Niger Seed
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹4,000–₹6,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹3,000–₹5,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 2 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
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 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 18–26 °C on average, and survives 11–34 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 31 °C / 21 °C
- Nov 29 °C / 16 °C
- Dec 28 °C / 12 °C
- Jan 28 °C / 13 °C
Soil
Soil for Niger Seed: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, 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 0.8 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (its government crop records list none for your district).
On rain alone it gets about 73% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 73% 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 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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.