Lentil (Masoor)
Sow in November, harvest around March
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 8,422 acres here. Sold at 4 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 320 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 110 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):
- Nov 31 °C / 15 °C
- Dec 26 °C / 11 °C
- Jan 24 °C / 10 °C
- Feb 28 °C / 13 °C
Soil
Soil for Lentil (Masoor): 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen, sulphur and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 5.4 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 (March–April 2026): about ₹7,157 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹6,950 a quintal, the middle of 10 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹7,390 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹6,100 2021
- ₹6,520 2022
- ₹6,090 2023
- ₹5,960 2024
- ₹6,200 2025
Prices are usually best in May.
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
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 84%
- Urea 42%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 25%