Wheat
Sow in November, harvest around March
Sowing time is now.
Grown on 2,662 acres here. Sold at 2 mandis in your district.
₹10,000–₹15,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹4,000–₹9,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 10 irrigations short
- Needs care: Very hot in February
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 10 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 500 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 0 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 30 °C / 19 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 17 °C
- Jan 30 °C / 17 °C
- Feb 33 °C / 19 °C (outside its best range)
- Mar 36 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Days in February get hotter than it likes. Time sowing so it flowers before then.
Soil
Soil for Wheat: 8 out of 10 (good).
- 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 sulphur.
Likes pH 6.0–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 5.3 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹2,323 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹3,653 a quintal, the middle of 14 mandis in your state (latest 12 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹642 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,610 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
Prices are usually best in March.
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 16 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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 18% 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.
About 18% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
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) 79%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 18%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 6%