Growing mustard
Brassica juncea · also called Sarson, Raya, RaiIndian mustard, the main winter oilseed of the north and centre. It needs little water, grows on most soils that drain, and wants a cool start and a warmer finish.
Arid west: Rajasthan, Kutch, north Gujarat
At a glance
Mustard in the Arid west
Rabi: sown in October, harvested in late winter4
Timely sown varieties take about four to five months.
No published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.10 to 25 October4
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.
Too late this season
The window here was 10 to 25 October. The next one opens in October.
- Sow
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See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arid west | 10 to 25 October | Late February to March | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | Late September to October | Late April to May | ||
| Cold desert | Not suited here | |||
| Sub-tropical foothills | 15 to 25 October (timely sowing)September, for early varietiesFirst half of November, late sown | March to early April | ||
| North-west plains | Mid October to mid November | March | ||
| Gangetic plains | 10 to 25 October | Late February to March | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | Late October to mid November | February to early March | ||
| Central plateau | 10 to 25 October | Late February to March | ||
| Deccan plateau | Late October to mid November | February to early March | ||
| South interior | Late October to November | February to early March | ||
| West coast | Not suited here | |||
| East coast | November | February | ||
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Day 120 to 150
Last picking
No published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Before sowing
Day 0
Sow
Azotobacter culture
240 g per acre
Rock phosphate with phosphate solubilising bacteria and Azotobacter
110 to 160 kg of rock phosphate per hectare
Day 4 to 7
Seeds come up1,2,4Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 120 to 150
Last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Mustard needs little water but must not go dry at the critical stages. Two irrigations usually serve: before flowering, about 35 to 40 days after sowing, and at pod formation, about 65 to 70 days after sowing. Areas need 1 to 6 irrigations depending on soil and weather. Skip irrigation from 25 December to 15 January to keep stem rot down. Rainfed crops live on stored moisture: sow when the soil is moist.4Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
6 to 8
Grows on heavy and light soils alike, and does well on well drained light to medium loam. Slightly tolerant of salt, not of waterlogging. Needs a fine, firm seedbed.
SunlightNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, 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.
Temperature1Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Grows best at 15 to 25 °C
Takes light frost.
Monthly temperatures for the Arid west aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering4Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Mustard needs little water but must not go dry at the critical stages. Two irrigations usually serve: before flowering, about 35 to 40 days after sowing, and at pod formation, about 65 to 70 days after sowing. Areas need 1 to 6 irrigations depending on soil and weather. Skip irrigation from 25 December to 15 January to keep stem rot down. Rainfed crops live on stored moisture: sow when the soil is moist.
Weeding3,4
The first 45 to 60 days decide the weed loss. Weed twice with a hand hoe, at 15 to 20 and 35 to 40 days after sowing. A stale seedbed (water the field, let weeds sprout, plough them in) cuts the weed load. Pull and burn broomrape (Orobanche) at flowering, and do not grow mustard after mustard where it was seen.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| before sowing | Farmyard manure, or vermicompost | FYM 4 tonnes per acre, or vermicompost 2 tonnes per acre | |
| seed treatment | Azotobacter culture | 240 g per acre | |
| at sowing | Rock phosphate with phosphate solubilising bacteria and Azotobacter | 110 to 160 kg of rock phosphate per hectare |
Varieties and yield
12 to 18 quintals a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Good neighbours1
Organic and cultural controls only.
Mustard aphid
Signs
Small green plant lice crowd the flower shoots and pods and suck the sap. Plants stay stunted, pods shrivel and seed does not fill. Cold, cloudy weather favours it.
What to do
- Sow early, at the time set for the area; in north India a crop sown before 15 October often escapes aphid damage
- Pluck and destroy infested twigs two or three times, 10 days apart, early in the season
- Release ladybird beetles, about 5,000 a hectare
- Spray 2% neem oil or 5% neem seed kernel extract
- Once 20% of plants are infested, two neem (azadirachtin) sprays, 10 days apart
- Hang yellow sticky traps before flowering
Prevention
- Conserve ladybird beetles, hover flies, lacewings and the parasitic wasp Diaeretiella rapae
Mustard sawfly
Signs
Dark larvae bite holes in the leaves of the young crop and can strip them completely.
