Cowpea (Lobia)

Water

Rain falls about 2 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 370 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 300 mm it can use in a normal year, and 230 mm in a dry year.

Temperature

Grows best at 25–35 °C on average, and survives 15–40 °C.

Here, in its growing months (day / night):

• Jun 39 °C / 26 °C
• Jul 34 °C / 26 °C
• Aug 33 °C / 25 °C
• Sep 33 °C / 23 °C

Soil

Soil for Cowpea (Lobia): 8 out of 10 (good).

Not in the score: nitrogen, manganese and boron.

• The pH here suits it.
• Many fields here are short of phosphorus, which it needs a lot.
• Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
• Most fields here are short of potassium.

Likes pH 5.5–7.5.

Money

Yield: about 2.8 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

On rain alone it gets about 83% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 83% of this yield.

Mandi price at last season's harvest (September–October 2026): about ₹8,300 a quintal across India's mandis.

This week: about ₹8,965 a quintal, the middle of 22 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹11,000 a season after typical costs.

Prices are usually best in November.

Typical costs are about ₹9,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2023–2025), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.