Onion
Sow in December, harvest around April
Grown on 470 acres here. Sold at 4 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
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 510 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year, and 0 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 12–25 °C on average, and survives 4–33 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Dec 24 °C / 9 °C
- Jan 22 °C / 8 °C
- Feb 26 °C / 11 °C
- Mar 32 °C / 16 °C
- Apr 38 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Onion: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 62 quintals an acre here in this season (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 (April–May 2026): about ₹969 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹2,500 a quintal, the middle of 2 mandis in your district (latest 10 Nov).
- ₹2,100 2021
- ₹1,470 2022
- ₹1,530 2023
- ₹2,390 2024
- ₹1,350 2025
Prices are usually best in September.
Typical costs are about ₹42,000 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 66 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
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 100% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
Short of organic carbon Your soil is likely short of organic carbon.
Add 4 tonnes of compost or farmyard manure per acre before sowing, and plough crop leftovers back in instead of burning them.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
-
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.
About 100% 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) 100%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 100%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 100%
- Urea 100%