Moong (Green Gram)
Vigna radiata
The shortest-duration major pulse grown in India — a 60–65 day nitrogen-fixing legume light enough on inputs to slot in as a summer catch crop between the rabi harvest and kharif sowing. Managing whitefly early, before yellow mosaic virus takes hold, is the single biggest lever on the whole crop.
- Crop type
- Pulse (legume)
- Seasons
- Kharif & summer (zaid)
- Suitable states
- 9+ major states
- Growing duration
- 60–65 days
- Water requirement
- Low (kharif mostly rainfed; summer crop needs 4–6 irrigations)
- Temperature
- 25–35°C
- Soil type
- Well-drained loam to sandy loam
- Difficulty level
- Easy–moderate
- Expected yield
- 6–10 q/ha (kharif); 8–12 q/ha (summer, irrigated)
- MSP (KMS 2026–27)
- ₹8,780 / quintal
Overview
Moong (Vigna radiata), also called green gram, is the shortest-duration major pulse grown in India, maturing in roughly 60–65 days. It is grown in two distinct seasons — as a rainfed kharif crop sown June–July, and as an irrigated summer (zaid) crop sown March–April — across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
That short cycle is the crop's defining advantage. Because it comes off the field in about two months, moong slots neatly into a summer catch crop between the rabi harvest and the next kharif sowing without disturbing the main rotation, and as a nitrogen-fixing legume it leaves the field better for the crop that follows — the same reason it is often grown, or ploughed in as green manure, before rice or wheat.
Its two real challenges are both worth understanding upfront. Yellow mosaic virus, carried in by whitefly, is the single biggest disease threat and has no in-season cure once a plant is infected. And because moong flowers over an extended window, its pods mature unevenly and must be picked in two or three passes rather than harvested in one cut — a labour reality that shapes how the whole crop is grown. This page follows the crop in the order you will actually meet it — land, seed, sowing, nutrition, water, protection, harvest, sale.
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
Sown at 3–5 cm depth — 30 cm rows in the kharif crop, closer 22–25 cm rows in the quick summer crop. Seed treated with rhizobium just before sowing.
- Day 5–8
Germination & emergence
A short-duration crop wastes no time — a poor, gappy stand here cannot be made up later the way a 120-day crop sometimes can.
- Day 15–30
Critical weed-free period
The whole crop is only 60–65 days, so its weed-sensitive window is compressed into the first three to four weeks — a delayed first weeding here costs more, proportionally, than in any longer crop.
- Day 25–35
Flowering begins
Whitefly buildup at this stage is the moment to watch — it is the vector for yellow mosaic virus, the crop's single most damaging disease.
- Day 35–45
Pod formation
Moong flowers over an extended period, so pods set and mature unevenly — the reason the crop is picked in two or three passes rather than cut once.
- Day 45–55
Pod filling & first picking
The earliest pods turn black and dry while later flowers are still setting pods; the first picking usually starts here.
- Day 55–65
Maturity & remaining pickings
The bulk of pods mature; a rain spell now risks pods sprouting on the plant or shattering, so timely picking as pods blacken matters.
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
Moong's short cycle cuts both ways — it dodges many season-long stresses a 120-day crop faces, but it also has no slack to recover from a setback. A dry spell, a weed flush or a whitefly outbreak at the wrong week cannot be corrected later, so timing every operation to the crop's compressed calendar matters more here than in a long-duration crop.
Ideal temperature
25–35°C through the crop — moong is a warm-season legume that germinates and grows fast in heat, which is exactly why it doubles as a summer crop where cereals would struggle
Rainfall
400–500 mm is ample; the kharif crop is largely rainfed, but heavy or continuous rain at flowering and podding does more harm than good, encouraging yellow mosaic spread and pod diseases
Humidity
Moderate humidity suits the crop; prolonged high humidity and cloudy weather favour both whitefly buildup and powdery mildew and Cercospora leaf spot late in the crop
Sunlight
Full sun; the summer crop's long, bright days are part of why it fills pods so quickly, though extreme heat above 40°C at flowering can drop flowers
Soil requirements
A soil test matters here less for nitrogen — the crop fixes most of its own — and more for phosphorus, sulphur and zinc, the nutrients that actually limit pulse yields, and for pH, which governs whether rhizobium nodulation works at all.
