Cardamom

Water

Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.

Needs about 1,740 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 670 mm it can use in a normal year, and 580 mm in a dry year.

Temperature

Grows best at 22–30 °C on average, and survives 10–35 °C.

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

• Jun 34 °C / 24 °C
• Jul 28 °C / 22 °C
• Aug 28 °C / 22 °C
• Sep 29 °C / 22 °C
• Oct 30 °C / 20 °C
• Nov 28 °C / 15 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 27 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 28 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 30 °C / 14 °C
• Mar 34 °C / 18 °C
• Apr 37 °C / 23 °C
• May 39 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
• Jun 34 °C / 24 °C

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Soil

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

• Soil here is often more alkaline than it likes.
• Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
• Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
• Most fields here are short of zinc.

Likes pH 5.5–6.0.

Money

Yield: about 1.6 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

A new planting gives its first real harvest after about 3 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 through the year (December 2025–May 2026, July–October 2026): about ₹2,56,375 a quintal across India's mandis.

Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.

Prices are usually best in October.

Typical costs are about ₹1.7 lakh an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2023–2025), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.