Maize
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 5,314 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 3 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 340 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 30 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):
- Oct 28 °C / 19 °C
- Nov 29 °C / 17 °C
- Dec 29 °C / 15 °C
- Jan 29 °C / 15 °C
Soil
Soil for Maize: 9 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 13 quintals an acre here in this season (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 (January–February 2026): about ₹1,660 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹2,760 a quintal, the middle of 67 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹2,410 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,530 2021
- ₹2,050 2022
- ₹2,100 2023
- ₹2,120 2024
- ₹2,110 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 30 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 33% of local fields of this crop get it.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 33%
- NPK Mixture 0%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 0%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 0%