Vegetables · Fruit vegetable

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.

Where are you growing?

North-east hills and valleys: Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Darjeeling

Includes AI suggestions where no published guide covers a detail

A cluster of green tomatoes, one turning red, among the leaves of a tomato plant — Photo: Forest and Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0

At a glance

Tomato in the North-east hills and valleys

Season
Rabi crop in the Assam valley from a September to October nursery; spring to summer crop in the hills from a February to March nursery
Sowing to last picking
About 4 to 5 months from nursery sowing, about a month of it in the nursery.
Nursery
September to October
First harvest
60 to 70 days after sowing⁵

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 February.

Sowing now in:Central plateau South interior West coast East coast

Nursery
Transplant
Harvest
Under cover
Today
Not suited here

North-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, Sikkim Gangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plains Central plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha

Compare all 12 regions

Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, Kullu Cold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiNot suited here Sub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, Dehradun North-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, Delhi Gangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plains Arid westRajasthan, Kutch, north Gujarat Central plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha Deccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north Karnataka South interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil Nadu West coastKerala, Goa, Konkan East coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra

Today

See the dates as a table

Region	Sow	Nursery	Transplant	Harvest
North-east hills and valleys		September to OctoberFebruary to March	October to NovemberMid-March to April
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)
Arid west		First week of September	Second week of October
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

Before sowing

Field preparation

Well rotted farmyard manure

15 to 20 t per hectare

Mix into the soil while preparing the land.

⁵

Day 0

Sow

Day 25 to 30

Transplant

^1,3,5,7

Day 60 to 70

First picking

About every 4 days; 7 to 11 pickings in all.

⁵

Day 130 to 160

Last picking

Water every 5 to 12 days, more at flowering and fruit development.⁵

Before sowing
Well rotted farmyard manure⁵
15 to 20 t per hectare · Mix into the soil while preparing the land. · Field preparation
Day 0
Sow
Day 25 to 30
Transplant^1,3,5,7
Day 60 to 70
First picking⁵
About every 4 days; 7 to 11 pickings in all.
Day 130 to 160
Last picking

Water every 5 to 12 days, more at flowering and fruit development.⁵

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

Soil pH^1,2,5
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.
Sunlight^2,5
Full sun. Bright sunshine while fruits set gives a deep red colour.
Temperature^2,5
Grows best at 20 to 28 °C
Frost: none tolerated.
Monthly temperatures for the North-east hills and valleys 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
Field preparation	Well rotted farmyard manure	15 to 20 t per hectare	Mix into the soil while preparing the land.

Sources⁵

Varieties and yield

Typical range⁵

20 to 25 tonnes a hectare

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

Good neighbours^1,4,5

Grows well with

Pests and diseases⁴

Organic and cultural controls only.

Pest
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.
Pest
Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), carrier of leaf curl virus
Signs
Small white insects under the leaves suck sap; they spread leaf curl virus.
What to do
- Hang yellow sticky traps.
- Pull out plants showing leaf curl.
- Grow tall barrier crops such as maize or sorghum around the field.
- Spray neem seed kernel extract 5%.
Prevention
- Raise the nursery under fine insect-proof net.
- Conserve natural enemies such as ladybird beetles, lacewings and spiders.
Pest
Serpentine leaf miner (Liriomyza trifolii)
Signs
Winding pale tunnels in the leaves.
What to do
- Hang yellow sticky traps.
- Conserve its parasitoids and predators.
Prevention
- Avoid too much nitrogen.
- Beans grown as an intercrop reduce attack.
Pest
Spider mite (Tetranychus species)
Signs
Fine webbing and pale speckled leaves.
What to do
- Remove badly affected plants.
- Conserve predatory mites, ladybird beetles and lacewings.
Prevention
- Plant tall border crops such as maize or sorghum.
Disease
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.
Disease
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.
Disease
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.
Disease
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.
Disease
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 seed^1,2

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 picking

Clear the field after the last picking and bury or burn diseased plants. Follow with paddy, mustard or a pulse; keep potato and chilli, which share wilt and blight, off the same land.

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

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.

1Crop 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
10Package 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
3Production 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
4AESA based IPM package: TomatoNational Institute of Plant Health Management and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Government of IndiaRead the source
5Tomato: package of practices (source NHB)Vikaspedia (Government of India), citing National Horticulture BoardRead the source
8Good 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

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Growing tomato

Tomato in the North-east hills and valleys

When to sow it

One season, day by day

Soil, sun and warmth

Soil pH1,2,5

Sunlight2,5

Temperature2,5

Water and feeding

Watering5

Weeding4

Varieties and yield

Good neighbours1,4,5

Pests and diseases4

Fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera)

Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), carrier of leaf curl virus

Serpentine leaf miner (Liriomyza trifolii)

Spider mite (Tetranychus species)

Damping off

Tomato leaf curl virus

Early blight and late blight

Bacterial wilt

Root-knot nematode

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1,2

After the last pickingAI suggestionNo published guide covers this for the North-east hills and valleys, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.