Gram (Chana)
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 60,482 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 8/10
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 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 100 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
About 10% of Gram (Chana) in Bhavnagar, the nearest district with figures, is grown on rain alone. Your district has no figure of its own.
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 33 °C / 17 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 14 °C
- Jan 29 °C / 12 °C
Soil
Soil for Gram (Chana): 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Salt in the soil here can harm it.
- Low nitrogen matters less: it makes its own.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 6.0–8.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 8.6 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 ₹5,016 a quintal at mandis in your district.
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.
- ₹4,340 2021
- ₹5,850 2024
- ₹5,230 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 7.3 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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Short of zinc Your soil is likely short of zinc.
Mix 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre into the soil before sowing. One dose lasts two or three seasons.
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.