Potato
Sow in November, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 12,136 acres here. Sold at 10 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 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 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 29 °C / 13 °C
- Dec 24 °C / 9 °C
- Jan 22 °C / 8 °C
- Feb 26 °C / 12 °C
Soil
Soil for Potato: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Salt in the soil here can harm it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of phosphorus.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 5.0–6.2.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 93 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 (February–March 2026): about ₹613 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹550 a quintal, the middle of 2 mandis in your district (latest 11 Nov).
- ₹1,050 2023
- ₹1,840 2024
- ₹1,170 2025
Prices are usually best in December.
Typical costs are about ₹64,000 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 96% of local fields of this crop get it.
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Short of phosphorus Your soil is likely short of phosphorus.
Add about a quarter more DAP or single super phosphate than the usual dose, at sowing.
About 75% 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 18% of local fields of this crop get it.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 96%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 75%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 30%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 18%