Guar Seed (Cluster Bean)
Sow in June, harvest around September
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 35 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹11,000–₹17,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹5,000–₹10,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 3 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 400 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 290 mm it can use in a normal year, and 170 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 25–35 °C on average, and survives 10–45 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jun 39 °C / 28 °C
- Jul 35 °C / 27 °C
- Aug 33 °C / 26 °C
- Sep 33 °C / 25 °C
Soil
Soil for Guar Seed (Cluster Bean): 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Low nitrogen matters less: it makes its own.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of sulphur.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 7.5–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 2.9 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
On rain alone it gets about 72% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 72% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (September–October 2026): about ₹6,556 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹7,700 a quintal, the middle of 28 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹10,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹3,780 2021
- ₹5,300 2022
- ₹5,150 2023
- ₹4,900 2024
- ₹4,640 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
Typical costs are about ₹6,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2023–2025), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
-
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.
-
Short of sulphur Your soil is likely short of sulphur.
Use single super phosphate instead of DAP, or add about 100 kg of gypsum per acre before sowing.
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 100%