Pumpkin
Sow in July, harvest around November
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop. Sold at 5 mandis in your district.
₹1.0 lakh–₹1.5 lakh
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹23,000–₹73,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 3 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 6/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 3 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 430 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 310 mm it can use in a normal year, and 210 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 20–30 °C on average, and survives 10–40 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jul 34 °C / 25 °C
- Aug 33 °C / 25 °C
- Sep 33 °C / 24 °C
- Oct 32 °C / 23 °C
Soil
Soil for Pumpkin: 6 out of 10 (okay).
Not in the score: manganese.
- 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 zinc.
Likes pH 5.5–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 90 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (its government crop records list none for your district).
On rain alone it gets about 71% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 71% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025): about ₹2,000 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹2,000 a quintal, the middle of 9 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹48,000 a season after typical costs.
Prices are usually best in August.
Typical costs are about ₹79,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2023–2025), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
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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 100% 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.
-
Short of zinc Your soil is likely short of zinc.
Mix 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre into the soil before sowing. One dose lasts two or three seasons.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
-
Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
-
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):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 100%