Urad (Black Gram)
Sow in November, harvest around February
Sowing time is now.
No figures for this season in your district. Priced from mandis across your state.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Doesn't suit: Too cold here in this season
- 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 160 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 20 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 22–35 °C on average, and survives 8–40 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 28 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 23 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 20 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in January can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Soil
Soil for Urad (Black Gram): 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Low nitrogen matters less: it makes its own.
- Many fields here are short of phosphorus, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 5.5–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 4.3 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 (February 2026): about ₹7,400 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹7,728 a quintal, the middle of 184 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹8,200 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹7,590 2021
- ₹7,450 2022
- ₹8,310 2023
- ₹9,020 2024
- ₹8,800 2025
Prices are usually best in January.
Typical costs are about ₹14,000 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 4.3 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.
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):
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 47%
- Urea 22%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 21%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 1%