Maize
Sow in June, harvest around September
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 201 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹18,000–₹27,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹4,000 to a profit of ₹5,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 2 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 2 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 420 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 350 mm it can use in a normal year, and 250 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 18–33 °C on average, and survives 10–47 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jun 41 °C / 29 °C (outside its best range)
- Jul 35 °C / 26 °C
- Aug 33 °C / 26 °C
- Sep 34 °C / 25 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
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.
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 84% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 84% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (September–October 2026): about ₹2,189 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹2,720 a quintal, the middle of 161 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹6,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,410 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,430 2021
- ₹1,990 2022
- ₹1,920 2023
- ₹2,120 2024
- ₹2,070 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 14 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.
About 54% of local fields of this crop get it.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 54%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 29%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 1%