HORT- 232 (1+1=2)

Production Technology for Vegetables and Spices

B. Sc (Hons.)Agriculture

College of Agriculture, Baramati.

India is the second largest producer of vegetables in the world (surpassed only by
China), accounting for about 14 per cent of the world's production. In 2013-14, India produced
162.89 million tons from 9.39 million ha of land. Indian farmers grow an amazing number
that is 175 different vegetables but potato, tomato, onion, cabbage and cauliflower account for
60 per cent of total production.

It is projected that the domestic vegetable requirements will rise from current levels of
151-193 million tonnes to 251-293 million tonnes by 2030. Indian farmers today cannot meet
the high domestic demand for vegetables, as India imports approximately $978 million of
vegetables annually.

To increase domestic vegetable production, improvements are first needed in the

vegetable seed industry. There are now more than 50 seed companies developing new
vegetable varieties, with increased emphasis on high-yielding hybrids. The Indian Council of
Agricultural Research has three major institutes for conducting research on vegetables: Indian
Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) in Bangalore, Indian Institute for Vegetable
Research (IIVR) at Varanasi, and Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) in New Delhi.
Almost all agricultural universities and the State Department of Agriculture are involved in
vegetable research and development. Among the 25,000 plant scientists in India, at least 1,000
are conducting research on vegetables. To increase year-round vegetable consumption, the
seasonality of production must be reduced. Processing can make vegetables more accessible
year-round, but less than 7 per cent of India's vegetable production is processed. Another
factor that limits consumption is post-harvest damage. Currently 20-25 per cent of vegetables
produced are lost due to poor post-harvest handling, and in the case of tomato and cabbage,
Post- harvest losses are as high as 60 per cent. To remedy these losses, special cold storage
vegetable markets and supermarkets are emerging in metropolitan areas. Specialized vegetable
marketing centers are organized in strategic locations and vegetables farmers receive
assistance to transport and systematically market their produce.

Vegetable exports

India is a major exporter of vegetables, exporting approximately $246 million of vegetables

annually. In the past, Indian vegetable exports were restricted to potatoes and fresh onions.
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But now the Government of India observes great opportunities for expanding exports of
several more vegetables, including lettuce, fresh peppers, tomatoes, squash and gherkins. For
example, the export of fresh tomatoes alone increased eight fold.

 Olericulture is the branch of Horticulture that deals with the study & cultivation of
vegetables.
 The word Olericulture is derived from the Latin word Oleris
 which means pot herb and
 the English word culture which means cultivation.
 Thus olericulture means cultivation of pot herbs. However, in the present days, it is
broadly used to indicate the cultivation of vegetables.

Vegetable: The term vegetable is applied to the edible herbaceous plant or plant parts
thereof, which are consumed generally in the unripe stage after cooking.
OR
Any part of crop either it may be root, stem, leaves, fruit, flower, seed or bud consumed
as fresh or after cooking is called as vegetables.

Difference between Fruits and Vegetables:

1. In case of fruits only flower or fruit is consumed While in vegetable all parts from roots
to fruits are consumed (roots / leaves / stem / flower / fruit / seed / buds).

2. Fruits are consumed a fresh without cooking e.g. Banana, apple, guava while vegetables are
consumed a fresh as salad and also after cooking few are eaten both way fresh and after
cooking e.g. Tomato, onion etc.

3. Fruits are perennial and woody in nature with exception that some are Biennial e.g. papaya,
banana, while majority of vegetables are annual while few are biennial (onion, Cole crops,
root crops) and few perennial (Asparagus, parwal (Pointed gourd), Ivy gourd (Tondali),
Agathi (hadga), Drumstick).

4. Orchard management: Training, pruning and certain specific operations are performed in
fruit crops and not in vegetable crops.

5. Fruit crops are mostly propagated by vegetative method except papaya, Phalsa, Coconut
and kagzi lime which are propagated by seed while majority of vegetable crops are propagated
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by seed with exception of Ivy gourd (Tondali), asparagus, sweet potato, parwal (Pointed
gourd), potato.

Importance of Vegetables in India

1) Nutrition: Vegetables are rich and comparatively cheaper source of vitamins.

Consumption of these items provides taste, palatability, increases appetite and provides fiber
for digestion and to prevent constipation. Their consumption in plenty fair amount of protein.
They also play key role in neutralizing the acids produced during digestion of pretentious and
fatty foods and also provide valuable roughages which help in movement of food in intestine.
Some of the vegetables are good sources of carbohydrates (leguminous vegetables, sweet
potato, potato, onion, garlic and methi) proteins (peas, beams, leafy vegetables and garlic)
vitamin A (carrot, tomato, drumstick, leafy vegetables), Vitamin B (peas, garlic and tomato),
Vitamin C (green chillies, drumstick leaves, Cole crops, leafy vegetables and leaves of radish)
minerals (leafy vegetables, drumstick pods). As per dietician, daily requirement of vegetables
is 75 - 125 g of green leafy vegetables, 85 g of other vegetables and 85 g of roots and tubers
with other food.

2) Importance as Food: Food production is increasing. If is essential to sustain increased

production besides nutritional standard of people. It can be increased by increasing production
of vegetables which will help to solve food problem as yield of vegetable crops is 4 to 10
times more than cereals. Thus, vegetables play a vital role on food front as they are cheapest-
sources of natural foods and can admirably supplement the main cereals of the country.

3) Importance to a grower: Nature is in providing us-with all kinds of vegetable crops that
can be grown in different seasons of the year in region. Different kinds of vegetables provide
leaf, stem, flower, fruit or seed for consumption.' Considering vividness in the requirement of
soil and season farmers can grow vegetable crops throughout the year for earning regular and
steady income to meet the daily expenditure. There are vegetables of very short duration that
can be grown as rained and intercrops in either agronomical crops or vegetable crops. There
'are vegetables which will improve soil and also provide fodder to catties. Thus farmer has
wide choice to select suitable crop to adjust in his cropping pattern in given situation. Climate
and soil conditions of this region are conducive to grow different vegetables.

4) Employment: Since cultivation of vegetable crops involve intensive cultural operations

starting from sowing to marketing, it provides more and regular employment opportunities in
rural areas.

5) Industrial importance: The perishable nature of vegetables demand comprehensive

planning for movement, Storage, processing and distribution of vegetable products. The
growth of vegetable industry as a commercial proposition largely depends on mainly allied
enterprises like storage, processing marketing and maintenance and service enterprises to
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encourage vegetable growing. The value of vegetables as an important article of daily human
diet has come to be recognized all over the world in recent years. We get many specific
chemical substances needed by our body for growth, reproduction and for maintenance of
health. Vegetables contribute vitally to the general well-being due to the following reasons:

1. They are rich sources of 'Protective' elements like minerals, salts, vitamins and other
chemical substances, which the human body seeds to maintain good health and cheer.
2. Per acre yield of vegetables is very high.
3. They are an important source of farm income.
4. They have high aesthetic value.
5. More vegetable crops can be raised in one year.
6. Importance of vegetables in farmer's economy.
7. Vegetables are important .source of farm income:
a. Vegetables are sold at a higher rate than other crops. It provides regular as well as good
source of income in addition to the income from the agronomic crops.
b. It provides regular work throughout the year to the year to the fanners and his family
labours.
c. Per acre yielded vegetables is very high: Vegetables give very high quantity of food per
acre and they grow quickly. It is found that vegetables give higher yields in comparison to
other crops.
d. More Vegetables can be raised in one year: Most vegetables are short duration crop and it
as compared to other crops can be raised throughout the year Some of Vegetables (i.e. potato,
brinjal, spinach, pumpkin, lady's finger etc.) can be grown twice and even three a year, some
green vegetables become ready for harvesting within 15-60 days of sowing.

6) Importance of vegetables Production for medicinal properties: Many of the vegetable

crops posses high medical value for curing certain diseases. For instance, onion and garlic are
found to possess antibacterial property (Sharma et. al. 1976). Many solanaceous and
cucurbitaceous vegetables are found to possess Vitamin D.

Scope of Vegetable Growing in India

1) List of Indian Man: One of the reasons for low agricultural production in India as "Low
working capacity" of the majority 6f the population. At present the diet of an average Indian is
ill balanced. It consists mainly of cereals. On an average we consume 375 gms of cereals, and
only 30 gms of vegetables daily, as. against 328 gms of cereals, 316 gms of vegetables- and
362 gms of fruits advanced countries. The dietitians recommend the consumption of at least
200 gms of leafy vegetables and 150 gms of root vegetable daily for .balanced diet. Thus to
improve our diet, we should necessarily increase the vegetable production.

2) Area Under Vegetable Crops: At present, greater than 70 % of our population is engaged
in Agriculture over an area of 320 million acres. Out of this hardly about 1-2 percent of the
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total cultivated area is under vegetable crops. These figures showed the necessity of vegetable
cultivation on larger, area.

3) Higher yield from vegetable crops: On an average, the yield-of vegetable crop is about 5
to.10 times more than these of cereals. They are quick growing and shorter duration.
Therefore it is time now, to take up the intensive and multiple vegetable cropping in India.

4) Present Agricultural policies: Recently more attention is being devoted to increase the
Agricultural production. This is being implemented through crash programmers, emergency
and applied programmers, for this good seeds,, irrigation facilities, knowledge of improved
techniques of cultivation, proper plant protection measures quick transport, and better storage
facilities are being made available through these programs.

5) As literacy increase in our country people realize the nutritional importance of vegetable in
daily diet which results in increasing demand for vegetable in our country.

6) Due to construction of new irrigation projects lifting irrigation scheme & community well,
irrigation facilities are increasing which help to increase area and production of vegetable.

7) Due to increase in fertilizer industries and their capacity of production, there is lot of scope
for vegetable production.

8) National Seed Corporation of India, Indian Agricultural Research Institute. New Delhi, &
Agricultural Universities of country-predicting & distributing pure seeds of improved varieties
of different vegetable o all part of country.

9) Due to availability of cold storage, facility (in some part of country, it will possible for
cultivator of that part share his produce in cold storage after harvesting.

10) The auto-truck has also made it possible for a vegetable producer to take advantage of
selling his produce to distant markets.

11) When there is large production of any vegetable the price rates in market come down for
that vegetable. Naturally cultivator does not get more- income. But through preservation
cultivator can get more price.

In this way there is vast scope for vegetable growing in India.

Present Status of Vegetable in India

Statistics on area and production of vegetable crops is not so accurate. It is highly essential t
develop some procedure to work out proper figures of area and production. It is most
important for planning its production as per population. As per recommendation of different
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every adult has to consume 250-300 g of vegetable per day.
India is the second largest producers of vegetable with 2.8 % of total cropped area under
vegetables. An increase of 2.5 % per year in vegetable production is also necessary. Present
production of 1.5 million tons of vegetable supply only 145 g per capita per day against
recommended requirements of 300 g.

Area and Production of Different Vegetable Crops in India:

Sr. Vegetable Area (000 ha ) Production (000MT)

No
1 Potato 1120 18500
2 Cabbage 220 4200
3 Tomato 330 5000
4 Cauliflower 280 500
5 Onion 405 4300
6 Brinjal 310 3300
7 Beans 145 390
8 Peas 148 2150
9 Cucumber 17 114

Area Production and Productivity of Different States:

Sr.No States Area (M ha) Production Productivity

(MT) (t/ha)
1 Orissa 0.87 8.7 10.0
2 Uttar Pradesh 0.86 13.88 I 16.13 III
3 Bihar 0.85 12.28 II 14.44
4 West Bengal 0.51 5.39 10.56
5 Karnataka 0.29 5.70 19.65 II
6 Kerala 0.24 2.78 11.58
7 Maharashtra 0.21 2.95 14.04
8 Tamil Nadu 0.17 4.39 25.82 I

Source: NHB, 2013:

In India growing of vegetable is 4.8 times more remunerative than cereals and other filed
crops. Vegetable cultivation generals more employment. India has to ling way to accelerate
the vegetable production by developing high yielding varieties, varieties resistant to pests and
diseases, hybrids and production technologies. Still there is a need to achieve target for supply
of minimum 200 g and Qpt 300 g. vegetable per capita per day.
Export of Vegetables
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 Sr. No Fresh Vegetables Qty (MT) Value (Rs. Lakh)
1 Onion 427011 26521
2 Tomato 5300 -
3 Cucumber and gherkin 9608 1448
4 Mixed vegetable 3659 4385

Export of Processed Vegetable:

S. N Fresh Vegetable Qty. (MT ) Value (Rs. Lakhs)

1 Mixed vegetables ( Frozen ) 6095 824
2 Dehydrated 4124 1781
3 Dehydrated garlic powder 744 246
4 Dehydrated garlic 233 87
5 Dried garlic 260 76
6 Other dehydrated vegetable 452 168
7 Preserved 15391 2690
8 Canned vegetable 1066 455
9 Other processed vegetable 5864 1440
10 Dried potato 899 103
Total 88675 23107

Important Countries to Export Vegetable:

1. Gulf countries.
2. Adjoining countries viz. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Lanka, Nepal.
3. Europe, where nontraditional vegetables are exported.
4. South Asian countries and Australia. Onion and garlic are transported by ships and other
vegetables by air.

Requirement of Variety and Quality of Vegetables:

1. The requirement of foreign market in terms of varieties and qualities differ.

2. In Europe and Japan, yellow/ brown, mild – pungent onion of big size are needed.
3. In south Asian countries light red to dark red strong pungent and varying sizes are needed.
4. Lanka and East Asian countries demand small, rose and multiplier onion.
5. Requirement of size, shape, colour, etc of different vegetable in various countries varies
considerably.
Quality Parameters for Exporting Vegetable

S. N Crop Specific Requirements

1 Okra Green tender, 6 -9 cm long. In Europe 5 -7 cm long.
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 2 Chili Green 6- 7 cm long.
3 Bitter gourd Green, 20- 25 cm long short neck.
4 Bottle gourd Light green, straight cylindrical, 25-30 cm long.
5 Gherkin Green small sized having 160- 300 fruit/kg.
6 Tomato Round, medium, red colour, in middle east and cherry tomatoes in
Europe.
7 Big Onion 4-6 cm light to dark red colour, round shape, strong pungency in
gulf markets and south east Asia, 3-4 cm light red and round shape
in Bangladesh Yellow/ Brown colour 7 -8 cm round or spindle
shaped in Europe and Japan.
8 Small Onion Dark red, 2-3 cm and round.
9 Garlic White, round, 5 cm and above bigger coves of 10- 12 mm and 10-
15 size bulbs accepted.
10 Potato White, oval, 4.5 to 6 cm size, Bangladesh red types, Iraq-Iran
yellow fleshed.

Export Policy and Period Required to Export

1. Fresh vegetable export other than onion is allowed freely. Under this category and person
my export vegetable to any country where export any person my export vegetables to any
country where export is prohibited.
2. Government has started giving cash incentive of 10- 12 %.
3. Export of onion up to 20 kg per consignment is allowed by air as assorted vegetables.
4. Onion export has been canalized through (NAFED).

Period of Requirement:

1. South East- Asian countries demand is all year round. It slightly differs with local
production.
2. In European market demand is from Nov. to Dec and April to May when there is no local
production.
3. India having varied agro climatic condition can produce and supply the vegetables to
different markets from one part or other parts of the country round the year. If necessary
infrastructure facilities are created for pre- cooling and transport.

Problem in Export of Vegetables

1. Inadequate air cargo space.

2. Higher air freight.
3. Restriction in the export. During shortage of crop export is restricted. Thus regular export is
stopped.
4. Non- availability suitable variety.
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5. Absence of cultivation of suitable crop varieties exclusively for export is fresh for
processing.
6. Improper packing of the produce.
7. Vegetables are packed o\in jute (undesirable).
8. Corrugated fiberboard boxes are not of enough strength and damaged in transport.
9. Cold storage facilities at all air ports.
10. In adequate handling space.
11. Inadequate research development back up.
12. No export oriented research programmed are being taken up in vegetables.
13. Quality of vegetables is not uniform.
14. Cost of vegetable washed in shorting and grading.

Suggestion for improvement in Export of Vegetable

There is need for such policy so that quality crops at competitive price are available regularly
in market.

Following are Suggestion:

i. Long term and consistent export policy, Avoid frequent change in export policy.
ii. Exclusive production of different vegetable for different season in suitable packets be
arranged t have regular supply throughout the year at competitive price without
affecting domestic supply.
iii. Enough quality control measures should be made.
iv. Regular assessment for international market.
v. Suitable diversification for export both in term of countries and commodities for
increasing quality and value.
vi. Identity suitable pocket for growing different vegetables.
vii. Develop agro technique and fro integrated nutrient, P and D management, organic
farming
viii. Production and distribution of quality seed in adequate qualities be arranged.
ix. Pre-cooling and cold storage facilities are increased.
x. Ventilated and temperature controlled, storage and transport facilities are necessary.
xi. Packing material.
xii. Export promotion programme be carried out in other countries to prove superiority of
taste, flavor of Indian Produce.

Tomato Cultivation

Botanical name: - Lycopersicon esculentum or Solanum lycopersicum

Family : - Solanaceae
Origin : - South America
Chromosome no. (2n):- 24
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Climate: Tomato is warm season crop. Grows well is those retain that are free from frost. It
can't be grown successfully in places of higher rainfall. Temperature after tomato crops in
following ways.

1. Optimum temperature for seed germination is 26 to 320C.

2. The optimum temperature required for its cultivation is 15 - 270C. At higher temperature its
blossoms drops off. The damages great when high temp is combined with dry wind. It will
result in the failure of fruit set due to drying of stigmatic liquid.

3. Colour development: In tomato red colour is due the pigment Lycopene. Lycopene is
highest at 18 to 260C while production of this pigment drops off rapidly above 300C and 'nil'
above 400C.

4. Carotene is developed rapidly at high temperature.

5. If fruits exposed to direct sunlight, their tops may turn whitish yellow & become leathery in
texture. This is common in late varieties during summer season. This condition is known as
sun - scald.

6. A warm, sunny weather is most suited for proper ripening, colour, quality & high yield.

Soil: Sandy loam soil with a well drained clay sub soil is best suited. Light soils are good for
early variety. While clay loan or silt loam soils are well suited for heavy yield (Late variety),
grows at pH 6.0 to 7.0 satisfactorily. The soil should be well prepared & leveled by ploughing
the land 4 - 5 times.

Sowing Time and Seed Rate for Tomato Cultivation

Sowing Time and Seed Rate: In our region tomato can be grown throughout the year. Sowing
is done in May - June for kharif crop, August - Sept for Rabi Crop and December - January
for summer crop. The seeds are sown in well prepared nursery beds 500 gms to 600 gms seed
is enough for planting one ha of land. When the plants are about 3 to 4 weeks old, they should
be transplanted.

