Lentil (Masoor)
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 7,688 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹9,000–₹13,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹2,000–₹7,000 an acre a season
- 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 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 / 21 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 16 °C
- Dec 28 °C / 13 °C
- Jan 28 °C / 13 °C
Soil
Soil for Lentil (Masoor): 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Low nitrogen matters less: it makes its own.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.8 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
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 lose about ₹3,000 a season at 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
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 4.8 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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.
-
Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
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) 87%
- Urea 15%