Arecanut

Water

Rain falls about 4 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 1,170 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 1,020 mm it can use in a normal year, and 990 mm in a dry year.

Heavy rain here can waterlog it. Grow it on raised beds or land that drains well.

Temperature

Grows best at 16–33 °C on average, and survives 7–39 °C.

Here, in its growing months (day / night):

• Jun 25 °C / 16 °C
• Jul 25 °C / 17 °C
• Aug 25 °C / 17 °C
• Sep 24 °C / 15 °C
• Oct 23 °C / 13 °C
• Nov 20 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 16 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 15 °C / 4 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 16 °C / 5 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 19 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Apr 22 °C / 11 °C
• May 24 °C / 13 °C
• Jun 25 °C / 16 °C

Nights in December can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.

Soil

Soil for Arecanut: 8 out of 10 (good).

• Soil here is often too alkaline for it.

Likes pH 5.5–6.0.

Money

Yield: about 5.6 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

A new planting gives its first real harvest after about 6 years. The money here is for plants already bearing.

On rain alone it gets about 87% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 87% of this yield.

Mandi price at this season's harvest so far (October–November 2026): about ₹35,513 a quintal across India's mandis.

This week: about ₹29,654 a quintal, the middle of 57 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹4.5 lakh a year at typical costs.

Prices are usually best in August.

Typical costs are about ₹5.9 lakh an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.