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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.

Sub-tropical foothills: Jammu, Kangra, Dehradun

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 Sub-tropical foothills

  • Season

    Kharif (monsoon). Sown in June or with the first monsoon rains.1

  • Sowing to last picking

    GS-2, the white hybrid recommended for the sub-tropical belt, matures in 95 to 100 days.1

  • Sow

    First half of June (irrigated plains)1

    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.

Wait until June

The next sowing here is First half of June (irrigated plains).

Sowing now in:Gangetic plainsDeccan plateau
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Today
  • Not suited here
Sub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunTemperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, Delhi
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiNot suited hereNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiGangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNorth-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
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
Temperate HimalayaApril to mid-May (up to about 1500 m)April only (above about 1500 m)September to October
Cold desertNot suited here
North-west plainsLast week of May to end of June (irrigated)20 June to 7 July (rainfed)September to early October
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)
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 compost1

    150 quintals per hectare · Work it in thoroughly with the first 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 95 to 100

    Last picking1

Maize cannot stand waterlogging: make shallow drains at sowing and never let water stand for more than about 3 hours. For an irrigated crop, water 5 to 7 days before sowing and sow at the right moisture. Never let the crop go short of water, above all at flowering and grain filling.1

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 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. 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 Sub-tropical foothills aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering1

Maize cannot stand waterlogging: make shallow drains at sowing and never let water stand for more than about 3 hours. For an irrigated crop, water 5 to 7 days before sowing and sow at the right moisture. Never let the crop go short of water, above all at flowering and grain filling.

Weeding1

Keep the crop free of weeds for the first 40 days. Hoe twice, at about 15 and 30 days after sowing, with a khurpa or hand hoe, then earth up at knee height. Do not hoe after about 6 weeks: it cuts the fine roots.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
Field preparationWell-rotted farmyard manure or compost150 quintals per hectareWork it in thoroughly with the first ploughing

Sources1

Varieties and yield

Typical rangeNo 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.

35 to 50 quintals a hectare

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

Varieties grown here1

  • Ganga Safed 2 (GS-2)

    White-grain hybrid for the sub-tropical areas, up to about 600 m (SKUAST-Jammu)

  • HQPM-1

    Quality protein hybrid for irrigated sub-tropical plains; grow at least 500 m from other maize (SKUAST-Jammu)

  • Mansar (Super Composite), C-8, Vijay

    Composites for the intermediate zone and mid elevations (SKUAST-Jammu)

Good neighbours1,3

Grows well with

Pests and diseases1

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Cutworm

    Signs

    Dark brown caterpillars hide in the soil and cut young plants at ground level, felling far more than they eat. Serious in hill areas.

    What to do

    • Rake the field regularly
    • Set light traps (about 2 a hectare) to catch the moths
    • Set pheromone traps (about 40 a hectare) for the male moths

  • Pest

    Stem borer

    Signs

    Larvae scrape the leaves, then bore into the stem through the whorl. The central shoot dies in young plants (dead heart).

    What to do

    • Pull out and destroy the stubble of last year's crop

  • Pest

    Armyworm

    Signs

    Caterpillars eat leaves at night and hide in the whorls by day. Common in the hill areas.

    What to do

    • Catch moths at a lamp hung over a tray of water with a little kerosene
    • Dig a trench round the infested field, or lay grass on the bunds, and kill the caterpillars that gather there in the morning

  • Disease

    Head smut

    Signs

    The whole cob and tassel turn into masses of black spores.

    What to do

    • Pull out and destroy affected plants

    Prevention

    • Keep the field clean
    • Rotate crops for 2 to 3 years

  • Disease

    Stalk rot

    Signs

    The field smells of vinegar and plants topple over in patches.

    What to do

    • Pull out affected plants

  • Disease

    Leaf blight

    Signs

    Long, greenish brown oval lesions on the leaves; badly hit plants look scorched.

    Prevention

    • Clean cultivation: remove crop debris and weeds

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 picking1

SKUAST-Jammu suggests maize then wheat, maize then toria then wheat, maize then potato then wheat, or maize then sarson then moong or mash.

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

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