Cotton
Sow in July, harvest around January
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 12,915 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹18,000–₹27,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹689–₹10,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 5 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 5 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 650 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 400 mm it can use in a normal year, and 260 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):
- Jul 35 °C / 26 °C
- Aug 35 °C / 25 °C
- Sep 35 °C / 25 °C
- Oct 33 °C / 24 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 23 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 22 °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 3.0 quintals of kapas (raw cotton) an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹7,445 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹8,823 a quintal, the middle of 224 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹1,000 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.
- ₹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
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 6.6 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 98% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
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Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
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 98%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 91%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 60%
- NPK Mixture 8%