Onion
Sow in December, harvest around April
Grown on 603 acres here. Sold at 10 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Needs care: Very hot in April
- Needs care: Soil 6/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 520 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 / 12 °C
- Mar 33 °C / 17 °C
- Apr 39 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Days in April get hotter than it likes. Time sowing so it flowers before then.
Soil
Soil for Onion: 6 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Salt in the soil here can harm it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of phosphorus.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 63 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 ₹1,055 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹3,100 a quintal, the middle of 2 mandis in your district (latest 6 Nov).
- ₹1,710 2023
- ₹2,300 2024
- ₹1,360 2025
Prices are usually best in October.
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 75 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 phosphorus Your soil is likely short of phosphorus.
Add about a quarter more DAP or single super phosphate than the usual dose, at sowing.
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 sulphur Your soil is likely short of sulphur.
Use single super phosphate instead of DAP, or add about 100 kg of gypsum per acre before sowing.
About 100% of local fields of this crop get it.
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%