Niger Seed

Water

Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.

Needs about 300 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year, and 0 mm in a dry year.

Temperature

Grows best at 18–26 °C on average, and survives 11–34 °C.

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

• Oct 38 °C / 21 °C (outside its best range)
• Nov 34 °C / 14 °C
• Dec 29 °C / 10 °C
• Jan 27 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Soil

Soil for Niger Seed: 7 out of 10 (okay).

Not in the score: nitrogen, sulphur and boron.

• Soil here is often more alkaline than it likes.
• Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
• Most fields here are short of zinc.
• Most fields here are short of iron.

Likes pH 5.5–6.5.

Money

Yield: about 1.3 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.

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.