Lentil (Masoor)
Sow in November, harvest around March
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 9,529 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹23,000–₹35,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹8,000–₹19,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 7 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- 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 320 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 10 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 15–29 °C on average, and survives 5–32 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 30 °C / 11 °C
- Dec 25 °C / 7 °C
- Jan 21 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 26 °C / 9 °C
- Mar 32 °C / 15 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Lentil (Masoor): 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.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 4.2 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹7,000 a quintal across mandis in your state.
Minimum support price: ₹7,390 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹5,800 2021
- ₹6,150 2022
- ₹5,680 2023
- ₹5,760 2024
- ₹6,170 2025
Prices are usually best in May.
Typical costs are about ₹16,000 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 4.3 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.