Rapeseed & Mustard
Sow in October, harvest around May
This season's sowing time (October) is over.
Grown on 2,417 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹11,000–₹16,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹4,000–₹9,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Needs care: Cool in November
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 3 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 430 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 170 mm it can use in a normal year (80 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 160 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 21 °C / 11 °C
- Nov 17 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 14 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 11 °C / 2 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 14 °C / 4 °C (outside its best range)
- Mar 18 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
- Apr 23 °C / 12 °C
- May 26 °C / 15 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Rapeseed & Mustard: 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 6.0–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 2.7 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 75% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 75% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (May–June 2026): about ₹6,800 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹8,226 a quintal, the middle of 176 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹4,000 a season at typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹6,613 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹6,280 2021
- ₹6,220 2022
- ₹5,210 2023
- ₹5,400 2024
- ₹6,200 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 2.9 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.
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.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 1%