Linseed
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 917 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 4 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 6/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 4 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 300 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 120 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 16–24 °C on average, and survives 5–30 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 33 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 30 °C / 15 °C
- Dec 25 °C / 10 °C
- Jan 22 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 27 °C / 13 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Linseed: 6 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
Likes pH 6.0–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 2.5 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 ₹7,959 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹10,000 a quintal, the middle of 17 mandis across India (latest 12 Nov).
- ₹7,140 2021
- ₹6,720 2022
- ₹5,240 2023
- ₹5,560 2024
- ₹6,890 2025
Prices are usually best in September.
Typical costs are about ₹8,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 2.6 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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Short of nitrogen Your soil is likely short of nitrogen.
Add about a quarter more urea than the usual dose, in two or three splits. A pulse crop in rotation also adds nitrogen.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
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Short of sulphur Your soil is likely short of sulphur.
Use single super phosphate instead of DAP, or add about 100 kg of gypsum per acre before sowing.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.