Leafy vegetables- Spinach

Deals about the cultivation practice of Spinach

1. Bijay Shrestha
Leafy vegetables
“Spinach”

2. Leafy Vegetables
EnglishName NepaliName Scientific NameFamily
BroadLeaf Mustardरायोकोसाग Brassica campestrisvar.
Rugosa
Brassicaceae
Spinach पाल ुंगो Spinaceaoleracea Amaranthaceae
SwissChard स्विसचार्ड(स साग) Beta vulgarisvarCliclaChenopodiaceae
Cress चम्स र Lepidiumsativum Crucifarae

3. Spinach

4. Introduction and uses
Nepali Name: पाल ुंगो
Scientific Name: Spinaceaoleracea
Family: Amaranthaceae(Chenopodiaceae)
Origin: South west Asia especially Iran
Cool season crop (grown during winter in terai/mid hills and during
summer in high hills)
Grown all around the year in Kathmandu valley
Benefits/Uses:
Contains Vitamin A, B and C
Rich in calcium and iron
High cultural value and is required during marriage ceremonies
One of the main items eaten during MagheSankranti festival.

5. Climate and Soil Requirement
Climate:
Grow well in full sunshine as well as in the shade
Can even germinates at 4°C
For good vegetative growth, optimum temperature is 10°–25°C
Flowers under long day conditions
Soil:
Can be cultivated in various types of soil
Grows best in light loam to sandy loam soil
Requires slightly acidic soil with pH range 5.5 to 6.5

6. Variety
Spinachcultivarsareclassifiedonthebasisoftypeofseedsandleaves.
Pricklyseededandroundseedsareusuallyavailable.
Popularcultivarsare:
VerginiaSavoy:-
Fastgrowingandcompact;
Pricklyseededhavingblistereddarkgreenleaves
Plantsareuprightandvigorousingrowth.
Earlysmoothleaf:-
Round/smoothseededcultivarsareproducessmalllightgreenleaves
withapointedapex.
Patanelocal:
Spinyseedswithgrowthhabiterectandvigorous.
Smoothanduniformleaves,greentodarkgreenincolorandpinkishat
thebaseofthepetioleandcrown.
Plantisdioecious.

8. Land preparation and Manure Application
Land Preparation:
1–2 rounds of deep plowing followed by clod breaking to make the soil
friable, loose and well levelled
Irrigation and drainage in the spinach field must be easy
Flat raised beds during the rainy season and sunken beds during the dry
season
Manure Application:
Aheavyfeeder
30-35bamboobaskets(900-1000kg)ofwelldecomposedFYMorcompost
manure
To supplement the FYM, apply 60 kg nitrogen, 20 kg P2O5 and 40 kg K2O
per ha.

9. Seed rate and Sowing
For one hectare land, 20-30kg of seeds are required depending on
germination percentage and seed vigor
Before sowing, seed is soaked in water for 24 hours for quick and good
germination
In the raised beds or sunken beds, 3–4 cm deep small furrows are made
at 20 cm distance and seed is dropped
To drop the seed properly, mix two parts sand or ash with the seed and
drop the mixture in the furrows
Then plank the furrows with the help of
wooden planker
Plants rows should be thinned to maintain
a plant-to-plant distance of 3–4 cm

10. Time for sowing and harvesting
Area Sowing time Harvesting time
Terai Kartikto Poush Poushto Falgun
Low hills Ashojto Poush Mangsirto Falgun
Mid-hillsBhadrato Magh Kartikto Baisakh
High-hills Falgunto Baisakh Baisakhto Bhadra

11. Weeding
Weed control is very important in spinach because it cannot compete
with the weeds
Thinning and weeding is done after 10–15 days of germination.
During the early stage of growth, weed competes with the crop for
nutrient and moisture
Light hoeing and first urea top dressing after 20–25 days of germination
ensures uniform growth

12. Watering (Irrigation)
Spinachseedrequiresgoodmoistureforgermination.
Forgoodgerminationpre-sowingirrigationorlightirrigationafter
sowingisrecommended.
Incaseofpost-sowingirrigation,careshouldbetakentopreventthesoil
fromforminganycrust.
Dependingonmoisture,secondirrigationmaybeprovidedrightafter
thefirsttoensureuniformandmaximumgermination.
Sincespinachisashallow-rootedcrop,subsequentirrigationsare
requiredat10–15dayintervals.
Itisnecessarytomaintainpropersoilmoisturelevelforgoodharvest.

13. Harvesting
Spinachbecomesreadytoharvestin30–40daysaftergermination
Harvestingcanbemanipulatedaspertherequirementsandvariesfrom
5–6leafstagetojustbeforeseedstalkformation
Whileharvesting,youngleavesfromeachplantarebrokenabovethe
baseofthesheathorcutwithasharpknifewithoutinjuringtheleafbase
The total yield varies from 10–15 ton/ha

14. Seedproductiontechniques

15. Major diseases and insects, and their control
Beet army worm, blister beetle and green aphids sometimes
attack spinach.
So far no diseases that cause serious economic losses have been found in
spinach.
Alternarialeaf spots appear on older leaves. Remove such leaves and
bury or burn them.

16. Thank You