Suitable soil
Well-drained loam to sandy loam; moong does well on lighter soils that would be marginal for a heavier-feeding crop, but does not tolerate the waterlogging that heavy clay holds after a shower
pH range
6.5–7.5 — like other legumes, rhizobium nodulation drops off on strongly acidic or saline-alkaline soil, so pH matters more here than the modest nutrient demand alone would suggest
Drainage
Very good — moong is highly sensitive to waterlogging, and even a short spell of standing water at flowering can cause flower drop and root disease; low, water-holding patches are the wrong place for it
Organic matter
Low to medium is workable; moong is grown precisely because it is undemanding and improves the soil, but a field with some organic matter and an established legume history nodulates more reliably
Land preparation
Same four steps whichever region you are in — only the timing shifts with the sowing window.
- 1
Field cleaning
Clear the previous crop's residue and weeds. For the summer crop this means turning the field around quickly after the rabi harvest, since moong's value depends on fitting into the short gap before kharif.
- 2
Ploughing
One ploughing followed by one or two harrowings gives the fine, firm seedbed a small-seeded legume needs — moong does not need the deep tillage a root or tuber crop does.
- 3
Levelling
A level field prevents water from pooling in low spots, which matters for a crop this intolerant of waterlogging; in the summer crop, level land also gives even irrigation coverage.
- 4
Moisture check before sowing
The kharif crop is sown into the first good monsoon rains; the summer crop needs a pre-sowing irrigation so the seed goes into moist soil and germinates evenly across the field.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
IPM 2-3 A widely adapted ICAR-IIPR release, popular across north-western and central India and well suited to both spring/summer and kharif sowing; a dependable modern standard where yellow mosaic pressure is a concern. | 62–65 days | 10–12 q/ha | Resistant to yellow mosaic virus (MYMV) | Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh | MYMV-prone areas; both summer and kharif |
IPM 410-3 (Shikha) An ICAR-IIPR variety valued for relatively synchronous maturity, which reduces the number of pickings needed compared with an older, highly staggered variety. | ~65 days | 10–12 q/ha | Tolerant to yellow mosaic virus | North-western plains, central India | Fewer pickings; mechanised or labour-scarce farms |
SML 668 A PAU (Punjab) release that became the mainstay of the summer moong crop in the north-west — quick, fairly synchronous and well matched to the short window between wheat harvest and paddy transplanting. | 60–65 days | 9–12 q/ha (summer) | Moderately resistant to yellow mosaic virus | Punjab, Haryana | Summer moong after wheat, before rice |
Samrat (PDM 139) An early, MYMV-tolerant variety long grown across eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, valued for reliability in the region's higher yellow-mosaic pressure rather than for peak yield. | 60–65 days | 8–10 q/ha | Tolerant to yellow mosaic virus | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar | Eastern India; high-MYMV tracts |
Virat (IPM 205-7) A super-early ICAR-IIPR release that matures in under eight weeks — useful where the gap between two main crops is especially tight, at some cost to peak yield potential. | 52–55 days | 8–10 q/ha | Resistant to yellow mosaic virus | North-western and central India | Very short crop windows; catch cropping |
- Seed rate
- 12–15 kg/ha for the kharif crop; 20–25 kg/ha for the closer-spaced summer crop, which is sown thicker to compensate for less branching in the shorter, hotter season
- Certified seed
- Use certified seed of a yellow-mosaic-resistant variety wherever the disease is common — variety choice is the single cheapest and most effective defence against MYMV. Run a germination test on saved seed before sowing, since pulse seed and its rhizobium-friendly coat both deteriorate in humid storage.
- Spacing
- 30 cm row-to-row for kharif, 22–25 cm for summer; 7–10 cm plant-to-plant
- Seed treatment
- Two steps: a fungicide (carbendazim or thiram, or a Trichoderma-based bio-treatment) against seed and soil-borne fungi, followed by inoculation with the correct Rhizobium (cowpea group) culture plus a PSB biofertilizer, applied to seed in the shade just before sowing — inoculated seed must be sown the same day.
