Moth Bean
Sow in June, harvest around August
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 55 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Needs care: Cool in June
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 310 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 90 mm it can use in a normal year, and 80 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 24–32 °C on average, and survives 13–45 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jun 29 °C / 16 °C (outside its best range)
- Jul 29 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 29 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Moth Bean: 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
Likes pH 6.5–8.2.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.1 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (your district's own figure looked wrong).
Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (August–September 2026): about ₹8,600 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹9,750 a quintal, the middle of 3 mandis across India (latest 12 Nov).
- ₹6,910 2021
- ₹6,570 2022
- ₹6,320 2023
- ₹5,950 2024
- ₹6,330 2025
Prices are usually best in October.
Typical costs are about ₹4,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2023–2025), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 4.2 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.