Growing chilli
Capsicum annuum · also called Mirch, Marchwangun (Kashmiri)A warm season fruit vegetable and spice, raised in a nursery and transplanted. It needs sun and warmth, and frost kills it.
Sub-tropical foothills: Jammu, Kangra, Dehradun
At a glance
Chilli in the Sub-tropical foothills
Three crops in the plains and low hills (winter nursery, spring and rainy season); one summer crop in the intermediate hills1
About five to seven months from nursery sowing to the 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.November1
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
- Sow
- Nursery
- Transplant
- Under cover
- Today
- Not suited here
Compare all 12 regionsShow fewer regions
See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sub-tropical foothills | NovemberFebruary to MarchMay to JuneMarch to AprilApril to May | JanuaryMarch to AprilJune to JulyApril to MayMay to June | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | March to MayApril | April to JuneApril to May | ||
| Cold desert | Not suited here | |||
| North-west plains | End of October to mid-NovemberUnder cover: Third week of NovemberUnder cover: First week of February | February to MarchMid-FebruaryEnd of April | ||
| Gangetic plains | DecemberMay to June | FebruaryJune to July | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | December to January | |||
| Arid west | DecemberMay to June | FebruaryJune to July | ||
| Central plateau | June to JulyOctober to NovemberJanuary to February | |||
| Deccan plateau | End of JuneOctober to NovemberJanuary to February | |||
| South interior | January to FebruaryJune to JulySeptember to October | |||
| West coast | May to JuneSeptember to October | |||
| East coast | January to FebruaryJune to JulySeptember to October | |||
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Before sowing
Field preparation
Farmyard manure
10 tonnes per acre
Work it into the soil before transplanting.
Final land preparation
Vermicompost
4 to 6 t per hectare
Broadcast it at the last ploughing.
Transplanting
Azotobacter and phosphate solubilising bacteria
800 g per hectare
Stir the cultures into water, dip the seedling roots in it in the shade for 2 to 3 hours and transplant at once.
Day 0
Sow
Day 150 to 210
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 manure
10 tonnes per acre · Work it into the soil before transplanting. · Field preparation
Vermicompost
4 to 6 t per hectare · Broadcast it at the last ploughing. · Final land preparation
Day 0
Sow
Day 7 to 14
Seeds come up1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 28 to 42
Day 60 to 70
Every 1 to 2 weeks for about three months; 6 to 10 pickings.
Day 150 to 210
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 7 to 12 days, more at tenth leaf to flowering, fruiting and after each picking.1,2
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1
6.5 to 7.5
Almost any well drained soil, from sandy loam to heavy clay rich in organic matter. It tolerates some salinity but not waterlogging.
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.
Temperature2,1
Grows best at 20 to 33 °C
Frost: none tolerated.
Monthly temperatures for the Sub-tropical foothills aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering1,2
Water right after transplanting, then about once a week in summer and every 10 to 12 days in winter. Furrows are usual; drip saves about 40% of the water and raises yield. Heavy, frequent watering makes plants lanky and drop flowers.
Summer about weekly (the 2016 edition says every 4 to 5 days); winter every 10 to 12 days.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field preparation | Farmyard manure | 10 tonnes per acre | Work it into the soil before transplanting. |
| Final land preparation | Vermicompost | 4 to 6 t per hectare | Broadcast it at the last ploughing. |
| Transplanting | Azotobacter and phosphate solubilising bacteria | 800 g per hectare | Stir the cultures into water, dip the seedling roots in it in the shade for 2 to 3 hours and transplant at once. |
Varieties and yield
70 to 100 quintals a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Pusa Jwala
Dwarf and bushy; long, very pungent fruits; fairly tolerant of thrips and mites.
Pusa Sadabahar
Erect and perennial, fruits in clusters, resistant to mosaic viruses and the leaf curl complex.
Pant C-1
Small, very pungent fruits; moderately resistant to mosaic and leaf curl.
Punjab Lal
Determinate, compact dark green fruits that travel well.
Good neighbours5
Organic and cultural controls only.
