Production technology of turning

1. Turnip

2. ☻ Turnip is a main cool season crop In Himachal
Pradesh.
☻ It is grown as a cash crop during summer months in
dry and wet temperate zones and only as a winter
crop in the sub-temperate and sub-tropical regions.
Botanical Name: Brassica rapa L.
Family: Brassicaceae
Chromosome number 2n=2x=20
Origin : i. Mediterranean (European type)
ii. Eastern Afganistan

3. Uses
☻It is grown for elongated roots as well as for
its foliage.
☻Fresh roots are consumed in salads or
cooked as a vegetable or used in pickles.
☻The turnip greens are rich in vitamin A and
C and contain appreciable amount of
vitamin B.
☻ A good source of Ca, P and Fe.
☻The greens are mostly fed to animals and
seldom used as green vegetables.

4. Varieties
Asiatic/tropical/subtropical
type
European/Temperate Type
More pungent
Better for pickles
Earlier & more heat
tolerant.
Sweeter and more palatable.
Pusa Kanchan
Pusa Sweti
Punjab Safed-4
Purple Top White Globe
Golden Ball
Snow Ball
Early Milan Red Top
Pusa Chandrima
Pusa Swarnima.

5. Varieties recommended for Himachal Pradesh
Asiatic type European Type
1. Pusa Sweti,
2. Pusa Swarnima
1. Purple Top White Globe
2. Snowball
3. Pusa Chandrima
4. Pusa Swarnima
Snowball PTWG

6. ♠ A moderately deep, friable, fertile and well
drained soil is ideal for turnip.
♠ Extremely clay soils and very sandy soils
should be avoided.
♠ Suitable pH for its good growth is 5.5-6.8.
Soils

7. Climate
☻ It is best adapted to a cool or moderate climate.
☻ It is a hard crop and can tolerate frost and mildly
freezing temperatures.
☻ The roots become woody, tough and bitter in taste
in hot weather.
☻ On the other hand, temperature below 10oC likely
to cause flowering.
☻ 10-13oC air temperature and 18-23oC soil
temperature is the most favourable for root
development and the ratio of root/green.
☻ Asiatic varieties require warmer conditions are
sown earlier than European types.

8. Sowing Time
Seed Rate
Northern Indian plains September-December
Himachal Pradesh
Low Hills September-November
Mid Hills August – October
High Hills April – July
4 - 4.5 kg/ha

9. Spacing
30-45cm X 7.5-15cm
30 cm X 10cm(H.P.)
◙Mix the seeds with sand or ash to facilitate
uniform sowing
◙Sowing depth is 1.5-2.5cm on the ridges.
◙After germination maintain the distance
between the plants with in row by following
thinning of plants.
Manures and Fertilizers
Same as carrot

10. ►Thinning is important to maintain optimum plant to
plant spacing and required population.
►Plant should be earthed up 25-30 days after sowing at
the time of top dressing of fertilizers.
►Earthing up is also necessary to get well developed,
and quality roots as generally the growing roots tend
to push out of the soil.
►Pre-emergence application of following herbicides is
very useful for effective weed control
Pendimethalin 1.2 kg a.i./ha or
Alachlor 1.5 kg a.i./ha or
Fluchloralin (Basalin)@ 0.9 kg a.i./ha or
 Isoproturan 1.0 kg a.i./ha or
Metalachlor @ 1.0 kg a.i./ha.
Interculture and weed control

11. 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.
╠ The water requirement would be about 300 mm.
╠ In general, the crop is irrigated every 10-15 days.

12. Harvesting
☻Turnips should be harvested soon after reaching suitable size,
since the quality rapidly deteriorate.
☻A desirable size is 5-7.5 cm in diameter.
☻Larger roots often cause poor texture and bitter taste.
☻A light irrigation may be given before harvesting to facilitate
lifting.
☻Harvested roots are cleaned, tops are cut and roots are graded
according to size and tenderness
Yield
250-300q/ha

13. Diseases
1. Powdery mildew
2. Downy mildew
3. Soft rot
4. Dry rot
5. Brown Heart
6. Phyllody: Malformation of flowering shoots
affecting the normal fruit set
7. Turnip mosaic virus
Insects
Aphids, Mustard saw fly, Flea Beetle, Gall Weevil