Turmeric
Sow in June, harvest around February
This season's sowing time (May–June) is over.
Grown on 47 acres here. Priced from mandis across India.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Doesn't suit: Too cold in december
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 800 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 270 mm it can use in a normal year, and 210 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 39 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
- Jul 35 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 33 °C / 26 °C (outside its best range)
- Sep 33 °C / 24 °C (outside its best range)
- Oct 32 °C / 18 °C
- Nov 28 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 22 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 19 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in January can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Days in June get hotter than it likes. Time sowing so it flowers before then.
Soil
Soil for Turmeric: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of boron.
Likes pH 6.0–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 23 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (your district's own figure looked wrong).
Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.
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).
- ₹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 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 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.