Castor Seed
Sow in July, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (July–August) is over.
Grown on 3,241 acres here. Sold at 5 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: Frost risk in December
- 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 620 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 60 mm it can use in a normal year, and 40 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 20–30 °C on average, and survives 15–39 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jul 38 °C / 28 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 37 °C / 27 °C (outside its best range)
- Sep 36 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
- Oct 35 °C / 19 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 11 °C
- Dec 25 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Nights in December can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Soil
Soil for Castor Seed: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen, potassium and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 8.3 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 (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹6,160 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹7,560 a quintal, the middle of 9 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹5,010 2021
- ₹6,840 2022
- ₹5,470 2023
- ₹5,510 2024
- ₹6,000 2025
Prices are usually best in July.
Typical costs are about ₹24,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
-
Short of organic carbon Your soil is likely short of organic carbon.
Add 4 tonnes of compost or farmyard manure per acre before sowing, and plough crop leftovers back in instead of burning them.
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 30%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 25%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 16%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 16%