Crop Calendar of India — Sowing and Mandi Arrivals Month by Month

How the farm year runs

India has two main crop seasons and a short third one. Kharif crops are sown with the monsoon in June and July and harvested from September to December: rice, maize, bajra, jowar, soybean, groundnut, cotton, tur, moong and urad. Rabi crops are sown after the monsoon, from October to December, and harvested from February to May: wheat, chana, mustard, masoor, barley, potato and garlic. Zaid or summer crops are grown on irrigated land between March and June: summer moong, watermelon, cucumber and some maize.

The months below show the usual pattern across the main growing states. Dates move by two to four weeks from south to north and from year to year with the rains, so treat them as a guide to the season rather than fixed dates.

Month-by-month chart

S = sowingA = main mandi arrivalscurrent monthOn a phone, swipe the chart sideways.

Crop	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cereals
Wheat			A	A	A					S	S	S
Rice (kharif paddy)						S	S	S		A	A	A
Basmati paddy					S	S	S		A	A	A
Maize (kharif)						S	S		A	A	A
Bajra						S	S			A	A
Jowar (rabi)	A	A	A						S	S
Barley			A	A						S	S
Ragi	A	A	A				S	S				A
Pulses
Chana		A	A	A						S	S
Tur (arhar)	A	A				S	S					A
Moong (kharif)							S		A	A	A
Urad (kharif)							S		A	A	A
Masoor		A	A							S	S
Moth							S			A	A	A
Rajma (plains)		A	A							S	S
Oilseeds
Soybean						S	S			A	A
Groundnut (kharif)						S	S			A	A	A
Mustard		A	A	A						S	S
Sesame (kharif)						S	S		A	A
Castor		A	A	A			S	S
Sunflower (rabi)		A	A							S	S
Fibre & cash crops
Cotton	A	A		S	S	S	S			A	A	A
Arecanut	A	A	A	A							A	A
Natural rubber	A									A	A	A
Vegetables
Onion	More than one crop a year — see the season notes below
Potato	A	A	A							S	S
Garlic			A	A	A					S	S
Ginger (dry/mature)	A	A		S	S							A
Tomato	More than one crop a year — see the season notes below
Cauliflower (winter)	A	A							S	S	A	A
Fruits
Mango			A	A	A	A	A	A
Grapes	A	A	A	A
Apple							A	A	A	A	A
Orange (Nagpur & Kinnow)	A	A	A	A						A	A	A
Pomegranate	A					A	A	A			A	A
Litchi					A	A
Guava (winter)	A	A									A	A
Cashew (raw nut)		A	A	A	A
Flowers
Marigold	A	A				S	S		A	A	A	A
Jasmine			A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A

What is in the mandis each month

Being sown: Wheat

Season notes, crop by crop

From the crop pages on this site. Tap a crop for its full trade page.

Wheat

Sowing: Late October to mid-December, after the kharif crop.

Harvest and arrivals: March in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, April in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, running into May.

Procurement window: Government buying runs roughly April to June; private mills buy throughout the year from stock.

Rice (kharif paddy)

Kharif rice: Transplanted June–August, harvested October–December. This is the main crop everywhere.

Rabi (dalua / boro) rice: Grown in the south and east from November–December, harvested March–May.

Export season: Year-round from mills and ports, with peak paddy arrivals from October.

Basmati paddy

Nursery and transplanting: May–July, depending on variety; Punjab regulates transplanting dates to save groundwater.

Paddy arrivals: Late September for Pusa 1509, October–November for 1121, 1718 and traditional types.

Milling and export: Year-round; prices are watched closely during the October–December arrival season.

Maize (kharif)

Kharif maize: Sown June–July, arrives September–November.

Rabi maize: Sown October–November in Bihar and the south, arrives March–May.

Spring / zaid maize: Sown February–March in Punjab and UP, arrives June.

Bajra

Kharif bajra: Sown late June–July, harvested late September–October; arrivals peak October–November.

Summer bajra: Gujarat and parts of UP: sown February–March, harvested May–June.

Demand peak: Winter, when bajra roti and khichdi are eaten across the north and west.

Jowar (rabi)

Kharif jowar: Sown June–July, harvested September–October.

Rabi jowar: Sown September–October, harvested January–March; best-quality grain.

Arrivals: Rabi jowar reaches Solapur, Latur and Karnataka mandis from February.

Barley

Sowing: Late October to November.

Harvest and arrivals: March–April, peaking in April in the Jaipur and western UP markets.

Malt buying: Malt houses contract with farmers before sowing and buy at harvest.

Ragi

Kharif ragi: Sown July–August, harvested November–December.

Summer (irrigated) ragi: Sown December–January, harvested April.

Arrivals: December to March in the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu markets.

Chana

Sowing: October–November.

Arrivals: February in the south, March–April in MP, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Besan demand: Peaks before Diwali, weddings and the summer snack season.

Tur (arhar)

Sowing: June–July with the monsoon.

Harvest and arrivals: December to February in Karnataka, Maharashtra and MP; peak mandi arrivals in January–February.

Imports: African tur arrives mostly from August to December, before the Indian crop.

Moong (kharif)

Kharif moong: Sown July, harvested September–October; Rajasthan arrivals peak October–November.

