Sweet Orange (Mosambi)

Water

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

Needs about 820 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 850 mm it can use in a normal year, and 720 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 29 °C / 19 °C
• Jul 26 °C / 19 °C
• Aug 25 °C / 19 °C
• Sep 25 °C / 17 °C
• Oct 23 °C / 13 °C (outside its best range)
• Nov 19 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 16 °C / 5 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 13 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 17 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 21 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)
• Apr 27 °C / 14 °C
• May 29 °C / 18 °C
• Jun 29 °C / 19 °C

Months in orange are outside its best range.

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

Soil

Soil for Sweet Orange (Mosambi): 8 out of 10 (good).

Not in the score: nitrogen.

• Soil here is often more alkaline than it likes.
• Many fields here are short of zinc, which it needs a lot.
• Many fields here are short of iron, which it needs a lot.
• Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.

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 ₹2,850 a quintal across mandis in your state.

This week: about ₹2,525 a quintal, the middle of 6 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹44,000 a year after typical costs.

Prices are usually best in May.

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.