Sowing guide
Sowing date drives the summer crop especially — every week of delay past early April pushes flowering and pod-fill deeper into the peak summer heat, which drops flowers and cuts yield. Getting the summer crop in on time is worth more than almost any other single decision.
- Best time
- Kharif: June–July with the onset of the monsoon. Summer (zaid): March to early April, as soon as the rabi crop is off and after a pre-sowing irrigation — sown too late, the summer crop's pod-filling runs into extreme May–June heat.
- Row spacing
- 30 cm (kharif), 22–25 cm (summer)
- Plant spacing
- 7–10 cm
- Sowing depth
- 3–5 cm
- Method
- Seed drill or line sowing behind a plough for an even, weedable stand; broadcasting is common but gives a patchier crop and makes the critical early weeding pass much harder
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 dose
At sowing
A small starter dose of nitrogen (around 15–20 kg/ha N — far below any cereal, since the crop fixes most of its own once nodulated) plus the full phosphorus dose (around 40–50 kg/ha P₂O₅) and 20 kg/ha sulphur where soil tests show a shortfall, all placed at sowing.
- 2
No routine nitrogen top dressing
Through the crop
A well-nodulated moong crop needs no mid-season nitrogen top dressing — the root nodules supply nitrogen within a few weeks of germination, which is the entire economic case for growing a pulse in the rotation.
- 3
Foliar spray (as needed)
At flowering to early pod-fill
A 2% urea or 2% DAP foliar spray at flowering can lift pod set on a poorer soil, and a foliar micronutrient spray corrects a visible iron or zinc shortfall too late in this short crop for a fresh basal dose to help.
Irrigation schedule
1. Branching / pre-flowering
~20–25 days after sowing
The first irrigation in the summer crop; a kharif crop needs this only if the monsoon breaks at this stage.
2. Flowering
~30–35 days after sowing
The single most valuable protective irrigation — moisture stress at flowering drops flowers directly and caps pod number for the rest of this short crop.
3. Pod filling
~40–50 days after sowing
A watering here decides final seed size and weight; the summer crop typically needs several irrigations across this whole span.
Critical stages
- Flowering (~30–35 days) — the single stage to prioritise if water is limited
- Pod filling / seed development
Water-saving tips
- The kharif crop is largely rainfed — plan irrigation as insurance against a dry spell at flowering or pod-fill, not as a routine schedule
- Stop irrigating once pods begin to mature and blacken; late watering only delays drying and worsens the shattering and sprouting risk in a rain spell
- The summer crop needs 4–6 irrigations at roughly 10–12 day intervals — the trade-off for growing a crop through the dry season, and the reason summer moong is worthwhile only where water is genuinely available
- Avoid over-irrigation and any standing water — moong is highly waterlogging-sensitive, and excess water costs more here through flower drop and root disease than a missed watering would
Weed management
Common weeds
Organic control
- One hand weeding or hoeing at 20–25 days after sowing — moong's whole weed-sensitive window is compressed into the first three to four weeks, so a single well-timed weeding matters more here than repeated late ones
- A stale seedbed ahead of sowing — let the first weed flush emerge, then kill it before drilling — cuts the in-season weed load in this short crop
- Close row spacing in the summer crop helps the canopy shade out late weeds once it closes, reducing the weeding burden
Chemical control
- Pre-emergence: pendimethalin within 1–2 days of sowing on moist soil
- Post-emergence, grassy weeds: quizalofop-ethyl at 15–20 days
- Post-emergence, broad-spectrum: imazethapyr at 15–20 days where both grasses and broadleaf weeds are present
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 (nodulation failure)
Visible symptom
Uniform pale yellowing and a stunted, spindly plant despite a fertilized field — almost always traces back to poor or absent rhizobium nodulation rather than a genuine soil nitrogen shortfall.
Phosphorus
Visible symptom
Dark green to dull, bluish leaves with delayed flowering and poor root and nodule development — phosphorus is the nutrient that most often limits pulse yields.
