Potato
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 510 acres here. Sold at 4 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Needs care: Risky: 5 irrigations short
- Needs care: Very hot in October
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 5 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 400 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 160 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 35 °C / 22 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 34 °C / 17 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 31 °C / 13 °C
- Jan 29 °C / 12 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Days in October get hotter than it likes. Time sowing so it flowers before then.
Soil
Soil for Potato: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of nitrogen, 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 124 quintals an acre here (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 (January–February 2026): about ₹1,163 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹1,295 a quintal, the middle of 18 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹1,050 2021
- ₹1,730 2022
- ₹1,440 2023
- ₹2,630 2024
- ₹1,510 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in December.
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 110 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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.