Maize
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No figures for this season in your district. Priced from mandis across India.
₹10,000–₹16,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹6,000–₹12,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Needs care: Cool in December
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough, even in a dry year.
Needs about 200 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 70 mm it can use in a normal year (30 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 18–33 °C on average, and survives 10–47 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 26 °C / 17 °C
- Nov 24 °C / 13 °C
- Dec 20 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 18 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Maize: 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it, though not most crops.
Likes pH 5.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 7.1 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹1,824 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹2,700 a quintal, the middle of 495 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹3,000 a season at typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,410 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,580 2021
- ₹2,020 2022
- ₹2,010 2023
- ₹2,230 2024
- ₹2,150 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
Typical costs are about ₹22,000 an acre (seed, fertiliser, labour and hired machines, from the government's cost survey). They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 7.1 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.