Pusa Sharad
From ICAR-IARI, New Delhi — a mid-early release (also catalogued as Set-309-1-2) that curds around November–December.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Cauliflower
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Rabi
- Maturity period
- About 80–85 days after transplanting
- Seed rate
- 250 g per acre for a main-season crop, half what an early crop needs
- Expected yield
- 240–260 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- pH
- 6.0–7.0
- Disease resistance
- No built-in disease resistance identified in sources checked
- Release
- Released by ICAR-IARI, New Delhi; commercialized since 2004 per its PPV&FRA registration citation. The exact CVRC notification year could not be confirmed
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Pusa Sharad is an ICAR-IARI, New Delhi cauliflower release (variety code Set-309-1-2 per its PPV&FRA registration entry) with compact, semi-dome-shaped white curds on a small-stalked, semi-erect plant with bluish-green, oblong leaves. Every source checked — a university course slide deck, ICAR/agricultural-university course material, and peer-reviewed cauliflower-breeding literature — independently places Pusa Sharad in the mid-early maturity group, with curds ready roughly 80–85 days after transplanting and main harvest in November–December.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Pusa Sharad if you are aiming at the November–December market and want weight: 240–260 q/ha, with an average curd near 900 g, the highest figures among the cauliflowers compared here. This ICAR-IARI release, catalogued as Set-309-1-2 and commercialised since 2004, carries compact semi-dome white curds on a small-stalked, semi-erect plant that takes close spacing, and is grown across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and West Bengal. No disease resistance was identified in the sources checked, so plan for black rot and downy mildew. Choose Pant Shubhra for the December–January window, Snowball-16 for January–March, or Pusa Meghna for an early crop.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeAugust to mid-September transplanting, the main-season window (PAU)
- Seed rate250 g per acre for a main-season crop, half what an early crop needs
- Spacing45 x 45 cm, the main-season spacing — wider each way than the early and late crops get
- Sowing methodRaise the nursery on 100 sq m per hectare with 300 kg farmyard manure, 10 kg of a 9:9:9 mixture, 50 g sodium molybdate and 100 g borax; sow in rows 10 cm apart. Keep away from club-root land
- IrrigationImmediately after transplanting, then 7–8 days apart in warm weather and 10–15 days in winter; 8–12 irrigations in total (PAU)
- FertilizerPer acre: 40 tonnes farmyard manure, 50 kg N (110 kg urea), 25 kg P2O5 and 25 kg K2O, half the nitrogen four weeks after transplanting (PAU)
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Compact, non-ricey white curds valued for market appearance
- Reported yield (about 24–26 t/ha across sourced write-ups, including one giving an average curd weight of ~900 g) is among the higher figures for the IARI cauliflower releases listed here
- Small-stalk, semi-erect plant habit suited to close spacing
- Fills the mid-early, November–December window between the early-season and deep-winter (January–February) IARI cauliflower releases
Things to consider
- The PPV&FRA citation gives a 2004 commercialization date and the variety code Set-309-1-2. The exact wording could not be machine-read for verification, so this is reported rather than confirmed.
- States list is a representative subset of the northern states named in sourced material (Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, West Bengal), not an exhaustive recommendation — Rajasthan was also named in one source but omitted here for brevity.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Punjab
- Haryana
- Bihar
- West Bengal
Hitting the November–December window
Pusa Sharad is a mid-early IARI release that curds about 80–85 days after transplanting, with the main harvest in November–December, and it carries the highest yield figure of the cauliflowers compared here. It is not a late variety: a January–February crop needs a properly late one such as Snowball-16.
So work from the month you want to sell in. Plan the nursery so transplanting lands roughly 80–85 days before that, and keep the stand even, because a cauliflower crop that transplants unevenly curds unevenly and forces extra cutting rounds. No built-in disease resistance was found for it in the sources checked, so keep the usual guard up: clean seed, recommended spacing, drainage, and no working the crop while the leaves are wet. If your market peaks in January, do not try to stretch this variety into it — change the variety instead of the date.
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 Cauliflower variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Kunwari | The first cauliflower of the season, cut mid-September to mid-October | 60–75 days (after transplant) | Medium | Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi |
| Pant Gobhi 3 | Curding in the autumn heat, when snowball types cannot | 70–80 days from transplanting | 120–150 q/ha | Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh |
| Pant Shubhra | The December–January window, with curds that keep their colour | 75–90 days | Medium–high | Uttarakhand |
| Pusa Meghna | A well-known early cauliflower for September–October curding | 60–75 days (after transplant) | 170–180 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh |
| Pusa Sharadthis page | The November–December window at the highest yield here | About 80–85 days after transplanting | 240–260 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, West Bengal |
| Pusa Snowball K-1 | Snow-white winter curds that hold colour if harvest slips | 90–100 days from transplanting | 150–200 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar |
| Snowball-16 | The latest window, harvested January to March | 95–110 days | High | Punjab |
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 Cauliflower is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Cauliflower 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 Cauliflower variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Cauliflower into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Cauliflower in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Cauliflower rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Cauliflower seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Does Pusa Sharad mature in January–February?
No. Sourced material consistently places Pusa Sharad in the mid-early group, with curds ready about 80–85 days after transplanting and the main harvest in November–December — that later January–February window belongs to the properly late IARI cauliflower releases.
How is Pusa Sharad different from Pusa Snowball K-1?
Both are ICAR-IARI, New Delhi cauliflower releases, but they sit in different maturity groups — Pusa Snowball K-1 as a later, snowball-type variety around 90–100 days, and Pusa Sharad as mid-early with a semi-dome (not snowball) curd shape at about 80–85 days.
Will Pusa Sharad hold until January?
No. It is a mid-early variety whose curds come about 80–85 days after transplanting, with the main harvest in November–December. A January–February crop needs a truly late variety such as Snowball-16, so pick by the month you want to sell in.
Can I plant Pusa Sharad in Rajasthan?
One source names Rajasthan too, but only a shorter representative set of northern states is listed above. Nothing says it is unsuitable there — ask your KVK for the local advisory, since the mid-early window depends on when your winter actually sets in.
How much Pusa Sharad seed do I need, and when do I transplant?
250 g per acre, half what an early crop needs, with transplanting from August to mid-September (PAU). The main-season nursery holds its plants better, which is why the seed rate drops.
What yield does Pusa Sharad give?
240–260 q/ha in about 80–85 days after transplanting, the highest yield of the cauliflowers compared here. It fills the November–December window, between the early types cut in September–October and the snowball types that run into January–March.
Sourced from: PPV&FRA Plant Varieties Journal (January 2013) — Pusa Sharad (Set-309-1-2) registration citation, eAgri (TNAU) — cauliflower variety notes, Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops, Punjab Agricultural University: cauliflower main-season transplanting window, seed rate, spacing, fertiliser and irrigation, Crop Production Guide (Horticulture), TNAU and Department of Horticulture, Tamil Nadu: cauliflower nursery bed preparation with molybdenum and boron. editorial policy.