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Pulses · Legume

Growing rajma

Phaseolus vulgaris · also called rajma, rajmashKidney bean grown for its dry grain. In the hills it is a summer crop, often climbing on maize; in the plains it is sown in winter.

Arid west: Rajasthan, Kutch, north Gujarat

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
Dry red kidney beans (rajma) filling the frame, every bean in sharp focus
Photo: Bean appreciator · CC0

At a glance

Rajma in the Arid west

  • Season

    Rabi crop in the cooler months, with irrigation

    No published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

  • Sowing to last picking

    A rabi crop takes about four months from sowing to harvest.

    No published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

  • Sow

    Late October to mid-November

    No published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Across India

When to sow it

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

Sow now

The window here is Late October to mid-November.

Sowing now in:North-west plainsGangetic plainsNorth-east hills and valleysCentral plateauDeccan plateauSouth interior
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Today
  • Not suited here
Arid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, Delhi
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiNot suited hereSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiGangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaDeccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north KarnatakaSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduWest coastKerala, Goa, KonkanNot suited hereEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal AndhraNot suited here
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
Arid westLate October to mid-NovemberLate February to March
Temperate HimalayaApril to mid-May (April only above 1,500 m)Last week of May to first week of JulySeptember to October
Cold desertNot suited here
Sub-tropical foothillsSecond half of MarchJune
North-west plainsLate October to mid-NovemberLate February to March
Gangetic plainsLate October to mid-NovemberLate February to March
North-east hills and valleysMid-October to NovemberFebruary to early March
Central plateauLate October to mid-NovemberLate February to March
Deccan plateau15 June to 15 July15 October to 15 November
South interiorLate October to mid-NovemberLate February to March
West coastNot suited here
East coastNot suited here

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

  1. Before sowing

    Well rotted farmyard manure or compostNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

    5 to 10 tonnes per hectare · Spread and mix into the soil at the last ploughing · field preparation

  2. Day 0

    Sow

    Rhizobium culture

    Coat the seed with the culture, dry it in the shade and sow the same day

  3. Day 7 to 10

    Seeds come up1,2,3

  4. Day 110 to 130

    Last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Water every 15 to 21 days, more at flowering and pod filling.No published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH2,3Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

    5.5 to 7

    Well drained, medium to deep loam or clay loam. Lime acid soil before sowing. It does not stand waterlogging.

  • Sunlight3Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

    At least 6 hours a day

    Full sun in an open field. In places where the sucking bug is common, avoid sowing in shade.

  • Temperature2,3Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

    Grows best at 15 to 25 °C

    Frost: none tolerated.

    Monthly temperatures for the Arid west aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

WateringNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Water lightly after sowing if the soil is dry, then every two to three weeks. Rajma roots shallowly and needs more water than gram. Do not let it go dry at flowering and pod filling, and never let water stand in the field.

WeedingNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Keep the field clean for the first six weeks. Hand weed or hoe about three and six weeks after sowing, and earth up lightly at the second weeding.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
field preparationWell rotted farmyard manure or compost5 to 10 tonnes per hectareSpread and mix into the soil at the last ploughing
sowingRhizobium cultureCoat the seed with the culture, dry it in the shade and sow the same day

SourcesNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Varieties and yield

Typical rangeNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

10 to 15 quintals a hectare

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

Varieties grown here3

  • Ankur

    Named for Rajasthan.

  • Gujarat Rajma-1

    Named for Gujarat.

Good neighbours1,3

Pests and diseasesNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Aphids

    Signs

    Small soft insects in groups on young shoots, leaves and pods. They suck sap and spread mosaic virus.

    What to do

    • Pull out and destroy badly infested shoots early
    • Encourage ladybird beetles, which feed on aphids

  • Pest

    Pod borer

    Signs

    Caterpillars bore into pods and eat the seeds, leaving round holes.

    What to do

    • Hand pick and destroy caterpillars and bored pods
    • Set up bird perches in the field

  • Pest

    Bean stem fly

    Signs

    Young plants wilt and die; the stem near the soil is swollen and tunnelled.

    What to do

    • Pull out and destroy wilted seedlings

  • Disease

    Anthracnose

    Signs

    Sunken dark spots with reddish margins on pods, stems and leaf veins; worse in wet weather.

    Prevention

    • Sow seed saved from a healthy crop
    • Rotate with cereals and do not grow beans in the same field every year
    • Destroy diseased plant remains after harvest

  • Disease

    Bean common mosaic

    Signs

    Light and dark green mottling and puckering of leaves; plants stay small and bear few pods.

    Prevention

    • Sow seed from a healthy crop
    • Pull out mottled plants early

  • Disease

    Root rot

    Signs

    Plants yellow and wilt; roots and the stem base turn brown and rot.

    Prevention

    • Sow on well drained land and avoid standing water
    • Rotate with cereals

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1,3

Save seed from a healthy crop grown where anthracnose and bacterial blight do not occur.

When the seed is ready

Pods turn yellow, then brown and crisp, and most leaves fall. Early pods split if left too long.

Cleaning the seed

Pick early pods by hand as they ripen. Sun the plants for three or four days and thresh on a dry day by treading or beating the pods on a tarp.

Dry the grain again for three or four days, sort out damaged seed and store in a cool, dark, dry place. Watch for bean weevils.

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

Plough the roots and leftover stalks back into the soil after threshing; they add some nitrogen for the next crop. Follow with a cereal.

Destroy or deep plough the crop remains after harvest; they carry rust and root rot.

Rotation

Do not grow beans after beans. Rotate with cereals, and leave three years between bean crops where bacterial blight has shown up.

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. 3Policy document on management practices of rajmash cultivation in hills (NMHS project, 8 August 2023)G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar (hosted by G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, NMHS)Read the source

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