Wheat
Sow in November, harvest around March
Sowing time is now.
Grown on 1.1 lakh acres here. Sold at 5 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 7 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 7 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 360 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 10 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 20 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 15–25 °C on average, and survives 5–27 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 29 °C / 12 °C
- Dec 23 °C / 8 °C
- Jan 20 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 24 °C / 10 °C
- Mar 30 °C / 15 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Wheat: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of zinc, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 6.0–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 16 quintals an acre here in this season (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 (March–April 2026): about ₹2,521 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹2,600 a quintal, the middle of 106 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹2,610 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,940 2021
- ₹2,140 2022
- ₹2,300 2023
- ₹2,510 2024
- ₹2,570 2025
Prices are usually best in October.
Typical costs are about ₹19,000 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 18 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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Short of nitrogen Your soil is likely short of nitrogen.
Add about a quarter more urea than the usual dose, in two or three splits. A pulse crop in rotation also adds nitrogen.
About 90% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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.
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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.
About 13% of local fields of this crop get it.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 90%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 66%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 13%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 2%