Pride of India
An early cabbage variety — matures in about 70–80 days after transplanting with round, solid, medium-sized heads of roughly 1–1.5 kg.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Cabbage
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Rabi
- Maturity period
- 70–80 days after transplanting
- Seed rate
- 200–250 g per acre transplanted, or 325 g per acre if you sow direct on ridges for an earlier pick
- Expected yield
- 200–280 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- pH
- 5.5–6.5
- Disease resistance
- No built-in resistance — watch for black rot
- Release
- Not attributed to a specific ICAR or state-university breeding programme in the sources. Described as an established Indian cabbage cultivar rather than a documented institutional release
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Pride of India is an open-pollinated early cabbage, reported to mature in about 70–80 days after transplanting with round, solid, medium-large heads of about 1–1.5 kg and yields around 20–28 t/ha (200–280 q/ha). These figures come from National Horticulture Board content. A university course slide deck instead reports a larger head, about 1.5–2.0 kg, so head weight is shown as a range. Golden Acre runs 60–65 days, so Golden Acre is the earlier-maturing of the two. Unlike Pusa Drumhead, it is not attributed to a specific ICAR or state-university breeding programme; it reads as an established Indian cabbage cultivar rather than a documented institutional release. A description of it as a selection from Copenhagen Market could not be confirmed and is not added.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Pride of India if you want an early crop that is about two weeks behind Golden Acre but well short of the 80 to 90 days of Pusa Drumhead and Pusa Mukta, and you can live with a thin paper trail. Its top yield reaches higher than Golden Acre's 200–240 q/ha, but on National Horticulture Board figures the heads are the same size as Golden Acre's, 1–1.5 kg. Only a university compilation gives it bigger heads, so do not buy it for head size on that evidence. One trade source reports tolerance to head splitting and pest attacks. Two honest gaps: no NHB, ICAR or university source gives it a state recommendation, and no breeder or institute is recorded for it, so treat it as an established Indian cultivar rather than a documented release. No source addressed black rot, so watch for it. Choose Pusa Mukta if black rot is your real problem, or Pusa Drumhead for weight.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeSeptember to October in the plains (PAU)
- Seed rate200–250 g per acre transplanted, or 325 g per acre if you sow direct on ridges for an earlier pick
- Spacing45 x 45 cm for an early-maturing crop, 67.5 x 45 cm if it runs late in your conditions
- Sowing methodNursery of 100 sq m per hectare, seedlings ready in 40–45 days, transplanted into a cool moist field in the afternoon and watered at once
- IrrigationImmediately after transplanting, then every 10–15 days; 8–12 irrigations in all (PAU)
- FertilizerPer acre: 40 tonnes farmyard manure, 50 kg N (110 kg urea), 25 kg P2O5 and 25 kg K2O, with half the nitrogen top-dressed four weeks after transplanting (PAU)
Pest & disease considerations
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- A top yield above Golden Acre's, for about two more weeks in the field, in a plant type farmers already know
- Fills the harvest window between the earliest (Golden Acre) and heaviest (Pusa Drumhead) cabbages grown alongside it
- Reported tolerance to head splitting and pest attacks in one trade source
Things to consider
- Duration and yield are supported by National Horticulture Board content, which describes Pride of India as an early growing variety with a medium-large 1–1.5 kg head, maturing in 70–80 days after transplanting and yielding 20–28 t/ha. A trade blog also classifies it as early-season alongside Golden Acre. One trade source instead calls it late-maturing at 90–100 days with 'large and flat-round' heads; that is not used here, given the weight of the other sources.
- Head weight is a smaller, unresolved disagreement: National Horticulture Board content gives 1–1.5 kg, while a university course slide deck gives about 1.5–2.0 kg. Both are shown rather than picking one.
- States: no NHB/ICAR/university source gives an explicit state list for Pride of India — a trade roundup's West Bengal/Uttar Pradesh/Karnataka list reads as a retailer-style growing-state list rather than an agronomic recommendation, and Assam and Himachal Pradesh have a general cabbage-production presence but no source ties that specifically to this variety. States left empty rather than fabricated. This project's crops.ts has its own separately-authored entry for this variety listing only 'Uttar Pradesh' (also unsourced) — left as-is, out of scope for this seeds.ts record.
