Growing tomato
Solanum lycopersicum · also called TamatarA warm season fruit vegetable raised in a nursery and transplanted. It needs sun, mild nights and protection from frost.
Arid west: Rajasthan, Kutch, north Gujarat
At a glance
Tomato in the Arid west
Rabi crop: nursery in early September, transplanting in October9
About 4 to 5 months from nursery sowing, ending before the summer heat.
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.First week of September9
60 to 70 days after sowing5
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Wait until September
The next sowing here is First week of September.
- Nursery
- Transplant
- Harvest
- Under cover
- Today
- Not suited here
Compare all 12 regionsShow fewer regions
See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arid west | First week of September | Second week of October | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | February to MarchMay to June (indeterminate types)AprilMarch to April | March to AprilJune to JulyEnd of MayApril to May | ||
| Cold desert | Not suited here | |||
| Sub-tropical foothills | Mid-DecemberUnder cover: December, under low poly tunnels or thatch | Late January to mid-FebruaryJanuary, into trenchesJuly, once the rains set in (rainfed areas) | ||
| North-west plains | OctoberEnd of NovemberSecond half of July | November to DecemberFebruarySecond half of August | Late November to early December (rainy season varieties) | |
| Gangetic plains | June to JulySeptemberJanuary | September to October (Eastern India, autumn crop)Late December (Eastern India, spring crop) | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | September to OctoberFebruary to March | October to NovemberMid-March to April | ||
| Central plateau | June to JulyNovember | July to AugustDecember to January | ||
| Deccan plateau | December to March | |||
| South interior | May to JuneNovember to December | December to March (Karnataka) | ||
| West coast | October to November | |||
| East coast | May to JuneNovember to December | June to JulyDecember to January | ||
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Day 0
Sow
Day 130 to 160
Last picking
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.
Before sowing
Neem cake9
250 kg per hectare · Before final bed preparation
Day 0
Sow
Day 25 to 30
Day 60 to 70
First picking5
About every 4 days; 7 to 11 pickings in all.
Day 130 to 160
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 5 to 12 days, more at flowering and fruit development.5
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1,2,5
6 to 7.5
Well drained loam rich in organic matter. It grows on many soils, but light soils from sandy loam to loam suit it most.
Sunlight2,5
Full sun. Bright sunshine while fruits set gives a deep red colour.
Temperature2,5
Grows best at 20 to 28 °C
Frost: none tolerated.
Monthly temperatures for the Arid west aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering5
Give a light irrigation 3 to 4 days after transplanting. Water about every 7 to 8 days in the kharif season, 10 to 12 days in rabi and 5 to 6 days in summer, adjusting for soil and rain. A heavy watering after a long dry spell splits the fruits.
Weeding4
Keep the field weed free for the first 30 days: two hoeings between rows and hand weeding within rows at 15 and 30 days after planting. Black polythene mulch with its edges buried also keeps weeds down. Use a stale seed bed at field preparation.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before final bed preparation | Neem cake | 250 kg per hectare |
Varieties and yield
20 to 25 tonnes a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Arka Rakshak
Hybrid resistant to three diseases; used in the Pali demonstrations
Organic and cultural controls only.
Whitefly
Signs
Small white insects under the leaves; they spread leaf curl virus.
What to do
- Put up yellow sticky traps to spot whitefly early.
- Spray neem oil regularly.
Fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera)
Signs
Caterpillars bore holes into the fruits, which then rot.
What to do
- Raise African marigold nursery 15 days before the tomato nursery and plant it as a trap crop.
- Put up pheromone traps to watch moth numbers and change the lures every 2 to 3 weeks.
- Put up bird perches to bring in mynahs and drongos, which eat the caterpillars.
- Release the egg parasitoid Trichogramma from flowering.
- Spray neem seed kernel extract 5% against eggs and young caterpillars.
Prevention
- Plough deep in summer to expose resting stages in the soil.
- Keep the field clean.
Damping off
Signs
Seedlings rot at the base and fall over in the nursery.
What to do
- Treat seed with Trichoderma before sowing.
Prevention
- Raise seedlings on raised beds about 15 cm high or in pro-trays.
- Avoid overwatering and badly drained nursery sites.
Tomato leaf curl virus
Signs
Leaves curl and crinkle and plants stay stunted with few fruits.
What to do
- Remove and destroy infected seedlings and plants as soon as they show.
Prevention
- Raise the nursery under insect-proof net.
- Take seed only from healthy plants.
- Do not transplant infected seedlings.
Early blight and late blight
Signs
Dark spots with rings (early blight) or water-soaked patches (late blight) on leaves, stems and fruits.
What to do
- Keep the field clean and destroy weed hosts.
- Give light irrigations.
Prevention
- Use resistant or tolerant varieties.
- Move the nursery to a new site every season.
Bacterial wilt
Signs
Plants wilt suddenly while still green.
What to do
- Do not let irrigation water run from an affected field into a healthy one.
Prevention
- Rotate with crops that do not host it, such as paddy.
- Use seedlings from clean seed beds.
Root-knot nematode
Signs
Yellow, patchy plants with knots on the roots.
What to do
- Grow marigold or mustard as an intercrop.
Prevention
- Rotate with cereals.
- Raise the nursery on nematode-free or solarised beds.
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed1,2
Grow seed plants at least 50 m from other tomato varieties and pull out off-types and diseased plants. Use the first 7 to 8 pickings.
When the seed is ready
Seeds are mature 30 to 35 days after flowering, when the fruits are fully red and ripe.
Cleaning the seed
Crush ripe fruits and let the pulp ferment for 1 to 2 days, then add water: pulp and skins float and the seeds sink. Wash the seeds 3 or 4 times.
Dry in shade for a day, then in mild sun, to 7 to 8% moisture. Dry seed keeps up to 12 months in sealed foil pouches.
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.
Remove the plants after the last picking, before the summer heat. Plough deep and leave the field open in summer, or follow with a pulse or bajra; avoid chilli and brinjal next.
Rotation
Leave at least a year before tomato or another solanaceous crop (chilli, brinjal, capsicum, potato) goes back on the same land. Follow with cereals, cabbage family crops, radish, onion, garlic or groundnut. In root-knot nematode fields, garlic in the rotation helps.
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.
- Crop Production Guide: Horticulture Crops 2020 (Tomato; Organic Cultural Practices; Protected Cultivation; Seed Production)Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and Directorate of Horticulture, Tamil NaduRead the source
- Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2020 (Tomato; insect-pest and disease management in solanaceous vegetables; cropping systems; protected cultivation)Directorate of Extension, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu (SKUAST-Jammu)Read the source
- Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers (VSF-231), Part I: Vegetable production (Tomato)CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur (Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture)Read the source
- AESA based IPM package: TomatoNational Institute of Plant Health Management and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Government of IndiaRead the source
- Tomato: package of practices (source NHB)Vikaspedia (Government of India), citing National Horticulture BoardRead the source
- Good Agricultural Practices in Tomato Cultivation: a technical manual for KarnatakaGIZ Green Innovation Centres India with University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot and Karnataka State Department of HorticultureRead the source
- Consequences of front line demonstration of tomato cv. Arka Rakshak in Pali district of western Rajasthan (Indian Journal of Arid Horticulture 6(1), 2024)ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, KVK Pali-MarwarRead the source
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