Climate: Radish plants are fast-growing, winter season vegetables. It is a biennial plant just like other Brassica plants but grown as an annual for vegetable purposes. It is very easy to grow radish plants as they are very hardy and suffer from very few pests and diseases. A cool season with temperatures 10 to 18 °C produces top quality tubers. The plant prefers full sun light for its growth.
Soil: Radish can be grown in all types of soils. However, the most ideal soils are well-drained, rich, fertile light sandy loams with a soil pH 6.5 to 7.0. Late varieties can be grown in clayey soils also. Since radish plants are fast-growing, soils should be fertile with high content of organic matter. Soil should be having good water holding capacity and should be moist throughout the plant growth.
Propagation: Propagation is by seeds. Seeds are sown directly in the fields on ridges. Distance between the ridges and the spacing within rows depend on the variety. Seed rate is 10-12kg/ha. Seeds germinate in 3-4 days. Favourable soil temperature for germination is between 18 and 29 °C.
Planting: In temperate climate, radish can be grown throughout the year. In warmer climates, radishes are planted during autumn season. Depth of seed sowing affects tuber size; hence a sowing depth of 1cm to 1.5 cm is recommended for small radishes and 2cm to 4 cm is recommended for large radishes.
Fertilizer and Irrigation Requirements: A crop that yields 20 tons/hectare of radish tubers removes about 120 kg of nitrogen, 65 kg of phosphate and 100 kg of potash from the soils. A fertilizer schedule may be planned based on nutrient removal from the soils, soil fertility analysis, and different plant growth stages. Radish requires plenty of water from sowing time until the tubers become ready for harvest.
Insect Pest Management: Aphids eat tender shoots and can be controlled by spraying nicotine sulphate. Flea beetles affect seedlings and young plants and leave holes in the leaves. Swede midge attacks the foliage and growing tips. Cabbage root flies attack the roots and as a result the foliage droops and wilts. White maggots make tunnel through the tubers making it inedible. Integrated Pest Management practices may be adopted for the effective control of pests. There are no important diseases. Sometimes, radish plants are affected by mosaic and rust diseases.
Harvesting and Yield: Radish crop matures very fast, generally 30 days after sowing. In colder climates, the crop maturity may be delayed by a few more weeks; it may take 45-50 days for crop maturity. Radish should be harvested when the tubers are still tender; harvesting delay may result in ‘pithiness’ of tubers as well as may develop bitterness in tubers. A light irrigation is done before harvesting because it is easy to pull out the plants when soil is moist and loose. Tubers are pulled out along with the tops, with the help of a spade or similar tools. Washed and cleaned tubers are packed for marketing. The European varieties yield about 8-12 tons/ha whereas the Asiatic types yield 20-30 tons/ha.
Storage Conditions: At room temperature, radishes may be stored up to 3days. At 0 °C (32 °F) with a relative humidity of 90–95%, radishes maybe stored up to 2 months.
Seed Production: For seed production, tubers are left un-harvested in situ so that plants can complete reproductive cycle. Seed yield is 600 to 800 kg/ha according to the variety. Radish seeds contain up to 48% oil which is not fit for human consumption but is a potential source of biofuel.
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