Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 10 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 10 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 1,490 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 1,010 mm it can use in a normal year, and 910 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 31 °C / 24 °C
- Jul 30 °C / 24 °C
- Aug 30 °C / 24 °C
- Sep 31 °C / 24 °C
- Oct 31 °C / 24 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 24 °C
- Dec 32 °C / 23 °C
- Jan 32 °C / 23 °C
- Feb 33 °C / 24 °C
- Mar 34 °C / 26 °C
- Apr 34 °C / 26 °C
- May 33 °C / 26 °C
- Jun 31 °C / 24 °C
Soil
Soil for Arecanut: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen.
- Soil here is often too alkaline for it.
- Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 5.5–6.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 2.9 quintals an acre here in this season (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 ₹40,425 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹40,200 a quintal, the middle of 7 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹34,880 2021
- ₹36,500 2022
- ₹36,000 2023
- ₹30,880 2024
- ₹33,380 2025
Prices are usually best in February.
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.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 3.3 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Ammonium Phosphate Sulphate / Nitrogen Phosphate 0%
- NPK Mixture 0%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 0%