Gram (Chana)
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 15,076 acres here. Sold at 2 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 5 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 5 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 50 mm it can use in a normal year (20 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 60 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 29 °C / 21 °C
- Nov 29 °C / 19 °C
- Dec 29 °C / 17 °C
- Jan 30 °C / 17 °C
Soil
Soil for Gram (Chana): 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 6.0–8.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 2.2 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 ₹5,238 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹7,500 a quintal, the middle of 30 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹5,958 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
Prices are usually best in September.
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 6.9 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 100%
- Urea 100%
- Ammonium Phosphate Sulphate 73%
- Urea Ammonium Phosphate 6%