- Release/origin: no source checked attributes Pride of India to a specific breeder or institution, and the 'selection from Copenhagen Market' description could not be independently confirmed — it reads as an established cultivar rather than a documented institutional release.
Head size, and what the buyer actually pays for
Pride of India matures in about 70–80 days after transplanting with round, solid heads of roughly 1–1.5 kg. That size is the point of it: earlier than a drumhead type, but with a head big enough for a retailer or a hotel to buy, not just a household.
Size comes from spacing and from cutting at the right time. Follow the recommended spacing instead of crowding plants, because a crowded crop gives many small heads and the trader pays per head he can sell. Cut when the head is firm to the press — left standing past that point, cabbage splits and the split head is discounted or rejected. No disease resistance is bred in, so keep the usual watch for black rot: clean seed, a nursery away from old crucifer ground, and no working the crop while the leaves are wet.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This is an open-pollinated variety, so seed from a healthy crop of your own can be sown again. Keep seed only from disease-free plants, dry it properly, store it cool and dry, and bring in fresh certified seed every three to four years so the variety does not drift.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Cabbage variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Acre | The first cabbage to market, from seed you can save | 60–65 days from transplanting | 200–240 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar |
| Pride of Indiathis page | An early cabbage that still gives a decent-sized head | 70–80 days after transplanting | 200–280 q/ha | |
| Pusa Drumhead | Heavy flat heads for weight and storage, on a longer season | 80–90 days from transplanting | 500–540 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana |
| Pusa Mukta | Fields where black rot keeps destroying the cabbage crop | 80–90 days | Medium–high | Delhi |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Cabbage is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Cabbage plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Cabbage variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Cabbage into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Cabbage in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Cabbage rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Cabbage seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pride of India an early or a main-season cabbage?
It's an early variety, maturing in about 70–80 days after transplanting per National Horticulture Board content, which makes it a little later than the Golden Acre record on this site (60–65 days) and earlier than Pusa Drumhead (80–90 days).
Which states is Pride of India best suited to?
No NHB, ICAR or university source gives an explicit state recommendation for this variety, so no state list is given rather than guessing. It is grown across general cabbage-producing regions of India as an early-season type.
Pride of India or Golden Acre for an early crop?
By the published figures, Golden Acre is the earlier of the two, 60–65 days against 70–80, and National Horticulture Board content gives both the same 1–1.5 kg head. Pride of India's yield range reaches higher, 200–280 against 200–240 q/ha. Golden Acre is the better-documented type with reported black-rot tolerance and a long seed-saving record. Both are open-pollinated, so take whichever has reliable local seed.
Why are no states listed for Pride of India?
Because no official source gives one. A trade roundup names a few states, but that reads like a retailer's list of where cabbage is grown, not an agronomic recommendation. Rather than invent a list, it is left blank — ask your KVK whether it is advised for your district.
What should I do about black rot in Pride of India?
Assume no protection, because no source addresses it for this variety. Treat the seed, raise seedlings in a clean nursery bed, avoid working in the field when the leaves are wet, and rotate away from cole crops for two or three seasons on an infected plot.
When should I sow Pride of India?
September to October in the plains, the window PAU gives for cabbage. At 70–80 days after transplanting, that brings the heads to market through the winter, when cabbage moves well in most northern mandis.
What yield does Pride of India give?
200–280 q/ha in 70–80 days from transplanting. That sits between Golden Acre's 200–240 q/ha at 60–65 days and Pusa Drumhead's 500–540 q/ha at 80–90 days, which is the trade it offers: an early crop that still makes a decent-sized head.
Sourced from: Top 11 Cabbage Varieties in India — India Inputs, Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops, Punjab Agricultural University: cabbage planting time, seed rate for transplanting and direct sowing, spacing, fertiliser and irrigation. editorial policy.