Barley

Water

Rain falls about 2 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 330 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 40 mm it can use in a normal year (20 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 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 28 °C / 16 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 25 °C / 12 °C
• Jan 24 °C / 10 °C
• Feb 26 °C / 13 °C
• Mar 29 °C / 16 °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: boron.

• Soil here is often more acidic than it likes.
• Many fields here are short of zinc, which it needs a lot.

Likes pH 6.5–8.5.

Money

Yield: about 12 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

On rain alone it gets about 72% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 72% of this yield.

Mandi price at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹2,112 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 ₹7,000 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.