Best cumin (jeera) variety and sowing time for Gujarat?

GC 4 is what most of us grow in Banaskantha. Sowing date is critical, if I sow too early the heat and humidity bring wilt and blight. End November is my safe window.

Rotation is the only real cure for wilt. I never repeat jeera on the same plot back to back, I bring it back after two or three years and the wilt stays low.

Line sowing instead of broadcast made weeding and spraying much easier for me, and I could keep the stand even. Broadcast is faster but the thick patches get more disease.

Buy seed from a trusted source. Cheap jeera seed from unknown sellers gave me poor germination one year and I had to resow late, which then caught the wilt. Good clean treated seed at the right date is half the crop.

Watch the late winter weather. A cloudy humid spell near maturity brought blight on my GC 4 even though the variety is good. Keep mancozeb ready and do not assume a tolerant variety needs nothing.

On the Patan side we keep irrigation light and few. Cumin does not like wet feet and over watering brought wilt patches in my low spots. Drained soil and a careful first irrigation worked better than frequent watering.