Turmeric
Sow in June, harvest around February
This season's sowing time (May–June) is over.
Grown on 129 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹1.8 lakh–₹2.7 lakh
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹39,000–₹1.3 lakh an acre a season
- Needs care: Risky: 6 irrigations short
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain falls about 6 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.
Needs about 920 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 650 mm it can use in a normal year, and 490 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 37 °C / 27 °C (outside its best range)
- Jul 33 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 32 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
- Sep 32 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
- Oct 32 °C / 24 °C
- Nov 31 °C / 20 °C
- Dec 30 °C / 18 °C
- Jan 31 °C / 18 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Turmeric: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 29 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
On rain alone it gets about 70% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 70% of this yield.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹10,990 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹19,700 a quintal, the middle of 3 mandis in your state (latest 12 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹2.6 lakh a season after typical costs.
- ₹5,390 2022
- ₹6,330 2023
- ₹11,880 2024
- ₹10,590 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 31 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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of organic carbon Your soil is likely short of organic carbon.
Add 4 tonnes of compost or farmyard manure per acre before sowing, and plough crop leftovers back in instead of burning them.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of zinc Your soil is likely short of zinc.
Mix 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre into the soil before sowing. One dose lasts two or three seasons.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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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.
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Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.