Bajra (Pearl Millet)
Sow in June, harvest around September
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 2.0 lakh acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹11,000–₹17,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹303 to a profit of ₹5,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 3 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 340 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 230 mm it can use in a normal year, and 160 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 25–35 °C on average, and survives 12–40 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jun 40 °C / 28 °C
- Jul 36 °C / 27 °C
- Aug 34 °C / 26 °C
Soil
Soil for Bajra (Pearl Millet): 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of potassium.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 6.5–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 9.2 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 67% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 67% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (September–October 2026): about ₹2,258 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹2,371 a quintal, the middle of 18 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹3,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,900 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹2,050 2023
- ₹2,250 2024
- ₹2,290 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 10 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
Short of potassium Your soil is likely short of potassium.
Add about a quarter more potash (MOP) than the usual dose.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
-
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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 99%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 94%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 1%
- Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) 0%