Sweet Orange (Mosambi)

Water

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

Needs about 980 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 910 mm it can use in a normal year, and 810 mm in a dry year.

Temperature

Grows best at 20–30 °C on average, and survives 13–38 °C.

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

• Jun 37 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
• Jul 32 °C / 25 °C
• Aug 31 °C / 24 °C
• Sep 31 °C / 23 °C
• Oct 29 °C / 18 °C
• Nov 24 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 20 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 17 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 22 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 27 °C / 14 °C
• Apr 33 °C / 19 °C
• May 37 °C / 24 °C (outside its best range)
• Jun 37 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Nights in January can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.

Soil

Soil for Sweet Orange (Mosambi): 9 out of 10 (good).

Not in the score: nitrogen and boron.

• Soil here is often more alkaline than it likes.

Likes pH 5.0–6.0.

Money

Yield: about 67 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

A new planting gives its first real harvest after about 4 years. The money here is for plants already bearing.

Mandi price through the year (December 2025–November 2026): about ₹5,925 a quintal at mandis in your district.

This week: about ₹5,100 a quintal, the middle of 2 mandis in your district (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹2.2 lakh a year after typical costs.

Prices are usually best in June.

Typical costs are about ₹1.3 lakh an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2023–2025), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.