Rice
Sow in July, harvest around November
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 6.8 lakh acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹22,000–₹33,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹7,000 to a profit of ₹4,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 4 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 4 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 800 mm it can use in a normal year, and 670 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):
- Jul 31 °C / 25 °C
- Aug 31 °C / 25 °C
- Sep 31 °C / 25 °C
- Oct 31 °C / 23 °C
- Nov 29 °C / 18 °C
Soil
Soil for Rice: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of zinc, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 5.5–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 15 quintals of paddy an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 81% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 81% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (November–December 2025): about ₹2,300 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 ₹642 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,441 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,870 2021
- ₹1,940 2022
- ₹2,040 2023
- ₹2,180 2024
- ₹2,300 2025
Prices are usually best in January.
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 16 quintals of paddy an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
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.
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 86%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 75%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 57%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 12%