Sulphur
Visible symptom
Pale yellowing of the youngest leaves first, since sulphur does not move within the plant — often mistaken for a nitrogen shortfall.
Iron
Visible symptom
Interveinal yellowing on the youngest leaves while the veins stay green, most common on high-pH or temporarily waterlogged soil.
Zinc
Visible symptom
Small leaves with interveinal yellowing and bronzing on the middle leaves, and shortened stem internodes giving a bunched look — common on light, intensively cropped soils.
Diseases to watch for
Symptoms, likely cause and what actually treats it — not just a spray name.
Yellow Mosaic Virus (MYMV)
- Symptoms
- Bright yellow patches mottled across otherwise green leaves, starting on younger leaves and spreading until the whole leaf yellows; infected plants set fewer, smaller, malformed pods and can be near-barren if infected early.
- Cause
- Mungbean yellow mosaic virus, transmitted by whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) — not seed-borne or soil-borne, which is why controlling the whitefly vector and choosing a resistant variety matter more than any direct treatment, since there is no cure once a plant is infected.
- Treatment
- No in-season cure for an infected plant. Rogue out and destroy infected plants early to cut the source of further spread, and control whitefly before symptoms appear rather than after.
- Prevention
- Grow a resistant variety — the single most effective defence (IPM 2-3, Virat and others are bred for it); control whitefly from early vegetative growth; and avoid sowing right next to a whitefly-favouring crop like cotton or a nearby infected moong field.
Cercospora Leaf Spot
- Symptoms
- Small, round, reddish-brown spots with grey centres on the leaves, spreading in warm, humid weather until heavy spotting causes premature leaf drop and cuts pod-filling.
- Cause
- Fungus Cercospora canescens, favoured by warm, humid, cloudy weather — most damaging late in the kharif crop when the canopy is dense and humidity high.
- Treatment
- A spray of a suitable fungicide (carbendazim or mancozeb) at first appearance, repeated after 10–15 days if humid weather persists.
- Prevention
- Avoid over-dense stands, choose a tolerant variety, and rotate away from moong on fields where leaf spot has been severe.
Powdery Mildew
- Symptoms
- A white, powdery growth on the upper leaf surface that spreads to cover leaves, stems and pods; heavily affected leaves yellow and drop early.
- Cause
- A fungus favoured by dry days with cool nights and heavy dew — most common in the summer crop and in late-sown crops whose maturity runs into cooler weather.
- Treatment
- A wettable-sulphur or a suitable systemic fungicide spray at first sign, repeated if the disease keeps spreading.
- Prevention
- Grow a tolerant variety where powdery mildew is a recurring problem, and sow on time so the crop matures before the dew-heavy period sets in.
Web Blight / Anthracnose (Rhizoctonia)
- Symptoms
- Irregular water-soaked lesions on leaves that dry to a web-like blighting of the lower canopy in wet weather, with dark sunken lesions on stems and pods in the anthracnose phase.
- Cause
- Soil- and residue-borne fungi (Rhizoctonia and Colletotrichum) favoured by warm, wet, humid conditions and a dense, moist lower canopy — mainly a kharif-crop problem.
- Treatment
- Improve air movement by not over-thickening the stand, and spray a suitable fungicide at first appearance in a wet spell.
- Prevention
- Good drainage, adequate row spacing for airflow, treated seed and rotation away from moong on affected fields all reduce the inoculum this disease starts from.
Pests to watch for
What to look for before the damage is visible, and organic options before you reach for a chemical.
Whitefly
- Identification
- Tiny white insects that flutter up in a cloud when a leaf is disturbed, usually clustering on the underside of leaves from early vegetative growth onward.
- Damage
- Direct sap-sucking is a minor loss on its own — the real damage is that whitefly is the vector for yellow mosaic virus, so an unchecked early buildup shows up weeks later as a mosaic-infected field with no in-season fix.
- Organic control
- Yellow sticky traps at canopy height monitor and reduce numbers; conserving natural predators by avoiding unnecessary early broad-spectrum spraying helps too.
