What to sow, grow, harvest and scout for this month, north and south of the equator. March is spring in the north and autumn in the south.
Typical sowing and harvest windows for broad climate zones, for planning and study. Inside every zone the real dates move with latitude, altitude, rainfall onset, irrigation and variety, sometimes by a month or more. Your national crop calendar, extension service or seed supplier decides; this page tells you what to be thinking about.
Temperate north
Europe, North America, northern China, Korea and Japan, Central Asia · spring
Sow and plant now
Growing: manage and protect
Harvest now
Nothing in the main calendar.
Get ready for April
Scout for
- Black cutworm on Potato, Cabbage, Sugar beet, Onion & shallot · favoured by: Weedy fields before planting, reduced or no tillage with crop residues, low-lying fields that flooded earlier…
- Green peach aphid on Potato, Sugar beet, Rapeseed, Cabbage · favoured by: Mild winters (earlier and larger flights), warm springs, lush crops with high nitrogen, protected cropping and…
- Beet armyworm on Sugar beet, Onion & shallot, Cabbage · favoured by: Hot, dry weather; weedy fields and field edges; large areas of host crops; and broad-spectrum sprays that…
- Bird cherry-oat aphid on Wheat, Barley, Oat · favoured by: Early sowing of autumn cereals into warm soils, mild autumns and winters, a 'green bridge' of volunteer…
- Fusarium head blight (head scab) of wheat and barley on Wheat, Barley, Oat · favoured by: Rain or prolonged humidity at flowering, wheat or barley following maize or another cereal, residues left on…
- Onion thrips on Onion & shallot, Garlic, Cabbage · favoured by: Hot, dry weather; drought-stressed plants; onion fields next to cereals or weeds that dry down and release…
- Powdery mildew of wheat and barley on Wheat, Barley, Oat · favoured by: Dense crops, high nitrogen, mild humid weather, early sowing, volunteer cereals, and susceptible varieties.…
- Russian wheat aphid on Wheat, Barley, Oat · favoured by: Dry conditions and drought-stressed crops, mild winters, volunteer cereals and grasses near fields, and…
Mediterranean and dry north
The Mediterranean basin, North Africa, the Middle East and West Asia, California · spring
Sow and plant now
Growing: manage and protect
Harvest now
Get ready for April
Scout for
- Broomrapes of vegetables and legumes (branched, Egyptian and crenate broomrape) on Tomato, Faba bean, Lentil, Potato · favoured by: Repeated cropping of susceptible hosts, early sowing of winter legumes (which gives crenate broomrape a longer…
- Broad mite on Cotton, Orange, Potato, Tomato · favoured by: Warm, humid weather; shaded, dense canopies; continuous production of soft new growth; infested transplants or…
- Verticillium wilt on Cotton, Olive, Potato, Tomato · favoured by: Repeated cropping with susceptible hosts, moderate temperatures, heavy irrigation and high nitrogen, root-knot…
- Beet armyworm on Cotton, Tomato, Chickpea · favoured by: Hot, dry weather; weedy fields and field edges; large areas of host crops; and broad-spectrum sprays that…
- Black cutworm on Cotton, Potato, Tomato · favoured by: Weedy fields before planting, reduced or no tillage with crop residues, low-lying fields that flooded earlier…
- Cotton bollworm (Old World bollworm) on Cotton, Chickpea, Tomato · favoured by: Warm, dry weather; a landscape with a succession of flowering hosts (for example maize, sorghum and chickpea…
- Cowpea aphid (black legume aphid) on Lentil, Faba bean, Chickpea · favoured by: Warm, dry spells, drought-stressed crops, late planting, ant attendance, wild legume hosts and loss of natural…
- Dodder (field dodder and relatives) on Tomato, Chickpea, Lentil · favoured by: Sowing crop seed contaminated with dodder seed, broadleaf crops grown repeatedly on infested land, broadleaf…
Tropical and monsoon north
South Asia, mainland Southeast Asia and southern China, West Africa and the Sahel, Central America and the Caribbean · dry season
Sow and plant now
- Sugarcane · also planted October to November; cut through the dry season
Growing: manage and protect
Harvest now
Get ready for April
- Cassava · harvested 8 to 24 months after planting
Scout for
- Beet armyworm on Tomato, Onion & shallot, Chickpea · favoured by: Hot, dry weather; weedy fields and field edges; large areas of host crops; and broad-spectrum sprays that…
- Black cutworm on Potato, Tomato, Onion & shallot · favoured by: Weedy fields before planting, reduced or no tillage with crop residues, low-lying fields that flooded earlier…
- Cotton bollworm (Old World bollworm) on Chickpea, Pigeon pea, Tomato · favoured by: Warm, dry weather; a landscape with a succession of flowering hosts (for example maize, sorghum and chickpea…
- Dodder (field dodder and relatives) on Onion & shallot, Tomato, Chickpea · favoured by: Sowing crop seed contaminated with dodder seed, broadleaf crops grown repeatedly on infested land, broadleaf…
- Fall armyworm on Rice, Sugarcane, Wheat · favoured by: Warm weather with dry spells between rains favours outbreaks; heavy rain drowns young larvae in the whorl.…
- Sclerotinia white mould (stem rot) on Potato, Tomato, Chickpea · favoured by: Frequent susceptible crops in the rotation, dense canopies and narrow rows that keep the soil surface moist…
- Stem rot of groundnut (southern blight) on Tomato, Potato, Onion & shallot · favoured by: Hot, humid weather; light sandy soils; undecomposed organic matter at the soil surface; soil thrown onto plant…
- African armyworm on Rice, Wheat · favoured by: The first heavy rains after a dry period, when fresh grass growth and moth concentration by storm winds…
Temperate south
Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil, south-eastern Australia, New Zealand, the South African highveld · autumn
Sow and plant now
Nothing in the main calendar.
