Potato
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 26,237 acres here. Sold at 8 mandis in your district.
₹32,000–₹47,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹8,000–₹24,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 4 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 4 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 300 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 150 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):
- Oct 33 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 30 °C / 15 °C
- Dec 24 °C / 10 °C
- Jan 22 °C / 9 °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 104 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 50% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 50% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹760 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹600 a quintal, the middle of 85 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹24,000 a season at typical costs.
- ₹1,020 2021
- ₹1,280 2022
- ₹960 2023
- ₹1,910 2024
- ₹1,200 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 ₹56,000 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 115 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 98% 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 13% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
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):
- Urea 98%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 85%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 13%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 5%