Best Coriander Varieties for High Yield in India: Seed Type, Leaf Type, Sowing Time and Disease Resistance

There is no single best coriander variety for every farm. For seed in the north and west, the ICAR-NRCSS Ajmer varieties ACr-2 (about 1,293 kg per hectare in 25 national trials) and ACr-3 (about 1,689 kg per hectare in 17 trial entries) are the best documented, and ACr-1 is the pick for fields with stem gall. For green leaf, AGCr-1 and Hisar Bhoomit are the leaf-focused releases. In the south, CO and Andhra varieties such as Sadhana and Sindhu fit rainfed land. Sow in October to early November where winters are dry, and treat the seed.

Which is the best coriander variety for high yield?

It depends on three things: whether you want seed or leaf, which state you farm in, and whether stem gall or powdery mildew is common in your area. The country average for seed is low. A release paper from ICAR-NRCSS Ajmer puts it at 1,330 kg per hectare in 2017-18, against a genetic potential of 1,600 to 2,000 kg (Lal et al. 2023). The gap is partly variety, and partly sowing date, seed treatment and disease.

For seed, the best documented recent releases come from ICAR-NRCSS Ajmer. ACr-2 gave an average of 1,293 kg per hectare across 25 national trial entries in 2012 to 2015, which was 1.94 percent above the national check Hisar Anand and 6.72 percent above RCr-728. ACr-3 averaged 1,689 kg per hectare across trials from 2013 to 2018, which was 34.6 percent above Hisar Anand and 18.3 percent above RCr-728 (Meena et al. 2023). These are trial averages, not promises. Your field result will be lower or higher.

For green leaf, the leaf-focused releases are AGCr-1 and Hisar Bhoomit. Several older varieties such as Hisar Anand, Sadhana, CO 2 and CO 3 are listed as dual purpose, which means you can cut leaf early and still keep the crop for seed.

Coriander varieties compared: ICAR-NRCSS Ajmer releases

NRCSS is the National Research Centre on Seed Spices at Tabiji, Ajmer. These four varieties were all bred there, and the figures below are from the release papers.

Sources: ACr-1 paper, ACr-2 paper, ACr-3 paper and AGCr-1 paper. Note that the Spices Board booklet lists ACr-3 for all coriander areas, while the ACr-3 paper says the formal notification is for Rajasthan. Check with your state seed agency before buying in another state.

Other released coriander varieties by state and duration

The Spices Board Good Agricultural Practices booklet lists many public varieties with average yield in quintals per hectare (1 quintal is 100 kg). The figures are as printed there. The booklet does not state the trial conditions, so treat them as a way to compare varieties, not as a field promise (ICAR-IISR and Spices Board, 2019).

Tamil Nadu varieties (TNAU)

Sources: TNAU varieties page and TNAU coriander crop guide. These pages give different numbers for the same variety in places, which is why a range is shown.

Which coriander variety is best for leaves (dhaniya patta)?

Seed varieties are bred for seed set. Leaf varieties are chosen to give plenty of green growth before the plant bolts. Among public releases, three are described as leaf-focused.

• AGCr-1 from ICAR-NRCSS: 2,733 kg per hectare of green leaf under shade net in summer, with 6.83 days to start of germination and 50 to 60 days to leaf harvest. It is notified for Rajasthan.
• Hisar Bhoomit: listed for green leaf production with small seed and resistance to stem gall. The booklet prints 14 to 15 q/ha but does not say whether that is seed or leaf, so do not quote it as a leaf yield.
• Suruchi (LCC-234): an off-season variety for protected cultivation in summer, with a herbage yield of 4.5 tonnes per hectare as listed. The Spices Board booklet lists it for Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

CO 2 is described by the Spices Board booklet as giving 1,000 kg of green leaf per hectare at 40 days. TNAU puts general leaf yield at 6 to 7 tonnes per hectare for the crop. For a seed-and-leaf crop, the booklet says you can pluck leaf from about half the plants at 75 days after sowing without lowering seed yield.

Many packet seeds sold online carry brand names such as multicut or slow-bolting. The BigHaat listing we reviewed gives claims such as 25 to 45 days to first cut, but these are seller statements and no yield figures are given. If you buy a branded packet, ask for the germination percentage and the lot number, and sow a small test bed first.

Kitchen gardeners can sow coriander in pots in the cool season. See our list of winter vegetables to grow in pots and the winter kitchen garden feeding schedule.

Best coriander varieties by state

When to sow coriander and how much seed to use

The Spices Board booklet says the best sowing time for seed is the last week of October, and that sowing should happen when the day temperature falls below 25 degrees C. Delayed sowing reduces growth and increases pests and diseases. It gives these windows by state.

The cost of waiting is real. A two-year Jobner trial found that sowing in the first week of November gave 31 percent more seed than sowing in the third week (Spices Board booklet gives the same direction of advice). The trial is published in the Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (Kuri et al. 2017).

