Carrot "annual" or "biannual" herb belongs to family of Umbelliferae and it is native of "Europe". It is a great source of Vitamin A. Carrot is major vegetable crop of India. It is used for fresh consumption. Also, pickles and sweets are made from it. Kanji, rich source of carotene, a good appetizer, is made from black carrot. Carrot leaves are used for fodder purpose also used in making of poultry feeds. Carrot Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are major carrot growing states.

For good root development carrot required deep, loose loamy soils. Heavy soils as well as very loose soils are not suitable for carrot cultivation. For optimum yield pH of soil should be in range of 5.5 to 7 (pH of 6.5 is ideal for good yield).

Early Nantes: Cylindrical roots, with small peaks, orange color flesh, variety gets ready in 110 days. It gives an average yield of 62.5-80qtl/acre.

Chantenay: Fruits are sharp from end but front part is closed, orange in color, gets ready in 110-130 days. It gives an average yield of 84-94qtl/acre.

Pusa Meghali: Orange colored carrot variety, developed at IARI, New Delhi. Gives average yield of 100-120qtl/acre.

Pusa Kesar: Long roots, orange color, sharp and gets ready in 80-100 days. It gives an average yield of 83-105qtl/acre.

Pusa Yamdagni: Roots are long and less sharp, medium peak, orange color, gets ready in 80-120 days. It gives an average yield of 80-105qtl/acre.

Pusa NayanJyoti: Suitable for sowing in November- December month in north Indian plains. Gives average yield of 140-180qtl/acre.

Pusa Rudhira: Ready to harvest in 85 to 90days. Gives average yield of 130qtl/acre.

Pusa Asita: Gives higher yield compared to Pusa kesar. Ready to harvest in 95 to 100 days. Gives average yield of 120qtl/acre.

Pusa Vrishti: Suitable for early sowing in North Indian Plains. Ready to harvest in 85 to 90days. Gives average yield of 100qtl/acre.

Other state varieties:

European varieties:

European Carrot: This variety has attractive roots which are cylindrical, medium long (18-20cm), soft and orange in color, medium peak. The variety is rich Keratin content. The variety gets ready in 100-110 days. It gives an average yield of 94-115qtl/acre.

Asiatic varieties:

No 29: Desi variety with long tapering roots.

Sel 233: Variety with orange root. 

Other varieties:

PC 34: Red color variety having dark green leaves. Length of root is about 25cm and root diameter is about 3.15cm.TSS content is 8.8percent. It is ready for harvesting in 90days after sowing. Gives average yield of 204qtl/acre.

Punjab Black beauty: Roots are purple black with dark green leaves. It is a rich source of anthocyanins and phenols which protect from cancer. TSS content is about 7.5%. It is ready for harvesting in 93days after sowing. Gives average yield of 196qtl/acre. Fresh carrots are used for salad, juice, pickle and Kanji. 

Exotic Varieties: 1) USA: Red cored chantenay, Danvers half long, Imperator. 2) New Zealand: Akaroa long red, spring market improved, Wanganui giant. 3) Japan: Suko 4) Belgium : Belgium white 5)Netherlands: Early Horn 6) Australia: Red elephant, western red, yellow 7) France: Chantenay, Nantes, oxheart.

New Kuroda: Hybrid suitable for plain as well as hilly areas.
 

Plough land thoroughly and make land weed and clods free. Add well decomposed cow dung of 10 ton/acre and mix well in soils at time of land preparation. Avoid use of undecomposed or free cowdung as it will leads to forking of fleshy roots.

Time of sowing
September to November is optimum time for carrot cultivation. In Maharashtra, carrot is cultivated in kharif season also. For kharif complete cultivation in June-July month.

Spacing
Use row to row spacing of 30 to 45cm and plant to plant spacing of 8-10cm. After thinning, keep plant to plant distance of 4-5cm.

Sowing Depth
For good growth, sow seeds at depth of 1.5cm.

Method of sowing
For sowing, use dibbling method and also use broadcasting method.
 

Seed Rate
For sowing on one acre land, seed rate of 1.6 to 2.5kg is sufficient.

Seed Treatment
Before sowing soak seeds in water for 12-24hours. It will increase germination percentage
 

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

Carrot crop required well decomposed cowdung@20-30ton/acre, along with this fertilizer dose of Nitrogen@32kg (in form of Urea@70kg), Phosphorus@24kg (in form of SSP@150kg/acre) and Potash@24kg (in form of MOP@40kg) per acre.

Full dose of Cow dung, Phosphorus, Potash and half dose of Nitrogen is applied at the time of land preparation. Remaining half dose is applied 20days after sowing.
 

After sowing, apply first irrigation, it will help in good germination. Depending upon soil type and climate, apply remaining irrigations at interval of 6-7days in summer and 10-12 days interval in winter month. Overall carrot required three to four irrigations. Avoid excessive irrigation as it will leads misshape of roots and numerous hair growth. Stop irrigation two to three weeks before harvesting, It will help in increase in sweetness and taste of carrot.

Take intercultural operation like weeding and hoeing to keep check on weed growth also to provide soil aeration. Weed control is necessary during early stage. After sowing, take spray of Pendimethalin@ 1.4Ltr per acre. At time of weedicide application, sufficient moisture should present in soil.

• Pest and their control:
  

Nematodes: To control nematodes, apply neem cake@0.5ton/acre at time of sowing.

• Disease and their control:
  

Leaf spot: If infestation is observed in field to control take spray of Mancozeb@2gm/Litre of water.

Depending upon variety, carrots are ready for harvesting in 90-100days after sowing. Harvesting is done manually by uprooting plants. After harvesting remove green tops from carrots and then they are washed with water. It gives an average yield of 83-105qtl/acre. 

After harvesting grading of carrot depending upon size is carried out. Then they are packed in gunny bags or basket. Fresh carrots are stored for three to four days. At temperature of 0 to 4.5oC with relative humidity of 93-98%, carrot can be stored for six months.