Cotton
Sow in June, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 4.5 lakh acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹49,000–₹73,000
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹21,000–₹46,000 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 660 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 340 mm it can use in a normal year, and 230 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 22–36 °C on average, and survives 15–42 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jun 34 °C / 24 °C
- Jul 31 °C / 23 °C
- Aug 31 °C / 23 °C
- Sep 31 °C / 22 °C
- Oct 31 °C / 22 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 19 °C
Soil
Soil for Cotton: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 8.2 quintals of kapas (raw cotton) an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹7,466 a quintal across mandis in your state.
Minimum support price: ₹8,267 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
That is the price for medium staple kapas (raw cotton). Long staple kapas has ₹8,667 a quintal.
- ₹6,170 2021
- ₹9,480 2022
- ₹7,080 2023
- ₹7,250 2024
- ₹7,170 2025
Prices are usually best in September.
Typical costs are about ₹28,000 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 6.5 quintals of kapas (raw cotton) 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 99% 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 99%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 97%
- Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) 0%