Linseed

Water

Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.

Needs about 290 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 130 mm it can use in a normal year (60 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 170 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 24 °C / 14 °C
• Nov 20 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 16 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 13 °C / 4 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 16 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 21 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Soil

Soil for Linseed: 8 out of 10 (good).

Not in the score: sulphur and boron.

• The pH here suits it.
• Most fields here are short of nitrogen.

Likes pH 6.0–6.5.

Money

Yield: about 1.5 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).

Mandi price at last season's harvest (April–May 2026): about ₹7,752 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 ₹6,000 a season after typical costs.

Prices are usually best in November.

Typical costs are about ₹9,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.