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Fruits · Fruit tree

Growing apple

Malus domesticaApple is a temperate fruit tree raised from grafted saplings in the Himalayan hills. It needs a long cold winter to flower and fruit well, so it suits the high hills and not the warm plains or coasts.

Arid west: Rajasthan, Kutch, north Gujarat

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Hot, dry summers and warm winters: apple needs a long cold winter (1,000 to 1,500 hours below 7°C) and mild summers.Includes AI suggestions where no published guide covers a detail
Red apples ripening on an apple tree in an orchard
Photo: Gerda Arendt · CC0
Not suited here

Not a crop for this region

Hot, dry summers and warm winters: apple needs a long cold winter (1,000 to 1,500 hours below 7°C) and mild summers.11

Where it grows nearest

Across India

When to sow it

Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.

Not suited here

  • Transplant
  • Harvest
  • Today
  • Not suited here
Arid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratNot suited hereCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaNot suited hereNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiNot suited here
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunNot suited hereNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiNot suited hereGangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNot suited hereNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaNot suited hereDeccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north KarnatakaNot suited hereSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduNot suited hereWest coastKerala, Goa, KonkanNot suited hereEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal AndhraNot suited here
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
Arid westNot suited here
Temperate HimalayaDecemberMarchLate July to October
Cold desertMid-March to AprilSeptember to October
Sub-tropical foothillsNot suited here
North-west plainsNot suited here
Gangetic plainsNot suited here
North-east hills and valleysDecember to FebruaryLate July to September
Central plateauNot suited here
Deccan plateauNot suited here
South interiorNot suited here
West coastNot suited here
East coastNot suited here

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH1,11,12,16

    5.5 to 6.5

    Deep, well-drained loam rich in organic matter, at least 45 cm deep, with no hard layer underneath and no standing water. Avoid heavy clay and compact subsoil.

  • Sunlight1,11

    Full sun. Plenty of summer sunshine is needed for the fruit to colour well.

  • Temperature1,11,16

    Grows best at 21 to 24 °C

    Monthly temperatures for the Arid west aren't in the library yet.

Good neighboursNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Keep it away from

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed16Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Apple does not come true from seed, so seed is saved only to raise rootstock seedlings. Take it from fully ripe fruit of healthy, vigorous, high-yielding trees. Crab apple, White Dotted Red, Yellow Newton, Golden Delicious and Northern Spy give seed that germinates and grows well.

Cleaning the seed

Wash the seed clean in water and dry it in the shade.

Keep dry seed in airtight containers in a cool, dry place; apple seed keeps for 2 to 3 years. Before sowing it needs 50 to 70 days of moist chilling at 1 to 5°C.

After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Rake up fallen leaves and fruit after leaf fall and compost them in a pit away from the trees. Chip or compost prunings; burn diseased wood rather than leaving it in the orchard.

Rotation

When an old orchard is removed, grow a few seasons of legumes, fodder grasses or vegetables before planting apple again, and do not set new trees back into the old pits.

Sources

Where this comes from

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.

These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.

  1. 1Apple: soil and climateNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  2. 10Apple: area under cultivationNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  3. 12IPM package of practices for apple (for producing quality fruits for export)Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Government of India (reviewed by ICAR-CITH Srinagar)Read the source
  4. 2Apple: plantingNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  5. 3Apple: propagationNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  6. 4Apple: harvesting and yieldNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  7. 5Apple: irrigationNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  8. 6Apple: intercultural operationsNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  9. 7Apple: diseasesNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  10. 8Apple: pestsNational Horticulture BoardRead the source

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