Jowar (Sorghum)
Sow in October, harvest around February
This season's sowing time (September–October) is over.
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop. Priced from mandis across India.
₹12,000–₹18,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹372 to a profit of ₹6,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Doesn't suit: Too cold in december
- Suits: Soil 9/10
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 130 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 150 mm it can use in a normal year (50 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 10 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Heavy rain here can waterlog it. Grow it on raised beds or land that drains well.
Temperature
Grows best at 22–35 °C on average, and survives 8–40 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 23 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 17 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 10 °C / -1 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 7 °C / -3 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in November can bring frost while the plants are young. Sow a little later, or cover the seedlings on cold nights.
Soil
Soil for Jowar (Sorghum): 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of zinc, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 5.5–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 4.6 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹3,259 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹3,675 a quintal, the middle of 123 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹5,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹4,023 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,820 2021
- ₹2,180 2022
- ₹3,330 2023
- ₹2,760 2024
- ₹2,590 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 ₹12,000 an acre (seed, fertiliser, labour and hired machines, from the government's cost survey). They are spent whatever the harvest.