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. 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
- Needs care: Frost risk in December
- 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 240 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year, and 0 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):
- Oct 36 °C / 19 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 11 °C
- Dec 25 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 22 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Nights in December can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Soil
Soil for Sesame (Til): 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen, sulphur and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of phosphorus.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 0.9 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 (January–February 2026): about ₹9,413 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹14,500 a quintal, the middle of 13 mandis in your state (latest 12 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹10,346 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹7,930 2021
- ₹9,360 2022
- ₹13,450 2023
- ₹11,250 2024
- ₹9,800 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 1.4 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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Short of phosphorus Your soil is likely short of phosphorus.
Add about a quarter more DAP or single super phosphate than the usual dose, at sowing.
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.