Cotton
Sow in June, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 2.1 lakh acres here. Sold at 9 mandis in your district.
₹35,000–₹53,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹8,000–₹26,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 4 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 4 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 690 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 500 mm it can use in a normal year, and 430 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 37 °C / 26 °C
- Jul 31 °C / 24 °C
- Aug 31 °C / 23 °C
- Sep 31 °C / 23 °C
- Oct 34 °C / 20 °C
- Nov 33 °C / 16 °C
Soil
Soil for Cotton: 9 out of 10 (good).
- 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 8.4 quintals of kapas (raw cotton) an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 73% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 73% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹7,230 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹8,650 a quintal, the middle of 5 mandis in your district (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹25,000 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.
- ₹5,680 2021
- ₹9,240 2022
- ₹6,900 2023
- ₹6,900 2025
Prices are usually best in August.
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 5.9 quintals of kapas (raw cotton) 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 99% of local fields of this crop get it.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 99%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 48%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 36%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 7%