Chillies (Dry)
Sow in November, harvest around April
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 1,570 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 4 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 4 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 540 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 150 mm it can use in a normal year (100 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 17–30 °C on average, and survives 8–35 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- 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
Soil
Soil for Chillies (Dry): 8 out of 10 (good).
- Soil here is often more acidic than it likes.
- 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 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 3.6 quintals an acre here (district figures).
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 last season's harvest (April–May 2026): about ₹13,781 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹17,550 a quintal, the middle of 39 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹10,650 2021
- ₹14,980 2022
- ₹16,750 2023
- ₹12,910 2024
- ₹12,120 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
Typical costs are about ₹1.0 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 4.4 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
Short of potassium Your soil is likely short of potassium.
Add about a quarter more potash (MOP) than the usual dose.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
-
Short of manganese Your soil is likely short of manganese.
Spray manganese sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, on the young crop.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
-
Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.