Turmeric
Sow in June, harvest around February
This season's sowing time (May–June) is over.
Grown on 6.2 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
₹1.2 lakh–₹1.9 lakh
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹15,000 to a profit of ₹48,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Doesn't suit: Too cold in october
- Suits: Soil 9/10
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 610 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 670 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 27 °C / 14 °C
- Jul 24 °C / 15 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 24 °C / 14 °C (outside its best range)
- Sep 24 °C / 14 °C (outside its best range)
- Oct 22 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 17 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 14 °C / 4 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 12 °C / 2 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in November can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Soil
Soil for Turmeric: 9 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 12 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 leave about ₹1.2 lakh a season after 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
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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.