Barley

Water

Rain falls about 4 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 400 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 140 mm it can use in a normal year (70 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 80 mm from the monsoon at sowing.

Temperature

Grows best at 15–20 °C on average, and survives 2–40 °C.

Here, in its growing months (day / night):

• Nov 17 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 14 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 11 °C / 2 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 13 °C / 4 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 18 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Apr 23 °C / 12 °C
• May 26 °C / 15 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Soil

Soil for Barley: 8 out of 10 (good).

Not in the score: sulphur and boron.

• The pH here suits it.
• Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.

Likes pH 6.5–8.5.

Money

Yield: about 6.8 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).

Mandi price at last season's harvest (May–June 2026): about ₹2,232 a quintal across India's mandis.

This week: about ₹2,776 a quintal, the middle of 25 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹927 a season after typical costs.

Minimum support price: ₹2,286 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.

Prices are usually best in November.

Typical costs are about ₹18,000 an acre (seed, fertiliser, labour and hired machines, from the government's cost survey). They are spent whatever the harvest.