Layout and Spacing for Tomato Cultivation

Layout and spacing : Ridges and furrow type of layout is used. The spacing recommended
for tomato crop is 60cm to 75 cm x 60 cm.

Manures and Fertilizers for Tomato Cultivation

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Manures and Fertilizers:30 to 50 cartloads of FYM or compost should be applied in the soil &
incorporated in it during field preparation. 75 to 100 kg P and 50kg K should be applied for
getting better yield of tomato.

Improved Varieties of Tomato Improved Varieties:Marglobe, Pusa Rubi, Roma, Sioux,

Pusa early dwarf, Punjab chohara. Devgiri, ATV-1.

Variety Characteristics
Bhagyashree Processing purpose, fruit shape-round, dark red, high lycopene content,
(MPKV, Low seed content
Rahuri)
Dhanashree Medium to small fruits ,round, dark orange color, tolerant to spotted wilt
virus And leaf Carl virus
Rajashree Developed for distant marketing semi-determinate, medium size fruits
orange red Color, good keeping quality
Phule Raja Indeterminate growth habit, Stout fruit, Oval round with thick pericarp,
Orange red fruits, Moderately resistance to viral Diseases
Phule Keshari Determinate growth habit, Developed for local fresh market, Medium
round, Orange fruits, Rich in B-carotene (5.93mg/100g) content,
Tolerant to thrips white fly & leaf curl and spotted wilt virus
Phule Jayshree Indeterminate growth habit, Round Fruit shape, TSS (6.30%), Orange
red fruits, Moderately resistant to leaf curl and spotted wilt virus
ATV-1 (VNMAU, Large dark green color leaves, medium size, blood red color, pulp rosy,
Parbhani) Moderately resistant to early blight
Devgiri Medium size fruits, good taste attractive color, resistant to early blight
and leaf curl virus
ATH-1 Indeterminate, fruit color attractive red ,resistant to early blight disease
Vasundhara Determinate type, attractive red, resist- early blight and Spotted wilt virus
Parbhani Resistant to early blight,13% higher yield than Bhagyashree & ATU-2
Yashasree
Sonali (BSKKV High yielding ,good quality and bacterial wilt resistant variety,
Dapoli) Suitable for processing ,good keeping and transport qualities

Irrigation for Tomato Cultivation:

Irrigation: It should be so arranged that the soil remains continuously moderately moist.
Avoid excessive irrigation as it induces the plants to run to vines and* drop the blossoms off
There is no need of irrigation during rainy season if, there is a proper distribution of rainfall.
When the rainy season is over, the crop may be irrigated twice or thrice in a month. The crop
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planted during the winter season will need .irrigation once in about 20 day. While the crop
transplanted during spring season will need irrigation more frequently, say, one in ten days in
the beginning, and later on during the hot season, the tomato crop is irrigated once a week.
During the winter season, whenever there is a danger of frost, the crop must be irrigated so
that the temperature may not go down too low and damage the plants. Tomatoes, that have
been growing when moisture is low, may split severely after a rain of even after a heavy-Jew
to an influx of water into the fruit through roots, sterns or through the cracks in the skin near
the calyx. Therefore, the crop should be irrigated carefully during the fruit ripening stage.

Intercultural Operations, Pruning and Staking/Training in Tomato Cultivation

Frequent inter-tillage and cultivation should be done in the field to keep it free from weeds. As
the plants grow bigger, all the intercultural operations should be shallow, so that the roots
which spread unto a depth of 5 cm below the surface soil may not be injured.

Though pruning and staking in the tomato .crop increase cost of cultivation, yet according
to Mehta (lit. cit.) and Fernandez (1963), both these operations make a tomato-plant grow
more better and larger tomatoes resulting in a higher yield per hectare. But both of these
operations depend on the time that is at the disposal of the grower and the availability and cost
of the staking material. According to Fernandez, through pruning tomato plant may be made
single-stem in the following ways:

All the side shoots are removed so that plant may use all its food and energy to develop its
fruits and very little of it is left for the foliage. These are then staked. In this way the plants get
a 1.2 meter square area and bear more fruits.

The following are the advantages of pruning to single stem and staking:

1) They produce more fruits per hectare per plant an average.

2) They yield earlier and give rise to more cluster.

3) They make picking more rapid .and cultivation and spraying easier.

4) They give cleaner more uniform and lager fruits.

When the fruits ripen, the plots become a treat to the eye with their ripe red colour.
According to Fernandez, the vine ripened tomatoes from single -stem plants are as nutritious
and tasty as the fresh laid eggs.

Disadvantages of this method:

i) Cost of cultivation increases considerably.

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ii) According to Mehta, there are more changes of sun scalding in the excessively warm
weather due lo fruits being exposed to sun.

Harvesting and Yield of Tomato Cultivation

Harvesting: Tomato fruits are picked up from the plants by grasping them by the hand and
dislodging them from the vine by twisting keeping the thumb pressed against the vine.

According to the Use of Fruits, they are Harvested in Following Stages:

 Mature green: Fruits fully grown, fruit colour changes from green to yellowish and
cavity filled with seeds surrounded by gelly like substance. Harvested for long distance
market.
 Turning and breaker stage: Fruits firm, 1/4th portion of fruit changes to pink in colour,
but the shoulder still yellowish green. Harvested for long distance market.
 Pink stage: 3/4th of whole fruit surface turns pink colour. Harvested for local market.
 Light red: Entire fruit surface is red or pink but the flesh is firm. Harvested for local
market.

Red ripe or hand ripe: Fully ripened and coloured. Flesh becomes soft. Harvested for
processing and for seed extraction.

Insect Pest Control in Tomato Cultivation

Insect Pest:
1. Fruit Borer:Damages leaves shoot & fruits. Fruits become unfit for consumption.
Control:Spray carbaryl 50 WP @ 0.3% or Carbaryl Dust 10% @ 35kg/ha. Infested shoot &
fruit removed & destroyed.
2. Jassids:They suck the sap from tender part & leaves.
Control: Spray Imidacloprid 35EC @ 0.5%orPhospomidon 85 @ 0.2%.
3. Mealy Bug:A scale insect that covers up the whole plant and suck the sap from the plant
Control: Removal of infected shoots and spraying the plant with Malathion (Cythion 50 EC,
Malathion-50 EC) @ Jml per litre of water is the best method of controlling Uzis past
Diseases Management in Tomato Cultivation
Diseases:
1) Early blight: Dark brown to black spots are form on leaves & stem with concentric rings
on them. Plant growth is affected, fruit size & yield is also affected. Control measures : Spray
copper Oxy-chloride 50 WP @ 0.30% or Zineb 75 WP 0.2%.
2) Damping Off: Affected seedling rots at collar region in nursery bed due to stagnation of
water in nursery.
Control measures: Treat seed with 1% Mercuric fungicide @ 2.5—3.0 gm/kg. of seed before
sowing.

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3) Fruit rot: Brownish -spot appear on fruit at the point of contact between fruit and soil.
Fruit decay rapidly and become unfit for consumption.
Control Measures: i. Support the plant properly, plant on ridges in irrigated soil.
ii. Don't plant on poorly drained soil,
iii. Spray Bordeaux mixture.
4) Virus diseases: According to Chauhan (1967), tomato mosaic is the most common virus
disease. It causes light and dark green mottling hi the foliage followed by slight curling and
some malformation of the leaflets. The plants become some what stunted in the beginning.
and later on-fruit setting is also reduced. According to Mehta (1959), various strains of this
viruses striking yellow mottling of leaves, stems and fruits with curling dwarfing and
distoration of the foliage and also dark brown streaking of the stems and leaves.
Control measures: i. Uprooting and burning the disease affected plants as soon as they are
noticed is the best method to check the spread of this disease.
ii. The insect vector should be controlled by spraying the crop with Dimethoate (Rogor 30
EC) or Oxy demeton methyl (Metasystox-25EC) @ I ml or phosfamidon (Dernicron-1 OOEC)
@ 0.5 ml per liter of water.

Physiological disorders
Fruit cracking
Fruit cracking is caused both by genetic and environmental factors. Following four
types of cracking are noticed tomato.
 Radial Cracking: Usually seen at ripe stage and crack radiate from pedicel end to
stylar end.
 Concentric cracking: Seen around shoulder of fruit even at green stage.
 Cuticular: Seen on outer skin of fruit.
 Burst: Burst occurs at certain points on shoulder of fruit.
Radial and concentric cracking are more common of which, former is more damaging. A long
spell of drought followed by sudden heavy irrigation may cause cracking. Wide variation in
day and night temperatures and high humidity also cause fruit cracking.

Many crack resistant varieties like Crack Proof, Ohio 832, Sioux, Manulucie, Anagha etc.
were developed at various research organizations. Fruits of crack resistant varieties have thick
pericarp or cuticle and fruit skin with high elasticity and less acidity. Pectin content in
resistant varieties ranges from 0.8 to 1.6% compared to 0.54% in susceptible ones. High
pectin concentration makes fruit less rigid and more pliable.

Blossom red rot

Water soaked spots of one cm or more appear at point of attachment of petals and
effected portion becomes sunken, leathery and dark coloured. This is mainly due to
reduced soil moisture supply and high rate of respiration at the time of fruit development.
Deficiency of calcium also causes this disorder. Balanced irrigation, cultural practices to
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 conserve soil moisture and spraying of 0.5% calcium chloride at fruit development stage
are recommended for control of blossom end rot.
Sun scald
Due to extreme heat, tissues on exposed fruit develop a blistered appearance leading
to sunken areas, which have a light or grey colour on green fruit and yellow colour on red
fruit. In varieties with heavy foliage, fruits are shaded and incidence of sun scald is less.

Cultivation of Brinjal or Eggplant (Solanum melongena)

Botanical Name: Solanum melongena L.

Family: Solanaceae Origin: India 2n= 24

Brinjal is also valued for its medicinal properties and has got decholestrolizing property
primarily due to presence of poly-unsaturated fatty acids (linoleic and lenolenic) present in
flesh and seeds of fruit in higher amount (65.1%). Presence of magnesium and potassium salt
in fruits also impart de-cholestrolizing action. In native medicines, role of brinjal in treatment
of liver diseases, cough due to allergy, rheumatism, colilithiasis, leucorrhea and intestinal
worms has been mentioned.

Floral Biology:-
Long styled – stigma well above the anthers
Medium styled – stigma and anthers at same level
Short styled – style short
Pseudoshort styled – style rudimentary
Fruit set in long styled flowers ranges from 60 to 70% whereas in medium styled flowers it is
12.5 to 55.6%. Short styled and Pseudoshort styled flowers act as male flowers and there is no
fruit.
Climate and Soil Requirement for Brinjal Cultivation

Climate: 1. It is a warm season crop and is very susceptible to frost.

2. Late round varieties are more tolerant of frost than the early long varieties. Cool nights and
short summers are unfavorable to its satisfactory yields.

3. It requires a long growing season with the high average day and night temperatures. Its seed
germinates well at 77 °F temperature.

4. A daily mean temperature of 13-210C is most favorable for successful production.

Soil and its Preparation:

15
1. Though it can be grown on different types of soils, yet it is grown with considerable success
in fine and rich loam soils that are deep and well-drained.

2. The soil pH should not "be higher than pH 5.5 to 6.0 for its better growth and development.
As the crop remains in the field for a number of months therefore, the soils should be well
prepared by being ploughed 4-5 times before transplanting the seedlings. When the field is
well prepared and leveled, the beds of suitable size are made in the field before transplanting.

Sowing Time and Seed Rate for Brinjal Cultivation

Sowing Time and Seed Rate: Brinjal can grow twice during the year. The sowing time is
May-June, August- September and December- January, 150 gm/ha- Hydrid variety, 600-700
gm/ha-improved variety seed required to raise the seedlings for 1 ha, area.

Layout and Spacing for Brinjal Cultivation

Layout and Spacing: Ridges and furrow type of layout is use. Seedlings are raised on raised
bed. Spacing is 75 x 60 cm. to 75x75 cm.

Manures and Fertilizers for Brinjal Cultivation

Manures & Fertilizers: 30 to 50 cartloads of FYM or compost is applied at the time of field
preparation. In brinjal 100 kg N, 50kg P, 50kg K should be-applied per hectare. Half dose of
Nitrogen and Full dose of P and K should be applied 30-45 days after transplanting

Improved Varieties of Brinjal

Improved Varieties: Manjari gota, Pusa purple round, PPL, PPC, Pusa Kranti, Pragati,
Aruna, ABV-1, ABH-1. Local: Dorala, Bhatai, Hingana Dorala, Gulabi Dorala.

Long Varieties Round Varieties

Pusa Purple Long, P P Custer, Pant Samrath, Pusa Purple Round, Pant Rituraj, Pusa
Pusa Hybrid-5, Arka sheel, Arka nidhi, Arka Hybrid-6 & 9, Arka Kusumakar, Arka
Shirish, Pusa Kranti, Pusa bhairav, Pusa Anmol, Neelkanth, Pusa Utkar, Pusa Bindu, Pusa
Arka Anand Ankur,

Brinjal (Solanum melongena): 1. Krishna: Krishna is a Fuji hybrid released in 1991 by

MPKV Rahuri for Western Maharashtra. Plants tall, hardy and resistant to lodging. Egg-
shaped, spiny, purple coloured fruits with white stripes borne mostly singly or occasionally in
pairs. Good colour retention. Good acceptance in the home market. Average yield is 480
quintals per hectare.
(MPKV, Rahuri).
16
2. Manjari Gota: Developed by selection from a local germplasm collected from village
Manjari near Pune and released by the Department of Agriculture, in 1965 for Western
Maharashtra, Plants are medium tall and spreading, spines on leaves, midribs and peduncle the
fruits. Fruits are round purple -with white stripes. Average yield is 250 quintals per hectare.
(MP.K.V. Rahuri).

3. Pragati: Developed by selection from a cross Vaishali x Manjari Gota and released in
1988. It is an improved version of Vaishali. Plants are hardy and resistant to lodging, egg
shaped purple fruits with-white stripes borne in clusters with spines on pedicel. Duration is
180^-1 90 days. Average yield is 350 quintals per hectare.
(M.P.K.V, Rahuri)

4. Vaishali: Developed by selection from a cross Manjari Gota x Arka Kusumakar and
released in 1985. Plants are medium and spreading. Fruits oblong purple with1 white stripes.
Fruits are borne in clusters (3"-4). Average yield is 350 quintals per hectare. (MPKV, Rahuri).

5. Anuradha: It gives about 10 per cent higher yield than Manjari Gota. It has shining and
attractive fruit colour (purple and white stripes). Fruits are borne in cluster with spines on
fruits, leaves and stem. (MAU, Parbhani).

6. ABV-I: This variety is released by MAU, Parbhani in 1985. It has become popular with the
cultivators of Marathwada It has erect plant habits with faint purple stem colour and dark
green leaves. Fruits are small round (50 g/fruit) with green purple stripes and spines on the
calyx. Average yield is 250 quintals per hectare.(MAU, Parbhani)

7. Aruna: Notified during the year 1985-86. Plants are medium in height; fruits are oval in
shape and violet in colour. Days to first harvest are 90 - 95. Yield is 3GO-385 quintals per
hectare during kharif season. 200-225 quintals per hectare during summer season.
(PKV, Akola).

8. Phule Harit: Developed by employing pure line selection. 3t is good for kharif season.
Average weight is 190 g. Fruit length is 16.2-cm. Fruit colour is green with white stripes at the
tip, fruit surface is smooth. It produces 25 fruits per plant. Average yield is 330 quintals per
hectare. Number of pickings are 18. Duration is 180 days.(MPKV Rahuri).

Irrigation for Brinjal Cultivation

Irrigation: Irrigate the field after every third or fourth day during the summer season and after
12 to 15 days during the winter season. Timely irrigation is very important for high yields of
brinjal. Brinjal fields should be regularly irrigated to keep the soil moist during frosty days.

Intercultural Operations in Brinjal Cultivation

17
Intercultural Operations: Inter-tillage or hoeing with some hand drawn implement .should
be done in the crop (in such a way that a root system is-not damaged) to check the weeds.
These operations should be fairly deep and close when plants are very small, but they should
be made shallow as plants develop. The most serious weed in brinjal and other solanaceous
crops is orobanchy spp. It is a root parasite and should be controlled carefully according to the
measures suggested by the experts.

According to Choudhary (1967), fruit set can be increases with plant regulators. These
chemicals are either used for seed treatment or sprayed over the plants. Para-
chlorophenoxyacetic acids, 2, 4, dichlorophenoxy-acetic acid and naphthalene acetic acid,
have been found effective for this. Out of these chemicals the cheapest and easily available is
2,4-D. The seed can be soaked for 24 hours in a solution of 2, 4-D at 4 to 5 ppm before
sowing or spraying the whole plant with 2, 4-D solution at 2 ppm when the first few flower
clusters appear. These treatments give about 50 per cent earlier and higher fruit set.

Harvesting and Yield in Brinjal Cultivation

Harvesting: Fruits are harvested when they are immature. They should be severed from the
plant by cutting with small shears or a knife. Fruits are allowed to attain a good size and
colour till they do not loose their bright, glossy appearance and become dull.

Yield: In brinjal 250 to 300 quintals / ha.

Insect Pest Control in Brinjal Cultivation

Insect Pests of Brinjal:

1) Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer: It is one of the major and serious insect pests of brinjal. A
short pinkish caterpillar bores into the terminal shoot and eats internal tissue; it bores into the
young fruit through the calyx .leaving on visible sings of infestation. The large holes asually
seen on the fruits are the exits holes of caterpillar. The insect affected fruits becomes unfit for
consumption.

Control Measures: i) The insect affected part should be clipped along with insect and
destroyed any fruit with holes should be picked and destroyed.

ii) The affected crops should be sprayed with phosphamidon (demicron-100 EC) @.0.5 ml or
diochlorovos (Sumthion-50 Ecfolilhion-50 EC) @1 ml per litter of water at fortnightly
interval or spraying with carbaryl 0.20% or Monocrotophos 0.05%

2) Brinjal Stem Borer: A pale white caterpillar bore into the stem and kills the plant Control
measures: Same as for brinjal fruit and shoot borer.

18
3) Leaf Eating Beetle: The beetle and grab feed on the leaves and other tender parts leading
to a considerable reduction in the .yield of the egg plant.

Control Measures: i. Hand picking of egg and larval is the best method of, controlling this
pest if infestation is only in few plants.

ii. This insect can effectively be controlled by spraying crop with Imidacloprid (Thioden -35
EC) or Phentrothion (Sumithion-50 EC)@ 2 ml or Fenthion (Lebacid-IOOO EC) or
Thiomiton (Ekatin-25 EC )@ I ml per litre of water.

