Rapeseed & Mustard
Sow in October, harvest around February
This season's sowing time (October) is over.
Grown on 23,228 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹20,000–₹30,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹12 to a profit of ₹10,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 2 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
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 280 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 200 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 15–28 °C on average, and survives 7–40 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 32 °C / 21 °C
- Nov 29 °C / 13 °C
- Dec 24 °C / 9 °C
- Jan 21 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 26 °C / 11 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Rapeseed & Mustard: 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 6.0–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 5.8 quintals an acre here in this season (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 (February–March 2026): about ₹5,985 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹7,500 a quintal, the middle of 15 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹11,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹6,613 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹6,250 2021
- ₹6,390 2022
- ₹5,480 2023
- ₹5,490 2024
- ₹6,240 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
Typical costs are about ₹20,000 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
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 5.8 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
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 74% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
Short of organic carbon Your soil is likely short of organic carbon.
Add 4 tonnes of compost or farmyard manure per acre before sowing, and plough crop leftovers back in instead of burning them.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
-
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 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.
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 74%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 61%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 1%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 1%