Castor Seed
Sow in July, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (July–August) is over.
Grown on 43,075 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹8,000–₹12,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹13,000–₹16,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 7 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 7 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 250 mm it can use in a normal year, and 130 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 32 °C / 24 °C
- Aug 32 °C / 24 °C
- Sep 32 °C / 23 °C
- Oct 32 °C / 23 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 21 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 19 °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 organic carbon.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.6 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹6,028 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹7,640 a quintal, the middle of 3 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹12,000 a season at typical costs.
- ₹4,550 2021
- ₹6,320 2022
- ₹5,530 2023
- ₹5,510 2024
- ₹5,830 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 3.8 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 75% 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):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 75%
- NPK Mixture 40%
- Urea 6%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 5%