Sow gram (chana) between mid-October and mid-November: rainfed crop on conserved moisture in the second half of October, and irrigated crop from about 25 October to 10 November. Sowing earlier than that invites wilt and over-luxuriant growth; sowing later cuts yield and needs more seed. The MSP for the crop you are sowing now is ₹5,958 per quintal (2027-28 marketing season, approved by the Cabinet on 30 September 2026, up ₹83 from ₹5,875). Older listings that show ₹5,650 are two seasons out of date.
Gram is India's largest pulse and a low-water rabi crop, which matters in a year when the monsoon ended 13% short and the Centre has asked states to steer water-short areas towards pulses and oilseeds. This guide covers sowing dates, which variety to pick for your zone, seed rate and treatment, fertiliser, the one irrigation that matters, and the pod-borer and wilt practices that protect yield.
When to sow
| Situation | Window | Source / reason |
|---|---|---|
| Rainfed desi gram, north-west plains | 10 to 25 October | PAU Punjab recommendation |
| Irrigated desi and kabuli gram | 25 October to 10 November | PAU. Early sowing in high temperature brings wilt and excess vegetative growth with poor seed set; late sowing gives poor roots and low yield |
| India overall (ICAR/ICRISAT review) | Mid-October to mid-November | Any deviation causes a clear yield reduction. In trials, early October gave higher yield than late October or November in UP, and October gave more than November or December in Maharashtra |
| Late sowing (second fortnight of November, first fortnight of December) | Use a higher seed rate (see below) | PAU: late-sown crop makes poor vegetative growth and root development, partly offset by more seed |
| Rice fallows (eastern India) | Right after paddy harvest on residual moisture | Short-duration wilt-resistant varieties are the focus of ICAR's work for Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal |
Choosing a variety
Wilt (Fusarium) is the biggest reason a gram field fails, and the single most effective defence is a wilt-resistant variety. ICAR-IIPR's All India Coordinated Research Project report lists these as bred for resistance to wilt and root rot: JG 11, JG 16, JG 322, JG 130, JG 14, JSC 55 and 56, Vijay, Digvijay, KWR 108, Pusa 372, Pusa 362, Pusa 391, RSG 963, Anvita, JAKI 9218 and GNG 1581. For Ascochyta blight (cool, humid winters) the report names GNG 469, Himachal Chana 1 and PBG 5. Match the variety to your region:
| Region / condition | Varieties (maturity, trial yield where available) |
|---|---|
| Central zone: MP, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bundelkhand UP, southern Rajasthan (timely sown irrigated) | Samriddhi (IPCMB 19-3, released 2021-22): desi, wilt resistant, 100 to 110 days, 20 to 21 q/ha. JG 11, JG 16, JAKI 9218. Kabuli: Kota Kabuli Chana 3 (100 to 115 days, 17 to 18 q/ha) |
| Central zone, drought-prone, terminal drought | Pusa JG 16: 110 days, more than 2 t/ha under drought stress in trials, with resistance to Fusarium wilt and stunt. Intended for drought-prone MP, Bundelkhand, Chhattisgarh, southern Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat |
| Central India, combine harvesting | Phule Vikram, Pusa Parvati (BG 3062), JG 2016-24 and RVG 204 are erect types with pods 25 to 30 cm above ground for machine harvest |
| North-west plains (Punjab, Haryana, western UP, north Rajasthan), irrigated | Punjab (PAU): PBG 10 (2023; 153 days; 8.6 q/acre; tall, bold seed), PBG 8, PBG 7. Kabuli: L 552, and IPCK 2013-163 "Madhav" (147 days, 19 to 20 q/ha); GJGK 1617 for extra-large kabuli (13 to 14 q/ha) |
| North-west plains, rainfed | PDG 4 in Punjab (7.8 q/acre). IPC L 4-14 (128 to 133 days) and Pusa Chickpea 4005 (131 days), drought-tolerant lines yielding 15 to 17 q/ha released 2021-22 for the north-west plains |
| Salinity | Karnal Chana 1 (CSG 8962) |
| South (AP, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu) | NBeG 857 (95 to 100 days, 18 to 19 q/ha) and CG Akshay Chana (100 to 110 days, 16 to 17 q/ha) |
Yields above are trial or state-average yields from the sources; real fields vary by soil, sowing date and season. Treat the figure in a seed catalogue as a ceiling.
Seed rate: work it out from seed size
PAU's Punjab seed rates are 15 to 18 kg per acre for most desi varieties, 30 kg for the bold-seeded PBG 10 and 37 kg for kabuli; for the second fortnight of November raise desi to 27 kg per acre and for the first fortnight of December to 36 kg. In general, seed rate depends on seed size, so use this check, based on a target of about 33 plants per square metre on a flat bed (ICRISAT's figure for chickpea; use 25 to 30 on ridges): kg per hectare = plants per m² × 100-seed weight in grams × 0.1.
| Seed type | 100-seed weight | Seed needed at 33 plants/m² | Per acre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small desi | 16 g | about 53 kg/ha | about 21 kg |
| Medium-bold desi (JG 11, PBG 10 type) | 25 g | about 83 kg/ha | about 33 kg |
| Kabuli | 35 g | about 115 kg/ha | about 47 kg |
Add 10 to 15% if germination is below 85%, and more for late sowing. Always sow the quantity your state's recommendation gives for the variety on the seed bag, and buy certified seed of a variety notified for your zone.
