Castor Seed
Sow in July, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (July–August) is over.
Grown on 1.1 lakh acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹22,000–₹33,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹2,000 to a profit of ₹9,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 5 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 5 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 590 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 370 mm it can use in a normal year, and 220 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 33 °C / 25 °C
- Aug 31 °C / 24 °C
- Sep 32 °C / 24 °C
- Oct 34 °C / 20 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 15 °C
- Dec 28 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Castor Seed: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 7.2 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 62% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 62% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹6,149 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹7,560 a quintal, the middle of 9 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹10,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹4,990 2021
- ₹6,500 2022
- ₹5,750 2023
- ₹5,550 2024
- ₹5,880 2025
Prices are usually best in December.
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
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 9.0 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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.
-
Short of zinc Your soil is likely short of zinc.
Mix 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre into the soil before sowing. One dose lasts two or three seasons.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
-
Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
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 99%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 98%
- NPK Mixture 41%
- Calcium Ammonium Nitrate 35%