Cotton
Sow in June, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 1.1 lakh acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹12,000–₹18,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹9,000–₹15,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 9 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 9 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 680 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 270 mm it can use in a normal year, and 160 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 34 °C / 24 °C
- 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
Soil
Soil for Cotton: 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 2.0 quintals of kapas (raw cotton) an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹7,713 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹8,200 a quintal, the middle of 19 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹12,000 a season at 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.
- ₹9,310 2022
- ₹7,200 2023
- ₹7,190 2024
- ₹7,520 2025
Prices are usually best in April.
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 6.1 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 69% 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):
- Urea 69%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 34%
- Urea Ammonium Phosphate 9%
- NPK Mixture 6%