Ragi (Finger Millet)
Sow in November, harvest around March
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 India.
₹6,000–₹9,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹12,000–₹15,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Doesn't suit: Too cold in december
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.
Needs about 110 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 150 mm it can use in a normal year, and 100 mm in a dry year.
Heavy rain here can waterlog it. Grow it on raised beds or land that drains well.
Temperature
Grows best at 18–30 °C on average, and survives 8–35 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 16 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 10 °C / -1 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 7 °C / -3 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 9 °C / -1 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in November can bring frost while the plants are young. Sow a little later, or cover the seedlings on cold nights.
Soil
Soil for Ragi (Finger Millet): 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of zinc, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 2.0 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹3,550 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹3,500 a quintal, the middle of 42 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹14,000 a season at typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹5,205 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹2,260 2021
- ₹2,280 2022
- ₹2,800 2023
- ₹3,300 2024
- ₹3,530 2025
Prices are usually best in January.
Typical costs are about ₹21,000 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
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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.
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Short of zinc Your soil is likely short of zinc.
Mix 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre into the soil before sowing. One dose lasts two or three seasons.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.