Niger Seed

Water

Rain falls about 1 irrigation (5 cm) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 240 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 20 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 18–26 °C on average, and survives 11–34 °C.

Here, in its growing months (day / night):

• Oct 29 °C / 20 °C
• Nov 27 °C / 14 °C
• Dec 24 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 24 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Soil

Soil for Niger Seed: 9 out of 10 (good).

• The pH here suits it, though not most crops.
• Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
• Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.

Likes pH 5.5–6.5.

Money

Yield: about 2.5 quintals an acre here (older figures, 2018-19).

On rain alone it gets about 83% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 83% of this yield.

Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹8,763 a quintal across India's mandis.

Minimum support price: ₹10,052 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.

Prices are usually best in August.

Typical costs are about ₹8,000 an acre (seed, fertiliser, labour and hired machines, from the government's cost survey). They are spent whatever the harvest.