White Chia

White chia is the rarer of the two chia seed colours grown and sold in India. In the plant Salvia hispanica, the black seed colour is genetically dominant and makes up roughly 92–95% of any natural harvest, while the white colour comes from a recessive gene and occurs far less often. That scarcity — more than any real difference in nutrition — is why white chia typically commands a 10–25% higher retail price per kilogram than black chia in the wider market. In the Indian trial data available so far (Karnataka), white chia has also given a somewhat lower yield per acre than black chia. There is no ICAR-released chia variety of either colour yet; almost all seed moves through private contract-farming companies rather than an open seed market.

Plant typeSeed colour type (no bred/released variety exists yet)
Maturity90–120 days
Yield potentialRoughly 3 q/acre (lower of the two seed types)
Disease resistanceNo separate resistance data reported; standard field hygiene applies
SoilSandy / light soil
SeasonKharif

• Sowing timeFirst half of August to mid-September, the same window as black chia.
• Seed rateSame as black chia — about 2.0 kg/ha for line sowing, or 2.5–3.0 kg/ha for broadcasting.
• Spacing60 × 30 cm for the main kharif window; 50 × 30 cm for a later October–November sowing.

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

• Karnataka
• Gujarat
• Madhya Pradesh

• Black Chia

  The darker-coloured of the two chia seed types, more widely cultivated in current Indian trials and generally giving a higher yield than white chia, though it typically sells for a somewhat lower price. There is no ICAR-released chia variety yet — this is a colour-based distinction, not a bred variety, and seed is sourced almost entirely through private contract-farming companies.

  View variety details