Lobia (Cowpea)
Vigna unguiculata
A fast, tough kharif pulse grown across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan for three uses at once — dry grain (dal), a tender green-pod vegetable, and fodder — the two things that decide the crop are yellow mosaic virus, spread by whitefly and worst when infection strikes early, and the Maruca pod borer, which webs flowers and pods together and feeds hidden inside.
Quick Summary
The key points from this page in about two minutes — read it or have it read aloud.
Quick Summary
Lobia, known in English as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), is a fast-growing kharif pulse that does three jobs on the same plant: its dry seed is cooked as dal, its tender pods are picked and sold as a green vegetable, and its leafy growth doubles as livestock fodder. It is grown across a wide belt of North and Central India — Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan lead grain and dry-seed production, while Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu also grow it heavily, mostly for the vegetable market. Its short life cycle, as little as 55–90 days depending on the variety, is what makes it so useful: a farmer can slot it into a gap between two main-season crops, use it as fast, protein-rich fodder, or simply pick a quick cash crop from a field that would otherwise sit idle.
India's named cowpea varieties come mainly from four breeding centres. ICAR's Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, released the long-standing bush-type Pusa Komal and Pusa Barsati, alongside the newer, unusually fast-maturing Pusa Sukomal. ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR), Varanasi, contributed Kashi Kanchan (2007) and Kashi Nidhi, both disease-resistant, compact bush types bred for the vegetable market. ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru, released the taller, more vigorous, stress-tolerant Arka Garima. And ICAR's arid-legume programme documents dual grain-and-fodder types like Bundel Lobia-1 and Bundel Lobia-2, recommended for the whole country and the north-west zone respectively.
Two problems decide most of what a lobia grower actually has to manage. The first is yellow mosaic virus, a whitefly-spread disease that mottles the leaves yellow and green and, when infection happens early, stunts the plant and cuts pod set badly. The second is the Maruca pod borer (the spotted pod borer), whose caterpillars web flowers and pods together with silk and feed hidden inside the webbed mass — sheltered from both sprays and predators — which is exactly why regular scouting from flowering onward matters more than any calendar spray schedule. Because lobia is grown for grain, vegetable and fodder use across such different regions, a grower's single biggest decision is choosing the right type — compact disease-resistant bush for the vegetable market, a fast grain type for a quick dal crop, or a dual-purpose fodder line — before anything else about spacing or fertiliser matters.
- Crop type
- Kharif pulse / vegetable / fodder legume
- Season
- Kharif (also summer/zaid for vegetable types)
- Suitable states
- Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana
- Growing duration
- 55–90 days depending on variety and use
- Water requirement
- Moderate; mostly rainfed, tolerates short dry spells once established
- Temperature
- Warm, 25–35°C; no frost tolerance
- Soil type
- Well-drained loam to sandy loam; tolerates a range of soils
- Difficulty level
- Easy (yellow mosaic virus, Maruca pod borer, bacterial blight)
- Expected yield
- 8–12 q/ha grain; 140–175 q/ha green pod for vegetable types
- Key risk
- Yellow mosaic virus and the Maruca pod borer
Overview
Lobia, called cowpea in English (Vigna unguiculata), is a fast-growing kharif pulse grown for three separate purposes on the same plant — dry grain (dal), a tender green-pod vegetable, and fodder. Its short cycle, as little as 55–90 days for most named varieties, is what makes it so widely useful: it fits as a catch crop between two main seasons, gives farmers a quick source of cash or fodder, and does not tie up a field for long.
It is grown across a wide belt of India. Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan lead production for dry grain, while Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu also grow substantial area, much of it for the tender-pod vegetable market. This dual identity — pulse crop in one region, vegetable crop in another — is reflected in its named varieties: some, like Pusa Komal and Pusa Sukomal, are bred with dry grain and fast turnaround in mind, while others, like Kashi Kanchan, Kashi Nidhi and Arka Garima, are bred specifically for long, fleshy, marketable green pods.
