Turmeric
Sow in June, harvest around February
This season's sowing time (May–June) is over.
Grown on 4.1 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 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 560 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 670 mm it can use in a normal year, and 530 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 / 17 °C
- Jul 25 °C / 17 °C
- Aug 24 °C / 17 °C
- Sep 23 °C / 15 °C (outside its best range)
- Oct 21 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 17 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 14 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 11 °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: 8 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 ₹20,813 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.
-
Short of sulphur Your soil is likely short of sulphur.
Use single super phosphate instead of DAP, or add about 100 kg of gypsum per acre before sowing.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.