Urad (Black Gram)
Sow in November, harvest around February
Sowing time is now.
No figures for this season in your district. Sold at 8 mandis in your district.
₹6,000–₹9,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹5,000–₹8,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 2 irrigations short
- Needs care: Cool in December
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 2 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 210 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 150 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 31 °C / 14 °C
- Dec 27 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 25 °C / 10 °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.
Likes pH 5.5–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.5 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 73% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 73% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹7,000 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹6,802 a quintal, the middle of 5 mandis in your district (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹7,000 a season at typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹8,200 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹5,720 2021
- ₹4,920 2022
- ₹6,180 2023
- ₹7,070 2024
- ₹5,340 2025
Prices are usually best in July.
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 3.5 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 41%
- Urea 27%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 27%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 12%