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 India.
₹8,000–₹12,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹2,000–₹6,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Doesn't suit: Too cold here in this season
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough, even in a dry year.
Needs about 110 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 20 mm it can use in a normal year (10 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 180 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 21 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 17 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 15 °C / 5 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in December can bring frost while the plants are young. Sow a little later, or cover the seedlings on cold nights.
Soil
Soil for Urad (Black Gram): 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen, organic carbon, sulphur and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
Likes pH 5.5–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.6 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹6,389 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹7,728 a quintal, the middle of 184 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹2,000 a season at typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹8,200 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹5,930 2021
- ₹5,700 2022
- ₹7,310 2023
- ₹8,230 2024
- ₹6,290 2025
Prices are usually best in October.
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.