The Organic
Revival
Oilseed Crops · Oilseed

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.

Temperate Himalaya: Kashmir valley, Shimla, Kullu, Uttarakhand hills

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
Bright yellow flower head of Indian mustard in a flowering field
Photo: Trikutdas · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

Mustard in the Temperate Himalaya

  • Season

    Rabi in the lower valleys: sown in October, harvested in spring

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

  • Sowing to last picking

    Growth stops through the coldest weeks, so the crop takes longer than on the plains.

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

  • Sow

    Late September to October

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

Across India

When to sow it

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

Too late this season

The window here was Late September to October. The next one opens in September.

Sowing now in:Sub-tropical foothillsNorth-west plainsNorth-east hills and valleysDeccan plateauSouth interiorEast coast
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Today
  • Not suited here
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiNot suited here
Compare all 12 regions
Cold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiNot suited hereSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunNorth-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, KonkanNot suited hereEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
Temperate HimalayaLate September to OctoberLate April to May
Cold desertNot suited here
Sub-tropical foothills15 to 25 October (timely sowing)September, for early varietiesFirst half of November, late sownMarch to early April
North-west plainsMid October to mid NovemberMarch
Gangetic plains10 to 25 OctoberLate February to March
North-east hills and valleysLate October to mid NovemberFebruary to early March
Arid west10 to 25 OctoberLate February to March
Central plateau10 to 25 OctoberLate February to March
Deccan plateauLate October to mid NovemberFebruary to early March
South interiorLate October to NovemberFebruary to early March
West coastNot suited here
East coastNovemberFebruary

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 Temperate Himalaya, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

    8 to 10 tonnes per hectare · Spread and mix in while preparing the seedbed (AI suggestion) · field preparation

  2. Day 0

    Sow

  3. Day 4 to 7

    Seeds come up1,2,4Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

  4. Day 150 to 200

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

Sow into moist soil. Winter snow and rain usually carry the crop; irrigate once at flowering and once at pod filling if spring turns dry.No published guide covers this for the Temperate Himalaya, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

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 Temperate Himalaya, 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 Temperate Himalaya aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

WateringNo published guide covers this for the Temperate Himalaya, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Sow into moist soil. Winter snow and rain usually carry the crop; irrigate once at flowering and once at pod filling if spring turns dry.

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

Hoe once about a month after sowing and thin the plants to 10 to 15 cm apart. Hoe again in spring if weeds return.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
field preparationWell rotted farmyard manure or compost8 to 10 tonnes per hectareSpread and mix in while preparing the seedbed (AI suggestion)

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

8 to 12 quintals a hectare

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

Good neighbours1

Grows well with

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

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Mustard aphid

    Signs

    Green plant lice crowd the flower shoots and pods in spring.

    What to do

    • Sow on time so the crop flowers before aphids build up
    • Pluck and destroy infested shoots early
    • Spray neem seed kernel extract

    Prevention

    • Conserve ladybird beetles and hover flies

  • Pest

    Mustard sawfly

    Signs

    Larvae bite holes in young leaves.

    What to do

    • Collect and destroy larvae in the morning and evening

  • Disease

    White rust

    Signs

    White blisters under the leaves and twisted, sterile flower shoots.

    What to do

    • Sow on time
    • Destroy stag heads of the last crop

    Prevention

    • Rotate with cereals

  • Disease

    Alternaria blight

    Signs

    Dark ringed spots on leaves and pods.

    What to do

    • Keep the field clean of old debris
    • 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 pickingNo published guide covers this for the Temperate Himalaya, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Plough the stubble in, or use it as mulch. Follow with a summer cereal or pulse.

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.

  1. 3AESA 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
  2. 4Package 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
  3. 6Scope 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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