Jowar (Sorghum)
Sow in October, harvest around February
This season's sowing time (September–October) is over.
Grown on 10,145 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 3 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 350 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 20 mm it can use in a normal year (10 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 32 °C / 22 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 17 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 14 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 30 °C / 14 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Jowar (Sorghum): 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: zinc, iron, copper and manganese.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 5.5–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 3.2 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹5,163 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹2,530 a quintal, the middle of 6 mandis in your state (latest 12 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹4,023 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹2,410 2022
- ₹2,740 2023
- ₹2,330 2024
- ₹2,440 2025
Prices are usually best in March.
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.