Arecanut

Water

Rain falls about 9 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 1,450 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 1,010 mm it can use in a normal year, and 950 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 32 °C / 25 °C
• Jul 32 °C / 26 °C
• Aug 33 °C / 26 °C
• Sep 32 °C / 25 °C
• Oct 32 °C / 23 °C
• Nov 29 °C / 18 °C
• Dec 26 °C / 14 °C
• Jan 24 °C / 12 °C
• Feb 27 °C / 14 °C
• Mar 30 °C / 18 °C
• Apr 32 °C / 21 °C
• May 32 °C / 23 °C
• Jun 32 °C / 25 °C

Soil

Soil for Arecanut: 7 out of 10 (okay).

• Soil here is often too alkaline for it.
• Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.
• Most fields here are short of manganese.
• Most fields here are short of boron.

Likes pH 5.5–6.0.

Money

Yield: about 2.7 quintals an acre here (district figures).

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

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 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).

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.