Urad (Black Gram)
Sow in November, harvest around February
Sowing time is now.
Grown on 4.9 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹17,000–₹26,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹3,000–₹12,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Needs care: Cool in December
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.
Needs about 220 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 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):
- Nov 32 °C / 16 °C
- Dec 29 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 26 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Urad (Black Gram): 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen, sulphur and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 5.5–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 3.6 quintals an acre here (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹6,065 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹7,084 a quintal, the middle of 17 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹11,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹8,200 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹5,880 2021
- ₹5,120 2022
- ₹6,550 2023
- ₹7,410 2024
- ₹5,410 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 3.0 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
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.
-
Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
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) 36%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 33%
- Calcium Ammonium Nitrate 31%
- Urea 29%