Cumin

Water

Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.

Needs about 220 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 70 mm it can use in a normal year (30 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 190 mm from the monsoon at sowing.

Temperature

Grows best at 17–26 °C on average, and survives 9–30 °C.

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

• Nov 24 °C / 12 °C
• Dec 20 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 17 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 22 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Nights in January can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.

Soil

Soil for Cumin: 10 out of 10 (good).

Not in the score: nitrogen and boron.

• The pH here suits it.

Likes pH 6.8–8.3.

Money

Yield: about 3.0 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

Mandi price at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹19,375 a quintal across India's mandis.

This week: about ₹25,000 a quintal, the middle of 15 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹42,000 a season after typical costs.

Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.

Prices are usually best in November.

Typical costs are about ₹33,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.