Fennel

Water

Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.

Needs about 550 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 350 mm it can use in a normal year (290 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 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 31 °C / 24 °C (outside its best range)
• Nov 31 °C / 24 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 31 °C / 23 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 32 °C / 23 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 33 °C / 24 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 33 °C / 25 °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.

• Soil here is often more acidic than it likes.
• 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 boron.

Likes pH 6.5–7.5.

Money

Yield: about 6.6 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

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). At that price an acre would leave about ₹39,000 a season after typical costs.

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.