Mesta

A monsoon crop. Sow in Jun–Jul, harvest in Nov–Dec.

Check it on your land
Season
Kharif
JJASONDJFMAM

Sowing Growing Harvest

100% of its area.
Ready in
140 days
about 4½ months
Water
500–590 mm
of water over its season (rain plus irrigation)
Grows best at
15–28 °C
0 °C survives 10–35 °C 40 °C

When to sow and harvest

Kharif 100% of its area
Today: kharif harvest
J J A S O N D J F M A M
Sow Growing Harvest
The year starts in June, with the monsoon. Your district can shift a few weeks.

Sowing Growing Harvest

Will it grow on your land?

Water
Season

Pick your place and water to see:

  • Whether Mesta suits your land Good fit, possible or won't work, with the reasons.
  • What it could earn an acre From yields near you and mandi prices.
  • Water and fertiliser it needs Irrigations for your water, and bags for one acre.

What it needs

Temperature

15–28 °C
0 °C40 °C

Survives 10–35 °C. Frost hurts it.

Water

500–590 mm over its season

Rain and irrigation together, worked out where most of it grows:

Dakshin Dinajpur Supaul Madhepura Kalaburagi West Garo Hills

Soil pH

4 acidic7 neutral9 alkaline

Likes neutral soil. Grows from pH 4.3 to 8.2.

Soil

  • No salty soil
  • Needs rich soil
  • K Needs plenty of potassium and boron
How the soil score works

Source: FAO ECOCROP crop requirements (via OpenCLIM/ecocrop); FAO-56 crop coefficients (Allen et al. 1998); IMD gridded daily rainfall (0.25°); IMD gridded daily max/min temperature (1°).

Fertiliser for one acre

Not covered yet. Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra for the dose.

Watch out for

Not covered yet. Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to watch for.

Mandi price, month by month

No mandi prices for this crop yet.

Today's prices at mandis near you

Where it grows in India

Area grown in India
1.1 lakh acres
2019-20
Average yield
4.8 quintals an acre (1.2 tonnes a hectare)
2019-20
Most area
Dakshin Dinajpur
West Bengal
Best yield
North 24 Parganas
13 quintals an acre

Where it grows most

The districts with the most area in recent years. The map colours every district growing it on at least 100 ha by yield; the numbers mark these districts.

51% of India's mesta area is in these 10 districts

  1. 1 Dakshin Dinajpur West Bengal 12% 16,650 acres
  2. 2 Supaul Bihar 11% 15,707 acres
  3. 3 Mayurbhanj Odisha 5.7% 8,154 acres
  4. 4 Madhepura Bihar 4.8% 6,878 acres
  5. 5 Kendujhar Odisha 4.6% 6,557 acres
  6. 6 West Garo Hills Meghalaya 3.8% 5,432 acres
  7. 7 Balangir Odisha 2.5% 3,608 acres
  8. 8 Murshidabad West Bengal 2.5% 3,529 acres
  9. 9 Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh 2.4% 3,468 acres
  10. 10 North 24 Parganas West Bengal 2.4% 3,462 acres

Mesta yield

  1. 0.2–2.1 quintals an acre
  2. 2.1–3.0 quintals an acre
  3. 3.1–4.2 quintals an acre
  4. 4.3–7.7 quintals an acre
  5. 8.2–13 quintals an acre
No data

1 Numbers match the list: the districts with the most area.

Source: Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare). 2019-20.

Where yields are highest

Districts growing it on at least 100 ha, against the average across India. The line runs from India's average to each district.

Source: Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare). 2019-20.

Across India over the years

Yield across India, quintals an acre

0 2 q 4 q 6 q
2019-20 2019-20
Latest 4.8 quintals an acre in 2019-20

Area sown across India, acres

0 50,000 1 lakh 1.5 lakh
2019-20 2019-20
Latest 1.1 lakh acres in 2019-20

Years run July to June. Only years in which most of the usual districts reported are shown.

Source: Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare). 2019-20.

Soil and yield

How district soil tests line up with this crop's yields across India.

Mesta yields tend to be higher in districts with

  • More soil high in phosphorus moderate 70 districts
  • More soil short of boron weak 70 districts
  • More soil low in potassium weak 70 districts

Mesta yields tend to be lower in districts with

  • More soil medium in phosphorus moderate 70 districts
  • More soil short of iron weak 70 districts
  • More soil low in phosphorus weak 70 districts

A pattern is not proof that soil causes the difference.

Source: Soil Health Card – soil nutrient analysis (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare).