Maize
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 2,500 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
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 350 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 30 mm it can use in a normal year (10 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 180 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 33 °C / 22 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 18 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 15 °C
- Jan 31 °C / 15 °C
Soil
Soil for Maize: 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: zinc, iron, copper and manganese.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 5.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 23 quintals an acre here in this season (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 (January–February 2026): about ₹1,969 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹2,901 a quintal, the middle of 41 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹2,410 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,700 2021
- ₹1,990 2022
- ₹2,010 2023
- ₹2,200 2024
- ₹2,220 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 30 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.