Tobacco
Sow in June, harvest around October
This season's sowing time (June–July) is over.
Grown on 1,866 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹16,000–₹24,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹7,000 to a profit of ₹1,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 9/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough, even in a dry year.
Needs about 360 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 770 mm it can use in a normal year, and 650 mm in a dry year.
Heavy rain here can waterlog it. Grow it on raised beds or land that drains well.
Temperature
Grows best at 15–30 °C on average, and survives 7–35 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jun 28 °C / 21 °C
- Jul 25 °C / 20 °C
- Aug 25 °C / 20 °C
- Sep 26 °C / 19 °C
- Oct 28 °C / 19 °C
Soil
Soil for Tobacco: 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
Likes pH 5.0–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 7.8 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).
Mandi price at this season's harvest so far (October–November 2026): about ₹2,609 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹2,300 a quintal, the middle of 7 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹5,000 a season at typical costs.
- ₹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 (2023–2025), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
-
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.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 100%
- Nitro Phosphate Potash 66%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 31%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 23%