Maize
Sow in November, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No figures for this season in your district. Priced from mandis across India.
₹18,000–₹28,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹4,000 to a profit of ₹6,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Doesn't suit: Too cold in december
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.
Needs about 140 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 110 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):
- Nov 17 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 14 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 11 °C / 2 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 13 °C / 4 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in November can bring frost while the plants are young. Sow a little later, or cover the seedlings on cold nights.
Soil
Soil for Maize: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: sulphur and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 5.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 13 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹1,762 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 leave about ₹13,000 a season after 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 13 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 22% of local fields of this crop get it.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 22%
- Calcium Ammonium Nitrate 0%
- NPK Mixture 0%