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Vegetables · Bulb

Growing onion

Allium cepa · also called pyazA cool-season bulb crop grown as an annual from nursery seedlings. Leaves grow in cool weather and bulbs swell in warmth, so the season changes a lot from region to region.

Arid west: Rajasthan, Kutch, north Gujarat

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 crate of freshly harvested red, pink and white onion bulbs
Photo: Pascal Kings · CC BY 4.0

At a glance

Onion in the Arid west

  • Season

    Rabi crop across Rajasthan; kharif crop in irrigated western Rajasthan3,15

  • Sowing to last picking

    Kharif bulbs mature about 90 to 110 days after transplanting.15

  • Nursery

    End of May to first week of June3,15

Across India

When to sow it

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

Sow now

The window here is October to November.

Sowing now in:Sub-tropical foothillsNorth-west plainsGangetic plainsNorth-east hills and valleysCentral plateauDeccan plateauWest coast
  • Nursery
  • Transplant
  • Harvest
  • Today
Arid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, Delhi
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiGangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimCentral 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
Arid westEnd of May to first week of JuneOctober to NovemberMid to end of JulyDecember to JanuaryEnd of October to end of November
Temperate HimalayaSeptember to early OctoberMarch to early AprilLate October to NovemberLate April to MayJune to JulyLate August to September
Cold desertAprilLate May to early JuneSeptember to early October
Sub-tropical foothillsOctober to NovemberAugustDecember to JanuaryOctoberMay to early June
North-west plainsLate October to mid-NovemberMay to JuneLast week of December to mid-JanuaryJuly to AugustLate April to May
Gangetic plainsOctober to NovemberJune to JulyAugust to SeptemberDecember to JanuaryAugust to SeptemberOctober to NovemberApril to May
North-east hills and valleysOctober to early NovemberLate November to DecemberLate March to April
Central plateauNovember to DecemberJuly to AugustLate March to AprilOctober to November
Deccan plateauMay to JuneAugust to SeptemberOctober to NovemberJuly to AugustSeptember to OctoberNovember to DecemberOctober to NovemberMarch to April
South interiorFebruary to AprilMay to JuneSeptember to OctoberApril to JuneJuly to AugustNovember to December
West coastNovember to DecemberDecember to JanuaryApril to early May
East coastMay to JuneSeptember to OctoberAugust to SeptemberJuly to AugustNovember to DecemberOctober to November

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

  1. Before sowing

    Well decomposed farmyard manure, or vermicompost, premixed with Trichoderma viride15

    25 t FYM or 12.5 t vermicompost per hectare · Mix in before making the beds; it also reduces soil-borne diseases. · Before bed preparation

  2. Day 0

    Sow

  3. Day 6 to 10

    Seeds come up1,2,3,8Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

  4. Day 40 to 55

    Transplant8,13,14,2,3

  5. Day 90 to 110

    Last picking15

Water every 4 to 10 days, more at bulb enlargement.15

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH1,2,4,13

    5.8 to 7.5

    Light, deep, friable and fertile soil with good drainage: sandy loam to clay loam rich in organic matter. Waterlogging, a high water table, and strongly alkaline or saline soils do not suit it. Sandy soil needs more frequent watering and extra manure.

  • Sunlight4,15

    At least 10 hours a day

    Needs good light: at least 10 hours a day for growth and bulbing. The kharif crop bulbs with 11 to 12 hour days, and clear sunny weather at harvest helps curing.

  • Temperature1,2,4,16

    Grows best at 13 to 25 °C

    Takes light frost.

    Monthly temperatures for the Arid west aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering15

Little water just after establishment, rising to a peak about 3 months after transplanting. Water every 8 to 10 days early on, then every 4 to 6 days under drip; 8 to 12 waterings in a dry spell. Too much water, or water after a long dry spell, splits bulbs and causes bolting.

Weeding15

Weeds are a serious kharif problem while the crop is young. Do one or two hand weedings with light hoeing, which also loosens the soil and covers exposed bulbs.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
Before bed preparationWell decomposed farmyard manure, or vermicompost, premixed with Trichoderma viride25 t FYM or 12.5 t vermicompost per hectareMix in before making the beds; it also reduces soil-borne diseases.

