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.

Sub-tropical foothills: Jammu, Kangra, Dehradun

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 Sub-tropical foothills

  • Season

    Winter (rabi) crop in the sub-tropical zone; autumn crop in the intermediate hills1

  • Sowing to last picking

    Dry bulbs are ready 5 to 6 months after transplanting.2

  • Nursery

    October to November1,16

    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:North-west plainsGangetic plainsNorth-east hills and valleysArid westCentral plateauDeccan plateauWest coast
  • Nursery
  • Transplant
  • Harvest
  • Today
Sub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunTemperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, Delhi
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiNorth-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
Sub-tropical foothillsOctober to NovemberAugustDecember to JanuaryOctoberMay to early June
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
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 manure1

    8 t per acre · Apply the full dose and work it into the field. · One month 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 150 to 180

    Last picking2

Water every 7 to 10 days, more at bulb formation and bulb enlargement.1,2

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 Sub-tropical foothills aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering1,2

Water lightly straight after transplanting, then every 7 to 10 days; 10 to 15 irrigations in all. Do not miss water while bulbs form and swell, or bulbs crack and yields fall. Too much water delays maturity.

Weeding1

Onion roots are shallow. Hoe and weed 3 to 4 times, working only the top of the soil.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
One month before transplantingWell rotted farmyard manure8 t per acreApply the full dose and work it into the field.

Sources1

Varieties and yield

Typical range2

250 to 300 quintals a hectare

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

Varieties grown here1,16

  • N-53

    Shiny red, less pungent, poor keeping; for the kharif season.

  • Agrifound Dark Red

    Dark red globular bulbs, average keeping; 95 to 110 days after transplanting.

  • Agrifound Light Red

    Light red, tight skinned, keeps well; 110 to 120 days after transplanting.

  • Pusa Ratnar

    Bronze deep red, less pungent, keeps well; about 150 days.

  • Pusa Red

    125 to 140 days after transplanting.

  • Bhima Super

    Red; from ICAR-DOGR, for kharif and late kharif.

  • Bhima Red

    Red; for rabi, kharif and late kharif; stores up to 3 months from rabi.

  • Pusa Sona

    Creamy yellow, less pungent rabi onion from IARI for zone II, which includes the Jammu region; does not store long.

Good neighbours10,13

Grows well with

Pests and diseases2

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Thrips

    Signs

    Tiny insects rasp the leaves, which turn silvery and dry from the tips.

  • Pest

    Onion maggot

    Signs

    Maggots feed inside the bulb base; plants wilt and rot.

  • Disease

    Damping off

    Signs

    Seedlings die before or soon after they come up in the nursery.

  • Disease

    Downy mildew (Peronospora destructor)

    Signs

    Pale yellow patches and a downy growth on leaves and seed stalks, which then die back.

    Prevention

    • Save seed only from a healthy crop.

  • Disease

    Purple blotch (Alternaria porri)

    Signs

    Purple spots with rings on leaves and seed stalks, which often break at the spot.

  • Disease

    Stemphylium blight

    Signs

    Small yellow to orange spots or streaks in the middle of the leaves and on one side of the flower stalks.

  • Disease

    Black mould (Aspergillus niger)

    Signs

    Black powdery spore masses on stored bulbs.

    Prevention

    • Keep bulbs dry after harvest and store them in a dry, airy place.

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. 1Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2020 (Onion)Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
  2. 10Onion: Intercultural Operations (weed control, rotation and mixed cropping)National Horticulture BoardRead the source
  3. 11Onion: Manuring and FertilizationNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  4. 12Onion: Post Harvest Technology (curing, grading, storage)National Horticulture BoardRead the source
  5. 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
  6. 14Scientific cultivation of kharif onion (Sable, Mahajan and Sonpure), Indian Horticulture, March-April 2021Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Indian Horticulture magazine)Read 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. 2Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2016 (Onion; insect pest and disease management in bulb crops)Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
  10. 3Onion: Propagation (nursery beds, season of planting by state, raising seedlings, small bulblets)National Horticulture BoardRead the source
  11. 4Onion: Soil and ClimateNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  12. 5Onion: DiseasesNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  13. 6Onion: PestsNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  14. 7Onion: Harvesting (and yield)National Horticulture BoardRead the source
  15. 8Onion: PlantingNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
  16. 9Onion: IrrigationNational Horticulture BoardRead the source

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