Seed treatment and inoculation
- Fungicide: carbendazim at about 1.5 g per kg of desi seed, or captan at 1 g per kg for kabuli, as in the ICAR/ICRISAT review (an older reference; check the current label and your KVK). A Trichoderma seed treatment is the biological alternative against seed- and soil-borne wilt and root rot.
- Biofertiliser: PAU recommends moistening the seed for one acre and mixing one packet each of Mesorhizobium (LGR-33) and Rhizobacterium (RB-1), drying in shade and sowing within one hour. Use the strain your state university supplies, and inoculate after the fungicide has dried.
- Depth: place seed 10 to 12.5 cm deep in rows 30 cm apart; shallow-sown gram is more liable to wilt (PAU). Seed drills with broad flutes work; the old pora method (seed dropped through a tube behind the plough) also places seed at this depth.
- Tillage: gram does not need fine tilth, but a loose, well-aerated soil, opened up to 22.5 cm, restricts wilt and increases yield.
- After rice on heavy soil: sow on raised beds (67.5 cm bed-to-bed, two rows 20 cm apart on each bed) so irrigation water does not harm the crop.
Fertiliser
Gram fixes its own nitrogen, so it needs only a small starter dose and phosphorus. PAU's recommendation for Punjab is 6 kg N and 8 kg P₂O₅ per acre for desi gram (13 kg urea and 50 kg single superphosphate; roughly 15 kg N and 20 kg P₂O₅ per hectare), and 6 kg N with 16 kg P₂O₅ (13 kg urea and 100 kg SSP) for kabuli, all drilled at sowing. For higher yield PAU adds two sprays of 2% urea (3 kg in 150 litres of water per acre) at 90 and 110 days after sowing. Other states recommend more phosphorus on low-P soils; get a Soil Health Card analysis and see fertilizers. Do not use heavy nitrogen: it pushes growth at the cost of pods.
Irrigation: one well-timed irrigation, not many
- Give a heavy pre-sowing irrigation (rauni) so roots go deep and use stored moisture.
- Where water is available, give one more irrigation between mid-December and end-January, depending on sowing date and rain, and never earlier than four weeks after sowing. This also lowers the wilt incidence (PAU).
- Do not irrigate gram sown after rice on heavy soil; PAU warns of heavy damage. On raised beds you can irrigate under water stress at pod initiation.
- Excess irrigation boosts vegetation and cuts grain yield. Gram does not tolerate frost or waterlogging, and an early summer hastens maturity and lowers yield, which is another reason to sow in the window.
Weeds, pod borer and wilt
- Weeds: one or two hand-hoeings at 30 and 60 days after sowing (PAU). Gram is slow to cover the ground in its first month.
- Pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera): PAU's bio-intensive package is to grow tolerant varieties, sow two rows of linseed after every 20 rows of gram as a trap crop, set up 2 pheromone traps per acre to monitor moth activity, and spray home-made neem extract (about 1.75 litres in 80 to 100 litres of water per acre) at flowering. If you need a chemical, use only what your KVK and the label recommend for the stage and threshold.
- Wilt and dry root rot: use resistant varieties, sow at the right temperature, sow deep, and rotate with cereals (rice, maize, bajra) rather than growing gram after gram. Sowing early into warm soil is the classic wilt trigger.
- Termites attack seedlings and maturing plants in light soils; treat seed or soil as the label advises.
- Harvest: when pods mature and the plants dry; cut with a sickle rather than uprooting, so the roots and nodules stay in the soil.
MSP and what an acre earns
The 2027-28 gram MSP is ₹5,958/quintal. Yields below combine PAU's state averages (about 8 to 8.6 quintals per acre in Punjab with irrigated varieties) and the 17 to 21 q/ha (7 to 8.5 q/acre) seen in central-zone releases. Gross income only; subtract your own seed, fertiliser, labour and harvesting costs.
| Yield per acre | Gross at ₹5,958/quintal | Gross at the older ₹5,650 |
|---|---|---|
| 6 quintals | ₹35,748 | ₹33,900 |
| 7 quintals | ₹41,706 | ₹39,550 |
| 8 quintals | ₹47,664 | ₹45,200 |
| 9 quintals | ₹53,622 | ₹50,850 |
Compare crops on net income, not gross: gram usually costs less in water and fertiliser than wheat, but its yield is more weather-sensitive. Procurement at MSP under the Price Support Scheme for pulses and oilseeds has been approved for this rabi; ask your agriculture office when registration opens. Check live gram mandi prices, the MSP list, and rabi insurance under PMFBY (normally closes about 31 December, confirm locally). For mixed plots see mustard in Rajasthan (gram + mustard at 3:1 is a tested Rajasthan row ratio) and wheat sowing time.
Sources
- Punjab Agricultural University, Package of Practices for Crops of Punjab, Rabi 2025-26 (gram chapter)
- ICAR-IIPR, AICRP on Chickpea, Project Coordinator's Report 2021-22 (varieties and releases)
- ICAR, ICAR-IARI develops climate smart drought hardy chickpea variety Pusa JG 16
- Faujdar Singh and B. Diwakar, Chickpea Botany and Production Practices (ICRISAT, sowing time, density, seed treatment)
- Business Today, Cabinet clears Rabi MSP hike for 2027-28 (30 Sep 2026)
- Global Agriculture, Chouhan launches Rabi Campaign 2026 (water advisory, PSS)
- Tech Times, India monsoon 2026 ends with worst deficit in over a decade
- ICAR-DRMR, AICRP-RM overview (intercropping row ratios for Rajasthan)