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Cereals · Grain

Growing maize

Zea mays · also called makka, makaai (Kashmiri)Maize is sown straight into well-drained fields, mostly in the monsoon, and harvested once the husk dries and the grain hardens. In the hills it is sown in spring; in the south it is also grown in winter.

Gangetic plains: eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plains

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 ripe, dry maize ear in its husk on the plant in a field
Photo: Huw Williams (Huwmanbeing) · PDM

At a glance

Maize in the Gangetic plains

  • Season

    Winter (rabi) maize sown in late October and early November is a major crop in Bihar; kharif maize is also grown with the monsoon.16

    Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

  • Sowing to last picking

    Winter maize grows slowly through the cold months and takes about 140 to 170 days; kharif maize about 90 to 110 days.

    No published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

  • Sow

    25 October to 7 November (winter maize)16

    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.

Sow now

The window here is 25 October to 7 November (winter maize).

Sowing now in:Deccan plateau
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Today
  • Not suited here
Gangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiNot suited hereSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiNorth-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
Gangetic plains25 October to 7 November (winter maize)Late June to early July (kharif maize, AI suggestion)April to early May (winter maize, AI suggestion)
Temperate HimalayaApril to mid-May (up to about 1500 m)April only (above about 1500 m)September to October
Cold desertNot suited here
Sub-tropical foothillsFirst half of June (irrigated plains)With the monsoon, not after 10 July (rainfed plains)With the monsoon, not after 30 June (intermediate hills)September to early October
North-west plainsLast week of May to end of June (irrigated)20 June to 7 July (rainfed)September to early October
North-east hills and valleysFebruary to March (pre-kharif, rainfed)June to July
Arid west4th week of June to 2nd week of July (rainfed)Late September to early October
Central plateauSecond half of June to first half of JulyLate September to mid-October
Deccan plateau2nd week of June to 2nd week of July (kharif, irrigated)2nd week of October to 1st week of December (rabi, irrigated)Late September to October (kharif crop, AI suggestion)Late February to March (rabi crop, AI suggestion)
South interiorJuly to August (Adipattam)September to October (Purattasipattam)January to February (Thaipattam)
West coastJune to July (rainfed)August to September (rainfed)January to February (irrigated)
East coastJuly to August (Adipattam)September to October (Purattasipattam)January to February (Thaipattam)

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

  1. Before sowing

    Well-rotted farmyard manure or compostNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

    10 to 15 t per hectare · Work in at the last ploughing · Field preparation

  2. Day 0

    Sow

  3. Day 5 to 8

    Seeds come up1,3,5,12,15Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

  4. Day 140 to 170

    Last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Water is the deciding input for winter maize. Time irrigations to germination, vegetative growth and grain filling, and watch soil moisture: too much water waterlogs the field and washes out nutrients, too little stresses the crop. Raised beds need fewer hours of irrigation.16

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH1,3,4

    6 to 7

    Fertile, well-drained loams and silt loams; sandy loam to silty loam also suits. Maize cannot stand waterlogging, so pick level fields that drain well.

  • SunlightNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic 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. Shade from trees or tall bunds thins the cobs.

  • Temperature3Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

    Grows best at 21 to 37 °C

    Frost: none tolerated.

    Monthly temperatures for the Gangetic plains aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering16

Water is the deciding input for winter maize. Time irrigations to germination, vegetative growth and grain filling, and watch soil moisture: too much water waterlogs the field and washes out nutrients, too little stresses the crop. Raised beds need fewer hours of irrigation.

WeedingNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Hoe twice, at about 15 to 20 and 30 to 35 days after sowing, and earth up at knee height.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
Field preparationWell-rotted farmyard manure or compost10 to 15 t per hectareWork in at the last ploughing

SourcesNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Varieties and yield

Typical rangeNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

50 to 80 quintals a hectare

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

Good neighbours1,3

Grows well with

Pests and diseasesNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Stem borer

    Signs

    Holes in the young leaves and a dead central shoot in young plants.

    What to do

    • Pull out and destroy badly hit plants
    • Destroy stubble after harvest

  • Pest

    Fall armyworm

    Signs

    Ragged holes and sawdust-like droppings in the whorl.

    What to do

    • Look for egg masses and young larvae in the whorl and crush them

    Prevention

    • Sow on time and avoid staggered sowing in neighbouring fields

  • Disease

    Leaf blight

    Signs

    Long grey-brown lesions on the leaves.

    Prevention

    • Remove and destroy crop debris
    • Keep the field drained

  • Disease

    Stalk rot

    Signs

    Plants wilt and the base of the stem goes soft and breaks.

    Prevention

    • Drain the field well
    • Avoid overcrowding

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1,3

Buy fresh hybrid seed every year: grain from a hybrid crop gives clearly lower yields when sown again. Seed of composite varieties can be kept for 2 to 3 years. Choose 3000 to 5000 good cobs from the middle of the field, leaving about 9 m all round, and only cobs free from borer damage.

When the seed is ready

Cobs are ready when the husk has dried and turned brown and the grain is hard.

Shell the cobs and dry the grain well in the sun before storing.

After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Winter maize leaves the field in time for a summer crop such as moong; kharif maize is usually followed by wheat or potato.

After harvest, plough the field and collect and destroy the stubble, which carries borer larvae through the winter. Use up stalks, cobs and cores as fodder or fuel by the end of February.

Rotation

Maize is usually followed by wheat, barley, potato, toria, gobhi sarson, peas or berseem, often with summer moong before the next maize.

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 Kharif Crops 2016: MaizeDirectorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
  2. 10Maize: season and varietiesTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
  3. 11Irrigated maize: field preparationTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
  4. 12Irrigated maize: seed and sowingTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
  5. 13Irrigated maize: water managementTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
  6. 14Irrigated maize: harvestingTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
  7. 15Irrigated maize: after cultivationTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
  8. 16Optimizing winter maize production in Bihar (Indian Farming 75(05), 2025)ICAR (Indian Farming); authors at CIMMYT-Borlaug Institute for South Asia, SamastipurRead the source

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