Jowar (Sorghum)
Sow in October, harvest around February
This season's sowing time (September–October) is over.
Grown on 171 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹11,000–₹16,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹2,000 to a profit of ₹3,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 2 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 2 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 340 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 50 mm it can use in a normal year (30 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 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 28 °C / 21 °C
- Nov 29 °C / 19 °C
- Dec 29 °C / 17 °C
- Jan 29 °C / 16 °C
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 boron.
Likes pH 5.5–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 5.4 quintals an acre here (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 74% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 74% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹3,262 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹4,449 a quintal, the middle of 22 mandis in your state (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.
- ₹1,850 2021
- ₹2,210 2022
- ₹3,700 2023
- ₹2,990 2024
- ₹2,540 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in November.
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 5.4 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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
-
Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
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 2%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 2%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 2%