How Do Radish Plants Grow

 

How Do Radish Plants Grow

Botanical Name    : Raphanus sativus  

Family                     : Cruciferae (Brassicaceae )

Chromosome No. : 2n = 18

                                                                                     

Radish occupies a prominent place among root vegetables. It is cultivated all over India. It is grown in fields or home gardens either alone or as a mixed crop. It is a fast growing vegetable which can be used within a few weeks of sowing. Such varieties of radish are available which can be grown throughout the year. The tang in radish is due to the presence of methyl isodhiocyanate.

Radish roots are used for cooking and as salad, jam, pickle etc. Apart from this, leaves are used as salad or as bhaji. It is fed to animals as fodder. Singri is also obtained from it.

History and Origin - There are many differences among scientists regarding the history and origin of radish but it is believed that radish originated in central and western China and India. Radish plants are still found growing in wild form in the Mediterranean region. Radish is being cultivated in India and China since ancient times. Radish cultivation in America and England started in 1629 AD and 1549 AD respectively. In India, radish is mainly produced in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Gujarat.

                      How Do You Grow Radish

Nutritive Value - From the health point of view, radish has an important place in human diet. It is eaten as raw salad, as a vegetable, by adding pickle and stuffing it in parathas. It is a vegetable with a cold effect, removes constipation and increases appetite. Nutritive substances are found in sufficient quantity in radish. The food value of radish is given in the table-

                                                     (Nutrition Value of Radish per 100 gm)   

Moisture                       : 94.4 g Protein                          : 0.7 g Fat                                 : 0.1 g Minerals                        : 0.6 g Fiber                              : 0.8 g Other Carbohydrates  : 2.4 g Calcium                         : 50.0 mg Phosphorus                   : 22.00 mg Oxalic Acid                   : 9.00 mg Iron                               : 0.4 mg Sodium                         : 33.0 mg Potassium                    : 138.0 mg Thiamine                     : 0.06 mg Riboflavin                    : 0.02 mg Nicotinic Acid             : 0.5 mg Vitamin C                   : 15.0 mg Vitamin A                   : 5.00 IU Calories                       : 17

 

Varieties

1. Asiatic or Tropical Croup

Jaunpuri Radish- The peel and pulp of this variety is white in colour and is 100 cm long and 7-10 cm thick. The radish of this variety weighs up to 25 kg.

Pusa Desi- The roots of this variety are white, medium thick, 30-35 cm long and very pungent. It is ready in 50-55 days after sowing.

Pusa Resham- This variety is ready in 55 days. The roots of this variety grow up to 30-35 cm long.

Pusa Chetki- Its crop is ready in 40-45 days after sowing. Roots are 15-20 cm long, leaves are green, medium sized and have notches. Roots are completely white, smooth, soft and less pungent. In the plains, it can be easily grown from the end of April to the beginning of August. It can also be grown in Kharif.

Pusa Himani - Its crop is ready 60 days after sowing. Its roots are 30-35 cm long, medium thick, white, crispy and have a pulp with a good aroma. This variety is suitable for sowing from December to February in the plains, whereas in the mountainous regions, it can be grown throughout the year.

Japanese White - The radish of this variety is white, 15-22 cm long, less spicy, soft and smooth. The lower part of the root is somewhat hollow. The crop is ready 45 days after sowing the seeds. The best time to sow is from 15 October to 15 December.1

Arka Nishant - The radish of this variety is white, 25 cm long. It is ready for digging 45 days after sowing. This variety is resistant to white rust.

IIHR-1 – Radish of this variety is white, 30 cm long. It is ready for digging after 45 days of sowing. This variety is resistant to white rust.

Kalyanpur-1 – Radish of this variety is white in colour and grows 22 cm long. It can be grown in rainy and autumn seasons. This variety is moderately resistant to Champa (Aphid), mustard sawfly and white rust.

Punjab White – Roots of this variety are white and 30-40 cm long.

Hisar Radish No. 1 – Its roots are white, straight and long growing. It is ready for digging after 50-55 days of sowing. It gives up to 225 quintals per hectare. It can be sown till September-October.

Nadouni – Roots of this variety are pink in colour. This variety is suitable for cultivation in Himachal Pradesh.

      How Do You Plant radish

2. European or Temperate Group

                                                                       

White Icicle - This variety of radish is ready in just 30 days after sowing. Its roots grow straight. The roots are white, thin, less pungent and tasty.

