Sesame (Til)
Sow in November, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No figures for this season in your district. Sold at 4 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Needs care: Cool in December
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 3 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 220 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 100 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 20–30 °C on average, and survives 10–40 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 30 °C / 13 °C
- Dec 25 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 23 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 28 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Sesame (Til): 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 2.1 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (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 (February–March 2026): about ₹7,838 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹14,558 a quintal, the middle of 30 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹10,346 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹8,150 2021
- ₹9,140 2022
- ₹11,810 2023
- ₹10,470 2024
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.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 1.7 quintals 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.
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 7%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 7%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 6%