Turmeric

Water

Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.

Needs about 660 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 850 mm it can use in a normal year, and 610 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 31 °C / 21 °C
• Jul 28 °C / 21 °C
• Aug 28 °C / 21 °C
• Sep 28 °C / 19 °C
• Oct 26 °C / 15 °C
• Nov 22 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 18 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 17 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)

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 Turmeric: 8 out of 10 (good).

Not in the score: organic carbon.

• The pH here suits it.
• Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
• Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
• Most fields here are short of manganese.

Likes pH 6.0–7.0.

Money

Yield: about 11 quintals an acre here (district figures).

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 leave about ₹97,000 a season after typical costs.

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.