Maize
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 25 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹70,000–₹1.1 lakh
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹48,000–₹83,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough, even in a dry year.
Needs about 280 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 600 mm it can use in a normal year, and 350 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 18–33 °C on average, and survives 10–47 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 32 °C / 25 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 24 °C
- Dec 28 °C / 23 °C
- Jan 29 °C / 22 °C
Soil
Soil for Maize: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- 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.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 5.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 26 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹3,375 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹2,918 a quintal, the middle of 14 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹54,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,410 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,670 2021
- ₹2,140 2022
- ₹2,160 2023
- ₹2,670 2024
- ₹3,190 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in January.
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
-
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 100% 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):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 100%
- Urea 100%