Gram (Chana)
Sow in November, harvest around March
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 6.1 lakh acres here. Sold at 3 mandis in your district.
₹7,000–₹11,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹8,000–₹12,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 6 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 6 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 290 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 0 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):
- Nov 30 °C / 11 °C
- Dec 25 °C / 7 °C
- Jan 22 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 28 °C / 9 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Gram (Chana): 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen, sulphur and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of phosphorus, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
Likes pH 6.0–8.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.8 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹4,910 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹6,919 a quintal, the middle of 24 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹6,000 a season at typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹5,958 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹4,800 2021
- ₹4,480 2022
Prices are usually best in October.
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 7.2 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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Short of phosphorus Your soil is likely short of phosphorus.
Add about a quarter more DAP or single super phosphate than the usual dose, at sowing.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
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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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
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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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
-
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):
- Urea 11%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 7%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 3%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 2%