Cowpea (Lobia)

Water

Rain falls about 1 irrigation (5 cm) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 320 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 280 mm it can use in a normal year, and 190 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):

• Jul 31 °C / 22 °C
• Aug 30 °C / 22 °C
• Sep 30 °C / 22 °C
• Oct 31 °C / 20 °C

Soil

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

• The pH here suits it.
• Low nitrogen matters less: it makes its own.
• Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
• Most fields here are short of zinc.
• Most fields here are short of iron.

Likes pH 5.5–7.5.

Money

Yield: about 3.5 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).

On rain alone it gets about 89% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 89% of this yield.

Mandi price at this season's harvest so far (October 2026): about ₹5,829 a quintal across mandis in your state.

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 ₹19,000 a season after typical costs.

Prices are usually best in January.

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.