Rice
Sow in November, harvest around March
Sowing time is now.
Grown on 58 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 7 irrigations short
- Doesn't suit: Too cold in december
- 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 810 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 270 mm it can use in a normal year (220 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 23 °C / 13 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 20 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 18 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 21 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)
- Mar 24 °C / 14 °C (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 boron.
Likes pH 5.5–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 11 quintals of paddy an acre here (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 (March–April 2026): about ₹2,288 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹2,461 a quintal, the middle of 687 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov).
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
-
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 boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil 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):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 1%