Moth Bean
Sow in June, harvest around August
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 5,807 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹10,000–₹15,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹6,000–₹11,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 7 irrigations short
- Needs care: Warm in June
- Suits: Soil 8/10
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 370 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 50 mm it can use in a normal year, and 30 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 24–32 °C on average, and survives 13–45 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jun 42 °C / 28 °C (outside its best range)
- Jul 39 °C / 28 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 37 °C / 27 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Moth Bean: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 6.5–8.2.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.5 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (August–September 2026): about ₹8,600 a quintal across India's mandis.
- ₹6,910 2021
- ₹6,570 2022
- ₹6,320 2023
- ₹5,950 2024
- ₹6,330 2025
Prices are usually best in October.
Typical costs are about ₹4,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2023–2025), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
-
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.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 9%
- Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) 7%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 2%