Cotton
Sow in October, harvest around April
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 369 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
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 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 670 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 60 mm it can use in a normal year, and 40 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):
- Oct 29 °C / 20 °C
- Nov 28 °C / 18 °C
- Dec 27 °C / 16 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 29 °C / 16 °C
- Feb 31 °C / 17 °C
- Mar 34 °C / 20 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
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 zinc.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.7 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 ₹7,754 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹9,243 a quintal, the middle of 28 mandis in your state (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.
- ₹6,170 2021
- ₹9,480 2022
- ₹7,080 2023
- ₹7,250 2024
- ₹7,170 2025
Prices are usually best in September.
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 100% of local fields of this crop get it.
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Short of zinc Your soil is likely short of zinc.
Mix 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre into the soil before sowing. One dose lasts two or three seasons.
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):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 100%
- Urea 100%