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Vegetables · Root

Growing radish

Raphanus sativus · also called Mooli, Muj (Kashmiri)A quick cool season root crop sown straight into ridges. Asiatic types take more heat; European types need cool weather, so the right variety lets radish be grown for much of the year.

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
A pile of fresh white radish roots (mooli) with their green leaf stalks
Photo: Thamizhpparithi Maari · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

Radish in the North-west plains

  • Season

    Main crop mid September to December; with the right variety, almost all year2

  • Sowing to last picking

    Most varieties are ready 45 to 60 days after sowing; Pusa Himani takes 60 to 65 days.2

  • Sow

    January to February (Pusa Himani)2

  • First harvest

    45 to 60 days after sowing2

Across India

When to sow it

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

Sow now

The window here is November to December (Japanese White).

Sowing now in:Sub-tropical foothillsGangetic plainsNorth-east hills and valleysArid westCentral plateauDeccan plateauWest coast
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Today
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, KonkanEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
North-west plainsJanuary to February (Pusa Himani)Second half of March (Punjab Pasand)April to August (Pusa Chetki)Mid September to October (Punjab Safed Mooli 2, Punjab Pasand, Japanese White)November to December (Japanese White)February to AprilEnd of April to MayMay to SeptemberOctober to DecemberDecember to January
Temperate HimalayaJuly to OctoberMarch to August
Cold desertMarch to August
Sub-tropical foothillsMarch to May (Pusa Chetki)September to October (Pusa Reshmi, Minowase)End of November to January (Japanese White, Arka Nishant, Minowase, Pusa Desi, Pusa Himani)Mid August to November (Japanese White, Minowase)March to June (Pusa Himani)August to September (Pusa Reshmi, Japanese White, Minowase)
Gangetic plainsEarly April to mid August (Pusa Chetki)Mid August to mid October (Pusa Desi)Mid September to mid November (Pusa Reshmi)Mid October to mid December (Japanese White)Mid October to mid February (Pusa Himani)Early May to SeptemberLast week of September to early DecemberMid December to early MarchMid February to mid April
North-east hills and valleysAugust to September (early varieties)October to November (late varieties)
Arid west1 September to 1 December
Central plateau1 September to 1 DecemberMid March to mid August (Pusa Chetki)
Deccan plateauSeptember to mid December
South interiorSeptemberJune to JulyApril to June
West coastJune to January
East coastSeptember

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

  1. Day 0

    Sow

    Well rotted farmyard manure2

    15 t per acre · Apply at sowing. Use only well rotted manure.

  2. Day 3 to 6

    Seeds come up1,3Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

  3. Day 45 to 60

    First picking2

  4. Day 45 to 65

    Last picking2

Water straight after sowing, then every 6 to 7 days in summer and 10 to 12 days in winter, depending on the soil. The crop needs 5 to 6 waterings. Too much water gives misshapen, hairy roots.2

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH1,2

    5.5 to 6.8

    Light, friable sandy loam rich in humus. Heavy clay soils give rough, misshapen roots with many small side roots.

  • 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. Grows in light shade but the roots stay smaller.

  • Temperature1,2,3Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

    Grows best at 10 to 15 °C

    Takes light frost.

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

Water and feeding

Watering2

Water straight after sowing, then every 6 to 7 days in summer and 10 to 12 days in winter, depending on the soil. The crop needs 5 to 6 waterings. Too much water gives misshapen, hairy roots.

Weeding2

One weeding 2 to 3 weeks after sowing is enough. Earth up straight after, especially for desi types whose roots push above the soil. Thin when true leaves form to about 7.5 cm between plants.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
At sowingWell rotted farmyard manure15 t per acreApply at sowing. Use only well rotted manure.

Sources2

Varieties and yield

Typical range3

200 to 500 quintals a hectare

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

Varieties grown here2

  • Punjab Safed Mooli 2

    Long white roots; first harvest about 47 days after an early October sowing.

  • Punjab Pasand

    Early; ready 45 days after sowing. Main season or second half of March.

  • Pusa Himani

    Temperate type for sowing in the second half of January.

  • Pusa Chetki

    Takes heat; for April to August sowing.

  • Japanese White

    For late sowing in the main season.

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 diseases2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Stem borer (Hellula undalis)

    Signs

    Larvae bore into the central shoot of young plants; serious in July and August.

    What to do

    • Pick out infested plant parts and destroy them.

    Prevention

    • Check young plants regularly.

  • Pest

    Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella)

    Signs

    Larvae feed on leaves, leaving papery windows or shot holes; serious in August and September and again in February and March.

    What to do

    • Spray Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki products in the evening when needed, 7 days apart.

  • Pest

    Tobacco caterpillar (Spodoptera litura) and cabbage caterpillar (Pieris brassicae)

    Signs

    Young caterpillars feed in groups and can strip the leaves.

    What to do

    • Pick off egg masses and clusters of young caterpillars and destroy them.

    Prevention

    • Check the crop regularly.

  • Pest

    Aphid (Lipaphis erysimi)

    Signs

    Suck sap from leaves in January and February and check growth.

    What to do

    • Harvest marketable roots early when aphids build up.

    Prevention

    • Clear weeds on bunds, roadsides and channels, where aphids build up.
    • Do not overfeed with nitrogen: aphids are worse on heavily fed plants.

  • Disease

    Damping off

    Signs

    Seedlings die before or soon after they come up.

    What to do

    • Sow on raised ridges and avoid waterlogging.

    Prevention

    • Do not sow too thickly.

  • Disease

    Alternaria blight

    Signs

    Brown round spots with dark rings on older leaves.

    What to do

    • Remove and destroy spotted leaves.

    Prevention

    • Save seed only from healthy plants.

Seed and the season's end

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

Raise roots as for the market, select true to type roots and replant them as stecklings at 60 by 60 cm. Remove off types three times: at the leafy stage, at flowering and at maturity.

When the seed is ready

Plants flower in March and April and the pods are ready to harvest in May and June. Keep a seed crop 1,600 m from other radish varieties.

Cleaning the seed

Dry the ripe pods in the sun and thresh them. The pods are tough, so threshing often has to be repeated.

Store fully dried seed in a sealed container in a cool, dry place.

After the last picking2

Fits rotations such as potato, then muskmelon, then radish, or seed potato, then radish for seed, then okra for seed.

Leaves left after harvest can be fed to cattle or composted.

Rotation

Fits short vegetable rotations, for example potato, then muskmelon, then radish.

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 (Radish and Turnip; cropping systems; organic farming)Punjab Agricultural University, LudhianaRead the source
  2. 3Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers (VSF-231), Part I: Vegetable production (Radish; classification of vegetables)CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur (Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture)Read the source
  3. 4Horticulture: Vegetables: RadishTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
  4. 7Radish: planting (land preparation, season, method of planting)National Horticulture BoardRead the source
  5. 8Radish: varietiesNational Horticulture BoardRead the source

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