Radish Botanical Name Family Chromosome number Origin Raphanus

Radish Botanical Name: Family: Chromosome number Origin: Raphanus sativus L. Brassicaceae 2 n=18 Western Asia.

☻ Radish is a popular vegetable in both tropical and temperate climate used both root cum leaf. ☻ It has a characteristic pungent aroma and taste. ☻ It is easy to grow and widespread vegetable that can usually be found in most home gardens. ☻ Best suitable for sequential, inter- and relay ☻ cropping due to short duration and high productivity, enables maximum use of arable land. In Himachal Pradesh, it is grown as summer crop in dry and wet temperate zones and both as a winter and summer crop in the sub-temperate region.

Uses ► The leafy tops are very rich in vitamin A, B, C and minerals particularly Ca and Fe. ► The roots and leaves are consumed both as salad and as cooked vegetable. ► The roots are good appetizer, effective in curing liver, gall bladder and urinary disorders, piles and gastrodynia. ► It is a good source of vitamin C containing 15 -40 mg per 100 g of edible portion. ► Pink skinned radishes are generally richer in vitamin C than white skinned ones. ► The young tender pods are also used as vegetable. ► A salt extracted from roots, dried and burnt to white ash is said to be used in stomach trouble. ► The juice of fresh leaves is used as diuretic and laxative. ► Seeds are said to be peptic, expectorant, diuretic and carminative

► Young tender pods of rat tail radish are used as vegetable – no edible root is formed in this radish. ► The characteristic pungent flavour is due to the presence of volatile isothiocynates (4 -methyl thio-3 -butenyl isothiocyanate) – MTB-ITC. ► The colour of the pink cultivars is due to the presence of anthocyanin pigments. Spring radishes Very common, rapid growing and quick maturing (20 -30 days) Relatively small roots Root quality deteriorate quickly and mildly pungent Winter radishes Slow growing and maturing (50 -90 days) late Large roots Stored better and have characteristic strong flavour.

Two groups of radish varieties Asiatic/tropical/subtropical type Produce seeds in plains European/Temperate Type Seed production is limited to high hills. Palam Hriday, Pusa Desi, Pusa Himani, Pusa Reshmi, Pusa Chetki, White Icicle, Punjab Safed, Japanese White, Rapid Red White Tipped, Punjab Pasand, Arka Nishant, Scarlet Globe, Chinese Pink, Hisar Mooli No. 1, Scarlet Long, Kalyanpur No. 1, Kalyani White, Silver Queen, CO-I, IIVR-II, C-2, Kvarta (Short duration suitable for protected Jaunpuri Mooli, cultivation). Early Mino White. French breakfast

Varieties recommended for Himachal Pradesh Asiatic or tropical type Japanese White Chinese Pink Pusa Chetki European Type or Temperate Type Varieties Palam Hriday White Icicle Pusa Himani

French Breakfast

White Icicle Scarlet Globe China white Chinese Pink White Globe Japanese White

RADISHES

Schedule for growing radish throughout the year Variety Sowing time Harvesting time Pusa Chetki Early April-Mid August- Mid October Early May- September Mid September- Mid November Last October- early January Pusa Desi Pusa Reshmi Japanese White Mid October- Mid December Pusa Himani Mid October- Mid February White Icicle Last October-end February Last week of September. Early December Mid December- Early March Mid February- Mid April Late November- Early March

Soils ♠ ♠ ♠ Light, friable loam soils containing high amount of humus are good to obtain best results. Usually the heavy soils produce rough ill shaped roots with number of small fibrous laterals. The optimum soil p. H is 5. 5 -7. 0. Sandy or sandy loam soils are preferred for early crop. A cool moist soil give best results in summer crop.

Climate ð ð ð ð It is predominantly a cool season crop and best adapted to cool or moderate climate. Indian types with greater temperature adaptation can resist heat more than the European types. The optimum temperature for best flavour, texture, root growth and development is 10 -15 o. C. Different varieties respond to varied range of temperature. This is the fact that radishes are available throughout the year by growing different varieties in different months. The Asiatic types are tolerant to high temperature than European types. During the hot weather, the roots become tough, pithy and pungent before reaching the edible type. Long days coupled with high temperature leads to premature bolting without adequate root formation.

