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.
₹27,000–₹41,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹13,000–₹26,000 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 100 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 190 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 17 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 14 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 11 °C / 2 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in November 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).
- The pH here suits it.
- Low nitrogen matters less: it makes its own.
- 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 3.6 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (March 2026): about ₹9,279 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹7,728 a quintal, the middle of 184 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹14,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹8,200 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹8,450 2022
- ₹9,150 2023
Prices are usually best in May.
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 3.9 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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.