Pulses · Legume

Growing moong

Vigna radiata · also called moongGreen gram, a short pulse grown for its small green grain. It is sown with the monsoon, and in the north also as a summer crop after wheat.

Where are you growing?

Central plateau: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha

Includes AI suggestions where no published guide covers a detail

Moong plant with young green pods and pale yellow flowers among its leaves — Photo: Dinesh Valke · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

Moong in the Central plateau

Season
Kharif crop with the monsoon, and a summer crop where water is available
Sowing to last picking
Most varieties ripen in 60 to 75 days.
Sow
Late June to early July
First harvest
60 to 75 days after sowing

Across India

When to sow it

Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.

Wait until March

The next sowing here is March.

Sow
Harvest
Today
Not suited here

Central plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha Arid westRajasthan, Kutch, north Gujarat Deccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north Karnataka

Compare all 12 regions

Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, Kullu Cold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiNot suited here Sub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, Dehradun North-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, Delhi Gangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plains North-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, Sikkim Arid westRajasthan, Kutch, north Gujarat Deccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north Karnataka South interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil Nadu West coastKerala, Goa, Konkan East coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra

Today

See the dates as a table

Region	Sow	Harvest
Central plateau	Late June to early JulyMarch
Temperate Himalaya	Mid-May to June	Mid-August to September
Cold desert	Not suited here
Sub-tropical foothills	Mid-March to 20 AprilOnset of monsoon to mid-July
North-west plains	20 March to 10 AprilSecond half of July
Gangetic plains	Mid-March to mid-AprilLate June to early July
North-east hills and valleys	Late June to JulySeptember
Arid west	First to third week of July
Deccan plateau	First half of June to 7 July
South interior	June to July (Adipattam)September to October (Purattasipattam)December to January (Margazhi-Thai pattam)
West coast	September to early October, after the first paddy cropJanuary to early February, after the second paddy crop
East coast	June to July (Adipattam)September to October (Purattasipattam)December to January (Margazhi-Thai pattam)Third week of January to second week of FebruaryFebruary to March

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

Before sowing

field preparation

Well decomposed farmyard manure, enriched with Trichoderma

4 tonnes per acre

Mix into the soil 2 to 3 weeks before sowing. Vermicompost at 2 tonnes per acre can replace it.

⁶

Day 0

Sow

seed treatment

Trichoderma, then Rhizobium and PSB cultures

Coat the seed with Trichoderma at 8 to 10 g per kg of seed, then with Rhizobium and PSB at 30 g per kg of seed each; dry it in the shade and sow

⁶

Day 4 to 7

Seeds come up

^1,2,3,4

Day 60 to 75

First picking

Day 60 to 75

Last picking

Water every 10 to 12 days, more at flowering and pod filling.

Before sowing
Well decomposed farmyard manure, enriched with Trichoderma⁶
4 tonnes per acre · Mix into the soil 2 to 3 weeks before sowing. Vermicompost at 2 tonnes per acre can replace it. · field preparation
Day 0
Sow
Trichoderma, then Rhizobium and PSB cultures
Coat the seed with Trichoderma at 8 to 10 g per kg of seed, then with Rhizobium and PSB at 30 g per kg of seed each; dry it in the shade and sow
Day 4 to 7
Seeds come up^1,2,3,4
Day 60 to 75
First picking
Day 60 to 75
Last picking

Water every 10 to 12 days, more at flowering and pod filling.

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

Soil pH^1,2,3
6.5 to 7.5
Well drained loam to sandy loam. Saline, alkaline or waterlogged soils do not suit it. In the Jammu region it grows on soils from sandy loam to heavy clay.
Sunlight
At least 6 hours a day
Full sun in an open field. It does poorly under shade.
Temperature^1,2
Grows best at 25 to 35 °C
Frost: none tolerated.
Monthly temperatures for the Central plateau aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering

A rainy season crop needs water only when the rains fail; drain standing water at once. A summer crop needs a watering every 10 to 12 days. Do not let it go dry at flowering and pod filling.

Weeding⁶

Keep the field free of weeds for the first 3 to 4 weeks. Hoe or hand weed about 20 and 35 days after sowing. A stale seedbed before sowing (water, let weeds sprout, then till shallow) and straw mulch between rows cut weeds further.

