Tomato
Sow in November, harvest around May
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop. Priced from mandis across India.
₹1.7 lakh–₹2.6 lakh
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹84,000–₹1.7 lakh an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Needs care: Frost risk in January
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.
Needs about 540 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 450 mm it can use in a normal year (260 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 20–27 °C on average, and survives 7–35 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 24 °C / 13 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 21 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 20 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 20 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
- Mar 24 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
- Apr 25 °C / 16 °C
- May 28 °C / 20 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Nights in January can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Soil
Soil for Tomato: 8 out of 10 (good).
- 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.
- Most fields here are short of manganese.
Likes pH 5.5–6.8.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 104 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (May–June 2026): about ₹2,100 a quintal across India's mandis.
- ₹1,320 2021
- ₹1,850 2022
- ₹1,380 2023
- ₹2,250 2024
- ₹1,990 2025
Prices are usually best in December.
Typical costs are about ₹91,000 an acre: about half of what a usual harvest earns (2024–2026), as in farm cost surveys. They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
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Short of potassium Your soil is likely short of potassium.
Add about a quarter more potash (MOP) than the usual dose.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
-
Short of manganese Your soil is likely short of manganese.
Spray manganese sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, on the young crop.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.