4) Nematode: The nature of damage and control measures of nematode is same as for potato
nematode. The egg plants are also affected by mite, Jassids, Aphids and Mealy bug. They suck
the sap from the leaves and in severe cases the whole plantation looks yellowish and leaves
drop down prematurely. These insects except mites can effectively be controlled by spraying
the crops with Methyl parathion (Metacid 50 EC) or Oxydemiton methyl (Metassystox 25 EV)
@ 1 ml or Malathion-50 EC @ 2ml per liter of water at fortnightly. Interval, The mites can be
controlled by spraying the crop with Dicophol (KeIthane-18.5EC ) @ 2 ml or Morocite-40 EV
@Diseases Management in Brinjal Cultivation

Diseases of Brinjal:

1) Damping Off: It is a serious disease of brinjal seedlings and mainly occurs in nursery bed.
The disease infected seedlings rot at ground level and then the plants fall over ground. The
seedlings die in patches.

Control Measures:1. The seed bed should be treated with Formalin before sowing of seeds.

2. The seeds should be treated without water (30 minutes al 520 C) or Cerasan or Agrosan
G.N. before sowing of seed.

3. The seedlings in the nursery should be sprayed with any fungicides at an regular interval.

2) Phomopsis Blight and Fruit Rot: It is a serious disease of brinjal. The fungus attacks all
parts of the plants above ground. Dark brown lessions appear on the stem and round to oval
spots are formed on the leaves. Disease fruits show short and watery lessions which litte on
become black and mummified.

Control Measures: i. Use of disease free seeds, seeds treatment with some fungicide and long
crop rotation are the most common remedial measures of this disease.

ii. Disease resistant variety (Such as Pusa Bhairab, Pusa Cluster etc.) should be
Cultivated,

19
iii. The disease can effectively be controlled by weekly spraying of nursery and field with
Zineb (Dithane-Z-78) or Mancozeb (Dithane M-45) @ 2.5 gm per litter of water.

3) Little Leaf of Brinjal:The affected plant produces numerous tinny Yellow I leaves and
does not bear fruits. The disease is transmitted by leaf hopper.

Control Measures: i. The disease affected plants should be destroyed,

ii. The insect vector should be controlled by spraying the crop with Dimethoate
(Rogor-30 EC or Oxydemiton methyl (Metasystox-25 EG) or Monocrotophos (Monocil )@ 1
ml per litre of water.iii. Disease resistant variety such as Pusa purple Cluster should be
cultivated

Cultivation of Chilli or Capsicum

Chilli- 1. Capsicum Annum L. (Fruits are long or small, but pungency is high.)

Capsicum / Bell pepper 2. Capsicum annum var. grossum.

(Large and inflated variety with very little pungency.)

Family: Solanaceae. Origin- Central, South America and Mexico

Chilli is one of the most valuable crops of India. The crop is grown largely for its fruits all
over the India. It is used in India as a principle ingredient of various curries, and chutneys. It is
also used for vegetables, spices, condiments, sauces and pickles. Dry chillies are used for
curry powder. Red colour in chili is due to "Capsanthin". Pungency in chillies is due to the
active constituent "Capsaicin", an alkaloid, is extracted from chillies and is used to medicine

Climate and Soil Requirement for Chilli or Capsicum Cultivation

Climate: The chili is a plant of tropical and sub -tropical region -It grows well in warm and
humid climate and a temperature of 200 C to 250C. Low moisture in soil during blossom
development and fruit formation causes the bud, deblossom and fruit drops. Excessive rainfall
is detrimental to the crops, because it brings about defoliation and rotting of the plant. As a
rained crop, it is grown in areas receiving an annual precipitation of 25-30 inches.

Soil and its Preparation: Chilli can be grown in all type of soft but the sandy - loam, clay
loam and loam soils are best suited for it, the soil must be well drained and well aerated.
Acidic soils are not suitable for chili cultivation.

The land is prepared by giving 2-3 ploughing and clod crushing after each ploughing.
Compost or FYM @ 150-200 quintals should be spread and mixed well in the soil at least 15-
20 days before sowing. At the last ploughing 0. H. C. @ 8-10 kg per acre of Aldrin or Heftaf
20
@ 10-15 kg per acre should be applied to the soil to protect the crop from white ants and other
soil pests.

Sowing Time and Seed Rate for Chilli or Capsicum Cultivation

Sowing Time and Seed Rate: In case of chilli crop, for kharif it sown in May - June and for
summer crop, it is sown in the month of January. 1 to 1 1/2 kg seed is required for 1 hectare
area.

Layout and Spacing for Chilli or Capsicum Cultivation

Layout & Spacing: Ridges and furrow type of .layout is used. Seedlings are raised on raised
bed. Spacing for rained crops is 60 x 45 cm & for irrigated crops is 60 x 60 cm.
Manures and Fertilizers for Chilli or Capsicum Cultivation

Manures & Fertilizers: 9 to 10 tones / hectare of FYM or compost is applied at the time of
field preparation. In chilli for rained crop 50 kg N and 25 kg P should be applied 1/2 dose of N
full dose of P applied at the time of transplanting. Remaining Yi dose of N applied 30 days
after transplanting for .irrigated crop 100 kg N, 50kg P & 50 kg K should be applied per
hectare. Fertilizers are applied in four equal doses. First applied at the time transplanting
remaining doses are applied at 4th, 111 & 13' week after transplanting

Improved Varieties of Chilli or Capsicum: N.P. 46, Jwala, G-3, CA-960, Pant C-t X - 235,
AKC - 79-18, Parbhani Tejas. Local: Achalpuri, Bhavapuri, Vashirn, Malkapuri.

Chilli: (Capsicum annuum)

1. Agnirekha: It is a derivative of the cross Dondaicha x Iwala Released for green fruits by
MPKV, Rahuri in 1992, for summer season. Further it is also recommended for cultivation by
Project Directorate of Vegetable Research in 1996 for Zone VII. Plants tall and spreading,
fruits long, bold, smooth and light green in colour. Duration is 180 days. Average yield of
green" fruit is 250 quintals per hectare. Average yield of dry chilli is 27 quintals per hectare.
(MPKV, Rahuri).

2. Musahvadi: Developed by selection from local collection of village Musahvadi, Dist.

Ahmednagar (M.S.). It is released in 1988 by MPKV, Rahuri and also by the Central Sub
Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Varietal Release for Zones IV, V, VII and
VIII in 1987 at the national level. Plants are tall, spreading habit with dark green foliage.
Fruits are smooth and medium long. Mature fruits dark green with black patches, ripe fruits
dark red with retentive colour. Duration is 180 days. It is tolerant to die back and wilt
diseases. Average yield of red dry chilli fruits is 19 quintals per hectare. (MPKV, Rahuri).

21
3. Phule Jyoti: It is released in 1995 for kharif season. Plants are tall with spreading and
branching habit from ground level. Leaves broad and dark green in colour. Fruits are smooth,
medium long, borne in cluster of 5-6 with pendent habit. It is tolerant to thrips, mites and wilt.
Average yield of green fruits 250 quintals per hectare and that of red dry fruits is 24 quintals
per hectare. (MPKV, Rahuri).

4. Phule Sai: Developed by selection from the cross Pani C-l x Kamandalow. It has high yield
potential under rain fed conditions. It retains the colour in storage for 6-7 months. It is
moderately resistant to thrips and anthracnose (MPKV Rahuri). %. Phule.

5. Suryamukhi: It is released in 1996. Plants tall, spreading and branching habit from ground
level, leaves broad and dark green. Fruits smooth, medium long, borne in cluster of 5-6 and
upright erect. It is tolerant to thrips and wilt. Average yield of green fruits is 190 quintals per
hectare and yield of red dry fruits is 22 quintals per hectare. (MPKV, Rahuri).

6. Phule Mukta: It is developed by employing pure line selection and released by MPKV
Rahuri. It has dark green foliage, plants tall and medium spreading. Fruits are small, dark
green and smooth. Ripe fruits are dark red in colour. Duration is 210 days. Resistant to
powdery mildew and Fusarium wilt. It is tolerant to leaf curl, thrips and mites and resistant to
lodging, suitable for both the kharif and summer seasons. Average yield of dry chilli is 23
quintals per hectare. MPKV, Rahuri).

7. Surkta: Surkta has been released for Vidarbha region both for the rain fed conditions of
kharif season. It produces bright deep red fruits. Fruits are very hot in taste. It gives about 35
per cent higher fruit yield compared to variety CA-960. Yield of red ripe fruits is 68 quintals
per hectare. (PDKV, Akola)

8 Jayanti: It is notified during the year 1996-97. It has been released for Vidarbha and at the
national level under irrigated conditions. Plants are medium to tall in height with light green
foliage. Fruits are medium to long in length (9-10 cm) with notch on l/3rf portion from the tip
of the frill. Fruits are pale green, white — green and turn red on ripening. Yield of red ripe
chilli is 18-20 quintals per hectare. (PDKV, Akola)

9. Parbhani Tejas: It is released in 1992 for Marathwada region for rain fed as well as
irrigated conditions for green as well as red dry fruit production. It has pungency, fruits are
longer (maximum 22 cm). Yield of dry red fruit is 18 quintals per hectare. Average yield on
20 farmers' field has been found 11.56 quintals per hectare as compared to 7.63 in case of NP-
46. (MAU, Parbhani)

10. Kankan Kirti: Plants are dwarf with 50-60 cm height and dark green leaves. Dark green
fruits turn red when mature, mild pungent. It yields 12-14 tones per hectare of green chilli.

22
Fruits are dark green, lustrous, good keeping quality and good export potential. (BSKKV,
Dapoli)

Bell pepper/ Sweet Pepper/ Capsicum Varieties

Arka basant: released from IIHR, Bangalore. Suitable for both kharif and rabbi.
Arka Gaurav: pure line selection from golden cali-wonder released from IIHR, Bangalore.
Fruits are 3 to 4 lobed. Good for kharif and rabbi.
Arka Mohini: selection from variety known as Taitan. Fruits are 3 to 4 lobed becomes red on
ripening. Suitable for both kharif and rabbi season.
California wonder: an introduction from US. Fruits are 3 to 4 lobed.
Yolo wonder: plant is dwarf and as medium flesh thickness.
Pusa deepthi: released from Katrain. Suitable for both kharif and rabbi.
Arka Athulya: - High yielding F-1 Hybrid with PM tolerance. Suitable for fresh green
market. Suitable for Kharif and Rabi.(IIHR, Bangalore.)

Irrigation for Chilli or Capsicum Cultivation

Irrigation: Chilli is grown both as rain fed and irrigated crop. First irrigation is given after the
transplanting and subsequent irrigations are given 5-7 days interval depending on weather and
conditions of soil during summer and rainy season and after .Every 10 to 15 days in winter.
The maintenance of uniform soil moisture is essential to prevent blossom .and fruit drops.
Bosaocn and Garibaldi (1971) reported that the irrigation when soil moisture tension exceeded
one atmosphere increased the yield of the unshared plant, but the number of fruits was
unaffected. Flower drop in chilies is a great problem and it depends on the high temperature,
low moisture availability, shading and light intensity. Flowers and /or flower bud abscission
was increased under short day (day length 12 hours) and high temperature (28 °C to. 33 "Q.
Spraying the chilli with Planofix (NAA) at 10 ppm at flower initiation stage and
15Intercultural Operations in Chilli or Capsicum Cultivation

Interculture Operations: 2-3 shallow hoeing should be given to the soil to kill the weeds and
provide soil mulch during early stages of growth- Application of weedicides for controlling
the weeds is found effective. Lasso @ 1.5 litre per hectare with one hand weeding or Tok-E
25@ 2 liters per hectare with one hand weeding were effective in controlling the weeds.

Harvesting and Yield in Chilli or Capsicum Cultivation

Harvesting: 1. Chillies which are used for vegetable purposes are generally harvested while
they are still green but full grown.

23
2. Chillies are harvested at red stage for caning purpose. Chillies used for drying are harvested
at full ripe-stage.

Yield: The yield varies according to the system of cultivation. The yield of dry chillies of rain
fed crop is 200 - 400 kg and that of irrigated crop is 600 - 1000 kg per acre. The proportion of
dry to fresh japed chillies varies from 25- to 40 per cent.

Insect Pest Control in Chilli or Capsicum Cultivation

Insect Pests of Chilli:

1) Chilli Thrips: Thrips is the common pest which effects the crop throughout its life cycle.
But they are more severe when plants begin to flower. These small insects suck the sap from
the foliage and lacerate the leaf tissue, which result in curling of leaves and fall down of
flowers prematurely.
Control Measures: Thrips can effectively be controlled by spraying carbaryl 50 W @ 3 gm
or Zolene @ 3 ml or Dimethoate (Rogor 30 EC) or Monocrotophos (Monocil) tgi 1 ml per
litre of water at fortnightly interval
2) Pod Borer: The caterpillar oat leaves and later on bores the pod, which result in the
deterioration of quality and market price of the product.
Control Measures: The control measures are timely spraying the crop with quinalphos
(Exalux-25 EC) @ 4 ml or carbaryl 50 W, (Sevin 50 W) @ 3 gm per litre of water, starting
from flower bud formation.
3) Aphids: Aphid suck the sap from the plants; they generally attack the crop in winter
months and at the later stages of the crop. The quality of the produce is spoiled by imparting
blackish colour to the Calyx and pods. They also serve as a Vector to Virus,
Control Measures: The aphids can effectively be controlled by spraying the crop with
Dimethoate (Rogor-30 EC) or Methyl Parathion (Metacid 50 EC) @ lm (or Phosphamidon
(Demicron-100 EC) @ 0.5 ml per litre of whiter.

Diseases Management in Chilli or Capsicum Cultivation

Diseases of Chilli:
1) Damping Off: It is a serious disease of brinjal seedlings and mainly occurs in nursery bed.
The disease infected seedlings rot at ground level and then the plants fall over ground. The
seedlings die in patches.
Control Measures:1. The seed bed should be treated with Formalin before sowing of seeds.

2. The seeds should be treated without water (30 minutes at 520 C) or Cerasan or Agrosan
G.N. before sowing of seed.

3. The seedlings in the nursery should be sprayed with any fungicides at a regular interval.

24
2) Bacterial Leaf Spot: Small dark, greasy spots are formed on leaf, petiole and tender parts,
of the plant. Water soaked spots appear on green fruits. In severe cases the leaf may drop off
arid cause considerable loss to the crop.
Control Measures: Spraying Agrimycin - 100 k at 200 ppm plus copper oxychloride 0.3 per
cent controls the disease effectively.
3) Anthracnose: Dark sunken spots are formed of fruits and pink or dark coloured dots
appear in the centre of the sunken spots. Due to this spots, the fruits rot and fall. The fungus
may cause "Die back" of the twigs also. Die back disease attacks mainly the upper portion of
the plants spreading gradually from the top to downward; as a result the branches dry up.
Moist weather, shade and heavy dew favour the occurrence of the disease.
Control Measures: The control measures are the treatment of seed with Cerasan before
sowing, removing and burning of attacked plants or branches and spraying the disease
affected crops with Mancozeb (Dithane M-45) @ 2.5 gm per litre of water.
4) Leaf Curl: The disease affected leaves becomes small in size accompanied by downward
curling. The leaves may fall off in case of sever attack. The disease usually spreads through
insect vectors such as thrips and aphids etc.
Control Measures: Control of insect vectors by spraying the crop with Dimethoate (Rogor -
30 EC) or Monocrotophos (Monocil) @ 1 ml per litre of water indirectly helps to check the
spread of this disease.

Cultivation of Onion

Botanical Name: Allium cepa L.

Family: Amaryallidaceae Origin: Central Asia

Importance:

 It is consumed either raw or cooked along with spices and vegetables.

 Primarily the leaves & bulbs used as vegetables. The flowering shoot known as Scape is
also used as vegetable.
 Onion is valued for its bulbs having characteristic odour, flavour and pungency, which is
due to the presence of a volatile oil allyl-propyl-disulphide.
 The yellow colour is due to the presence of pigment “Quercetain”
 The red colour is due to the presence of pigment “Anthocynin”
 The white colour is due to the presence of pigment “Anthoxanthin”
 Onion bulb is rich in minerals like phosphorus (50 mg / 100 g) and calcium (180 mg / 100
g).
 Pungency is formed by enzymatic reaction when tissues are broken.
 1-Propenyl sulfonic acid
 It is used as salad and cooked in many ways in curries, fried, boiled, baked and used in
making soups, pickles etc.
25
 Value addition in onion is done by marketing dehydrated onions and onion flakes.
 Bulbs are suited for storage for a long period and for long distance transport.
 Onion greens are also used by harvesting crop at pencil thickness and when small bulb is
formed.
 Many medicinal uses are reported for bulbs and is commonly used as diuretic and applied
on wounds and boils.
 Disease control- Asthma, Diabetes, Cancer, prevent cardiovascular disease, Curing Sinus
Infections, Insomnia

Climate:-

• Onion is a cool season crop, hardy to frost but less sensitive to heat.
• It is adopted to a temperature range of 13-24ºC.
• For good vegetative growth 15-21ºC temperature before bulbing and 20-25ºC for bulb
development are suitable.
• The optimum temperature for seedling growth is 20-25ºC.
• Growth starts declining at temperatures higher than 27ºC.
• Long day varieties do not bulb under short day whereas short day varieties, if planted
under long day, develop bulbs.

Soil

 Soil for onion should be deep friable and highly fertile and be grown in all types of
soils. sandy loam to clay loam soil is recommended.
 Sandy soil needs more and frequent irrigation and favour early maturity, whereas heavy
soils give rise to misshapen bulbs causing problem in digging of bulbs.
 The optimum pH range is between 5.8 and 6.5.
 Highly alkaline and saline soils are not suitable for onion cultivation.
 Salt concentration above 4 mmhos/cm² inhibits vegetative growth.
 Good drainage is essential. Waterlogging can result in failure of crop.

