Rice
Sow in November, harvest around March
Sowing time is now.
Grown on 32,831 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹37,000–₹55,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹8,000–₹26,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 11 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 11 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 950 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 210 mm it can use in a normal year (130 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 20–30 °C on average, and survives 15–36 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 29 °C / 19 °C
- Dec 26 °C / 14 °C
- Jan 25 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 29 °C / 15 °C
- Mar 32 °C / 19 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Rice: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it, though not most crops.
- 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 organic carbon.
Likes pH 5.5–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 21 quintals of paddy an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹2,131 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹2,461 a quintal, the middle of 687 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹24,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,441 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,780 2021
- ₹1,940 2022
- ₹2,020 2023
- ₹2,140 2024
- ₹2,250 2025
Prices are usually best in September.
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 19 quintals of paddy 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 79% 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.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 79%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 72%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 72%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 24%