Onion
Sow in July, harvest around November
This season's sowing time (July–August) is over.
Grown on 5,246 acres here. Sold at 2 mandis in your district.
₹37,000–₹56,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹45,000–₹64,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 6 irrigations short
- Needs care: Warm in July
- Needs care: Soil 6/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 6 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 530 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 230 mm it can use in a normal year, and 150 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):
- Jul 31 °C / 23 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 31 °C / 23 °C (outside its best range)
- Sep 31 °C / 23 °C (outside its best range)
- Oct 32 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 31 °C / 20 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Onion: 6 out of 10 (okay).
Not in the score: phosphorus and salt.
- 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 zinc.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 34 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (November–December 2025): about ₹1,378 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). At that price an acre would leave about ₹35,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹1,190 2021
- ₹1,050 2022
- ₹1,790 2024
Prices are usually best in December.
Typical costs are about ₹1.0 lakh an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2023–2025), 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 65 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 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.
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 iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
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.