Potato
Sow in November, harvest around March
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 934 acres here. Sold at 7 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
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 290 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 10 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 29 °C / 12 °C
- Dec 23 °C / 8 °C
- Jan 20 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 24 °C / 10 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Potato: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of sulphur.
Likes pH 5.0–6.2.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 117 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
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 ₹1,153 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹600 a quintal, the middle of 85 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹1,040 2021
- ₹1,310 2022
- ₹1,010 2023
- ₹1,920 2024
- ₹1,110 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in March.
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 123 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.
About 58% of local fields of this crop get it.
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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 sulphur Your soil is likely short of sulphur.
Use single super phosphate instead of DAP, or add about 100 kg of gypsum per acre before sowing.
About 19% of local fields of this crop get it.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 58%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 27%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 19%
- NPK Mixture 5%