Growing cabbage
Brassica oleracea var. capitata · also called Band gobhi
North-west plains: Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh
At a glance
Cabbage in the North-west plains
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Too late this season
The window here was September to October. The next one opens in September.
- Nursery
- Transplant
- Harvest
- Under cover
- Today
Compare all 12 regionsShow fewer regions
See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North-west plains | September to October | |||
| Temperate Himalaya | February to MarchAugust to SeptemberApril to MayMay to June | |||
| Cold desert | Under cover: April, under polythene | Early May | July to September | |
| Sub-tropical foothills | August to SeptemberJuly to August | |||
| Gangetic plains | July to November (early cabbage, plains) | October to January | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | Early September to late November | |||
| Arid west | July to November (early cabbage, plains) | |||
| Central plateau | July to November (early cabbage, plains) | |||
| Deccan plateau | July to November (early cabbage, plains) | |||
| South interior | August to NovemberJanuary to FebruaryJuly to AugustSeptember to October | |||
| West coast | August to November | |||
| East coast | August to November |
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Before sowing
Before transplanting
Farmyard manure
40 tonnes per acre
Apply all of it before transplanting (the cauliflower manuring, which PAU applies to cabbage).
Day 0
Sow
Day 120 to 150
Last picking
No published guide covers this for the North-west plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Before sowing
Farmyard manure2
40 tonnes per acre · Apply all of it before transplanting (the cauliflower manuring, which PAU applies to cabbage). · Before transplanting
Day 0
Sow
Day 5 to 8
Seeds come up4,8Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 28 to 42
Day 120 to 150
Last pickingNo published guide covers this for the North-west plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Water right after transplanting, then every 10 to 15 days; 8 to 12 waterings in all.2
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1,5,6
6 to 6.5
Grows on sandy to heavy soils rich in organic matter. Light, sandy loam soils suit an early crop; clay loam and silty soils, which hold moisture, suit a late crop and give firmer heads that keep longer.
SunlightNo published guide covers this for the North-west plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
At least 6 hours a day
Full sun in an open spot. Heads form poorly in shade.
Temperature5,1,2,3
Grows best at 15 to 21 °C
Takes hard frost.
Monthly temperatures for the North-west plains aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering2
Water right after transplanting, then every 10 to 15 days; 8 to 12 waterings in all.
WeedingNo published guide covers this for the North-west plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Hoe shallowly two or three times in the first month after transplanting, since the roots are near the surface. Earth up the plants after about a month.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before transplanting | Farmyard manure | 40 tonnes per acre | Apply all of it before transplanting (the cauliflower manuring, which PAU applies to cabbage). |
Varieties and yield
250 to 350 quintals a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Pests and diseases2
Organic and cultural controls only.
Stem borer (Hellula undalis)
Signs
Serious in July and August: caterpillars bore into the central shoot of young plants, which then form no head.
What to do
- Pick and destroy infested plant parts.
Prevention
- Check nursery and young plants regularly.
- Transplant clean, healthy seedlings.
Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella)
Signs
Caterpillars eat holes in the leaves from August onwards.
What to do
- Use Bacillus thuringiensis sprays for the first sprays, as they spare other organisms.
Cabbage caterpillar (Pieris brassicae)
Signs
Serious from October to April. Young caterpillars scrape the leaf surface; older ones eat leaves from the edges, leaving the main veins.
What to do
- Remove egg masses and clusters of young caterpillars and destroy them.
Prevention
- Transplant clean, healthy seedlings.
Black rot (Xanthomonas campestris)
Signs
V-shaped yellow patches on leaf edges turn brown; veins blacken and leaves dry up.
What to do
- Destroy diseased remains in the field after harvest.
Prevention
- Take seed from healthy plants in areas free of the bacterium.
- Treat seed with hot water at 50 °C for 30 minutes and dry it before sowing.
Downy mildew (Peronospora parasitica)
Signs
Yellowish angular patches on leaves with white downy growth beneath.
What to do
- Destroy affected plant remains.
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed1
Seed forms only where winters are cold: the plants need 0 to 4 °C for 8 to 10 weeks after the head forms. Pull out off-types while the plants grow, when heads form and at flowering. Keep seed fields 1,600 m from other cabbage, cauliflower, knol-khol, Brussels sprouts and kale.
When the seed is ready
Cut the seed branches as the pods ripen.
Where winters are mild, heads can stay in the field over winter, or be stored in trenches about 2 x 1 x 1 m with the outer leaves removed, laid in one layer and covered with air holes on both sides. Replant them in March and April before the heads burst. Stack the cut branches to dry for 4 to 5 days.
After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the North-west plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Clear stumps and roots after the last head is cut. Compost healthy leaves and destroy diseased ones. Follow with a crop outside the cabbage family, such as a legume or a cereal.
Destroy diseased plant remains after harvest.
Rotation
Where club root has appeared, keep cabbage and other crucifers off the land for three years. SKUAST-Jammu advises rotating cole crops with paddy against stalk rot.
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.
- Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2020 (Cabbage; insect-pest and disease management in cole crops; protected cultivation)Directorate of Extension, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu (SKUAST-Jammu)Read the source
- Package of Practices for Cultivation of Vegetables 2021 (Cabbage; plant protection in cole crops)Punjab Agricultural University, LudhianaRead the source
- Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers (VSF-231), Part I: Vegetable production (Cole crops: cabbage)CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur (Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture)Read the source
- Cabbage: propagation (nursery, season of planting, raising of seedlings)National Horticulture Board, Government of IndiaRead the source
- Cabbage: soil and climateNational Horticulture Board, Government of IndiaRead the source
- Cabbage (Horticulture: vegetables), TNAU Agritech PortalTamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
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