Two problems decide most lobia yield outcomes. Yellow mosaic virus, spread by whitefly, mottles the leaves and — when it strikes early — badly stunts the plant and cuts pod set. The Maruca pod borer webs flowers and pods together and feeds hidden inside, sheltered from sprays, making regular field scouting essential rather than optional. Bacterial blight, seed-borne and worse in wet weather, is the crop's other serious risk, which is exactly why starting with clean, certified seed matters as much as choosing the right variety.
Crop timeline, sowing to harvest
A quick visual map of the season — jump to any section below for the detail behind each stage.
- Day 0
Sowing
Seed line-sown 3–4 cm deep with the onset of the monsoon, typically June to July; some vegetable types are also sown in February–March.
- Day 5–7
Emergence
Germination is quick under good moisture; seedlings establish fast and the crop grows vigorously from the start.
- Day 15–20
First weeding
A single hand-weeding or hoeing while the canopy is still open handles most early weed competition.
- Day 20–40
Vegetative growth
The plant branches and spreads; this is also the window in which whitefly-spread yellow mosaic virus does the most damage if it strikes.
- Day 35–45
Flowering
Flowering begins, with the exact timing varying widely by variety — as early as 35 days on the fastest types.
- Day 40–70
Pod formation & filling
Pods set and fill; the Maruca pod borer is the main threat to yield through this stage.
- Day 55–90
Maturity & harvest
Grain types are harvested once pods dry and turn brown; vegetable types are picked tender and green every 2–3 days through a longer picking window.
Suitable states
States where this crop is grown at scale, highlighted below. Your local Krishi Vigyan Kendra is still the final word for your specific block.
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Himachal Pradesh
- Punjab
- Uttarakhand
- Haryana
- Delhi
- Uttar Pradesh
- Rajasthan
- Bihar
- Jharkhand
- West Bengal
- Sikkim
- Assam
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Meghalaya
- Nagaland
- Manipur
- Mizoram
- Tripura
- Gujarat
- Madhya Pradesh
- Chhattisgarh
- Maharashtra
- Odisha
- Goa
- Telangana
- Andhra Pradesh
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Tamil Nadu
- Puducherry
- Ladakh
- Chandigarh
Grown here
Climate requirements
Lobia's short life cycle is its main climate advantage — it can be timed to dodge the worst of a difficult season far more easily than a longer-duration pulse, provided sowing happens promptly once the monsoon is reliably underway.
Ideal temperature
A genuinely warm-season crop, growing best between 25–35°C; it has no meaningful frost tolerance, which keeps it firmly a kharif (or, for some vegetable types, a frost-free summer) crop
Rainfall
Moderate water need — most of the crop is grown rainfed on the kharif monsoon, and an established plant tolerates a short dry spell reasonably well, though it is less drought-hardy than horse gram or guar
Humidity
Moderate humidity suits normal growth; sustained high humidity through a wet spell favours both whitefly buildup (the yellow mosaic virus vector) and bacterial blight
Sunlight
Full sun for normal branching, flowering and pod set
Soil requirements
Because lobia is grown for three different purposes — grain, vegetable and fodder — the "right" soil depends partly on which of those a grower is targeting; a vegetable grower aiming for long, fleshy market pods generally benefits from somewhat richer land than a farmer growing it purely as a quick grain catch crop.
Suitable soil
Grows best on well-drained loam to sandy loam, but is genuinely tolerant of a wide range of soils, including moderately poor or light land, provided drainage is reasonable
pH range
Roughly 5.5–7.5, with a preference for the middle of that range
Drainage
Good drainage matters — like most pulses, lobia does not tolerate waterlogging, and standing water after a heavy monsoon downpour can do real damage even on otherwise favourable land
Organic matter
Moderate organic matter helps early growth, though the crop's own root nodules fix a meaningful share of its nitrogen once Rhizobium inoculation is established
Land preparation
Same four steps whichever region you are in — only the timing shifts with the sowing window.
- 1
One or two ploughings ahead of sowing
A reasonably fine seedbed ahead of the first reliable monsoon shower is enough; lobia does not need the deep, intensive land preparation a root or tuber crop would.
