Linseed
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 638 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹14,000–₹22,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹6,000–₹14,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 1 irrigation short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 1 irrigation (5 cm) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 280 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 40 mm it can use in a normal year (20 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 31 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 29 °C / 17 °C
- Dec 26 °C / 13 °C
- Jan 24 °C / 12 °C
- Feb 26 °C / 14 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Linseed: 8 out of 10 (good).
- Soil here is often more acidic than it likes.
- Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of potassium.
Likes pH 6.0–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 3.0 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 84% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 84% 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 ₹17,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹6,680 2021
- ₹6,150 2022
- ₹4,800 2023
- ₹5,490 2024
- ₹6,690 2025
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.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 2.7 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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Short of potassium Your soil is likely short of potassium.
Add about a quarter more potash (MOP) than the usual dose.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.