Growing rice
Oryza sativaPaddy is usually raised in a nursery and transplanted into puddled, flooded fields, though it can also be sown direct. Most regions grow it in the monsoon; some take a second or third crop.
East coast: coastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra, coastal Odisha
At a glance
Rice in the East coast
Coastal Tamil Nadu grows rice in several seasons: Kuruvai (June to July), Samba (August), Thaladi (September to October), Navarai (December to January) and Sornavari (April to May).1,2
Under 120 days for Kuruvai, Navarai and Sornavari; 130 to 135 days for Thaladi; over 145 days for Samba.1,2
June to July2
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Too late this season
The window here was September to October. The next one opens in December.
- Sow
- Nursery
- Transplant
- Harvest
- Today
- Not suited here
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See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East coast | June to JulyAugustSeptember to OctoberDecember to JanuaryApril to May | |||
| Temperate Himalaya | Last week of April (Kashmir valley)Late March to late April (temperate Jammu, higher areas earlier) | Last week of May (lower belts) to mid-June (higher belts); finish by 21 June | Late September to October, later in the higher belts | |
| Cold desert | Not suited here | |||
| Sub-tropical foothills | With the first monsoon shower (direct-sown rainfed rice) | Early May to the third week of June, by variety | Mid-June to 21 July (late dates only when the monsoon fails) | Early October (PC-19 in the recommended rice-marigold-French bean sequence) |
| North-west plains | 1 to 15 June (direct-seeded rice) | 20 May to 20 June | 20 June to 10 July | |
| Gangetic plains | Late May to late July, by variety duration (Bihar)November to December | July to early August, with 3 to 4 week seedlingsAfter mid-January, once it is warmer than 10°C | By mid-November (long-duration varieties)May to June | |
| North-east hills and valleys | March to AprilJune to July | April to MayJuly to AugustSeptember (late sali, 4 to 6 seedlings a hill) | ||
| Arid west | Not suited here | |||
| Central plateau | Late June to early July (direct-sown, with the first good rain) | Mid-June to early July, with the monsoon | July to early August | Late October to November |
| Deccan plateau | June to JulyLate November to December | July to AugustJanuary to early February | Late October to NovemberLate April to May | |
| South interior | December to JanuaryApril to JuneSeptember to October | |||
| West coast | April to MaySeptember to OctoberDecember to January | September to OctoberDecember to JanuaryMarch to April | ||
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Before sowing
Nursery
Fully decomposed FYM or compost
1 t on the 20-cent (800 m²) nursery for one hectare, about 1.25 kg per m²
Spread on the nursery before sowing
Field preparation
FYM or compost, or green leaf manure
12.5 t per hectare of FYM or compost, or 6.25 t per hectare of green leaf manure
Work in before puddling
Green manure
Green manure crop raised in the field
20 kg per hectare of seed
Grow in place and plough in to 15 cm
Day 0
Sow
Day 3
3 to 5 days after transplanting
Azolla
250 kg per hectare
Spread on the standing water as a dual crop
Before sowing
Fully decomposed FYM or compost
1 t on the 20-cent (800 m²) nursery for one hectare, about 1.25 kg per m² · Spread on the nursery before sowing · Nursery
FYM or compost, or green leaf manure
12.5 t per hectare of FYM or compost, or 6.25 t per hectare of green leaf manure · Work in before puddling · Field preparation
Green manure crop raised in the field1
20 kg per hectare of seed · Grow in place and plough in to 15 cm · Green manure
Day 0
Sow
Day 1 to 2
Day 3
Azolla
250 kg per hectare · Spread on the standing water as a dual crop · 3 to 5 days after transplanting
Day 18 to 40
Day 115
Keep 2 cm of water for a week after transplanting, then flood to about 5 cm in cycles; on clay soil re-irrigate as the ponded water disappears in summer, one to two days later in winter. Drain 7 to 10 days before harvest.1
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH4,7,12
5 to 9
Clay to clay loam soils that turn to soft mud when puddled and hold water well; loams also suit. Soils that drain fast waste water.
Sunlight4
At least 6 hours a day
Full sun. Punjab's guide links high yields to about 6 to 11 hours of bright sunshine a day, depending on crop stage.
Temperature4,7,12
Grows best at 20 to 34 °C
Monthly temperatures for the East coast aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering1
Keep 2 cm of water for a week after transplanting, then flood to about 5 cm in cycles; on clay soil re-irrigate as the ponded water disappears in summer, one to two days later in winter. Drain 7 to 10 days before harvest.
