Rice

A monsoon crop. Sow in Jun–Jul, harvest in Oct–Nov.

Check it on your land

Season

Kharif

JJASONDJFMAM

Sowing Growing Harvest

83% of its area. Also grown in rabi, summer.

Ready in

125 days

about 4 months

Water

1,010–1,060 mm

of water over its season (rain plus irrigation)

Grows best at

20–30 °C

0 °C survives 15–36 °C 40 °C

When to sow and harvest

Kharif 83% of its area

Rabi 10% of its area

Summer 6% of its area

Today: kharif harvest

Sow Harvest

Sow

JJun JJul AAug SSep OOct NNov DDec JJan FFeb MMar AApr MMay

Sow Growing Harvest

The year starts in June, with the monsoon. Your district can shift a few weeks.

Sowing Growing Harvest

Will it grow on your land?

Ballari Karnataka

Won't work: too dry without irrigation

Rice

JJASONDJFMAM

Sow in November, harvest around March

Sowing time is now.

Grown on 3,409 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.

Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on

Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
Suits: Ideal temperatures
Suits: Soil 8/10

Why, and how to make it work

Water

Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.

Needs about 1,060 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 100 mm it can use in a normal year, and 60 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):

Nov 30 °C / 20 °C
Dec 30 °C / 18 °C
Jan 30 °C / 18 °C
Feb 33 °C / 19 °C
Mar 36 °C / 22 °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.
Most fields here are short of iron.

Likes pH 5.5–7.0.

How the soil score works

Money

Yield: about 16 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 ₹2,368 a quintal across mandis in your state.

This week: about ₹3,460 a quintal, the middle of 3 mandis in your district (latest 12 Nov).

Minimum support price: ₹2,441 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.

Average mandi price each year (₹ a quintal):

₹1,720 2021
₹1,840 2022
₹2,230 2023
₹2,530 2024
₹2,310 2025

Prices are usually best in November.

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 iron Your soil is likely short of iron.

Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.

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):

Urea 99%
Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 84%
Muriate of Potash (MOP) 69%
Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 25%

Fertiliser for one acre here

Urea

41 kg

DAP

31 kg

MOP

34 kg

Source: ICAR-IISS: District-wise general fertilizer recommendations for major crops in India (2026).

See every crop that suits Ballari

What it needs

Temperature

20–30 °C

best 20–30° 15° 36°

0 °C40 °C

Survives 15–36 °C. Frost hurts it.

Water

1,010–1,060 mm over its season

Rain and irrigation together, worked out where most of it grows:

Paschim Medinipur Purba Bardhaman Bankura South 24 Parganas Mayurbhanj

Soil pH

best 5.5–7

4 acidic7 neutral9 alkaline

Likes neutral soil. Grows from pH 4.5 to 9.

Soil

Takes a little salt
Needs rich soil
N Needs plenty of nitrogen and zinc

How the soil score works

Source: FAO ECOCROP crop requirements (via OpenCLIM/ecocrop); IRRI (Yoshida 1981, Fundamentals of Rice Crop Science) and ICAR-NRRI; ICAR-CSSRI; FAO-56 crop coefficients (Allen et al. 1998); IMD gridded daily rainfall (0.25°); IMD gridded daily max/min temperature (1°); TerraClimate 1991–2020 temperature normals (about 4 km), where each district's villages are.

Fertiliser for one acre

For most fields

Urea nitrogen

71 kg about 1½ bags of 45 kg

DAP phosphate

44 kg about 1 bag of 50 kg

MOP potash

27 kg about half a 50 kg bag

Give the DAP and MOP at sowing, and the urea in two or three doses. If your soil card says a nutrient is low, add about a quarter more of it.

ICAR has worked out the dose for 733 districts. Check it on your land above to see yours.

Watch out for

Draft: check with your Krishi Vigyan Kendra

Blast

Disease

Look for

Spindle-shaped spots with grey centres and brown edges on leaves; the neck below the ear turns black and ears stay empty.

