Niger Seed
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 445 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹6,000–₹8,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹51–₹3,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 1 irrigation short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 1 irrigation (5 cm) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 270 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 40 mm it can use in a normal year (20 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 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 30 °C / 21 °C
- Nov 28 °C / 16 °C
- Dec 26 °C / 12 °C
- Jan 26 °C / 12 °C
Soil
Soil for Niger Seed: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
Likes pH 5.5–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 0.9 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 90% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 90% 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.
- ₹5,600 2021
- ₹6,380 2022
- ₹8,000 2023
- ₹8,000 2024
- ₹8,130 2025
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.
How to make it work
-
Short of nitrogen Your soil is likely short of nitrogen.
Add about a quarter more urea than the usual dose, in two or three splits. A pulse crop in rotation also adds nitrogen.
About 100% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
Short of sulphur Your soil is likely short of sulphur.
Use single super phosphate instead of DAP, or add about 100 kg of gypsum per acre before sowing.
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):
- Urea 100%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 73%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 43%
- Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) 27%