Divisi
When to plant Onion in Bambara-Maoude
Timbuktu, Mali
Known here as oignon
Onion is a cool-season vegetable you grow for its bulb — the swollen base of the leaves — but across sub-Saharan Africa it is most often grown as an irrigated hot dry-season crop, and it stands real heat (up to about 42 °C) as long as the water never stops.
| Fit | Favourable |
|---|---|
| When to plant | 28 Oct 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 opens in 4 weeks |
| Expected harvest | about 41.5 t/ha |
| Harvest | From 26 Jan 2027 to 1 May 2027, depending on the planting date |
| Ready to harvest | 90–120 days after planting |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 1 Jan 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for Bambara-Maoude is close to normal, so these dates match the pattern the area usually follows.
Planting after 1 Jan 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Bambara-Maoude
| Rain and temperature | 96% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 76% |
| The lie of the land | 96% |
For onion in Bambara-Maoude, the soil is the tightest of the three at 76%. This is the one you can actually move. Lime raises a sour soil, manure and compost lift what it holds, and both work within a season or two — money spent here changes the answer.
The season in Bambara-Maoude
| Rain in a typical year | About 222 mm |
|---|---|
| This season's rain | Rain close to usual — plan around about 222 mm falling roughly when it always does |
| What that supports | too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | One kind of ground throughout. |
last updated 30 September 2026
The soil holds back about 10% of yield here.
What onion needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | well-drained sandy loam or loam soil |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 6.0 and 7.0 |
| Spacing | 20 cm between rows, 7 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | nitrogen, potassium and sulphur |
What it takes to grow onion in Bambara-Maoude
| Planting material | About 500,000 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 75 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 15 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 83 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established. |
These are the nutrients a onion crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
What to watch for
Grow Onion with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Bambara-Maoude as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
Where to sell Onion nearby
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will onion grow well in Bambara-Maoude?
Bambara-Maoude rates as favourable for onion.
When should I plant onion in Bambara-Maoude?
Typically 28 Oct 2026 to 1 Jan 2027, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Bambara-Maoude, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.