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.
Sub-tropical foothills: Jammu, Kangra, Dehradun
At a glance
Cauliflower in the Sub-tropical foothills
Nursery from May to October by maturity group: early in May and June, mid in August, late in September and October1
About 3.5 to 5 months from nursery sowing to harvest, longer for late varieties.
No 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.May to June (early varieties)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 September to October (late varieties). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | |
| 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 | |
| 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) | ||
| 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
Day 0
Sow
Day 100 to 150
Last picking
No 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.
Before sowing
Farmyard manure1
10 t per acre · Mix into the soil before transplanting. · Field preparation
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 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.
Water every 3 to 12 days, more at curd formation.1
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 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 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 Sub-tropical foothills aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering1
Cauliflower has shallow roots and needs steady soil moisture all through. After transplanting, water the early crop twice a week and the late crop once a week. In the rains, water only after a long dry gap. In the cool season, water every 10 to 12 days. The crop needs about 350 mm of water in all.
Weeding1
Keep the field weed free for at least four weeks after transplanting. Hoe shallow, because the roots are near the surface. Earth up the plants 30 to 35 days after transplanting.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field preparation | Farmyard manure | 10 t per acre | Mix into the soil before transplanting. |
Varieties and yield
15 to 25 tonnes a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Pusa Katki
Early group, for early sowing. Compact, yellowish white curds.
Pusa Deepali
Early group. Compact white medium curds, ready 100 to 120 days.
Pant Gobhi-3
Early (September maturity). Creamish white, non-ricey curds.
Pant Gobhi-2
Early. Curds from October in the plains.
Pant Shubra
Mid group. Marketable curds by December and January, about 120 days from nursery sowing.
Giant Snowball
Mid (main) season. Large snow-white curds.
Pusa Synthetic
Mid group. Compact creamy white curds.
Hisar-1
Mid-late season. Medium to large white curds.
Pusa Snowball-1
Late group. Inner leaves wrap the curd tightly.
Pusa Snowball K-1
Late group, last of the Snowballs to mature. Self-blanching; resists black rot in the field.
Snowball-16
Late group. Self-blanching, uniform curds.
Kt-25
Late group. Transplant October to early November; curds from end of January to end of March. Tolerates Sclerotinia rot and black rot.
Pests and diseases1
Organic and cultural controls only.
Cutworm (Agrotis species)
Signs
Caterpillars cut young plants at the base.
Prevention
- Plough the field deep before planting.
Cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicae)
Signs
Caterpillars eat the leaves.
What to do
- Release Trichogramma chilonis, 20,000 adults an acre per release, six times at weekly intervals from mid-January.
- Spray Bacillus thuringiensis, 200 g an acre (2 g a litre of water) with a sticker. Do not spray close to harvest.
Prevention
- Plant a border row of mustard and coriander: their flowers draw in Cotesia wasps, which parasitise the caterpillars.
White grubs (Melolontha species)
Signs
Grubs in the soil feed on the roots.
Prevention
- Plough the field deep before planting.
Tobacco caterpillar (Spodoptera litura)
Signs
Caterpillars feed on the leaves.
What to do
- Put up 5 to 6 pheromone traps an acre to catch the moths.
- Spray Spodoptera NPV in the evening.
Black rot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris)
Signs
Yellow V-shaped patches at the leaf edges turn dark brown, and the veins go black or brown. Bad attacks spoil the curd.
What to do
- Destroy diseased plant remains after harvest.
Prevention
- Take seed from healthy plants, from fields where the disease has not been seen.
- Soak seed in tap water for 30 minutes, then in hot water at 50 °C for 30 minutes, and dry it in shade before sowing.
Damping off (Pythium, Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia)
Signs
Seedlings die before or soon after they come up.
Prevention
- Use healthy seed.
- Transplant only healthy seedlings.
Downy mildew (Peronospora parasitica)
Signs
Round, water-soaked spots under the leaves; it can also rot the curd, which turns brown with black marks at the base of the curd stalk.
Stalk rot (Sclerotinia and others)
Signs
Leaves droop and the stalk rots hollow from inside, filled with black bodies. Curds that form get a white rot.
What to do
- Pull out and destroy diseased plants.
Prevention
- Follow a cauliflower and paddy rotation.
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 picking1
Destroy diseased plant remains after harvest. A cauliflower and paddy rotation helps keep stalk rot down.
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
- 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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