Sesame (Til)
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 13 acres here. Sold at 2 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 290 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 10 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):
- Oct 31 °C / 19 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 15 °C
- Dec 29 °C / 12 °C
- Jan 29 °C / 12 °C
Soil
Soil for Sesame (Til): 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.0 quintals an acre here (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 (January 2026): about ₹13,600 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹11,863 a quintal, the middle of 12 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹10,346 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
Prices are usually best in October.
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 1.9 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 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.
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.
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Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.