Deals about the cultivation practice of Spinach

1. Bijay Shrestha
Leafy vegetables
“Spinach”

2. Leafy Vegetables
English Name Nepali Name Scientific Name Family
Broad Leaf Mustard रायोको साग Brassica campestris var.
Rugosa
Brassicaceae
Spinach पालुंगो Spinacea oleracea Amaranthaceae
Swiss Chard स्विस चार्ड (ससाग) Beta vulgaris var Clicla Chenopodiaceae
Cress चम्सर Lepidium sativum Crucifarae

3. Spinach

4. Introduction and uses
 Nepali Name: पालुंगो
 Scientific Name: Spinacea oleracea
 Family:Amaranthaceae (Chenopodiaceae)
 Origin: South westAsia especially Iran
 Cool season crop (grown during winter in terai/mid hills and during
summer in high hills)
 Grown all around the year in Kathmandu valley
 Benefits/Uses:
 ContainsVitaminA, B and C
 Rich in calcium and iron
 High cultural value and is required during marriage ceremonies
 One of the main items eaten during Maghe Sankranti festival.

5. Climate and Soil Requirement
 Climate:
Grow well in full sunshine as well as in the shade
Can even germinates at 4°C
For good vegetative growth, optimum temperature is 10°–25°C
Flowers under long day conditions
 Soil:
Can be cultivated in various types of soil
Grows best in light loam to sandy loam soil
Requires slightly acidic soil with pH range 5.5 to 6.5

6. Variety
 Spinach cultivars are classified on the basis of type of seeds and leaves.
 Prickly seeded and round seeds are usually available.
 Popular cultivars are:
Verginia Savoy:-
 Fast growing and compact;
 Prickly seeded having blistered dark green leaves
 Plants are upright and vigorous in growth.
Early smooth leaf:-
 Round/smooth seeded cultivars are produces small light green leaves
with a pointed apex.
Patane local:
 Spiny seeds with growth habit erect and vigorous.
 Smooth and uniform leaves, green to dark green in color and pinkish at
the base of the petiole and crown.
 Plant is dioecious.

8. Land preparation and Manure Application
 Land Preparation:
1–2 rounds of deep plowing followed by clod breaking to make the soil
friable, loose and well levelled
Irrigation and drainage in the spinach field must be easy
Flat raised beds during the rainy season and sunken beds during the dry
season
 Manure Application:
A heavy feeder
30-35 bamboo baskets (900-1000 kg) of well decomposed FYM or compost
manure
To supplement the FYM, apply 60 kg nitrogen, 20 kg P2O5 and 40 kg K2O
per ha.

9. Seed rate and Sowing
 For one hectare land, 20-30kg of seeds are required depending on
germination percentage and seed vigor
 Before sowing, seed is soaked in water for 24 hours for quick and good
germination
 In the raised beds or sunken beds, 3–4 cm deep small furrows are made
at 20 cm distance and seed is dropped
 To drop the seed properly, mix two parts sand or ash with the seed and
drop the mixture in the furrows
 Then plank the furrows with the help of
wooden planker
 Plants rows should be thinned to maintain
a plant-to-plant distance of 3–4 cm

10. Time for sowing and harvesting
Area Sowing time Harvesting time
Terai Kartik to Poush Poush to Falgun
Low hills Ashoj to Poush Mangsir to Falgun
Mid-hills Bhadra to Magh Kartik to Baisakh
High-hills Falgun to Baisakh Baisakh to Bhadra

11. Weeding
 Weed control is very important in spinach because it cannot compete
with the weeds
 Thinning and weeding is done after 10–15 days of germination.
 During the early stage of growth, weed competes with the crop for
nutrient and moisture
 Light hoeing and first urea top dressing after 20–25 days of germination
ensures uniform growth

12. Watering (Irrigation)
 Spinach seed requires good moisture for germination.
 For good germination pre-sowing irrigation or light irrigation after
sowing is recommended.
 In case of post-sowing irrigation, care should be taken to prevent the soil
from forming any crust.
 Depending on moisture, second irrigation may be provided right after
the first to ensure uniform and maximum germination.
 Since spinach is a shallow-rooted crop, subsequent irrigations are
required at 10–15 day intervals.
 It is necessary to maintain proper soil moisture level for good harvest.

13. Harvesting
 Spinach becomes ready to harvest in 30–40 days after germination
 Harvesting can be manipulated as per the requirements and varies from
5–6 leaf stage to just before seed stalk formation
 While harvesting, young leaves from each plant are broken above the
base of the sheath or cut with a sharp knife without injuring the leaf base
 The total yield varies from 10–15 ton/ha

14. Seed production techniques

15. Major diseases and insects, and their control
 Beet army worm, blister beetle and green aphids sometimes
attack spinach.
 So far no diseases that cause serious economic losses have been found in
spinach.
 Alternaria leaf spots appear on older leaves. Remove such leaves and
bury or burn them.

16. Thank You