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 India.
₹16,000–₹24,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹6,000 to a profit of ₹2,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 2 irrigations short
- Needs care: Frost risk in January
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 2 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 210 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 10 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 140 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 27 °C / 12 °C
- Dec 22 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 19 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 23 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Nights in January can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Soil
Soil for Maize: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 5.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 16 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 73% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 73% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹1,762 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹2,700 a quintal, the middle of 495 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹9,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,410 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,580 2021
- ₹2,020 2022
- ₹2,010 2023
- ₹2,230 2024
- ₹2,150 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 16 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.