Garlic
Sow in October, harvest around March
This season's sowing time (October) is over.
Grown on 25,581 acres here. Sold at 8 mandis in your district.
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 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 530 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 150 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 18–30 °C on average, and survives 7–35 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 34 °C / 20 °C
- Nov 33 °C / 16 °C
- Dec 31 °C / 13 °C
- Jan 29 °C / 12 °C
- Feb 33 °C / 15 °C
Soil
Soil for Garlic: 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
Likes pH 6.0–6.6.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 41 quintals an acre here (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 ₹2,500 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹5,750 a quintal, the middle of 2 mandis in your district (latest 12 Nov).
- ₹4,000 2021
- ₹5,900 2023
- ₹10,750 2024
- ₹3,000 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in July.
Typical costs are about ₹88,000 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
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 49 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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 50%
- Urea 32%