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

A stage-by-stage guide for growing wheat in India (~135 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 wheat — 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

• Sowing & germination (day 0–20)

• Tillering (day 20–45)

• Stem elongation (day 45–75)

• Flowering & grain fill (day 75–120)

• Maturity & harvest (day 120–135)

What to do, when

• Day 0: Sow wheat + basal fertilizer

• Day 21: 1st irrigation (crown-root) + 1st N top-dress

• Day 45: 2nd nitrogen top-dress

• Day 60: Scout for weeds / yellow rust

• Day 120: Stop irrigation as grain matures

• Day 135: Harvest + plan market

Fertilizer schedule (soil-test led)

• Sowing & germination: Full P + K + 1/3 N (basal) — 50 kg P2O5 + 25 kg K2O — soil-test-led

• Tillering: 1st N at crown-root (~21 days) — ~35 kg N — with 1st irrigation

• Stem elongation: 2nd N — ~25 kg N

Pests & diseases to watch (IPM first)

• Tillering: Weeds — timely weeding; confirm herbicide with KVK

• Flowering & grain fill: Yellow rust / aphids — monitor; confirm 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.