Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 22 irrigations short
- Needs care: Cool in November
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 22 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 1,500 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 410 mm it can use in a normal year, and 370 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 24–37 °C on average, and survives 15–41 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jun 38 °C / 26 °C
- Jul 34 °C / 26 °C
- Aug 33 °C / 26 °C
- Sep 33 °C / 24 °C
- Oct 32 °C / 20 °C
- Nov 28 °C / 13 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 22 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 20 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 25 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
- Mar 31 °C / 16 °C (outside its best range)
- Apr 37 °C / 21 °C
- May 39 °C / 25 °C
- Jun 38 °C / 26 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Sugarcane: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
Likes pH 5.0–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 324 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.
Priced at the cane price Uttar Pradesh fixed for its mills for 2025-26: ₹390 a quintal, ₹400 for early varieties.
- ₹300 2021
- ₹300 2022
- ₹300 2023
- ₹330 2024
- ₹350 2025
Prices are usually best in May.
Typical costs are about ₹61,000 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 278 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 90% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
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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.
About 13% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
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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 90%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 59%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 13%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 8%