RADISH

RADISH

BOTANICAL NAME : Raphanus sativus L.
FAMILY : Cruciferae
CHROMOSOME NO : 2n = 18
ORIGIN PLACE : Europe and Western Asia
USES AND IMPORTANCE
  • 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 15-40mg per 100g 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.
  • It is a short duration crop and highly productive, so preferred as intercrop or in relay and sequential cropping.
  • 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.
NUTRITIVE VALUE (per 100 gram of edible part)
Moisture (%) 94.4 Phosphorus (mg) 22
Protein (g) 0.7 Iron (mg) 0.4
Fat (g) 0.1 Sodium (mg) 33
Mineral (g) 0.6 Potassium (mg) 138
Fibre (g) 0.8 Vitamin-A (IU) 5
Carbohydrate (g) 3.4 Riboflavin (mg) 0.02
Calories (kcal) 17 Nicotinic acid (mg) 0.5
Calcium (mg) 35 Vitamin-C (mg) 15
Oxalic acid (mg) 9


Types:

Spring radishes Winter radishes
Very common, rapid growing and quick maturing (20-30 days)
Slow growing and late maturing (50-90 days)
Relatively small roots Large roots
Root quality deteriorate quickly and mildly pungent
Stores better and have characteristic strong flavour


  • Radish contains alkaloids known as isothiocyanate though it is good source of carbohydrates and minerals. Pink colour of radish is due to the presence of anthocyanin and white colour varieties are not rich in Vitamin-C.
  • Radish is also grown for its young edible pods present in the species Rapahnus caudatus besides Raphanus sativus
  • There are two distinct groups of radishes viz. European or Temperate and Asiatic or Tropical Type:
Asiatic/tropical/subtropical type
European/Temperate Type
Produce seeds in plains
Seed production is limited to high hills.
Pusa Desi, Pusa Reshmi, Pusa Chetki, Punjab Safed, Japanese White, Punjab Pasand, Arka Nishant, Chinese Pink, Hisar Mooli No. 1, Kalyanpur No. 1, Kalyani White, CO-I, IPVR-I, IPVR-II, C-2, Jaunpuri Mooli, Early Miino White.
Pusa Himani, White Icicle, Rapid Red White Tipped, Scarlet Globe, Scarlet Long, Silver Queen, Kvarta (Short duration suitable for protected cultivation).
French breakfast, Palam Hriday


A. European/ Temperate Type
  • They are quick growing and short duration type (25-30 days).
  • Produce roots of good quality, less pungent and smaller in size.
The important varieties belonging to this group are as follows:

White Icicle:
  • Roots cylindrical ending in a stump, 12-15cm long 2-3cm thick, skin slim, flesh white, mildly pungent flavour, sweet and free from green top.
  • Ready for harvesting in 25-30 days.
Pusa Himani:
  • Developed at IARI Regional Station, Katrain by crossing a temperate variety (Temperate Black) and popular Asiatic type (Japanese White).
  • Roots are 30-35cm long, 10-12cm in length, skin is pure white and flesh is crisp and sweet flavoured with mild pungency.
  • Ready in 55 days for harvesting after sowing.
Rapid Red White Tipped:
  • It is an early variety and produce short foliage.
  • Roots are small, round and red in colour with green top foliage.
  • Flesh is white, crisp and pungent.
Scarlet Globe:
  • Roots are round, 2cm in diameter, red in colour and flesh is crisp and pure white.
  • It becomes ready for harvesting in 25-30 days after sowing.
  • Roots become pithy if they are not harvested at maturity.
Scarlet long:
  • Leaves are 15-20cm long and light green in colour.
  • Roots are long and tapering to a point, red with soft and white flesh.
  • Ready for harvesting in 30-40 days after sowing.
B. Asiatic or Tropical Type
  • Asiatic types don’t require chilling temperature for bolting and set seed freely under tropical conditions.
  • Hence their seed can be produced under tropical conditions.
  • The important varieties include
Pusa Desi:
  • Developed by IARI, New Delhi through selection from a local collection.
  • Roots are 30-35cm long, white, more pungent and tapering with green stem end, ready for harvesting in 50-60 days after sowing.
Japanese White:
  • It is a Japanese introduction made at IARI Regional Station, Katrain (Kulu valley, H.P).
  • Roots are cylindrical ending in a stump and 25-30cm long.
  • Flesh is pure white, crisp, smooth and mildly pungent, harvested 45 days after sowing.
  • Produce seeds only in the hills and bolting is very less.
     

