Spices and Condiments (1+1)

Soil and climate

 
Climate
Coriander is a tropical crop and can be successfully cultivated in the rabi season in areas that are free from severe frost during the flowering and seed setting stages. Dry and cold weather favours higher seed production. Cloudy weather during the flowering and fruiting stages increases pest and disease incidence. The time of sowing however varies in different locations in India. In West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, the seeds are sown during the rabi season, in Maharashtra during the kharif, in Tamil Nadu in the kharif and rabi and in Karnataka from May to August and from October to January.

Soil
Coriander is cultivated both as an irrigated and rain-fed crop. As an irrigated crop, coriander can be cultivated on almost all types of soils, provided sufficient organic manure is applied. A rain-fed crop may be raised only on the heavier types of soil which have better water-holding capacity. The crop is best cultivated on heavy black, clayey cotton soils and rich silt loams which are well drained with distributed moisture. Saline, alkaline and sandy soils are not suitable for this crop.