FENNEL

Fennel also known as Saunf in Hindi is belonging to Apiacae family. This annual herb is native of Europe. Its seeds after drying are mostly used for spice purpose. Fennel is good source of fibre, vitamin C, potassium. It is used for flavouring meat dishes, soups etc. Its leaves are used for garnishing dishes also in salads. Fennel is also having medicinal properties like it is used for digestion, also to treat constipation, diarrhea, throat pain, headache etc. It is cultivated as Rabi crop. India is top producer of fennel and Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana are major fennel growing states.

All soils rich in organic matter are suitable for fennel cultivation. It gives best result when grown on well drained sandy loam to loamy soils. Avoid shallow soils for fennel cultivation. PH of soil should be in range of 6.5 to 8.

Pant Madhulika: Released in 2001 by Agricultural University, Pantnagar. The plant attains the height of 150-160cm. when sowing is done in mid-October month the crop matures after six months. It gives an average yield of 7.5qtl/acre.

Gujarat Fennel 1: Released by Gujarat Agricultural University. The variety matures in 225 days. It has long grains. It gives an average yield of 6-7qtl/acre. The seeds contain 1.6% oil content.
 
PF 35: Released by Gujarat Agricultural University. Seeds are green in color and it gives an average yield of 6qtl/acre. The seeds contain 1.0% oil content.  The variety matures in 215-225 days.

Fennel-S-7-9: It is a dwarf variety which is released by Gujarat Agricultural University. It gives an average yield of 5qtl/acre.

RF 101: The variety matures in 150-160 days. It gives an average yield of 6.4qtl/acre.

GF 2: It gives an average yield of 7.5qtl/acre.

GF 11: It gives an average yield of 10qtl/acre.

RF 143: It gives an average yield of 5qtl/acre. The seeds contain 1.8% oil content.

RF 125: It gives an average yield of 7qtl/acre.
 
CO 1: The variety matures in 215 days. It gives an average yield of 2-2.5qtl/acre.

UF 32: It gives an average yield of 6qtl/acre.  The seeds contain 1.0-1.5% oil content. The variety matures in 200-215 days.

AF 1: It gives an average yield of 8-10qtl/acre.  The seeds contain 1.6% oil content.

Other varieties: UF 90, UF 112, UF 101, UF (M) 1 etc.
 

To prepared fine seed bed, give two to three ploughings in medium soil. For heavy soils, take ploughing for three to four times. Carry out planking after each ploughing to obtained uniform bed.

Time of sowing
In plain areas, sowing is done in October or first fortnight of November. In hilly areas, sowing is done in March-April month.

Spacing
Under rainfed condition, use spacing of 45 cm between two rows and 10 cm between two crops.

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

Method of sowing
Fennel can be directly sown where as in some areas it first raised in nursery then transplanted to main field.
 

Seed Rate:
For sowing, use seed rate of 4-5 kg per acre.
 

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

Apply well decomposed cow dung@4-6tones/acre. Apply Urea@36kg/acre and DAP@16kg/acre. At the time of sowing application of nitrogen@16kg/acre and phosphorus @2kg/acre should be done. Rest of the nitrogen dose is applied after 60 days of first application.

For better germination of seeds, apply pre-sowing irrigation. First irrigation is given 10-15 days after sowing. Depending upon soil type and climate, apply remaining irrigation at interval of 15-25 days. Avoid water stress at flowering and seed formation stage.

Depending upon weed intensity, carry out, one or two hoeing operation. To control weed chemical, apply Pendimethalin@1 ltr/acre.

• Pest and their control:
  

Aphid: If infestation of Aphid is observed, to controlled take spray of Dimethoate 30EC@2ml per litter of water or Methyl demeton 25EC@2ml per liter of water.

• Disease and their control:
  

Powdery Mildew: If infestation is observed, take spray of wettable Sulphur@2gm/ltr of water.

Depending upon variety used, crop is ready to harvest in 180 days, i.e. end of April or end of May. Start harvesting when umbels change its color from green to light yellow. Harvesting is done by plucking umbels. After then umbels are dried in sun for 1-2 days and about 8-10 days in shades.

After proper drying, cleaning of fennel seed is carried out. Then depending upon quality, grading of fennel seed is done. After then seeds are packed in Jute bag.