Castor Seed
Sow in July, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (July–August) is over.
Grown on 2.3 lakh acres here. Sold at 26 mandis in your district.
₹33,000–₹49,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹9,000–₹25,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 6 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 6 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 350 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 32 °C / 25 °C
- Sep 33 °C / 24 °C
- Oct 35 °C / 20 °C
- Nov 32 °C / 15 °C
- Dec 29 °C / 12 °C
Soil
Soil for Castor Seed: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 11 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 58% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 58% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹6,561 a quintal at mandis in your district.
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 ₹23,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹5,160 2021
- ₹7,230 2022
- ₹6,080 2023
- ₹5,870 2024
- ₹6,410 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 8.7 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
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 88% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
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 88%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 83%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 7%
- Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) 0%