Papaya
Holds the land all year
Grown on 3,620 acres here. Last recorded in 2012-13. Sold at 4 mandis in your district.
₹4.5 lakh–₹6.7 lakh
per acre a year, before costs
After typical costs: ₹2.1 lakh–₹4.4 lakh an acre a year
- Needs care: Risky: 8 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 8 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 1,330 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 940 mm it can use in a normal year, and 850 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 31 °C / 25 °C
- Jul 30 °C / 24 °C
- Aug 31 °C / 24 °C
- Sep 31 °C / 24 °C
- Oct 31 °C / 24 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 24 °C
- Dec 31 °C / 23 °C
- Jan 32 °C / 23 °C
- Feb 33 °C / 24 °C
- Mar 33 °C / 25 °C
- Apr 33 °C / 26 °C
- May 33 °C / 26 °C
- Jun 31 °C / 25 °C
Soil
Soil for Papaya: 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen.
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 5.5–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 156 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).
Mandi price through the year (December 2025, February–November 2026): about ₹3,600 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹4,800 a quintal, the middle of 2 mandis in your district (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹5.1 lakh a year after typical costs.
- ₹2,000 2021
- ₹4,000 2025
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 ₹2.3 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
-
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.