Wheat
Sow in November, harvest around March
Sowing time is now.
Grown on 1.7 lakh acres here. Sold at 13 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 7 irrigations short
- Needs care: Very hot in November
- 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 450 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 15–25 °C on average, and survives 5–27 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 32 °C / 16 °C
- Dec 29 °C / 12 °C
- Jan 27 °C / 11 °C
- Feb 31 °C / 14 °C
- Mar 35 °C / 19 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Days in November get hotter than it likes. Time sowing so it flowers before then.
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 iron.
Likes pH 6.0–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 13 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 ₹2,363 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹2,850 a quintal, the middle of 11 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹2,610 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,760 2021
- ₹2,380 2022
- ₹2,430 2023
- ₹2,660 2024
- ₹2,600 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
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 95% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
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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.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 95%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 93%
- Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) 1%