Lentil (Masoor)
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 6,347 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹19,000–₹28,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹3,000–₹12,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
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 330 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 190 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 15–29 °C on average, and survives 5–32 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 32 °C / 20 °C
- Nov 29 °C / 13 °C
- Dec 26 °C / 10 °C
- Jan 25 °C / 9 °C
Soil
Soil for Lentil (Masoor): 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Low nitrogen matters less: it makes its own.
- Many fields here are short of phosphorus, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 4.0 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹5,732 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹5,799 a quintal, the middle of 5 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹8,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹7,390 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹5,800 2021
- ₹6,000 2022
- ₹5,430 2023
- ₹5,610 2024
- ₹5,820 2025
Prices are usually best in June.
Typical costs are about ₹16,000 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 4.6 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
Short of zinc Your soil is likely short of zinc.
Mix 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre into the soil before sowing. One dose lasts two or three seasons.
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):
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 93%
- Urea 66%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 66%