Growing: manage and protect
Nothing in the main calendar.
Harvest now
Get ready for April
Scout for
- Black cutworm on Maize, Potato, Tomato, Sunflower, Soybean · favoured by: Weedy fields before planting, reduced or no tillage with crop residues, low-lying fields that flooded earlier…
- Cotton bollworm (Old World bollworm) on Tomato, Maize, Soybean, Sunflower · favoured by: Warm, dry weather; a landscape with a succession of flowering hosts (for example maize, sorghum and chickpea…
- Sclerotinia white mould (stem rot) on Soybean, Sunflower, Potato, Tomato · favoured by: Frequent susceptible crops in the rotation, dense canopies and narrow rows that keep the soil surface moist…
- Charcoal rot (dry root rot) on Soybean, Maize, Sunflower · favoured by: Hot, dry weather and drought stress during flowering and grain or pod filling, sandy soils with low…
- Corn earworm (cotton bollworm, tomato fruitworm) on Maize, Tomato, Soybean · favoured by: Warm weather, large areas of maize that build up populations before moths move to cotton, tomato and soybean…
- Stem rot of groundnut (southern blight) on Tomato, Potato, Soybean · favoured by: Hot, humid weather; light sandy soils; undecomposed organic matter at the soil surface; soil thrown onto plant…
- Stink bugs of soybean on Soybean, Sunflower, Tomato · favoured by: Warm climates with mild winters, large areas of soybean and successive crops (such as soybean followed by…
- Verticillium wilt on Potato, Tomato, Sunflower · favoured by: Repeated cropping with susceptible hosts, moderate temperatures, heavy irrigation and high nitrogen, root-knot…
Mediterranean south
South-western and southern Australia, the Western Cape, central Chile · autumn
Sow and plant now
Nothing in the main calendar.
Growing: manage and protect
Nothing in the main calendar.
Harvest now
Get ready for April
Scout for
- Broad mite on Orange, Tomato · favoured by: Warm, humid weather; shaded, dense canopies; continuous production of soft new growth; infested transplants or…
- Grey mould (Botrytis) on Grape, Tomato · favoured by: Cool, humid or rainy weather during flowering and ripening, dense canopies, tight grape bunches, wounds from…
- Two-spotted spider mite (red spider mite) on Tomato, Grape · favoured by: Hot, dry weather; water-stressed plants; dusty roadsides; high nitrogen; and broad-spectrum insecticide sprays…
- Verticillium wilt on Olive, Tomato · favoured by: Repeated cropping with susceptible hosts, moderate temperatures, heavy irrigation and high nitrogen, root-knot…
- Anthracnose of chilli (fruit rot and dieback) on Tomato · favoured by: Rainy or humid fruiting seasons, overhead irrigation, infected seed, fruit damaged by insects or sunscald…
- Bacterial spot of tomato and pepper on Tomato · favoured by: Warm, wet weather; overhead irrigation; infected seed and transplants; working in wet fields; and continuous…
- Bacterial wilt (Ralstonia wilt, brown rot of potato) on Tomato · favoured by: Warm, wet soils; poorly drained fields; irrigation with contaminated surface water; continuous cropping of…
- Beet armyworm on Tomato · favoured by: Hot, dry weather; weedy fields and field edges; large areas of host crops; and broad-spectrum sprays that…
Tropical south
Central and western Brazil, southern and south-eastern Africa, Madagascar, northern Australia, Java and the Lesser Sunda islands · wet season
Sow and plant now
Growing: manage and protect
Harvest now
Get ready for April
Scout for
- Charcoal rot (dry root rot) on Soybean, Sorghum, Maize, Groundnut, Cotton, Common bean · favoured by: Hot, dry weather and drought stress during flowering and grain or pod filling, sandy soils with low…
- Barnyard grass on Rice, Maize, Soybean, Cotton, Sugarcane · favoured by: Direct-seeded rice (especially dry-seeded) with no standing water early on, poor land levelling, shallow or no…
- Fall armyworm on Maize, Sorghum, Rice, Sugarcane, Cotton · favoured by: Warm weather with dry spells between rains favours outbreaks; heavy rain drowns young larvae in the whorl.…
- Palmer amaranth on Soybean, Cotton, Maize, Groundnut, Sorghum · favoured by: Reduced tillage that leaves seeds near the surface, wide crop rows that close late, reliance on a single…
- Black cutworm on Maize, Cotton, Tobacco, Soybean · favoured by: Weedy fields before planting, reduced or no tillage with crop residues, low-lying fields that flooded earlier…
- Corn earworm (cotton bollworm, tomato fruitworm) on Maize, Cotton, Soybean, Sorghum · favoured by: Warm weather, large areas of maize that build up populations before moths move to cotton, tomato and soybean…
- Cotton bollworm (Old World bollworm) on Cotton, Maize, Sorghum, Soybean · favoured by: Warm, dry weather; a landscape with a succession of flowering hosts (for example maize, sorghum and chickpea…
- Egyptian cotton leafworm on Cotton, Maize, Soybean, Groundnut · favoured by: Warm temperatures, continuous host crops such as Egyptian clover before cotton, irrigation, and heavy…