Sweet Potato
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 387 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹30,000–₹45,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹11,000–₹25,000 an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 2 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 2 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 330 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 60 mm it can use in a normal year (20 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 18–28 °C on average, and survives 10–38 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 32 °C / 23 °C
- Nov 29 °C / 18 °C
- Dec 26 °C / 14 °C
- Jan 24 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 27 °C / 14 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Sweet Potato: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of manganese.
- Most fields here are short of boron.
Likes pH 5.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 20 quintals an acre here (district figures).
On rain alone it gets about 79% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 79% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹2,388 a quintal across India's mandis.
- ₹1,740 2021
- ₹1,980 2022
- ₹1,940 2023
- ₹2,380 2024
- ₹2,500 2025
Prices are usually best in September.
Typical costs are about ₹55,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), 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 26 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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Short of potassium Your soil is likely short of potassium.
Add about a quarter more potash (MOP) than the usual dose.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of manganese Your soil is likely short of manganese.
Spray manganese sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, on the young crop.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.