Rice
Sow in June, harvest around October
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 43,510 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹15,000–₹23,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹6,000–₹13,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 7 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 7 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 990 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 640 mm it can use in a normal year, and 560 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 20–30 °C on average, and survives 15–36 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jun 30 °C / 20 °C
- Jul 27 °C / 20 °C
- Aug 26 °C / 19 °C
- Sep 26 °C / 18 °C
- Oct 24 °C / 14 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Rice: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: sulphur and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 5.5–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 12 quintals of paddy an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 65% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 65% of this yield.
Mandi price at this season's harvest so far (October–November 2026): about ₹2,461 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹2,461 a quintal, the middle of 687 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹10,000 a season at typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,441 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,750 2021
- ₹1,820 2022
- ₹2,040 2023
- ₹2,200 2024
- ₹2,300 2025
Prices are usually best in October.
Typical costs are about ₹29,000 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 11 quintals of paddy 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.
About 74% of local fields of this crop get it.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 74%
- NPK Mixture 2%