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 your state.
₹13,000–₹19,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹3,000–₹9,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Doesn't suit: Too cold here in this season
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough, even in a dry year.
Needs about 170 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 40 mm it can use in a normal year (10 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):
- Nov 20 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 17 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 15 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 19 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in December 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).
- 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 6.5 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹2,450 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 lose about ₹4,000 a season at typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,410 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹2,010 2023
- ₹2,280 2024
Prices are usually best in March.
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 11 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.
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):
- Urea 3%