Horse Gram (Kulthi)
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 7.4 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹9,000–₹13,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹3,000–₹8,000 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 340 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 330 mm it can use in a normal year (180 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 10 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 34 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 31 °C / 24 °C
- Dec 31 °C / 23 °C
- Jan 31 °C / 23 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
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.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 5.5–7.0.
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).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹3,830 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹4,963 a quintal, the middle of 12 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹9,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹3,230 2021
- ₹4,350 2022
- ₹5,550 2023
- ₹5,920 2024
- ₹4,280 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in October.
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
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
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.