Rapid Red 'White Tipped' - The colour of this variety of radish is red and has some whiteness. Due to which the radish looks attractive. The roots are small and have white pulp. The radish is ready for digging 26-28 days after sowing the seeds.

Scarlet Globe - This is an early variety which is ready for digging 25 days after sowing. The roots are small in size, soft, round and less pungent. Which is very tasty to eat.

Climate - Radish can be grown in all types of weather. Its Asian varieties require high temperature. Whereas European varieties require low temperature. Pusa Chetki variety has special ability to tolerate relatively high temperature. But most varieties grow well in 10-15° Celsius temperature. In high temperature season, the roots become hard and very crunchy which are not fit for eating.

Soil - Radish can be grown in different types of soil, but sandy loam soil with proper drainage is considered the best for getting abundant yield. Clay loam soil is considered unsuitable for successful production of radish because in such soil the roots of radish do not develop and grow well.

In this the roots remain small and secondary roots develop in them. Forking should be done by deep plowing with tractor or soil turning plow. There should be no lumps in the soil because in such a situation

Land Preparation -- Deep plowing is required for the proper development and growth of radish. Deep plowing should be done with a tractor or soil turning plow. There should be no lumps in the soil because in such a situation the roots remain small and secondary roots develop in them. Which is called forking.

So the soil should be made soft by doing 2-3 plowings. After every plowing, definitely apply a leveler.

Manure and Fertilizer - Since radish is a crop that ripens quickly. Therefore, it is very important to use manure and fertilizers in the right quantity and at the right time. According to an estimate, a crop yielding 200 quintals takes 120 kg of nitrogen, 65 kg of phosphorus and 100 kg of potash from the soil from one hectare. Therefore, it is very important to use manure and fertilizers after soil testing. If soil testing is not possible, then the following amount of manure and fertilizers should be applied per hectare.

Farm Yard  Manure: 20 tons

Nitrogen: 60 kg

Phosphorus: 50 kg

Potash: 50 kg

                 How To Grow A Radish From A Radish

Farmer manure should be applied to the field before the first ploughing. A mixture of half the amount of nitrogen, full amount of phosphorus and potash should be applied to the soil at the time of final ploughing. The remaining nitrogen should be applied to the soil as top dressing at the time of formation of roots.

In Kanpur, Kalyanpur No. 1 variety of radish was planted at the rate of 80 kg per hectare and at a distance of 60 x 45 cm and yielded 1-17 tons of seeds.

Sowing - 

Quantity of seeds - The quantity of radish seeds depends on its variety, size of seed and method of sowing. 10-12 and 8-10 kg of seeds of European and Asian varieties are sufficient per hectare respectively. Seeds are required less when sown on baskets than on plain land. Half the quantity of seeds is required to get a mixed crop. Thick seeds require more seeds than thin seeds.

Seed treatment - Before sowing, seeds should be treated with fungicides such as thiram, bavistin or vitavax (3 grams of medicine) per kg of seed.

Tests have shown that if seeds are soaked in a solution of 10-20 ppm naphthalene acetic acid or 5-10 ppm gibberellic acid, then germination is good and the yield is also high.

Sowing time - Radish can be grown throughout the year, however, on a commercial level, it can be sown from September to January in plains and from March to August in mountainous areas. The following table can be used to grow radish throughout the year—

 

Variety	Sowing time	Time of availability of radish
1. Pusa Desi	Mid-August	Till the first week of September
2. Pusa Resham	Mid-September	Till the first week of January
3. Japtani White	Mid October	Till the first week of March
4. Pusa Himani	Mid-September	Till the third week of April
5. White Icicle or Rapid Red White Tind	Third week of October	Till the end of March
6. Pusa Chaitki	End of March	Till the third week of September

 

 

Method of sowing- Generally, radish is sown in many ways; for example, in flat beds and on ridges. In flat beds, beds of 4.5 x 3.0 m size are made. Apart from this, irrigation channels are also constructed. For Asian varieties, the distance between rows and plants is kept 30 cm x 10 cm, while for European varieties, this distance is kept 25 cm x 4.8 cm.

The seed germinates in 5-10 days.

