The Organic
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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.

Cold desert: Ladakh, Lahaul and Spiti

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 Cold desert

  • Season

    Short summer crop

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

  • Sowing to last picking

    About 4 to 5 months in the field, from late spring planting to an autumn harvest.

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

  • Nursery

    April

    No published guide covers this for the Cold desert, 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.

Wait until April

The next sowing here is April.

Sowing now in:Sub-tropical foothillsNorth-west plainsGangetic plainsNorth-east hills and valleysArid westCentral plateauDeccan plateauWest coast
  • Nursery
  • Transplant
  • Harvest
  • Today
Cold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiTemperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, Dehradun
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluSub-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, KonkanEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
Cold desertAprilLate May to early JuneSeptember to early October
Temperate HimalayaSeptember to early OctoberMarch to early AprilLate October to NovemberLate April to MayJune to JulyLate August to September
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
Arid westEnd of May to first week of JuneOctober to NovemberMid to end of JulyDecember to JanuaryEnd of October to end of November
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 rotted farmyard manureNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

    about 2 t per kanal · Work into the soil two weeks before planting. · Field 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 120 to 150

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

Water every 5 to 7 days, more at bulb formation.No published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH1,2,4,13

    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 Cold desert aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

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

Light, frequent watering in the dry air: every 5 to 7 days, more often in July and August while bulbs swell.

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

Weed by hand two or three times in the first two months.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
Field preparationWell rotted farmyard manureabout 2 t per kanalWork into the soil two weeks before planting.

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

1.5 to 2.5 quintals a kanal

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

Good neighbours10,13

Grows well with

Pests and diseases18Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Onion maggot

    Signs

    The main onion pest in Leh and Kargil; maggots eat the bulb base and plants wilt.

  • Disease

    Neck and bulb rots in store

    Signs

    Soft, rotting bulbs after harvest.

    Prevention

    • Dry bulbs well in shade before storing.

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

Leave the plot for a different crop next year; do not follow onion with onion or garlic.

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. 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
  7. 17Horticulture: Vegetables: Bellary onionTamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU Agritech Portal)Read the source
  8. 18Promotion of onion cultivation in Union Territory of Ladakh (21 September 2022)Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR-DOGR with HMAARI, SKUAST-K Leh and KVK Kargil)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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