Moong (Green Gram)
Sow in October, harvest around December
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 896 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹7,000–₹10,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹4,000–₹7,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.
Needs about 210 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 20 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 21–36 °C on average, and survives 8–40 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 32 °C / 23 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 17 °C
- Dec 29 °C / 14 °C
Soil
Soil for Moong (Green Gram): 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Low nitrogen matters less: it makes its own.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of boron.
Likes pH 6.2–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.4 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹6,108 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹8,000 a quintal, the middle of 164 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹3,000 a season at typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹8,780 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹6,010 2021
- ₹6,130 2022
- ₹7,280 2023
- ₹7,580 2024
- ₹6,880 2025
Prices are usually best in October.
Typical costs are about ₹14,000 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 3.4 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
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.
-
Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
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) 20%
- Urea 13%
- Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) 12%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 10%