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 590 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 15–25 °C on average, and survives 6–32 °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 (outside its best range)
- Mar 34 °C / 21 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Fennel: 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 6.5–7.5.
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 ₹11,100 a quintal, the middle of 6 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 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.
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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.
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.