Wheat
Sow in November, harvest around March
Sowing time is now.
Grown on 3.6 lakh acres here. Sold at 6 mandis in your district.
₹20,000–₹30,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹1,000–₹11,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 3 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 340 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 190 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 28 °C / 13 °C
- Dec 22 °C / 9 °C
- Jan 20 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 25 °C / 11 °C
- Mar 31 °C / 16 °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 17 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 59% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 59% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹2,497 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). At that price an acre would leave about ₹7,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,610 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,850 2021
- ₹2,060 2022
- ₹2,340 2023
- ₹2,490 2024
- ₹2,560 2025
Prices are usually best in May.
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 15 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 94% 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 zinc Your soil is likely short of zinc.
Mix 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre into the soil before sowing. One dose lasts two or three seasons.
About 10% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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.
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Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil 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):
- Urea 94%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 50%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 10%
- Calcium Ammonium Nitrate 10%