Castor Seed
Sow in July, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (July–August) is over.
Grown on 4.0 lakh acres here. Sold at 7 mandis in your district.
₹39,000–₹58,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹14,000–₹34,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 9 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 9 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 600 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 200 mm it can use in a normal year, and 120 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 / 26 °C
- Sep 33 °C / 25 °C
- Oct 36 °C / 23 °C
- Nov 34 °C / 18 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 13 °C
Soil
Soil for Castor Seed: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Salt in the soil here can harm it.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 7.6 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹6,370 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 ₹33,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹5,430 2021
- ₹7,000 2022
- ₹5,970 2023
- ₹5,800 2024
- ₹6,370 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 8.6 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.
About 55% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
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.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 55%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 34%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 9%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 5%