SPINACH

Spinach can be grown on variety of soil with good drainage capacity. But it gives good result when grown on sandy loam and alluvial soil. Avoid acidic soils also waterlogged soils for spinach cultivation. pH of soil should be in range of 6 to 7.

All Green: Leaves are green and delicate. Near about 5-6 cutting can be taken.

Jobner green: High yielding variety having thick, juicy green leaves. Leaves are big compared to other variety.

S-23: Leaves are broad, thick and dark green color. Ready to harvest in 30 days. Near about 6-8 cutting can be taken.

Other states variety

Other variety: Pusa jyoti, Pusa Palak, Pusa harit, Pusa Bharati 

Take ploughing for three - five times and bring soil to fine tilth. After ploughing do planking of soil to obtain uniform and levelled the bed. Prepared bed and irrigation channels.

Time of sowing
Sowing of spinach can be done round the year. But August to December is optimum time for sowing.

Spacing
For sowing, use row to row spacing of 20 cm and plant to plant spacing of 5 cm.

Sowing Depth
Sow seeds at depth of 3-4 cm.

Method of Sowing
Sowing can be done by line sowing and broadcasting method.

Seed Rate
Near about 4-6 kg of seeds are required for sowing of one acre land.

Seed Treatment
To increased germination percentage, before sowing, soaked seeds in water for 12-24 hours.

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

To obtain good yield and good growth, overall apply well decomposed cowdung@200qtl and Nitrogen@32kg (in form of Urea@70kg), Phosphorus@16kg (in form of Superphosphate@100kg) per acre. Apply whole amount of well decomposed cowdung and Phosphorus along with half amount of Nitrogen before sowing. Apply remaining amount of Nitrogen in two equal splits after each cutting. After fertilizer application provide light irrigation.

Apply pre-sowing irrigation if proper soil moisture is not present in soil. Otherwise apply first irrigation after sowing. In summer month, apply irrigation at interval of 4-6 days where as in winter month apply irrigation at interval of 10-12 days. Avoid excessive irrigation. Also care should be taken not to water on leaves, as it will leads to occurrence of disease and deterioration of quality. Drip irrigation is proves to be beneficial for Spinach cultivation.

Two - three hoeing are required, to keep check on weeds. Hoeing also provide aeration to soil. To control weed chemically, use Pyrazone@0.96-1.12 kg/acre as pre-emergence herbicide. Avoid use of weedicide afterwards.

• Pest and their control:

Aphid: If infestation is observed, take spray of Malathion 50EC@350ml/80-100Ltr of water. Do not harvest crop immediately after spraying of Malathion. Harvesting is done after seven days of spray.

• Disease and their control:
  

Cercospora Leaf spot: On leaves, small circular to semi circular spots with gray centre and red margins appeared. On seed crop, if infestation is observed, take spray of Carbendazim@200gm or Indofil M 45@400gm in 150Ltr of water per acre. If necessary repeat spray with intervals of 15 days.

Crop is ready for first cut 25-30 days after sowing (vary with variety use). And subsequent cutting should be done at interval of 20-25 days. For harvesting use sharp knife or sickle. 

For seed production, use spacing of 50cm x 30cm. Keep isolation distance of 1000m around palak seed plot. Skip one row after every five rows, it is essential for field inspection. Remove disease infected plants, also remove plant showing variation in leaf characteristic. Harvest crop when seed stalks turn brown. After harvesting keep plant in field for curing and drying purpose for a week. After proper drying, for seed purpose, threshing of crop is to be done.

Spinach is native of central and western asia and belongs to family of "Amaranthaceae". It is perennial vegetable and cultivated throughout the world. It is also known as "Palak" in Hindi. It is a rich source of iron, vitamin and anti-oxidants. It has many health benefits. It helps to increases immunity. It is good for digestion, also good for skin, hair, eyes and for brain health. It has anti-cancer and anti-ageing property. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Gujarat are leading producing states of spinach in India.