Cotton
Sow in October, harvest around April
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 289 acres here. Sold at 13 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- 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 690 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 50 mm it can use in a normal year (20 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 170 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 22–36 °C on average, and survives 15–42 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 32 °C / 23 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 19 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 16 °C
- Jan 30 °C / 16 °C
- Feb 33 °C / 19 °C
- Mar 36 °C / 22 °C
Soil
Soil for Cotton: 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: zinc, iron, copper and 2 more.
- The pH here suits it.
- 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 8.2 quintals of kapas (raw cotton) an acre here in this season (district figures).
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 (April–May 2026): about ₹7,250 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹8,600 a quintal, the middle of 3 mandis in your district (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.
- ₹9,000 2022
- ₹7,000 2023
- ₹6,600 2024
- ₹6,650 2025
Prices are usually best in July.
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 5.8 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 95% 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 95%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 85%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 73%
- Urea Ammonium Phosphate 12%