WeedingNo published guide covers this for the East coast, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Weed by hand or with a cono or rotary weeder at about 20 and 40 days after transplanting. Keeping 3 to 5 cm of water in the field holds weeds back.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursery | Fully decomposed FYM or compost | 1 t on the 20-cent (800 m²) nursery for one hectare, about 1.25 kg per m² | Spread on the nursery before sowing |
| Field preparation | FYM or compost, or green leaf manure | 12.5 t per hectare of FYM or compost, or 6.25 t per hectare of green leaf manure | Work in before puddling |
| Green manure | Green manure crop raised in the field | 20 kg per hectare of seed | Grow in place and plough in to 15 cm |
| 3 to 5 days after transplanting | Azolla | 250 kg per hectare | Spread on the standing water as a dual crop |
Varieties and yield
45 to 60 quintals a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
ADT 36, ADT 37, ADT 43, ADT(R) 45, CO 51, ASD 16
Kuruvai, Navarai and Sornavari (short duration)
ADT 51, ADT 52, CR 1009, CR 1009 Sub 1
Samba in the Cauvery delta
ADT 46, CO 43, CO 52, Improved White Ponni, TKM 13
Late Samba and Thaladi; Improved White Ponni is prone to blast
Good neighboursNo published guide covers this for the East coast, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Pests and diseasesNo published guide covers this for the East coast, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Organic and cultural controls only.
Stem borer
Signs
Dead central shoots in young plants and white, empty ears later.
What to do
- Clip the leaf tips of seedlings before transplanting to remove egg masses
- Set up pheromone traps and bird perches
- Harvest close to the ground and plough in the stubble
Brown planthopper
Signs
Hoppers gather at the base of the plants; patches turn brown and dry out (hopper burn).
What to do
- Leave a narrow walking gap every few metres of rows so light and air reach the base
- Drain the field for three or four days
- Avoid heavy nitrogen-rich manuring
Leaf folder
Signs
Leaves folded into tubes with white, scraped streaks.
What to do
- Drag a rope across the crop to shake the caterpillars off
- Keep bunds clear of grass
Gall midge
Signs
The central shoot turns into a hollow, silvery tube (silver shoot) and bears no ear.
What to do
- Plant on time rather than late
- Pull out and destroy affected tillers early
- Grow varieties your local KVK lists as tolerant
Blast
Signs
Spindle-shaped spots with grey centres and brown edges on the leaves; in bad attacks the neck of the panicle rots and breaks over.
Prevention
- Sow clean seed from a healthy crop
- Do not overdo nitrogen-rich manures
- Grow varieties your local KVK lists as tolerant
Bacterial leaf blight
Signs
Yellow stripes from the leaf tips and edges that dry to straw colour, often after storms or floods.
What to do
- Drain the field for a few days when it appears
Prevention
- Do not let water run from one field to the next
Sheath blight
Signs
Grey-green oval patches on the leaf sheaths near the water line that spread upwards.
Prevention
- Keep spacing wide enough for air to move
- Keep bunds free of grass
- Compost or plough in stubble from an affected crop
Tungro
Signs
Plants stay stunted with yellow to orange leaves, in patches.
Prevention
- Pull out and destroy sick plants early
- Keep grass weeds down around the field
- Avoid staggered planting in the same area
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed1,4
Pick a good patch of the standing crop and rogue out off-types and sick plants. Harvest and thresh it separately.
Dry the grain well, to about 12 per cent moisture, and keep it in clean bins.
After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the East coast, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
In the delta, black gram or green gram is often sown into the standing rice a few days before harvest and grows on the moisture left behind. Elsewhere a second rice follows where water allows.
Mixing or keeping rice straw in the field builds soil health over the years. Jammu's guide chops straw into pieces of about 5 cm and ploughs it in about 10 days before the next crop.
Rotation
Common rotations in the north: rice followed by wheat, berseem, gram, potato, peas, mustard or barley, often with summer moong or a green manure crop before the next rice.
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.
- Paddy: crop production guide (Agro Advisory Services)TNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
- Rice: seasons and varietiesTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
- Transplanted puddled lowland rice: wet nurseryTNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
- Package of Practices for Kharif Crops 2016: Rice; Rice cultivation in temperate and semi-temperate regionsDirectorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
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