What is the difference between Kharif, Rabi and Zaid seasons?

Kharif crops are sown with the southwest monsoon in June–July and harvested in October–November. Rabi crops are sown after the monsoon withdraws (October–December) and harvested in spring (March–April), benefiting from cooler winter temperatures and supplemental irrigation. Zaid is the short summer season between Rabi and Kharif (roughly March to June), used for short-duration irrigated crops such as watermelon, summer moong and fodder maize.

What does each operation in the calendar mean?

Sow indicates a sowing or transplanting window. Fertilize marks basal application or top-dressing splits as recommended in package-of-practices documents. Spray flags scouting and integrated pest management activity for the major insect or disease risks of that month. Harvest indicates the typical harvest window. Irrigate marks critical irrigation stages, and Intercultural covers weeding, earthing-up and similar field operations.

Are the dates exact for my district?

No. The calendar windows on this page are indicative ranges for the major Indian agro-climatic regions, drawn from ICAR institutes and state agricultural-university package-of-practices documents. Actual local timing varies with monsoon arrival, altitude, soil type and irrigation availability. Always cross-check with your local Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) or state agriculture department before committing to a sowing or input decision.

Why don't you list specific fertilizer dosages or pesticide brands?

Recommended NPK rates and pesticide schedules vary substantially by state, soil type, variety and season, and they are revised periodically. We summarise high-level guidance and link to ICAR institute and state-AU package-of-practices pages where farmers can find the current, locally-appropriate dosages and brand-agnostic chemical recommendations.

Which crops are covered?

The current calendar covers 48 major Indian crops across cereals, millets, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, cash and fibre crops, and spices. We will continue to add crops and refine the windows based on user feedback and KVK / state-AU advisories.

Seasonal Crop Calendar — India

Sow, spray, fertilize and harvest — month by month — for 48 major Indian crops across Kharif, Rabi and Zaid seasons.

Canonical reference: https://agri.bot/crop-calendar

A note on these dates

Calendar windows are indicative for the major Indian agro-climatic regions. Always cross-check with your local Krishi Vigyan Kendra or state agriculture department for recommendations specific to your district, soil type and variety.

Use this calendar alongside our government schemes for farmers when planning seasonal credit and insurance, pair it with a soil-test based fertiliser plan from our Soil Health Card guide so basal and top-dressing splits match what your field actually needs, browse our knowledge base for crop-specific guides, or explore content from Indian agricultural universities.

Search cropSeasonCategory

SowFertilizeSpray / IPMIrrigateInterculturalHarvest

Twelve-month operations grid

Tap a month to see every crop active that month. Coloured dots show which operations apply.

November — operations by crop

Crops with active operations in November
Crop	Operations	Notes
Rice (paddy)	Harvest	Late-maturing varieties.
Wheat	SowFertilizeIrrigate	Optimum sowing window in NW plains; basal NPK at sowing.
Maize	SowFertilize	Rabi sowing window.
Finger millet (Ragi)	Harvest
Pigeonpea (Tur / Arhar)	Harvest	Short-duration varieties harvested.
Chickpea (Chana)	SowIntercultural
Lentil (Masoor)	Sow
Mustard / Rapeseed	SowIrrigate
Sunflower	Sow
Cotton	Harvest
Sugarcane	Harvest	Crushing begins.
Tomato	Fertilize
Onion	SowFertilize
Potato	SowIntercultural
Chilli	Harvest
Cabbage / Cauliflower	FertilizeSpray / IPM	DBM monitoring on cabbage.
Banana	Harvest
Citrus (Mandarin / Sweet orange / Lemon)	Harvest
Pomegranate	Harvest	Mrig bahar harvest.
Guava	Harvest
Cardamom (small)	Harvest
Barley	SowFertilizeIrrigate	Timely sowing window in NW plains; apply pre-sowing irrigation where needed.
Grapes	FertilizeSpray / IPMIrrigate	Flowering and berry set — thrips scouting at bloom; GA₃ for berry size on Thompson Seedless and selections; peak fertigation.
Cumin	SowFertilizeIrrigate	Main sowing window in Rajasthan (Jodhpur, Barmer, Nagaur) and late-sown areas of Gujarat; pre-sowing or light post-sowing irrigation as needed.
Coconut	IrrigateHarvest	North-east monsoon tails off; drip irrigation restarted in Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore, Pollachi) and Andhra Pradesh (East Godavari — Ambajipeta); main copra harvest ramps up.
Cashew	Spray / IPMIntercultural	New vegetative flush begins — TMB (Helopeltis antonii) scouting on the tender flush; opportunistic first spray on heavy infestations; shoot-tip caterpillar (Anarsia epotias) monitoring on young shoots.
Apple	Spray / IPMIntercultural	Leaf-fall and dormancy initiation; post-harvest urea foliar spray (3 – 5%) to accelerate leaf-fall and reduce scab overwintering inoculum (CITH-recommended sanitation measure); orchard-floor sanitation — collection and destruction of fallen leaves and mummified fruit; copper-oxychloride spray against bark cankers (Botryosphaeria, Cytospora); bareroot nursery lifting continues.
Pineapple	SowFertilizeIntercultural	Post-monsoon Kerala and Karnataka planting continues; mother-sucker and slip collection from previous-cycle ratoon blocks for the next planting season; micronutrient (Mg, Zn, Fe) foliar correction on leached laterite and NE podzol blocks based on leaf analysis; drainage channel desilting ahead of winter irrigation phase; mealybug population scouting on vegetative-stage blocks.
Coriander	SowFertilizeIrrigate	Late sowing continues in Rajasthan, MP Mandsaur / Ratlam, Andhra Pradesh (Kurnool bold-seed belt) and Karnataka (Chitradurga, Gadag); pre-sowing or light post-sowing irrigation; first-split N as basal.
Black Pepper	IrrigateIntercultural	Berry-set and early berry development; supplementary basin or drip irrigation (15 – 25 L/vine/week) if the north-east monsoon under-performs — critical to prevent berry drop; mulch basins before the dry window.
Tea	FertilizeInterculturalHarvest	Darjeeling and Assam autumnal flush tail; begin annual pruning / skiffing / medium-prune (MP) / hard-prune (HP) cycle on scheduled sections (one-year, three-year, five-year cycles); light winter dose of K-heavy NPK on North Indian sections to harden plants for winter; South Indian continuous plucking.
Coffee	FertilizeInterculturalHarvest	Arabica main harvest opens — selective hand-picking of ripe red cherries begins in low-elevation estates by mid-November, high-elevation Araku / Kodagu / Chikmagalur by end-November; final backing dose of K-heavy NPK on robusta; estate pulperies running two shifts; wet / washed and dry / natural processing both active.
Garlic	SowFertilizeIrrigateIntercultural	Late sowing on Odisha (Nabarangpur) tribal belt and Tamil Nadu / Karnataka hill-adjacent blocks; first top-dress of nitrogen at 3 – 4 leaf stage (~30 DAS); hand-weeding or pre-emergence pendimethalin on wider blocks; monitor Stemphylium leaf blight and purple blotch on dense canopies.
Fenugreek	SowFertilizeIrrigate	Late sowing continues in Rajasthan (Jaipur, Tonk, Ajmer), MP (Guna, Shajapur, Rajgarh), UP (Mathura, Agra) and Gujarat; pre-sowing or light post-sowing irrigation; basal fertilizer completed at sowing — no top-dress needed with good nodulation.
Arecanut	InterculturalHarvest	Ripe-nut (chali) harvest in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kerala; nuts sun-dried whole before de-husking; Assam and Meghalaya homestead harvest underway.

