Horse Gram (Kulthi)
Sow in July, harvest around November
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop. Priced from mandis across India.
₹5,000–₹8,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹3,000 to a profit of ₹74 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough, even in a dry year.
Needs about 360 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 510 mm it can use in a normal year, and 460 mm in a dry year.
Heavy rain here can waterlog it. Grow it on raised beds or land that drains well.
Temperature
Grows best at 20–28 °C on average, and survives 17–35 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jul 32 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 31 °C / 25 °C
- Sep 31 °C / 24 °C
- Oct 32 °C / 21 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Horse Gram (Kulthi): 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Low nitrogen matters less: it makes its own.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 5.5–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.6 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025): about ₹3,935 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 ₹469 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 ₹8,000 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 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):
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 100%