Ginger

A monsoon crop. Sow in Apr–May, harvest in Dec–Jan.

Check it on your land
Season
Kharif
JJASONDJFMAM

Sowing Growing Harvest

99% of its area.
Ready in
240 days
about 8 months
Water
810–980 mm
of water over its season (rain plus irrigation)
Grows best at
19–29 °C
0 °C survives 13–35 °C 40 °C

When to sow and harvest

Kharif 99% of its area
Today
J J A S O N D J F M A M
Sow Growing Harvest
The year starts in June, with the monsoon. Your district can shift a few weeks.

Sowing Growing Harvest

Will it grow on your land?

West Khasi Hills Meghalaya
Water
Season

Possible in West Khasi Hills, with effort

Ginger

JJASONDJFMAM

Sow in April, harvest around December

This season's sowing time (April–May) is over.

Grown on 863 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.

₹1.5 lakh–₹2.3 lakh

per acre a season, before costs

After typical costs: ₹52,000–₹1.3 lakh an acre a season

  • Suits: Rain is enough
  • Suits: Ideal temperatures
  • Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work

Water

Rain is enough, even in a dry year.

Needs about 730 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 4,510 mm it can use in a normal year, and 3,600 mm in a dry year.

Heavy rain here can waterlog it. Grow it on raised beds or land that drains well.

Temperature

Grows best at 19–29 °C on average, and survives 13–35 °C.

Here, in its growing months (day / night):

  • Apr 26 °C / 17 °C
  • May 26 °C / 19 °C
  • Jun 26 °C / 20 °C
  • Jul 26 °C / 21 °C
  • Aug 27 °C / 21 °C
  • Sep 26 °C / 20 °C
  • Oct 25 °C / 18 °C
  • Nov 23 °C / 13 °C (outside its best range)
  • Dec 20 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Soil

Soil for Ginger: 8 out of 10 (good).

  • Soil here is often more acidic than it likes.
  • Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.
  • Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
  • Most fields here are short of boron.

Likes pH 6.0–7.0.

How the soil score works

Money

Yield: about 39 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).

Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹4,875 a quintal across India's mandis.

Average mandi price each year (₹ a quintal):
  1. ₹2,850 2021
  2. ₹3,180 2022
  3. ₹7,960 2023
  4. ₹7,750 2024
  5. ₹4,010 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 ₹1.0 lakh 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

  • 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.

    Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.

  • 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.

See every crop that suits West Khasi Hills

What it needs

Temperature

19–29 °C
0 °C40 °C

Survives 13–35 °C. Frost hurts it.

Water

810–980 mm over its season

Rain and irrigation together, worked out where most of it grows:

Koraput East Garo Hills Kandhamal West Garo Hills Sangareddy

Soil pH

4 acidic7 neutral9 alkaline

Likes neutral soil. Grows from pH 4.3 to 7.5.

Soil

  • No salty soil
  • Needs rich soil
  • K Needs plenty of potassium and sulphur
How the soil score works

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

Not covered yet. Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra for the dose.

Watch out for

Not covered yet. Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to watch 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

₹1,07,500

Yield India's average
49.0 quintals an acre
× Price harvest price last season (Dec 2025–Jan 2026)
₹4,875 a quintal
= Income
₹2,38,900
− Costs about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), as in farm cost surveys
−₹1,31,400
= Left
₹1,07,500

A good year or field earns about a fifth more, a poor one a fifth less: ₹1,91,100 to ₹2,86,700 income an acre. Costs stay the same either way.

Work it out for your land

Mandi price, month by month

Best month
July, ₹11,500 a quintal
Lowest
December, ₹4,750 a quintal
₹11,500
₹4,750
J F M A M J J A S O N D

Rupees a quintal, typical across India's mandis: each month's latest price (Dec 2025–Nov 2026).

Latest prices near West Khasi Hills Today's price across India

Source: Agmarknet daily prices and arrivals (India Data Portal).

Where it grows in India

Area grown in India
5.3 lakh acres
2025-26
Average yield
49.0 quintals an acre (12.1 tonnes a hectare)
2025-26
Most area
Madhya Pradesh
18% 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 40% of India's ginger 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.

Ginger yields tend to be higher in districts with

  • More soil that is neutral moderate 168 districts

Ginger yields tend to be lower in districts with

  • More soil that is acidic moderate 168 districts
  • More soil low in potassium weak 167 districts
  • More soil low in phosphorus weak 161 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).