When	What	How much	How
field preparation	Well decomposed farmyard manure, enriched with Trichoderma	4 tonnes per acre	Mix into the soil 2 to 3 weeks before sowing. Vermicompost at 2 tonnes per acre can replace it.
seed treatment	Trichoderma, then Rhizobium and PSB cultures		Coat the seed with Trichoderma at 8 to 10 g per kg of seed, then with Rhizobium and PSB at 30 g per kg of seed each; dry it in the shade and sow

Sources⁶

Varieties and yield

Typical range

8 to 10 quintals a hectare

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

Good neighbours¹

Grows well with

Maize

Pests and diseases⁶

Organic and cultural controls only.

Pest
Whitefly, aphid, leafhopper and thrips
Signs
Small sap-sucking insects on leaves and flowers. Whitefly spreads yellow mosaic.
What to do
- Put up yellow or blue sticky traps, 4 to 5 an acre
- Intercrop pigeon pea, marigold or castor
- Spray neem oil at 5 ml a litre against aphids
Pest
Pod borer
Signs
Caterpillars feed on flowers and bore into pods.
What to do
- Set pheromone traps, 4 to 5 an acre, to watch for moths
- Put up bird perches, about 20 an acre
- Collect eggs and young larvae; hand pick older ones
Pest
Hairy caterpillar
Signs
Hairy caterpillars feed in groups and strip the leaves.
What to do
- Hand pick groups of caterpillars and their cocoons and destroy them
- Run a light trap, one an acre, from 6 to 10 pm
Disease
Yellow mosaic
Signs
Yellow and green patches on the leaves; sick plants set few pods.
What to do
- Rogue out sick plants early
Prevention
- Grow a tolerant variety
- Sow on time
- Keep the field and its bunds free of weeds
Disease
Anthracnose, cercospora leaf spot and bacterial leaf blight
Signs
Brown or dark spots on leaves, stems and pods.
What to do
- Spray neem or pongamia soap at 1% on the underside of the leaves
Prevention
- Treat seed in hot water at 52°C for 10 minutes
- Sow early, soon after the monsoon starts
- Drain the field well
Disease
Root rot
Signs
Plants wilt and dry; roots turn dark and rot.
Prevention
- Grow on well drained soil and never let water stand
- Mix farmyard manure into the soil, 5 tonnes an acre

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed^1,2

Keep seed from a healthy field with no yellow mosaic. Pull out sick plants early.

When the seed is ready

Harvest when about 80% of the pods are mature, or when the leaves drop and most pods turn greyish black.

Cleaning the seed

Cut the plants with a sickle rather than uprooting them, dry them and thresh.

Dry the grain well and store it in clean, closed bins. Watch for pulse beetle (dhora).

After the last picking

After the last picking, dig the plants into the soil or compost them. They add nitrogen for the next crop.

After picking the pods of a summer crop, dig the plants into the soil before the next crop. PAU says burying the stover before rice cuts the nitrogen the rice needs by about a third.

Rotation

Fits after wheat or potato as a summer crop, and before wheat or raya as a kharif crop. PAU rotations include moong-wheat, summer moong-rice-potato and summer moong-maize-potato.

Sources

Where this comes from

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.

4TNAU Agritech Portal: Crop production, Pulses, GreengramTamil Nadu Agricultural University, CoimbatoreRead the source
5TNAU Agritech Portal: Organic package of practices for green gramTamil Nadu Agricultural University, CoimbatoreRead the source
6AESA based IPM package: Black gram (urd) and green gram (moong)National Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM), Hyderabad, with the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Government of IndiaRead the source

AI Farm Manager · In development

Plan this crop on your land

AI Farm Manager will turn guides like this one into a plan for your own plot. It doesn't make plans yet.

See how it will work

Growing moong

Moong in the Central plateau

When to sow it

One season, day by day

Soil, sun and warmth

Soil pH1,2,3Includes AI suggestionsPart of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

SunlightAI suggestionNo published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Temperature1,2Includes AI suggestionsPart of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Water and feeding

WateringAI suggestionNo published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Weeding6

Varieties and yield

Good neighbours1

Pests and diseases6Includes AI suggestionsPart of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Whitefly, aphid, leafhopper and thrips

Pod borer

Hairy caterpillar

Yellow mosaic

Anthracnose, cercospora leaf spot and bacterial leaf blight

Root rot

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1,2Includes AI suggestionsPart of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

After the last pickingAI suggestionNo published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.