MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC CROPS (2+1)

Cultivation

Soil

Solanum is a hardy plant and can be cultivated on a wide range of soils under various agroclimatic conditions, but it cannot withstand water-logging. Though it can be grown in all types of soils, the best soil for its successful cultivation is red lateritic soil with a moderate quantity of organic matter. The plant does not perform well in very clayey soils.

Climate
It is found growing under different kinds of climates throughout the length and breadth of the country, but prefers a moderate climate for its successful growth. The growth as well as development of the plants and, finally, the yield of fruits depends significantly on the climatic conditions. Depending upon the temperature, dry period length, rainfall and irrigation facilities, the sowing time may vary from June to September or October. The plants sown in late October to February are more susceptible to virus diseases, and sowing in March is not practicable as harvesting and drying will be hindered by the rainy season. Under rain fed conditions, the crop should be sown from mid-June to the first week of July. Under irrigated conditions, the sowing in September results in profuse flowering and berry formation during the winter months.

Propagation
Nursery raising and transplanting
The seeds are raised in nursery beds of 10m X 1m size. To each strip 10kg of FYM, 1kg of Calcium ammonium nitrate are applied. Seeds are presoaked in water for 24 hours and sown in lines of 1 to 1.5 cm-deep furrows, 10 cm apart and covered with a thin layer of soil. About 1.25 kg seeds sown in 5 nursery beds of the above size will provide enough seedlings for planting 1 ha of land. Their germination is completed in 7-10 days. Within 4-5 weeks, when the seedlings are 10-12 cm high and develop 6 leaves, they are ready for transplanting into the main field at a spacing of 90cm x 90 cm. A closer spacing of 45 x 30 cm is also recommended for tetraploid variety.

Manures and fertilizers
S. viarum responds well to the application of manures and fertilizers. Green manuring before planting has been found to increase the yield by 20%. For better yields, an application of 100:60:40 kg of N, P2O5 and K2O/ha, depending upon the soil condition, is recom¬mended. The entire quantity of phosphorus, potassium and half of the nitrogen are applied at the time of land preparation. While the remaining half of the nitrogen is applied when the plants start flowering.

Irrigation
In the absence of sufficient moisture in the soil, the field should be immediately irrigated after transplanting. The crop is further irri¬gated at weekly intervals during the first month and then the interval is increased to once in fortnight, and later as and when required.

Weeding
After 2-3 weeks of transplanting the first weeding is done, and later when the crop is 2-3 months old. Afterwards, the crop puts on enough canopies to smother the surface and, hence, no growth of weeds takes place.