Maize
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 16,991 acres here. Sold at 7 mandis in your district.
₹32,000–₹48,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹10,000–₹26,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 4 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 4 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 (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 150 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 32 °C / 21 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 18 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 15 °C
- Jan 30 °C / 16 °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.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 5.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 27 quintals an acre here (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January 2026): about ₹1,476 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹2,951 a quintal, the middle of 40 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹57,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,410 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,970 2022
- ₹1,960 2023
- ₹2,150 2024
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 24 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 76% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
Short of organic carbon Your soil is likely short of organic carbon.
Add 4 tonnes of compost or farmyard manure per acre before sowing, and plough crop leftovers back in instead of burning them.
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 76%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 55%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 51%
- Urea Ammonium Phosphate 29%