Tobacco
Sow in October, harvest around February
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 10,617 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 410 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 160 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 15–30 °C on average, and survives 7–35 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 35 °C / 21 °C
- Nov 33 °C / 16 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 13 °C
- Jan 28 °C / 11 °C
- Feb 31 °C / 14 °C
Soil
Soil for Tobacco: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 5.0–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 9.8 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹3,978 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹2,300 a quintal, the middle of 7 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov).
- ₹4,650 2021
- ₹4,490 2022
- ₹4,570 2023
- ₹5,130 2025
Prices are usually best in December.
Typical costs are about ₹23,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2022–2026), 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 12 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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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.
About 100% of local fields of this crop get it.
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Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 100%
- Urea 100%