Farming in Maharashtra
Maharashtra grows grapes, pomegranate, onion and Nagpur orange at scale. It also has the chronic drought belts of Marathwada and Vidarbha.
What grows in Maharashtra
Cotton
Kharif. Main risk: Bollworm. About 700 mm of water a season.
Cotton guideSugarcane
Annual (12-18 month crop). Main risk: Red Rot. About 1500 mm of water a season.
Sugarcane guideOnion
Rabi and Kharif. Main risk: Purple Blotch. About 400 mm of water a season.
Onion guideGrapes
Perennial (pruned for October-March season). Main risk: Powdery Mildew. About 500 mm of water a season.
Grapes guidePomegranate
Perennial (bahar-regulated). Main risk: Bacterial Blight. About 600 mm of water a season.
Pomegranate guideSorghum
Kharif and Rabi. Main risk: Shoot Fly. About 400 mm of water a season.
Sorghum guide
How satellite advice works in Maharashtra
Watch is free for any field in Maharashtra. You need WhatsApp and your field's location; nothing is installed in the field.
Vidarbha, in the east of the state, is where Decide starts, with Nagpur orange in the 2026-27 season.
Your own field
We read the Sentinel-2 pixels inside your field boundary and compare them with your field's own history, so the message is about your field, not your district.
Through the monsoon
When cloud hides the field for weeks, Sentinel-1 radar still shows standing water and the growth trend, and the message says what it could not see.
Water and weather timing
The village forecast and FAO-56 crop-water methods help time irrigation and field checks, week by week.
How each message is computed, and what the satellite cannot see: methods and evidence.
Decide starts here. Crop-specific irrigation advice opens first for Nagpur orange in Vidarbha, for the 2026-27 season. Read more in Marathi or sponsor a season.
Vidarbha's 11 districts and its orange talukas: rainfall and the greenness of their fields
Farming in Maharashtra: common questions
Which crops are grown most in Maharashtra?
The main crops include Cotton, Sugarcane, Onion, Grapes, Pomegranate, Sorghum. Each has a guide with its season, water need and main risks.
Does VarshaKrishi work in Maharashtra?
Yes. The free Watch plan covers any field in Maharashtra: one WhatsApp message a week about your own field, built from satellite images and the weather. You need WhatsApp and your field's location; nothing is installed in the field.
What does it cost?
Watch is free for every farmer in India. Decide, the crop-specific plan with irrigation timing, opens crop by crop after an agronomist reviews each crop model; farmers buy a season pass or a partner sponsors it.
What happens in the monsoon when clouds hide the field?
Sentinel-1 radar sees through cloud and still shows standing water and the growth trend. When the satellite cannot see your field clearly, the message says so instead of guessing.
Neighbouring states
Get a weekly message about your own field.
Free for any field in Maharashtra, in Marathi, Hindi or English.