Cotton
Sow in June, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop. Priced from mandis across India.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Doesn't suit: Too cold in september
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 450 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 150 mm it can use in a normal year, and 90 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):
- Jun 23 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
- Jul 22 °C / 13 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 22 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
- Sep 20 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)
- Oct 16 °C / 5 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 11 °C / 1 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in October can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Soil
Soil for Cotton: 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: sulphur and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 5.0 quintals of kapas (raw cotton) an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).
Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹7,350 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹8,823 a quintal, the middle of 224 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov).
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.
- ₹6,180 2021
- ₹9,050 2022
- ₹7,000 2023
- ₹7,050 2024
- ₹7,130 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
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.