Onion
Sow in December, harvest around April
Grown on 20,519 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 13 irrigations short
- Needs care: Warm in February
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 13 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 620 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 29 °C / 17 °C
- Jan 31 °C / 17 °C
- Feb 33 °C / 19 °C (outside its best range)
- Mar 36 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
- Apr 36 °C / 23 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Onion: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of boron.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 47 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 102 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.
About 88% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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.
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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.
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 88%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 76%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 19%
- Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) 4%