Onion farming — season guide: stages, tasks & pest watch

A stage-by-stage guide for growing onion in India (~140 days) — what to do when, the fertilizer schedule, and the pests to watch. Confirm specifics with your local KVK.

This is a practical, season-long guide for onion — built from package-of-practice norms. Always confirm doses, products and exact timing with your local KVK / agriculture officer; conditions vary by area and year.

Crop stages

• Nursery (day 0–45)

• Transplanting (day 45–50)

• Vegetative growth (day 50–90)

• Bulb development (day 90–125)

• Maturity & harvest (day 125–140)

What to do, when

• Day 0: Sow onion nursery

• Day 45: Transplant seedlings + apply basal fertilizer

• Day 60: Weeding + check irrigation

• Day 75: 1st nitrogen top-dress

• Day 80: Scout for thrips

• Day 95: 2nd top-dress (N + K)

• Day 110: Scout for purple blotch / downy mildew

• Day 128: Stop irrigation as bulbs mature

• Day 140: Harvest + decide market/sell window

Fertilizer schedule (soil-test led)

• Transplanting: FYM + full P + half K + 1/3 N (basal) — 10 t FYM + 60 kg P2O5 + 40 kg K2O — soil-test-led; reduce if SHC shows high P/K

• Vegetative growth: 1st N top-dress — ~30 kg N — ~30 days after transplant

• Bulb development: 2nd N + remaining K — ~30 kg N + 20 kg K2O — stop N once bulbing starts

Pests & diseases to watch (IPM first)

• Vegetative growth: Thrips — blue sticky traps, neem; confirm chemical with KVK

• Bulb development: Purple blotch / downy mildew — field sanitation, avoid leaf wetness; confirm fungicide with KVK

A note on cost & price

Plan your inputs against a budget and track spend as you go. Mandi prices move through the season — check current rates before selling; khetigpt sends price alerts for your district. The figures here are estimates, not guarantees.