Potato
Sow in November, harvest around March
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 25 acres here. Sold at 4 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 310 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 100 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 15–25 °C on average, and survives 7–30 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 30 °C / 13 °C
- Dec 25 °C / 8 °C
- Jan 22 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 26 °C / 10 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Potato: 9 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 5.0–6.2.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 82 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
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 at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹750 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹800 a quintal, the middle of 3 mandis in your district (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹900 2021
- ₹1,300 2022
- ₹900 2023
- ₹1,850 2024
- ₹1,080 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in August.
Typical costs are about ₹68,000 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 137 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
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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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
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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.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 100%
- Urea 100%