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?

Bargarh Odisha
Water
Season

Good fit in Bargarh

Sweet Potato

JJASONDJFMAM

Sow in July, harvest around November

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

Grown on 667 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.

₹57,000–₹85,000

per acre a season, before costs

After typical costs: ₹1,000–₹30,000 an acre a season

  • Suits: Rain is enough
  • Suits: Ideal temperatures
  • Suits: Soil 8/10
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 650 mm it can use in a normal year, and 540 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):

  • Jul 31 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
  • Aug 31 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
  • Sep 30 °C / 25 °C
  • Oct 32 °C / 23 °C
  • Nov 30 °C / 17 °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 nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
  • Most fields here are short of boron.

Likes pH 5.0–7.0.

How the soil score works

Money

Yield: about 37 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).

Mandi price at last season's harvest (December 2025): about ₹1,900 a quintal across mandis in your state.

This week: about ₹3,350 a quintal, the middle of 4 mandis in your state (latest 12 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹69,000 a season after typical costs.

Average mandi price each year (₹ a quintal):
  1. ₹3,200 2023
  2. ₹2,530 2024
  3. ₹3,150 2025

Prices are usually best in September.

Typical costs are about ₹55,000 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 35 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.

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

    Add about a quarter more urea than the usual dose, in two or three splits. A pulse crop in rotation also adds nitrogen.

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

  • 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.

See every crop that suits Bargarh

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 Bargarh 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).