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
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 280 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 34 °C / 16 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 12 °C
- Jan 29 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 33 °C / 14 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Sesame (Til): 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Salt in the soil here can harm it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.9 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 ₹6,753 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹14,750 a quintal, the middle of 7 mandis in your state (latest 7 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹10,346 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹7,950 2021
- ₹9,200 2022
- ₹12,360 2023
- ₹10,570 2024
- ₹7,550 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.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 2.0 quintals 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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.