What to do first

Grow a resistant variety and don't overdo urea. If spots spread, spray tricyclazole. Follow the label or your KVK for the dose.
Bacterial leaf blight

Disease

Look for

Leaves dry from the tip and edges in long yellow-white streaks; drops of milky ooze on leaves in the morning.

What to do first

Grow a resistant variety, split the urea and drain the field for a few days. Sprays don't help much.
Sheath blight

Disease

Look for

Oval grey-green patches with brown edges on the stem sheath near the water line, climbing up the plant.

What to do first

Don't plant too close and split the urea. If it climbs past the middle of the plant, spray hexaconazole or validamycin. Follow the label or your KVK for the dose.
Stem borer

Pest

Look for

The central shoot dries out in young plants (dead heart); white, empty ears at heading.

What to do first

Pull out dead hearts and use pheromone traps. Spray only if many plants are hit; ask your KVK.
Brown planthopper

Pest

Look for

Round patches of plants turn yellow, then brown and dry (hopper burn); brown insects crowd at the base of the plants.

What to do first

Avoid too much urea, drain the field and leave a 30 cm path every 2 m. Spray at the plant base only when hoppers are many. Follow the label or your KVK for the dose.

What an acre earns

At India's average yield and a recent price, named below. Your land, water and mandi will differ.

Left an acre, a season

₹11,600

Yield India's average: 17.7 quintals of paddy an acre
× Price harvest price last season (Mar–Apr 2026): ₹2,288 a quintal
= Income: ₹40,400
− Costs seed, fertiliser, labour and machines, as the government costs them: −₹28,800
= Left: ₹11,600

This week rice sells at about ₹2,461 a quintal: India's middle price at 687 mandis, latest 13 Nov. At that price an acre would leave about ₹14,700 a season.

Sold at the support price (MSP, ₹2,441 a quintal) to government procurement, an acre would leave about ₹14,300 a season. Procurement isn't open everywhere: ask at your mandi or agriculture office.

A good year or field earns about a fifth more, a poor one a fifth less: ₹32,300 to ₹48,500 income an acre. Costs stay the same either way.

Work it out for your land

Mandi price, month by month

Best month

October, ₹2,461 a quintal

Lowest

March, ₹2,275 a quintal

₹2,275

₹2,461

JJan FFeb MMar AApr MMay JJun JJul AAug SSep OOct NNov DDec

Rupees a quintal, typical across India's mandis: each month's latest price (Dec 2025–Nov 2026).

Government minimum support price (MSP): ₹2,441 a quintal for 2026-27. Every crop's MSP

Latest prices near Ballari Today's price across India

Source: Agmarknet daily prices and arrivals (India Data Portal).

Where it grows in India

Area grown in India: 12.5 crore acres; 2024-25
Average yield: 17.7 quintals of paddy an acre (2.9 tonnes of rice a hectare); recent years, to 2024-25
Most area: Paschim Medinipur; West Bengal
Best yield: Malerkotla; 32 quintals of paddy an acre

Where it grows most

The districts with the most area in recent years. The map colours every district growing it on at least 100 ha by yield; the numbers mark these districts.

Rice yield, quintals an acre (average of 2020-21 to 2024-25 in most districts)

1.7–7.7
7.8–9.5
9.6–11
12–13
14–22

No data

1 Numbers match the list: the districts with the most area.

Source: Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare). 2020-21 to 2024-25.

Where yields are highest

Districts growing it on at least 100 ha, against the average across India. The line runs from India's average to each district.

Across India over the years

Yield across India, quintals of paddy an acre

0 5 q 10 q 15 q 20 q

2002-03 2024-25

Latest 18 quintals an acre in 2024-25

Area sown across India, acres

10 crore 11 crore 12 crore 13 crore

2002-03 2024-25

Latest 12.5 crore acres in 2024-25

Years run July to June. Only years in which most of the usual districts reported are shown.

Soil and yield

How district soil tests line up with this crop's yields across India.

Rice yields tend to be higher in districts with

More soil that is alkaline weak 677 districts

Rice yields tend to be lower in districts with

More soil that is acidic weak 677 districts

A pattern is not proof that soil causes the difference.

Source: Soil Health Card – soil nutrient analysis (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare).