Jowar (Sorghum)

A winter crop. Sow in Oct–Nov, harvest in Feb–Mar.

Check it on your land
Season
Rabi
JJASONDJFMAM
61% of its area. Also grown in kharif.
Ready in
110 days
about 3½ months
Water
370 mm
over its season
Temperature
22–35 °C
0° survives 8–40 °C 40°

When to sow and harvest

Rabi 61% of its area
Kharif 38% of its area
Today: rabi sowing time
J J A S O N D J F M A M
Sow Growing Harvest
The year starts in June, with the monsoon. Your district can shift a few weeks.

Will it grow on your land?

Water
Season

Pick your place and water to see:

  • Whether Jowar (Sorghum) suits your land Good fit, possible or won't work, with the reasons.
  • What it could earn an acre From yields near you and mandi prices.
  • Water and fertiliser it needs Irrigations for your water, and bags for one acre.

What it needs

Temperature

22–35 °C
0 °C40 °C

Survives 8–40 °C.

Water

370 mm over its season

Rain and irrigation together, worked out where most of it grows:

Solapur Ahilyanagar Dharashiv Beed Belagavi

Soil pH

4 acidic7 neutral9 alkaline

Likes neutral soil. Grows from pH 5 to 8.

Soil

  • Takes a little salt
  • Needs rich soil
  • N Needs plenty of nitrogen and zinc
How the soil score works

Source: FAO ECOCROP crop requirements (via OpenCLIM/ecocrop); FAO-56 crop coefficients (Allen et al. 1998); IMD gridded daily rainfall (0.25°); IMD gridded daily max/min temperature (1°).

Fertiliser for one acre

Draft: check with your KVK
Urea nitrogen
57 kg 1½ bags of 45 kg
DAP phosphate
35 kg half a bag of 50 kg
MOP potash
27 kg half a bag of 50 kg

Rain-fed: N 16, P₂O₅ 8, K₂O 0 kg an acre

Give the DAP and MOP at sowing, and the urea in two or three doses. If your soil card says a nutrient is low, add about a quarter more of it.

Watch out for

Draft: check with your KVK
  • Shoot fly
    Pest

    Look for

    The central shoot dries out in young plants.

    What to do first

    Sow early with the first rains and use a little more seed.

  • Stem borer
    Pest

    Look for

    Holes in the leaves and a dried central shoot.

    What to do first

    Destroy stubble after harvest; spray only when damage spreads. Follow the label or your KVK for the dose.

  • Grain mould
    Disease

    Look for

    Grains turn black, pink or white and soft when rain falls at harvest.

    What to do first

    Choose a variety that ripens after the rains; harvest on time and dry the grain well.

  • Charcoal rot
    Disease

    Look for

    Stalks fall over; inside, the stem is shredded with black specks.

    What to do first

    Avoid water stress at grain filling and don't sow too thick.

Mandi price, month by month

Best month
December, ₹2,946
Lowest
October, ₹2,373
₹2,373
₹2,946
J F M A M J J A S O N D

Rupees a quintal, typical across India's mandis.

Government minimum support price (MSP): ₹4,023 a quintal for 2026-27.

Source: Agmarknet daily prices and arrivals (India Data Portal).

Where it grows in India

Area grown in India
39,83,528 ha
2024-25
Average yield
1.2 t/ha
2024-25
Most area
Solapur
Maharashtra
Best yield
Bapatla
7.1 t/ha

Districts with the most area (recent figures)

The map colours each district by yield, for districts growing it on at least 100 ha.

  1. Solapur, Maharashtra 3,40,391 ha
  2. Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra 2,29,299 ha
  3. Dharashiv, Maharashtra 1,63,189 ha
  4. Sangli, Maharashtra 1,53,590 ha
  5. Beed, Maharashtra 1,47,000 ha
  6. Ajmer, Rajasthan 1,46,530 ha
  7. Belagavi, Karnataka 1,40,972 ha
  8. Satara, Maharashtra 1,31,173 ha
  9. Pune, Maharashtra 1,08,905 ha
  10. Parbhani, Maharashtra 1,07,397 ha

Jowar (Sorghum) yield

  1. 0.3–0.8 t/ha
  2. 0.8–1.1 t/ha
  3. 1.1–1.5 t/ha
  4. 1.5–1.7 t/ha
  5. 1.7–7.1 t/ha
No data

Source: Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare). 1999-00 to 2024-25.

Where yields are highest

  1. Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh 7.1 t/ha
  2. Guntur, Andhra Pradesh 6.3 t/ha
  3. Krishna, Andhra Pradesh 4.7 t/ha
  4. East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh 3.8 t/ha
  5. Kamareddy, Telangana 3.6 t/ha
  6. Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh 3.5 t/ha
  7. Ntr, Andhra Pradesh 3.4 t/ha
  8. Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore, Andhra Pradesh 2.9 t/ha
  9. Alluri Sitharama Raju, Andhra Pradesh 2.9 t/ha
  10. Ballari, Karnataka 2.8 t/ha

Only districts growing it on at least 100 ha.

Source: Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare). 1999-00 to 2024-25.

Across India over the years

Yield (t/ha)

0.0 0.6 1.2
1999-00 2024-25
Latest 1.2 t/ha in 2024-25

Area (ha)

0.0 5.2M 10.3M
1999-00 2024-25
Latest 39,83,528 ha in 2024-25

Only years in which most of the usual districts reported are shown.

Source: Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare). 1999-00 to 2024-25.

Soil and yield

How district soil tests line up with this crop's yields across India.

Jowar (Sorghum) yields tend to be higher in districts with

  • More soil that is neutral weak 328 districts
  • More soil high in nitrogen weak 317 districts

A pattern is not proof that soil causes the difference.

Source: Soil Health Card – soil nutrient analysis (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare).