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Vegetables · Root

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.

Temperate Himalaya: Kashmir valley, Shimla, Kullu, Uttarakhand hills

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Includes AI suggestions where no published guide covers a detail
A row of freshly pulled orange carrots with their feathery green tops, laid on dark soil
Photo: woodleywonderworks · CC BY 2.0

At a glance

Carrot in the Temperate Himalaya

  • Season

    Spring to summer sowing in the high hills; July to September in the mid hills4,1

  • Sowing to last picking

    European types such as Nantes are ready 90 to 100 days after sowing.1

  • Sow

    March to July4,1

  • First harvest

    90 to 100 days after sowing4,1

Across India

When to sow it

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

Too late this season

The window here was July to September. The next one opens in March.

Sowing now in:Sub-tropical foothillsNorth-west plainsGangetic plainsNorth-east hills and valleysArid westCentral plateauDeccan plateauSouth interiorEast coast
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Today
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and Spiti
Compare all 12 regions
Cold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiGangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimArid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaDeccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north KarnatakaSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduWest coastKerala, Goa, KonkanEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
Temperate HimalayaMarch to JulyJuly to SeptemberApril to August
Cold desertLate April to early JuneAugust to early October
Sub-tropical foothillsSeptember to October (Pusa Kesar)November to December (Nantes, Pusa Yamdagini)August to September (Pusa Kesar)October to November (Nantes, Pusa Yamdagini)August to September
North-west plainsAugust to September (desi types)October to November (European types)
Gangetic plainsSeptember to NovemberDecember to February
North-east hills and valleysEarly October to November
Arid westSeptember to early NovemberDecember to February
Central plateauLate September to NovemberDecember to February
Deccan plateauOctober to early DecemberJanuary to March
South interiorAll year (with assured water)July to FebruaryAugust
West coastAugust to OctoberNovember to January
East coastAugustOctober to early December

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

  1. Before sowing

    Farmyard manure4

    100 q per hectare · Apply all of it before sowing and mix it in well. · Field preparation

  2. Day 0

    Sow

  3. Day 7 to 21

    Seeds come up1,2,3,4,5Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

  4. Day 90 to 100

    First picking4,1

  5. Day 90 to 100

    Last picking1

Give a watering before sowing so the seed comes up well, and keep the rows moist until it does. After that water before the leaves wilt, evenly and never heavily: heavy watering gives leafy plants, poor roots and a late crop, and dry weather followed by wet splits the roots.4,1

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 Temperate Himalaya, 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 Temperate Himalaya aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering4,1

Give a watering before sowing so the seed comes up well, and keep the rows moist until it does. After that water before the leaves wilt, evenly and never heavily: heavy watering gives leafy plants, poor roots and a late crop, and dry weather followed by wet splits the roots.

Weeding1,4

Carrot grows slowly at first and cannot compete with weeds, so weed early. Little hoeing is needed once plants are 8 to 10 cm tall. Do not hoe in dry weather, and earth up so the crowns stay covered.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
Field preparationFarmyard manure100 q per hectareApply all of it before sowing and mix it in well.

Sources4

Varieties and yield

Typical range4

100 to 150 quintals a hectare

Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.

Varieties grown here4,1

  • Nantes

    European type; also named for the intermediate high zone of Jammu

  • Chantney

    European type

  • Pusa Yamdagini

    European type

  • Solan Rachna

    European type

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

Grows well with

Pests and diseases4,1Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Carrot rust fly

    Signs

    Small white maggots tunnel into the roots, leaving rusty brown channels; leaves turn reddish and wilt.

    What to do

    • Lift and destroy infested roots.
    • Cover young rows with fine insect net.

    Prevention

    • Rotate away from carrot family crops.
    • Thin in the evening and firm the soil after thinning, so the smell does not draw the flies.

  • Pest

    Turnip moth (cutworm)

    Signs

    Caterpillars cut seedlings at soil level at night and gnaw the roots.

    What to do

    • Hand pick the grubs from the soil around damaged plants.

    Prevention

    • Plough deep in summer and keep weeds down.

  • Disease

    Alternaria leaf blight

    Signs

    Brown round spots on older leaves that later show dark rings. It is worse in seed crops, where it also marks stems and seed heads.

    What to do

    • Collect seed only from a healthy crop.
    • Remove and burn badly spotted leaves.

    Prevention

    • Rotate crops and clear old carrot debris.

  • Disease

    Cercospora leaf spot

    Signs

    Small pale spots with a dark edge on leaves and leaf stalks.

    What to do

    • Remove affected leaves early.

  • Disease

    Powdery mildew

    Signs

    White powdery growth on the leaves.

    What to do

    • Remove the worst affected leaves.

  • Disease

    Watery soft rot

    Signs

    Roots and crowns turn soft and watery, with white fluffy growth.

    What to do

    • Remove rotting plants with the soil around them.

    Prevention

    • Avoid waterlogging and store only sound roots.

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 Temperate Himalaya, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Lift the crop before hard frost in late autumn, or leave chosen roots in the ground for seed in the next spring. Compost the tops.

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.

  1. 1Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2020 (Carrot; root crop pests and diseases)Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
  2. 2Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2016 (Carrot; carrot seed production)Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
  3. 4Production 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
  4. 5TNAU Agritech Portal: Horticulture, CarrotTamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source

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