Barley
Sow in November, harvest around March
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 34 acres here. Sold at 3 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Needs care: Warm in November
- 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 420 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 170 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 32 °C / 14 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 28 °C / 11 °C
- Jan 27 °C / 11 °C
- Feb 31 °C / 14 °C (outside its best range)
- Mar 36 °C / 18 °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.
- Most fields here are short of boron.
Likes pH 6.5–8.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 9.9 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
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 ₹1,961 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
-
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 19% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
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 19%