Arka Vikas
From IIHR Bengaluru — a determinate, high-yielding open-pollinated release for farmers wanting a heavier crop than Pusa Ruby without hybrid seed prices.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Tomato
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- 55–60 days from transplanting
- Seed rate
- 300–350 g per hectare, the rate for an open-pollinated variety — two to three times what a hybrid needs, but it is seed you can save yourself
- Expected yield
- 350–400 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- No built-in resistance — susceptible to bacterial wilt
- Release
- Released by ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru · pure-line selection from the American variety Tip-Top
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Arka Vikas is an open-pollinated tomato variety released by ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru, as a pure-line selection from the American variety Tip-Top, bred for the fresh market. Fruits are medium-large (80–90 g) and oblate, with a light green shoulder that turns deep red on ripening. The plant performs under both rainfed and irrigated conditions and yields around 35 t/ha over about 140 days.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Arka Vikas if you want a determinate, open-pollinated tomato whose seed you can save, and a heavier crop than Pusa Ruby (350–400 q/ha against 200–250 q/ha). It works under both rainfed and irrigated conditions and is ready about 55–60 days after transplanting. It has no built-in disease resistance and is susceptible to bacterial wilt, so your spray schedule must do the protecting. Choose Arka Rakshak instead if wilt, leaf curl or early blight is a known problem in your field.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeSow the nursery in May–June or November–December
- Seed rate300–350 g per hectare, the rate for an open-pollinated variety — two to three times what a hybrid needs, but it is seed you can save yourself
- Spacing60 x 45 cm on ridges
- Sowing methodSow in lines 10 cm apart on raised nursery beds and cover with sand. Transplant 25-day-old seedlings on ridges 60 cm apart
- IrrigationLife irrigation on the third day after planting, then weekly intervals
Soil & climate
Soil
- Suitable soil
- Well-drained loam rich in organic matter
- pH
- 6.5–7.5
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Open-pollinated, so a farmer can save seed from a good plant rather than buying hybrid seed fresh every season
- Performs under both rainfed and irrigated conditions, giving it more on-farm flexibility than a variety bred for one water regime
Things to consider
- No disease-resistance package bred in, unlike its IIHR stablemate Arka Rakshak — protection depends entirely on the grower’s own spray schedule
- Yield ceiling (around 35 t/ha) is well below IIHR’s newer resistant hybrids — the trade-off for open-pollinated, seed-saveable stock
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Karnataka
- Andhra Pradesh
- Tamil Nadu
Keeping bacterial wilt out of a variety with no resistance
Arka Vikas is susceptible to bacterial wilt, and bacterial wilt is a soil problem, not a spray problem. A plant that wilts green and does not recover overnight has it; cut the stem and it often oozes a milky stream in a glass of water.
So the work is done before and around the crop, not after. Do not plant tomato, brinjal, chilli or potato in a plot where wilt showed last season — move to a cereal or a legume for a few seasons. Plant on raised beds so water drains and roots are not sitting wet. Pull out and remove wilted plants with their soil ball instead of leaving them in the field, and wash tools and hands before moving to a clean block. If your field has a wilt history and you cannot rotate, the honest answer is to grow its stablemate Arka Rakshak instead, which carries wilt resistance.
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 Tomato variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arka Rakshak | Fields hit by leaf curl, wilt or early blight | 60–65 days from transplanting | 500–600 q/ha under good management | Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu |
| Arka Vikasthis page | Open-pollinated tomato you can save seed from | 55–60 days from transplanting | 350–400 q/ha | Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu |
| Pusa Ruby | Cheap open-pollinated tomato for fresh market and processing | 60–70 days from transplanting | 200–250 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya 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 Tomato is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Tomato 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 Tomato variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Tomato into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Tomato in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Tomato rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Tomato seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
How is Arka Vikas different from Arka Rakshak, since both come from IIHR?
Arka Vikas is an older, open-pollinated selection bred for the fresh market with no built-in disease resistance, but its seed can be saved. Arka Rakshak is a newer F1 hybrid bred specifically for triple disease resistance and a higher yield ceiling, at the cost of buying fresh hybrid seed every season.
Can I grow Arka Vikas without irrigation?
It performs under both rainfed and irrigated conditions. No separate yield figure is published for each, so do not assume the same yield with less water.
Arka Vikas or Pusa Ruby: which should I grow?
Both are open-pollinated and have no built-in resistance. Arka Vikas is determinate and gives 350–400 q/ha. Pusa Ruby is indeterminate, needs staking and pruning, and gives 200–250 q/ha. Arka Vikas is the heavier and easier crop. Pusa Ruby is the older choice.
Does Arka Vikas get bacterial wilt?
Yes. It is susceptible to bacterial wilt and has no disease resistance bred in. If wilt has hit your field before, choose a resistant hybrid like Arka Rakshak.
How should I irrigate Arka Vikas after transplanting?
Give a life irrigation on the third day after planting, then water at weekly intervals. Keep the water steady once fruit starts setting, because swings between dry and wet are what crack tomatoes and cause blossom-end rot.
Can I grow Arka Vikas in both the summer and the winter crop?
Yes. The nursery is sown in May–June or in November–December, so the variety fits either season. At 55–60 days from transplanting it is the quickest of the three tomatoes compared here, which helps when you want two crops in a year.
Sourced from: Tomato - Arka Vikas — ICAR-IIHR, Arka Vikas — ICAR-IIHR variety page, Crop Production Guide (Horticulture), TNAU and Department of Horticulture, Tamil Nadu: tomato seed rate for open-pollinated varieties, spacing, season, nursery and irrigation. editorial policy.