What to do
- Irrigate on time: many larvae drown
- Collect and destroy larvae in the morning and evening
- Bitter gourd seed oil emulsion as an anti-feedant
Prevention
- Plough in summer to expose the pupae
Painted bug
Signs
Black and orange bugs suck sap from seedlings early in the season and from pods at maturity; the plants wilt and dry.
What to do
- Give the first irrigation 3 to 4 weeks after sowing
- Hand-collect and destroy the bugs
- Thresh the harvest quickly and clear the plant material away
Prevention
- Deep ploughing destroys the eggs in the soil
Bihar hairy caterpillar
Signs
Hairy caterpillars feed together on leaves at first, then spread through the field eating leaves, shoots and green pods.
What to do
- Pluck and destroy leaves carrying the young caterpillars while they still feed in groups
- Collect and destroy egg masses twice a week
Prevention
- Deep ploughing before the monsoon exposes the pupae to sun and birds
Leaf miner
Signs
Larvae tunnel inside the leaves, leaving pale winding mines.
What to do
- Pluck and burn the infested leaves
- Yellow sticky traps cut the number of adults
Alternaria blight
Signs
Brown to black spots with rings on leaves, stems and pods. Badly hit pods wither with shrivelled seed.
What to do
- Sow in the first half of October
- Grow resistant or tolerant varieties
- Treat the seed with Trichoderma viride at 6 g per kg of seed
- Treat the seed with 2% garlic bulb extract and spray the same extract at 45 and 75 days after sowing
Prevention
- Keep the field clean and rotate crops to break the cycle
White rust and downy mildew
Signs
White or creamy blisters and grey down on the underside of leaves. Infected flower shoots swell and twist into sterile stag heads.
What to do
- Sow on time and grow resistant or tolerant varieties
- Treat the seed with 2% garlic bulb extract
- Avoid over-irrigation and standing water
Prevention
- Destroy stag heads and debris of the last crop
- Save seed only from plants without stag heads
Sclerotinia stem rot
Signs
Water-soaked patches on the stem turn white and cottony with black bodies inside. Plants wilt and dry while standing.
What to do
- Do not irrigate between 25 December and 15 January
- Level and drain the field
Prevention
- Plough deep in summer
- Rotate with rice or maize, which do not host it
Powdery mildew
Signs
White powdery growth on leaves and pods.
What to do
- Keep the field clean
- Rotate crops
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed2,4
For pure seed keep raya at least 300 m from other raya, gobhi sarson and African sarson. Pull off-type plants before flowering and again before harvest. Save seed only from plants free of stag heads.
When the seed is ready
About 75% of the pods brown or golden yellow.
Cleaning the seed
Stack the cut plants to dry, then thresh.
Sun-dry for about a week to below 8% moisture and store dry. Hybrid seed cannot be saved: buy fresh every year.
After the last picking3,4
Plough the residue back in: mustard straw at 2.5 tonnes a hectare followed by a Sesbania green manure in kharif gave the highest yields in ICAR-DRMR trials. Burn or remove stag heads and diseased debris. Rotate with cereals and legumes.
Plough mustard straw back in; followed by a Sesbania green manure in kharif it gave the highest yields in ICAR-DRMR trials.
Rotation
Do not follow mustard with mustard where broomrape appeared. Rotate with cereals and legumes; cowpea, black gram, moth bean, sunhemp, cluster bean or sesame before mustard cut broomrape.
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.
- AESA based IPM package: Mustard/RapeseedNational Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM) with the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Ministry of AgricultureRead the source
- Package of practices for organic production of rapeseed-mustard (Indian Farming 74(9): 14-18, September 2024)ICAR-Directorate of Rapeseed-Mustard Research, Bharatpur (Choudhary, Jat, Singh and Dotaniya), in Indian Farming, ICARRead the source
- Scope for large-scale economic cultivation of mustard (Brassica juncea L.) in non-traditional areas of Karnataka (Journal of Oilseed Brassica 17(2): 109-113, July 2026)ICAR-IARI Regional Station Wellington, ZARS Kalaburagi (UAS Raichur), IARI-RRC Dharwad, ICAR-KVK Hirehalli and ICAR (Nanjundan and others)Read the source
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