8.1

Pusa Chetki:
  • It was developed by IARI, New Delhi through Selection from the germplasm of Denmark.
  • Roots are medium sized, pure white, slim, mild pungent and soft with blunt end.
  • Roots become ready for harvesting in 40-45days after sowing.
Pusa Reshmi:
  • Developed by IARI, New Delhi.
  • Roots are 30-35cm long, white, slightly green with tapering end.
  • Roots mature in 55-60 days after sowing.
Kalyani White:
  • Roots are pure white, 25-30cm long, uniform in growth and blunt tipped.
  • It requires 45-50 days for maturation.
Kalyanpuri No. 1:
  • Developed through selection from a local collection and was recommended for commercial cultivation in U.P.
  • Root is 22-25cm long, slim, white with green topped.
  • It is less affected by saw fly, aphid and white rust.
Naduani:
  • It is a popular variety of Himachal Pradesh and developed through selection from local material.
  • Roots are long, slim, light pink with tapering to a point.
Chinese Pink:
  • It has 12-15cm long pink coloured roots.
  • The lower end of roots is white.
  • Roots are crisp and mildly pungent.
  • Roots mature in 50-55 days.
Hisar Mooli No 1:
  • Developed by CCS, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar.
  • Roots are long, soft, white and straight.
  • It requires 50-55 days to mature.
Jaunpuri Mooli:
  • It is a local variety of Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
  • Roots are much long (40-45cm), thick (7-10cm) and white.
  • On an average, each root weighs 2.5-3.0 kg.
Punjab Pasand:
  • Developed by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab.
  • It is an early maturing variety.
  • Roots are long, pure white, semi-stumped and free from hairs.
  • It is suitable for sowing in main season.
Punjab Safed:
  • Developed by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab.
  • Roots are long (30-40 cm), thick (3-5 cm), pure white, tapering, smooth, mild in taste, medium pungent with good flavour and free from forking.
  • It is a quick growing type with roots remaining edible for 10 days after attaining full size.
Punjab Ageti:
  • Developed by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab.
  • Roots are red skinned at the top and white at the lower half, tapering long (25.5 cm) medium thick (2.9 cm), less pungent with smooth few hairs.
SOIL
  • The soil of selected field should be deep, light and friable.
  • The field should be well drained.
  • It can grow on slightly acidic soils (pH 5.5-6-8).
CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS
  • Radish is well suited to a cool moderate climate especially in the vegetative stage but due to its rapid growth it has a wider distribution.
  • For seed production, a less humid climate is required.
  • Long spell of hot dry period is not suitable for seed production.
  • Temperature of 32oC can cause injury to stigma and pollen may fail to germinate.
SEED RATE
SPACING
  • Row-row spacing for Asiatic types is 45cm and for temperate type is 20-30cm.
  • The plant to plant spacing is 6-8 cm for Asiatic type and 3.5cm for European type.
SOWING TIME
  • In North India, radish can be grown throughout the year, but the main season is from August to January.
  • The European varieties can be sown from September-March.
  • In South India, radish can be grown throughout the year but the best period is from April to June and October to December.
  • In the hills, radish is sown from March to October.
Schedule of growing radish throughout the year in the plains

Variety Sowing time Harvesting time
Pusa Chetki Early April-Mid August Early May- September
Pusa Desi
Mid August- Mid October Last week of September-Early December
Pusa Reshmi Mid September- Mid November
Last October- early January
Japanese White Mid October- Mid December
Mid December- Early March
Pusa Himani
Mid October- Mid February
Mid February- Mid April
White Icicle
Last October-end February
Late November- Early March

METHOD OF SOWING
  • Seeds should be sown on flat beds or on the ridges.
  • Sowing depth should be 1.5-3.0cm for semi-long types and for round cultivars, it is 1.0-1.25 cm.
  • Incorporate 100-150 q/ha of well rotten Farm Yard Manure after the first ploughing.
  • Apply chemical fertilizer mixture @ 80-100kg N, 40-60Kg P and 80-100kg K/ha.
  • Entire quantity of FYM, phosphorus and potash and half quantity of nitrogen should be applied at the time of field preparation.
  • The remaining half quantity of N is top dressed 20-30 days after transplanting.
  • Potassium application increase the vitamin C content in radish
IRRIGATION
  • Irrigate the crop once in 6-7 days depending upon weather conditions.
  • Before sowing, soil must be moist.
  • Moist condition was found to be better than wet condition.
  • A light irrigation is given after sowing.
  • Uniform moisture through light irrigations before harvesting facilitates easy removal/pulling of roots from the soil.
  • Uneven moisture supply causes harsh, fluffy and pungent roots.
INTERCULTURAL OPERATIONS
  • One weeding should be given 15-20 days after sowing.
  • Thinning of plants must be carried out 15-20 days after sowing keeping a distance of 5-10cm between plants in a row.
  • Earthing up is also necessary to get well developed, quality and elongated roots as generally the growing roots tend to push out of the soil.
  • Application of 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 in 750 litres of water as pre-emergence is very useful for effective weed control.
HARVESTING
  • European varieties are harvested 25 - 30 days after sowing.
  • Roots will become fluffy or pithy if kept in the field for a longer time.
  • The Asiatic varieties are uprooted 40-45 days after sowing and they remain edible for longer duration compared to European varieties.
  • The crop should be irrigated before the pulling out of roots as it facilitates easy uprooting of the roots.
YIELD
  • The yield of Asiatic cultivars varies from 150-200 q/ha while it varies from 50-70 q/ha in case of European cultivars.


Last modified: Thursday, 21 June 2012, 9:43 AM