Nagori

Nagori is the well-known trade name for a local Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) strain associated with Rajasthan's Nagaur district, documented in government cultivation literature as "a local variety with feature of having starchy roots." Unlike JA-20, JA-134, Poshita, Rakshita or WSR, Nagori is not an ICAR- or state-university-released variety with a formal breeding record — it is farmer-saved and locally-traded seed that has earned a reputation in the drug-market trade for its particular root quality. Much of the Ashwagandha actually grown and traded in India, especially around Nagaur, is of this kind rather than a formally released line, which is worth knowing when a buyer or a seed source uses the name "Nagori" without further paperwork.

Plant typeFarmer landrace, not a formally released variety
MaturityNot separately documented — treat as the species-level 150–180 days
Yield potentialNo separately documented yield figure; traded on its starchy-root quality rather than a stated yield advantage
Disease resistanceNo rating exists — Nagori is farmer-saved landrace seed that has never been through a formal variety trial
SoilSandy loam or light red soil, pH 7.5–8.0
SeasonKharif

• Sowing timeDirect sowing: second week of July, once pre-monsoon showers have given a fine tilth.
• Seed rate5–12 kg/ha for direct broadcast sowing (2–5 kg/acre) — the species-standard rate; Nagori seed is typically farm-saved from the previous season's crop rather than bought fresh each year
• SpacingA direct-sown stand is thinned at 25–30 days to about 20,000–25,000 plants/ha
• Sowing methodBroadcast directly into the field — Nagori is grown almost entirely by direct sowing on Rajasthan's light, low-rainfall soils rather than transplanted
• IrrigationLittle to none if the monsoon is on schedule; a life-saving irrigation only on a genuine dry spell — grown in one of the driest parts of Ashwagandha's range
• FertilizerNone, by design — grown on residual fertility, consistent with Rajasthan's traditionally low-input Ashwagandha practice
• HarvestingHarvest January–March, once the leaves have dried and the berries have turned yellow-red — the starchy root Nagori is known for is graded on thickness and cleanliness like any other Ashwagandha.

Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.

• Rajasthan

• Jawahar Asgand-20 (JA-20)

  The older of the two Ashwagandha varieties on ICAR-DMAPR's official released-varieties list — released 1989 by JNKVV, Mandsaur. Short-statured and bred for high-density planting.

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• Jawahar Asgand-134 (JA-134)

  The newer of the two Ashwagandha varieties on ICAR-DMAPR's official released-varieties list — released 1998 by JNKVV, Mandsaur, sharing JA-20's short-statured, high-density profile.

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• CIMAP-Chetak

  Released in 2011 by CSIR-CIMAP, Lucknow, through half-sib family selection out of Nagori Ashwagandha stock — a high-yielding, semi-vigorous line bred for medium-irrigated areas, with dry root yield about double the check variety it was compared against.

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• Poshita

  A high-yielding Ashwagandha line developed and marketed by CSIR-CIMAP, Lucknow — contact the institute directly for seed and planting-material availability.

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• CIMAP-Pratap

  The highest-yielding Ashwagandha variety documented for this record — released by CSIR-CIMAP, Lucknow, through half-sib selection specifically for drought-prone areas, with a registered dry root yield of 34.95 quintals/ha against 21.99 quintals/ha for the best check variety.

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• CIM-Pushti

  Released in 2018 by CSIR-CIMAP, Lucknow — a Withanolide-A-rich, leaf-blight-tolerant, high-yielding line bred from an intra-specific Nagouri × Kashmiri hybrid, with a distinctive whitish-cream, high-starch root prized for its texture.

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