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
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 1,450 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 350 mm it can use in a normal year, and 250 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 39 °C / 27 °C
- Jul 35 °C / 26 °C
- Aug 34 °C / 26 °C
- Sep 34 °C / 24 °C
- Oct 32 °C / 18 °C
- Nov 27 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 21 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 18 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 22 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)
- Mar 27 °C / 13 °C (outside its best range)
- Apr 34 °C / 19 °C
- May 39 °C / 24 °C
- Jun 39 °C / 27 °C
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 Sugarcane: 7 out of 10 (okay).
Not in the score: nitrogen.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of boron.
Likes pH 5.0–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 371 quintals an acre here in this season (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 Punjab fixed for its mills for 2025-26: ₹416 a quintal.
- ₹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 345 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
Short of potassium Your soil is likely short of potassium.
Add about a quarter more potash (MOP) than the usual dose.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
-
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.
-
Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.