Sowing Time Northern plains European type Asiatic type Any time between September-March August-January Mild Climate Areas Through out the year Himachal Pradesh Low Hills Mid Hills High Hills August-September July – October March- August Seed Rate 9 -12 kg/ha ØAsiatic type – 10 kg ØEuropean type – 12 -14 kg Ø(1 g seed contains 80 -125 seeds)

Spacing European type - 30 cm X 5 -10 cm Asiatic types – 45 cm X 6 -8 cm ◙ Sowing depth Ø 1. 5 - 3 cm deep on the ridges for semi-long type Ø 1 -1. 25 cm for round cultivars. ◙ After germination maintain the distance between the plants with in row by following thinning of plants.

Soil preparation ♣The soil should be thoroughly pulverized so as to obtain fine tilth for getting the best crop, otherwise it results in deformed roots.

Manures and Fertilizers Open pollinated varieties Farmyard manure (q/ha) N 100 90 P 2 O 5 (Kg/ha) 50 K 2 O 40 ☻Full dose of farmyard manure, P, K and half N should be applied at the time of transplanting. ☻Remaining part of N should be top dressed in two equal installments at an interval of one month each.

Interculture and weed control ►Weeding and hoeing are necessary at 20 -35 days after sowing in mid maturity group of Asiatic type, ►Temperate and early Asiatic types require weeding at 15 -20 days after sowing. ►Earthing up is necessary as the growing roots tend to push out of the soil, ►This results in well developed, quality and elongated roots. ►Pre-emergence application of following herbicides is very useful for effective weed control ü Pendimethalin 1. 2 kg a. i. /ha or ü Alachlor 1. 5 kg a. i. /ha or ü Fluchloralin (Basalin)@ 0. 9 kg a. i. /ha or ü Isoproturan 1. 0 kg a. i. /ha or ü Metalachlor @ 1. 0 kg a. i. /ha.

Irrigation ╠ A pre-sowing irrigation is to be given to help the seeds absorb moisture and germinate properly. ╠ Irrigation frequency and water quantities are depend on the planting season and available soil moisture. ╠ The soil should have sufficient moisture to obtain tender and attractive roots. ╠ Frequent irrigation is necessary during summer, otherwise the growth will be checked and root will be pungent making them unfit for market.

Harvesting ☻The roots are harvested when they are of usable size and relatively young. ☻The roots are washed and graded according to size and are tied into bunches alongwith tops for marketing. ☻European types reach harvest maturity in 25 -30 days. ☻ Asiatic types require longer period i. e. Chetki type 30 -40 days and mid maturity group 40 -60 days. Yield European type Asiatic type 50 -80 q/ha in 25 -30 days 200 -500 q/ha in 40 -60 days.

Post Harvest Handling ♣ Cooled quickly to 40 o. F or below. Hydrocooling is effective in this regard. ♣ At 32 o. F & 95 -100% RH Ø topped radishes can be stored for 3 -4 weeks Ø bunched roots will generally keep no longer than 1 -2 weeks. ♣ At 0 o. C and 90 -95% RH, roots can be stored for 2 months

PHYSIOLOGICAL DISORDERS

1. Pore extent or pithiness ☻It does much damage to the quality of the radish destroying the commercial value. ☻Pores are formed by the collapse of parenchymatous cells in root tissues caused by excessive root growth in comparison with the corresponding assimilation ability of leaf tissue. ☻ Pore development is a sign of senescence and its degree differ among cultivars. Possible Reasons ☻Harvesting should be done at appropriate time as delayed harvesting leads to this disorder

2. Elongated root or Forking ☻ Elongated root is brought about by secondary elongating growth in the root. Possible Reasons ◙ ◙ ◙ Excess moisture during the root development. It occurs on heavy soils due to soil compactness. Use of undecomposed organic manure.

Pest management Problem Management Damping off Seed treatment Alternaria blight Seed treatment White Rust Arka Nishant is reported to be resistant Spray malathion(0. 05%) or oxy demeton methyl(0. 025%) Aphids