Barley

Water

Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.

Needs about 310 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 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 27 °C / 11 °C
• Dec 21 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 18 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 22 °C / 9 °C
• Mar 27 °C / 13 °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: nitrogen.

• The pH here suits it.
• Most fields here are short of potassium.
• Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
• Most fields here are short of boron.

Likes pH 6.5–8.5.

Money

Yield: about 16 quintals an acre here (older figures, 2018-19).

Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.

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).

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.