Sesame (Til)
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No figures for this season in your district. Priced from mandis across India.
₹21,000–₹31,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹6,000–₹17,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Needs care: Frost risk in January
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.
Needs about 180 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 190 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 29 °C / 17 °C
- Nov 25 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 21 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 18 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Nights in January can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Soil
Soil for Sesame (Til): 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 3.0 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹8,733 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹14,050 a quintal, the middle of 81 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹28,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹10,346 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹7,840 2021
- ₹9,550 2022
- ₹13,310 2023
- ₹11,590 2024
- ₹8,860 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 1.9 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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.