Amber
A bold, light-seeded variety grown across north Indian hills and plains, valued for cooking quality and long market recognition.
Quick facts
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 100–115 days
- Expected yield
- 10–13 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- No specific bred-in resistance
- Release
- A well-known north Indian rajma. No breeding institute or release year is published for it; it may be an old local or market type rather than a formally released variety
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Amber is a bold, light-coloured-seeded kidney bean variety listed among India's recommended high-yielding rajma varieties, alongside HUR-15, HUR-137, VL Rajma 63/125 and others. It is grown across the north Indian hill and plains belt spanning Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and neighbouring states, valued for its cooking quality and long market recognition.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Amber if your buyer already asks for a bold, light-coloured rajma and you farm in Himachal Pradesh or Jammu and Kashmir. It takes 100–115 days and gives 10–13 q/ha, with no bred-in disease resistance. If root rot, anthracnose, angular leaf spot and rust are what worry you, choose VL Rajma 125 instead: it matures in 82–85 days, gives 14–15 q/ha and resists all four. If you want a red seed for a Uttar Pradesh or Uttarakhand market, look at HUR-15 or HUR-137.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Things to consider
- No breeding institute or release year is published for Amber, unlike most other named rajma varieties. It appears only as a name in lists of recommended varieties, so it may be an old local or market type. Buy seed from a source you trust, and keep your own seed from healthy plants.
- Rajma is grown mainly in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, shown above, fall inside that belt, but no source names Amber state by state. Ask your local agriculture office before sowing elsewhere.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jammu and Kashmir
Ask your buyer before you pick Amber
Amber's strength is that traders already know it. Before you sow, ask your buyer or mandi trader whether he wants a bold, light-coloured rajma by name, and what he pays for it compared with other rajma.
Then do the sum. VL Rajma 125 gives 14–15 q/ha and Amber 10–13, so VL Rajma 125 gives 1 to 5 q more on every hectare. Amber only wins if its price premium covers that gap. If the buyer pays the same for both, the shorter, higher-yielding variety is the better use of the field.
If Amber's price does win, buy seed from a source you trust and keep your own from healthy plants, because no breeding institute stands behind the seed.
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 Rajma (Kidney Bean) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amberthis page | A familiar bold, light-seeded rajma for the hills, chosen for the market that already knows it, not for a bred-in disease shield | 100–115 days | 10–13 q/ha | Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir |
| HUR-137 | The higher-yielding red of the HUR pair, with bold, dark-red seed for well-managed tarai fields | 100–110 days | 12–15 q/ha | Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh |
| HUR-15 | A red-seeded rajma for the Uttarakhand tarai, sown in the spring or pre-monsoon window, and the quickest red-seeded rajma of the lot | 95–105 days | 10–14 q/ha | Uttarakhand |
| PDR-14 (Uday) | The long-duration rajma with the highest published yield and a mosaic-virus tolerance, for Uttar Pradesh and Punjab | 125–130 days | ~30 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab |
| VL Bean 2 | A quick 82-day hill rajma with root rot and anthracnose resistance, the simpler sibling of VL Rajma 125 | ~82 days | 14–15 q/ha | Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh |
| VL Rajma 125 | The hill rajma with the widest disease cover: four diseases and bold seed, in 82–85 days | 82–85 days | 14–15 q/ha | Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir |
| VL Rajma 63 | An earlier bush-type ICAR-VPKAS release for shorter-season hill pockets and mid-altitude fields | 100–110 days | 10–13 q/ha | Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh |
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 Rajma (Kidney Bean) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Rajma (Kidney Bean) 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 Rajma (Kidney Bean) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Rajma (Kidney Bean) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Rajma (Kidney Bean) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Rajma (Kidney Bean) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Rajma (Kidney Bean) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Who developed Amber rajma?
No breeding institute or release year is published for Amber. Unlike most other rajma here, it appears only as a name in lists of recommended varieties, so it is probably an old local or market type.
What does Amber rajma seed look like?
Bold and light-coloured — a visually distinct seed type valued specifically for its cooking quality.
Where is Amber rajma grown?
Across the north Indian hill and plains belt, including Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir listed above. It is part of a wider kidney-bean-growing region that also includes Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
Why is Amber rajma still popular despite having no bred-in disease resistance?
Its long-standing market recognition and cooking quality have kept demand strong even without modern disease-resistance breeding.
How does Amber compare to HUR-15 and VL Rajma varieties?
Amber appears alongside them in lists of recommended high-yielding rajma varieties, but unlike those, it lacks a confirmed breeding institute. It reads as an older, market-established type rather than a modern bred release.
How many days does Amber need compared with VL Rajma 125?
Amber needs 100–115 days and VL Rajma 125 needs 82–85, so Amber stays in the field 15 to 33 days longer. In a tight hill kharif window, the shorter variety leaves you more room for the next crop.
Can I save my own Amber seed for next year?
Yes. Amber is open-pollinated, so seed from your own crop gives the same variety next year. Pick it from the healthiest plants only. Amber has no bred-in disease resistance, so do not keep seed from plants that looked sick.
What yield should I plan on with Amber?
Plan on 10–13 q/ha. That is the lower end among the rajma varieties compared here: VL Rajma 125 and VL Bean 2 show 14–15 q/ha, and HUR-137 shows 12–15. Amber's case is its market recognition, not its yield.
Amber has no bred-in resistance. How do I protect the crop from root rot, anthracnose, angular leaf spot and rust?
The protection has to come from your field practice, not from the variety. Use clean seed, treat it before sowing, keep the field well drained, rotate away from beans and watch the crop weekly. Spray only when symptoms appear, following your state's advice. If these four diseases are your main worry, VL Rajma 125 resists all of them.
Can I grow Amber in Uttarakhand?
It is recommended for Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir only. Rajma is also grown in Uttarakhand, but no source here names Amber for it. In Uttarakhand, the hill varieties from ICAR-VPKAS Almora such as VL Rajma 125 are documented for your state. If you still want Amber, try a small plot beside your usual variety first.
Sourced from: PPV&FR Authority — Compendium of Registered Varieties (up to October 2018), ICAR-IIPR released varieties and technologies. editorial policy.