Cutworm (Agrotis species)
Signs
Caterpillars cut seedlings at night in the nursery and soon after transplanting, cutting more than they eat.
What to do
- Flood the beds and pick out the caterpillars that come up in the water.
Thrips
Signs
Tiny insects rasp and suck the leaves, which curl upwards.
What to do
- Sprinkle water over nursery seedlings to slow their build-up.
- Apply neem cake to the beds in two splits, at planting and 30 days after transplanting.
- Conserve predatory mites and flower bugs.
Prevention
- Grow a barrier of Sesbania grandiflora as an intercrop.
- Do not grow chilli mixed with onion: thrips attack both.
Yellow mite and other mites
Signs
Leaves curl downwards, turn narrow, brittle and pale.
What to do
- Where mites are few, spray neem seed powder extract 4% every 10 days.
- Conserve predatory mites, predatory bugs and spiders.
Prevention
- Border the chilli with two rows of maize.
Fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera)
Signs
Caterpillars bore into the fruits, which fall or rot.
What to do
- Plant one row of 45 day old African marigold for every 18 rows of chilli as a trap crop and pick the larvae off its flowers.
- Put up pheromone traps to watch moth numbers and change the lures every 2 to 3 weeks.
- Put up bird perches for drongos and mynahs.
- Release the egg parasitoid Trichogramma from the start of flowering.
Prevention
- Rotate chilli with a cereal, a cucurbit or a cabbage family crop.
- Grow basil (Ocimum) as a repellent plant.
Tobacco caterpillar (Spodoptera litura)
Signs
Groups of young caterpillars scrape the leaves; older ones eat leaves and fruits.
What to do
- Grow castor along the border as a trap crop and destroy the egg masses and young caterpillars on it.
- Set up a light trap and pheromone traps for the moths.
- Spray neem seed kernel extract 5% against eggs and first stage caterpillars.
Prevention
- Plough deep in summer to expose resting stages in the soil.
- Keep the field clean.
Damping off
Signs
Seedlings die before or just after they come up and topple over.
What to do
- Treat the seed with Trichoderma viride at 4 g per kg of seed.
Prevention
- Partly sterilise the nursery bed by burning a 10 to 12 inch layer of farm trash on it before sowing.
Wilt complex (Fusarium, Phytophthora, Pseudomonas)
Signs
Root rot, collar rot and sudden wilting, worst after the monsoon sets in while plants are bearing.
What to do
- Water only as needed and never let water stand.
Prevention
- Grow resistant or tolerant varieties.
- Transplant into well drained fields.
- Where the disease is common, rotate with crops outside the tomato family.
Die back and fruit rot (Colletotrichum capsici)
Signs
Twigs die back from the tip, black spots cover them, and round spots on the fruits rot them in the field and in store.
What to do
- Remove affected plants early.
Prevention
- Use clean seed from healthy plants.
Leaf curl (chilli leaf curl virus)
Signs
Leaves curl and turn yellow, and plants stay stunted.
What to do
- Pull out and destroy infected plants early.
Prevention
- Cover the nursery with nylon net against the insects that carry it.
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed1,4
Chilli often crosses: keep at least 400 m between two varieties, including sweet pepper.
When the seed is ready
Remove off types before flowering, at full bloom and just before picking. Keep only true to type plants and pick their red ripe fruits.
Cleaning the seed
Dry the red fruits in the sun and take the seed out by hand.
After the last picking1
In fields where wilt was seen, follow chilli with a crop outside the tomato family.
Clear and destroy the residues of a crop that had mealybugs.
Rotation
Rotate with a cereal, a cucurbit or a cabbage family crop; where wilt is common, keep tomato family crops off the field.
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 (Chilli; solanaceous pests and diseases; seed production)Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
- Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2016 (Chilli)Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
- Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers (VSF-231), Part I: Vegetable production (Chilli and bell pepper)CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur (Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture)Read the source
- AESA based IPM package No. 24: Chillies and capsicumNational Institute of Plant Health Management and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Government of IndiaRead the source
- Horticulture: Vegetables: Chilli (soil, season, seed rate, seed treatment; varieties)TNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
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