Spinach belongs to family of "Amaranthaceae" and it is native of central and western Asia. It it perennial vegetable and cultivated throughout the world. Spinach 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. Andra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, TamilNadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Gujarat are leading producing states of spinach in India.

It can be grown on any type of soil having good drainage capacity. But it give 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: High yielding variety with uniform green and tender leaves. Gives five to six cuttings. Suitable for September sowing.

Pusa Bharati: Smooth, green, tender leaves without red pigmentation on leaves. Suitable for spring and winter sowing. Ready for picking in 30-40days after sowing. Gives average yield of 200qtl/acre. 

Pusa Jyoti: Thick, fleshy, dark green leaves. Suitable for September sowing. Gives average yield of 170qtl/acre.   

Pusa Harit: Upright, thick, dark green leaves. Gives average yield of 104qtl/acre.   

Other states variety

Punjab Green: Plant is semi errect with dark shining leaves. Ready for first cutting in 30days after sowing. Gives average yield of 125qtl/acre. It has low oxalic acid content. 

Punjab Selection: Foliage is light green color, thin, long and narrow. Leaves are lightly sour in taste. Purple pigmentation present on stem. It gives average yield of 275qtl/ha. 

Ooty 1: Leaves having higher caroeten content and vitamin. 

Prepared soil by ploughing for two to three times. After ploughing do levelling of soil for uniform bed formation. Prepared bed and irrigation channels. 

Time of sowing

Spinach is sown throughout the year. 

For Kharif season, June-July is optimum time for cultivation. Where as for Rabi season, complete cultivation in September-October month. 

Spacing

For sowing, use row to row spacing of 25-30cm and plant to plant spacing of 10-12cm. 

Sowing Depth

Sow seeds at depth of 3-4cm. 

Method of Sowing 

Sowing can be done by Line Sowing and Broadcasting method.

Seed Rate

For sowing, use seed rate of 14 to 18kg/acre.

Seed Treatment

Before sowing soaked seeds in water for 12-24hours. It will increased germination percentage.

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

For good yield, apply well decomposed cowdung@100qtl/acre at time of land preparation and Mix well in soil. 

Nitrogen@32-35kg (in form of Urea@70-75kg), Phosphorus@16kg (in form of Superphosphate@100kg) and Potash@16kg (MoP@30kg per acre). Apply whole amount of Phosphorus and Potash along with one third dose of Nitrogen at time of last ploughing. Divide remaining amount of Nitrogen in two equal splits and apply after each cutting. After fertilizer application provide light irrigation.

For proper seed germination and good growth soil should content enough moisture content. At time of sowing if proper soil moisture is not present in soil then provide pre-sowing irrigation.

First irrigation should be given after sowing. In summer month, apply irrigation at interval of 4-6days where as in winter month apply irrigation at interval of 10-12days. Avoid over irrigation also care should be taken not to water on leaves, as it will leads to occurance of disease and detoriation of quality. Drip irrigation is proves to be beneficial for Spinach cultivation.

To keep check on weeds along with to provide aeration to soil two - three hoeing are required. To control weed chemically, use Pyrazone@0.96-1.12kg/acre as pre-emergence herbicide. Do not use weedicide afterwards.  

• Pest and their control:

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

• Disease and ttheir control:

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

Depending upon variety, crop is ready for first cutting 25-30days after sowing. For harvesting use sharp knife or sickle. Depending upon variety and season, subsequent cutting should be done at interval of 20-25days. 

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 plant, 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.