Maize Farming Guide India - Kharif & Rabi Season

Maize is grown in India in three windows: kharif (sown with the monsoon, June to mid-July, harvested September to October), rabi (sown mid-October to mid-November in Telangana and Rayalaseema, later in coastal Andhra Pradesh) and spring or summer under irrigation. A hybrid sown at the recommended time, at about 33,000 plants per acre with balanced fertiliser, can give 24 to 25 quintals per acre in trials on irrigated land in Punjab.

For the 2026-27 marketing season the MSP of maize is ₹2,410 per quintal, only ₹10 above last year's ₹2,400. That small rise makes harvest drying, your own cost control and the choice of where to sell more important than the headline MSP.

When to sow

For other states, use the window set by your state agricultural university. The fall armyworm advice from ICAR-IIMR is the same everywhere: avoid late sowing, and avoid staggered sowing in neighbouring fields, because the pest builds up on the later crop.

Choosing a hybrid or variety

Maturity decides fit with your rotation. The ANGRAU package groups hybrids as long (100 to 120 days), medium (90 to 100 days) and short (under 90 days) duration. PAU lists long-duration hybrids (95 to 99 days after sowing in its zone) giving 24 to 25 q/acre on irrigated land and short-duration options of about 82 to 83 days (PMH 2, Parkash) giving 15 to 18 q/acre, which suit rainfed fields and quick double-cropping.

Buy certified hybrid seed every year. PAU notes that using grain from a hybrid as seed cuts yield by 15 to 20%. Hybrids with moderate resistance to maydis leaf blight, charcoal rot or fall armyworm are listed by PAU and are worth preferring where these are problems.

Seed, spacing and sowing method

• Seed rate: about 10 kg per acre (25 kg/ha) in the PAU package; 7 to 8 kg per acre in the ANGRAU package for normal hybrids. Always check the seed packet for the hybrid.
• Spacing: 60 cm between rows and 20 cm between plants, which gives 33,333 plants per acre (82,000 per hectare). Where tractor implements are used for inter-culture, 75 x 20 cm gives about 26,700 plants per acre.
• Method: Sow 3 to 5 cm deep with a planter. On fields that waterlog, sow on the side or top of ridges or on beds (PAU: 67.5 cm beds with 18 cm between plants) so that seedlings are not drowned. Thin to one plant per hill about 10 days after emergence.
• Treat the seed with captan, thiram or mancozeb at 3 g/kg.

Fertiliser

Doses differ a great deal between states because soils, rainfall and target yields differ. Both tables below are state recommendations, not national ones. Always use a soil test (Soil Health Card) where you can, and read about product choice on the fertilizers page.

• Apply zinc sulphate (PAU: 10 kg of the 21% heptahydrate per acre; ANGRAU: 20 kg per acre) only where zinc deficiency has shown up, which appears as white or pale bands near the leaf base within two weeks of emergence.
• If you use DAP, cut urea accordingly (PAU: reduce urea by 10 kg for every 27 kg of DAP).
• A leaf colour chart (PAU-LCC, shade 5) lets you top up urea only when needed, which saves money.

Weeds and water

• Weeds: Spray atrazine within 10 days of sowing (PAU: 800 g per acre of 50% WP on medium and heavy soils, 500 g on light soils, in 200 litres of water). Atrazine suits pure-crop maize only. Follow with 2,4-D or hand hoeing at 20 to 30 days if broadleaf weeds remain.
• Water: Kharif maize needs 4 to 6 irrigations in a dry year. The crop is most sensitive at pre-tasselling, silking and grain filling; water shortage then costs the most yield. For rabi maize in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 4 to 6 irrigations are used, including two before flowering at 20 to 25 day intervals, one at flowering and the rest after flowering.
• Waterlogging: Drain excess water quickly; flooding in the seedling stage damages the crop. See drip irrigation for water saving options.

Insects and diseases

• Fall armyworm: Look for papery windows on young leaves, then ragged holes and sawdust-like droppings in the whorl. Crush egg masses, avoid staggered sowing, and aim sprays at the whorl. PAU lists chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC (0.4 ml/litre), spinetoram 11.7 SC (0.5 ml/litre) or emamectin benzoate 5 SG (0.4 g/litre), using about 120 litres of water per acre up to 20 days and up to 200 litres for older crop. In patches or on older crop, PAU suggests putting a soil-insecticide mixture or a Bt formulation in the whorl.
• Stem borer: Dead hearts and shot-holes in leaves. PAU advises a spray at 2 to 3 weeks when injury is noticed; ANGRAU notes pink borer (Sesamia) in rabi crop and stem borer (Chilo) in kharif crop.
• Leaf blight: One or two sprays of mancozeb (2.5 g/litre) at 7 to 10 day intervals from knee-high stage (ANGRAU). For late wilt and charcoal rot, rotate crops, remove stubble and avoid moisture stress after flowering.

Follow the label dose and pre-harvest interval for any product and check the current approved list with your KVK. Pests are also covered on the pests page.

Harvest, drying and moisture

• When: PAU says maize is ready when the husk has dried and turned brown, even if stalks and leaves are still somewhat green.
• Shelling: Shell when grain moisture is about 15 to 20%. Dry the cobs for 3 to 4 days after harvest if you are shelling with a combine.
• For sale: PAU advises marketing the dried grain at about 15% moisture.
• For storage: Dry further to 12 to 13% or below before putting grain into bags. FAO guidance on aflatoxin says moisture should stay below 12 to 13% in storage, and that wet grain left for days after shelling is where aflatoxin rises. Dry freshly shelled grain within 24 to 48 hours.

Selling

The MSP is ₹2,410 per quintal for 2026-27. Government buying of maize at MSP is limited in most states, so you will usually sell in the mandi to traders, feed mills and starch or ethanol buyers. Check the day's price at the maize mandi page, compare it with the MSP list and, if your mandi is on it, with eNAM (eNAM). Clean, dry, uniformly coloured grain with no mould or insect damage is what earns the top rate.

Cost and return arithmetic

The government puts the all-India average cost of producing maize in 2026-27 at ₹1,544 per quintal (hired and family labour, inputs, rent, interest). At the MSP of ₹2,410 the margin is ₹866 per quintal.

Arithmetic: gross is yield times price; cost is yield times ₹1,544; the last column uses (₹2,000 minus ₹1,544) times yield. The ₹1,544 average fits average yields, so a 15 quintal crop will in practice cost more per quintal than shown, and a 25 quintal hybrid crop less. Price is the bigger risk: a ₹400 drop in the market price removes about 46% of the margin per quintal.

Sources

• PAU Package of Practices for Crops of Punjab, Kharif 2026 (maize)
• ANGRAU (RARS Tirupati): Maize package of practices, Kharif and Rabi
• Cabinet approves MSP for Kharif crops 2026-27 (text of the official release)
• FAO: Mycotoxin prevention and control in foodgrains (control of aflatoxin in maize)