Cardamom

Water

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

Needs about 1,180 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 970 mm it can use in a normal year, and 900 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 22–30 °C on average, and survives 10–35 °C.

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

• Jun 24 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)
• Jul 24 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)
• Aug 24 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)
• Sep 24 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)
• Oct 23 °C / 15 °C (outside its best range)
• Nov 21 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 18 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 16 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 19 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 22 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
• Apr 23 °C / 14 °C (outside its best range)
• May 24 °C / 16 °C (outside its best range)
• Jun 24 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

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

Soil

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

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

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.

On rain alone it gets about 82% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 82% of this yield.

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.