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 here in this season
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough, even in a dry year.
Needs about 190 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 70 mm it can use in a normal year (20 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 190 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 31 °C / 17 °C
- Nov 26 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 20 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 18 °C / 5 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in December can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Soil
Soil for Jowar (Sorghum): 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, 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 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.
How to make it work
-
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):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 54%
- Urea 54%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 42%
- Calcium Ammonium Nitrate 12%