Bajra

Late June to mid-July, sown at the very first good monsoon shower rather than a fixed calendar date. Every week of delayed sowing narrows the crop’s escape from pre-flowering heat and typically costs yield.

About 1.2–1.6 kg per acre (3–4 kg/ha) for hybrid bajra — one of the lowest seed rates of any major Indian cereal, since the crop is line-sown thin and thinned later rather than sown dense.

Bajra is grown almost entirely as a rainfed crop across most of its area. Where irrigation is available, one protective watering at flowering (45–50 days) matters more than any other, since that stage is the most water-sensitive point even in this drought-tolerant crop.

A common recommendation is around 40 kg/ha nitrogen and 20 kg/ha phosphorus for a rainfed hybrid, rising to about 60:30:20 kg/ha N:P:K under assured irrigation — split as half the nitrogen at sowing and the rest as a top dressing at tillering. Your own soil test under the Soil Health Card scheme can refine this for your field.

It is the common name for downy mildew, bajra’s most damaging disease — infected earheads turn into a sterile mass of small, leafy green structures instead of grain, usually visible right at flowering. Systemic infection earlier on shows as pale yellow streaking and stunted, twisted young plants.

₹2,900 per quintal for KMS (Kharif Marketing Season) 2026–27, as notified by the Government of India.

Check young plants in the first three to four weeks after sowing, especially after a humid, overcast spell, for pale yellow streaking on leaves and stunted, twisted growth — that systemic stage is what later produces a sterile green earhead if the plant is not rogued out.

10–20 quintals per hectare for a rainfed hybrid under normal management; 25–30 q/ha or more is achievable under assured irrigation with best management. A crop sown late, into a susceptible hybrid, or hit hard by downy mildew yields meaningfully less.

When the earhead droops, turns golden-brown and the grain hardens enough to resist a thumbnail dent — usually 75–90 days after sowing depending on the hybrid. Harvesting too late risks shattering and bird damage in the field.

Dry the grain to below 12% moisture and use a hermetic bag if storing beyond a few months — whole grain then keeps well for 8–12 months. Bajra flour is different: grind only what you need in the near term, since its higher fat content makes it turn rancid within two to three weeks even when the whole grain stores fine.

PM-KISAN is not crop-specific — any landholding farmer family meeting the scheme’s land-record and eligibility criteria qualifies, bajra or otherwise. See the Related schemes section below.

Yes, under PMFBY (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana). Bajra is a kharif food crop, so the farmer’s premium is capped at 2% of the sum insured. Enrolment is seasonal — check your state’s cut-off date before sowing is complete.

It depends on your zone’s downy mildew race and rainfall assurance — an early-maturing hybrid like HHB 67 Improved suits assured-rainfall or irrigated tracts, while a three-way hybrid like RHB 273 is bred for tougher, drought-prone rainfed conditions. Check the current ICAR-AICRP on Pearl Millet advisory for your district, since resistant races shift over time.

Yes — this is the norm across most of Rajasthan, Gujarat and other arid tracts, where bajra is sown purely on monsoon rainfall thanks to its drought-tolerant deep root system. A single protective irrigation at flowering, where available, still meaningfully lifts yield in a dry season.

Bajra grain has a noticeably higher fat content than wheat, and that fat oxidises once the grain is milled into flour — typically within two to three weeks, even in cool storage. Grinding only what you need for the next few weeks, rather than milling a large batch at once, is the simplest fix.

Yes — intercropping with moong, guar (cluster bean) or arhar is common across Rajasthan and Gujarat’s rainfed tracts, adding a second harvest from the same land and, with a legume, some nitrogen for the following crop. Adjust row spacing from this page’s sole-crop recommendation rather than applying it unchanged.

Ergot is caused by a fungus that infects the crop in cool, humid weather right at flowering, leaving a sticky exudate on earheads followed by hard, dark sclerotia among the grains. Those sclerotia are toxic, so hand-sort or use salt-water flotation to remove them from harvested grain before it is consumed or sold.

Yes — more so than any other major Indian cereal; it is specifically the crop grown on land too light and low-fertility for wheat, rice or maize. The one exception is drainage: despite its drought tolerance, bajra still does not stand waterlogging after a heavy shower.

Bajra tolerates lighter, sandier soil and less rainfall than jowar, and matures faster (75–90 days against jowar’s 100–120), making it the better choice on the driest, poorest land. Jowar, grown in both kharif and rabi seasons, suits slightly better soil and rainfall and offers a rabi option bajra does not.