Niger Seed

A winter crop. Sow in Oct–Nov, harvest in Jan–Feb.

Check it on your land
Season
Rabi
JJASONDJFMAM

Sowing Growing Harvest

100% of its area.
Ready in
100 days
about 3½ months
Water
260–270 mm
of water over its season (rain plus irrigation)
Grows best at
18–26 °C
0 °C survives 11–34 °C 40 °C

When to sow and harvest

Rabi 100% of its area
Today: rabi sowing time
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 Niger Seed 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

18–26 °C
0 °C40 °C

Survives 11–34 °C. Frost hurts it.

Water

260–270 mm over its season

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

Nadia Murshidabad Paschim Medinipur North 24 Parganas Purba Bardhaman

Soil pH

4 acidic7 neutral9 alkaline

Likes slightly acidic soil. Grows from pH 5 to 7.5.

Soil

  • No salty soil
  • Ordinary farm soil is fine
  • S Needs plenty of sulphur 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°); TerraClimate 1991–2020 temperature normals (about 4 km), where each district's villages are.

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

Best month
September, ₹8,050 a quintal
Lowest
February, ₹7,000 a quintal
₹7,000
₹8,050
J F M A M J J A S O N D

Rupees a quintal, typical across India's mandis. Average of 2021–2025.

Government minimum support price (MSP): ₹10,052 a quintal for 2026-27.

Latest prices at mandis near you

Source: Agmarknet daily prices and arrivals (India Data Portal).

Where it grows in India

Area grown in India
1.2 lakh acres
2024-25
Average yield
1.1 quintals an acre (0.3 tonnes a hectare)
2024-25
Most area
Jashpur
Chhattisgarh
Best yield
Simdega
2.9 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.

59% of India's niger seed area is in these 10 districts

  1. 1 Jashpur Chhattisgarh 16% 36,799 acres
  2. 2 Koraput Odisha 12% 27,630 acres
  3. 3 Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh 7.0% 15,680 acres
  4. 4 Dindori Madhya Pradesh 6.6% 14,845 acres
  5. 5 Rayagada Odisha 3.6% 7,983 acres
  6. 6 Surguja Chhattisgarh 3.0% 6,690 acres
  7. 7 Balrampur-Ramanujganj Chhattisgarh 2.6% 5,752 acres
  8. 8 Bastar Chhattisgarh 2.6% 5,702 acres
  9. 9 Jhabua Madhya Pradesh 2.2% 4,944 acres
  10. 10 Shivpuri Madhya Pradesh 2.2% 4,907 acres

Niger Seed yield

  1. 0.3–0.8 quintals an acre
  2. 0.9–1.3 quintals an acre
  3. 1.4–1.8 quintals an acre
  4. 1.9–2.3 quintals an acre
  5. 2.4–2.9 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). 1999-00 to 2024-25.

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). 1999-00 to 2024-25.

Across India over the years

Yield across India, quintals an acre

0 0.5 q 1 q 1.5 q
1999-00 2024-25
Latest 1.1 quintals an acre in 2024-25

Area sown across India, acres

0 5 lakh 10 lakh 15 lakh
1999-00 2024-25
Latest 1.2 lakh acres in 2024-25

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). 1999-00 to 2024-25.

Soil and yield

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

Niger Seed yields tend to be higher in districts with

  • More soil high in phosphorus moderate 85 districts
  • More soil that is acidic moderate 85 districts
  • More soil short of boron moderate 85 districts

Niger Seed yields tend to be lower in districts with

  • More soil low in nitrogen moderate 85 districts
  • More soil that is alkaline moderate 85 districts
  • More soil that is neutral moderate 85 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).