Rapeseed & Mustard
Sow in October, harvest around February
This season's sowing time (October) is over.
Grown on 2.6 lakh acres here. Sold at 9 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 290 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 10 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 35 °C / 19 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 13 °C
- Dec 24 °C / 8 °C
- Jan 21 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 25 °C / 10 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Rapeseed & Mustard: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
Likes pH 6.0–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 9.6 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
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 (February–March 2026): about ₹6,350 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹9,002 a quintal, the middle of 3 mandis in your district (latest 12 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹6,613 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹5,210 2023
- ₹5,630 2024
- ₹6,440 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 8.7 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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 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.
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.