Saffron

A monsoon crop. Sow in Jul, harvest in Oct.

Check it on your land
Season
Kharif
JJASONDJFMAM

Sowing Growing Harvest

Ready in
100 days
about 3½ months
Grows best at
7–23 °C
0 °C survives 4–28 °C 40 °C

When to sow and harvest

Kharif
Today
J J A S O N D J F M A M
Sow Growing Harvest
The year starts in June, with the monsoon. Your district can shift a few weeks.

Sowing Growing Harvest

Will it grow on your land?

Nandyal Andhra Pradesh
Water
Season

Won't work: too hot in August

Saffron

JJASONDJFMAM

Sow in July, harvest around October

This season's sowing time (July) is over.

No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop.

No price yet to estimate income

  • Suits: Rain is enough
  • Doesn't suit: Too hot in august
  • Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work

Water

Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.

Needs about 200 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 250 mm it can use in a normal year, and 190 mm in a dry year.

Heavy rain here can waterlog it. Grow it on raised beds or land that drains well.

Temperature

Grows best at 7–23 °C on average, and survives 4–28 °C.

Here, in its growing months (day / night):

  • Jul 34 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
  • Aug 33 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
  • Sep 33 °C / 24 °C (outside its best range)
  • Oct 32 °C / 24 °C (outside its best range)

Days in July get hotter than it likes. Time sowing so it flowers before then.

Soil

Soil for Saffron: 8 out of 10 (good).

  • The pH here suits it.
  • Most fields here are short of zinc.

Likes pH 6.0–7.0.

How the soil score works

Money

Yield: about 0.4 kg an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

No mandi or support price for this crop yet.

How to make it work

  • 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.

    Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.

See every crop that suits Nandyal

What it needs

Temperature

7–23 °C
0 °C40 °C

Survives 4–28 °C.

Water

The check above works out its water need on your land.

Soil pH

4 acidic7 neutral9 alkaline

Likes neutral soil. Grows from pH 5.5 to 7.8.

Soil

  • No salty soil
  • Ordinary farm soil is fine
  • K Needs plenty of potassium and sulphur
How the soil score works

Source: FAO ECOCROP crop requirements (via OpenCLIM/ecocrop); SKUAST-K (Shalimar Saffron-1 package); FAO-56 crop coefficients (Allen et al. 1998); IMD gridded daily rainfall (0.25°); IMD gridded daily max/min temperature (1°); TerraClimate 1991–2020 temperature normals (about 4 km), where each district's villages are.

Fertiliser for one acre

Not covered yet. Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra for the dose.

Watch out for

Not covered yet. Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to watch for.

Mandi price, month by month

No mandi prices for this crop yet.

Where it grows in India

Area grown in India
7,828 acres
2025-26
Average yield
0.4 kg an acre (1.0 kg a hectare)
2025-26
Most area
Jammu And Kashmir
100% of India's

States that grow it

Each state's share of India's production, in its latest year with figures (2025-26). Tap a state to open it.

Source: Horticulture area & production statistics (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare).

Where it grows most

The districts with the most area in recent years. The map colours every district growing it on at least 100 ha by yield; the numbers mark these districts.

No recent district figures for this crop.