Potato
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 82,577 acres here. Sold at 14 mandis in your district.
₹1.1 lakh–₹1.7 lakh
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹57,000–₹1.1 lakh an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.
Needs about 290 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 60 mm it can use in a normal year (10 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 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 32 °C / 23 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 29 °C / 18 °C
- Dec 26 °C / 14 °C
- Jan 24 °C / 11 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Potato: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it, though not most crops.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
- Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of boron.
Likes pH 5.0–6.2.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 133 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹1,055 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹520 a quintal, the middle of 6 mandis in your district (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹14,000 a season after typical costs.
- ₹860 2021
- ₹1,340 2022
- ₹1,110 2023
- ₹2,130 2024
- ₹1,120 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in February.
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
-
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 100% 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 100%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 67%
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 46%
- NPK Mixture 20%