The Organic
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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.

West coast: Kerala, Goa, Konkan, coastal Karnataka, south Gujarat

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.The west coast is hot and very wet in the monsoon and warm in winter. Rajma rots in waterlogged soil and drops flowers in heat, so it is not a field crop on the coast.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
Not suited here

Not a crop for this region

The west coast is hot and very wet in the monsoon and warm in winter. Rajma rots in waterlogged soil and drops flowers in heat, so it is not a field crop on the coast.

Where it grows nearest

Across India

When to sow it

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

Not suited here

Sowing now in:North-west plainsGangetic plainsNorth-east hills and valleysArid westCentral plateauDeccan plateauSouth interior
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Today
  • Not suited here
West coastKerala, Goa, KonkanNot suited hereSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal AndhraNot suited here
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, SikkimArid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaDeccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north KarnatakaSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal AndhraNot suited here
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
West coastNot suited here
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
Arid westLate October to mid-NovemberLate February to 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
East coastNot suited here

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 West coast aren't in the library yet.

Good neighbours1,3

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 picking1,3

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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