Onion
Sow in August, harvest around December
This season's sowing time (July–August) is over.
Grown on 88 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹60,000–₹90,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹14,000 to a profit of ₹16,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Needs care: Warm in August
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 3 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 500 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 380 mm it can use in a normal year, and 210 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):
- Aug 35 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
- Sep 35 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
- Oct 33 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 30 °C / 24 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 29 °C / 23 °C (outside its best range)
Months in orange are outside its best range.
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 sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 29 quintals an acre here (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 77% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 77% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025–January 2026): about ₹3,406 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹6,000 a quintal, the middle of 8 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹59,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹4,830 2024
- ₹3,200 2025
Prices are usually best in September.
Typical costs are about ₹74,000 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 46 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.