Growing carrot
Daucus carota subsp. sativus · also called GajarA cool season root crop sown straight into deep, loose soil. Red Asiatic types suit the plains and warm winters; orange European types suit the hills.
Sub-tropical foothills: Jammu, Kangra, Dehradun
At a glance
Carrot in the Sub-tropical foothills
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Sow now
The window here is November to December (Nantes, Pusa Yamdagini).
- Sow
- Harvest
- Today
Compare all 12 regionsShow fewer regions
See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sub-tropical foothills | September to October (Pusa Kesar)November to December (Nantes, Pusa Yamdagini)August to September (Pusa Kesar)October to November (Nantes, Pusa Yamdagini)August to September | |||
| Temperate Himalaya | March to JulyJuly to SeptemberApril to August | |||
| Cold desert | Late April to early June | August to early October | ||
| North-west plains | August to September (desi types)October to November (European types) | |||
| Gangetic plains | September to November | December to February | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | Early October to November | |||
| Arid west | September to early November | December to February | ||
| Central plateau | Late September to November | December to February | ||
| Deccan plateau | October to early December | January to March | ||
| South interior | All year (with assured water)July to FebruaryAugust | |||
| West coast | August to October | November to January | ||
| East coast | AugustOctober to early December |
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Day 0
Sow
Before sowing
Farmyard manure1
12 t per acre · Apply all of it at field preparation. · Field preparation
Day 0
Sow
Day 7 to 21
Seeds come up1,2,3,4,5Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 80 to 90
First picking1
Day 80 to 90
Last picking1
Water every 7 to 14 days, more at germination and root development.1,2
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1,3,4,5
6 to 7
Deep, loose, well drained loam or sandy loam. Heavy soil, clods, stones and trash hold the root back and make it fork.
SunlightNo published guide covers this for the Sub-tropical foothills, 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 bed. Roots stay thin and pale in shade.
Temperature1,3,4Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Grows best at 18.3 to 23.9 °C
Takes light frost.
Monthly temperatures for the Sub-tropical foothills aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering1,2
Sow into moist soil. Water 5 days after sowing and again 3 to 4 days later, and keep the furrows moist until the seed comes up. Then water before any wilting: about weekly on sandy soil and every 10 to 14 days on loam. Avoid heavy watering, which gives leafy plants and poor, late roots.
Weeding1
Weed early, while the crop is small and slow. Little hoeing is needed once plants are 8 to 10 cm tall. Do not hoe in dry weather and keep the crowns covered. Thin to 3 to 4 cm in moist soil once plants are well up.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field preparation | Farmyard manure | 12 t per acre | Apply all of it at field preparation. |
Varieties and yield
200 to 300 quintals a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Pusa Kesar
Asiatic red type; stays in the field about a month longer without bolting
Nantes
European type for sowing from mid October to early December
Pusa Yamdagini
European type
Chaman
European type; tolerates cracking and forking
Good neighboursNo published guide covers this for the Sub-tropical foothills, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Pests and diseases1Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Organic and cultural controls only.
Aphids
Signs
Colonies of small soft insects on the young leaves and flower heads; leaves curl and turn yellow.
What to do
- Spray a strong jet of water or neem seed kernel extract 5% on the colonies.
- Conserve ladybird beetles and hover flies.
Prevention
- Sow at the usual time; late sown crops suffer more.
Cutworms
Signs
Seedlings cut off at soil level overnight.
What to do
- Search the soil around cut plants in the morning and destroy the grubs.
Prevention
- Plough deep in summer and keep the field free of weeds.
Root knot nematode
Signs
Plants stay stunted and roots are forked, hairy and covered in small galls.
What to do
- Dig in neem cake or plenty of well rotted manure before sowing.
Prevention
- Rotate with cereals or marigold; avoid fields with a history of galls.
Alternaria leaf blight
Signs
Brown round spots on older leaves that later show dark rings; worse in seed crops.
What to do
- Collect seed only from a healthy crop.
- Remove and burn badly spotted leaves.
Prevention
- Rotate crops and clear old carrot debris.
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Asiatic types set seed in the plains and low hills; European types such as Nantes need a cold spell and set seed only in the temperate hills. Lift the roots, keep true to type, healthy roots and replant them at about 60 x 40 to 60 x 60 cm after cutting back two thirds of the tops and half the root. Keep the seed crop 800 to 1,000 m from other carrot varieties and carrot family crops, and pull out early bolters and off types.
When the seed is ready
Seed ripens unevenly, in April and May in Jammu. Cut the heads when the second umbels are fully ripe and the third umbels begin to turn brown, in two or three rounds.
Cleaning the seed
Dry the cut heads, then thresh and clean the seed.
Dry the cleaned seed well in shade and keep it in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Sub-tropical foothills, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Lift all roots before the weather warms and they turn woody or bolt. Compost the tops and follow with a legume.
Compost the tops and any split or forked roots that are left.
Rotation
Do not follow carrot with carrot or with coriander or other carrot family crops for two to three years. Peas or beans make a good next crop.
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 (Carrot; root crop pests and diseases)Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
- Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2016 (Carrot; carrot seed production)Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
- Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers, VSF-231, Part I: Vegetable production (Carrot)Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, PalampurRead the source
- TNAU Agritech Portal: Horticulture, CarrotTamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
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