Growing wheat
Triticum aestivum · also called gehun, kanak (Kashmiri)The main rabi grain of north India, sown in autumn and harvested in spring. It wants cool, moist weather while it grows and dry, warm weather as the grain ripens.
North-west plains: Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh
At a glance
Wheat in the North-west plains
Rabi. Sown from late October to December, a few varieties into early January, and cut in April.2
Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.Timely sown varieties take about five months (PBW 826 about 148 days, PBW 869 about 158). Late sown PBW 771 and PBW 752 take about 130 days, and January-sown PBW 757 about 114 days.2
First fortnight of November (the optimum)2
Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Sow now
The window here is First fortnight of November (the optimum).
- Sow
- Harvest
- Today
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See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North-west plains | First fortnight of November (the optimum)Fourth week of October to fourth week of November (most timely sown varieties)Fourth week of November to fourth week of December (late sown varieties)First fortnight of January (PBW 757 only) | April | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | Late October to mid-November (Kashmir valley, AI suggestion)1 to 15 November, irrigated timely sown (Northern Hills Zone, national guide)Second to fourth week of November (temperate and mid hills of Jammu)Last week of October to end of November, rainfed (mid hills of Jammu) | June to early July | ||
| Cold desert | April to early May | Late August to September | ||
| Sub-tropical foothills | 1 to 25 November, timely sown20 November to 25 December, late sown26 December to 15 January, very late sown | April to early May | ||
| Gangetic plains | 10 to 20 November, irrigated timely sownAfter 25 November, late sown (end of the window is an AI suggestion) | Late March to April | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | 10 to 20 November (Assam and the plains of the north-east)1 to 15 November (hills of the north-east, Sikkim and Darjeeling) | Late March to April | ||
| Arid west | 1 to 15 November, irrigated timely sownAfter 25 November, late sown (end of the window is an AI suggestion) | Late March to mid-April | ||
| Central plateau | 10 to 20 November, irrigated timely sown1 to 15 December, irrigated late sown | March to mid-April | ||
| Deccan plateau | 1 to 15 November, irrigated timely sownLast week of November to first week of December, late sown | Late February to March | ||
| South interior | Mid-October to first week of November (Tamil Nadu)1 to 15 November, irrigated (Karnataka plains) | Mid-January to February | ||
| West coast | Not suited here | |||
| East coast | Not suited here | |||
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Before sowing
Good-quality farmyard manure2
Apply before sowing. Punjab then lowers the chemical fertiliser for each tonne of manure used. · Before sowing
Day 5 to 10
Seeds come up1,2,3Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Sow after a heavy pre-sowing irrigation of about 10 cm, unless wheat follows rice. Give a light first irrigation three weeks after October sowing, four weeks after later sowing, then follow the sowing-date schedule (about 7.5 cm each time). For every cm of rain, push the next irrigation back 5 days until the end of January and 2 days after that. Irrigate the timely sown crop until the end of March, and crops sown after 5 December until 10 April. Do not irrigate on windy days.2
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
6 to 8
Grows on most soils. Avoid badly degraded, alkaline or waterlogged land; soils that hold water well but drain freely suit it. Durum wheat does better on medium to heavy soils.
SunlightNo published guide covers this for the North-west plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
At least 6 hours a day
Full sun in open fields.
Temperature2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Grows best at 15 to 22 °C
Takes hard frost.
Monthly temperatures for the North-west plains aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering2
Sow after a heavy pre-sowing irrigation of about 10 cm, unless wheat follows rice. Give a light first irrigation three weeks after October sowing, four weeks after later sowing, then follow the sowing-date schedule (about 7.5 cm each time). For every cm of rain, push the next irrigation back 5 days until the end of January and 2 days after that. Irrigate the timely sown crop until the end of March, and crops sown after 5 December until 10 April. Do not irrigate on windy days.
Make 8 plots (kiaras) an acre on heavy soils and 16 on light soils. Bring the first irrigation forward on light soils and delay it a week on heavy rice soils.
Weeding2
Two hand hoeings with a wheel hoe, kasola or khurpa: one before the first irrigation and one after it. Pull any weeds that escape before they set seed, to cut next year's weed load.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before sowing | Good-quality farmyard manure | Apply before sowing. Punjab then lowers the chemical fertiliser for each tonne of manure used. |
Varieties and yield
45 to 55 quintals a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
PBW 872, PBW 826, PBW 824, Sunehri (PBW 766), DBW 187, HD 3226, Unnat PBW 343, PBW 725, PBW 677
Timely sown, irrigated, whole of Punjab (PAU)
DBW 222
Timely sown, all Punjab except the sub-mountain districts (PAU)
PBW 803
South-western Punjab (PAU)
PBW 869
For sowing with Happy Seeder or Super Seeder into rice straw (PAU)
PBW Biscuit 1, PBW Zinc 2, PBW 1 Chapati, PBW 1 Zn, PBW RS1
Special-quality wheats: biscuit, high zinc, chapati, resistant starch (PAU)
WHD 943, PDW 291
Durum (wadanak) wheats for pasta (PAU)
PBW 771, PBW 752
Late sown, fourth week of November to fourth week of December (PAU)
PBW 757
Very late sown, first fortnight of January (PAU)
Good neighbours1
Organic and cultural controls only.
Termites
Signs
Plants dry up and pull out easily, soon after sowing and near maturity; late damage gives white ears.
What to do
- Irrigate affected fields, which gives some control
Prevention
- Expect more damage on sandy soils
Aphids
Signs
Leaves lose colour as aphids feed; control is needed only once they reach the ears.
What to do
- When there are more than 5 aphids an ear, give two sprays of PAU home-made neem extract a week apart
- Make the extract by boiling 4 kg of neem shoot tips, with leaves, green twigs and fruit, in 10 litres of water for 30 minutes and straining it through muslin
- Aphids start on the field borders: spray only the infested strip
Yellow rust (stripe rust)
Signs
Yellow pustules in stripes along the leaves.
Prevention
- Grow rust-resistant varieties
- Watch early-sown fields under poplar trees closely: rust often starts there
Karnal bunt
Signs
Some grains turn partly into black, sooty powder.
Prevention
- Grow Karnal bunt resistant varieties
- Avoid irrigating at heading
- Zero-till sowing lowers the disease
- Where the disease is light, growing durum wheat for 2 to 3 years clears the field
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed1,2,3
Start from good foundation or certified seed. Pull out off-type and diseased plants several times through the season and keep the seed plot's harvest separate.
When the seed is ready
Harvest when the ears are fully ripe and golden but before they are dead ripe, so the grain does not shatter.
Dry the grain well before storing, or moulds and heat spoil it: Punjab says to 10 per cent moisture, the national guide to below 12 per cent. Keep seed lots apart at threshing and in store.
After the last picking2
Do not burn the straw of the crop before or after wheat. Common rotations are rice then wheat, rice then wheat then summer moong or mash, cotton then wheat, maize then wheat, and pulses then wheat.
Do not burn the straw. Work the stubble and residues back into the soil after harvest to hold up soil organic matter, or bale the straw as fodder.
Rotation
Usually follows rice, maize, cotton, millets or pulses. Common sequences are rice then wheat then summer moong, maize then wheat, and green manure then rice then wheat.
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.
- Package of Practices for Rabi Crops 2020: WheatDirectorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
- Package of Practices for Crops of Punjab, Rabi 2025-26: WheatPunjab Agricultural University, LudhianaRead the source
- Wheat Cultivation in India: pocket guide (Extension Bulletin 52)ICAR-Directorate of Wheat Research, Karnal (now ICAR-IIWBR)Read the source
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