Growing potato
Solanum tuberosum · also called Aloo, Olu (Kashmiri)A cool season tuber crop planted from seed tubers on ridges. It needs cool nights to form tubers and is hurt by frost.
Central plateau: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha
At a glance
Potato in the Central plateau
Main rabi crop planted mid-October to November; a kharif crop planted at the end of June in places4,5
The rabi crop on the plateau is short.
No published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.75 to 120 days after sowing4
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 November.
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See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central plateau | Mid-October to NovemberEnd of June | February to MarchSeptember to October | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | Mid-March to AprilApril to MayJanuary to February | September to OctoberSeptember to OctoberMay to June | ||
| Cold desert | April to May | September to October | ||
| Sub-tropical foothills | September to OctoberSecond half of January | January to FebruaryApril to May | ||
| North-west plains | Last week of September to mid-OctoberSecond half of January | February to MarchApril | ||
| Gangetic plains | Mid-OctoberEnd of October to mid-NovemberEarly November | February to MarchJanuary to February | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | March to April | July to August | ||
| Arid west | Mid-OctoberMid-September | February to MarchMid-November to December | ||
| Deccan plateau | End of June to JulyMid-October to November | September to OctoberFebruary to March | ||
| South interior | March to AprilAugust to SeptemberJanuary to FebruaryEnd of JuneMid-October to November | |||
| West coast | Not suited here | |||
| East coast | Early NovemberOctober to November | January to February | ||
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Day 80 to 110
Last picking
No published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Before sowing
Well rotted farmyard manure (FYM)
25 to 30 t per hectare · Mix into the soil at the last ploughing. · Last ploughing
Day 0
Sow
Azospirillum and phosphobacterium (biofertilisers)
2 kg each per acre, mixed with 10 kg FYM · Apply to the soil before planting.
Day 14 to 28
Seeds come up1,2,4Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 75 to 120
First picking4
Day 80 to 110
Last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Central plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
The roots are shallow and sparse, so water lightly and often. Give the first light watering 5 to 7 days after planting, then every 7 to 15 days by weather and soil. Drip saves water; sprinklers spread water evenly and cut frost damage on cold nights.4
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1
6.5 to 7.5
Grows in alluvial, black, red and laterite soils. Alkaline and saline soils do not suit it.
Sunlight3
Full sun. Grows well when days are sunny and nights are cool.
Temperature1
Grows best at 15 to 20 °C
Frost: none tolerated.
Monthly temperatures for the Central plateau aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering4
The roots are shallow and sparse, so water lightly and often. Give the first light watering 5 to 7 days after planting, then every 7 to 15 days by weather and soil. Drip saves water; sprinklers spread water evenly and cut frost damage on cold nights.
Weeding4
The canopy closes about 4 weeks after planting; clear weeds before then. Earth up two or three times, 15 to 20 days apart, starting when plants are 15 to 25 cm tall, and pull weeds left on the ridge tops.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last ploughing | Well rotted farmyard manure (FYM) | 25 to 30 t per hectare | Mix into the soil at the last ploughing. |
| Instead of FYM | Vermicompost | 4 to 6 t per acre | Apply before planting as the organic manure. |
| Before planting | Azospirillum and phosphobacterium (biofertilisers) | 2 kg each per acre, mixed with 10 kg FYM | Apply to the soil before planting. |
Varieties and yield
18 to 25 tonnes a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Kufri Jyoti
Kharif and rabi crops on the plateau.
Kufri Lauvkar
Early bulking; suits the short rabi crop and the kharif crop.
Good neighbours4Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Pests and diseases6
Organic and cultural controls only.
Cutworm (Agrotis species)
Signs
Caterpillars cut young plants at ground level at night and later bore into tubers.
What to do
- Hand pick the larger caterpillars early in the crop.
- Use light traps and pheromone traps to watch moth numbers.
- Put up bird perches for predatory birds such as drongos and mynahs.
Prevention
- Plough deep in summer to expose resting stages.
- Grow 4 rows of maize, sorghum or bajra around the field as a barrier.
Potato tuber moth (Phthorimaea operculella)
Signs
Caterpillars mine leaves and tunnel into tubers in the field and in store.
What to do
- Watch moths with pheromone traps and change lures every 2 to 3 weeks.
- Spray neem seed kernel extract 5% against eggs and young caterpillars.
Prevention
- Keep tubers covered with soil by timely earthing up.
Aphids and leafhoppers
Signs
Suck sap; aphids carry potato leaf roll virus and potato virus Y.
What to do
- Hang yellow sticky traps.
- Spray neem seed kernel extract 5%.
- Conserve ladybird beetles, lacewings and spiders.
Prevention
- Plant healthy seed tubers.
- Use early bulking varieties where the aphid-free period is short.
White grub
Signs
Grubs eat roots and gouge holes in tubers.
What to do
- Use entomopathogenic nematodes in infested fields.
Prevention
- Plough deep in summer.
Late blight (Phytophthora infestans)
Signs
Water-soaked patches at leaf edges turn black; in cool wet weather the whole crop can collapse in days. Tubers rot.
What to do
- Grow resistant and short-duration varieties.
- Remove the first infected plants early.
Prevention
- Plant healthy, certified seed tubers.
- Avoid waterlogging and earth up high to cover tubers.
Bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum)
Signs
Plants wilt while the soil is moist; cut tubers ooze.
What to do
- Apply neem cake to the soil.
Prevention
- Plant pathogen-free tubers.
- Follow crop rotation.
Leaf roll and mosaic viruses
Signs
Rolled, puckered or mottled leaves and stunted plants.
What to do
- Pull out infected plants as soon as they show.
Prevention
- Use virus-free seed and renew it every few years.
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed1,3
Plant a seed crop from healthy, virus-free seed tubers. Pull out sick-looking plants as they appear. Renew seed every 3 to 4 years: yield falls when the same seed is replanted year after year.
When the seed is ready
Cut the haulms once aphids reach 20 per 100 leaves, then leave the tubers in the soil for about 15 days to mature.
Grade the tubers and keep them in cold storage at 2 to 4 °C until the next planting season.
After the last picking4
In Madhya Pradesh a common rotation is potato, okra, soybean.
Collect and destroy crop debris and cull tubers; do not leave rejected tubers lying in the open.
Rotation
Grow potato in a rotation with cereals and pulses, for example potato, mung, paddy, rather than potato after potato.
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.
- Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2020 (Potato)Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
- Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2016 (Potato)Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
- Potato: package of practices (source NHB)Vikaspedia (Government of India), citing National Horticulture BoardRead the source
- Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers (VSF-231), Part I: Vegetable production (Potato)CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur (Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture)Read the source
- AESA based IPM package: PotatoNational Institute of Plant Health Management and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Government of IndiaRead the source
- Horticulture: Vegetables: Potato (TNAU Agritech Portal)Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
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