Onion
Sow in July, harvest around November
This season's sowing time (July–August) is over.
Grown on 9,734 acres here. Sold at 1 mandi in your district.
₹2.8 lakh–₹4.2 lakh
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹1.8 lakh–₹3.2 lakh an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Needs care: Warm in July
- Suits: Soil 8/10
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 540 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 440 mm it can use in a normal year, and 330 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 32 °C / 24 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 30 °C / 24 °C (outside its best range)
- Sep 32 °C / 23 °C (outside its best range)
- Oct 35 °C / 19 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 32 °C / 14 °C
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.
- 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 124 quintals an acre here (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 81% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 81% of this yield.
Mandi price at this season's harvest so far (November 2026): about ₹3,506 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹4,526 a quintal, the middle of 2 mandis in your district (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹3.5 lakh a season after typical costs.
- ₹950 2021
- ₹500 2022
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in November.
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 94 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 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.