Chillies (Dry)
Sow in October, harvest around March
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 6,480 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
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 620 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 150 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):
- Oct 35 °C / 21 °C
- Nov 32 °C / 16 °C
- Dec 29 °C / 12 °C
- Jan 27 °C / 11 °C
- Feb 31 °C / 14 °C
- Mar 35 °C / 19 °C
Soil
Soil for Chillies (Dry): 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 9.3 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 (March–April 2026): about ₹21,231 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹17,550 a quintal, the middle of 39 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹12,690 2021
- ₹17,320 2022
- ₹18,750 2023
- ₹11,620 2024
- ₹10,870 2025
Prices are usually best in June.
Typical costs are about ₹1.1 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 11 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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Short of nitrogen Your soil is likely short of nitrogen.
Add about a quarter more urea than the usual dose, in two or three splits. A pulse crop in rotation also adds nitrogen.
About 100% of local fields of this crop get it.
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Short of zinc Your soil is likely short of zinc.
Mix 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre into the soil before sowing. One dose lasts two or three seasons.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
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Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 100%