Daikon radish is also called white radish and white radish is used and cultivated commonly in Pakistan. The botanical name of radish is Raphanus sativus. Radish can be cultivated early in a season there are many varieties available which are prepared within 30-40 days and ready for sale. In this article, I will discuss the radish crop production technology.
Variety selection
There are three different categories of varieties in which radish is divided; each type has its own unique properties which are as follows.
- Early or spring type
This type belongs to half long and matures early within 25-30 days.
- Summer type
This type is a little bit better than type A and matures within 35-40 days.
- Winter type
This type belongs to those varieties which are longer and more crispy as demanded by consumers.
There are different varieties which are cultivated like ‘Chalis Roza’, ‘Red late’, ‘Laal pari’, ‘Red naik’, ‘Green naik’, ‘Desi sufaid’, ‘Mino early’.
Land preparation
It is a necessary step and it is suggested that laser leveling should be done early before the plantation so that water flow could be smooth. There are two different techniques or strategies adopted by the farmer. Some farmers after preparation of land completely broadcast the seeds and then make the ridges but another method used widely is the first land is prepared well and ridges are prepared early where bed to bed distance is 1.5 to 2 ft and bed size is 2-2.5ft. After making ridges, seeds are sown by the choka method. On ridges plant to plant distance should be 1-2 inches.
Normally, the plantation of radish starts from the month of August which is early in the season. This time is a little bit risky due to the attack of pests and diseases but due to higher rates in the market farmers start cultivating from August while cultivation in the month of September and October is the normal season when radish develops longer and crispy.
Note: seed quantity required depends upon the method as described earlier. If seed will be broadcasted before making of ridges then 3-4 kg per acre seed is required but in the case of choka method, 1.5-2 kg seed will be required.
Fertilizer and irrigation
Naturally, organic-rich soil is very important. It is suggested that farmyard manure should be used one month early before plantation. During the land preparation, add one bag of DAP and SOP. After 15-20 days when plant leaves get mature then apply the half bag of Urea and another half should be applied within a 10-12 days interval. The irrigation schedule is planned very well. After seed sowing (Choka method) first irrigation should be done. It is recommended that water should not touch directly to seed otherwise germination will be disturbed. It is suggested that to keep the semi-moist condition of the soil for the first 20 days, the irrigation schedule should be 4-5 days intervals.
Plant protection
The primary and preliminary problem which is observed mostly and reported by many farmers is the profuse growing of weeds in the radish rushy vegetative field. It is suggested that control the weeds in the early stage otherwise it will be uncontrollable. For this purpose, apply the dual gold weedicide within 48 hours after seed sowing. Apply the different weedicides with recommendations.
Another problem that is faced by early growers, in the summer season when there is more humidity with more temperature at daytime then there are more chances of fungal diseases, and brown spotted diseases are mostly observed. Apply fungicide like Nativo for this purpose. In the normal season of September and October, the attack of disease and pests is very rare. Similarly, fungal diseases of whitefly, aphids, jassids are very common in summer crops. For this purpose apply the insecticides like Imidacloprid or Confidor.
Harvesting and yield
There are many varieties, as described earlier that different varieties mature early and late. Those varieties which mature early within 30-40 days are less quality-wise but get more profit in the market due to early access. Radish is pulled by hand and bundled with 6-12 items after washing with water. It is claimed that an average of between 3000-4000 kg per acre can be obtained. It was a rough estimate that almost 30-40 thousand expenditure on radish crop while return income could be more than lakh when market prices are good said by the farmer.
I hope this article was helpful about radish, daikon, radish varieties, and white radish recipe. Keep commenting and stay tuned!