Mustard

Cultivation aspects of mustard

1. AGRO- TECHNIQUES OF MUSTARD EZHILMATHI. S 2015006015 AGR 203 AGRONOMY OF FIELD CROPS -I (1+1)

2. INTRODUCTION Scientific name : Brassica sp. Family : Brassicaceae Origin : China or Middle East and India - B. juncea Central and southern Europe - B. nigra B. nigra * B. oleracea = B. carinata

3. Taxonomic name Common name Hindi name Usage Chromosome number Brassica juncea Indian/ brown mustard Rai , raya , laha Oilseed 2n= 36 Brassica nigra Black mustard Banarsi rai Condiment (more pungent) 2n= 16 Brassica alba syn. Sinapsis alba White/ yellow mustard (larger seed) 2n= 24 Brassica tournefortii Wild mustard Jungli rai Oilseed 2n= 20 Brassica carinata Ethiopian mustard Karan rai Oilseed 2n= 34

4. PLANT MORPHOLOGY Self pollinated crop except B. nigra The plant has a tap root system which can grow very deep in soil particularly in sandy soils Stem is tall, erect and succulent with leaves attached to it In B. juncea the leaf blade does not reach the stem The leaf blades are succulent with a thick succulent mid rib Inflorescence has a long pedicel with a number of golden yellow colored flowers on it Special kind of fruit known as siliqu a that is made up of 2 carpels , separated by a false septum

5. COMPOSITION Sterols - brassicasterol , campesterol , siltosterol , avenasterol , and stigmasterol Glucosinolate and fatty acids - sinirgin , myrosin , erucic , eicosanoic , oleic, and palmitic acids Flavonoid and carotenoid antioxidants - carotenes , zeeaxanthin , and lutein The aroma and pungent flavor of mustards come from the essential oil, sinalbin , that releases isothiocyanate chemicals upon enzymatic reaction mediated by myrosinase enzyme An excellent source of essential B- complex vitamins and vitamin- E

6. USES Whole seeds, ground or powdered form, prepared pastes, sauces and oil are all used in the kitchen 508 calories / 100 g of seeds Mustard oil used to relieve muscle pain, rheumatism and arthritic pain and also applied to the scalp so as to stimulate hair growth Its ground seeds act as a laxative , stimulant to the gastric mucosa and increase intestinal secretion Large quantity of mustard may cause gastric irritation, bleeding from the stomach and intestinal mucosa Erucic acid in mustard found to have possible genotoxic and carcinogenic effects

7. AREA AND PRODUCTION In India mustard grown in around 5.77 million ha with a production of 6.6 million tonnes (as per USDA estimates of 2009-10)

8. VARIETIES Laha 101- variety of mustard with tall stature was released in1947 Shekar , Vaibhava ( RK 1418), Vardan ( RK 1467), Rohini (KRV 24 ), Kranti ( PR 15), Pusa Bold, Prakash , RH 30, Bhagirathi ( RW 351) and Seeta (B 85) of mustard werereleased up to 1986 GM 1, GM 2, Laxmi , Narendra raj, Pusa Jaikisan , Agrni (SEJ2), Jagannath (VSL 5), Pusa Bahar , Pusa Barani , PBR 91, PBR 27, Rajat , RCC 4, RH 819, RH 8113, RLM 1359, Samjukta , Asesh , Sarma , TM 2, TM 4 are the varieties released after1986 Improved varieties are Kudrat Vandana , Kudrat Gita , Kudrat Soni CORAL 432- hybrid mustard

9. CLIMATE It is the crop of temperate climate that can be grown in North and Eastern parts of India at the latitude of 20’ N Annual rainfall of 250- 400 mm Optimum temperature for growth and development ranges between 20 and 35 C but the crop can be grown between temperatures of 3-40 C The temperature between 12 and 22 C improves fruit set and seed formation The cloudy sky and humidity of more than 80% attract aphids and diseases The crop is more susceptible to frost at pod development stage The severity of frost can cause seed yield loss to 70 %

10. SOIL Mustard can be grown under a wide range of soil conditions varying from fairly heavy clay to light sandy soil They grow best on light loam soil Soil with good drainage as mustard cannot withstand water- logging But more tolerant to acidity and alkalinity More than 23- 25 ESP in soils delays germination, emergence of flower and pods and enhances maturity in mustard

11. LAND PREPARATION As the seeds are small for good germination and stand a fine tilth is required Cloddy fields lose the stored soil moisture rapidly and clods also provide shelter to painted bug and saw fly 3- 4 ploughings or harrowings followed by planking give a fine tilth Deep ploughing in summer helps in soil moisture conservation

