Wheat
Sow in November, harvest around March
Sowing time is now.
Grown on 1.1 lakh acres here. Sold at 6 mandis in your district.
₹26,000–₹39,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹7,000–₹20,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 8 irrigations short
- Needs care: Very hot in November
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 8 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 470 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 100 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 33 °C / 17 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 30 °C / 13 °C
- Jan 28 °C / 11 °C
- Feb 32 °C / 14 °C
- Mar 36 °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: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of boron.
Likes pH 6.0–8.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 15 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹2,228 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). At that price an acre would leave about ₹23,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹2,610 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹1,750 2021
- ₹2,310 2022
- ₹2,490 2023
- ₹2,670 2024
- ₹2,620 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 17 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
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 75% 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):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 75%
- Urea 75%