Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- 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 1,810 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 430 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 35 °C / 24 °C
- Jul 31 °C / 22 °C
- Aug 30 °C / 21 °C
- Sep 30 °C / 21 °C
- Oct 31 °C / 20 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 17 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 29 °C / 14 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 30 °C / 15 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 34 °C / 17 °C
- Mar 37 °C / 21 °C
- Apr 40 °C / 24 °C
- May 41 °C / 26 °C
- Jun 35 °C / 24 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Sugarcane: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: phosphorus.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of sulphur.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 5.0–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 261 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 government's fair and remunerative price for cane, ₹365 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 309 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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Short of sulphur Your soil is likely short of sulphur.
Use single super phosphate instead of DAP, or add about 100 kg of gypsum per acre before sowing.
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 94%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 91%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 52%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 13%