Papaya

Water

Rain falls about 8 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 1,000 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 610 mm it can use in a normal year, and 530 mm in a dry year.

Temperature

Grows best at 21–30 °C on average, and survives 12–44 °C.

Here, in its growing months (day / night):

• Jun 29 °C / 18 °C
• Jul 26 °C / 18 °C
• Aug 25 °C / 17 °C
• Sep 25 °C / 16 °C (outside its best range)
• Oct 23 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
• Nov 19 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 15 °C / 4 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 11 °C / 2 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 14 °C / 5 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 19 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Apr 24 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
• May 28 °C / 16 °C
• Jun 29 °C / 18 °C

Nights in December can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.

Soil

Soil for Papaya: 9 out of 10 (good).

Not in the score: sulphur, zinc, iron and 3 more.

• The pH here suits it.
• Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.

Likes pH 5.5–7.0.

Money

Yield: about 38 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (its government crop records list none for your district).

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 through the year (December 2025–November 2026): about ₹5,250 a quintal at mandis in your district.

This week: about ₹5,000 a quintal, the middle of 19 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).

Prices are usually best in January.

Typical costs are about ₹57,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2023–2025), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.