Garlic
Sow in October, harvest around March
This season's sowing time (October) is over.
Grown on 46,524 acres here. Sold at 5 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 7 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 7 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 500 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 200 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 / 19 °C
- Nov 32 °C / 14 °C
- Dec 29 °C / 11 °C
- Jan 27 °C / 10 °C
- Feb 31 °C / 12 °C
Soil
Soil for Garlic: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 6.0–6.6.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 49 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 ₹2,800 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹8,503 a quintal, the middle of 2 mandis in your district (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹3,730 2021
- ₹1,420 2022
- ₹4,950 2023
- ₹11,080 2024
- ₹2,600 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in August.
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 33 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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Short of nitrogen Your soil is likely short of nitrogen.
Add about a quarter more urea than the usual dose, in two or three splits. A pulse crop in rotation also adds nitrogen.
About 48% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
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):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 48%
- Urea 36%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 35%
- Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) 8%