Rice
Sow in November, harvest around March
Sowing time is now.
Grown on 4.8 lakh acres here. Sold at 24 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 19 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 19 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 1,100 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 120 mm it can use in a normal year (50 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 60 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 31 °C / 20 °C
- Dec 31 °C / 17 °C
- Jan 32 °C / 17 °C
- Feb 35 °C / 20 °C
- Mar 38 °C / 23 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Rice: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- 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.
- 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).
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 ₹2,389 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹2,718 a quintal, the middle of 36 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹2,441 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,890 2021
- ₹1,960 2022
- ₹2,060 2023
- ₹2,200 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 21 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 95% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
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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.
About 33% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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):
- Urea 95%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 91%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 33%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 26%