CELERY

The botanical name of celery is Apium graveolens and is also known as Karnauli. It is also known for its medicinal properties. Celery is used to cure joint pain, headache, nervousness, gout, weight loss, blood purification etc. It is rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, foliate and potassium. It is an herbaceous plant with average height of stalk is about 10-14 inches and has white color flowers. Stems are light green in color having leaves attached with stem which is 7-18 cm long. Leaves bear flowers which is greenish white in color that bears fruit which later becomes seeds which are 1-2 mm in length and are greenish brown in color. It is used in making stews, salads and soups. It is found mainly in Mediterranean area, mountainous parts of Southern Asia, marshes of Europe and North Africa and in some parts of India. Ladhwa and Saharanpur districts of Western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Jalandhar districts of Punjab are major Celery growing states in India.

It is grown in variety of soils ranging from sandy loam to clay, black soil and red soil having proper drainage. It gives best result when grown under loamy soil rich in organic matter. Avoid cultivation in waterlogged soils, alkali and saline soils. It requires soil pH of more than 5.6 for its good growth.

Yutah: The variety gets ready in 182 days.

Golden Self Blotch: The variety gets ready in 98 days.

Other state varieties

Punjab Celery 1: It is the first developed variety by Punjab Agriculture University. This variety has brown color seeds. The variety of flowers in March is ready after transplantation in 140-150 days. It gives average seed yield of 4.46qtl/acre. It gives 20.1% of total oil content.

 RRL-85-1: Developed by Regional Research Laboratory, Jammu.  It gives 2-3% of yellow volatile oil. 

Standard bearer: Developed by IARI, New Delhi. It is used for salad purposes.

Wright grove giant: Developed by IARI, New Delhi. It is used for salad purposes.

Fordhook Emperor: The variety matures late and the tender leaves of this variety are short, solid and are white thick.

Giant Pascal: It grows best in winters. The height of this variety is 5-6 cm long.

For celery plantation, it requires well pulverized and leveled soil. To bring soil to good level, 4-5 ploughings should be done followed by each planking. Transplantation of celery is done on prepared nursery beds.

Time of sowing
For low areas: September-October
For intermediate areas: August-September
For high areas: April-May

Spacing
Use row to row spacing of 60cm and plant to plant spacing of 20-30cm.

Sowing Depth
Use sowing depth of 2-4cm.

Method of sowing
Transplanting is done 60-70 days after sowing.

Seed rate
For open pollinated varieties use seed rate of 400 gm/acre.

Before sowing apply mixture of calcium ammonium nitrate and single superphosphate @150 gm on the raised beds. Sow celery seeds on raised beds of 8 m x 1.25 m and of convenient width. After sowing cover the seed beds with FYM and mix well in the soil.  After sowing immediate water sprinkler is necessary.

12-15 days after sowing germination of seed starts. When germination begins, application of calcium ammonium nitrate at fortnight to each bed is given. For good plant size application of calcium ammonium nitrate @100 gm is given to each bed at the interval of one month.

Seedlings are ready for transplantation in 60-70 days after sowing. Before transplanting light irrigation is given to beds so that seedlings can be easily uprooted and be turgid at transplanting time. Transplanting is mainly done in the month of mid-November – end of December.

Fertilizers Requirement (Kg/Acre)

Nutrients Value (kg/Acre)

At the time of land preparation, apply well decomposed cow dung @40qtl/acre and mix well in the soil. Apply Nitrogen@38 kg, Phosphorus@20 kg and potash@12kg/acre in the form of Urea@84 kg, SSP@125 kg/acre and MOP@20kg/acre. At the time of transplanting half dose of Nitrogen and full dose of phosphorus is given. Apply one-fourth dose of Nitrogen after 45 days of transplanting and then apply remaining dose of Nitrogen 75 days after transplantation.

Celery requires too much water for its good growth. Frequent but light irrigations are required for celery. Frequent irrigations are necessary after nitrogen application.

Do hand weeding and light hoeing to keep the field weed free. If weed left uncontrolled then it will reduce the crop yield. For effective weed control, application of Linnuram @6 kg/acre is given. Mulching is also an effective way to control the weeds.

• Disease and its control

Celery Mosaic Virus: It is virus which gets transmitted to other plants by aphids. The symptoms are vein clearing, vein mottling, leaves gets curled, twisted and has stunted growth.

Treatment: Removal of umbelliferous weeds and field must remain weed free for 1-3 months will help to prevent virus. It can be controlled by spraying Rogor@250ml in 150 ltr of water per acre.

Damping off: it is a fungal disease which is caused by Rhizoctonia solani and Pythium spp. The symptoms are rotten seeds which decreases seed germination rate or slow germination rate.

Treatment: Prevent the planting of celery in wet or cool soil. Seeds must be treated with fungicide Bavistin@3gm/kg or Thiram@ 2gm/kg before sowing in the soil to prevent from damping-off disease. 

Downy mildew: It is a fungal disease which is caused by Peronospora umbellifarum. The symptoms are lesions which gets darker with the maturity of plant, yellow spots on the upper surface and white fluffy growth on the lower surface of leaves. 

Treatment: Use plant pathogen free seeds for germination and avoid crowd of the plants in the main field. To get rid of this disease spray of 400gm copper oxychloride or 400gm M-45 by mixing in the 150 ltr of water per acre.  

Early blight (Cercospora leaf spot, Cercospora blight): It is a fungal disease which is caused by Cercospora apii. The symptoms are small yellow spots on both upper and lower surface of leaves.

Treatment: Use pathogen free seeds and avoid crowding of the crop. To get rid of this disease spray of 400gm copper oxychloride or 400gm M-45 by mixing in the 150 ltr of water per acre.  

Fusarium yellows: It is a fungal disease which is caused by Fusarium oxysporum. The symptoms are stunted growth, brownish color roots and fainted color of vascular tissue. The disease mainly gets transfer by the use of contaminated agricultural equipment’s.

Treatment: Use pathogen free seeds and disease resistant varieties.

• Insect Pest and their control

Leaf miner: It affects the foliage as it gives the appearance of been scorched.

Treatment: Use of insecticidal spray Fenazaquin@200ml in 150ltr of water to get rid of leaf miner.

Carrot weevil: It affects the fresh leaves by tunneling larvae into it.

Treatment: Suitable insecticidal treatment is required to treat carrot weevil pest. Spray with Rogor@250ml in 150 ltr water per acre.

Aphids: They affect the plant growth by sucking the cell sap of the leaves.

Treatment: Spraying of Malathion 50 EC @400ml/acre at the interval of 15 days is done to get rid of aphids.

Harvesting is mainly done 4-5 months after sowing. Harvesting of plant and seeds are to be done. Plants are cut just above the ground with the help of sharp knife. Seed harvesting is mainly done when most seeds turn light brown in color in umbel. Immediate harvesting is required as delay in harvesting results in seed loss.

After harvesting, trimming is done. Then celery is packed into cellars, trenches and cold storage for transportation purposes and to increase its self-life.