Sesame (Til)
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 175 acres here. Sold at 1 mandi in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- 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 290 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 20 mm it can use in a normal year (10 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 130 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 / 21 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 17 °C
- Dec 29 °C / 14 °C
- Jan 30 °C / 15 °C
Soil
Soil for Sesame (Til): 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits 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 2.9 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
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 ₹5,555 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹13,700 a quintal, the middle of 3 mandis in your state (latest 12 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹10,346 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
Prices are usually best in May.
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 2.9 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.
About 100% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
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.
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):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 100%
- Urea 100%