- 2
Confirm drainage before sowing
Avoid the lowest-lying part of a field where monsoon rain can pool — waterlogging, not poor fertility, is what most often damages an otherwise easy-to-grow lobia crop.
- 3
Work in farmyard manure where available
A modest dose of FYM or compost at land preparation helps establishment, especially for vegetable types being grown for pod size and quality rather than just grain.
Seed information
How the main varieties compare, so you can pick by duration, yield, disease pressure or what you are growing for.
| Variety | Duration | Yield | Disease resistance | Best state | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ICAR-IARI, New Delhi's widely grown bush-type dual grain-and-vegetable cowpea, commonly reported as tolerant to bacterial blight and leaf curl/golden mosaic. | 55–65 days | 8–10 t/ha green pod | Commonly reported bacterial blight and leaf curl/golden mosaic tolerance | Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka | Dual grain-and-vegetable use; short, reliable cycle |
ICAR-IARI, New Delhi's bush-type cowpea bred specifically for reliable performance in the rainy (barsat) kharif season. | 60–70 days (typical for the type) | Not separately documented | Not separately documented | Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana | Reliable rainy-season grain cropping |
ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi's 2007 release — a dwarf, photo-insensitive bush cowpea resistant to Cowpea golden mosaic virus and Cercospora leaf spot, with long, fleshy, parchment-free pods. | 50–55 days to first picking | 150–175 q/ha green pod | Resistant to golden mosaic virus and Cercospora leaf spot | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand | Spring-summer and rainy-season vegetable cropping |
ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi's compact bush cowpea, purpose-bred to fix low yield, late maturity and disease susceptibility together; resistant to Cowpea golden mosaic virus. | 50–55 days to harvest | 140–150 q/ha green pod | Resistant to Cowpea golden mosaic virus | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand | Fast, reliable vegetable cropping on small or intensive plots |
ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru's tall, vigorous bush cowpea bred from a cross with the yardlong bean subspecies, documented as tolerant to heat, drought and low-moisture stress. | 90 days | 18 t/ha green pod | General heat/drought/moisture-stress tolerance rather than a named disease trait | Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu | Vegetable cropping on land with less reliable irrigation |
ICAR-IARI, New Delhi's semi-dwarf release — one of the fastest-maturing named cowpea varieties, highly resistant to golden yellow mosaic virus and leaf spot, and resistant to bacterial blight. | 42–45 days (kharif); 55–60 days (summer) | 6.2–6.6 t/ha | Highly resistant to golden yellow mosaic virus and leaf spot; resistant to bacterial blight | Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana | Fastest possible turnaround where land is limited |
A dual-purpose grain-and-fodder cowpea from ICAR's arid-legume breeding programme, recommended for the north-west zone with a documented high green fodder yield. | Not separately documented; grown mainly as a fast-cut fodder crop | 35–40 t/ha green fodder | Not separately documented | Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh | Dual grain-and-fodder use, especially for livestock-keeping farms |
- Seed rate
- 20–25 kg/ha for line sowing as a grain crop; 15–20 kg/ha for a compact vegetable bush type; up to 30–35 kg/ha where grown thickly for fodder
- Certified seed
- Buy certified seed of a named variety from your state seed corporation, a Krishi Vigyan Kendra or an ICAR institute's own seed portal rather than saved farm seed where possible — bacterial blight and yellow mosaic virus tolerance are bred traits that unclear farm-saved seed cannot guarantee, and bacterial blight in particular is seed-borne, so clean seed is itself a disease-control step, not just an agronomic one.
- Spacing
- 30 cm between rows for a compact bush grain type, widening to 45–60 cm for a taller vegetable type like Arka Garima; plants thinned to 10–20 cm within the row depending on the variety's habit
- Seed treatment
- Treat seed with a fungicide such as carbendazim or thiram against soil-borne pathogens, and inoculate with Rhizobium culture where the crop has not been grown recently on that land, to establish the nitrogen-fixing nodules that reduce the crop's own fertiliser need.
