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.

Gangetic plains: eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plains

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 Gangetic plains

  • Season

    Mainly a winter (rabi) crop; kharif and late kharif crops in West Bengal3

  • Sowing to last picking

    Rabi bulbs mature about 110 to 130 days after transplanting.13

  • Nursery

    October to November3

    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.

Sow now

The window here is October to November.

Sowing now in:Sub-tropical foothillsNorth-west plainsNorth-east hills and valleysArid westCentral plateauDeccan plateauWest coast
  • Nursery
  • Transplant
  • Harvest
  • Today
Gangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiNorth-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
Gangetic plainsOctober to NovemberJune to JulyAugust to SeptemberDecember to JanuaryAugust to SeptemberOctober to NovemberApril to May
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
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 manure or compost

    25 to 30 t per hectare · Mix into the soil; or use vermicompost instead. · Final land preparation

    Vermicompost (instead of farmyard manure)

    10 t per hectare · Work into the soil. · One week before transplanting

    Neem cake

    250 kg per hectare · Apply to the soil against nematodes. · Before transplanting

    Azotobacter and phosphate solubilising bacteria (PSB)13

    5 kg each per hectare · Mix with vermicompost or rotted manure; keep apart from chemical inputs. · Before transplanting

  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 110 to 130

    Last picking13

Water every 7 days, more at bulb formation.9

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 Gangetic plains aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering9

Water straight after transplanting, then lightly about once a week. A kharif crop needs about 8 to 10 waterings depending on rain, late kharif 12 to 15 and rabi 15 to 20. Do not let the crop go dry while bulbs form, or bulbs split and mature early. Stop watering 10 days before a kharif harvest, and when the tops start to fall in rabi.

Weeding10,13

Onion is shallow rooted and closely planted, so weeds hurt it most in the first 30 to 45 days after transplanting. Hand weed and hoe lightly in this period.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
Final land preparationWell rotted farmyard manure or compost25 to 30 t per hectareMix into the soil; or use vermicompost instead.
One week before transplantingVermicompost (instead of farmyard manure)10 t per hectareWork into the soil.
Before transplantingNeem cake250 kg per hectareApply to the soil against nematodes.
Before transplantingAzotobacter and phosphate solubilising bacteria (PSB)5 kg each per hectareMix with vermicompost or rotted manure; keep apart from chemical inputs.

Sources13

Varieties and yield

Typical range13

25 to 35 tonnes a hectare

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

Varieties grown here13,14

  • Bhima Shakti

    ICAR-DOGR, rabi; recommended for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh among others.

  • Bhima Shweta

    ICAR-DOGR white onion; rabi for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

  • NHRDF Red-2 (L-355)

    Rabi, zone III (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and others).

  • NHRDF Red-3 (L-652)

    Rabi, recommended all over the country.

  • Agrifound Light Red

    Rabi, recommended all over the country.

Good neighbours10,13

Grows well with

Pests and diseases6,13,5

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Onion thrips (Thrips tabaci)

    Signs

    Tiny insects between the leaves suck sap; leaves get silvery blotches that turn brown and twist from the tip, and bulbs stay small.

  • Pest

    Onion maggot

    Signs

    Small white maggots eat into the base of the bulb; plants yellow and dry up, and bulbs rot in store.

    Prevention

    • Rotate crops; do not plant onion after onion.
    • Use only well rotted manure and avoid soil full of undecomposed matter.
    • Do not plant too close.

  • Pest

    Cutworm

    Signs

    Greasy brown caterpillars cut seedlings at ground level at night in the nursery and in newly planted fields.

  • Disease

    Purple blotch (Alternaria porri)

    Signs

    Small sunken white flecks with purple centres on leaves and flower stalks; they can girdle the leaf so it droops.

    Prevention

    • Plant healthy seed.
    • Rotate for 2 to 3 years with unrelated crops.

  • Disease

    Stemphylium blight

    Signs

    Small yellow to orange flecks in the middle of the leaves that grow into long spots with a pink edge; worst on seed crops.

    Prevention

    • Keep the field clean and destroy crop residues.

  • Disease

    Downy mildew

    Signs

    Violet fungal growth on leaves and seed stalks that turns pale yellow-green before the leaves collapse; worst in damp weather.

    Prevention

    • Do not plant late, over-fertilise or over-water.
    • Sun the bulbs meant for a seed crop for about 12 days.

  • Disease

    Basal rot

    Signs

    Leaves yellow and dry from the tip, roots turn pink and rot, and the bulb decays from the bottom.

    Prevention

    • Rotate and mix crops.
    • Solarise the soil under polythene for 30 days in summer.

  • Disease

    Black mould and neck rot in store

    Signs

    Black powdery spores on the scales, or soft, water-soaked scales from the neck.

    Prevention

    • Leave lifted bulbs in the field for 2 days, then dry them in shade for 10 to 15 days.
    • Avoid bruising bulbs when handling.

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 picking10

As a winter crop, onion follows cereals, groundnut or cowpea. After a monsoon or late monsoon onion, growers plant coriander, French bean, sorghum, pearl millet, chillies or groundnut.

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. 3Onion: Propagation (nursery beds, season of planting by state, raising seedlings, small bulblets)National Horticulture BoardRead the source
  9. 4Onion: Soil and ClimateNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  10. 5Onion: DiseasesNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  11. 6Onion: PestsNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  12. 7Onion: Harvesting (and yield)National Horticulture BoardRead the source
  13. 8Onion: PlantingNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  14. 9Onion: IrrigationNational Horticulture BoardRead the source

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