- Chemical control
- Spray a systemic insecticide (e.g. thiamethoxam or imidacloprid) as soon as whitefly numbers build in early vegetative growth — the point is preventing yellow mosaic spread, not just the leaf-feeding damage.
Thrips & Jassids (sucking pests)
- Identification
- Thrips are slender and rasp the leaf surface; jassids (leafhoppers) are small, wedge-shaped and hop away when disturbed, feeding on the underside of leaves.
- Damage
- Both suck sap and cause curling, yellowing and a scorched "hopper burn" leaf margin; thrips also damage flowers, reducing pod set at exactly the stage that decides yield.
- Organic control
- Neem-based sprays check moderate populations; conserving natural predators helps keep sucking pests below damaging levels early.
- Chemical control
- A need-based spray of a suitable systemic insecticide at flowering where sucking-pest numbers cross the threshold, timed to protect flowers and young pods.
Pod Borers (Maruca & Helicoverpa)
- Identification
- Maruca (spotted pod borer) webs together flowers and pods and feeds hidden inside; Helicoverpa (gram pod borer) bores clean holes into pods to eat the developing seed.
- Damage
- Both feed directly on the flowers and seeds that are the harvest, and because they feed inside webbed or bored pods they are hard to reach once established — the most direct yield threat at podding.
- Organic control
- Pheromone traps to monitor and mass-trap adults, Trichogramma egg-parasitoid releases, and an NPV or Bt spray against young larvae before they enter the pods.
- Chemical control
- A spray of chlorantraniliprole or a similar labelled insecticide timed at flowering to early podding, before larvae bore inside where sprays cannot reach them.
Pulse Beetle / Bruchid (storage)
- Identification
- Small brownish beetles whose grubs develop inside stored grain; neat round exit holes in the seed and a dust of frass are the give-away in a store.
- Damage
- Infestation begins in the field but explodes in storage, where bruchids can render a stored lot of moong holed, hollowed and unfit for seed or sale within a few months.
- Organic control
- Dry grain thoroughly before storage, store in airtight containers that starve the beetles of oxygen, and mix in neem leaves or a little inert ash in traditional stores; solar-heating or brief sun exposure of grain kills developing stages.
- Chemical control
- Fumigation of the stored lot with an approved fumigant in a sealed store where infestation is heavy — a job for correctly labelled products and safe handling only.
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
Growing a yellow-mosaic-susceptible variety in a high-MYMV area
Why it hurts
The single most avoidable mistake on this page — variety resistance is the cheapest and most effective defence against a disease with no in-season cure, and a susceptible variety in the wrong tract can be near-barren from an early infection no spray will reverse.
- 2
Ignoring early whitefly buildup because leaf damage looks minor
Why it hurts
By the time yellow mosaic symptoms appear, the virus is already systemic in every plant the whitefly reached — there is no in-season cure, only prevention before symptoms show.
- 3
Skipping rhizobium seed inoculation
Why it hurts
An un-inoculated crop, especially on land new to pulses, behaves like any nitrogen-starved plant, and no top-dressed urea afterward fixes a nodulation failure as cheaply as the inoculant would have at sowing.
- 4
Sowing the summer crop too late, past early April
Why it hurts
Every week of delay pushes flowering and pod-fill deeper into peak May–June heat, which drops flowers and cuts yield — the summer crop's whole value depends on getting it in on time.
- 5
Delaying the first weeding past the first three to four weeks
Why it hurts
Moong's weed-sensitive window is compressed into the first 15–30 days by its short cycle — a late first weeding costs more here, proportionally, than in any longer-duration crop.
- 6
Over-irrigating or sowing in a waterlogging-prone low patch
Why it hurts
Moong is highly waterlogging-sensitive — even a short spell of standing water at flowering causes flower drop and invites root and web-blight disease, costing more than a missed irrigation ever would.
- 7
Waiting to harvest the whole crop in one cut
Why it hurts
Moong's pods mature unevenly, so a single harvest either loses the earliest pods to shattering or the last pods to immaturity — picking in two or three passes as pods blacken is how the crop is meant to be taken.
