Maize
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 35 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹20,000–₹30,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹2,000 to a profit of ₹8,000 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 300 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 31 °C / 23 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 19 °C
- Dec 28 °C / 15 °C
- Jan 28 °C / 15 °C
Soil
Soil for Maize: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of zinc, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of boron.
Likes pH 5.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 12 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
On rain alone it gets about 88% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 88% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹2,275 a quintal across mandis in your state.
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 ₹7,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,410 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,630 2021
- ₹1,920 2022
- ₹2,000 2023
- ₹2,100 2024
- ₹2,210 2025
Prices are usually best in May.
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 16 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
-
Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 9%
- Urea 9%
- Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) 8%
- Ammonium Sulphate 0%