Ashwagandha also known as wonder herbs as it have multiple medicinal properties. It derives its named "Ashwagandha" as its roots smell like horse and it vitalize body and provide strength just like horse. Its seeds root and leaves are used for preparing various drugs. Drugs prepared from Ashwagandha used for stress reliver, to treat senile dysfunction also used to control anxiety, depression, phobia, schizophrenia etc. It is a branching shrub with average height of 30cm-120cm with fleshy, whitish brown roots. Flowers are of greenish color with orange-red berries. Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are major Ashwagandha growing states in India. 

Ashwagandha gives best result when grown in sandy loam or mild red soil with good drainage having pH in the range of 7.5 to 8.0. Growing Ashwagandha is not possible in soil that retains moisture and remains waterlogged. The soil should be loose, deep and well drained. Black or heavy soils having good drainage are also suitable for ashwagandha cultivation.

Jawahar Asgandh 20: Released by IARI. It gives an average yield of 25qtl/acre of healthy roots. It has deep and dense leaves, small flowers which are light green in color. The legumes turn deep green to yellow in color at maturity. From its roots, 0.1-0.5% alkaloid content can be obtained.
 
WSR : It gives an average yield of 4-5qtl/acre of healthy roots.

Poshita: It gives an average yield of 3-4qtl/acre of healthy roots.

Other state varieties:

Raj Vijay Ashwagandha-100: It is also developed by CJawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh.  

Nagori: It is a local variety with feature of having starchy roots.
 

For Ashwagandha plantation, it requires well pulverized and levelled soil. For fine tilth plough field 2-3 times and discing and/or harrowing should be done before rains then farm yard manure is applied. Land is prepared in month of April-May.

Time of sowing
For Ashwagandha cultivation prepare nursery in the month of June-July.

Spacing
Depending upon the growth habit and germination pecentage, use spacing of 20 to 25 cm line to line distance and 10cm plant to plant distance.

Sowing Depth
The seeds are usually sown about 2 to 3cm deep.

Method of sowing
Broadcasting method.
Drill seeds in the rows.
Transplanting of seedlings in main field.
 

Seed Rate
For good varieties use seed rate of 4-5kg per acre. 
          
Seed treatment
To protect crop from seed borne disease and pest, before sowing do treatment with Thiram or Dithane M-45 (Indofil M-45) @3gm/ kg of seeds. After treatment the seeds are dried in shade and then use it for sowing.
 

Before sowing the land was once ploughed with mould board plough and harrowed twice to bring the soil to fine tilth and fill the soil with plenty of organic matter so as to nourish the soil.

Application of leveler is done to level the soil. Treated seeds are sown  on raised nursery beds from ground level.

Before transplanting apply 10-20 tonnes of farmyard manure, 15kg of urea and 15kg phosphorus as a nutrient dose to the soil.

The seeds germinate in 5-7 days and are ready for transplantation in about 35 days. Give water appropriately before transplanting so that seedling can be easily uprooted.
  
Transplanting should be done in the field in 40cm wide furrows at 60cm apart.
 

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

At the time of land preparation, about 4-8 tonnes of farm yard manure per acre should be mixed with soil and then the field is leveled with leveler. For higher production 2kg of Nitrogen (Urea@6kg) and 1kg of Phosphorus (SSP@6kg) per acre application is needed.

Excessive water or rain will harm the crops. If rainy days are more, then irrigation is not required otherwise one to two lifesaving irrigations should be done. Under irrigated conditions, the crop can be once irrigated in 10-15 days. First irrigation should be done after 30-35 days from germination and then second irrigation is done after 60-70 days from irrigation.

• Pest and their control:
  

Aphids:- It is  a small bug which feeds by sucking sap from plants; a blackfly or greenfly. They reproduce rapidly and cause extensive damage to plants. To get rid from aphids combination of 0.5% malathion and 0.1% - 0.3% kelthane as foliar spray at 10-15 days interval should be done.

Insect attack:- The Shoot borer and mite are the major insects.

Shoot borer:- Shoot borer can be controlled with sumicidin at 10ml per litre.

Mite:-  To control mite spray ethion 10ml/litre as soon as mites are noticed.

• Disease and their control:
  

Seedling rot and blight:- It is a disease that is caused by insects or nematodes which kill seeds or seedlings. To prevent from this use disease free seeds or Neem can be used. 

Leaf spot:- It is a large number of fungal, bacterial, or viral plant diseases which cause leaves to develop discoloured spots. To prevent the crop from disease it should be sprayed with Dithane M-45 at the rate of 3g/litre of water, when 30 days old and the spray should be repeated at 15days interval if the diseases persist.

Plant starts yielding 160-180 days. Harvesting is done in the dry weather when leaves are drying and berries change its color into red-orange. Harvesting is done by hands by uprooting the whole plant or through machines such as power tiller or country plough without damaging the roots.

In post harvesting the roots are separated from the plant and cut into smaller pieces i.e. 8-10cm in length and then it is air dried. After post harvesting, grading is done. The root pieces are stored in tin containers for sale. The higher the length of root pieces the higher it will fetch the price. Berries are plucked separately and then they are air dried and crushed so as to take out the seeds.