Sources15

Varieties and yield

Typical range15

30 to 35 tonnes a hectare

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

Varieties grown here15

  • Agrifound Dark Red

    Kharif.

  • Agrifound Light Red

    Kharif and rabi.

  • N-53

    Kharif.

  • Baswant 780

    Kharif.

  • Bhima Super

    Kharif.

  • Bhima Dark Red

    Kharif.

  • Bhima Raj

    Kharif.

  • Bhima Shubhra

    Kharif.

  • Arka Kalyan

    Kharif.

Good neighbours10,13

Grows well with

Pests and diseases15

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Onion thrips

    Signs

    Spotted leaves that turn into pale white blotches; early attack can stop bulbing.

    Prevention

    • Intercropping, enough soil calcium, less nitrogen and sprinkler irrigation keep numbers down.

  • Disease

    Damping off

    Signs

    Delayed emergence; roots and stem base go water-soaked and thin, and seedlings rot.

    What to do

    • Mix Trichoderma viride into the nursery soil at 4 to 5 g per m².

    Prevention

    • Make nursery beds 15 cm high with good drainage; keep them moist, not soggy.
    • Solarise the bed under 250 gauge polythene for 30 days before sowing.

  • Disease

    Anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides)

    Signs

    Pale yellow water-soaked spots spread along the leaf, with raised black dots; leaves shrivel and droop.

    Prevention

    • Destroy infected debris, keep the field clean, rotate for long periods and drain well.
    • Plant on raised beds, not flat beds, in kharif.

  • Disease

    Purple blotch (Alternaria porri)

    Signs

    Small white sunken spots that turn purple and eye-shaped with a yellow margin.

    Prevention

    • Avoid excess nitrogen and do not crowd the plants.

  • Disease

    Black mould

    Signs

    Black powdery spores on bulbs stored in hot weather.

    Prevention

    • Leave bulbs in the field for 2 to 5 days, then dry them in shade for 10 to 15 days.

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1,2,5

Onion takes two seasons to make seed. Raise bulbs from seed in the first year, then plant these mother bulbs 45 x 20 cm apart in October; the seed crop is ready in April or May. Keep at least 1,000 m between varieties and pull out off-type and sick plants. Sun the mother bulbs for about 12 days before planting to kill downy mildew.

Onion seed stays viable for only about one year.

After the last picking15

Use long rotations away from onion: the anthracnose fungus survives on crop refuse.

Clear and destroy crop residues after harvest: the blight and anthracnose fungi survive on them.

Rotation

Do not grow onion on the same land year after year; keep 2 to 3 years between onion crops. As a winter crop it can follow cereals, groundnut or cowpea, and it does well after cauliflower, tomato or potato that got plenty of manure.

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. 10Onion: Intercultural Operations (weed control, rotation and mixed cropping)National Horticulture BoardRead the source
  2. 11Onion: Manuring and FertilizationNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  3. 12Onion: Post Harvest Technology (curing, grading, storage)National Horticulture BoardRead the source
  4. 13How to get high yield from rabi onion? (Sable and Sonpure), Indian Horticulture, July-August 2023Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Indian Horticulture magazine)Read the source
  5. 14Scientific cultivation of kharif onion (Sable, Mahajan and Sonpure), Indian Horticulture, March-April 2021Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Indian Horticulture magazine)Read the source
  6. 15Kharif onion production: an economic security for western Rajasthan growers (Bhardwaj and Parashar), Indian Horticulture, January-February 2023Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Indian Horticulture magazine); authors at Agriculture University, JodhpurRead the source
  7. 16Pusa Sona: a new variety of onion (Joshi, Islam, Khar, Tomar and Pandita), Indian Horticulture, January-February 2020ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi (Indian Horticulture magazine)Read the source
  8. 17Horticulture: Vegetables: Bellary onionTamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU Agritech Portal)Read the source
  9. 3Onion: Propagation (nursery beds, season of planting by state, raising seedlings, small bulblets)National Horticulture BoardRead the source
  10. 4Onion: Soil and ClimateNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  11. 5Onion: DiseasesNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  12. 6Onion: PestsNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  13. 7Onion: Harvesting (and yield)National Horticulture BoardRead the source
  14. 8Onion: PlantingNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  15. 9Onion: IrrigationNational Horticulture BoardRead the source

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