Summer moong: Sown March–April after wheat, harvested June in MP, Punjab and UP.

Rabi moong: Grown in Odisha, Andhra and Tamil Nadu in winter.

Urad (kharif)

Kharif urad: Sown July, arrives September–November.

Rabi urad: Sown in December–January after paddy in Andhra and Tamil Nadu, arrives February–March.

Myanmar imports: Arrive through Chennai and Mumbai ports, mostly between December and April.

Masoor

Sowing: October–November.

Arrivals: February–March.

Imports: Year-round, with Canadian new-crop shipments from late in the year.

Moth

Sowing: July, with the first monsoon rains.

Harvest: September–October.

Arrivals: October to December in the Bikaner and Jodhpur mandis.

Rajma (plains)

Hill rajma: Sown April–May, harvested August–September.

Plains rajma: Sown October–November, harvested February–March.

Market peak: Winter months.

Soybean

Sowing: Late June to mid-July.

Arrivals: October–November, peaking around Diwali.

Soymeal exports: Mainly October to March.

Groundnut (kharif)

Kharif: Sown June–July, arrives October–December in the Saurashtra mandis.

Rabi and summer: Sown December–February in the south and Gujarat, arrives April–June.

Export season: Peaks from November to April after the kharif harvest.

Mustard

Sowing: October–November.

Arrivals: Late February to April, peaking in March.

Crushing: Year-round from stored seed.

Sesame (kharif)

Kharif: Sown June–July, harvested September–October.

Summer: Sown February–March, harvested May–June (Gujarat, West Bengal).

Export peak: October to March.

Castor

Sowing: July–August.

Harvest: December to March, in several pickings.

Peak arrivals: February to April.

Sunflower (rabi)

Kharif: Sown June–July.

Rabi: Sown October–November in Karnataka and Andhra.

Arrivals: September–October and February–March.

Cotton

Sowing: April–May in the north, June–July with the monsoon elsewhere.

Arrivals: October to February; the cotton year runs October to September.

CCI buying: Opens with arrivals in October and runs while prices are below MSP.

Arecanut

Harvest: October to February for most Karnataka gardens.

Chali arrivals: January to April.

Red supari arrivals: November to March.

Natural rubber

Tapping season: Mostly September to February; tapping slows in summer leaf-fall and stops in heavy monsoon rain.

Peak production: October to January.

Lean season: March to June.

Onion

Kharif onion: Sown June–July, reaches the mandis October to December; does not store well.

Late kharif onion: Sown August–September, arrives January to March.

Rabi (summer) onion: Sown November–January, harvested March to May; the main storage crop, released from stores until the kharif crop arrives.

Potato

Planting: October–November in the plains.

Harvest: January to March; most goes into cold storage.

Release from stores: April to November; prices usually rise from August.

Garlic

Planting: October–November.

Arrivals: March to May in Malwa and Hadoti.

Storage season: June to February from stored stock.

Ginger (dry/mature)

Planting: April–May, before the monsoon.

Fresh ginger harvest: From about six months after planting.

Mature (dry ginger) harvest: December to February.

Tomato

Peak southern supply: Kolar and Madanapalle supply most of the year, with peaks in summer.

Lean months: July–August, when monsoon rain damages crops and prices often spike.

Winter: Plentiful supply from Maharashtra, MP and the plains; prices are usually low.

Cauliflower (winter)

Early cauliflower: Transplanted June–July, harvested September–November.

Main winter crop: Transplanted September–October, harvested November–February.

Hill (off-season) crop: Harvested June to October.

Mango

South India: Banganapalle and Totapuri from March to June.

West India: Alphonso from March to May; Kesar from May to June.

North and East: Dasheri, Langra, Chausa from June to August.

Grapes

Pruning: April (foundation) and October (fruit pruning).

Harvest: January to April; export peak February–March.

Raisin making: March to May.

Apple

Himachal harvest: July to October.

Kashmir harvest: August to November.

CA store release: January to June.

Orange (Nagpur & Kinnow)

Nagpur ambia crop: October to January.

Nagpur mrig crop: February to April.

Kinnow: December to March.

Pomegranate

Ambe bahar: Flowering Jan–Feb, harvest Jun–Aug.

Mrig bahar: Flowering Jun–Jul, harvest Nov–Jan.

Hasta bahar: Flowering Sep–Oct, harvest Feb–Apr.

Litchi

Flowering: February–March.

Shahi harvest: Mid-May to early June.

China harvest: Early to mid-June.

Guava (winter)

Rainy season crop: July to September; lower quality.

Winter crop: November to February; best quality and price.

Spring crop: Small crop in March–April in some areas.

Cashew (raw nut)

Indian harvest: February to May.

West African imports: April to August.

Festive demand: Diwali and the wedding season.

Marigold

Rainy season crop: Planted June–July, flowers for Ganesh Chaturthi to Diwali.

Winter crop: Planted September–October, flowers November–February.

Summer crop: Planted January–February, flowers March–May.

Jasmine

Peak flowering: March to October.

Lean season: November to February; highest prices.

Demand peaks: Weddings, temple festivals, Pongal and Diwali.

This page is a general guide to crop seasons. Timing varies by state, variety and weather; confirm current arrivals with the mandi or the crop page before planning purchases.