Turmeric
Sow in June, harvest around February
This season's sowing time (May–June) is over.
Grown on 159 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹49,000–₹74,000
per acre a season, before costs
Likely a loss at typical costs: ₹65,000–₹90,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Doesn't suit: Too cold in november
- 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 590 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 570 mm it can use in a normal year, and 470 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 20–28 °C on average, and survives 18–32 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jun 30 °C / 20 °C
- Jul 27 °C / 20 °C
- Aug 26 °C / 19 °C
- Sep 26 °C / 18 °C
- Oct 24 °C / 14 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 20 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 16 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 13 °C / 4 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in December can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Soil
Soil for Turmeric: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: sulphur and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 4.9 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹12,663 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹20,950 a quintal, the middle of 22 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would lose about ₹37,000 a season at typical costs.
- ₹7,100 2021
- ₹6,250 2022
- ₹7,250 2023
- ₹13,200 2024
- ₹11,770 2025
Prices swing a lot from year to year, so income can be well above or below this range.
Prices are usually best in November.
Typical costs are about ₹1.4 lakh 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
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 15 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.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Urea 100%