Urad (Black Gram)
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of December.
Grown on 12 acres here. Sold at 4 mandis in your district.
₹23,000–₹34,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹9,000–₹20,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough, even in a dry year.
Needs about 240 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 140 mm it can use in a normal year (80 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 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 31 °C / 24 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 24 °C
- Dec 32 °C / 23 °C
Soil
Soil for Urad (Black Gram): 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 5.5–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 2.6 quintals an acre here (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹10,850 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹12,800 a quintal, the middle of 3 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹19,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹8,200 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹10,300 2021
- ₹10,300 2022
- ₹11,430 2023
- ₹12,600 2024
- ₹10,600 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
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 3.7 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
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.
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):
- NPK Mixture 14%