Sweet Potato

A monsoon crop. Sow in Jun–Jul, harvest in Oct–Nov.

Check it on your land
Season
Kharif
JJASONDJFMAM

Sowing Growing Harvest

89% of its area. Also grown in rabi.
Ready in
120 days
about 4 months
Water
400–540 mm
of water over its season (rain plus irrigation)
Grows best at
18–28 °C
0 °C survives 10–38 °C 40 °C

When to sow and harvest

Kharif 89% of its area
Rabi 11% of its area
Today: kharif harvest
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?

East Garo Hills Meghalaya
Water
Season

Possible in East Garo Hills, with effort

Sweet Potato

JJASONDJFMAM

Sow in June, harvest around October

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

Grown on 570 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.

₹41,000–₹62,000

per acre a season, before costs

At typical costs, from a loss of ₹18,000 to a profit of ₹3,000 an acre a season

  • Suits: Rain is enough
  • Suits: Ideal temperatures
  • Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work

Water

Rain is enough, even in a dry year.

Needs about 420 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 1,650 mm it can use in a normal year, and 1,120 mm in a dry year.

Temperature

Grows best at 18–28 °C on average, and survives 10–38 °C.

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

  • Jun 29 °C / 23 °C
  • Jul 29 °C / 24 °C
  • Aug 30 °C / 24 °C
  • Sep 30 °C / 23 °C
  • Oct 29 °C / 21 °C

Soil

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

Not in the score: sulphur.

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

Likes pH 5.0–7.0.

How the soil score works

Money

Yield: about 15 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).

Mandi price at this season's harvest so far (October–November 2026): about ₹3,500 a quintal across India's mandis.

This week: about ₹3,200 a quintal, the middle of 73 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹12,000 a season at typical costs.

Average mandi price each year (₹ a quintal):
  1. ₹1,740 2021
  2. ₹1,980 2022
  3. ₹1,940 2023
  4. ₹2,380 2024
  5. ₹2,500 2025

Prices are usually best in September.

Typical costs are about ₹59,000 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

The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 20 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.

  • Short of phosphorus Your soil is likely short of phosphorus.

    Add about a quarter more DAP or single super phosphate than the usual dose, at sowing.

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

  • 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 East Garo Hills

What it needs

Temperature

18–28 °C
0 °C40 °C

Survives 10–38 °C. Frost hurts it.

Water

400–540 mm over its season

Rain and irrigation together, worked out where most of it grows:

Ganjam Koraput Kasganj Kendujhar Sundargarh

Soil pH

4 acidic7 neutral9 alkaline

Likes neutral soil. Grows from pH 4 to 8.7.

Soil

  • No salty soil
  • Needs rich soil
  • N Needs plenty of nitrogen and potassium
How the soil score works

Source: FAO ECOCROP crop requirements (via OpenCLIM/ecocrop); 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.

What an acre earns

At India's average yield and a recent price, named below. Your land, water and mandi will differ.

Left an acre, a season

₹1,11,100

Yield India's average
53.1 quintals an acre
× Price harvest price this season so far (Oct–Nov 2026)
₹3,500 a quintal
= Income
₹1,86,000
− Costs about half of what a usual harvest earns (2023–2025), as in farm cost surveys
−₹74,900
= Left
₹1,11,100

This week sweet potato sells at about ₹3,200 a quintal: India's middle price at 73 mandis, latest 13 Nov. At that price an acre would leave about ₹95,200 a season.

A good year or field earns about a fifth more, a poor one a fifth less: ₹1,48,800 to ₹2,23,200 income an acre. Costs stay the same either way.

Work it out for your land

Mandi price, month by month

Best month
September, ₹4,250 a quintal
Lowest
January, ₹2,275 a quintal
₹2,275
₹4,250
J F M A M J J A S O N D

Rupees a quintal, typical across India's mandis: each month's latest price (Dec 2025–Nov 2026).

Latest prices near East Garo Hills Today's price across India

Source: Agmarknet daily prices and arrivals (India Data Portal).

Where it grows in India

Area grown in India
3.0 lakh acres
2025-26
Average yield
53.1 quintals an acre (13.1 tonnes a hectare)
2025-26
Most area
Odisha
29% 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.

District figures cover only 30% of India's sweet potato area, so the districts aren't listed. The states show where it grows.

Soil and yield

How district soil tests line up with this crop's yields across India.

Sweet Potato yields tend to be higher in districts with

  • More soil that is neutral strong 120 districts
  • More soil that is alkaline moderate 120 districts

Sweet Potato yields tend to be lower in districts with

  • More soil that is acidic strong 120 districts
  • More soil short of boron moderate 118 districts

A pattern is not proof that soil causes the difference.

Source: Soil Health Card – soil nutrient analysis (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare).