Castor Seed
Sow in July, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (July–August) is over.
Grown on 2.4 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹8,000–₹12,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹12,000–₹16,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 3 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 610 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 480 mm it can use in a normal year, and 320 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 31 °C / 23 °C
- Aug 29 °C / 23 °C
- Sep 31 °C / 22 °C
- Oct 34 °C / 19 °C
- Nov 32 °C / 14 °C
- Dec 29 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Castor Seed: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 2.1 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
On rain alone it gets about 79% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 79% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹6,218 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 lose about ₹12,000 a season at 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
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 8.3 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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.