle of 195 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹3,000 a season at typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,900 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,340 2021
- ₹2,010 2022
- ₹2,190 2023
- ₹2,300 2024
- ₹2,270 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
Typical costs are about ₹11,000 an acre (seed, fertiliser, labour and hired machines, from the government's cost survey). They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 11 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
Short of nitrogen Your soil is likely short of nitrogen.
Add about a quarter more urea than the usual dose, in two or three splits. A pulse crop in rotation also adds nitrogen.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
-
Short of organic carbon Your soil is likely short of organic carbon.
Add 4 tonnes of compost or farmyard manure per acre before sowing, and plough crop leftovers back in instead of burning them.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
-
Short of manganese Your soil is likely short of manganese.
Spray manganese sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, on the young crop.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.