- 8
Leaving mature pods on the plant through a rain spell
Why it hurts
Rain on mature black pods causes the seed to sprout in the pod or the pods to shatter, turning a finished crop into a graded-down or lost one within a day or two.
- 9
Storing under-dried grain
Why it hurts
Moong stored above safe moisture is exactly what pulse beetles need to explode in storage — a lot that looked clean at harvest can be holed and hollowed within a few months if it went in damp.
- 10
Treating moong as a low-value afterthought crop and skipping plant protection
Why it hurts
At its MSP, moong is among the highest-value field crops by weight — a whitefly, pod-borer or leaf-spot outbreak left unmanaged on the assumption that a short pulse "isn't worth spraying" gives away real income the crop was on track to earn.
Harvesting
When about 80–85% of the pods have turned black and dry, usually 60–65 days after sowing — because pods mature unevenly, the crop is normally picked in two or three passes a week or so apart rather than cut all at once.
Signs it is ready
- Pods turn from green to black or dark brown and dry
- Leaves begin to yellow and drop as the plant matures
- Seed hardens and rattles inside the dry pod
Tools
- Hand-picking of mature pods in two or three passes on smaller holdings — the standard method given uneven maturity
- Sickle harvesting of the whole plant where a fairly synchronous variety allows a single cut, followed by sun-drying and threshing
- Threshing by beating the dried plants or with a mechanical thresher run gently to avoid cracking the seed
Expected yield
6–10 q/ha for a rainfed kharif crop under normal management; 8–12 q/ha for a well-managed irrigated summer crop with a good variety.
Post-harvest & storage
Storage
Dry seed to 8–9% moisture before storage — under-dried moong is exactly what pulse beetles need to multiply, so drying it down and storing airtight is the single most important post-harvest step for a pulse.
Packaging
Clean jute or HDPE bags for market sale; for on-farm storage, airtight metal or HDPE bins that starve storage beetles of oxygen protect the grain far better than open bags.
Transportation
Keep loads dry and clean; moong is graded on colour and freedom from insect damage, so protecting the bright green seed coat in transit protects the price.
Shelf life
Well-dried moong stores for a year or more in airtight conditions; the main risk to a stored lot is not time but pulse beetle infestation, which turns a good lot into a holed, downgraded one within months if storage is not airtight.
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% (₹7,000)
- Labour21% (₹3,500)
- Machinery12% (₹2,000)
- Fertiliser7% (₹1,200)
- Pesticide & weedicide7% (₹1,200)
- Irrigation6% (₹1,000)
- Seed4% (₹700)
- Interest2% (₹400)
Official downloads
Government and ICAR documents only — everything below is hosted on an official server.
ICAR-IIPR — Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur
Package of practices, variety releases and advisories from the ICAR institute mandated for pulses research.
Farmer Portal — crop advisories
Government of India's farmer portal, including season-specific advisories and market information.
Soil Health Card portal
Get a free, crop-wise fertilizer recommendation for your own field before finalising the fertilizer schedule above.
mKisan — SMS advisory portal
Register for free SMS advisories timed to your crop stage and district.
Frequently asked questions
How long does moong take to mature?
About 60–65 days for most varieties, and as little as 52–55 days for a super-early variety like Virat — the shortest of any major pulse grown in India, which is exactly what lets it fit as a catch crop between two main crops.
When should I sow moong?
There are two seasons. The kharif crop is sown June–July with the onset of the monsoon. The summer (zaid) crop is sown March to early April, right after the rabi harvest and after a pre-sowing irrigation — sowing the summer crop late pushes pod-filling into extreme heat and cuts yield.
How much seed do I need per acre?
Roughly 5–6 kg per acre (12–15 kg/ha) for the kharif crop, and 8–10 kg per acre (20–25 kg/ha) for the closer-spaced summer crop, which is sown thicker because plants branch less in the shorter, hotter season.
What is yellow mosaic virus and how do I manage it?
A whitefly-transmitted virus that causes bright yellow, mottled patches on the leaves and can leave an early-infected plant near-barren. There is no in-season cure, so the defence is threefold: grow a resistant variety (the cheapest, most effective step), control whitefly from early growth before symptoms appear, and rogue out infected plants early.
