Linseed

Water

Rain falls about 2 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 30 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 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 32 °C / 23 °C (outside its best range)
• Nov 30 °C / 17 °C
• Dec 26 °C / 12 °C
• Jan 24 °C / 10 °C
• Feb 27 °C / 13 °C

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Soil

Soil for Linseed: 7 out of 10 (okay).

• Soil here is often more acidic than it likes.
• 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.

Money

Yield: about 3.4 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).

On rain alone it gets about 79% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 79% of this yield.

Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹7,063 a quintal across India's mandis.

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 ₹19,000 a season after typical costs.

Prices are usually best in November.

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.