Bhima Super
From ICAR-DOGR — a kharif-season red onion bred for the wet-season window when Agrifound Dark Red is more prone to bulb rot.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Onion
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 100–105 days after transplanting (kharif); 110–120 days (late kharif)
- Seed rate
- 5–7 kg seed per hectare, raised on about 0.05 ha of nursery bed. Treat the seed with thiram at 2 g/kg against damping off
- Expected yield
- 200–220 q/ha (kharif); 400–450 q/ha (late kharif)
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Moderate storage life — 3–4 months
- Release
- Released by ICAR-Directorate of Onion & Garlic Research (DOGR) for kharif and late-kharif cultivation
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Bhima Super is a red onion variety released by ICAR-Directorate of Onion & Garlic Research (DOGR) for both kharif and late-kharif cultivation across states including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Bulbs are round, tapering towards the neck, mostly single-centred. Sown as a kharif crop it matures in 100–105 days at 20–22 t/ha with poor storage life (1–1.5 months); sown as a late-kharif crop it matures in 110–120 days at a much higher 40–45 t/ha with medium storage life (2–3 months).
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Bhima Super if your kharif is wet and bulb rot has hurt you before — ICAR-DOGR bred it for that window. Sow it late-kharif if you can: the same variety gives 40–45 t/ha and stores 2–3 months in 110–120 days, against 20–22 t/ha and only 1–1.5 months from the kharif sowing in 100–105 days. Bulbs are round and mostly single-centred, which markets prefer. Choose Agrifound Dark Red if you want dark export-grade bulbs from a normal kharif, and a rabi variety like Pusa Riddhi if the plan is to store the crop for months.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeKharif crop: sow the nursery in May–June and transplant in July–August. For the late kharif crop that gives the bigger yield, the nursery goes in at the same time but the seedlings stay longer (ICAR-DOGR)
- Seed rate5–7 kg seed per hectare, raised on about 0.05 ha of nursery bed. Treat the seed with thiram at 2 g/kg against damping off
- Spacing15 cm between rows and 10 cm between plants
- Sowing methodRaise the nursery on raised beds 10–15 cm high and 1.0–1.2 m wide, with 30 cm between beds — in kharif a flat bed waterlogs and invites anthracnose. Seedlings are ready 35–40 days after sowing for kharif, 45–50 days for late kharif. Cut off the top third of the seedling and dip the roots in 0.1% carbendazim for two hours before transplanting
- IrrigationWater at transplanting, again three days later, then every 7–10 days. A kharif crop needs 5–8 irrigations in all. Stop watering 10–15 days before harvest, once the tops start falling, or the bulbs rot in storage
- FertilizerKharif onion: 75:40:40 kg NPK per hectare — 25 kg N with all the phosphorus and potash at transplanting, then 25 kg N each at 30 and 45 days. Add organic manure worth 75 kg N, about 15 t/ha of farmyard manure (ICAR-DOGR)
Soil & climate
Soil
- pH
- 6.0–7.5
Climate
- Temperature
- 13–24°C for leaf growth, 16–25°C for bulbing
- Rainfall
- 650–750 mm
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Late-kharif sowing roughly doubles both yield (40–45 vs 20–22 t/ha) and storage window (2–3 vs 1–1.5 months) compared with the kharif crop of the same variety — a meaningful timing choice for farmers who can pick either window
- Mostly single-centred bulbs, a trait markets prefer over split or multiple-centred bulbs
Things to consider
- Kharif-sown storage life is short (1–1.5 months) — this crop needs to move to market quickly rather than being held
- Even at its best, in the late-kharif window, storage life (2–3 months) is still well short of a dedicated rabi storage variety
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Maharashtra
- Karnataka
Why bulbs rot in the wet season, and how to lose fewer
This variety exists because the wet kharif window is hard on onions: water standing around the bulb, warm soil and a wound on the neck are all a rot needs. Bhima Super handles that window better than Agrifound Dark Red, but it does not make the water go away.
Plant on raised broad beds so water drains out of the root zone instead of sitting in it, and keep the furrows open through the monsoon. Do not irrigate on top of a rain. Lift the crop when the necks fall rather than letting a mature crop sit in wet soil, cure it in shade, and handle the bulbs gently, because a bruised bulb is where rot starts in the heap. Kharif-sown bulbs keep only 1–1.5 months, so sell soon; sowing in the late-kharif window gives both a bigger crop and 2–3 months of keeping.
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 Onion variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agrifound Dark Red | Kharif onion with dark, even bulbs for the export trade | 95–110 days after transplanting | 250–300 q/ha | Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh |
| Bhima Red | Onion with the widest official state list, for kharif or rabi | 100–110 days | 190–210 q/ha (kharif) to 480–520 q/ha (late-kharif) | Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu |
| Bhima Superthis page | Wet-season kharif onion, best sown in the late-kharif window | 100–105 days after transplanting (kharif); 110–120 days (late kharif) | 200–220 q/ha (kharif); 400–450 q/ha (late kharif) | Maharashtra, Karnataka |
| N-53 (Nashik Red) | An early kharif red onion to harvest and sell fresh | 90–100 days after transplanting | About 250 q/ha (25 t/ha) | Maharashtra |
| Pusa Riddhi | Rabi onion to store six months and sell in the off-season | 110–120 days after transplanting | 300–350 q/ha | Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan |
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 Onion is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Onion 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 Onion variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Onion into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Onion in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Onion rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Onion seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Should Bhima Super be sown as a kharif or late-kharif crop?
The same variety performs very differently by window. Kharif sowing gives 20–22 t/ha with only 1–1.5 months’ storage life, while late-kharif sowing nearly doubles yield to 40–45 t/ha with 2–3 months’ storage. So the later window suits farmers who can hold the crop briefly rather than sell immediately.
Why does Bhima Super suit a wet kharif better than Agrifound Dark Red?
ICAR-DOGR released it for the kharif and late-kharif windows, the wet-season sowings in which Agrifound Dark Red is more prone to bulb rot. If your kharif rain is heavy, that breeding focus matters more than the higher paper yield of a dry-season variety.
Is Bhima Super a hybrid? Can I keep seed from it?
It is open-pollinated, not a hybrid, so seed raised from your own bulbs stays close to type if no other onion flowers nearby. Keep only bulbs that are round and single-centred, since that is the trait the market pays for.
Can Bhima Super be stored for the off-season market?
Not really. Even at its best, the late-kharif crop stores 2–3 months, and the kharif crop only 1–1.5 months. For a long hold, grow a rabi storage variety.
What spacing should Bhima Super be planted at?
15 cm between rows and 10 cm between plants. In a wet kharif, resist the temptation to plant wider for air: wider spacing costs you plants per hectare, and the bulbs grow soft and oversized instead of market grade.
Does Bhima Super out-yield Agrifound Dark Red?
Not in the same window. Sown in a normal kharif the two run about the same length, and Agrifound Dark Red is the heavier of them — 95–110 days after transplanting at 250–300 q/ha, against Bhima Super's 100–105 days at 200–220 q/ha. Bhima Super only overtakes it on a late-kharif sowing, where it takes 110–120 days and gives 400–450 q/ha. Remember the kharif crop keeps just 1–1.5 months and the late-kharif crop 2–3, so the extra weight pays only if you can move it in time. Pick on your sowing window and your wet-season drainage first.
Sourced from: Improved Onion Varieties Released — ICAR, Bhima Super — Onion Farming In India, Kisaan Helpline, Onion Agropedia, ICAR-Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research: season calendar, nursery and seed rate, spacing, fertiliser schedule and irrigation. editorial policy.