Tomato

A monsoon crop. Sow in Jun–Jul, harvest in Oct–Nov.

Check it on your land
Season
Kharif
57% of its area. Also grown in rabi.
Ready in
130 days
about 4½ months
Water
570–620 mm
over its season
Temperature
20–27 °C
0° survives 7–35 °C 40°

When to sow and harvest

Kharif 57% of its area
Rabi 43% 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.

Will it grow on your land?

Water
Season

Pick a place and water to see if it suits your land, and what it earns.

What it needs

Temperature

20–27 °C
0 °C40 °C

Survives 7–35 °C.

Water

570–620 mm over its season
Chittoor Ananthapuramu Kurnool Y.S.R. Kadapa Prakasam

Worked out where most of it grows. Rain and irrigation together.

Soil pH

4 acidic7 neutral9 alkaline

Likes neutral soil. Grows from pH 5 to 7.5.

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°).

Fertiliser for one acre

Draft: check with your KVK
Urea nitrogen
85 kg 2 bags of 45 kg
DAP phosphate
53 kg 1 bag of 50 kg
MOP potash
40 kg 1 bag of 50 kg

Hybrids often get more; borax 10 kg/ha where boron is short

Give the DAP and MOP at sowing, and the urea in two or three doses. If your soil card says a nutrient is low, add about a quarter more of it.

Watch out for

Draft: check with your KVK
  • Leaf curl virus
    Disease

    Look for Leaves curl and shrink and plants stay short; spread by whitefly.

    First Raise seedlings under net, grow a resistant hybrid, pull out sick plants and use yellow sticky traps.

  • Early blight
    Disease

    Look for Brown spots with rings on the older leaves.

    First Spray mancozeb when spots appear. Follow the label or your KVK for the dose.

  • Late blight
    Disease

    Look for Dark water-soaked patches on leaves and fruit in cool, cloudy weather.

    First Spray mancozeb before it shows in cool, cloudy weather; switch to metalaxyl with mancozeb once it appears. Follow the label or your KVK for the dose.

  • Fruit borer
    Pest

    Look for Round holes in the fruit with caterpillars inside.

    First Use pheromone traps and a marigold border; spray when caterpillars are many. Follow the label or your KVK for the dose.

  • Bacterial wilt
    Disease

    Look for Plants wilt suddenly while still green.

    First Rotate crops, avoid waterlogging and grow a resistant variety.

Mandi price, month by month

Best month
August, ₹3,000
Lowest
March, ₹1,150
₹1,150
₹3,000
J F M A M J J A S O N D

Rupees a quintal, typical across India's mandis.

Source: Agmarknet daily prices and arrivals (India Data Portal).

Where it grows in India

Area grown in India
1,85,651 ha
2003-04
Average yield
7.3 t/ha
2003-04

States that grow it

Latest state figures for fruits, vegetables, spices and plantation crops.

  1. Andhra Pradesh 36,20,530 t (2025-26)
  2. Madhya Pradesh 28,30,860 t (2025-26)
  3. Karnataka 23,42,811 t (2025-26)
  4. Gujarat 16,51,160 t (2025-26)
  5. Odisha 15,98,937 t (2025-26)
  6. Bihar 12,45,295 t (2025-26)
  7. Tamil Nadu 12,18,016 t (2025-26)
  8. Uttar Pradesh 10,82,673 t (2025-26)
  9. West Bengal 10,32,323 t (2025-26)
  10. Maharashtra 9,83,120 t (2025-26)

Source: Horticulture area & production statistics (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare).

Districts with the most area (recent figures)

The map colours each district by yield, for districts growing it on at least 100 ha.

No recent district figures for this crop.

Across India over the years

Yield (t/ha)

7.3 7.8 8.3
2003-04 2003-04
Latest 7.3 t/ha in 2003-04

Area (ha)

186K 186K 186K
2003-04 2003-04
Latest 1,85,651 ha in 2003-04

Only years in which most of the usual districts reported are shown.

Source: Crop area, production & yield – district-wise (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare); Crop area, production & yield – UPAG (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare). 2003-04.