Growing guide
How to grow paddy
High-yield kharif cereal with assured procurement — and the heaviest groundwater draw in the region.
At a glance
- Planting window
- Nursery mid-May – June · Transplant 20 June – 10 July
- Duration
- 110–140 days (seed to seed)
- Climate
- 25–35 °C with high humidity
- Soil
- Clay loam to loam that holds water; pH 5.5–8.5
- Water need
- Very high · about 1,200–2,000 mm a season
- Seed
- 8 kg of heavy seed raises nursery for one acre
- Spacing
- 20 × 15 cm (15 × 15 cm when transplanting late)
- Yield
- 28–31 quintals of paddy per acre for recent PAU varieties.
What to do, and when
Dates assume planting around 20 Jun. Change the plan to shift them.
- 5 weeks before — Sow the nursery: Treated seed, 8 kg per acre of main field.
- Days -5–0 — Puddle the field: Laser-levelled fields save water.
- Day 0 — Transplant: 2–3 seedlings per hill at 20 × 15 cm.
- Days 0–14 — Keep water standing: Then switch to irrigating two days after water soaks in.
- Days 0–42 — Nitrogen in three splits: Around days 7, 21 and 35–42.
- Months 1–3 — Scout weekly: Stem borer, leaf folder, and hoppers at the stem base from August.
- Month 3 — Stop irrigation before harvest: About 10 days before maturity.
- Months 3–4 — Harvest and manage straw: Use in-situ or ex-situ straw management; burning is banned and costly for soil.
Varieties to consider
Buy certified seed or planting material from an authorised source.
- PR 126 — Short duration; saves water and leaves time for the wheat sowing window.
- PR 131 · PR 132 · PR 133 — Recent PAU releases; about 30–31.5 q/acre average.
- PR 121 — Widely grown medium-duration variety.
Water
- Keep water standing for the first two weeks, then irrigate two days after the ponded water has soaked in.
- Never let it go short at: Transplanting and establishment · Tillering · Panicle initiation · Flowering
- Alternate wetting and drying after establishment saves water without yield loss.
Nutrition
Apply phosphorus and potash per soil test. Zinc sulphate where “khaira” (zinc deficiency) appears.
- Dose: 42 kg N + 12 kg P₂O₅ + 12 kg K₂O per acre (90 kg urea, 27 kg DAP, 20 kg MOP)
- Up to 7 days after transplanting: one third of the nitrogen.
- 21 days: second third.
- 35–42 days: final third.
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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Yield and economics
In Haryana, moving an acre out of paddy earns ₹7,000 under Mera Pani Meri Virasat.
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- Price: MSP 2026-27 (common)
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Where these numbers come from
- PAU Package of Practices — Kharif crops 2026 Punjab Agricultural University. North-west plains.
- Agriculture Novel indicative estimate A planning number, not a quote. Replace it with your own costs and your mandi’s price.
- Minimum Support Prices, Kharif Marketing Season 2026-27 Government of India, approved 14 May 2026.
