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Spinach farming guide for India
Spinach is about 90% water and needs frequent, light irrigation.
Key numbers
- SeasonRabi (multi-cut)about 45 days
- Water over the seasonabout 300 mmrain and irrigation together
- Soil pH6.0 to 7.0NPK guide 80:40:40
- Main riskLeaf Spotsee the watchlist below
Typical values for India. Your soil test and your local KVK's advice come first.
When and where spinach is grown
Spinach is grown as a Rabi (multi-cut) crop in India: September-February staggered sowing.
Leading states: Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat. Soil moisture is best kept around 60 to 85% of capacity for most of the season.
What to watch on your field
What a weekly satellite and weather view of your own field shows at each stage, and when to walk the field.
Sowing and emergence
Shallow roots need frequent light watering; an uneven stand shows up quickly as thin greenness.
Leaf growth
Nitrogen drives leaf yield; dense, humid canopies raise the risk of downy mildew.
Cutting and regrowth
Regrowth after each cutting depends on moisture recovering quickly.
The main risks for spinach
Most of these follow the weather. A risky week is a reason to inspect the crop, not to spray by default.
For any spray or dose, ask your KVK or an agronomist. VarshaKrishi's free Watch plan never names a product.
- Leaf SpotThe main risk for this crop in India.
- Downy mildewDense wet canopies.
- Leaf minerWarm-spell alerts trigger scouting between cuts.
Watering spinach well
Frequent, shallow irrigation. Avoid over-watering in dense canopies, which drives fungal losses.
Crop water use follows the FAO-56 method: the weather sets a reference demand, and the crop's stage sets how much of it the crop uses. That is why the same field needs different amounts in different weeks.
A weekly message about your own spinach field.
Watch is free for any field in India: what changed on your field this week, the weather for your village, and a clear note when the satellite cannot see. Decide opens crop by crop after an agronomist reviews each crop model.
1.2 km × 0.9 km · each square 10 m
- Your own field, every week.The squares inside your boundary, compared with your field's own history.
- A clear note when it cannot see.Cloudy weeks and very small plots are named, not guessed.
- Free on Watch.In Marathi, Hindi or English, on WhatsApp.
How each message is made, from which satellites and with which limits: methods and evidence. A real field's year of Sentinel-2 readings, free to download: open data.
Spinach: common questions
What soil pH does spinach need?
Spinach grows best at a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0. A soil test before the season is the reliable way to know your own field.
How much water does spinach need?
About 300 mm over a season of roughly 45 days, from rain and irrigation together. The real need changes with the weather, the soil and the crop's stage, which is why it helps to track your own field week by week.
What is the main disease or pest risk for spinach?
Leaf Spot is the main risk. Most risks follow the weather, so a risky week is a reason to inspect the crop. Ask your KVK or an agronomist before any spray.
When is spinach grown in India?
Spinach is grown as a Rabi (multi-cut) crop: September-February staggered sowing.
Which states grow the most spinach?
Leading states include Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat. VarshaKrishi's free Watch plan covers any field in these states: you need WhatsApp and your field's location, nothing installed in the field.
How much water does spinach need per day?
There is no single daily figure for spinach. Under the FAO-56 method, a crop's daily water use is its crop coefficient (Kc) multiplied by the day's reference evapotranspiration (ET0), which rises with heat, sun, wind and dry air. Kc is low just after sowing, highest around flowering and falls again as the crop matures, so the same field needs much more water in a hot week at flowering than in a cool week after sowing. Your KVK can give the Kc values used for spinach in your district; the methods page lists the FAO-56 source.