SENNA

It is a multiyear thornless plant which has plant length of 40cm-120cm. It is a leguminous plant and once planted, it gives yield for 5 years. In hindi it is known by the name as “Senna” or “Snaay”, in Rajasthan it is known as “Sonamukhi” and in Sanskrit it is known as “Markandi” etc. Its botanical name is Cassia angustifolia Vahl. In international markets it is known by the name as “Indian Senna” or “Tinneveli Senna”. Sonamukhi is basically a plant of Arab origin and in India it is firstly cultivated in TamilNadu, currently in Kerala and Rajasthan it is planted in large quantities. The leaves of Senna are used to make medicines. Drugs made from Senna are used to treat constipation, hemorrhoids and weight loss.

Mainly it grows in almost all varieties of soil. Avoid cultivation in saline soil. It gives best results when grown in sandy or loamy soil. Mainly in the areas where farming has never been done or where the use of fertilizer is not done in the field is good for crop yield.

ALFT-2: Released by GAU, Anand. It is a late flowering variety.

Anand Late Selection: Released by GAU, Anand. It is an early flowering variety.

Sonal: Released by CIMAP. It is a high yielding variety.
 

Before sowing the crop, do ploughing 2-3 times. By making deep ploughing, adequate storage of rain water will be stored in the field and availability of water will be maintained as per the requirement.

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

Full dose of Farm Yard Manure (FYM) @4tonnes/acre is applied at the time of land preparation. Apply fertilizer dose of Nitrogen@32kg/acre in the form of urea@70kg/acre, phosphorus@16kg/acre in the form of SSP@100kg/acre and Potash@16kg/acre in the form of MOP@27kg/acre is given. Phosphorus, Potassium and half dose of N are applied as a basal dose at the time of planting. The remaining dose of nitrogen is applied in two equal splits. First is applied at after 90-95 days of sowing and second is applied after 120-125 days of sowing.

Time of sowing:
Optimum time for sowing is from mid-July to mid-September. Immediately after the last monsoon when there is sufficient moisture in the field, it is appropriate time to sow the seeds.

Spacing:
Use line to line spacing of not more than 30cm.

Sowing depth:
Seed should not be sown more than 1.0-1.5cm.
 

Seed rate:
Use seed rate of 4-5kg/acre.
 

During growth of the crop, if weeds grow more in the field than we can do weeding atleast once a time. When the plants grow, the animals can be left in the farm, which eat grass but does not harm its plant. Thus, after the growth of the crop, special attention is not needed on weed control.

In areas where there is irrigation system, or in areas where the field is filled with water for many days (Swampy areas), cultivating in these areas is not suitable and neither beneficial. Its root grows deeper in the land and once it grows the roots search water themselves. In effect the crop doesn’t need irrigation. Like this after sowing the crop they don’t need much care or attention.

• Pest and their control:
  

White ants: The pest attacks the crop at the different stages starting from seedling growth to maturity. It severely damages the plant as a result roots become weak and it can be easily uprooted. The roots get sudden wilt and ultimately dried. If root parts are damaged by the pest, then it shows yellowing of plant.
To control broadcast 1 Ltr of Chlorpyriphos 20 EC mix with 20 kg sand/acre then applies a light irrigation.
 

Cut worms: Appear in early stage of crop. Caterpillar cut base of plant in early stage of crop. They are active during night and hide in cracks and under stone during day time. They are cyclic in nature.
To control cutworm eggs, release Trichogramma parasitoid weekly once for 3 weeks continuously. When the symptoms are noticed take dusting of Malathion 5% @10 kg/acre or Quinalphos 1.5%@250ml/acre. After harvesting remove weeds and stubbles.
 

Pod eating caterpillars: If infestation is observed take spray of Carbaryl @5g/ltr of water is done after 70-80 days of sowing to get rid of pod eating caterpillars.

• Disease and their control:
  

Damping off: Moist and poorly drain soil causes damping off disease. It is soil borne disease. Water soaking and shriveling of stem occurs. Seedlings killed before emergence. If it appears in nursery the entire lot of seedling may get destroyed.
To control Wilt, Drench nearby soil with Copper oxychloride@250gm or Carbendazim@200gm/150Ltr of water. To control Wilting of plants due to root rot do drenching with Trichoderma bio fungus@2.5kg/200Ltr water, near to roots of plants.
 

Leaf spot and blight: If infestation is observed take spray of Benlate@0.1% is done after 70-80 days of sowing to get rid of leaf spot and blight.

The harvesting is done after 100-120 days of sowing. Cut the plant 3 inch above from the ground level and use sharp knife for cutting. For more yields, first harvesting is done in after 100-120 days of sowing and then it is done at the interval of 60-75 days after first harvesting. By harvesting four times once in a year, it gives 165kg/acre of dry leaf yield and 330-410kg/acre of pods.