Beetroot is also known as “garden beet”. It is sweet in taste and is healthy having antioxidant properties. It has medicinal values i.e. it is used to cure cancer and heart diseases. It can be grown easily and is ranked as top 10 vegetables grown in India.

Red beet grows best in loamy soil. It requires 9.5 pH of the soil. The crop also grows well in basic soil.

Romanskaya: Released from Russia. The variety gets ready in 140-150 days and it gives an average yield of 60-76quintal/acre. It contains 14-16% of sucrose content and has 1180 impurity coefficient.

Other state varieties:

Shubhra: The variety is developed in Sweden. It contains 18% of sucrose content and has impurity coefficient of 330. It gives an average yield of 56-62quintal/acre. In this variety there is less chances of leaf spot disease.

Magna Poly: The variety is developed in Denmark which gives an average yield of 56-62quintal/acre. It contains 14-16% of sucrose content and has 880 impurity coefficient.

Tribal: It is the foreign variety of red beet which gives an average yield of 40quintal/acre. It contains 14-16% of sucrose content and has 1178 impurity coefficient.
 
IISR Compost: Released from Lucknow center. It gives an average yield of 37-40quintal/acre. It contains 14-18% of sucrose content and has 790 impurity coefficient.
 

Area needs to be ploughed first which is followed by 3-4 harrowing to get fine tilth. For good seed production, land should be well prepared and contains appropriate moisture. Before last harrowing, land should be treated with Quinalphos @250ml /acre to protect crop from Cutworms, Termite and other insect-pests.

Time of sowing:
In high mountainous areas, sowing is done in the month of May-June month.

Spacing:
Use line spacing of 45-50cm for sowing. The plant to plant distance must be 15-20cm.

Sowing depth:
Sow the seed at depth of 3cm.

Method of sowing:
•    Seed drill
 

Seed rate:
Use seed rate of 3-3.5kg per acre.

Seed treatment:
Seeds are treated with Carbendazim 50WP or Thiram @2gm/kg before sowing.
 

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

Use cow dung @40quintal/acre at the time of land preparation. Use fertilizer dose of Nitrogen @36kg in the form of urea @80kg, Phosphorus@20kg in the form of SSP @120 kg and Potassium@10kg/acre in the form of Muriate of potash20 kg/acre.

Use full dose of Phosphorus and potash and half dosage Nitrogen before sowing, at the time of last harrowing mix the doses with soil. At this time also mix the 2kg/acre of Borax powder in the soil. After 2 month of sowing adds rest of the nitrogen dose.
 

Beet root requires 80-100cm of water by 6-7 irrigations. First irrigation is given after 25 days of sowing and then next 4 irrigations is done at the interval of 25 days and then rest of the irrigations is given at the interval of 20 days.

First weeding is done, after 25-30 days of germination. Second weeding is done after 15-20 of first weeding. For weed control, 2-3 weedings are required.

• Pest and their control:
  

Beet webworm: If infestation is seen then spraying of Dimethoate 30EC @200ml/acre to get rid from webworm.

Weevil: If infestation is seen then spraying of Methyl Parathion (2%) @2.5kg/acre is to be done to get rid of this pest.

Aphids and Jassids: If infestation is seen then spraying of Chlorpyriphos 20EC @300ml/acre is to be done to get rid of aphids and jassids.

• Disease and their control:
  

Alternaria and Cercospora leaf spot: If infestation is seen then spraying of Mancozeb @400gm in 100-130ltr of water is done get rid from leaf spots.

Harvesting is done in the end March to May month .Harvesting is done when the lower surface of leaves turns yellow. Before 1-3 days of harvesting light irrigation is necessary.