Castor Seed
Sow in July, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (July–August) is over.
Grown on 51,387 acres here. Sold at 8 mandis in your district.
₹33,000–₹50,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹9,000–₹26,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 4 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 4 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 420 mm it can use in a normal year, and 260 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 / 26 °C
- Aug 32 °C / 25 °C
- Sep 33 °C / 25 °C
- Oct 35 °C / 21 °C
- Nov 33 °C / 16 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 13 °C
Soil
Soil for Castor Seed: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.
- 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 9.4 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 69% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 69% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹6,444 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 ₹25,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹5,160 2021
- ₹7,160 2022
- ₹6,010 2023
- ₹5,810 2024
- ₹6,320 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
-
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 98% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
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):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 98%
- Urea 94%
- Calcium Ammonium Nitrate 16%
- Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) 1%