Rice
Sow in July, harvest around November
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 1.2 lakh acres here. Sold at 3 mandis in your district.
₹12,000–₹17,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹11,000–₹17,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 14 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 6/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 14 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 1,110 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 450 mm it can use in a normal year, and 320 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 36 °C / 27 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 35 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
- Sep 35 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
- Oct 33 °C / 25 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 24 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Rice: 6 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 16 quintals of paddy an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 41% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 41% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025): about ₹2,250 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹2,400 a quintal, the middle of 28 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹13,000 a season at typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,441 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
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
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 22 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 91% 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 40% of local fields of this crop get it.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 91%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 80%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 40%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 31%