Tapioca (Cassava)

Water

Rain falls about 4 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 990 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 800 mm it can use in a normal year, and 570 mm in a dry year.

Temperature

Grows best at 20–29 °C on average, and survives 10–35 °C.

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

• Jun 37 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
• Jul 35 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
• Aug 34 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
• Sep 34 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
• Oct 32 °C / 24 °C
• Nov 30 °C / 23 °C
• Dec 29 °C / 22 °C
• Jan 30 °C / 21 °C
• Feb 31 °C / 22 °C
• Mar 33 °C / 23 °C
• Apr 35 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
• May 37 °C / 27 °C (outside its best range)
• Jun 37 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Soil

Soil for Tapioca (Cassava): 7 out of 10 (okay).

Not in the score: organic carbon, sulphur and boron.

• The pH here suits it.
• Many fields here are short of nitrogen, which it needs a lot.
• Many fields here are short of potassium, which it needs a lot.

Likes pH 5.5–8.0.

Money

Yield: about 111 quintals an acre here (district figures).

On rain alone it gets about 81% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 81% of this yield.

Mandi price through the year (December 2025–November 2026): about ₹3,000 a quintal across India's mandis.

This week: about ₹3,500 a quintal, the middle of 71 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹71,000 a year after typical costs.

Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.

Prices are usually best in September.

Typical costs are about ₹2.4 lakh an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2023–2025), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.