Improved Varieties of Onion:-

S.N Variety Season Colour Remarks

1 N-53 Kharif Red Poor Storage
2 Baswant-780 Kharif Red Poor Storage
3 N-2-4-1 Rabi Brick-Red Good Storage
4 N-257-9-1 Rabi White Good Storage
5 Phule Safed All year White Good for Dehydration
6 Phule Suvarna Kharif /Rabi Yellow Good for export to Europe
7 AFDR Late Kharif /Rabi Dark Red Fairly Good for Storage
26
8 AFLR Rabi Light Red Good Storage
9 Bhima Raj Late Kharif /Rabi Dark Red DOGR
10 Bhima Red &Bhima super Kharif/Late Kharif Red DOGR
11 Phule Samarth Kharif/Late Kharif Red MPKV
12 IIHR varieties- Arka Kalyan,Arka Niketan, Arka Pragati, Arka Bindu, Arka Kirtiman,
Arka Lalima and Arka Pitamber
13 IARI varieties- Pusa red, Pusa Ratnar, Pusa White Flat , Pusa White Round, Pusa
Madhavi

Seed Sowing and Transplanting:-

S. Season Seed Sowing Growing Harvest Storage

N. Months Months months Quality
1 Pre-Monsoon April-May Before 15 June Aug-Sept Poor
season (Halva) (95-100 days)
2 Kharif/Rainy June August November- Poor (1
(Pol) December month)
3 Late Kharif July-August September- January- Poor (1
(Rangda) October February month)
4 Rabi /Winter October- December- March-May Good (4-6
(Unhali) November January month)

Methods of planting:-Three methods of planting are as follows:-

 Raising seedlings and transplanting

 Planting bulbs directly in the field.
 Broadcasting or drilling of seeds directly in the field.

Seed rate:

 10-12 Kg (Rabbi) and 12-15 kg (Kharif) seed is sufficient to transplant seedlings for
1Ha.
 When bulbs are planted the seed rate is 1000 to 1200 per Ha.

Planting by Bulb:-

 This methods is practiced in hills and in terrace cultivation.

 Medium to small sized bulbs are used for planting.

27
 Large sized bulbs results in early bolting.
 Bulbs are dibbled at 30 cm apart on the side of 45 cm wide ridges.
 10-12 quintals of bulbs are required to plant one ha area.

Planting by Transplanting:-

 Onion seeds are sown in nursery beds to raise seedlings.

 In hills (higher altitudes), March-April is ideal sowing time.
 Raised beds of about 3-4 m long, 1 m wide and 20-30 cm high are prepared. About
70cm distance is kept between 2 beds to carry out operations of watering, weeding etc.
 The surface of beds should be smooth and well-levelled.
 Raised beds are necessary to avoid problem of waterlogging in heavy soils.
 In sandy soils, however, sowing can be taken up in flat beds.
 Sowing should be done in lines spaced at 5-7 cm distance.
 Before sowing, seed should be treated with thiram @ 2 g/kg of seed to avoid damage
from damping off disease.
 The soil of nursery should also be treated with thiram or captan @ 4-5 g/ m² area. The
nursery beds should be irrigated 15-20 days before sowing and covered with 250 gauge
transparent polythene for soil solarization. Application of Trichoderma viride @ 1250
gm / ha is also recommended to manage damping off and raise healthy seedlings.
 The seeds after sowing should be covered with fine powdered FYM or compost
followed by light watering.
 The beds should then be covered with dry straw or grass or sugarcane leaves to
maintain optimum temperature and moisture.
 Watering should be done by a water can as per the need till germination is completed.
Dry straw or grass is removed immediately after germination is completed. Delay in
removal of dry straw and grass may result in lanky seedlings.

TRANSPLANTING –

 Seedlings are usually transplanted in flat beds.

 Transplanting on raised beds or on both sides of ridges is, however, better for kharif or
rainy season crops.
 Flat beds of 1.8 m wide and 7.2 m length depending upon level of land, soil type and
irrigation method, are prepared.
 Seedlings (6-7 weeks old) are ideal for transplanting in kharif season, while 8-9 weeks
old seedlings are recommended for rabbi crop.
 Over-aged seedlings if planted, bolting increases. In case of younger seedlings,
establishment is poor.

28
 Spacing: 20X10 cm2 for seedlings, 30X10cm2 for bulbs

Manuring:

 25 tones of FYM,60 to 100 Kg N, 40 to 60 Kg P2O5 and 60 to 80 Kg of K2O.

 FYM should be incorporated at the time of field preparation, P and K along with half of
N should be applied in bands, 5 cm below the seedlings to the side before transplanting.
 The rest of N may be top dressed 30-45 days after transplanting.

Irrigation:

 It requires 10-15 irrigations from planting to harvest depending on the season. At bulb
formation stage i.e. 70 to 75 days after planting irrigation is essential. Drought at this
stage results in cracking of the bulb and low yield.
 Before the harvesting of 2-3 weeks irrigation is completely stopped.

Bolting in onions:

 Premature production of seed stalk is known as bolting.

 Some of the salient features of bolting are the bolts are little bit smaller in size normal
inflorescence.
 Bolting occurred to the extent of 50 to 80% in the onions planted in the later part of
kharif or early rabi season.
 The seed obtained from such bolts also do not give satisfactory germination and
seedlings are very weak.
 Bolting may be due to factors like varietal difference, extremes of temperature, growth
obstacles, poor seed quality, poor soil, amount of sun shine etc.
 Spraying with 0.5 percent MH 40 two and half months after transplanting reduce
bolting in onion by 30 percent

Harvesting and yield:-

 Harvesting takes in 45-90 days from field setting for green onions and 75-150 days for
bulb depending upon variety / types. Bulbs are considered to be mature when the neck
tissues begin to soften and tops are about to abscise and decolourise.
 Neck fall is the indication of maturity of Onion.
 The best time to harvest onion is when 60 to 70% of tops have broken over.
 Development of red pigment and characteristic pungency of variety are also important
harvesting indices of onion.
29
 Yield- 100-300 q/ha
 Seed yield- 800-1000 kg/ha

Cultivation of Garlic

Botanical Name: Allium sativum

Family: Amaryallidaceae Origin: Central Asia

Importance:

• The principal ingredient is odoriferous diallyl disulpide.

• The typical flavor of garlic is due to the presence of Chemical Allecin plus Diallyl
disulphide.
• It is used as a spice.
• It is important because of its medicinal properties or ayurvedic medicines.
• it reduce the cholesterol level in the blood
• Garlic used in the case of TB, sterility, cough, red eyes etc. in the form of garlic juice.
• One per cent garlic extract protect from mosquito and flies.
• The extract of garlic along with chilli and ginger exhibited strong nematicidal action
and it has killed the meloidogyne nematode.
• Garlic extract also act larvicidal properties the larvae of Culex, spodoptera.
• Extract of garlic acts as fungicidal action.
• It is found to inhibit growth of 200 pathogenic fungi and also control foot rot of French
bean.
• Garlic extracts records number of records on several medicinally important fungi.
• It got bactericidal properties.
• It is found against Staphylococcus bacteria gram positive and gram negative bacteria
can be effectively damaged by garlic extract.
• Garlic kills the colonies of food poisoning
bacteria, clostridium spp. • Agrifound White
• Agrifound Parvati
Varieties- • Yamuna safed-1
• Yamuna safed-2
30
• Yamuna safed-3
• Yamuna safed-4
 • Phule Vaibhav
• Phule Baswant
• Shweta
• Godavari
• Bhima Omkar
• Bhima Purple
• Jamnagar
• Season- Rabi
• Seed rate- 400-500 kg/ ha
• Harvesting & Yield- Neck fall 50%. 40-60 q/ha

Cultivation of Cucurbits

1. Cucumber:- Cucumis sativus

2. Watermelon:- Citrullus vulgaris / C. lanatus
3. Muskmelon:- Cucumis melo
4. Bottle gourd:- Lagenaria siceraria
5. Bitter gourd:- Momordica charantia
6. Ridge gourd:- Luffa acutangula
7. Sponge Gourd:- Luffa cylindrica
8. Pumpkin:- Cucurbita moschata
9. Ash gourd:- Benincasa hispida
10. Pointed gourd:- Trichosanthes dioica
11. Ivy Gourd :- Coccinia indica

Cultivation of Pumpkin (Cucurbit moschota)

Botanical Name: Cucurbita moschata poir.

Local Name: Kashiphal –Hindi, Lal bhopla- Marathi.

31
Family: Cucurbitaceous.

It is a favorite and popular vegetable of many people during summer and rainy season.
Pumpkin is one of the most important cucurbitaceous vegetable crops. The ripe pumpkins are
used as cooked. It is one of the main vegetable in any festival. It is round or long in shape.

Climate: 1. It is warm season crop. But it can withstand cool weather. The plant is also
tolerant to partial shade.

Soil and its Preparation: 1. Pumpkin is grown on all types of soil. But loam, sandy loam and
clay loam soils are considered best for its cultivation.

2. The soil should be thoroughly prepared. It does best at a Ph of 6.0 or 6.5.

Sowing of Seed: Two crops are raised commonly in the plains during January – March and
June – July. Seeds are sown in well prepared pits at a spacing 3 X 3 m. about 4-6 kg. of sees
are required to raise one ha. Layout ring and basin is used.

Manures and Fertilizer: 30 to 50 cartload well decomposed FYM should be added at the
time of soil preparation. 50 kg N, 25 kg P/ha. Should be given ½ N and full phosphorus
should be given at the time of sowing seeds and remaining half N should be given 30 days
after sowing.

Intercultural Operation: One or two weeding may be done done during early stage of
growth. No irrigation is given to rainy season crop. The summer season crops should be
irrigated after third or fourth day.

Harvesting and Yield: Pumpkin is harvested either in green or mature stage according to
market demand. The fruits can be stored for a few months provided they are dept in well
ventilated rooms. The yield may range from 15 to 25 t per ha.

Varieties: Co.1, Co.2, Arka Suryamukhi, Arka chandan, Pusa Vikas, Pusa Vishwas, Pusa
Hybrid-1, HR 83-1-1.

Cultivation of Bottle Gourd or Lauki Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria.)

Botanical Name: Lagenaria siceraria.

Local Name: Dudhya Sweet- Marathi, Lauki- Hindi.

Family: Cucurbitaceae.

32
Bottle gourd is a very important crop in India. The fruit in green stage and leaves with stem
are used as vegetable. The hard shell of the fruit is used for different purpose.

Climate: Hot and moist climate is favorable for its cultivation. It cannot withstand frost.

Soil and its Preparation: Bottle gourd can be grown in any types of soil. But sandy loam
soils are best suited for its cultivation. The land should be prepared thoroughly by five to six
ploughing.

Time of Sowing and Layout: The seed is sown from January to end of February for summer
crops. June – July for rainy season crop in the plains and April in the hills. Layout is ring and
basin used.

Seed Rate: The seed rate is 3 to 6 kg/ ha.

Methods of Sowing and Spacing: The seed is sown by dibbling method at spacing of 2 to 3
X 1.0 to 1.5 m. Generally three to four seeds are sown in a pit at 2.5 to 3.0 cm depth.

Manures and fertilizer same as for pumpkin.

Intercultural Operation: Two to three hoeing is given to keep down the weeds during the
early stage of growth. The rainy season crop is usually stalked, often trained on a bower made
of bamboos and sticks.

Irrigation: The summer crop requires frequent irrigation at an interval of 4 to 5 days. The
winter crop is irrigated as and when needed.

Harvesting: The fruits should be harvested when they are still green. Delay in harvesting
causes the fruit to become unit for marketing.

Yield: The average yield is 90 to 120 quintal / ha.

Varieties: There is some varieties of bottle gourd, viz Phule Samrat, Pusa Manjari, Pusa
Megdoot, Pusa Naveen, PSPL, PSLR, Pusa Sandesh, Pusa Samridhi, Pusa Santushti, Arka
Bahar, Punjab Long, Punjab round, Punjab Komal, Kashi bahar, Kashi Ganga etc.

Bottle Gourd:

1. Samrat: Development by selection from local germplasm collected village Dahanu, Dist.
Thane of Maharashtra and released in 1992. Fruits are 30 -40 cm long, green in colour with
dose pubescence and cylindrical in shape. Good for box, packing. Good keeping quality.
During is 180- 200 days. Average yield is 430 quintal per hectare.

Cultivation of Bitter Gourd or Karela (Momordica charantia)

33
Botanical Name: Momordica charantia L.

Local Name: Karela - Hindi; Karli - Gujrati & Marathi

Family: Cucurbitaceae.

Bitter gourd is one of the most popular cucurbitaceous vegetable. It is grown extensively
throughout India; the fruit is vormicidal and good for rheumatism.

Climate: It is a warm, season crop. Hot and moist weather is favorable for its growth and
development. Low temperature in habit the germination of seeds. It grows best at temperatures
between 180C and 240C.

Soil and its Preparation: Bitter gourd can be grown in all types of soil. But loam and silty
loarii soil is more suitable for its cultivation. It grows well on silty soil on river beds. The land
should be well prepared.

Sowing of Seeds:

Time of Sowing: The seed is sown from January to March for summer season crop, June-July
for rainy season crop in the plains and March to June in the hills.

Seed Rate: The seed rate is 4 to 5 kg/ha.

Method of Sowing: The seed is sown by dibbling method at a spacing of 120x90 cm.
Generally three to four seeds are sown in a pit at 2.5 to 3.0 cm depth. The seeds are soaked in
wate over night before sowing for better germination. Seed germination was enhanced by
soaking the seeds for 24 hours in solution of 25 to 50 ppm GA and 25 ppm boron. In flatbed
layout seeds are dibbled at the spacing 1 x 1 m.

Manuring: 30 to 50 cartload well decomposed FYM should be added at the time of soil
preparation 50 kg N, 25 kg P/ha. Should be given ½ N and full phosphorus should be given at
the time of sowing seeds and remaining half N should be given 30 days after sowing.

Intercultural Operation: Two to three hoeing is given to keep down the weeds during the
early stage of growth. The rainy season crop is usually stalked, often trained on a bower made
of bamboos and sticks.

Harvesting: Harvesting is done when the fruits are still young and tender at every alternate
day. Picking should be done carefully so that the vine may not be damaged. The fruits should
not be allowed to mature on the vines. The harvested fruits may be stored for 3 to 4 days in-
cool condition.

34
Yield: The yield is 60 to 100 quintal/ha.

Varieties: There are some varieties of bitter gourd viz Hirkani , Phule Green Gold, Phule
Priyanka, Phule Ujwala, Konkan Tara, Pusa Domousmi, Long Green, Pusa Vishesh,
Coimbatore Long Green, Coimbatore Long White, Arka Harit, Priya, Priyanka, Preethi, CO-1
etc.

Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia)

1. Hirkani: Developed by selection from local germplasm and released in 1991 for western
Maharashtra Fruits is dark green, 15-20 cm with prickles. Duration is 160 days. Average yield
is 138 quintals per hectare. (MPKV, Rahuri)

2. Phule Green Gold: Developed by selection from cross Green Long x Delhi Local and
released in 1996. Fruits dark green, 25-30 cm long and prickled. Crop duration is 150-180
days. Average yield is 230 quintals per hectare. It is tolerant- to downy mildew. Besides it is
released through State Variety Release Committee of Maharashtra. It is also notified by the
Central Sub-Committee on Crop .Standards, Notification and Varietal Release at the National
level. (MPKV, Rahuri)

3. Phule Priyanka: It is a F1 hybrid released by MPKV, Rahuri, suitable for both the kharif
and summer seasons. Fruits dark green, fruit surface is highly prickled. Fruit length is about
20 cm. Average yield is 200 quintals per hectare. It is tolerant to downy mildew. Responds
well to bower system of training. Besides it is released through State Variety Release
Committee of Maharashtra. It is also notified by the Central Sub Committee on Crop
Standards. Notification and Varietal Release at National level. (MPKV, Rahuri)

4. Konkan Tara: It gives fruit yield about 15-20 tones per hectare. Fruit possess dark green
prickles, medium long and spindle shaped having good keeping quality and suitable for export
purpose. It is recommended for the Konkan region (BSKKV, Dapoli).

5. Phule Ujwala: Foliage is dark green and stem is green in colour. Average fruit weight is 84
g. Fruit length is 18 cm and diameter is. 4.5 cm. Duration is 180 days. Fruits are highly
prickled. Average fruit yield is 174 quintals per hectare. (MPKV, Rahuri)

Cultivation of Ridge Gourd or Ribbed Gourd (Luffa acutangula) &

Cultivation of Sponge Gourd or smooth Gourd (Luffa cylindrica)

Botanical Name: Luffa acutangula

35
Botanical Name: Luffa cylindrica

Family: Cucurbitaceae.

Ridge gourd and sponge gourd can be grown through the year and are used as vegetables. It is
more popular vegetable in the south and east India.

Soil and its Preparation: It can be grown in all kinds of soil, loam, clay loam and silt soils
are best suited for its cultivation. The land is prepared by ploughing for three to four times,
followed by planking.

Sowing of Seed:

a) Sowing Time: There are two types gourd commonly grown in our country and the seed is
sown in different times according to type of crop.

b) Seed Rate: The seed rate is 4 to 5 kg/ha.

c) Method of Sowing: The seed is sown by dibbling method at a spacing of 1.5 to 2.0 X 1.0 to
1.5 m. Two to three sees are sown in each pit. Layout is ring and basin.

Manuring: 30 to 50 cartload well decomposed FYM should be added at the time of soil
preparation. 50 kg N, 25 kg P/ha. Should be given ½ N and full phosphorus should be given at
the time of sowing seeds and remaining half N should be given 30 days after sowing.

Intercultural operation: Shallow cultivation should be given during the early stage of
growth. The plants should be provided a suitable support made of bamboo sticks.

Irrigation: The summer crop should be irrigated just after sowing and subsequent irrigation is
given at four to five days interval. No irrigation is given in rainy season crop.

Harvesting: The fruit become ready for harvest from 55 – 60 days of sowing. The full grown
tender fruit should be harvested at weekly interval by cutting them with a knife.

Yield: The yield is about 75 to 100 quintal/ ha.

Ridge gourd Varieties:. Phule Sucheta, Konkan Harita, Punjab sadabahar, Arka Sumit, Arka
Sujat, Pusa Nasdar, Pusa Nutan, CO-1, 2, PKM-1, Satputia (Hermaphrodite)

1. Konkan Harita: It yield about 150- 200 quintal per hectare. Fruits are long (40 cm)
uniform soft ridged and firm flesh. It is an early variety suitable for both the Kharif and
summer seasons. A fruit weights about 200 g. (BSKKV, Dapoli).

36
2. Phule Sucheta: It is developed by employing a pure line selection. Fruits are green,
slender, tender, and medium in length (33.5 cm) with prominent ridges. It shows filed
tolerance to downy mildew. Suitable for in both the Kharif and summer season of western
Maharashtra. Average fruit weight is 118 g. A vine produces 18 fruits. Average yield is 119
quintal per hectare.

Sponge gourd Varieties:- Phule Prajakta, Pusa Chikani, Pusa supriya, Pusa Sneha,
Kalyanpur chikani

Cultivation of Cucumber or Kakdi (Cucumis sativus)

Botanical Name: Cucumis sativus

Local Name: Kakdi-Maraihi; Kakkari-Malayalam; Kamal Kakdi-Hindi.

Family: Cucurbitaceae.

