Lentil (Masoor)

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

Check it on your land
Season
Rabi
JJASONDJFMAM
77% of its area. Also grown in kharif.
Ready in
115 days
about 4 months
Water
280–330 mm
over its season
Temperature
15–29 °C
0° survives 5–32 °C 40°

When to sow and harvest

Rabi 77% of its area
Kharif 23% 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 Lentil (Masoor) 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

15–29 °C
0 °C40 °C

Survives 5–32 °C.

Water

280–330 mm over its season

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

Sagar Vidisha Bahraich Rajgarh Banda

Soil pH

4 acidic7 neutral9 alkaline

Likes neutral soil. Grows from pH 4.5 to 8.2.

Soil

  • Takes a little salt
  • Ordinary farm soil is fine
  • N Makes its own nitrogen
  • P Needs plenty of phosphorus and sulphur
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
4 kg half a bag of 45 kg
DAP phosphate
35 kg half a bag of 50 kg
MOP potash
13 kg half a bag of 50 kg

Sulphur 20 kg/ha

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
  • Wilt
    Disease

    Look for

    Plants droop and dry in patches; brown streaks inside the stem.

    What to do first

    Grow a resistant variety, treat seed with Trichoderma and rotate crops.

  • Rust
    Disease

    Look for

    Brown powdery spots on the leaves and pods.

    What to do first

    Grow a resistant variety; spray mancozeb when spots appear. Follow the label or your KVK for the dose.

  • Aphids
    Pest

    Look for

    Clusters of small insects on shoots and pods.

    What to do first

    Spray only if clusters are thick; ask your KVK.

Mandi price, month by month

Best month
August, ₹6,266
Lowest
February, ₹5,781
₹5,781
₹6,266
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): ₹7,390 a quintal for 2027-28.

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

Where it grows in India

Area grown in India
16,78,750 ha
2024-25
Average yield
1.0 t/ha
2024-25
Most area
Sagar
Madhya Pradesh
Best yield
Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai
5.1 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. Sagar, Madhya Pradesh 94,025 ha
  2. Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh 77,434 ha
  3. Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh 61,486 ha
  4. Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh 40,882 ha
  5. Banda, Uttar Pradesh 39,957 ha
  6. Damoh, Madhya Pradesh 39,871 ha
  7. Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh 39,579 ha
  8. Dindori, Madhya Pradesh 35,638 ha
  9. Jalaun, Uttar Pradesh 35,473 ha
  10. Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh 33,496 ha

Lentil (Masoor) yield

  1. 0.0–0.7 t/ha
  2. 0.7–0.8 t/ha
  3. 0.8–0.9 t/ha
  4. 0.9–1.1 t/ha
  5. 1.1–5.1 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). 2006-07 to 2024-25.

Where yields are highest

  1. Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Chhattisgarh 5.1 t/ha
  2. Jhargram, West Bengal 1.5 t/ha
  3. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 1.5 t/ha
  4. Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan 1.5 t/ha
  5. Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh 1.5 t/ha
  6. Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh 1.5 t/ha
  7. Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh 1.5 t/ha
  8. Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal 1.4 t/ha
  9. Bokaro, Jharkhand 1.4 t/ha
  10. Narmadapuram, Madhya Pradesh 1.4 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). 2006-07 to 2024-25.

Across India over the years

Yield (t/ha)

0.0 0.5 1.0
2006-07 2024-25
Latest 1.0 t/ha in 2024-25

Area (ha)

1.3M 1.5M 1.7M
2006-07 2024-25
Latest 16,78,750 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). 2006-07 to 2024-25.

Soil and yield

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

Lentil (Masoor) yields tend to be higher in districts with

  • More soil that is neutral weak 284 districts
  • More soil low in nitrogen weak 280 districts
  • More soil short of iron weak 284 districts

Lentil (Masoor) yields tend to be lower in districts with

  • More soil that is acidic weak 284 districts
  • More soil medium in nitrogen weak 280 districts
  • More soil low in potassium weak 284 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).