Cowpea (Lobia)
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 3,651 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹13,000–₹20,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹3,000–₹10,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 6 irrigations short
- Needs care: Cool in November
- Suits: Soil 10/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 6 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 290 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 30 mm it can use in a normal year (20 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 0 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
The government's farm census has no figure for Cowpea (Lobia) alone. About 80% of other pulses (tur, peas, lobia and more) in your district is grown on rain alone.
Temperature
Grows best at 25–35 °C on average, and survives 15–40 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 30 °C / 20 °C
- Nov 30 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 30 °C / 16 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 31 °C / 17 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Cowpea (Lobia): 10 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: salt.
- The pH here suits it.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 2.5 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹6,612 a quintal across mandis in your state.
- ₹5,800 2021
- ₹6,130 2022
- ₹7,540 2023
- ₹7,530 2024
- ₹6,390 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
Typical costs are about ₹10,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.