Growing cauliflower
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis · also called Phool gobhiA cool season cole crop grown for its white curd. Varieties fall into early, mid and late groups, and each group needs its own sowing time.
North-west plains: Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh
At a glance
Cauliflower in the North-west plains
Transplanted from June to early November in three groups: early in June and July, main season from August to mid-September, late from October to the first week of November2
About 3.5 to 5 months from nursery sowing; late Snowball types are ready about 100 days after transplanting.2
Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Too late this season
The window here was Late September to mid-October (late Snowball group). The next one opens in May.
- 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 | Mid-May to mid-June (early groups)Late July to late August (mid groups)Late September to mid-October (late Snowball group) | June to July (early varieties)August to mid-September (main season varieties)October to the first week of November (late varieties) | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | April to May (early varieties, mid hills)July to August (mid-season varieties, mid hills)September (late varieties, mid hills)April to May (late Snowball varieties, high hills) | |||
| Cold desert | Under cover: April, under polythene | Late May to early June, once frosts end | August to September | |
| Sub-tropical foothills | May to June (early varieties)August (mid-season varieties)September to October (late varieties)May (intermediate low zone, first crop)August to September (intermediate low zone, second crop) | October to early November (late variety Kt-25) | End of January to end of March (late variety Kt-25) | |
| Gangetic plains | Last week of July to the second week of August (early variety Kashi Gobhi-25)Late July to late August (mid groups)Late September to mid-October (late Snowball group) | Last week of August to the second week of September (25 to 30 day old seedlings) | Last week of October to mid-November (Varanasi) | |
| North-east hills and valleys | Mid-July to the first week of August (early)First week of September to the last week of October (mid)Up to the first week of November (late)Last week of August (early, North Bank Plain Zone)First week of November (late mid, North Bank Plain Zone)Last week of November (late, North Bank Plain Zone) | October (early crop)December to January (mid crop)February to March (late crop) | ||
| Arid west | September to mid-October | October to mid-November | December to February | |
| Central plateau | July to early August (early varieties)September to mid-October (mid varieties) | August to early November, 4 to 5 weeks after sowing | Late October to February | |
| Deccan plateau | August to mid-October | September to mid-November | Late November to February | |
| South interior | September to mid-October | October to mid-November | Late December to February | |
| West coast | August to November | |||
| East coast | September to mid-October | October to mid-November | Late December to February |
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.
Day 0
Sow
Before sowing
Farmyard manure2
40 tonnes per acre · Apply all of it before transplanting. · Before transplanting
Day 0
Sow
Day 4 to 7
Seeds come up3,8,9,1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 21 to 42
Day 100 to 150
Last picking2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Water just after transplanting, then every 7 to 8 days in summer and every 10 to 15 days in winter, by soil and weather. The crop needs 8 to 12 waterings in all.2
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1,2,3,7
6 to 7
Grows on soils from sandy loam to clay if they are fertile and rich in organic matter. Light, well drained soils suit the early crop; loams to clay loams hold moisture for the mid and late crops and give higher yields.
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 field. Curds of open types turn yellow in direct sun, so their own leaves are folded over them.
Temperature3,7,2
Grows best at 15 to 21 °C
Takes light frost.
Monthly temperatures for the North-west plains aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering2
Water just after transplanting, then every 7 to 8 days in summer and every 10 to 15 days in winter, by soil and weather. The crop needs 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 five weeks and earth up the plants about a month after transplanting.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before transplanting | Farmyard manure | 40 tonnes per acre | Apply all of it before transplanting. |
Varieties and yield
15 to 25 tonnes a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Pusa Snowball-1
Late season. Compact, snow-white curds ready about 100 days after transplanting.
Pusa Snowball K-1
Late season, a week later than Pusa Snowball-1. Inner leaves wrap the curd tightly.
Pests and diseases2
Organic and cultural controls only.
Stem borer (Hellula undalis)
Signs
Worst in July and August. Caterpillars bore into the central shoot of young plants in the nursery and field, and the plant cannot form a head.
What to do
- Pick out infested plants and destroy them.
Prevention
- Check young plants in the nursery and after transplanting.
- Transplant only clean, healthy, vigorous seedlings.
Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella)
Signs
Worst in August and September, and on the main crop in October and November. Caterpillars eat the leaves down to a papery skin or make shot holes.
What to do
- Spray Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki in the evening when needed, at 7 day intervals.
Tobacco caterpillar (Spodoptera litura)
Signs
Sporadic, from August to October. Young caterpillars feed in groups and can strip the leaves.
What to do
- Pick off egg masses and clusters of young caterpillars and destroy them.
Prevention
- Check young plants in the nursery and after transplanting.
Black rot (Xanthomonas campestris)
Signs
Yellow V-shaped patches at the leaf edges turn brown and the veins blacken; leaves dry up and curds rot.
What to do
- Destroy diseased plant remains in the field after harvest.
Prevention
- Take seed from healthy plants in areas free of the disease.
- Treat seed in hot water at 50 °C for 30 minutes and dry it before sowing.
Downy mildew (Peronospora parasitica)
Signs
Yellowish angular spots with white downy growth on leaves; curd tops turn brown and badly hit curds rot.
What to do
- Destroy affected plant remains.
Stalk rot of the seed crop (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum)
Signs
In March, stems and flower twigs of the seed crop turn straw coloured and dry, with hard black bodies inside.
Prevention
- In fields prone to the disease, farmyard manure lowers attacks.
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Seed of early and main season varieties can be grown in the plains; seed of late (Snowball) varieties only in the hills, where flowering gets mild weather. Keep 1,600 m between cauliflower varieties and other cole crops, keep at least 100 true-to-type healthy plants, and pull out off-types three times: in leaf, at curd formation and at flowering. Bees and other pollinators must be about at flowering.
When the seed is ready
Pods turn brown.
Cleaning the seed
Cut the branches in two or three pickings as the pods brown. Stack them, turn them upside down and let them dry for 4 to 5 days more, then thresh and clean.
Dry the seed well in shade and keep it in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
After the last picking2
Fit cauliflower into a vegetable rotation, for example potato, then late cauliflower, then chilli; or cauliflower, then tomato, then okra. In fields with root-knot nematode, follow cauliflower with onion and okra.
Destroy diseased plant remains after harvest.
Rotation
Do not follow cauliflower with another cole crop: rotate with non-cruciferous crops for at least two years, and keep crucifers out for three years where club root has appeared. A cauliflower and paddy rotation helps keep stalk rot down.
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 (Cauliflower; insect-pest and disease management in cole crops)Directorate of Extension, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of JammuRead the source
- Cauliflower: intercultural operations (weed control, earthing up, blanching)National Horticulture Board, Government of IndiaRead the source
- Kashi Gobhi-25: an early cauliflower variety for North Indian plain (Indian Horticulture, May to June 2023)ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi (Singh, Bhuvaneswari, Karmakar, Singh and Singh), published by ICARRead the source
- Package of Practices for Cultivation of Vegetables 2021 (Cauliflower; plant protection of cole crops; vegetable rotations)Punjab Agricultural University, LudhianaRead the source
- Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers (VSF-231), Part I: Vegetable production (Cauliflower)CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur (College of Agriculture course notes)Read the source
- Cauliflower (Horticulture: vegetables), TNAU Agritech PortalTamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
- Cauliflower: soil and climateNational Horticulture Board, Government of IndiaRead the source
- Cauliflower: propagation (nursery bed, season of planting, raising of seedlings)National Horticulture Board, Government of IndiaRead the source
- Cauliflower: planting (land preparation, spacing, method of planting)National Horticulture Board, Government of IndiaRead the source
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