Linseed
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 11,170 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹15,000–₹23,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹7,000–₹15,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 4 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
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 310 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 34 °C / 20 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 30 °C / 13 °C
- Dec 25 °C / 9 °C
- Jan 23 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 28 °C / 12 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Linseed: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 6.0–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 2.4 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
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). At that price an acre would leave about ₹16,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹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.
About 11% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
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Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
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):
- Urea 11%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 3%