When to plant Onion in Bosso

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Diffa, Niger

Known here as albasa

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.

Onion in Bosso, rain-fed and with irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant 28 Oct 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 opens in 4 weeks
Expected harvest about 45.0 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 17 Nov 2026. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Bosso 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 Bosso

Rain and temperature 96%
The soil 96%
The lie of the land 96%

For onion in Bosso, rain and temperature is the tightest of the three at 96%. This one is fixed. It is why the planting window above is where it is — hitting those dates is the whole of your control here.

The season in Bosso

Rain in a typical yearAbout 195 mm
This season's rainRain close to usual — plan around about 195 mm falling roughly when it always does
What that supportstoo dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers2 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 94% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
94% too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season no rain-fed season · about 210 mm
6% too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season no rain-fed season · about 190 mm

last updated 17 September 2026

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 Bosso

Planting materialAbout 500,000 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)About 81 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 16 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 90 kg per hectare
In the shopsA 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

Soil pH below the crop's optimum

Grow Onion with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Bosso 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.

Or check your field first

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 Bosso?

Bosso rates as favourable for onion.

When should I plant onion in Bosso?

Typically 28 Oct 2026 to 1 Jan 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Bosso, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.