Fennel
Sow in October, harvest around March
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop. Priced from mandis across India.
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 470 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 10 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 140 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 15–25 °C on average, and survives 6–32 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 32 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 29 °C / 15 °C
- Dec 25 °C / 11 °C
- Jan 23 °C / 10 °C
- Feb 28 °C / 13 °C
- Mar 34 °C / 19 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Fennel: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 6.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 6.6 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).
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 ₹9,711 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹11,000 a quintal, the middle of 5 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹6,910 2021
- ₹11,040 2022
- ₹16,000 2023
- ₹6,590 2024
- ₹6,980 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 ₹34,000 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
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Short of organic carbon Your soil is likely short of organic carbon.
Add 4 tonnes of compost or farmyard manure per acre before sowing, and plough crop leftovers back in instead of burning them.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of sulphur Your soil is likely short of sulphur.
Use single super phosphate instead of DAP, or add about 100 kg of gypsum per acre before sowing.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.