Sowing guide
Because lobia is grown for three genuinely different end uses, sowing decisions — spacing, variety, timing — should follow from which use is the actual goal, rather than copying a neighbour's field without checking whether they are growing for grain, vegetable or fodder.
- Best time
- With the onset of a reliable monsoon shower, typically June to July across most of the grain-growing belt; several vegetable-type varieties are also sown in February–March as a frost-free summer crop where irrigation allows
- Row spacing
- 30 cm for compact bush types, 45–60 cm for taller, more vigorous vegetable types
- Plant spacing
- 10–20 cm within the row, depending on variety
- Sowing depth
- 3–4 cm
- Method
- Line-sown directly into the field, ideally right after the first reliable monsoon shower so the shallow root system establishes while soil moisture is still good; broadcasting is used mainly for dense fodder sowing rather than a grain or vegetable crop
Fertilizer schedule
A split dose beats one large dose applied at sowing — nitrogen especially is lost to the air and to leaching if it all goes in on day one.
- 1
Basal (at sowing)
Day 0
A starter dose of roughly 20 kg N, 40 kg P₂O₅ and 20 kg K₂O per hectare, applied all at once, since lobia fixes a meaningful share of its own nitrogen once root nodules establish.
- 2
No routine top-dressing
Throughout
Most recommendations do not call for a nitrogen top-dressing on this short-duration legume; adjust the basal P and K to a soil test where one is available.
Irrigation schedule
1. Germination
Day 0–7
Relies mainly on the sowing-time monsoon shower for germination moisture in a rainfed kharif crop; an irrigated summer sowing needs a germination watering.
2. Flowering to pod fill
35–70 days
Where irrigation is genuinely available, one or two light waterings during a dry spell at flowering or pod fill meaningfully lift yield; most of the kharif crop is grown with no irrigation at all through this period.
Critical stages
- Flowering
- Pod filling
Water-saving tips
- A rainfed kharif lobia crop is grown specifically because it does not need routine irrigation — treating it as a crop requiring a watering schedule defeats much of the point of growing it as a fast, low-input catch crop.
- Where a farmer does have access to limited irrigation, saving it for a dry spell at flowering or pod fill, rather than watering routinely, gives the best return on that scarce water.
Weed management
Common weeds
Organic control
- One hand-weeding or hoeing at around 15–20 days after sowing handles most early competition, since the crop's canopy closes reasonably quickly once it branches.
- The crop's fast growth is itself a form of weed suppression — a timely first weeding is usually enough, unlike a slower-establishing crop that may need a second pass.
Chemical control
- A pre-emergence herbicide cleared for use on cowpea or pulses generally can be used where weed pressure is heavy, though most of the crop is managed with hand or mechanical weeding alone given its low-input economics and short cycle.
- Confirm any herbicide with your local KVK before spraying, since an off-label product is a real financial risk for little gain on a crop with such thin per-acre margins.
Nutrient deficiency identification
What a shortage of each nutrient actually looks like on the plant, so you can tell a deficiency apart from a disease before you spray the wrong thing.
Nitrogen
Visible symptom
Pale, slow-growing plants, most often where Rhizobium nodulation has failed to establish on land new to the crop.
Phosphorus
Visible symptom
Weak early growth, poor nodulation and delayed flowering, especially on soils that have not received a basal phosphorus dose.
Potassium
Visible symptom
Weak stems more prone to lodging and reduced pod fill, particularly on light, sandy soils.
Diseases to watch for
Symptoms, likely cause and what actually treats it — not just a spray name.
Yellow mosaic virus
- Symptoms
- Bright yellow patches on young leaves spreading into a yellow-and-green mosaic; badly affected leaves turn almost fully yellow, and plants infected early are visibly stunted with reduced pod set.
- Cause
- A whitefly-spread begomovirus (in the same family as the yellow mosaic virus recorded on moong, urad and soybean), carried plant-to-plant only by the whitefly, not by seed or touch.
- Treatment
- No spray removes the virus from an already-infected plant; rogue out badly affected plants early and focus control on the whitefly vector.
