When to plant Lablab in Egypt

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Lablab

These figures also cover North Sinai and Rafah, where the engine returns the same answer.

Lablab (also called hyacinth bean or dolichos; njahi in Swahili) is one of the toughest beans a smallholder can grow.

Lablab in Egypt, rain-fed and with irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant 10 Feb 2027 – 19 Feb 2027 opens in 19 weeks
Expected harvest about 1.7 t/ha
Harvest From 21 May 2027 to 19 Jul 2027, depending on the planting date
Ready to harvest 100–150 days after planting
Work it takes 75–156 days per hectare, by hand

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 10 Feb 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Egypt is close to normal, so these dates match the pattern the area usually follows.

Planting after 19 Feb 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Egypt

Rain and temperature 88%
The soil 96%
The lie of the land 88%

For lablab in Egypt, rain and temperature is the tightest of the three at 88%. This one is fixed. It is why the planting window above is where it is — hitting those dates is the whole of your control here.

The 2026 season in Egypt

Rain in a typical yearAbout 158 mm in a typical farming district
Across its districtsFrom about 1 mm in the driest of 365 districts to about 183 mm in the wettest
This season's rainRain close to usual — plan around about 158 mm falling roughly when it always does
What that supportsenough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it, warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth
Ground this covers2 kinds of ground. The season below is one typical farming district's, not a figure for the whole of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
81% too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth no rain-fed season · about 10 mm
18% too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season no rain-fed season

last updated 19 September 2026 · from all 365 areas within it

What lablab needs to grow here

Soil it likes well-drained sand, sandy loam, loam, clay loam or clay soil
Soil sourness (pH) Happiest between pH 5.0 and 7.5
Spacing 75 cm between rows, 30 cm between plants
Feed it most with phosphorus

What it takes to grow lablab in Egypt

Nitrogen (N)About 63 kg per hectare — the crop fixes most of this itself; inoculated seed matters more than a bag
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 15 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 22 kg per hectare
In the shopsA basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. Skip the nitrogen top dressing; inoculated seed does that job.
Hand work75–156 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a lablab crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Frost riskPest/disease risk — manageableSoil pH outside the crop's range

Grow Lablab with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Egypt as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

Lablab in nearby districts

This calendar moves

Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.

Frequently asked questions

Will lablab grow well in Egypt?

Egypt rates as favourable for lablab.

When should I plant lablab in Egypt?

Typically 10 Feb 2027 to 19 Feb 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Egypt, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.

Also worth considering in Egypt

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.