Onion
Sow in December, harvest around April
Grown on 2,998 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Needs care: Warm in February
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 610 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 20 mm it can use in a normal year, and 10 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 28 °C / 17 °C
- Jan 30 °C / 17 °C
- Feb 32 °C / 18 °C (outside its best range)
- Mar 34 °C / 21 °C (outside its best range)
- Apr 34 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Onion: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 35 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 ₹1,375 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹4,000 a quintal, the middle of 24 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹1,950 2021
- ₹1,630 2022
- ₹1,680 2023
- ₹2,590 2024
- ₹1,890 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 49 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
-
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 20% 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.
-
Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
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 92%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 66%
- Calcium Ammonium Nitrate 64%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 42%