Pusa Drumhead
From IARI — larger, flatter heads than Golden Acre and a heavier yield, at three to four extra weeks in the field.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Cabbage
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Rabi
- Maturity period
- 80–90 days from transplanting
- Seed rate
- 200–250 g per acre for transplanting
- Expected yield
- 500–540 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- pH
- 5.5–6.5
- Disease resistance
- Field resistance to black leg
- Release
- Released by ICAR-IARI, New Delhi. The exact notification year was not found
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Pusa Drumhead is the flat-head ("drumhead") cabbage selected and released by ICAR-IARI's Regional Station at Katrain in the Kullu Valley. Plants carry a wide frame with 20–25 light green outer leaves with prominent midribs; the heads are solid and flat, 3–4 kg each, and take 80–90 days from transplanting to head formation — the earliest of the drumhead group, though still well behind Golden Acre. It is grown across the northern plains as the heavier, longer-season counterpart to the early types, and the National Horticulture Board records an average yield of 50–54 t/ha.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Pusa Drumhead if you sell cabbage by weight or need heads that hold in the field and in store. This ICAR-IARI release carries the classic flat drumhead shape with large heads of 3–4 kg and, per the National Horticulture Board, 50–54 t/ha (500–540 q/ha) — well above the early types — with field resistance to black leg and a steady record across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. The cost is time: it takes 80–90 days from transplanting to head formation, about three weeks more than Golden Acre. Choose Golden Acre or Pride of India for an early harvest, and Pusa Mukta where black rot is heavy.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeSeptember to October in the plains (PAU). The Tamil Nadu guide lists Pusa Drum Head among the varieties for the plains
- Seed rate200–250 g per acre for transplanting
- Spacing67.5 x 45 cm, the wider spacing PAU gives late-maturing varieties. A 3–4 kg drumhead needs that room; crowd it and you get small, loose heads
- Sowing methodSeedlings from a 100 sq m nursery per hectare are ready in 40–45 days. Avoid club-root land, and transplant into moist soil in the afternoon
- IrrigationWater right after transplanting, then at 10–15 day intervals; 8–12 irrigations through the crop (PAU)
- FertilizerPer acre: 40 tonnes farmyard manure, 50 kg N, 25 kg P2O5 and 25 kg K2O. Everything except half the nitrogen goes in before transplanting; the rest four weeks after (PAU)
Pest & disease considerations
Major diseases
- Field resistance to black leg (Phoma lingam) is the documented one, recorded in the IARI Katrain release literature. Black leg is a different disease from black rot (Xanthomonas campestris)
- Black rot resistance is claimed on trade pages but is not in the official variety descriptions, so do not count on it — use Pusa Mukta where black rot is the real problem
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Much heavier heads and higher total yield than the early Golden Acre
- Longer field-staying capacity and better storage life than early-season types
- Established, predictable performer across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana
Things to consider
- The 80–90 days is counted from transplanting to head formation. The heads then hold in the field without cracking, so the date you actually cut can be later — that waiting ability is one of the variety's strengths.
- The EC-6774 (Japan) parentage attribution also surfaces for Golden Acre in some sources, so it may reflect a shared or garbled citation rather than two independently verified facts — flagged rather than stated with full confidence
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Punjab
- Haryana
Heavy heads: the extra weeks and the extra handling
Pusa Drumhead gives larger, flatter heads and a much heavier yield than Golden Acre — 500–540 q/ha — in exchange for three to four extra weeks in the field. Those weeks are the real cost: more irrigations, more weeding, and the plot is not free for the next crop.
Decide by the market as well as the yield. A big flat head suits a wholesale buyer, a hostel or an institutional kitchen that cuts cabbage by weight, and it also travels and keeps better than a small early head. If your buyer is a household retailer, several small heads may sell better than one large one. At harvest, cut with a couple of outer leaves left on to protect the head, load flat rather than stacking deep, and keep the heads out of the sun. The variety has field resistance to black leg, but the usual crucifer hygiene still applies.
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 India | An early cabbage that still gives a decent-sized head | 70–80 days after transplanting | 200–280 q/ha | |
| Pusa Drumheadthis page | 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
How is Pusa Drumhead different from Golden Acre?
Pusa Drumhead is an actual ICAR-IARI breeding release with larger, flatter, heavier heads and a longer field duration, while Golden Acre is a much older, non-Indian selection grown as open-pollinated seed. Pusa Drumhead trades earliness for size and yield.
Does Pusa Drumhead resist cabbage diseases?
A course compilation reports field resistance to black leg specifically, and a separate trade page reports broader black-rot resistance.
Is a 3–4 kg head easy to sell?
In a mandi or wholesale sale, yes, because the lot is weighed. Retail buyers often want a smaller head, so if you sell direct to households, an early variety may move faster even though it weighs less per plant. Match head size to who actually pays you.
How long can Pusa Drumhead stand in the field?
Longer than the early types — field-staying capacity and storage life are among its strengths, which gives you room to wait out a weak market for a while. Do not push it too far, though, because an over-mature head splits and loses grade quickly.
Does Pusa Drumhead protect against black rot and black leg both?
Only black leg is in the official descriptions. The black rot claim appears on trade pages and is not backed by the release literature, so do not plan around it. Field resistance means less damage, not immunity — clean seed and rotation still matter, and Pusa Mukta is the right choice where black rot is severe.
How much Pusa Drumhead seed do I need?
200–250 g per acre for a transplanted crop. Raise the nursery on a raised bed and plant out only sturdy seedlings. A weak seedling in a long-season cabbage gives a loose, light head that never makes weight.
What yield does Pusa Drumhead give?
500–540 q/ha in 80–90 days from transplanting, the heaviest cabbage compared here, against 200–240 q/ha for Golden Acre. You are paying for it with about three extra weeks in the field, so it suits a plot you do not need back in a hurry.
Sourced from: Top 11 Cabbage Varieties in India — India Inputs, Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops, Punjab Agricultural University: cabbage planting time, seed rate, spacing for late varieties, fertiliser and irrigation. editorial policy.