Seed rate, spacing and fertiliser

• Seed rate: the Spices Board booklet gives 12 to 15 kg per hectare under irrigation and 20 to 25 kg per hectare for rainfed crops. The ACr-2 and ACr-3 papers recommend 10 to 12 kg per hectare. TNAU gives 10 to 12 kg irrigated and 20 to 25 kg rainfed. In acres, divide by about 2.5.
• Spacing: 30 cm between lines and 10 cm between plants. In heavy or fertile soil the booklet suggests 40 cm between rows. ACr-3 trials used 20 cm plant spacing.
• Split the seed: crush the round seed lightly to break it into two halves before sowing. TNAU and the booklet both advise this for better germination.
• Manure and fertiliser for ACr-2 and ACr-3: 5 to 10 tonnes FYM, 60 kg N, 30 kg P2O5 and 20 kg K2O per hectare, from the release papers. Base the final dose on your soil test.
• Water: 5 to 6 irrigations in the ACr-2 and ACr-3 papers, 4 to 5 in the booklet. Soil should be well drained loam or clay loam.

How to choose the right coriander variety for your field

1. Decide the product. Seed for the mandi, leaf for the local market, or both. Pick a leaf-focused or dual-purpose type if leaf is the main income.
2. Check your state list above and ask your KVK or state agriculture university whether the variety is notified for your state.
3. Look at last year. If stem gall hit your field, choose a variety listed as resistant, such as ACr-1 or ACr-2, and rotate the crop. If powdery mildew is the issue, check ACr-3, AGCr-1, Sindhu or RCr-480.
4. Match duration to your window. Early types such as Swathi (80 to 85 days) suit late sowing or short moisture. Longer types such as RCr-480 (130 to 140 days) need the full rabi season and frost-free flowering.
5. Check soil and water. The booklet says irrigated loam is best and black heavy soil suits rainfed crops. Saline, alkaline and sandy soils are not suitable.
6. Buy certified seed with a germination test and keep the bill and lot number.

Coriander diseases to watch: stem gall, powdery mildew and wilt

Stem gall (Protomyces macrosporus)

The ACr-2 paper calls stem gall the most destructive coriander disease. Losses of 10.4 to 57.4 percent are reported, and in severe cases no fruit forms. It is worst at flowering and fruit set, when minimum temperature is 13 to 15 degrees C, maximum 25 to 30 degrees C and humidity 45 to 75 percent. The fungus survives in soil and in seed.

Control is mainly by variety and field management. In a two-year screening, ACr-1, ACr-2, RCr-436 and RCr-435 scored resistant, RCr-480 scored resistant or moderately resistant, while RCr-446, RCr-41, RCr-20 and RCr-684 scored susceptible. This conflicts with the Spices Board booklet, which calls RCr-41 highly resistant, and with the ACr-1 paper, which names RCr-435 as a susceptible variety (42 percent disease in a sick plot at Anta). So the ratings depend on place and year. The safe advice is: use the variety your local station has tested, rotate the crop, do summer ploughing, and use clean seed. We did not find a fungicide dose for stem gall in the sources we read, so none is given.

Powdery mildew (Erysiphe polygoni)

It shows as white powder on leaves, then stems and umbels. The booklet and TNAU suggest treating the seed with Pseudomonas fluorescens at 10 g per kg, then spraying 2 g per litre, or wettable sulphur at 1 kg per hectare at first appearance with a second spray after 10 days. Neem seed kernel extract at 5 percent three times is also listed. Read the label of any product you buy, and follow the pre-harvest interval.

Wilt (Fusarium oxysporum)

Plants dry up in patches at any stage. The booklet says complete control is difficult, so use tolerant varieties (it names CO 3, Sindhu, some RCr lines and CS 287), certified seed, summer ploughing and crop rotation. TNAU advises seed treatment with Pseudomonas fluorescens at 10 g per kg, then 5 kg per hectare in the soil. The booklet also lists seed treatment with Trichoderma at 4 g per kg after splitting the seed. Bio-agents such as Trichoderma viride powder and Pseudomonas fluorescens powder are the type of product used for this. See how bio-agents work and browse the bio-fungicide range.

Other problems

• Blight (Alternaria): the booklet lists 0.2 percent mancozeb or 0.1 percent thiophanate methyl in 500 to 700 litres of water per hectare.
• Grain mould: TNAU suggests carbendazim at 0.1 percent about 20 days after grain set.
• Aphids: heavy attack from December to March can cut yield by more than half in unprotected crops, per the booklet. Sow on time and use sticky traps.
• Frost at flowering: irrigate before a frost night; the booklet also lists a 0.1 percent sulphuric acid spray.

For spray, dust and seed methods in general, read our guide to fungicide application methods.

How much can coriander yield per acre?

The booklet says that with good practice and high-yielding varieties, irrigated crops give 12 to 25 q per hectare and the national average is far lower. TNAU, for older Tamil Nadu varieties, gives 500 to 600 kg per hectare irrigated and 300 to 400 kg rainfed. To change hectare into acre, divide by about 2.5. For example, 12 q per hectare is about 4.8 q per acre. Use these as a range of what is possible, not a forecast.

Seed spice is harvested when about half the seeds turn yellow. Dry in shade, bundle upside down, then beat and winnow, as the booklet describes.

Conclusion

Pick the variety for your purpose first: ACr-2, ACr-3 or ACr-1 for seed in the north and west, AGCr-1 or a dual-purpose type for leaf, and CO or Andhra releases in the south. Sow on time, split and treat the seed, and rotate the crop to cut stem gall and wilt. Where sources disagree on disease ratings, trust a trial from your own block. Ask your KVK for the notified list before you buy.