Crops in this view(48)

About the three Indian cropping seasons

Indian agriculture is organised around three cropping seasons that follow the country's monsoon cycle. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) tracks the southwest and northeast monsoons, and these rains define when each season begins and ends.

Kharif— sown with the onset of the southwest monsoon in June–July and harvested in October–November. Carries the bulk of India's rice, coarse cereals, pulses and oilseed output and is largely rainfed in the peninsular and central regions.
Rabi — sown after the monsoon withdraws (October–December) and harvested in March–April. Benefits from cooler winter temperatures and depends on residual soil moisture, supplemental irrigation and, in northern India, winter showers from western disturbances.
Zaid — a short irrigated summer season between Rabi harvest and the next Kharif. Dominated by cucurbits (watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber), short-duration pulses (summer moong, urd) and fodder crops. Requires assured irrigation as it grows through the hottest months of the year.

References

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) — national research mandate, crop varieties and seasonal package of practices.
KVK Portal (kvk.icar.gov.in) — district-level Krishi Vigyan Kendras providing local advisories.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) — monsoon onset, withdrawal and Long Range Forecast.
Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare — official acreage, sowing progress and production estimates by season.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Kharif, Rabi and Zaid seasons?: Kharif crops are sown with the southwest monsoon in June–July and harvested in October–November. Rabi crops are sown after the monsoon withdraws (October–December) and harvested in spring (March–April), benefiting from cooler winter temperatures and supplemental irrigation. Zaid is the short summer season between Rabi and Kharif (roughly March to June), used for short-duration irrigated crops such as watermelon, summer moong and fodder maize.
What does each operation in the calendar mean?: Sow indicates a sowing or transplanting window. Fertilize marks basal application or top-dressing splits as recommended in package-of-practices documents. Spray flags scouting and integrated pest management activity for the major insect or disease risks of that month. Harvest indicates the typical harvest window. Irrigate marks critical irrigation stages, and Intercultural covers weeding, earthing-up and similar field operations.
Are the dates exact for my district?: No. The calendar windows on this page are indicative ranges for the major Indian agro-climatic regions, drawn from ICAR institutes and state agricultural-university package-of-practices documents. Actual local timing varies with monsoon arrival, altitude, soil type and irrigation availability. Always cross-check with your local Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) or state agriculture department before committing to a sowing or input decision.
Why don't you list specific fertilizer dosages or pesticide brands?: Recommended NPK rates and pesticide schedules vary substantially by state, soil type, variety and season, and they are revised periodically. We summarise high-level guidance and link to ICAR institute and state-AU package-of-practices pages where farmers can find the current, locally-appropriate dosages and brand-agnostic chemical recommendations.
Which crops are covered?: The current calendar covers 48 major Indian crops across cereals, millets, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, cash and fibre crops, and spices. We will continue to add crops and refine the windows based on user feedback and KVK / state-AU advisories.

Sowing and harvest windows are indicative ranges drawn from ICAR institute and state agricultural-university package-of-practices documents. Local timing varies with monsoon arrival, altitude, soil type and irrigation availability.