Maize
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 132 acres here. Sold at 2 mandis in your district.
₹22,000–₹33,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹86 to a profit of ₹11,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 1 irrigation short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 1 irrigation (5 cm) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 310 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 90 mm it can use in a normal year (50 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 190 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 26 °C / 19 °C
- Nov 26 °C / 18 °C
- Dec 26 °C / 16 °C
- Jan 27 °C / 16 °C
Soil
Soil for Maize: 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen.
- The pH here suits it.
Likes pH 5.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 16 quintals an acre here (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 90% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 90% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹1,900 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹3,048 a quintal, the middle of 73 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹22,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,410 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
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 33 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 66%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 63%