Castor Seed
Sow in July, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (July–August) is over.
Grown on 12 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹13,000–₹20,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹4,000–₹11,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.
Needs about 590 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 610 mm it can use in a normal year, and 380 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 / 25 °C
- Aug 31 °C / 25 °C
- Sep 32 °C / 25 °C
- Oct 33 °C / 22 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 18 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 15 °C
Soil
Soil for Castor Seed: 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: zinc, iron, copper and manganese.
- The pH here suits 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.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 2.8 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 ₹5,964 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹7,625 a quintal, the middle of 3 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹3,000 a season at typical costs.
- ₹6,110 2022
- ₹5,380 2023
- ₹5,510 2024
- ₹5,680 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.