Maize

A monsoon crop. Sow in Jun–Jul, harvest in Sep–Oct.

Check it on your land
Season
Kharif
73% of its area. Also grown in rabi.
Ready in
100 days
about 3½ months
Water
350–400 mm
over its season
Temperature
18–33 °C
0° survives 10–47 °C 40°

When to sow and harvest

Kharif 73% of its area
Rabi 21% 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 a place and water to see if it suits your land, and what it earns.

What it needs

Temperature

18–33 °C
0 °C40 °C

Survives 10–47 °C. Frost hurts it.

Water

350–400 mm over its season
Chhindwara Haveri Nashik Vijayanagara Bhilwara

Worked out where most of it grows. Rain and irrigation together.

Soil pH

4 acidic7 neutral9 alkaline

Likes neutral soil. Grows from pH 4.5 to 8.5.

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

Urea nitrogen
85 kg 2 bags of 45 kg
DAP phosphate
53 kg 1 bag of 50 kg
MOP potash
27 kg half a bag of 50 kg

For most fields, rabi: N 51, P₂O₅ 26, K₂O 18 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.

ICAR has worked out the dose for 402 districts. Check it on your land above to see yours.

Watch out for

Draft: check with your KVK
  • Fall armyworm
    Pest

    Look for Ragged holes and sawdust-like droppings in the whorl; caterpillars with an upside-down Y on the head.

    First Check the whorls twice a week and use pheromone traps; sand or ash in the whorl helps. If many plants are hit, spray emamectin benzoate or spinetoram into the whorl. Follow the label or your KVK for the dose.

  • Stem borer
    Pest

    Look for A row of small holes in the leaves; the central shoot dries in young plants.

    First Destroy stubble after harvest and release Trichogramma egg cards. Spray only when damage spreads; ask your KVK.

  • Turcicum leaf blight
    Disease

    Look for Long cigar-shaped grey-green to tan spots on the leaves.

    First Grow a resistant hybrid; in humid weather spray mancozeb when spots first appear. Follow the label or your KVK for the dose.

  • Downy mildew
    Disease

    Look for Pale yellow streaks on leaves with white down underneath; plants stay short.

    First Treat seed with metalaxyl and pull out sick plants early. Follow the label or your KVK for the dose.

Mandi price, month by month

Best month
September, ₹2,149
Lowest
May, ₹1,965
₹1,965
₹2,149
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): ₹2,410 a quintal for 2026-27.

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

Where it grows in India

Area grown in India
1,20,43,891 ha
2024-25
Average yield
3.6 t/ha
2024-25
Most area
Chhindwara
Madhya Pradesh
Best yield
Dakshin Dinajpur
10.8 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. Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh 3,50,966 ha
  2. Haveri, Karnataka 2,80,657 ha
  3. Nashik, Maharashtra 2,37,766 ha
  4. Jalgaon, Maharashtra 2,17,617 ha
  5. Vijayanagara, Karnataka 2,15,810 ha
  6. Belagavi, Karnataka 2,10,877 ha
  7. Bhilwara, Rajasthan 1,87,304 ha
  8. Seoni, Madhya Pradesh 1,85,485 ha
  9. Betul, Madhya Pradesh 1,81,397 ha
  10. Chittorgarh, Rajasthan 1,66,712 ha

Maize yield

  1. 1.0–1.9 t/ha
  2. 1.9–2.4 t/ha
  3. 2.4–3.1 t/ha
  4. 3.1–4.2 t/ha
  5. 4.2–10.8 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). 2009-10 to 2024-25.

Where yields are highest

  1. Dakshin Dinajpur, West Bengal 10.8 t/ha
  2. Eluru, Andhra Pradesh 10.7 t/ha
  3. Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh 9.9 t/ha
  4. Guntur, Andhra Pradesh 9.7 t/ha
  5. Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Chhattisgarh 9.6 t/ha
  6. East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh 9.5 t/ha
  7. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema, Andhra Pradesh 9.2 t/ha
  8. Araria, Bihar 9.0 t/ha
  9. Erode, Tamil Nadu 8.9 t/ha
  10. Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu 8.6 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). 2009-10 to 2024-25.

Across India over the years

Yield (t/ha)

0.0 1.8 3.6
2009-10 2024-25
Latest 3.6 t/ha in 2024-25

Area (ha)

8.2M 10.1M 12.0M
2009-10 2024-25
Latest 1,20,43,891 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). 2009-10 to 2024-25.

Soil and yield

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

  • Districts with more soil medium in phosphorus tend to have lower maize yields (weak pattern, 623 districts).
  • Districts with more soil high in phosphorus tend to have higher maize yields (weak pattern, 623 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).