Gram (Chana)
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 983 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 4 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 4 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 340 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 160 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 15–29 °C on average, and survives 7–35 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 35 °C / 22 °C
- Nov 34 °C / 17 °C
- Dec 31 °C / 13 °C
- Jan 29 °C / 12 °C
Soil
Soil for Gram (Chana): 9 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 boron.
Likes pH 6.0–8.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 7.2 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
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 (February–March 2026): about ₹5,113 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹7,000 a quintal, the middle of 283 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹5,958 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹4,480 2021
- ₹4,280 2022
- ₹4,680 2023
- ₹6,020 2024
- ₹5,300 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
Typical costs are about ₹19,000 an acre (seed, fertiliser, labour and hired machines, from the government's cost survey). They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 7.5 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.