Cotton
Sow in May, harvest around November
This season's sowing time (April–May) is over.
Grown on 35 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹28,000–₹42,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹676–₹15,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 3 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 740 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 600 mm it can use in a normal year, and 450 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 22–36 °C on average, and survives 15–42 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- May 43 °C / 28 °C
- Jun 40 °C / 28 °C
- Jul 33 °C / 25 °C
- Aug 31 °C / 25 °C
- Sep 33 °C / 24 °C
- Oct 35 °C / 20 °C
Soil
Soil for Cotton: 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 6.3 quintals of kapas (raw cotton) an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
On rain alone it gets about 80% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 80% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025): about ₹6,991 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹8,736 a quintal, the middle of 29 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹17,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹8,267 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
That is the price for medium staple kapas (raw cotton). Long staple kapas has ₹8,667 a quintal.
- ₹6,580 2021
- ₹9,150 2022
- ₹7,100 2023
- ₹6,610 2024
- ₹7,160 2025
Prices are usually best in October.
Typical costs are about ₹28,000 an acre (seed, fertiliser, labour and hired machines, from the government's cost survey). They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 6.0 quintals of kapas (raw cotton) an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.