Niger Seed
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No figures for this season in your district. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹4,000–₹6,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹2,000–₹4,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 2 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 2 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 290 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 10 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 190 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 32 °C / 21 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 15 °C
- Dec 28 °C / 12 °C
- Jan 28 °C / 12 °C
Soil
Soil for Niger Seed: 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 5.5–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 0.9 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 72% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 72% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹7,863 a quintal across mandis in your state.
Minimum support price: ₹10,052 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹6,030 2022
- ₹6,000 2023
- ₹7,100 2024
- ₹6,230 2025
Prices are usually best in September.
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 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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.