Vanilla
Holds the land all year
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Doesn't suit: Frost in january kills it
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 1,800 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 120 mm it can use in a normal year, and 80 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 21–30 °C on average, and survives 10–33 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Jun 41 °C / 28 °C (outside its best range)
- Jul 37 °C / 28 °C (outside its best range)
- Aug 36 °C / 27 °C (outside its best range)
- Sep 35 °C / 25 °C
- Oct 34 °C / 18 °C
- Nov 29 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 23 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 19 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 24 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)
- Mar 30 °C / 14 °C
- Apr 37 °C / 20 °C
- May 41 °C / 25 °C (outside its best range)
- Jun 41 °C / 28 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in December can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Days in June get hotter than it likes. Young plants need shade and water then.
Soil
Soil for Vanilla: 7 out of 10 (okay).
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
Likes pH 5.5–7.0.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 1.4 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).
A new planting gives its first real harvest after about 3 years. The money here is for plants already bearing.
Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.
No mandi or support price for this crop yet.
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.
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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 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 iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of manganese Your soil is likely short of manganese.
Spray manganese sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, on the young crop.
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.