            How To Grow Radish From A Radish

The development and growth of roots is better when sown on ridges as compared to flat fields. The seed should not be sown more than 2.0-2.5 cm deep. To get continuous crop, sow at an interval of 8-18 days. Seeds should be sown by soaking them.

Irrigation and drainage- For getting abundant yield of radish, the soil should be moist and sometimes dry. Irrigation of radish depends on the crop being grown, soil and weather. Plants use water the most after 15-20 days of germination. Hence, take proper care of irrigation at this time. If there is regular rainfall in rainy season, then irrigation is required. If there is no rainfall for a long period, then irrigation should be done as per requirement. Irrigation should be done at an interval of 4-5 days in summers and at an interval of 10-15 days in winters.

While irrigation is so necessary for radish, it cannot tolerate stagnation of water for a long time. If due to any reason, excess water accumulates in the field, then immediate arrangements should be made to drain it out.

Crop Protection

Weed Control

It is very important to control the weeds growing with the radish crop on time. Usually, weeding 2-3 times is sufficient. At this time, the excess plants should be removed, so that the plants can develop properly and get more yield.

For weed control, herbicide called Tok E-25 can be sprayed before sowing.

                 How Do You Plant Radish Seeds

Pest control

Various types of insects damage the radish crop, the main ones being Champa (aphid), mustard fly, spotted bug, striped feeble beetle.

Champa (Lipaphis erysimimyzus persicae) – Champa sucks the juice of all the soft parts of the plant. This insect causes special damage to the seed crop.

For controlling this insect, prepare a solution of 0.05% Monocrotophos and spray it. If necessary, spray the same medicine again after 15 days.

Mustard sawfly (Athalia lugens) – Its larva is small and green in colour. The colour of the fully grown larva is black, which eats the leaves and hides behind their surface.

For controlling this insect, 0.05% solution of Vivanalphos or Chlorpyrifos should be sprayed.

Spotted beetle (Bagrada cruciferarum) - The adults and nymphs of this insect are black and orange in colour. They suck the juice of the leaves due to which the leaves wither.

To control this insect, 0.05% solution of oxymethyl demeton should be sprayed.

Striped yellow beetle (Phyllotretastriolate) - Many adults of this insect are found on small plants. They eat them due to which small holes are formed.

To control this insect, 0.05% solution of vivnalphos should be sprayed. Disease control

White or yellow pustules are formed on the leaves, which later join together to form spots of uncontrolled size.

        How To Grow Radish In A Pot

White Rust - This is a disease caused by a fungus (Albugo Candida). Due to this disease, white or yellow pustules are formed on the leaves, which later join together to form spots of uncontrolled size. White powder is visible on the lower surface of the leaves. Due to which the yield and quality of radish is adversely affected.

To control this disease, spray 0.2 percent solution of Dithane Z-78. Adopt proper crop rotation.

Virus disease - This disease is caused by carrier insects. To prevent this disease, spray phosphamidon (0-05%) solution.

Harvesting - Digging of radish depends on the varieties grown. Generally, Asian varieties of radish become edible after 40 days, while European varieties become edible after 20 days. It is very important to dig out radish at the right time, otherwise the roots become hard and thorny, as a result of which their market price decreases.

Yield - The yield of radish depends on the fertility of the soil, the method of growing varieties etc. and the care of the crop. According to the stage of uprooting, the yield is from 50 to 250 quintals per hectare. A variety called Pusa Himani gives a yield of 390-470 quintals. Whereas in autumn, a variety called Japanese White gives a yield of up to 525 quintals.

How Do Radish Plants Grow

Seed Production - Seeds of Asian varieties of radish are prepared in plains and seeds of European varieties are prepared in mountainous areas. A variety called Japanese White produces more seeds in mountainous areas than in plains. Radish seed is prepared by the following two methods.

1. Radish is left in the field till it flowers and seeds are formed. This method is called seed to seed. In this method, the seed yield is high.

2. The lower 1/3rd part of the roots is separated. In the plains of North India, these roots are planted at a distance of 75 cm x 30 cm in December. After some time, inflorescence develops from them and seeds are formed.

Radish is a cross-pollinated crop. Hence, it is necessary to maintain an isolation distance of 100 meters for certified seed and 1600 meters for foundation seed. The pods are dried in the shade for some time and their seeds are separated. The seed yield can be up to 250-280 kg per hectare depending on the variety, flowering time and bee activity.