Cucumber is an important summer vegetable commonly grown throughout India. Cucumber

plant, as creeper has a climbing or trailing habit The tender fruits are eaten raw or with salt in
salad. They are also used as cooked vegetable. It is reported that the oil exacted from seeds is
good for brain and body. Drinking of water immediately after eating cucumber should be
avoided, as it sometimes causes severe indigestion.

Climate: The cucumber is a warm season crop and grows best at a temperature between
180C and 240C. It does not withstand even light frost.

Soil and its preparation : Cucumber can be grown in all types of soil from sandy to heavy
soils. Loam, silt loam and clay loam soils are considered best for getting higher yield. Soil pH
between 5.5 and 6.7 is favorable for its cultivation. The land should be prepared thoroughly
sowing of seeds.
a) Sowing Time: The cucumber is cultivated both as a summer and rainy season crop and the
seed is sown according to type of crop.
Summer Crop : January to February.
Rainy crop: June-July.
The seed of cucumber is sown in April in the hills.
b) Seed Rate: The seed rate is 2.5 to 4 kg/ha.

c) Method of Sowing: The seed is sown by dibbling method at a distance of 1.5 to 2.5 meters
(row to row) x 60 to 90 cm. (Plant to plant). Two to three seeds are sown in each pit. Layout
in Ring & basing method.

37
Manuring: 30 to 50 cartload well decomposed FYM should be added at the time of soil
preparation. 50 kg N, 25 kg P/ha. Should be given ½ N and full phosphorus should be given at
the time of sowing seeds and remaining half N should be given 30 days after sowing.

Intercultural Operations: Shallow cultivation should be given during the early stages of
growth to control the weeds. Herbicides (such as Glycophosate, Paraquat and Chloramben @
gm per acre) may be used to control weeds.

Irrigation: The summer crop cultivated as an irrigated crop requires enough soil moisture
during its growth and development.' So irrigation should be given as and when needed. No
irrigation is given in rainy season crop.

Harvesting: The rail grown tender fruits should be harvested at an interval of two to fora-
days. Timely picking is more important in regard to quality. Yield: The average yield is about
60 to 15 quintals/ha,

Varieties: Japanese Long green, Pusa Sanjog, Straight – 8, Poinsettee, Himangi, Phule
Shubhangi, Phule Champa, Phule Prachi, Sheetal.

1. Himangi: Developed by selection from the cross Poinsett x Kalyanpur Ageti and released
in 1992. Fruits are white in colour, 12-15 cm long and resistant to bronzing. Total duration is
100-110 days. Average yield is 158 quintals per hectare.(MPKV, Rahuri)

2. Phule Shubhangi: It is released by MPKV, Rahuri. Green skin colour. It is tolerant to

powdery mildew. It yields more than vars. Poona Khira and Himangi. Besides it is released
through State Variety Release Committee of Maharashtra. It is also notified by the Central
Sub Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Varietal Release at the National
level.(MPKV, Rahuri)

3. Phule Prachi: It is agynoecious F hybrid developed by exploiting a parthenocarpic tropical

gynoecious female parent. It is suited to the tropical conditions. Performs well under both the
open field and green house conditions. Responds well to the improved agro-techniques like
high fertilization, drip irrigation, fertigation, staking etc. Fruit skin is yellowish white in
colour suitable to the consumers’ preference of Maharashtra. Gives very high yield (average
of 18 trials is 359 q/ha i.e. 85% higher than check). Fruits are straight and longer. Fruits are
set parthenocarpically. It gives more than 1000 quintals per hectare yield under staking cum
spacing (30 cm x 30 cm) conditions and about 750 quintals per hectare under naturally
ventilated green house. (MPKV, Rahuri)

4. Sheetal: It gives about 250 - 300 quintals per hectare fruits. They are green, cylindrical and
long with good keeping quality. Suitable for both the kharif and summer seasons. It also does
well in high rainfall areas. It is released for commercial cultivation in Konkan region. Average
38
weight is 200-250 g per fruit. It gives son an average yield of 30Q-350 quintals per
hectare. (BSKKV, Dapoli)

5. Phule Champa: K is a gynoecious fi hybrid suited to the tropical conditions. It is

recommended for the open field as well as green house conditions. It has high yield potential.
Average yield is 378 quintals per hectare. Fruits are light green in colour, straight and longer.
Suitable for all over the country. (MPKV, Rahuri).

Cultivation of Watermelon or Kalingad (Citrullus vulgaris Schard)

Botanical Name: Citrullus vulgaris Schard.

Local Name: Tarbuj and Jamaika- Hindi; Kalingad - Marathi; Taannir mathan or Mandeki
patak - Malayalam.

Family: Cucurbitaceae.

The watermelon is a common summer crop: It is generally grown for its ripe and well mature
fruit the fruits are delicious and sweet when ripe.

Climate: Watermelon needs a long growing season with a relatively high temperature. It
cannot withstand frost. The seed does not germinate satisfactorily below 210C. Dry weather
during ripening with high temperature, enough sunshine and dry winds favour the
development of flavour and high sugar content.

Soil and its Preparation: Deep sandy loam soil is best suited for water melon crop. It is
generally cultivated on river beds. The optimum soil pH is 5.5 to 7.0. The land is thoroughly
prepared by giving 5 to 6 ploughings.

Sowing of Seeds: a) Sowing Time: The seed is generally sown from November to March in
the plains and from middle of February to end or March in the hills. The seed is soaked
overnight before sowing.

b) Seed Rate: The seed rate is 3 to 4 kg/ha.

c) Method of Planting:

1) Shallow Pit Method: In this method, pits of 60 x 60 x 45cm. are dug at a distance of 1.5 to
2.5 meter. Each pit is filled with a mixture of soil and 4 to 5 kg of FYM or compost, 30 to 40
gm. Urea, 40 to 50 gm. Single Super phosphate and 80 to 100 gm of muriate of Potash. After
filling the pit circular basin are made and five to six seeds are sown per basin at 2 to 3 cm.
deep and covered with fine soil, F.Y.M. or compost.

39
2) Deep Pit Method: This method is followed in case of river bed cultivation. Circular pits of
60 to 75 cm. diameter and 1.0 to 1.5 m. depth are dug at a distance of 1.5 to 2.5 meter distance
both ways.

3) Ridge Method: The seeds are sown on the side of raised beds.

4) Mound Beds: Seeds are sown on the mounds. The seed rate is 1.6 kg per acre. The normal
spacing is row to row 300 cm and plant to. plant 90 cm. The germination percent and the
storage life of seeds can be improved by treating freshly extracted seeds with 2 percent HC1
or NaOH.

Manuring: Apply 30-50. Cart loads FYM at the time of soil preparation 80 kg N, 40 kg P &
K is recommended by PKV Akola. 1/2 dose N, full dose of P and K should be applfed at the
time sowing. Remaining half Nitrogen applied one month after transplanting.

Intel-cultural Operation: Two or three hoeing may be done during the early stage of growth
to keep down the weeds and to conserve soil moisture. Two or three plants are kept at one
place in the hills or beds by thinning the extra plant Herbicides (e.g. Chloroxuron and
Prometryne @ 3 & *2 kg. a,i. per ha, respectively may be useful for controlling weeds.

Irrigation: The crop is watered by pitcher or water can after sowing. The Crop is watered
sparingly once every seven to ten days.

Harvesting: The plant bears fruits in 4 to 5 months after sowing. The watermelon should be
harvested at the proper stage of maturity. The following points give an indication or ripeness:

1) Withering of Tendrils: The tendril that subtends the peduncle of the fruit, usually wither
when the fruits ripes and watermelon is seldom ripe if the tendril is still green. But is may be
unripe even if the tendril is dried in some varieties.

2) Thumping: Ripe fruit, when thumped with the finger, gives out a muffled dull or dead
sound, whereas the immature fruits give out a metallic and ringing sound.

3) Colour of the Ground Spot: It is white when fruits are green and they rest over it. When
the fruits are ripe they change to yellow.

4) Pressure on the Fruit: A ripe melon emits a crisp cracking noise on being pressed with the
flat of the hand. Moreover, the rind of a ripe melon yields little under the pressure of the
thumb. In some varieties even sunlight pressure will crack the fruit.

If the fruits are allowed to over ripen, the pulp loses the sweetness and soon develops an off
flavour and rot. It is, therefore, very necessary that they should be harvested at the full ripe

40
stage, because they ripen very little on their way to the
market.

Yield: The average yield is 200 to 300 quintal/ha.

Varieties: There are a large number of varieties grown all over the country Following are the
important varieties of watermelon. Asahi Yamato, Sugar baby, Arka Manik, Arka Jyoti,
Durgapur Meetha, Nem Hamshire Midget, Pusa Rasaal, Durgapura Kesar, Early Kansas.

Cultivation of Muskmelon or Kharbooj (Cucumus melo)

Botanical Name: Cucumus melo .L.

Local Name: Kharbooj- Hindi, Kharbuj- Marathi.

Family: Cucurbitaceae.

Muskmelon is an important crop cultivated through India. It is used as desert fruit and also
eaten alone. Very rarely it is used cooked vegetable in its green stage.

Climate: The muskmelon thrives best and develops the highest flavor in a hot dry climate.
High temperature and sunshine produce melon high in sugar contents. Though sweetness and
fine flavor are hereditary characteristics, yet they are greatly influenced by environmental
condition. It is highly susceptible to frost; it is grown as summer crop.

Soil and its Preparation: Muskmelon is mainly grown on sand and sandy – loam soils on
river bed. But other type of soil is also favorable for its cultivation. The optimum soil PH is
6.0 to 6.7. The land is prepared thoroughly by repeated ploughing.

Sowing of Seeds: a) Time of Sowing: The seeds may be sown from November to March in
the plains and April- May in the hills. The seeds are sown in November- December in west
Bengal. Bihar and south India. Transplanting of about a week old seedlings may also be done.

b) Seed Rate: The seed rate is 2 to 3 kg/ha.

c) Method of Sowing:

1. Shallow Pit Method: In this method pits of 60 X 60 X 45 cm are dug at a distance of 1.5
to 2.5 m. each pit is filled with a mixture of soil and 4 to 5 kg of FYM in compost, 30 to 40
gm. Urea, 40 to 50 gm. Single phosphate and 80 to 100 gm of muriate of potash. After filling
the pit circular basin are made and five to six seeds are sown per basin at 2 to 3 cm. deep and
covered with fine soil, FYM or compost.

41
2. Deep Pit Method: This method is followed in case of river bed cultivation. Circular pits of
60 to 75 cm. diameter and 1.0 to 1.5 m. depth are dug at a distance of 1.5 to 2.5 m distance
both ways.

3. Ridge Method: The seeds are sown on the side of raised beds.

4. Mound Method: The seeds are sown on the mounds. The seed rate is 1.6 kg per acre. The
normal spacing is row to row 300 cm and plant to plant 90cm. the germination percent and the
storages life of seed can be improved by treating freshly extracted seeds with 2 % HCL or
NAOH.

Manuring: Apply 30 -50 cart loads FYM at the time of soil preparation 80 kg N, 40 kg P and
K is recommended by PKV Akola,1/2 dose N, full dose of P and K should be applied at the
time sowing. Remaining half nitrogen applied one month after transplanting.

Intercultural Operation: Two or three hoeing may be done during the early stage of growth
to keep down the weeds and to conserve soil moisture. Two or three plants are kept at on place
in the hills or beds by thinning the extra plant.

Irrigation: Irrigation is given as and when it is necessary. Crops sown or river beds or not
needs and irrigation.

Harvesting: Muskmelon fruit will be ready for picking in about 110 days depending upon
variety and agro- climate. The stage of maturity is generally judged by the change is the
external colour of fruit, softening of the rind and development of abscission layer. In
muskmelon when fruit are nature slips out easily from vine. The stage at which the fruit are
picked, also affects the quality of fruits, hence they should be picked in time.

Yield: The average yield is 100 to 150 quintal / ha.

Varieties: Followings are the important varieties of muskmelon. Arka rajhans, Hara Madhu,
Pusa Asaarbati, Arka Jest, Durgapura Madhu, Punjab sunahari, Lucknow safed, Annamalai,
Haribhari.

Insect Pest Management of Cucurbitaceous Crops

1. Red Pumpkin Beetle: It is the most serious insect pest of cucurbits. The larvae and adult of
this pest cause damage by eating away the young leaves and flowers at the seedling and
flowering stage respectively. The grub bores into the roots and fruits lie on the ground and
pupate in the soil.

Control Measures: i) Hand pickling and dusting keratinized ash is the most common method
of controlling this pest.
42
ii) Spraying the crop with Malathion 50 EC or Dichlorovus (Nuvan, Vapona etc) @ 2 ml per
liter of water can control this pest.

Fruit Fly: The maggots of this pest into the fruit and feed on the pulp, as a result of which is
starts rooting.

Control Measures: i) Collection and destruction of all infested fruit in the field will help in
minimizing the damage to the crop.

ii) Dusting the crop with Malathion or Dipterex Powder in the affected filed will help in
controlling adult fly.

Iii) Use of bait traps prepared from protein hydrolyzate @ 450 gm, Malathion or Dipterex
water dispersible powder (25 %) @ 450 gm and water @ 1 gallon is most effective of
controlling of this pest.

Diseases Management of Cucurbitaceous Crops

1. Powdery Mildew: Tiny white superficial spots appear on leaves and stem and they become
powder on enlarging. Due to attack of this disease, premature defoliation occurs and plants
remain stunted in growth. The fruit too do not set or remain smaller in size.

Control Measures:

i) This disease can be controlled by ducting sulphur (sulfex) or spraying Karathane or Moresta
@ 2 ml per liter of water.

ii) Abol- waja et al. reported that systematic fungicide nimro at 0.05 per cent, Saprol at 0.1 %
Calixin at 0.04 % and Ben late 0.05 5 gave beeter control of powdery mildew in cucurbits.

2. Downy Mildew: Purplish spots appear on lower surface and yellow spots on upper surface
of leaves; fruit do not mature or do not contain right flavor.
Control measures: application of fungicidal spray 9 such as Dithane Z-78, Dithane M- 45,
Blitox etc) once a week helps to control this.

3. Anthracnose: Watermelon muskmelon and cucumber is mainly affected by this disease.

Light brown spots are formed on leaves which turn to dark brown and then to red, and the
leaves present a scored appearance. Circular to oval sunken lesions develops on the disease
infected fruits a d the fruit rot later on.

Control Measures: Crop rotation with non – cucurbit crops, use of disease free seeds, seed
treatment and spraying of ducting of fungicides are the recommended control measures of this
disease.
43
4. Fusarium Root Rot: Sudden mid season wilt base of stem becomes dark brown, with a
soft mushy cuticle wilt, fruit rot, and young seedling damp off.

Control Measures: Crop rotation and seed treatment with hot water at 550c for 15 minutes
followed by treatment with chloride (1 in 1000) are the recommended control measures of
these diseases.

5. Mosaic: Mottled leaf with roughened surface occurs. The green colour completely lacking
in fruit. In severe cases the plants are yellow and dwarfed and bear little or no fruit. Aphids
transmit this disease.

Control Measures: Growing resistant variety and spraying the crop with Dimathoate (Rogor-
30 EC) or Methyl parathion (Metacid – 50 EC) or Oxidomition methyl (Metsyton – 25 EC) 2
1 ml per liter of water for controlling the insect vector are the recommended control measures
of this disease.

Cultivation of Okra or Lady’s Finger or Bhendi (Abelmoschus esculentus)

Botanical Name: Abelmoschus esculentus L. Syn. Hibiscus esculentus

Family: Malvaceae.

Bhendi is one of the popular vegetable in India. It is cultivated extensively all the year
round for its immature fruits. Bhendi fruits are used as a vegetable. The stem of the plant is
used for the extraction of the fiber.

Climate: Bhendi is a warm season vegetable crop and requires a long warm growing season.
In India it is grown is summer months and during the rainy season. It is highly sensitive to
frost. Seeds germinate poorly at ground temperature of 20 °C or less.

Soil and its Preparation: Bhendi can do well in all kinds of soil. .But sandy loam and clay-
loam soils are best for its cultivation. The optimum pH range is between 6 and 6.8. The land is
prepared by giving 5-6 ploughings. Cartloads of FYM or Compost should be incorporated
during land preparation.

Seed Rate & Sowing Time: For kharif season seeds are sown in the month of June - July.
The seed rate for rainy season is 8 to 10 kg. For summer season it is sown in the month or
January-February. The seed rate for summer season is 12 to 15 kg/ha. For winter season it
is sown in August"- September.

Layout & Spacing: Ridges & furrow type of layout is use. Sometime bhendi is also sown at
the border of main crop & layout is same as for main crop. For summer crop spacing is 45x30
cm. & Rainy season crop spacing is 60 x 45 cm.
44
 A. Improved Varieties: Pusa Makhamali, Pusa sawani, Vaishali, Vagmi, Punjab Padmini,
Selection 2-2, Pusa sawani is fairly mosaic tolerant Parbhani Kranti (Resistant to virus
disease). Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus).

1. Parbhani Kranti: It is yellow vein mosaic resistant variety released in 1985 by MAU,
Parbhani- It is derived from back cross of Abelmoschus manihot x A. esculentus. Two back
crosses were made using Pusa sawani (A. esculentus) as a recurrent parent followed by
selection in the subsequent generations- It is a yellow vein mosaic virus (YVMV) resistant
variety isolated in F8 generation. Plants flower in 45-60 days. Fruits are dark green in colour,
smooth, lender and slender.(MAU, Parbhani)

2. Phule Kirti: It is the F1 hybrid of okra suitable for both the kharif and summer seasons. It
is also suitable for warm and moderate humid regions. Stem is green in colour with red
patches. Fruits are green in colour. It is resistant to yellow vein mosaic virus. Shelf life is 3-4
days. It gives on an average yield of 163 quintals per hectare. Besides it is released through
the State Variety Release Committee of Maharashtra, it is also notified by the Central Sub
Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Varietal Release at the national level.
(MPKV, Rahuri)

Manures & Fertilizers: 20 to 25 tones well rottened FYM mixed with soil during field
preparation. For rainy season, crop apply 50 kg; N, 50kg P2O5 per hectare. For summer
season 40 kg N, 40 kg P2O5 should be applied.

Interculture Operation: Weeding, thinning and earthling up is the important intercultural

operations of bhendi. Earthing up in the rows should be done in rainy season crop. Application
of herbicides for controlling weeds in bhendi is found effective. Basalin (Fluchoralin 48 per
cent) @ 1-2 liter per hectare, and soil application of Tok-E-25 @ 5 liter per hectare effectively
controlled the weeds.

Irrigation: Pre sowing irrigation should be given in the soils having no sufficient moisture.
First irrigation is given just after sowing and then the field is irrigated after 4 to 5 days in
summer and 10 to 12 days in winter season.

