Horse Gram (Kulthi)
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No recent figures for your district. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹5,000–₹8,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹867 to a profit of ₹2,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.
Needs about 360 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 130 mm it can use in a normal year (90 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 20–28 °C on average, and survives 17–35 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 31 °C / 23 °C
- Nov 32 °C / 22 °C
- Dec 32 °C / 21 °C
- Jan 32 °C / 20 °C
Soil
Soil for Horse Gram (Kulthi): 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Low nitrogen matters less: it makes its own.
- Many fields here are short of phosphorus, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of potassium.
- Most fields here are short of boron.
Likes pH 5.5–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.8 quintals an acre here (older figures, 2018-19).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹3,573 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹4,925 a quintal, the middle of 11 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹3,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹3,010 2021
- ₹4,630 2022
- ₹6,550 2023
- ₹5,790 2024
- ₹3,610 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in September.
Typical costs are about ₹6,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
-
Short of potassium Your soil is likely short of potassium.
Add about a quarter more potash (MOP) than the usual dose.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
-
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.