Chillies (Dry)
Sow in October, harvest around March
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No figures for this season in your district. Priced from mandis across your state.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 650 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 100 mm it can use in a normal year (60 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 0 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 29 °C / 20 °C
- Nov 28 °C / 19 °C
- Dec 28 °C / 17 °C
- Jan 30 °C / 17 °C
- Feb 32 °C / 18 °C
- Mar 34 °C / 21 °C
Soil
Soil for Chillies (Dry): 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.
- 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 7.8 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (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 ₹19,063 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹16,216 a quintal, the middle of 10 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹11,920 2021
- ₹17,140 2022
- ₹18,280 2023
- ₹15,040 2024
- ₹12,890 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
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 6.6 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
-
Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
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.