Cumin
Sow in November, harvest around March
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop. Priced from mandis across India.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Needs care: Warm in November
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 450 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 40 mm it can use in a normal year, and 10 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 17–26 °C on average, and survives 9–30 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 31 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 31 °C / 21 °C
- Jan 32 °C / 21 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 35 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Cumin: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 6.8–8.3.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 3.0 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).
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 (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).
- ₹11,940 2021
- ₹18,820 2022
- ₹40,000 2023
- ₹22,700 2024
- ₹18,340 2025
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.
How to make it work
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.