Maize
Sow in November, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 185 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 330 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 100 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 34 °C / 18 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 13 °C
- Jan 28 °C / 12 °C
- Feb 31 °C / 15 °C
Soil
Soil for Maize: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Salt in the soil here can harm 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 9.0 quintals an acre here (district figures).
Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹1,929 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹2,500 a quintal, the middle of 7 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹2,410 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,710 2021
- ₹2,150 2022
- ₹2,210 2023
- ₹2,360 2024
- ₹2,230 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.
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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 61% of local fields of this crop get it.
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Short of zinc Your soil is likely short of zinc.
Mix 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre into the soil before sowing. One dose lasts two or three seasons.
About 61% of local fields of this crop get it.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 61%
- Urea 61%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 61%