12. DATE OF SOWING Predominant sowing time is mid September to end of October Mustard is primarily rain fed or dry land crops In the north Indian plains sowing done in mid October, when the mean temperature is 24- 26 C Late- formed flowers develop pods with fewer, lighter seeds with low oil content and affect final seed yield Late- sown crop is more vulnerable to pest infestation, especially white rust and aphids

13. PLANT POPULATION AND SPACING Preferred plant population is 2.2- 3 lakh plants/ ha or 25- 30 plants/ m 2 . But it becomes problem since the crops are sensitive to weather variations. Spacing of 30 cm * 22 cm in Bihar and 45 cm * 10 cm in UP, MP, Gujarat, Delhi and Punjab. Sown in the seed rate of 4 to 6 kg/ ha.

14. SEED TREATMENT Sees are treated with Bavistin @ 2 g/ kg of seed before sowing to protect the crop from root rot and Sclerotinia disease To ensure good germination and early seedling vigor, seeds should preferably be soaked in water for 4 hours and dried under shade before sowing Seeds could be mixed with moist soil and kept overnight and sown along with soil Mustard sown in paired rows 15 cm apart, and channels provided in between the pairs of rows

15. FERTILIZER APPLICATION Mustard is a heavy feeder and needs 60 kg N, 40 kg P, 20 kg K and Sulphur nearly twice that of P/ ha under rain fed conditions Under irrigated condition 80: 40: 20 kg N-P 2 O 5 -K 2 O/ ha is recommended More Sulphur is required by oilseed in Indian conditions because they contain glucosinolates Saving of 20- 40 kg N/ ha could be made by growing mungbean ( Vigna radiata ) during summer, taking one picking and incorporating the legume residue Zn 10 kg/ ha and B 2 kg/ ha with 20 kg S/ ha given improved yield

16. TIME AND METHOD Under dry land conditions all fertilizers is applied in furrows, 4- 5cm below the seed, at sowing Under irrigated condition, half of N dose and all P and K are applied as basal and the remaining half dose of N is top dressed at first irrigation

17. WEED CONTROL Mustard fields should be kept weed- free for the first 45- 60 days as the yield loss due to weeds could vary from 20 to 70% One hand weeding 25 DAS under rain fed conditions and 2 hand weedings 25 and 45 DAS in irrigated crops are sufficient Pre- emergence Fluchloralin @ 1.25 kg/ ha and post- emergence Isoproturon at 0.75 kg/ ha 25 DAS applications are recommended

18. IRRIGATION Consumptive use of water in mustard varies from 200 to 300 mm In mustard 2 irrigations are recommended, the first at rosette stage (20- 30 DAS) and the second at the siliqua formation stage (50- 60 DAS) Best results are obtained when irrigation is applied when IE: CPE is 0.6

19. MOISTURE CONSERVATION Mulches (rice straw) for conserving soil moisture and anti- transpirants (Kaolin) for reducing moisture loss from mustard plants. CROPPING SYSTEMS Wheat+ mustard 9:1 in all mustard growing areas Chickpea+ mustard 3:1 in UP, Haryana, Rajasthan Potato+ mustard 3:1 in UP Sugarcane+ mustard 1:1 UP, Haryana, Rajasthan

20. DISEASES Alternaria blight ( Alternaria brassicae ) White rust ( Albugo candida ) Downy mildew ( Perenospora parasitica ) Sclerotinia rot Powdery mildew ( Erysiphe cruciferarum ) Club root ( Plasmodiphora brassicae ) Bacterial rot ( Xanthomonas campestris Pv . campestris )

21. HARVESTING AND THRESHING The highest oil content 41.78% in mustard is attained in 67 days after flowering at yellow pod stage Yield estimated to be 400 kg / ha Delayed harvest may results in loss in oil content and also leads to seed shedding Harvesting should be done in the morning hours to avoid shattering The harvested crop should be left to dry in the sun for 3- 4 days on the threshing floor Threshing can be done manually or using a tractor or bullocks Seeds should be separated, cleaned, and sun- dried for 3- 4 days so that the moisture cont comes down to 8 %

22. SUMMARY Important rabi oil seed crop Temperate crop Seed rate- 4 to 6 kg/ ha Spacing- 40* 10 cm Nutrient under rainfed 60: 40: 20 kg NPK/ ha Nutrient under irrigated 80: 40: 20 kg NPK/ha Irrigation- 200 to 300 mm Yield- 400 kg/ ha

23. REFERENCES Textbook of Field Crops Production/ 2002/ Rajendra Prasad/ Directorate of Information and Publication of Agriculture, ICAR www.nutrition-and-you.com www.advantaindia.com