Turmeric
Sow in June, harvest around February
This season's sowing time (May–June) is over.
Grown on 11 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹2.0 lakh–₹2.9 lakh
per acre a season, before costs
After typical costs: ₹56,000–₹1.5 lakh an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Needs care: Warm in June
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
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 900 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 830 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 36 °C / 27 °C (outside its best range)
- Jul 36 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 35 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
- Sep 34 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
- Oct 32 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
- Nov 30 °C / 24 °C
- Dec 28 °C / 22 °C
- Jan 29 °C / 22 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Turmeric: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- 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 organic carbon.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 20 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (March 2026): about ₹12,366 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹20,405 a quintal, the middle of 3 mandis in your state (latest 11 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹2.6 lakh a season after typical costs.
- ₹6,530 2021
- ₹6,450 2022
- ₹6,810 2023
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 23 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 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.
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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 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.