Urad (Black Gram)
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of December.
Grown on 62 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 3 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 240 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 100 mm it can use in a normal year (60 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 0 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):
- Oct 29 °C / 20 °C
- Nov 28 °C / 19 °C
- Dec 28 °C / 17 °C
Soil
Soil for Urad (Black Gram): 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
- Most fields here are short of boron.
Likes pH 5.5–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 0.9 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.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹6,277 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹8,951 a quintal, the middle of 12 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹8,200 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹6,160 2021
- ₹5,980 2022
- ₹6,960 2023
- ₹7,720 2024
- ₹7,640 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.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 2.2 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.