- Prevention
- Grow a variety documented as tolerant where available (Kashi Kanchan, Kashi Nidhi and Pusa Sukomal are all resistant to a golden/yellow mosaic virus), sow on time, manage whitefly numbers with yellow sticky traps and judicious insecticide, and clear volunteer plants and weed hosts between seasons.
Cowpea bacterial blight
- Symptoms
- Small water-soaked leaf spots that enlarge into brown, angular, necrotic lesions, often merging; can crack the stem and spot the pods directly.
- Cause
- The bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vignicola, seed-borne and spread further by wind-driven rain and insects.
- Treatment
- No reliable in-season cure; a preventive copper-based bactericide can slow spread where recommended, but this is supplementary, not a cure.
- Prevention
- Sow certified, disease-free seed — the single most important step, since the disease is seed-borne — rotate away from a field with a blight history, and destroy infected crop debris after harvest. See the dedicated cowpea bacterial blight guide for full detail.
Cercospora leaf spot
- Symptoms
- Round to angular spots with a pale grey or tan centre and a dark reddish-brown margin, often with a yellow halo; heavy spotting yellows and drops the leaves.
- Cause
- Cercospora fungi (including Pseudocercospora cruenta, documented on cowpea), spread by wind- and rain-splashed spores and carried on infected debris and seed.
- Treatment
- A protective, CIB&RC-registered fungicide sprayed from the first spots limits further spread; confirm the current recommendation with your local KVK.
- Prevention
- Use clean seed and a resistant variety where available (Kashi Kanchan carries documented resistance), rotate with non-host crops, and give the canopy open spacing and good ventilation.
Anthracnose
- Symptoms
- Dark, sunken spots on leaves, stems and pods, often with pinkish spore masses at the centre in humid weather; can rot pods directly.
- Cause
- Colletotrichum fungi, favoured by warm, wet weather and spread by rain-splashed spores and infected seed or debris.
- Treatment
- A protective fungicide spray from early symptoms limits spread; there is no cure for already-rotted pods.
- Prevention
- Use clean, treated seed, rotate crops, and avoid working in the field when foliage is wet, which spreads spores between plants.
Pests to watch for
What to look for before the damage is visible, and organic options before you reach for a chemical.
Maruca pod borer (spotted pod borer)
- Identification
- A caterpillar (Maruca vitrata) that webs flowers, buds and pods together with silk and feeds hidden inside the webbed mass.
- Damage
- Field reports describe it as capable of cutting grain yield significantly (up to a large share of pod set) where it goes unmanaged, since it feeds sheltered from both sprays and predators.
- Organic control
- Regular field scouting from flowering onward, hand-picking or destroying webbed masses where infestation is light, and conserving natural predators by avoiding unnecessary broad-spectrum spraying.
- Chemical control
- A CIB&RC-registered insecticide once populations cross a damaging threshold, applied to target the webbed flower/pod clusters directly since the caterpillar is otherwise sheltered inside; confirm the current recommendation with your local KVK.
Aphids
- Identification
- Small soft-bodied insects (commonly Aphis craccivora on cowpea) clustering on tender shoots, flowers and developing pods.
- Damage
- Sap loss weakens the plant and can cause premature drying of flower buds under heavy infestation; aphids also spread some plant viruses as they feed.
- Organic control
- Neem oil sprays and conserving natural predators like ladybird beetles by avoiding early broad-spectrum insecticide use.
- Chemical control
- A recommended insecticide once colonies cross a damaging threshold; confirm the current product with your local KVK.
Whitefly
- Identification
- Tiny white moth-like insects that rise in a cloud when the plant is disturbed, feeding on the underside of leaves.
- Damage
- Direct sap-sucking damage is secondary to its real cost — spreading yellow mosaic virus between plants.
- Organic control
- Yellow sticky traps and conserving natural predators.
- Chemical control
- A CIB&RC-registered insecticide against whitefly, rotated between modes of action, used specifically to slow virus spread rather than for the sap-sucking damage alone.
