Castor Seed
Sow in August, harvest around January
This season's sowing time (July–August) is over.
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop. Priced from mandis across India.
₹27,000–₹40,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹3,000–₹16,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 2 irrigations short
- Doesn't suit: Too cold in september
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 2 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 240 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 170 mm it can use in a normal year, and 90 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):
- Aug 21 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
- Sep 19 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
- Oct 16 °C / 4 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 9 °C / -1 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 3 °C / -7 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan -2 °C / -10 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in October can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Soil
Soil for Castor Seed: 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 7.5 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).
On rain alone it gets about 73% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 73% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹6,106 a quintal across India's mandis.
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 ₹17,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹4,670 2021
- ₹6,580 2022
- ₹5,720 2023
- ₹5,530 2024
- ₹6,000 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
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
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.