Lentil (Masoor)
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No recent figures for your district. Priced from mandis across India.
₹24,000–₹36,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹8,000–₹20,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.
Needs about 340 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 330 mm it can use in a normal year (140 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 0 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 33 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 31 °C / 24 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 23 °C
- Jan 30 °C / 23 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Lentil (Masoor): 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Low nitrogen matters less: it makes its own.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
- Most fields here are short of boron.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 5.0 quintals an acre here (older figures, 2015-16).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹6,027 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹6,950 a quintal, the middle of 10 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹19,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹7,390 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹6,000 2021
- ₹6,220 2022
- ₹5,860 2023
- ₹6,660 2024
- ₹6,740 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
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
-
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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
-
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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
-
Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.