Maize
Sow in November, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 83 acres here. Sold at 3 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Needs care: Frost risk in January
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
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 220 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 100 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 20 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 24 °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: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- 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 5.6 quintals an acre here (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 (February 2026): about ₹1,802 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹2,239 a quintal, the middle of 22 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹2,410 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,670 2021
- ₹2,180 2022
- ₹2,200 2023
- ₹2,330 2024
- ₹2,450 2025
Prices are usually best in July.
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 13 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 86% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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.
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 86%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 82%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 18%