Onion
Sow in December, harvest around April
Grown on 3,519 acres here. Sold at 3 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: Warm in February
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
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 30 °C / 17 °C
- Feb 33 °C / 19 °C (outside its best range)
- Mar 35 °C / 21 °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: 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 33 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 ₹1,025 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹4,000 a quintal, the middle of 24 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹1,200 2021
- ₹1,110 2022
- ₹1,200 2023
- ₹2,200 2024
- ₹1,560 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
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 32 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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 100%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 80%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 42%
- Ammonium Phosphate Sulphate 27%