Fenugreek (Methi)

Water

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

Needs about 300 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 30 mm it can use in a normal year (10 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 mm from the monsoon at sowing.

Temperature

Grows best at 13–27 °C on average, and survives 5–32 °C.

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

• Oct 30 °C / 20 °C
• Nov 28 °C / 15 °C
• Dec 27 °C / 11 °C
• Jan 28 °C / 11 °C

Soil

Soil for Fenugreek (Methi): 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 7.0–7.5.

Money

Yield: about 6.7 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

On rain alone it gets about 77% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 77% of this yield.

Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹5,199 a quintal across India's mandis.

This week: about ₹7,336 a quintal, the middle of 20 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹18,000 a season after typical costs.

Prices are usually best in November.

Typical costs are about ₹19,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.