Onion
Sow in December, harvest around April
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop. Sold at 32 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 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 650 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 30 °C / 13 °C
- Jan 30 °C / 12 °C
- Feb 33 °C / 14 °C
- Mar 36 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)
- Apr 39 °C / 23 °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).
- 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 53 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (its government crop records list none for your district).
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 ₹788 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹3,100 a quintal, the middle of 11 mandis in your district (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹1,530 2021
- ₹1,100 2022
- ₹1,150 2023
- ₹2,280 2024
- ₹1,180 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
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
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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 56% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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 14% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
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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):
- Urea 56%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 23%
- Mono-Ammonium Phosphate (MAP) 16%
- Nitro Phosphate Potash 16%