Growing guide
How to grow onions
A storable vegetable: rabi onion is transplanted in winter and sold or stored in summer.
At a glance
- Planting window
- Rabi: nursery October–November, transplant mid-December – mid-January
- Duration
- 120–150 days after transplanting
- Climate
- 13–24 °C for growth; warmer, longer days for bulbing
- Soil
- Friable loam; pH 6–7.5
- Water need
- Moderate · about 350–550 mm a season
- Seed
- 3–4 kg seed per acre in the nursery
- Spacing
- 15 × 10 cm
- Yield
- 100–120 quintals per acre.
What to do, and when
Dates assume planting around 20 Dec. Change the plan to shift them.
- 7–8 weeks before — Sow nursery: Raised beds, light shade.
- Day 0 — Transplant: Trim leaf tips; plant 15 × 10 cm.
- Days 30–45 — Nitrogen splits: None after 60 days.
- Months 1–4 — Thrips and blotch watch: Weekly.
- Months 4–5 — Harvest when tops fall: Cure in shade for a week before storing.
Varieties to consider
Buy certified seed or planting material from an authorised source.
- Pusa Red — IARI rabi variety.
- Punjab Naroya — PAU rabi variety.
- Agrifound Dark Red — For the kharif crop.
Water
- Light irrigation every 7–10 days in winter, 5–7 in spring; stop 10–15 days before harvest.
- Never let it go short at: Bulb development
- Drip irrigation suits this crop.
Nutrition
Stop nitrogen 60 days after transplanting for better storage.
- Dose: About 100 kg N, 50 kg P₂O₅, 50 kg K₂O and 30 kg S per hectare
- Transplanting: all P, K, S and a third of N.
- 30 and 45 days: rest of N.
Pests and diseases to watch
Prevent first; spray only when needed, with a product registered for the crop, at label dose.
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- Purple blotch and Stemphylium blight (undefined) — undefined Treatment: undefined
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Yield and economics
Storage lets you avoid the April–May price dip.
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- Price: Indicative farm-gate price (₹14/kg)
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What would you like to do next?
Where these numbers come from
- ICAR / state university general recommendation A typical range for irrigated conditions. Your soil test decides the final dose.
- Common grower practice in north India Widely followed by farmers; confirm with your KVK for your block.
- Agriculture Novel indicative estimate A planning number, not a quote. Replace it with your own costs and your mandi’s price.