Why is moong harvested in two or three pickings instead of one cut?
Moong flowers over an extended period, so its pods mature unevenly — the earliest turn black while later flowers are still forming pods. Picking mature black pods in two or three passes a week or so apart avoids losing the early pods to shattering or the late ones to immaturity. Some newer varieties are bred for more synchronous maturity to reduce the number of pickings.
Does moong need rhizobium inoculation?
Yes, especially on land new to pulses. Moong is a legume that fixes its own nitrogen through root nodules formed with cowpea-group rhizobium — treating seed with the right culture just before sowing is what lets it need only a small starter dose of nitrogen. Skip it and the crop behaves like any nitrogen-starved plant.
How much fertilizer does moong need?
Very little nitrogen — a starter dose of about 15–20 kg/ha, since the crop fixes most of its own — plus around 40–50 kg/ha phosphorus and 20 kg/ha sulphur where the soil is short of it, all at sowing. Phosphorus, sulphur and zinc, not nitrogen, are the nutrients that usually limit pulse yields. A Soil Health Card test can refine this.
How many irrigations does the summer crop need?
Usually 4–6 irrigations at roughly 10–12 day intervals, since it grows through the dry season entirely on applied water. The kharif crop, by contrast, is largely rainfed and needs watering only if the monsoon breaks at flowering or pod-fill. The single most important watering in either case is at flowering.
What is the current MSP for moong?
₹8,780 per quintal for KMS (Kharif Marketing Season) 2026–27, as notified by the Government of India. Moong carries one of the highest MSPs of any field crop, which is part of why treating it as a low-value afterthought and skipping plant protection is a costly mistake.
What yield can I realistically expect from moong?
6–10 quintals per hectare for a rainfed kharif crop under normal management, and 8–12 q/ha for a well-managed irrigated summer crop with a good variety. Yellow mosaic, a whitefly outbreak or a badly timed dry spell can pull this well down in a short crop that has no time to recover.
Why does moong yield less than a cereal but still pay?
Because its MSP per quintal is roughly three to four times a cereal's, so a modest 8–10 q/ha still compares well on income — and it earns that from a 60–65 day crop grown mostly on residual moisture or in a gap when the land would otherwise be idle, while also fixing nitrogen for the next crop.
Can moong be used as green manure?
Yes — moong is often grown specifically to be ploughed into the soil at flowering as a green-manure legume before rice or wheat, adding organic matter and fixed nitrogen. Even when grown for grain, its roots and residue leave the field better than they found it, which is why it is valued in rotation beyond its own harvest.
Which moong variety should I choose?
Match it to your area and season. In high yellow-mosaic tracts, choose a resistant variety like IPM 2-3 or Virat. For the summer crop in the north-west, SML 668 is a proven choice; in eastern UP and Bihar, Samrat is a reliable, MYMV-tolerant standard. Where labour for multiple pickings is short, a more synchronous variety like IPM 410-3 reduces the number of passes.
What should I do if I see small white insects flying up when I disturb the leaves?
That is whitefly — control it early with a systemic insecticide or yellow sticky traps rather than waiting for leaf damage, because its real threat is transmitting yellow mosaic virus, for which there is no cure once a plant is infected. Prevention before symptoms show is the only real defence.
Why did my stored moong get holed and full of insects?
That is pulse beetle (bruchid) damage, which begins in the field but explodes in storage on grain that went in above safe moisture. Dry the grain to 8–9% before storing and keep it in an airtight container that starves the beetles of oxygen — under-dried grain in an open bag is exactly what lets them multiply.
Can I insure my moong crop?
Yes, under PMFBY (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana). For a kharif crop the farmer's premium is capped at 2% of the sum insured; enrolment is seasonal, so check your state's cut-off date before sowing is complete. See the Related schemes section below.
Is moong a heavy water user?
No — the kharif crop is largely rainfed and even the summer crop, while it needs 4–6 irrigations, is a short 60–65 day crop that uses far less total water than rice, sugarcane or wheat. Its low water and fertilizer demand is a large part of why it fits so well as a catch crop.
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.