Jassids (leafhoppers)
- Identification
- Small, wedge-shaped green insects on the underside of leaves that hop away sideways when disturbed.
- Damage
- Sap-sucking injects a toxin that yellows, bronzes and cups the leaf edges downward — the classic "hopper burn" — weakening the plant.
- Organic control
- Yellow sticky traps and avoiding unnecessary broad-spectrum spraying that removes natural predators.
- Chemical control
- A CIB&RC-registered insecticide once populations cross a damaging threshold.
Pulse beetle (storage pest)
- Identification
- A small brown beetle whose grubs develop and feed inside stored grain, visible as small round exit holes in the seed.
- Damage
- Turns a healthy stored lot into holed, hollow, unsellable grain within a few months if left unmanaged.
- Organic control
- Store only well-dried grain in clean, sealed containers, and mix in neem leaf or edible oil at a light rate as a traditional storage protectant.
- Chemical control
- Fumigation of stored grain by a trained operator where infestation is already established; not something to attempt without proper training and safety equipment.
Common mistakes to avoid
The mistakes that cost growers the most, ranked by how often they show up in the field — not in the order you might expect.
- 1
Choosing a variety without deciding first whether the goal is grain, vegetable or fodder.
Why it hurts
A vegetable-bred variety like Kashi Kanchan is optimised for long, fleshy market pods, not dry grain; a grain type like Pusa Sukomal will not give the pod length a vegetable buyer wants. Choosing the wrong type for the intended market wastes the season.
- 2
Saving farm seed year after year from a field that has shown bacterial blight symptoms.
Why it hurts
Bacterial blight is seed-borne — saving seed from an infected field re-introduces the disease into the next planting regardless of how well the rest of the crop is managed.
- 3
Ignoring the crop during flowering because it looks tough and low-maintenance.
Why it hurts
Yellow mosaic virus and the Maruca pod borer both do their worst damage during and after flowering; skipping scouting at exactly this stage is when most of the season's yield loss actually happens.
- 4
Treating a heavily webbed pod cluster as an aphid or whitefly problem and spraying accordingly.
Why it hurts
Webbing between flowers and pods is the signature of Maruca caterpillars feeding sheltered inside — a sap-sucker insecticide aimed at the plant surface will not reach them, wasting the spray.
- 5
Delaying sowing well past the first reliable monsoon shower.
Why it hurts
Lobia's whole economic case rests on a short, fast cycle; a late sowing pushes flowering and pod-fill into a less favourable weather window and can shorten the picking or harvest period.
- 6
Storing harvested grain without proper drying, assuming the crop's field toughness extends to storage.
Why it hurts
Pulse beetle infestation has nothing to do with how well the crop grew — poorly dried grain in an unsealed container is vulnerable regardless of yield.
Harvesting
For grain, harvest once most pods have dried and turned brown, typically 55–90 days after sowing depending on variety, then thresh. For the vegetable market, pick pods tender and green well before this point, continuing every 2–3 days through a longer picking window as new pods form.
Signs it is ready
- Grain types: most pods brown and dry, seed rattles inside when shaken
- Vegetable types: pods still green, tender and snap easily, before seeds swell and the pod toughens
- Leaves beginning to yellow on a grain crop nearing maturity
Tools
- Sickle for cutting a grain crop, or hand-pulling on light soils
- Basket or crate for repeated vegetable-pod picking
- A simple thresher or manual beating on a tarpaulin for grain
Expected yield
Roughly 8–12 q/ha grain under typical rainfed farmer management; vegetable-type varieties document 140–175 q/ha of green pod, and dedicated fodder types like Bundel Lobia-2 give 35–40 t/ha of green fodder
Post-harvest & storage
Storage
Dry threshed grain to a safe moisture level before storage, then keep it clean and dry in a sealed container — pulse beetle is a genuine risk to any lobia grain left in damp or unsealed conditions.
Packaging
Pack clean, well-dried grain in clean bags kept off the floor in a dry store; vegetable pods move quickly to market fresh, with minimal handling to avoid bruising.
