Wheat
Sow in November, harvest around April
Sowing time is now.
Grown on 4.7 lakh acres here. Sold at 7 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Needs care: Very hot in April
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 360 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 30 mm it can use in a normal year (10 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 60 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 27 °C / 10 °C
- Dec 21 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 18 °C / 5 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 21 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
- Mar 27 °C / 13 °C
- Apr 34 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Days in April get hotter than it likes. Time sowing so it flowers before then.
Soil
Soil for Wheat: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of zinc, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of phosphorus.
- Most fields here are short of potassium.
Likes pH 6.0–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 20 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 (April–May 2026): about ₹2,585 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹2,724 a quintal, the middle of 497 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹2,610 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
Prices are usually best in April.
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 19 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
Short of phosphorus Your soil is likely short of phosphorus.
Add about a quarter more DAP or single super phosphate than the usual dose, at sowing.
About 91% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
Short of potassium Your soil is likely short of potassium.
Add about a quarter more potash (MOP) than the usual dose.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
-
Short of manganese Your soil is likely short of manganese.
Spray manganese sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, on the young crop.
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 97%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 91%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 6%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 4%