Harvesting: Flowering begins from 35 to 40 days after sowing and fruits are ready for harvest
four to five days after flowering Bhendi pods may be harvested continuously at some
intervals. The young fruits can be harvested in the morning. Delay in harvesting may make the
fruits fibrous and they loose their tenderness and taste.

Yield & Crop Duration: Rainy season crop gives 7500 kg/ha. Summer crop gives 5000
kg/ha. Duration is 100 & 90 days respectively.

Insect Pests of Bhendi

45
1) Stem and Fruit Borer: The caterpillar bores into the growing points of the of the plant and
later on U also flower bud and young fruit.

Control Measures: Spraying the crop with carbaryl Sevin-50 W, Sevimol 0.1 per cent, or
Monocrotophos Nuvacron) 0.1 per cent or Endosulfan (Thiodan -35 EC) 0.97 percent on the
40 and 60 days after sowing is found beneficial.

2) Jassids: The hoppers suck the cell sap from the leaves, causes curling of leaves.

Control Measures: Spraying the crop with Dichlorovos (Nuvan) 76 EC or Malathion -50 EC)
@ 2 ml per liter of water or Dimethoate (Roger -30 EC) or Oxydemiton Methyl (Metasystox
—25 EC) @ 1 ml per liter of water can control this pest.

Diseases of Bhendi

1) Yellow Vein Mosaic or Vein Clearing Disease: It is a most serious disease of bhendi, in
severe cases the' leaves as well as the fruits become yellow and fruiting is badly affected. The
disease is transmitted only by insect vector known as white fly.
Control Measures: i) Uprooting and burning the disease affected plants as soon as they are
noticed is the best method to check the spread of this disease.
ii) The disease tolerant variety like pusa Sawani should be cultivated, in) Control of insect
vector by spraying the crop with Dimathoate (Rogor-30 EC) or Monocrotophos (Monocil) @
1 ml. per liter of water indirectly helps to check the speed of this disease.
2) Powdery Mildew: Grayish mealy growth is found mainly on the lower surface of leves.
The severely affected leaves turn yellow and drop off. The outbreak of this disease is
associated with dry weather.
Control Measures: The disease can effectively be controlled by dusting the crop with suplhur
or Spraying with Wetable sulphur (0.1 to 0,2 percent) or -dincocarp (Karathane) 0.1 per cent
or casan 0.4 per cent or Elosal 0.4 per cent at fortnightly interval.
3) Die Back: In severe infestation, die back of the apical parts of the plant occurs. The fungus
was shown to be seed borne.
Control Measures: Seed treatment with mercuric chloride helps to check the spread of this
disease.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum)

Botanical name: - Solanum tuberosum Family- Solanaceae
Origin- America Chromosome No.- 2n= 48

Potato is the most important food crop of the world. The potato is a crop which has always
been the ‘poor man’s friend’. Potato is being cultivated in the country for the last more than
300 years. For vegetable purposes it has become one of the most popular crops in this country.
Potatoes are an economical food; they provide a source of low cost energy to the human diet.
46
Potatoes are a rich source of starch, vitamins especially C and B1 and minerals. They contain
20.6 per cent carbohydrates, 2.1 per cent protein, 0.3 per cent fat, 1.1 per cent crude fibre and
0.9 per cent ash.
Soil
Potatoes can be produced on a wide range of soils, ranging from sandy loam, silt loam, loam
and clay soil. Well drained sandy loam and medium loam sols, rich in humus are most suitable
for potato. Alkaline or saline soils are not suitable for potato cultivation. They are well suited
to acidic soils (pH 5.0 to 6.5) as acidic conditions tend to limit scab disease.
Climate
Potato is a cool season crop. It thrives best in cool regions where there is sufficient moisture
and fertile soil. Satisfactory tuber growth occurs if soil temperatures are between 17 and
19°C.Higher soil temperatures adversely affect the tuber development. Tuber development
virtually stops if temperatures rise above 30°C. Sunshine along with cooler nights is essential
for reducing the spread of diseases.

Varieties:-
New Varieties:- Kufri Sadabahar, Kufri Himalini, Kufri Shaillija, Kufri Girdhari,
Early Varieties:- Kufri Chandramukhi, Kufri Jawahar, Kufri Laukar, Kufri Surya, Kufri
Ashoka, Kufri Sheetman, Kufri Khyati
Medium Varieties:- Kufri Bahar, Kufri Sutlej, Kufri anand, Kufri Arun, Kufri Pukhraj, Kufri
Pushkar, Kufri Lalima, Kufri Kanchan
Late Varieties:- Kufri Sindhuri, Kufri Badshah, Kufri Swarna
Processing Variery:- Kufri Chipsona -1, Kufri Chipsona- 2, Kufri Frysona, Kufri Himsona,
Kufri Surya.
Other :- Kufri Kisan, Kufri Kuber, Kufri Kumar, Kufri Kundan, Kufri Red, Kufri Saved,
Kufri Neela, , Kufri Alankar, Kufri Chamatkar, Kufri Jeevan, Kufri Jyoti, Kufri Khasigaro,
Kufri Naveen, Kufri Neelamani, Kufri deva, Kufri Gaurav.
Propagation
Vegetative Propagation
Potatoes are propagated vegetatively from tubers, either whole or cut into pieces. Many
diseases are carried by seed potatoes, and disastrous results may follow the use of diseased
seed. Potatoes are grown from cut seed and small whole tubers, and both are satisfactory
provided, they came from disease free stock. The usual size of the seed piece is 1½ to 2
ounces. Many workers shown that the vigor of the young plant is directly related to the size of
the seed piece, the larger the seed piece the more vigorous the plant.
Cultivation
Field Preparation: A well pulverized seed bed is required for good tuberisation of potato
crop. Potato is taken as a Rabi crop. Soon after the harvest of the Kharif crop, the field should
be ploughed once 20-25 cm deep with soil turning plough. Thereafter, two to three cross
harrowing or four to five ploughings with local plough should be done. One or two plankings

47
are also needed to make the surface smooth and leveled. Enough moisture is essential at the
time of sowing.
Selection of Seed: Select healthy and pure seed of high yielding varieties, free from pests and
diseases. The tubers showing any surface borne disease like scab, wart, nematode infection or
effect of rots should be sorted out. It is advisable to use certified seed for good yields. It is
advisable to replace the seed stock in every 3-4 years as the cultivars degenerate and result in
low yields. Healthy, medium or small sized sprouted tubers are to be selected for planting.
Ideal size for planting is about 2.5 cm in diameter (25-40 gm). Bigger sized tubers may be cut
into pieces longitudinally with 2-3 eyes in each piece. Seed from the previous years harvest
should be kept in seed trays or baskets or spread out on the floor or on racks in a store and
exposed to natural diffused light to ensure proper sprouting. The seed rate is about 1.5 to 2.5
tonnes per hectare. For main crop, cut tubers can be planted. While cutting the tubers, care
should be taken that each piece has two to three eyes and weighs at least 25 g. If any diseased
tuber is observed, it should be discarded. For planting one hectare about 15-20 quintals of seed
potatoes are required. A row to row distance of 45 to 60 cm and plant to plant 15 to 20 cm
should be maintained in the main crop.
Methods of Planting: There are three methods of planting in India:
1.Planting potatoes on ridges: After preparation of field, ridges are made at a distance of 45-
60 cm with the help of spade. Planting of potato is done on the ridges with the help of khurpi.
2. Flat method: Planting of potato is done on the flat surface in shallow furrows. Ridges are
made after germination when plants attain 10-12 cm height. This method is suitable for light
soils. Later on two to three earthings are done to make the ridges thick.
3. Planting potatoes on flat surface followed by ridges: In this method field is prepared and
then shallow furrows are opened on the flat surface. Potatoes are planted in furrows and
immediately after planting tubers, small ridges are made. Later on these ridges are made thick
by earthing up of the side soil.

Planting Time: To secure high yields, it is essential to plant the potatoes at the optimum time.
The best time of planting is when the maximum and minimum temperatures are from 30°C to
32°C and 18°C to 20°C,respectively. The following time schedule should be followed for
obtaining good yields.
a) Early crop-25th September to 10th October
b) Main crop-15th October to 25th October.
c) Hills- February for Valleys and March-April at higher altitudes.
Nutrient management:
Nutrient requirement in potato i.e. the requirement of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium
vary with the soil type, its nutrient status, variety, cropping pattern and sources of nutrients. It
is reported that proper soil fertility management in potato, alone accounts for 20.7% of all the
factors contributing yield. Generally 20-0 tonnes of FYM is recommended for potato
cultivation. FYM is applied to the field during land preparation.
48
Water Management
Potato crop is very much responsive to good water management. Removal of excess water is
essential. soil must be kept always moist but hardening or too wet conditions of soil should
not be allowed. Irrigation may be moderate to heavy but over-flooding of water on ridges
should be avoided.
Earthing Up
Proper development of tubers depends upon, aeration, moisture availability and proper soil
temperature. Therefore, proper earthing up is necessary. Earthing should be done when the
plants are 15-22 centimeters high. The ridges should be broad, loose and high enough to cover
up tubers. If necessary, a second earthing may be done after two weeks of the first one. A
mould board plough or ridger may be used for earthing up in large area.

Harvesting
Crop should be harvested when haulms start yellowing and falling on the ground. At this stage
haulms should be removed at ground level. The crop should be harvested about 15 days after
cutting the haulms. There should be optimum moisture in the soil at the time of harvest. After
digging, the tubers may be allowed to dry on the ground for sometime in shade.
Yield
With recommended package of practices, a yield of 300 to 400 quintals per hectare can be
obtained. However, in hills except lower valleys the yields do not go beyond 250 quintals per
hectare.
Disease Management
Potato crop is prone to many Early & Late Blight of Potatoes,
diseases like: a) Fungal diseases : Wart, Common Scab, Black scurf
etc.
b) Bacterial diseases : Wilt, Soft-rot etc.
c) Viral diseases : Latent mosaic (PVX and PVS),
Severe mosaic (PVY), Rugose
mosaic (PVX+PVY), Crinkle
mosaic (PVX+PVA), Leaf roll
(PLRV) etc.
Growing resistant varieties like Kufri Jyoti and K. Badshah, K. giriraj is found to be effective
to check the disease.

Physiological Disorder:-
Greening:- Exposure to sunlight
Black heart:- Poor ventilation
Hollow heart:- Excessive Nitrogen
Internal Breakdown:- Moisture deficiency
Chilling injury:- Low temp.- 00c
49
Freezing injury:- Low temp.- -1 to -20c

Cultivation of Pea (Pisum sativum)

Botanical Name: Pisum sativum L.

Family: Leguminaceae

Pea is an important vegetable in India; the crop is generally cultivated for its green pods. It
is highly nutritive and is rich in protein. It is used as a vegetable or in soup, canned frozen or
dehydrate. It is cooked as a vegetable along or with potatoes. Split grains of pea are widely
used for dal. Pea straw is a nutritious fodder.

Climate: Pea is a cool season crop and performs best at 100C to 180C. The flower and young
pods are badly affected by frost. The germination of seeds takes place at 3.3 0 c soil
temperature. Boswell (1920) reported that as the temperature increases during the growing
season the yield decline sharply. The optimum mean monthly temperature for pea is 12.8 0 C
to 18 0 C.

Sowing of Time: a) Sowing Time: The tea is generally sown in India in Rabi season from the
beginning of October to mid of November in the plains and from middle of March to end of
May in the hills. Sowing of seed during the first week of November is proper time to get
higher yield.

b) Seed Rate: The optimum seed rate is 25 to 30 kg/ha.

C) Method of Sowing: The pea is generally sown by broad casting. But it may also be sown
by dibbling or behind the plough. The seeds are soaked in water overnight before sowing for
better germination. Seeds treated with Rhizobium culture give higher yield. Pal Sodkar et al.
(1974) reported with soaking of seeds in G. A 10 ppm for 12 hour gave the highest
germination and yield.

Layout and Spacing: Flat bed layout is used. Spacing is 45 X 20 cm.

Manuring: 30 to 50 cartload should be applied at the time of soil preparation. 25 kg N, 50 kg

P and 50 kg k/ha should be applied ½ dose or full dose P and K should be applied at the
sowing. Remaining half nitrogen applied one month after sowing.

Intercultural Operation: a) Trailing and Staking: This is an important operation to be done

when vines were about two month old and are at spreading stage. Generally the plants should
be supported on bamboo sticks. Delay in this operation will reduce the yield considerably.
50
b) Weed Control: it is very difficult to control the weeds of pea filed by mechanical methods
as the crops are sown in rows in closed spacing. Uses of herbicides have been proved very
such effective. Atrazine, propazine and simazine at 0.54 kg per acre gave good broad leaf
weed control and late control of wild oats damage the peas. Prometryne @ 400 gm per acre
was most effective in improving vegetative growth and yield of pods.

Irrigation: Water requirement of pulse crops are higher than cereals. The water requirement
of pea depends largely on Agronomic condition of the locality. The crop may be irrigated at
both 10 days interval. Where rainfall is low, peas irrigation is very necessary at flowering and
grain development stage.

Harvesting: Peas are harvested for table use when the pods are will fill and the young tender
peas changing in colour from dark to light green. Peas may be picked in 45 to 60 days, 75
days and 100 days according to early. Mid season and late. Airtimes respectively, 3 to 4
pickling are done within the interval of 2 to 10 days. Fresh unshielded peas may be kept two at
0 C and 90- 95 percent relative humidity.

Yield: The yield of per hectare varies according to the variety:

Early Variety: 25 to 40 Quintals.

Mid Season and Late: 50 to 60 Quintals.

Varieties: Varieties according to their period of maturity.

Early Variety: Early Berger, Arkel.

Mid season Variety: Bonevilla, Jawahar.

Cultivation of Indian Bean (Dolichos lablab)

Botanical Name: Dolichos lablab (Roxb) and L.

Family: Leguminaceae.

Indian bean is primarily grows for its green pod. Young pods are cooked as vegetable.
Schaffausen (1963) reported then Indian bean is used for pod, feed and soil improvement.

Climate: Indian been is relatively a cool season and wrought resistant crop. The plants starts
fruiting from the beginning old cold season 2 ½ - 3 months after sowing and continue to give
green pods through winter and spring month.

51
Soil and its Preparation: Indian peas can grow in a wide range of soils. But loam, silty loam
and clay loam soils are best suited for Indian bean. The land is prepared thoroughly by giving
5 – 6 ploughing.

Sowing of Seed:

a) Time of Sowing: Filed varieties are sown with the advent of the monsoon in July- August,
come into flower in November – December and are harvested in January – February.

b) Seed Rate: The seed rate is 8 to 10 kg/ha.

c) Method of Sowing: The seeds may be sown in rows, or on ridges by drilling or by

dibbling. Flat bed and ridges and furrow layout is used. Spacing is 90 X 90 cm or 1m X 1m.

Interculture: 2- 8 weeding are required for control of weeds. Spraying insecticides and
fungicides from the time to time for control of insect pests and diseases.

Irrigation: Indian bean is commonly cultivated as rained crop. Irrigation will be given as and
when required.

Harvesting:
The Indian bean becomes ready for harvesting after two and half to three months of sowing.
Full grown bean is harvested according to the need.

Yield: The average yield is 100 to 120 quintal of green pods per hectare.

Varieties: Dasara, dipali, Konkan Bushan, local.

1. Konkan Bushan: Green pod yield is 80- 100 quintal per heater. Pods are slightly curved
tender and stingless. Bushy growth habit. Inflorescence is white.

2. Dasara: Notified during the year 1985- 86. Suitable for Kharif season. Pole type growth
habit, fruit length 10- 11 cm and breath 2.0 to 2.5 m. fruits are violet in colour. Seeds are
milky white, oval shaped with black spot. Average yield is 150- 200 quintals per heater.

3. Deepali: Notified during the year 1985- 86, suitable for Kharif season. Pole type growth
habit, fruits are milky in colour, fruit length 20-25 cm and breath 3.0 to 3.5 cm. seeds are red
in colour. Fruits are ready for pickling in 150 days. Yield is 150 – 200 quintal per heater.

4. Phule Gauri: It is developed by pure line selection. Pods are whitish green in colour,
attractive tender flat and slightly curved. It is to the vars. Dasara and Deepali for riled.
Average yield is 259 quintals per ha. It is good for both the Kharif and Rabi season. It is

52
tolerant to leaf miner and pod borer.

Cultivation of French Bean or Kidney Bean (Phaselous vulgaris)

Botanical Name: Phaselous vulgaris L.

Family: Leguminaceae.

French bean is valued as vegetable and seed. it is extensively grown as green vegetable.

Climate: Kidney bean is day neutral crops. It is very sensitive to high temperature and frost.
Soil temperature approximately 32.2 0 C (90 0F ) is essential for maximum vegetative growth.

Soil and its Preparation: French bean can be grown or practically in almost all type of soil
from light sandy soil to heavy clay soil. The optimum soil PH for getting good crops is 5.3 to
6.0. The land is prepared thoroughly by 5-6 ploughing.

Sowing of Seed:

a) Time of Sowing: The seed is sown in June – July and January- February in the plains and
from March to the beginning of May in the hills.

b) Seed Rate: The seed rate is 40 to 50 kg/ha.

c) Layout and Spacing: The seed may be sown by dibbling, drilling and broad casting at a
depth of 2.0 to 3.0 cm; the seeds should be inoculated with rhizoidal culture before sowing.
The flat bed layout is use. Spacing is 45 X 20 cm. recommended by PKV, Akola.

Interculture Operation: Shallow cultivation is given to keep the crop free from weeds.
Herbicides such as dinitomaterial 2 – 3 kg per acre and sodium salt of pentachlorophenol @ 6
kg per acre as per- emergence treatment have been effective in controlling the weeds.

Irrigation: The soil must have sufficient moisture. Irrigation should be given just prior to
blooming, during flowering and pod development stage.

53
Harvesting: The green pods become ready for harvesting after 45 to 75 days of sowing
according to the variety and they should be picked as and when they are ready. The dry beans
harvested when a large percentage of pods are fully ripe and most of the remainder has turned
yellow. Harvesting should be started before the lower pods dry enough to shelter.

Yield: Yield obtained 40 – 50 quintal green pods/ ha.

Varieties: There are numerous varieties in French bean and they can be broadly classified
according to the habit into bush and pole beans.

a) Bush bean variety: Pencil wonder, contender, Pusa parvati, Arka komal, jampa, bountiful,
prider.

b) Pole bean variety: keatuki wonder, premier, VPF – 191.

Phule Surekha: Developed by selection from cv. Jama improved. Suitable for cultivation in
Kharif, rabi and spring summer season. Pods are 9 -10 cm long, flat and light green in colour.
Recommended for Kolhapur, Satara, and Sangli and Pune district of Maharashtra. Resistant to
anthracnose, leaf crinkle, yellow mosaic and wilt disease. Average release committee of
Maharashtra, it is also notified by the central subcommittee on crop standards, notification and
varietal release at the national level.

