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.
Temperate Himalaya: Kashmir valley, Shimla, Kullu, Uttarakhand hills
At a glance
Wheat in the Temperate Himalaya
Rabi. Sown in autumn, the crop stands through the winter and is cut in early summer.1
Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.About 190 to 230 days from autumn sowing to harvest, because the crop sits through a cold winter.
No published guide covers this for the Temperate Himalaya, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.Late October to mid-November (Kashmir valley, AI suggestion)1,3
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 Late October to mid-November (Kashmir valley, AI suggestion).
- Sow
- Harvest
- Today
- Not suited here
Compare all 12 regionsShow fewer regions
See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| 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 | ||
| 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
Field preparation
Well-rotted farmyard manure or compost
About 10 t per hectare (AI suggestion)
Spread and plough in before the last harrowing
No published guide covers this for the Temperate Himalaya, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Day 0
Sow
Day 190 to 230
Last picking
No published guide covers this for the Temperate Himalaya, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Before sowing
Well-rotted farmyard manure or compostNo published guide covers this for the Temperate Himalaya, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
About 10 t per hectare (AI suggestion) · Spread and plough in before the last harrowing · Field preparation
Day 0
Sow
Day 5 to 10
Seeds come up1,2,3Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 190 to 230
Last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Temperate Himalaya, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Water every 20 to 30 days, more at crown root initiation and milk stage.1Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
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 Temperate Himalaya, 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 Temperate Himalaya aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering1Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Mostly grown on winter rain and snow. Where water is at hand, irrigate at crown root initiation, about three weeks after sowing, and again at milk stage, the two stages that suffer most from dry soil. In spring, irrigate every 20 to 30 days as soil and weather need.
Weeding1
Hoe the field about a month after sowing to keep weeds down. A hand hoe does the job.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field preparation | Well-rotted farmyard manure or compost | About 10 t per hectare (AI suggestion) | Spread and plough in before the last harrowing |
Varieties and yield
20 to 35 quintals a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
VL 907, HS 507, HPW 349, VL 804
Temperate high-altitude areas of the Jammu division, irrigated or rainfed (SKUAST-Jammu)
HS 375
Temperate areas; matures early, golden grain (SKUAST-Jammu)
HS 562
Mid hills, 800 to 1350 m, timely sown (SKUAST-Jammu)
VL 832
Mid hills, rainfed, timely sown (SKUAST-Jammu)
HS 490, VL 892, HS 420
Mid hills, rainfed, late sown (SKUAST-Jammu)
Good neighbours1
Organic and cultural controls only.
Termites
Signs
Plants dry up completely, pull out easily and fall over in the wind, soon after sowing and near maturity.
What to do
- Never use raw, unrotted farmyard manure
- Destroy termite mounds in and around the field
Field rats
What to do
- Trim the bunds so rats have less cover
- Break open old burrows
- Set local traps, as a village-wide effort on the same days
Army worm
Signs
Green or dusty brown striped caterpillars eat the leaves at night and hide by day.
What to do
- Collect the caterpillars by hand and kill them
- Protect natural enemies such as Cotesia and Trichogramma wasps and spiders
Yellow rust (stripe rust)
Signs
Small yellow pustules in lines along the leaves, forming stripes that later turn black; sometimes on sheaths and ears.
Prevention
- Grow rust-resistant varieties recommended for the hills
- Sow on time
- Keep the field clean and do not overdo nitrogen
- Watch early-sown fields under poplar trees closely: rust often starts there
Loose smut
Signs
The ears turn into a loose, black, powdery mass of spores.
What to do
- Pull out and destroy smutted ears
Prevention
- Sow clean seed from a healthy crop and resistant varieties
Flag smut
Signs
Long, narrow grey to black stripes along the leaf veins that split open to show black, sooty spores.
What to do
- Pull out affected plants and destroy them
Prevention
- Avoid late and deep sowing
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 picking1
In the temperate belt of Jammu, wheat follows a kharif fodder crop, or a millet where drought is a risk. Work the stubble and residues back into the soil after harvest.
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
- 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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