Transportation
Dry grain moves protected from moisture through local mandis and traders; fresh green pods need same-day or next-day transport to hold their quality, since they lose crispness quickly after picking.
Shelf life
Several months to about a year for well-dried, properly stored, pulse-beetle-free grain; fresh green pods have a shelf life of only a few days even under good cold-chain conditions.
Market prices
Today's mandi price near you, pulled live from the government's own Agmarknet data.
Live daily mandi prices from the government Agmarknet dataset.
Synced from data.gov.in (Agmarknet). Rates are ₹ per quintal.
Weather
Current conditions and a 5-day outlook for your selected location, with one line of stage-aware advice.
Pick your state for current conditions and a 5-day outlook.
Live data from Open-Meteo
Profit calculator
Your own cost sheet, expected yield and selling price — not ours.
Where the money goes
Share of the total cost per acre, using the calculator’s own default cost sheet below — adjust the numbers there to match your field and this picture will no longer apply to you exactly, but the ranking rarely changes.
- Land rent41% (₹6,000)
- Labour22% (₹3,200)
- Machinery12% (₹1,800)
- Pesticide & weedicide8% (₹1,200)
- Fertiliser6% (₹900)
- Seed5% (₹800)
- Irrigation3% (₹500)
- Interest2% (₹350)
Official downloads
Government and ICAR documents only — everything below is hosted on an official server.
ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR), Varanasi
Source of the Kashi Kanchan and Kashi Nidhi releases
ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi
Source of the Pusa Komal, Pusa Barsati and Pusa Sukomal releases
Kisan Call Centre — 1800-180-1551
Free crop advice in your language
Frequently asked questions
Is lobia grown for grain, as a vegetable, or for fodder?
All three, genuinely, though usually not all on the same field at once. Growers in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan grow it mainly for dry grain (dal); growers closer to city vegetable markets, including in Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, grow it heavily as a tender green-pod vegetable; and some varieties are bred specifically as dual grain-and-fodder types for livestock-keeping farms. Choosing which of these to target should come before choosing a variety.
What is the single biggest threat to a lobia crop?
Two problems decide most outcomes: yellow mosaic virus, a whitefly-spread disease that badly stunts plants infected early, and the Maruca pod borer, whose caterpillars web flowers and pods together and feed hidden inside, sheltered from sprays. Bacterial blight, a seed-borne disease, is the crop's other serious risk.
Are there lobia varieties bred to resist yellow mosaic virus?
Yes — Kashi Kanchan and Kashi Nidhi (ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi) are both documented as resistant to Cowpea golden mosaic virus, and Pusa Sukomal (ICAR-IARI, New Delhi) is highly resistant to golden yellow mosaic virus as well as leaf spot and bacterial blight. Sourcing certified seed of one of these, rather than an unclear farm-saved line, is the most reliable single step against this disease.
How fast does lobia mature compared to other pulses?
Very fast for most named varieties — as little as 42–45 days for Pusa Sukomal in kharif, and 50–65 days for the compact Kashi-series and Pusa Komal bush types. This short cycle is exactly why lobia is often chosen as a catch crop between two main-season plantings.
Does lobia need irrigation?
Most of the kharif crop is grown rainfed on monsoon soil moisture, and an established plant tolerates a short dry spell reasonably well, though it is less drought-tolerant than horse gram or guar. Where limited irrigation is available, saving it for a dry spell at flowering or pod fill gives the best return, rather than watering on a routine schedule.
Does lobia have an MSP or mandi trade in India?
No MSP — cowpea/lobia is not a CACP-notified crop. It does see genuine, wide mandi trade, listed as "Cowpea(Lobia/Karamani)" at markets across Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat and several other states, distinct from the separately-traded fresh vegetable cowpea. Confirm the current price at your nearest mandi before selling, since trade and price both vary meaningfully by state and market.
Still have questions?
The FAQs above cover the common ones. For anything specific to your field and soil, your nearest Krishi Vigyan Kendra is the authoritative answer.