Growing chickpea
Cicer arietinum · also called ChanaA winter pulse sown after the rains on light, well drained soil. It needs little water, fixes its own nitrogen and dislikes frost, heavy rain and wet feet.
Sub-tropical foothills: Jammu, Kangra, Dehradun
At a glance
Chickpea in the Sub-tropical foothills
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Too late this season
The window here was Mid to end of October. The next one opens in October.
- Sow
- Harvest
- Today
- Not suited here
Compare all 12 regionsShow fewer regions
See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sub-tropical foothills | Mid to end of October | Late March to April | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | Not suited here | |||
| Cold desert | Not suited here | |||
| North-west plains | 10 to 25 October25 October to 10 November | April | ||
| Gangetic plains | Late October to November | March to early April | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | Late October to November | Late February to March | ||
| Arid west | October to early November | Late February to March | ||
| Central plateau | Late October to November | Late February to March | ||
| Deccan plateau | 20 September to 10 October20 October to 10 NovemberFirst week of December | January to February | ||
| South interior | November | February | ||
| West coast | Not suited here | |||
| East coast | November | February | ||
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Before sowing
field preparation
Well rotted farmyard manure
5 to 10 tonnes per hectare
Spread and mix in during ploughing (AI suggestion)
1Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 0
Sow
just before sowing
Rhizobium culture
Coat the seed with the culture before sowing
1Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Before sowing
Well rotted farmyard manure1Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
5 to 10 tonnes per hectare · Spread and mix in during ploughing (AI suggestion) · field preparation
Day 0
Sow
Rhizobium culture
Coat the seed with the culture before sowing
Day 5 to 10
Seeds come up1,2,3Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 145 to 150
Last picking1
Mostly grown on stored soil moisture. If no rain comes and water is at hand, irrigate at branching and again at pod formation. Heavy soil moisture at sowing or at flowering harms the crop.1
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1,2,5Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
6 to 8
Well drained, light to medium textured soil; MPKV asks for medium to deep soil, 45 to 60 cm deep. Saline, alkaline and waterlogged soils do not suit it. It needs no fine tilth, but loose, airy soil cuts wilt and raises the yield.
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. An open field with no shade from taller crops or trees.
Temperature1,2,5Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Grows best at 15 to 25 °C
Frost: none tolerated.
Monthly temperatures for the Sub-tropical foothills aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering1
Mostly grown on stored soil moisture. If no rain comes and water is at hand, irrigate at branching and again at pod formation. Heavy soil moisture at sowing or at flowering harms the crop.
Weeding1
Keep the field weed free for the first 4 to 5 weeks. Hoe once or twice, ideally with a wheel hand hoe, at 30 and 60 days after sowing.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| field preparation | Well rotted farmyard manure | 5 to 10 tonnes per hectare | Spread and mix in during ploughing (AI suggestion) |
| just before sowing | Rhizobium culture | Coat the seed with the culture before sowing |
Varieties and yield
15 to 22 quintals a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
C-235
Medium yellowish brown seed; tolerant to stem rot and blight; about 145 to 150 days
K-468
Small seed; 140 to 150 days
Gaurav
Tolerant to stem rot and blight; about 145 to 150 days
PBG-1
Tolerant to Ascochyta blight; about 160 days
SCS-3
Early, semi dwarf; resistant to wilt
GNG-469
Bold seed; resistant to Ascochyta blight, tolerant to wilt and root rot
RSG 963
Moderately resistant to wilt, dry root rot, grey mould and collar rot
GNG 1581
Copes with waterlogged conditions
CSJ 515
Small brown seed; for irrigated fields; about 135 days
DCP 92-3
Small yellowish seed; resistant to wilt, stands up well
Pests and diseases1
Organic and cultural controls only.
Gram pod borer
Signs
Caterpillars feed on leaves, buds, flowers and pods and bore into the developing seed.
What to do
- Grow resistant or tolerant varieties
- Plough after harvest to destroy the pupae in the soil
- Intercrop with mustard, linseed or coriander (6 rows of gram to 2 rows)
- Pick and destroy grown caterpillars
- Put up T-shaped bird perches, 8 to 10 an acre, so birds pick the caterpillars
- Use pheromone traps to watch moth numbers, and 8 traps an acre for mass trapping once the threshold is reached
- Neem seed kernel extract at pod initiation
Prevention
- Conserve the parasitic wasps and spiders that feed on the caterpillars
Cutworm
Signs
Night feeding caterpillars cut germinating plants at ground level, or cut branches of older plants.
What to do
- Light traps, 1 an acre, to collect and destroy the moths
- Pheromone traps, 15 an acre, to catch the male moths
Ascochyta blight
Signs
Dark brown spots with tiny black dots on stems, branches, leaflets and pods. It spreads fast in rainy, humid weather and can kill whole plants.
What to do
- Grow resistant varieties
Grey mould
Signs
Grey or dark brown patches on leaflets, branches and pods, covered in fuzzy growth in cold, humid weather. Flowers and growing tips are hit hardest; plants yellow and drop flowers.
What to do
- Rotate with crops that do not host it
- Grow resistant varieties
Dry root rot
Signs
The tap root is dry, with few side roots, and breaks easily. Tiny dark specks show under the bark.
What to do
- Rotate with crops that do not host it
- Treat the seed with Trichoderma at 5 g per kg of seed
Collar rot
Signs
Young seedlings yellow and collapse; the collar rots and a white fungal coat shows on the root.
What to do
- Drain excess water from the field
- Pull out affected plants early
- Grow resistant varieties
- Treat the seed with Trichoderma at 5 g per kg of seed
Wilt
Signs
Seedlings and older plants dry up while still green at first. Split roots show black streaks inside.
What to do
- Drain excess water from the field
- Pull out affected plants early
- Grow wilt resistant varieties
- Treat the seed with Trichoderma at 5 g per kg of seed
Stem rot
Signs
Branches or whole plants dry, usually where the crop is thick.
What to do
- Avoid too much irrigation
- Treat the seed with Trichoderma as for collar rot
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Keep seed from a healthy, true to type plot. Leave out plants that wilted or carried blight.
When the seed is ready
Pods turn straw coloured and the plants dry up. The seed rattles in the pod.
Cleaning the seed
Cut the plants, dry them in the sun, then thresh and clean the seed.
Dry the seed well and store it in sealed bins or bags in a cool, dry place, away from storage beetles.
After the last picking1
Cut the crop at the base and leave the roots in the soil. Plough after harvest to expose pod borer pupae.
Cut the plants 4 to 5 cm above the ground with a sickle; do not uproot them, so the roots stay in the soil. Destroy diseased plants and stubble after harvest, and plough deep soon after.
Rotation
Rotate with cereals to check soil-borne diseases: sorghum or bajra then gram, rice or maize then gram, or rice, gram and summer moong. Where wilt or dry root rot is bad, keep chickpea off that field for at least three years.
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 Rabi Crops 2020 (Chickpea)Directorate of Extension, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu (SKUAST-Jammu)Read the source
- Agriculture: Pulses: Bengal gramTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
- Integrated Pest Management Package for ChickpeaDirectorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Ministry of Agriculture, with the National Centre for Integrated Pest Management (ICAR) and NIPHMRead the source
- Information about crop-wise improved varieties developed by the university: Pulses (chickpea variety sheets)Pulses Improvement Project, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), RahuriRead the source
- Bengalgram Outlook Report 2025-26Agricultural Market Intelligence Centre, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU)Read the source
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