Garlic
A winter crop. Sow in Oct, harvest in Mar.
Sowing Growing Harvest
When to sow and harvest
Sowing Growing Harvest
Will it grow on your land?
What it needs
Temperature
Survives 7–35 °C.
Water
Rain and irrigation together, worked out where most of it grows:
Soil pH
Likes neutral soil. Grows from pH 5 to 8.5.
Source: FAO ECOCROP crop requirements (via OpenCLIM/ecocrop); FAO-56 crop coefficients (Allen et al. 1998); IMD gridded daily rainfall (0.25°); IMD gridded daily max/min temperature (1°); TerraClimate 1991–2020 temperature normals (about 4 km), where each district's villages are.
Fertiliser for one acre
Watch out for
What an acre earns
At India's average yield and a recent price, named below. Your land, water and mandi will differ.
Left an acre, a season
₹90,800
- Yield India's average
- 34.3 quintals an acre
- × Price harvest price last season (Mar 2026)
- ₹6,500 a quintal
- = Income
- ₹2,22,700
- − Costs about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), as in farm cost surveys
- −₹1,31,900
- = Left
- ₹90,800
This week garlic sells at about ₹12,127 a quintal: India's middle price at 181 mandis, latest 13 Nov. At that price an acre would leave about ₹2,83,600 a season.
A good year or field earns about a fifth more, a poor one a fifth less: ₹1,78,200 to ₹2,67,300 income an acre. Costs stay the same either way.
Work it out for your landMandi price, month by month
Rupees a quintal, typical across India's mandis: each month's latest price (Dec 2025–Nov 2026).
Source: Agmarknet daily prices and arrivals (India Data Portal).
Where it grows in India
- Area grown in India
- 11.1 lakh acres
- 2025-26
- Average yield
- 34.3 quintals an acre (8.5 tonnes a hectare)
- 2025-26
- Most area
- Madhya Pradesh
- 47% of India's
States that grow it
Each state's share of India's production, in its latest year with figures (2025-26). Tap a state to open it.
Source: Horticulture area & production statistics (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare).
Where it grows most
The districts with the most area in recent years. The map colours every district growing it on at least 100 ha by yield; the numbers mark these districts.
District figures cover only 33% of India's garlic area, so the districts aren't listed. The states show where it grows.
Soil and yield
How district soil tests line up with this crop's yields across India.
Garlic yields tend to be higher in districts with
- More soil that is neutral moderate 155 districts
- More soil that is alkaline weak 155 districts
Garlic yields tend to be lower in districts with
- More soil that is acidic weak 155 districts
A pattern is not proof that soil causes the difference.
Source: Soil Health Card – soil nutrient analysis (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare).