Rice
Sow in July, harvest around November
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 1.3 lakh acres here. Sold at 9 mandis in your district.
₹25,000–₹37,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹4,000 to a profit of ₹8,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 8 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 8 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 1,040 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 690 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):
- Jul 32 °C / 24 °C
- Aug 31 °C / 24 °C
- Sep 32 °C / 24 °C
- Oct 32 °C / 23 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 19 °C
Soil
Soil for Rice: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: zinc, iron, copper and 2 more.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, 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 20 quintals of paddy an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 66% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 66% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025): about ₹2,369 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). At that price an acre would leave about ₹6,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,441 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,960 2022
- ₹2,060 2023
- ₹2,310 2024
- ₹2,350 2025
Prices are usually best in July.
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.
-
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 93% 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 93%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 84%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 78%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 41%