Sesame (Til)
Sow in July, harvest around October
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 15,242 acres here. Sold at 2 mandis in your district.
₹27,000–₹40,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹12,000–₹26,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 2 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 2 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 310 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 250 mm it can use in a normal year, and 140 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 20–30 °C on average, and survives 10–40 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jul 28 °C / 20 °C
- Aug 28 °C / 20 °C
- Sep 29 °C / 20 °C
- Oct 29 °C / 20 °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.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 3.1 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 80% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 80% of this yield.
Mandi price at this season's harvest so far (October–November 2026): about ₹13,750 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹14,050 a quintal, the middle of 5 mandis in your state (latest 12 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹20,000 a season after typical costs.
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 2.7 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.
-
Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
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%
- NPK Mixture 4%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 2%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 1%