Barley
Sow in November, harvest around March
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 675 acres here. Sold at 2 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 360 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 100 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 30 °C / 13 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 25 °C / 9 °C
- Jan 23 °C / 8 °C
- Feb 28 °C / 12 °C
- Mar 34 °C / 17 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Barley: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of zinc, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 6.5–8.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 7.0 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
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 ₹2,178 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹2,750 a quintal, the middle of 10 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹2,286 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
Prices are usually best in October.
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.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 12 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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.
About 86% of local fields of this crop get it.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 86%
- Urea 86%