Cultivation of Cluster Bean or Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba)

Botanical Name: Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L. Taub

Family: Leguminaceae.

Cluster bean is grown for green vegetables and dry pods, and also as forage crop and green
maturing crop. It is cultivated in many parts of India; some of its varieties are used for
extraction of gum.

Climate: Cluster bean is essentially a warm season crop and grows well in summer as well as
rainy season crop. It is very hardy crop and relatively resistant top drought.

Soil and its Preparation: Cluster bean can be grown on all types of soil. But well drained
sandy loam soil is best suited for it. The land should be well prepared by repeated ploughing.

Sowing of Seeds:

a) Time of Sowing: Early crop is sown from February n- march and the main crop is sown
with advent of monsoon, at the end of June or in beginning of July . in certain area. Sowing is
extended to September- October.
54
b) Seed Rate: The seed rate is 5 to 8 kg/ ha.

c) Layout and Spacing: In layout flat bed and spacing 60 X 30 cm is recommended by

P.K.V. Akola.

Manuring: 30 to 50 cartload should be applied at the time of soil preparation. 25 kg N, 50 kg

P and 50 kg k/ha should be applied ½ dose or full dose P and K should be applied at the
sowing. Remaining half nitrogen applied one month after sowing.

Interculture operation: 2- 3 weddings are required for control of weeds. Spraying

insecticides and fungicides from time to time for control of insect peat and diseases.

Irrigation: Irrigation should be given in early sown cluster bean whence it is necessary. There
is no need for irrigation for rainy season crop.

Harvesting: The green pods for vegetable purposes are harvested from the plant by twisting
or by cutting, when the attain the marketable sage. Harvesting or picking of green pods is
continued over a considerably long because they continue arising as the plant grows.

Yield: The yield of green pods varies from 40 to 60 q/ha.

Varieties: Pusa Mausmi (suitable for growing only as rainy season crop), Pusa sadabahar and
Pusa Naubahar (suitable) for growing as a summer crop and rainy season crop) etc.

Cultivation of Cowpea (Vigna sinensis)

Botanical Name: Vigna sinensis Savi.

Family: Leguminaceae

Cowpea is a Kharif legume and is grown through India for green pod, dry seed, fodder and
green manure.

Climate: Cowpea is a warm season crop and cannot stand cold weather. Warm and moist
climate is favorable for this crop. It cannot tolerate heavy rainfall.

Soil and its Preparation: Cowpea can be grown in all types of soil. But sandy and sandy
loam soils are best suited for it. The soil should be rich in organic matter. The land is prepared
by giving four to five ploughing.

55
Sowing of Seed:

a) Time of Sowing: The time of sowing varies according to type of crop.

i) Kharif crop: May – June.

Ii) Rabi crop: October- November.

iii) Spring crop: February – March.

b) Seed Rate: The rate is 15 to 20 kg/ha.

c) Method of Sowing: The seed is sown by dibbling method. In layout flat bed and spacing
40 X 30cm, or 65 X 45 cm is recommended by PKV, Akola.

Manuring: 30 to 50 cart load of FYM or compost should be applied at the time of sowing
preparation. 25 kg N, 50 kg P, should be applied ½ dose N, full dose P and k should be
applied at the sowing and remaining half nitrogen applied one month after sowing.

Intercultural Operation: No weeding is given this crop. It covers the land very soon and kill
the weeds by smoothing. In early stage of growth, one weeding has been found beneficial to
this crop.

Irrigation: No irrigation is given in rainy season crop. But if grown earlier, the crop is
irrigated whenever it is required. About three to four irrigation may be given before rainfall.

Harvesting: The compare becomes ready for harvesting in 90 to 105 days for short duration
crop and 135 to 150 days for long duration crop. Frequently tender pods should be harvested
before they become fibrous. The plant is harvested for fodder or is used as green manure,
when they are bearing flowers.

Yield: Cowpea yield about 50 to 80 quintal green pods/ ha.

Varieties: Pusa phalguni (suitable for sowing as a summer season crop), Pusa Barsati
(Suitable for sowing as only rainy season crop), Pusa Dofasli (suitable for sowing as a
summer and rainy season crop ), Pusa komal.

Insect and Pest Management of Legume Vegetables

1. Aphids: It is most destructive pest of legumes vegetable. These are very small insect and
infest the leaves, stem and pods and suck the cell sap. In case of severe infestation, the
infested parts dry up and there may not be any pod formation.

56
Control Measures: This insect can be controlled by spraying the crop with Dimethoate
(Rogor 30 EC) or Oxydemiton Methyl (Metasystox – 25 EC) or methyl Parathion (Metacid 50
EC ) @ 1 ml or Phosphamidon ( Demecron – 100 EC ) @ 0.5 ml per liter of water when the
infestation is noticed.

2. Pea Pod borer: The insect bore into pods and feed on the grains inside.

Control Measures: Spraying the crop with Fenthion 0.05 percent and Phosphamidon 0.03 %
can control this pest.

3. Pea Weevil: The crop may become infested either in the field or in storage or in both
places. It lays eggs on the young pods and leaves bore the seeds where they complete their
development.

Control Measures: Dusting the crop at blossoming time with one percent rotten one or 10
percent DDT can control this pest.

4. Leaf Eating Caterpillar: The caterpillars feed on leves generally during morning and
evening and defoliate the plant.

Control Measures: Dusting the crop with BHC or DDT 10 % @ 8 to 10 kg per acre or
spraying the crop with Imidacloprid (Thiodane 35 EC) @ 2 ml per liter of water has been
found effective in controlling this pest.
Disease Management of Legume Vegetable

1. Seedling Blight: Pre- emergence and post emergence damping off of seedling occur and the
fribrous root being infested.

Control Measures: The seeds be treated with Cerasan or Arasan or Speragon @ 2.5 gm per
kg of seed before sowing.

2. Powdery Mildew: Small, white, circular powdery spots appear on the upper surface of
leaves which gradually cover the entire leaves, stems, petiole and the pods. They increased
gradually resulting in the death of the leaves and fruits.

Control Measures: Dusting the crop with sulfur @ 11.25 kg acer or spraying Wettable sulfur
@ 2 kg %, starting just on the appearance of the disease have been found effective in
controlling this disease.

3. Downey Mildew: Symptoms are downy growth on lower surface of leaves which is white
first, but later changes to violet and appears black is advance stage. Brown lesions are formed
on pods in case of severe infector.

57
Control Measures: This disease can effectively be controlled by spraying the crop copper
Oxychloride (Blitox, Phytolan tc) @ 5 gm per liter of water.

4. Wilt: Symptoms are premature yellowing and whitening of leaves and finally the diving of
the entire plant. Plant may continue to wilt in patches in quick succession till the maturity
period. The diseases affected plants can easily be pulled out. The diseases cause considerable
damage when the crop is sown early and in light soil.

Control Measures: 1. Early sowing should be avoided in badly infested areas.

2. The seed should be treated with cerasn @ 2.5 gm or captan @ 2.3 gm per kg of seed.

Cultivation of Sweet Potato (Ipomea batatas)

Botanical Name: Ipomea batatas.

Family: Convolvulaceae.

Sweet potato is a important tuber crop grown for starchy food in tropical and sub
tropical countries. India it is called as ‘Sakharkanda’.

Composition and Uses: Sweet potato contains starch. Mainly sweet potato is used after
boiling, baking and frying. It is important source of starch, glucose, sugar syrup and industrial
alcohol. It is the cheapest source of calories. It produces highest food calories among the tuber
and root crops. Sweet potato is also used to feed livestock.

Climate: Sweet potato requires warm weather of at least four to five months. It needs
temperature range between 21 to 27 0 C. a well distributed rainfall of 75 to 150 cm is
desirable. It is a tropical and subtropical crop. It cannot tolerate heavy rainfall which induces
excessive vegetative tuber development. Is does not stand frost.

Soil: Since the tuber growth takes place inside the soil, it needs loose friable soil for better
root development. It can grow in sandy loam and clay sub soil. Heavy clay soil, which
becomes hard after drying checks the development of the tubers and highly sandy soils cause
development of cylindrical pencil like tuber. In compact soil tuber yield is low due to poor
aeration. Such soils also creates harvesting problem. High fertile soils favor luxuriant
vegetative growth. Soil should be well drained for successful cultivation. 5.8 to 6.7 soils Ph is
suitable.

Planting Season: Time of planting vile cutting and growing season have marked effect on the
yield of sweet potato. In Maharashtra it is planted in September – October. For Kharif crop
planting in May- June the cutting from sprouts and higher yield of tubers cutting of 24- 30 cm
58
long are planted. Vines are buried inside the soil in the middle and one node at each and kept
exposed.

Methods of Planting: Sweet potato can be propagated by tubers clips or vine cuttings.
Propagation by vine cutting is a very common practice. The cutting are grown in the nursery
from the old vines or from clips produced on the tubers planted in the nursery beds. The vine
cuttings are planted either on ridges for monsoon crop or in flat bed in low rainfall area.
Terminal cuttings from full grown plants are reported t give better growth and yield than the
basal or model cuttings. Each cutting should have at least four nodes. The vine cuttings are
planted at about 60 cm from row to 30cm within the row. Keeping the end bud free roots is
formed in the central part of vines which is put inside the soil. It is better to plant the cuttings
after them 8 to 10 minutes in D.D.T 50 % solution.

Seed Rate: About 40- 50 thousand cuttings are required for planting a hectare of land.

Cultivars/ Varieties: In Maharashtra white fleshed with red skin colour sweet potatoes are
grown. The cultivars are from clonally selection. Variation among the cultivar exists in respect
of skin and flesh colour, shape and size of tubers. Mostly local varieties are grown. There are
varieties like H- 268, Pusa Safed, Pusa red, Pusa sunehari, NO- 4004, S- 30, Klamath and
recent one Sakarkand – 5. The period of maturity ranges between 90- 140 days. In general it is
ready for harvesting in 120 days.

Sweet Potato:
1. Varsha: It is released for Maharashtra suitable for rainy season. It is the high yielding ( 150
q/ ha). it belongs to the group varieties of sweet potato.
2. Konkan Ashwini: A sweet potato variety Konkan Ashwini is released for cultivation in
Maharashtra. It is a short duration, dual seasonal and high yielding variety.
Sree Nandhini, Sree Vardhini, Sree Rethna, Sree Arun, Sree Varun, Sree Kanaka,
Gouri, Sankar, Kishan

Manures and Fertilizer: 30- 50 cart load FYM should be given at the time of soil preparing.
50- 60 kg N, 50- 60 kg P and 100 – 120 kg k /ha should be applied ½ N, full P and K should
be applied at the time of planting. Remaining ½ N should be applied 30 days after planting.

Irrigation: In Kharif season crop needs less irrigation the most critical stage of moisture
supply is 40 days after planting. Excessive moisture supply deteriorates the quality of tubers.

Interculture: Intercultivation to suppress weed growth is necessary to obtain high yields.

Earthing up is followed. Earthing up after 13- 30 days of planting increases the yield. In early
of the crop weeding is essential as in later stage vine growth suppresses the weeds.

Harvesting: Time of harvesting depends on the variety. Before harvest vines are cut and
tubers are dug with the help of fork. Sweet potato is harvested when leaves turn yellow and
59
shed. Judge the maturity by cutting tuber. If latex dried up without turning black, it is sure that
the sweet potato is matured. Irrigate the crop 4- 6 days prior to harvest to facilitate harvesting.
Take care that tubers are not injured while harvesting.

Yield: Under rain fed conditions yield upto 80- 100 quintal / ha obtained while under good
management and irrigated condition yield upto 250 q/ ha is obtained. In an addition to tubers
10 – 25 tonnes of vines are produced per hectare.

Insect Pest of Sweet Potato

1. Sweet Potato Weevil: Sweet potato weevil is a most serious pest of this crop. A red and
blue ant like weevil that makes holes in the stem and tubers. The pale yellow grub of this pest
having no feed bores into the vines.

Control Measures: i) Cultural practices such as destruction of alternate host, removal of

infested vines and tubers, deep ploughing of land harvest and earthling up to prevent entry of
weevil into tubers have been found effective for controlling for this pest.

ii) This pest can be controlled by spraying the crop with Endosulfan (Thiodane 35 EC) @ 2 ml
per liter of water of carbaryl @ 2.5 gm per liter of water.

2. Sweet Potato Sphinx: It is a serious leaf eating caterpillar of sweet potato. A stout long
horn caterpillar that completely that defoliate the plants.

Control Measures: i) Hand picking and destroying the caterpillar is the best method, if
infestation is less.

ii) This pest can be controlled by spraying the crop with lead arsenate of Imidacloprid, if
infestation is very severe.

Disease of Sweet Potato

1. Leaf Spot: Large brown spots appear on leaves.

Control Measures: This disease can be controlled by spying with Zineb (Dithane Z- 78) or
Mancozeb (Dithane M – 45) @ gm pre liter of water at an interval of 15 days.

2. Black Rot: It is primarily a storage rot of tubers but may also occur in the filed, in the filed.
Infested foliage become yellow and sticky in appearance and black canker are seen on the
portion underground and grey black circular spots occur on fleshy roots.

Control Measures: i) Careful sorting of tubers before storage and rotation of crops are
helpful in reducing the incidence of the disease.

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ii) The seed tubers should be treated with mercuric chloride solution ( 1 in 1000 ) or 2.5 per
cent borax solution.

3. Soft Rot: Storage rot of tubers and their tissue become soft and stringy.

Control Measures: i) Avoiding brushing and injuring the tubers at harvesting is the best
method of controlling this disease.

ii) The walls and floors of storage room should be disinfected before the storing tubers.

FENUGREEK

Botanical name- Trigonella foenum-graecum Family- Fabaceae

Origin- south Eastern Europe and west Asia,

Kasuri Methi- Trigonella corniculata

It is cultivated as a leafy vegetable, condiment and as medicinal plant. The fresh tender
leaves and stem are consumed as curried vegetable and the seeds are mainly used as spice
for flavoring almost all dishes. It has a high medicinal value as it prevents constipation,
removes indigestion, stimulates spleen and liver and is appetizing and diuretic.

Climate and soil

It has wide adaptability and is successfully cultivated both in the tropics as well as
temperature regions. It is tolerant to frost and freezing weather. It does well in places
receiving moderate or low rainfall areas but not in heavy rainfall areas. It can be grown on
a wide variety of soil but clayey loam is relatively better. The optimum soil pH should be
6-7 for its better growth and development.

Varieties:- Phule Kasturi, Pusa Early Bunching, CO-1,2, Rajendra Kanti, , Methi No. –
47, Methi No.- 14.

Land preparation and sowing

Land is prepared by ploughing thrice and beds of uniform size are prepared. Broad casting
the seed in the bed and raking the surface to cover the seeds is normally followed. But, line
sowing is advocated in rows at 20-25 cm apart which facilitates the inter cultural
operations. Sowing in the plains is generally taken up in Sep-Nov while in the hills, it is
grown from March. Approximately 20 kg of seed is required for one hectare and the seed
takes about 6-8 days to complete its germination.

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Manures and fertilizer

Besides 15 tonnes of farm yard manures, a fertilizer dose of 30 Kg N, 25Kg P2 O5 and

40Kg K2O per ha is recommended as basal. 20 kg N at 30 days after sowing. To obtain
more successful leafy growth, nitrogen should be applied after each cutting.

Irrigation

First irrigation is given immediately after sowing and subsequent irrigation is applied at 7
to 10 days interval.

Intercultivation

Hoeing and weeding during the early stages of plant growth are required to encourage
proper growth. Thinning may be done on 20-25 days to keep the distance between the
plants at 10-15 cm and to retain 1-2 plants per hill. In about 25-30 days, young shoots are
nipped off 4’’ above ground level and subsequent cuttings of leaves may be taken after 15
days. It is advisable to take 1-2 cuttings before the crop is allowed for flowering and
fruiting. When the pods are dried, the plants are pulled out and dried in the sun and seeds
are threshed by beating with stick or by rubbing with hands. Seeds are winnowed, cleaned
and dried in the sun. They may be stored in gunny bags lined with paper.

Yield

500-700 kg of seeds and about 4000-5000 kg of leaves may be obtained per hectare in
crops grown for both the purposes.

Plant protection

Root rot is a serious disease and can be controlled by drenching carbendazim 0.05% first at
the onset of the disease and another one month.

CORIANDER

Botanical name:- Coriandrum sativum Family- Apiaceae

The fruits have a fragrant odour and pleasant aromatic taste. The odour and taste are due to
the essential oil content which varies from 0.1 to 1.0 percent in the dry seeds. These
essential oils are used for flavouring liquors, cocoa preparations in confectionary and also
to mask the offensive odours in pharmaceutical preparations. The dried ground fruits are
the major ingredient of the curry powder. The whole fruits are also used to flavour foods
like pickles, sauces and confectionary. The young plants as well as the leaves are used in
the preparation of chutney and are also used as seasoning in curries, soups, sauces and
62
chutneys. It has medicinal properties too. Fruits are said to have carminative, diuretic,
tonic, stomachic and aphrodisiac properties.

Climate and soil

It is a tropical crop and can be grown throughout the year for leaf purposes, but for higher
than grain yield it has to be grown in specific season. A dry and cold weather free from
frost, especially during flowering and fruit setting stage favours good grain production.
Cloudy weather during flowering and fruiting stage favours pest and disease incidences.
Heavy rain affects the crop. As an irrigated crop, it can be cultivated on almost all types of
soils provided sufficient organic matter is applied. Black cotton soils with high retentivity
of moisture are best under rainfed conditions.

Varieties :- Sadhana, Sindhu, Sudha, Swathi, APHU Dhania-1,Suguna, Suruchi,, Susthira,

Gujrat Coriander -1, Gujrat Coriander-2, CO-1,2,3

Field preparation

For raising crop, the land is ploughed 3 to 4 times following rains and field must be planted
immediately to break the clods and to avoid soil moisture. For irrigated crop the land is
ploughed twice or thrice and beds and channels are formed.

Season of cultivation

In the North and Central parts of India and Andhra Pradesh, It is mostly grown as a rabi
season crop and hence sowing is done between middle of October and middle of
November. Still late sowing is recommended in places vulnerable for frost damage. In
certain pockets of the above area, late kharif crop is sometimes sown in August-September.
In Tamil Nadu, as an irrigated crop, coriander is raised in June-July and Sep-Oct. In the
first season, it matures early before the end of Aug-Sep. In the second season, it matures
late with an extended growth phase during Jan-Feb. The growth and the yield of second
season crop is found to be better than the first season crop. Under rainfed conditions, it is
sown during Sep-Oct, at the onset of North east monsoon and harvested during Jan-Feb.

