Rapeseed-mustard is a group of crops comprising rapeseed (toria, brown sarson and yellow sarson) cultivar of Brassica campestris; Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea); black mustard (Brassica nigra) and taramira (Eruca sativa). The oil content varies from 37 to 49%. The seed and oil are used as condiments in the preparation of pickles, curries, vegetables, hair oils, medicines and manufacture of greases. The oil cake is used as feed and manure. The leaves of young plants are used as green vegetables and green stems and leaves are a good source of green fodder for cattle. In the tanning industry, mustard oil is used for softening leather.
Soils:
- Sandy and loamy sand soils suitable for the mustard crop.
- Sensitive to waterlogging conditions or heavy soils.
- Soil having neutral pH (7.0) is ideal for their proper growth and yield.
- Rapeseed and mustard grow well under low temperature and average (day and night) temperature of 25oC is required at the time of sowing for optimum germination.
Varieties:
| Variety | Duration (days) | Av.yield (q/acre) | Oil content (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBT 37 | 91 | 5.4 q | 41.7 |
| Parbati | 75 | 6.0 q | 41.0 |
| M 27 | 75 | 2.8 q | 40.0 |
| TS 29 | 80 | 3.6 q | 39.0 |
| T 9 | 95 | 6.0 q | 44.0 |
| Anuradha | 75 | 5.6 q | 44.0 |
| TL 15 | 88 | 4.5 q | 44.0 |
| PT 303 | 85 | 5.6 q | 40.0 |
| RLM 619 | 143 | 8.0 q | 43.0 |
| PBR 97 | 136 | 5.2 q | 39.8 |
| Pusa Bold | 115 | 6.0 q | 40.0 |
| Varuna | 115 | 7.2 q | 37.0 |
| Pusa Bahar | 120 | 8.8 q | 40.0 |
| Kranti | 130 | 8.8 q | 40.0 |
| Krishna | 132 | 8.8 q | 40.2 |
| RLC 3 | 145 | 7.3 q | 41.5 |
| GSL 1 | 160 | 6.7 q | 44.5 |
Land Preparation:
- Plowing the soil should be given 2-3 times followed by a tractor.
- Planking should be done after plowing.
- Weed and stubbles should be removed from the field.
Seed Treatment:
- Seed treatment with Trichoderma spp. @ 5-10 gms/kg of seed to reduce infection by soil borne fungal pathogens found in the soil and to promote plant growth
Seed Sowing:
- Time of sowing mustard suitable from September to the end of October. Delayed sowing of mustard (mid of November to mid of December) is still in practice in Eastern India mainly because of late harvesting of paddy.
- Maintenance of the optimum plant population is essential for getting good harvests. The seed rate depending on the type of crop variety.
- The normal spacing is row to row 30 cm and plant to plant distance 10 cm.
- Under dryland conditions, seed should be sown in furrows with ridge seeder for maintaining a perfect crop stand and better conservation of moisture.
- Depth should be kept at 4 to 5 cm.
Fertilizer Requirement:
- Apply 7-10 tons per acre FYM or well-decomposed cow dung in soil.
- NPK application
| Mustard in Rabi | N | P2O5 | K2O |
| kg/ha | |||
| Irrigated | 60 | 30 | 30 |
| Rainfed | 30 | 15 | 15 |
- Apply Urea just before pre-sowing irrigation
- Split application of nitrogen has been recommended
Water Management:
- Pre-sowing irrigation should be done before sowing of seed
- In general, the mustard crop requires 2 irrigations, first at the branching stage (30 DAS) and the second irrigation at pod formation stages (60-65 DAS) is critical for higher yield.
- A good amount of organic manures should be applied in the soil; it will help to conserve soil moisture
Weed Control:
- Pre-emergence spray of Isoproturon 50% WP @1.6kg/ha within 3 days of sowing
- Under rainfed conditions, one hand weeding 25 DAS, while under irrigated conditions 2 hands weeding 25-40 DAS for effective weed control.
Pest and Disease management:
Major insect pests in mustard are, sawfly, aphid, diamond back moths and hairy caterpillar and diseases are white rust, alternaria blight, etc.
- Spray Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 0.2g/lit, or Imidacloprid 17.8% SL @ 0.3ml/lit of water to control aphid. Use yellow sticky trap @ 8nos. per acre to control aphid in primary stage.
- Spray Ethofenprox 10% EC @ 1ml/lit of water to control sawfly and hairy caterpillar
- Spray Ethofenprox 10% EC @ 1ml/lit or Fipronil 5% EC @ 2ml/lit of water to control diamond back moth
- Spray Iprodione 50% WP @ 4-5 gms/lit of water to control alternaria blight
- Apply copper oxychloride 50% WP @ 3gms/lit, Metalaxyl-M 31.8% ES @ 3.5ml/lit of water to control white rust in mustard
Harvesting:
- When you see pods turn yellow and seed become hard then harvest the crop, carry out harvesting in morning hours to avoid shattering loss.
- Cut crops close to the ground with the help of sickle and stacked the harvested crops for 4-5 days.
