Chillies (Dry)
Sow in August, harvest around January
This season's sowing time (August–September) is over.
Grown on 43,582 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 8 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 8 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 600 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 240 mm it can use in a normal year, and 150 mm in a dry year.
About 22% of Chillies (Dry) in Kurnool, the nearest district with figures, is grown on rain alone. Your district has no figure of its own.
Temperature
Grows best at 17–30 °C on average, and survives 8–35 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Aug 33 °C / 25 °C
- Sep 33 °C / 24 °C
- Oct 32 °C / 24 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 21 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 19 °C
- Jan 32 °C / 19 °C
Soil
Soil for Chillies (Dry): 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 23 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
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 (January–February 2026): about ₹15,759 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹22,000 a quintal, the middle of 7 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹7,060 2021
- ₹14,700 2022
- ₹16,200 2023
- ₹11,520 2024
- ₹12,050 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in November.
Typical costs are about ₹1.2 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 20 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.