The Organic
Revival
Vegetables · Legume

Growing peas

Pisum sativum · also called MatarA cool season legume sown straight into the bed for its sweet green pods. It likes mild days, takes light frost while young and fixes its own nitrogen.

North-west plains: Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh

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
Green pea pods hanging on a pea plant among its leaves
Photo: Андрей Перцев · CC0

At a glance

Peas in the North-west plains

  • Season

    Rabi crop, sown in autumn2

  • Sowing to last picking

    Early varieties give a first picking 60 to 70 days after sowing; Punjab 89 takes 85 to 90 days.2

  • Sow

    Mid-October to mid-November2

Across India

When to sow it

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

Sow now

The window here is Mid-October to mid-November.

Sowing now in:Temperate HimalayaSub-tropical foothillsGangetic plainsNorth-east hills and valleysArid westCentral plateauDeccan plateauSouth interiorEast coast
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Today
  • Not suited here
North-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunTemperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, Kullu
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunGangetic 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
North-west plainsMid-October to mid-November
Temperate HimalayaOctober to NovemberMarch to JuneSeptember to October
Cold desertApril to MaySeptember to October
Sub-tropical foothillsLast week of OctoberMid-October to mid-November
Gangetic plainsOctober to November
North-east hills and valleysOctober to mid-November
Arid westMid-October to mid-November
Central plateauMid-October to November
Deccan plateauMid-October to November
South interiorOctober to NovemberFebruary to March
West coastNot suited here
East coastOctober to November

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

  1. Before sowing

    Farmyard manure2

    8 tonnes per acre · Mix in before sowing · before sowing

  2. Day 7 to 14

    Seeds come up2,3,6Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Sow into moist soil. Give the first irrigation 15 days after sowing, the next at flowering and another at pod set if needed. Three to four irrigations in all, depending on soil and weather. Drip irrigation saves about 30% water.2

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH2,3,1,6

    6 to 7.5

    Well drained, fertile loam. Light soils suit an early crop and heavier soils a main season crop. It does poorly on acid soils below pH 5.5.

  • SunlightNo published guide covers this for the North-west plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

    At least 6 hours a day

    Full sun. Pick an open bed away from tall shade.

  • Temperature1,3,6

    Grows best at 10 to 18 °C

    Takes light frost.

    Monthly temperatures for the North-west plains aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering2

Sow into moist soil. Give the first irrigation 15 days after sowing, the next at flowering and another at pod set if needed. Three to four irrigations in all, depending on soil and weather. Drip irrigation saves about 30% water.

Weeding2

Hoe twice, four and eight weeks after germination.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
before sowingFarmyard manure8 tonnes per acreMix in before sowing

Sources2

Varieties and yield

Typical range2

18 to 20 quintals an acre

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

Varieties grown here2

  • AP-3

    Early; first picking 60 to 65 days

  • Matar Ageta-7

    Early

  • Matar Ageta-6

    Early; tolerates heat, can be sown early

  • Arkel

    Early; first week of October sowing

  • Punjab 89

    Main season

  • Mithi Phali

    Edible podded

Good neighboursNo published guide covers this for the North-west plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Keep it away from

Pests and diseases2

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Pea aphid

    Signs

    Green insects suck sap from the shoots, so leaves turn pale, curl and dry.

    What to do

    • Remove weeds on bunds, waste land and channels, where aphids build up
    • Do not overfeed with nitrogen

  • Pest

    Pea leaf miner

    Signs

    Larvae make winding tunnels in the leaves; badly mined leaves dry up.

    What to do

    • Remove weeds in and around the field
    • Keep plants healthy with balanced feeding

  • Pest

    Pea stem fly

    Signs

    Damages young plants at the seedling stage.

    What to do

    • Avoid sowing too early in hot weather

  • Pest

    Pea thrips

    Signs

    Tiny insects suck sap from the young crop.

    What to do

    • Remove weeds in and around the field

  • Disease

    Powdery mildew

    Signs

    White floury patches over stems, branches, leaves and pods.

  • Disease

    Wilt, root rot and collar rot

    Signs

    Roots rot and the lower leaves yellow, then the plant wilts. Reddish brown cankers can show at the collar.

    What to do

    • Treat seed with a talc formulation of Pseudomonas fluorescens, 15 g per kg seed, before sowing

    Prevention

    • Avoid early sowing in badly infested fields

  • Disease

    Rust

    Signs

    Yellow to reddish brown raised pustules, mostly under the leaves, in December and January. Worse in late sown crops.

    Prevention

    • Keep the field free of Rewari weed, which carries the disease

  • Disease

    White rot

    Signs

    Water soaked spots on leaves, stems and pods; pods turn papery brown with white mould and black hard bodies inside.

    Prevention

    • Do not grow peas after brinjal, cauliflower, carrot or peas; grow tomato or chilli before them
    • Collect and remove crop debris

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Grow the seed crop with the same seed rate and spacing as the table crop. Keep 5 m between two varieties.

When the seed is ready

Leave the pods on the plant until they turn dry and papery and the seeds rattle.

Cleaning the seed

Pick the dry pods, shell them by hand and dry the seed in the shade for a few days.

Store fully dry seed in a sealed tin or jar in a cool, dry place.

After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the North-west plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Pull or cut the vines after the last picking and compost them, or dig them in to feed the next crop.

After the last picking, chop the vines and dig them in or compost them. Remove plants that died of wilt or rot.

Rotation

Follow a three year rotation with cereals where wilt is a problem. Do not grow peas straight after brinjal, cauliflower, carrot or peas; tomato or chilli is a better crop before them.

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. 2Package of Practices for Cultivation of Vegetables 2021 (Pea)Punjab Agricultural University, LudhianaRead the source
  2. 3Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers (VSF-231), Part I: Vegetable production (Garden pea)CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur (Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture)Read the source
  3. 4Horticulture: Vegetables: PeasTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
  4. 5Economic potential of pea farming in Himachal Pradesh (Indian Farming 74(12): 15-17, December 2024)ICAR (Indian Farming); authors at Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, SolanRead the source

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