Sesame (Til)
Sow in November, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop. Priced from mandis across India.
₹11,000–₹17,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹4,000 to a profit of ₹2,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Doesn't suit: Too cold in december
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough, even in a dry year.
Needs about 90 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 150 mm it can use in a normal year (80 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 20 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Heavy rain here can waterlog it. Grow it on raised beds or land that drains well.
Temperature
Grows best at 20–30 °C on average, and survives 10–40 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 17 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 10 °C / -1 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 7 °C / -3 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 10 °C / -1 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in November can bring frost while the plants are young. Sow a little later, or cover the seedlings on cold nights.
Soil
Soil for Sesame (Til): 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.7 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (its government crop records list none for your district).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹8,323 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹14,050 a quintal, the middle of 81 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹9,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹10,346 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹7,840 2021
- ₹9,550 2022
- ₹13,310 2023
- ₹11,590 2024
- ₹8,860 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
Typical costs are about ₹15,000 an acre (seed, fertiliser, labour and hired machines, from the government's cost survey). They are spent whatever the harvest.