Sowing

A seed rate of 10 to 15 kg per hectare is required. Seeds are stored for 15-30 days record
better and early germination than freshly harvested seeds. Seeds are soaked in water for 12
to 24 hours before sowing also enhances and treated with thiram at 2g per kg of seeds. For
irrigated crop, sowing is generally done in rows spaced at 30-40 cm apart with 15 cm
between hills. Soil depth should not exceed 3.0 cm. Three to five seeds are sown a hill and
later on thinned to two plants per hill. Under rainfed condition seeds are broadcast and
covered with country plough. Germination takes place in 10-15 days.
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Manuring

About 10 tonnes of farm yard manure is applied at the time of last preparation. In addition,
the following fertilizers may be applied. Irrigated crop 15:40:20Kg/ha NPK as basal and 15
kg N at 30DAS, Rainfed crop 20:30:20 kg NPK/ha

Irrigation

First irrigation is given 3 days after sowing and thereafter at 10 – 15 days interval
depending upon the soil moisture available in the soil.

After cultivation

The first hoeing and weeding are given in about 30 days. Thinning the plants is also
attended simultaneously, leaving only 2 plants per hill. Depending upon the growth 1 or 2
more weedings are done.

Harvesting

The crop will be ready for harvest in about 90 -110 days depending upon the varieties and
growing seasons. In certain varieties, harvesting 50% leaves at 60 days 75 days may be
done which will fetch additional income but without affecting the grain yield. Harvesting
has to be done when the fruits are fully ripe and start changing from green to brown colour.
Delaying of the harvest should be avoided lest shattering during harvest and splitting of the
fruits in subsequent processing operations. The plants are cut or pulled and piled in to
small stacks in the field wither for 2- 3 days the fruits are then threshed out from the plants
by beating with sticks or rubbing with the hands. The produce is winnowed, cleaned and
dried in partial shade. After drying, the produce is stored in gunny bags lined with paper.
The rainfed crop yields on an average 400 – 500 kg/ha and the irrigated crop 600 -1200
kg/ha.

Plant protection

At the seedling stage coriander is often attacked by the leaf eating caterpillars and semi-
loopers and at the flowering stage by the aphids. Spraying the crop with methyl demeton
(0.05 %) is recommended to control aphids but at flowering stage the use of any insecticide
would kill the bee population affecting pollination in the crop.

Powdery mildew (Erysiphe polygoni) is a serious disease which ruin the crop if allowed
unchecked in the initial stage itself. Spraying wettable sulphur 0.25 % or 0.2 % solution of
karathane twice at 10-15 days interval is recommended. Grain mold is caused by
Helminthosporium sp, Alternaria sp, Carvularia sp and Fusarium sp. It can be controlled by
spraying carbendazim 0.1 % 20 days after grain set.
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 Cultivation of Amaranthus (Amaranthus tricolor)

Botanical Name: Amaranthus tricolor l.

Family: Amaranthaceous.

Local Name: Math- Marathi, Chhoti Chulai- Hindi, Cheera- Malayalam.

1. Amarnthus candotus: rajgira.

2. Amarnthus tricoloulour: Math.
3. Amarnthus blitum: tamda math.
4. Amaranthus oleracea: tandulja.

It is a warm season leafy vegetable grown in Kharif and summer season. It is short
duration crop. Leafy types are grown in kitchen and market garden, recently grain types have
grained some importance in protein, minerals and vitamin A and C.

Soil and its Preparations: It can be grown on all types of soil, but loam soil is most suitable
for its cultivation. Fine seed bed necessary for this crop and this can be done by repeated
ploughing.

Sowing of Seed: The crop is suitable for growing in summer as well as rainy season. The seed
is sown in December- January for summer crop and April – May for rainy season crop. Seeds
of this crop are very small. The seed is sown broadcast in sown or in flat beds after mixing
those with fine soil fro well distribution. The seedlings of badi Chauli are transplanted after
raising them in the nursery during rainy season at a spacing of 45 cm from row to row 30 cm.
from plant to plant. About one kilogram seed is required for sowing one acre.

Manuring: The plants are top- dressed with Urea @ 25 kg/ ha. After 15-20 days of sowing
and subsequent top dressing are done. After each cutting.

After Care: The crop become ready fro harvesting about three to four weeks after sowing and
subsequent cuttings may be done after 7 to 10 days. The plants are harvested by cutting them
periodically. This crop revenate quickly after each cutting.

Yield: The yield of green leaves is 90 to 100 q/ha and seed is 200 kg/ ha.

Varieties: The recommended varieties are badi Chaulai, Chotti Chaulai, Arka Samraksha,
Arka Suguna, Arka Varna, Pusa Kiran, Pusa Kirti, Pusa Lal Chaulai and Co- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Amaranthus: (Amaranthus sp.)

65
1. Konkan Durangi: This is developed by selection. It is high yielding giving 82 % more
yield than control. The upper surface of leaves is green while the lower one is red. Pedicel and
stem colour is also red. It is suitable for both the rabi and summer seasons.

Insect Pests Management in Green Vegetables

1. Aphids: They are very small insect pests found generally in groups on tender shoots and
leaves of plant. They suck up the cell sap and make them poor in growth.

Control Measures: i) Spray 40 % commercial Nicotine Sulphate ( 1 to 800 parts of water )

about 80 – 100 gallons will needed of this chemical for spraying in an hectare.
ii) Spray Pyrethrum 80 – 100 gallons per hectare (after diluting 1 part of it in 1000 parts of
water).

2. The Painted Bug: The painted bug and flea beetle attack scars on plants the former is a
sucking insect white the latter makes holes in leaves. The bug can be controlled by 5 % or 0.5
%, rotenone dust. The beetle succumbs to a spray of lead Arsenate ( ½ kg /500 liter of water )
or 0.25 % DDT spray.

3. Laphygma Exigua: Its caterpillar attack is a host range covering almost all leafy
vegetables, and the caterpillar of Plusia orichalora attacks fenugreek, Palak and a few other
kinds.

4. Brassica: The Brassica are subjected to the attack of large larvae of mustard sawfly,
particularly early in the season. The larvae feed on leaves by cutting small holes and
ultimately skeletons the plants.

Control Measures: I) Pick the larvae of sawfly and destroy it. ii) Spray with Pyrethrum
extract 1: 800.

iii) For the caterpillar of the pests described above 0.2 to 0.3 % Pyrethrum dust has been
reported to be effective.

Diseases Management in Green Vegetables

1. Leaf Spot Diseases: It is caused by Cerospora traversina in fenugreek, C. baticola in Palak

C. Spinaces in spinach, C. Chenopodi in bathua and Cercopora sp. In poi.

2. Downey Mildew Disease: It is caused by Perinospora trigonella on fenugreek,P.parastica

on brassicas, P. effuse on Chenopodium.

66
3. White Rust: In Brassica it is caused by Albunog vandila, a. blightii in Amaranthus and A.
portulaces on Purslane. Brassica leaves stem and pods are spoiled by lesions:
It is caused by Alternasia Brassicae.

Control Measures: Removal of the infected plants and their destruction would be helpful
reducing losses from these diseases.

Dioscorea

B.N. Dioscorea floribunda

Family: Dioscoriaceae

This Genus Dioscorea belonging to family Dioscoriaceae with" over 600 species is
widely distributed in tropical world. Some of the species like D. alaia and D. esculeniaax
under cultivation for long time for their edible tubers. There are about 15 species of this genus
containing diosgenin. Among this, D. floribunda and D composite are widely grown for
diosgenin production.

Climate and Soil: It is a tropical species preferring a tropical climate without extremity to
temperature. It is adopted to moderate to heavy rainfall areas. Dioscorea plants can be grown
in a wide variety of. soils. Extremely heavy clay soils are, in general not recommended, as
they restrict tuber growth and make harvesting difficult. Dioscorea tolerates fairly wide
variation in soil pH, though very acid soils should be avoided, the ideal soil pH being 5.5 to
6.5.

Varieties: The Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore has released so far two
improved varieties.

l. FB{c} l: This is a composite strain of D. floribunda, which has been released for
commercial cultivation. This is a vigorous growing strain relatively free from diseases. This
has a diosgenin content of 3 to 5.5 per cent. It is suitable for cultivation around Bangalore and
Coorg (Karnataka), Goa, Assam, Meghalaya, Tamilnaidu, Maharashtra and Andaman.

2. Arka Upkar: This is a high yielding clone released recently.

The plants are very vigorous with a stout, robust vine, bearing broad dark green leaves. The
tuber branches are thick, broad and deep. It has a higher diosgenin content of 3.5 to 4.0 per
cent.

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Propagation: Dioscorea floribunda can be propagated by tuber pieces, single node stem
cuttings or seed. Commercial planting is normally established by tuber pieces only.
Propagation, through: seed progeny is variable and it may take longer time to obtain tuber
yields.

Planting: Land should be prepared thoroughly till a fine tilth is obtained. Deep furrows
should be made at 60 cm distance with the help of a plough. The stored tuber pieces which are
ready for planting, seedlings or single node stem cuttings should be planted in furrows with 30
cm between the plants for-one year crop and 45 cm between the plants for two years crop; The
tuber pieces are planted at about 0.5 cm below the soil level. The new sprouts should be
staked immediately. After sprouting is complete, the plants could be earthed up. Soil from the
ridges may be used for earthing up so that the original furrows will become ridges and vice
versa.

Aftercare: Dioscorea vines need support for their optimum growth and hence the vines are
trained over pandal system or trellis.

Weeding: Initially, the vines are weak and tender and cannot compete efficiently with the
surrounding weeds. Periodic hand weeding as and when necessary, is essential for the first,
few months. . Experience has shown that once the plants have climbed up on the pandal, the
weed population is considerably reduced due to shading. The plants by this stage can also
compete more

Manures and Fertilizers: D. floribunda requires high organic matter for good tuber
formation. Besides a basal dose of 18 to 20 tones of FYM per ha, a complete fertilizer dose of
300 kg nitrogen, 150 kg phosphorus and 150 kg "of potassium should be applied per hectare.
Phosphorus and potassium should be applied in two equal doses one after the establishment of
the crop during May-June and the other during vigorous growth period of the crop (August -
September).

Irrigation: Irrigation may be given at weekly intervals in the initial stage and afterwards at
about 10 days interval. However, during rainy season no irrigation is needed. In anamalai, it is
raised under pure rainfed conditions.

Intercropping: Intercropping with legumes like cowpea, horse, gram, cluster bean and
French bean has been found to smother weeds and also provide an extra income without
adversely affecting the tuber yield and diosgenin content.

Duration: The diosgenin content tends to increase with age; (.5 to 3.0 per cent during the first
year and.3.0-3.5 per cent in the second year) and also the tuber yield and hence a two year
crop is found to be: more economical.

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Harvesting: The tubers grow to about 25-30 cm depth and hence harvesting is done by
manual labour. The best season for harvesting is Feb. - March coinciding with the dry period.

On an average 50-60 tones of fresh tubers can be obtained from one hectare in two years
duration.

DRUMSTICK
Moringa oleifera (2n = 22)

Family : Moringaceae Origin- North west India.

Drumstick is grown for its nutrient rich tender, but full grown pods, leaves and flowers which
are used for culinary preparations. Fruits are rich in vitamin C (120 mg/100g), carotene (110
mg), phosphorus (110 mg) and minerals like magnesium (28 mg), potassium (259 mg),
sulphur (137 mg), chlorine (423 mg) etc. The crop is grown in homesteads for family sues or
cultivated commercially for market. Tender leaves and flowers are comparable to that of
colocasia in vitamins and minerals and have great role for combating malnutrition of urban
and rural masses. Certain morigna types principally grown for its foliage are reported from
West Indies. Drumstick roots are good substitute for horse radish. Root, bark and seed have
many industrial uses also.

Varieties / cultivars
A number of local cultivars are known by the place of their cultivation. Details of local
cultivars are given:
• Jaffna moringa - a perennial type which bares 60-90 cm long pods with soft flesh and good
taste.
• Chavakacheri muringa - a perennial type producing 90-120 cm long pods.
• Chemmuringa - This perennial type flowers throughout year and bears red tipped fruits.
• Yazhpanam muringa – same as Jaffna type
• Pal muringai – Pods having thicker pulp and better taste
• Puna muringa – Thinner fruits.
• Kodikal muringa – produces short pods of 15-20 cm long and is sued as support for betel
vine plants. Propagated by seeds.

There are only a few named varieties and the details are given below:

Konkan Ruchira: - Year of Release : 1992 Yield (q/ha.) : 30-35 t/ha

Medium size (5.6 m height) tree with dark green foliage, dark green colour, medium long
sticks with best quality

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KM-1 (Kudumianmalai 1) – Bushy variety propagated through seeds. Plants come to bear 6
months after planting and can be rationed for 2-3 years. Productivity 400-500 fruits / year.
Developed at Anna Pannai, Kudumianmalai of Pudukottai.

PKM – 1 – This “seed moringa”, propagated through seeds is developed at Horticultural

Research Station, TNAU, Periyakulam. Plants grow to a height of 4-6 m and come to flower
in 90-100 days after planting. The first harvest starts 160-170 days after planting and on an
average each tree bears 200-225 fruits / year. Pods are 65-70 cm long with 6.3 cm girth and
150 g weight. Fruits are green coloured and highly pulpy.

PKM 2 – This “seed moringa”, propagated through seeds, is also developed at Horticultural
Research Station, TNAU, Periyakulam. Pods are extra long (125-130 cm), pulpy and suitable
for homestreads.

Dhanraj – This is also an annual drumstick propgated through seeds and is evolved at KRC
College of agriculture, UAS, Arabhavi, Karnataka.

Crop improvement programmes in the Department of Olericulture, Kerala Agricultural

Unviersity, Vellanikkara resulted in the development of three promising perennial drumstick
clones viz., MO 70, MO 95 and MO 44 and one annual seed drumstick, AD 4.

Climate and soil

Drumstick is predominantly a crop of dry and arid tracts. However intensive cultivation with
good irrigation and systematic cultural practices will give good yield especially for annual
type. The plant put forth luxuriant growth at 25-300C. Higher temperature results in heavy
flower shedding. Crop is also injured severely by frost. Though the crop comes up well in all
types of soil, performance is better in sandy loam rich in organic matter. A pH range of 6.0 –
6.72 is most ideal.

Propagation

Perennial types are propagated through limb cutting of 90-100 cm length and 5-8 cm diameter.
Annual types are propagated by seeds. Average seed weight is 0.288 g and 10 g contain 35
seeds. Seeds @ 625 g/ ha can be either sown in pits or transplanted after raising seedlings in
polythene bags. Transplanting of seedlings can be made one month after sowing. It is always
advisable to raise a few plants additionally in polythene bags for purpose of gap filling. Time
of sowing of seeds for annual seed drumstick or planting of limb cuttings varies from region
to region depending on receipt of monsoon.

Land preparation

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Field is ploughed 3-4 times. Apply FYM @ 20 t ha-1 at last ploughing. Take pits of size 45 x
45 x 45 cm at a spacing of 6.0 x 6.0 m for perennial types and 2.5 x 2.5 m for annual types,
apply 10 kg FYM and fill up pits.

Interculture and manuring

To facilitate side branches, shoot may be nipped off when the seedlings are at 75 cm height.
Apply 100 g Urea, 100 g Super phosphate and 50 gm MOP and irrigate heavily. Top dress
plants with 100 g Urea again 3 months after first application. Provide light irrigation for early
emergence of seedlings for annual type.

After harvest of main crop, annual types are cut back tone meter height from ground level for
rationing. These rationed plants develop new shoots and start bearing four to five months after
rationing. Likewise about three ratoon crops can be taken. At each and every ratoon crop,
plants are supplied with N, P and K nutrients as already mentioned along with 20-35 kg of
FYM and irrigate.

Pests:- Drumstick plants are obstructive to most of the pests but can be attacked by some pests
such as hairy caterpillar, moringa worm, pod fly, leaf caterpillar, bark caterpillar. To protect
moringa from these pests, following practices can be done-

Plough during summers and destroy the alternate host plants.

Avoid overlapping of plants in nearby area.
Provide proper nutrients to moringa by spreading 7-8 kg of compost per hole.
Remove previous crop residues and plan to grow legumes and ginger intercrops.
Use light soil with proper drainage.
Spray NSKE (Neem seed kernel extract) 5% during 50% plant growth and after 35 days to
protect it from pod fly.
Soil solarisation using clear plastic sheet to burn weeds.
Drumsticks also need to be protected from livestock as cattle, goats, sheep will eat its pods
and leaves. Installation of proper fencing around plants will protect the plants.

Harvesting of Drumstick

Harvesting of drumstick pods should be done when pods are immature (1 cm diameter).
Mature pods are also edible but they develop tough outer structure. Leaves of drumstick can
be harvested when plant grows 150 -200 cm tall, which take 3-4 months in fertile soil.

Curry Leaf

B.N.: Murrya koenigii Spreng.

Family: Rutaceae
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Curry leaf plays an important role as a condiment in the culinary preparation of South Indian
dishes. A plant of homestead gardens has recently gained importance as a commercial crop
and is cultivated in the field scale in T.N. Karnataka.
Climate: It does not exact a specific climate and can be come up in dry climate. It is grown
in the temperature above 15oC. Below 13oC the growth of shoots will be adversely affected.
Soil: It is adapted wide range of soil. but red light textured soils are good for growth and
development.
Varieties : 1. DWD-1 contains 5.22% of oil. 2. DWD-2 contains 4.09% of oil. Senkambu.
Planting: Curry leaf is planted at a spacing of 90X120cm. For planting requires pits of size
30x30x30cm3.
The seedlings are irrigated 5-7 days interval during first 3 years and later on interval between
two irrigation should be 15 days.
For better growth and development of crop, it should be fertilized with 20kg FYM,
150:25:50 gm of NPK/plant/year.
The field should be kept free from weeds.
Harvesting: The plants are trained and pruned to 1 M. height. At the end of first year, the
crop comes to first harvest.
Age of plant Yield of leaves (kg/ha) Interval of harvest
First year 400 Once at the end of first year
Second & Third 2000 to 2200 Once in 4 months
year
Fourth year 2500 Once in 3 months
Fifth year onwards 3500 to 5000 Once in 2 &1/2 to 3 months

The plantation can be kept for 20 to 25 years depending upon the management practices
followed.
Plant protection:
Aphid attack the plant when plants are vegetative stage and spray of Rogor @2ml/lit. of
water is given. Leaves from such sprayed plant are not used for 10 days.
Leaf spot sometimes occur. Spray Carbendazim@ 1gm/lit. of water.

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