Divisi
When to plant Onion in Abdi
SILA, Tchad
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.
| Measure | Rain-fed | With irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Favourable | |
| When to plant | 30 Jun 2027 – 10 Jul 2027 opens in 39 weeks | 28 Oct 2026 – 7 Dec 2026 |
| Expected harvest | about 19.8 t/ha | about 32.5 t/ha |
| Harvest | From 28 Sep 2027 to 7 Nov 2027, depending on the planting date | |
| Ready to harvest | 90–120 days after planting | |
| Rain meets its needs | 86% | |
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 30 Jun 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
No seasonal forecast reaches Abdi yet, so these dates follow the rains it usually gets rather than this year's.
Planting after 10 Jul 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Abdi
| Rain and temperature | 88% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 96% |
| The lie of the land | 96% |
For onion in Abdi, rain and temperature is the tightest of the three at 88%. 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 2027 season in Abdi
| Rainy seasons | One each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it |
|---|---|
| When the rains are expected | June 2027 to October 2027 |
| Rain in a typical year | About 467 mm |
| This season's rain | Rain close to usual — plan around about 467 mm falling roughly when it always does |
| This season's heat | Hotter than usual — about +1.8 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can. |
| What that supports | enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | One kind of ground throughout. |
last updated 17 September 2026
Temperature holds back about 20% 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 Abdi
| Planting material | About 500,000 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 36 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 7 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 40 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 Abdi 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.
Onion in nearby districts
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 Abdi?
Abdi rates as favourable for onion.
When should I plant onion in Abdi?
Typically 30 Jun 2027 to 10 Jul 2027, typical season.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Abdi, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
