Onion
Sow in December, harvest around April
Grown on 397 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
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 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 550 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 10 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 26 °C / 12 °C
- Jan 25 °C / 11 °C
- Feb 29 °C / 14 °C
- Mar 33 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)
- Apr 38 °C / 24 °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: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- Soil here is often more acidic than it likes.
- 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 31 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 ₹1,225 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹4,200 a quintal, the middle of 617 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹2,000 2021
- ₹1,480 2022
- ₹1,510 2023
- ₹2,580 2024
- ₹1,500 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
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 39 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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of potassium Your soil is likely short of potassium.
Add about a quarter more potash (MOP) than the usual dose.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of manganese Your soil is likely short of manganese.
Spray manganese sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, on the young crop.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.