Jowar (Sorghum)
Sow in October, harvest around February
This season's sowing time (September–October) is over.
No figures for this season in your district. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹12,000–₹18,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹618 to a profit of ₹5,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 1 irrigation short
- Doesn't suit: Too cold here in this season
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 1 irrigation (5 cm) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 230 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 10 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 180 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 22–35 °C on average, and survives 8–40 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 32 °C / 19 °C
- Nov 27 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 23 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 20 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
Soil
Soil for Jowar (Sorghum): 7 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of zinc, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 5.5–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 6.9 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 81% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 81% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹2,663 a quintal across mandis in your state.
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 ₹8,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹4,023 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹2,480 2021
- ₹2,700 2022
- ₹3,200 2023
- ₹3,090 2024
- ₹3,310 2025
Prices are usually best in December.
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.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 6.6 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
Short of nitrogen Your soil is likely short of nitrogen.
Add about a quarter more urea than the usual dose, in two or three splits. A pulse crop in rotation also adds nitrogen.
About 69% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
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.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 69%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 26%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 16%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 16%