Pusa Kesar
A widely grown IARI Asiatic red variety with long, self-red (skin and core) roots, a small green top, and reliable colour without hard cold — the standard commercial red carrot of the northern plains.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Carrot (Gajar)
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Rabi
- Maturity period
- 90–110 days
- Expected yield
- 25–30 t/ha
- Suitable soil
- Deep, loose, stone-free sandy loam to loam
- Release
- Released by ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi
About this variety
Pusa Kesar is a tropical (Asiatic) red carrot from ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, and one of the long-standing commercial red carrots of the northern plains. Its roots are long, tapering and self-red — coloured right through the core, not just the skin — with a small green top and good keeping quality. It develops full colour without needing the hard cold that temperate types require, and matures in about 90–110 days from a September–November sowing.
Key characteristics
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
90–110 days
Expected yield
25–30 t/ha
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Major diseases
- No special resistance; standard leaf-blight watch
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Self-red roots — coloured through the core, not just the skin
- Colours reliably in the plains without the hard cold temperate types need
- Long, well-shaped roots with good keeping quality
- Open-pollinated, so seed can be saved from over-wintered roots
Things to consider
- No special disease resistance — Alternaria leaf blight still needs a protective spray in favourable weather
- Root shape and freedom from forking depend entirely on a deep, loose, stone-free seedbed with no fresh manure
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Punjab
- Haryana
- Delhi
- Rajasthan