Carrot is a delicious and nutritious vegetable with important roots. It is cultivated all over the country. It is used in roots, vegetables, salads, pickles, jam and pudding etc. A carrot with thick, long, red or orange roots with good properties is considered good. Its soft leaves are used for vegetables. It has medicinal properties. It increases appetite and is beneficial for the kidneys. Orange coloured varieties have high amounts of vitamin A (carotene). Scientific farming is necessary for good production of carrots.
Suitable climate
Carrot is a cold season crop. The temperature and shape of carrots have a great effect on temperature. Temperatures of 12 to 25 degrees C are suitable for good shape and attractive colour.
Land selection and preparation
For good yields of carrots, deeply earthy, light loam soil with a pH of about 6.5 is suitable. It is necessary to have good drainage of water in the land. Flatten the field before sowing and do 2 to 3 deep ploughing. Apply pots after each ploughing to break the lumps. Mix the dung manure well while preparing the field.
Progressive varieties
Carrots with thick, long, red or orange roots with good properties are considered good. The hardcore between the carrot roots should be less and the pulp should be good. The carrot varieties can be divided mainly into two classes, which are as follows-
European Varieties- Its roots are cylindrical, medium-long, tail-tipped and dark orange in colour. Their average yield is 250 quintals per hectare. These varieties require cool temperatures. These varieties do not tolerate heat. Its main varieties are Danvers, Nantes, Imperator, Chantenay and Ball (or Mini).
Asian Varieties - This variety tolerates high temperatures, which are as follows: Pusa Meghali, Carrot No-29, Pusa Keshar, Hisar Geric, Hisar Rasili, Hisar Madhur, Selection No-223, Pusa Rudhira, Pusa Tshita and Pusa Jamdagni is prominent. Their early sowing is done from August to September. However, it can be sown till October.
Sowing time and seed rate
Sowing of Asian varieties should be done from August to September and European varieties from October to November. 10 to 12 kg of seed per hectare is sufficient.
Method of sowing
For good yield and quality of roots, sowing should be done on light bundles. The distance between the bundles should be 30 to 45 cm and the distance between the plants should be 6 to 8 cm. Seeds should be made by making a drain of 2 to 3 centimetres deep on top of the bundles.
Manure and fertilizer
Put about 20 to 25 tons of dung rotten manure per hectare in the average grade of land. Apply 20 kg of pure nitrogen, 20 kg of phosphorus and 20 kg of potash in the field per hectare at the time of sowing. Apply 20 kg of nitrogen in the standing crop after about 3 to 4 weeks.
Irrigation management
It is necessary to irrigate carrots 5 to 6 times. If there is less moisture while sowing the field, first irrigation should be done immediately after sowing. Be careful not to go above the water bundles, but stay only for 3/4 part, after that irrigate according to the weather and soil moisture at an interval of 15 to 20 days.
Weed Control
To prevent weed, weed it 2 to 3 times. Weeding after about 4 weeks of sowing. If more weeds grow in the field or want to control chemical weeds, then spray the pentamethylene 30 EC 3 kg in 900 to 1000 litres of water and spray it parallel within 48 hours of sowing. So weeds will not grow for the first 30 days.
Plant protection
In carrots, mainly one disease is the outbreak of Alternaria blight in which many yellowish-brown spots are formed on the leaves; sometimes the stripes are also visible.
Digging of roots
The stage of digging the roots depends on the variety. The roots should be dug in a soft state. Usually, Asian varieties should be dug in 100 to 130 days and European varieties should be dug in 60 to 70 days.
Yield
The yield and quality of carrots depend on the variety, time of sowing, type of land, etc. Its early crop yields about 20 to 25 on average in August, medium crop 30 to 40 in September to October and late crop 28 to 32 tons per hectare in November.
Storage
In normal conditions, carrots cannot be stored for more than 3 to 4 days but can be stored in perforated polyethene for at least 2 weeks, while carrots packed in perforated polyethene can be stored 1 to 2 in the cold store. The temperature can be easily preserved for a long time (2 to 3 months) at a temperature of 90 to 95 per cent humidity.
Essential points to remember:
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Some very enthusiastic farmers sow till the end of July or mid-August to earn more profit, this causes problems of erosion and formation of carrot lumps, many roots are removed from the root and the flag comes out. Carrots can also remain white. So do not sow carrots before the appropriate time.
- In heavy lands or where the low land is hard, such fields may face the problem of carrot forking (knot claw).
- Due to excessive watering or the soil where the water level of water is high, the fibre in the carrot becomes white, which reduces the quality of carrots and also adversely affects the yield of carrots.
- Late digging of carrots reduces the nutritional quality of carrots, that is, carrots become faded and cottonseed and the weight also decreases.
- Delaying water in carrots reduces quality by bursting carrots. For further information, consult your nearest agricultural university or agriculture department, depending on local conditions.
Seed production technology
The seed production of Asian carrots can be successfully done in plain areas. For this, carrot seeds are sown in the month of August to September and other crop operations are done like a commercial (above-mentioned technique) carrot production. In the months of November to December, dig its roots with the stems (leaves) and immediately after the digging, cut off the other part except the 2 to 3 inches portion of both the root and the stalk, after which they are 30 to 30 in the fully prepared field. At the interval of 30 cm, we transplant 60 cm in rows.
Light irrigation should be given immediately after planting the roots. Since carrot is a pollinated crop, it is very important to keep a distance of at least 800 to 1000 meters between its two varieties for quality seed production. For good seed production, only breeder or basal or authenticated seed should be used and information of variety identification, certification, etc. should be ensured in advance.
The field should always be free from weeds, pests and diseases. Carrot seeds are ready by the end of May. The inflorescence should be harvested at the right stage. Otherwise, the seeds start to fall due to delay. The flowers should be dried for 1 to 2 weeks before mowing and immediately after harvesting. On an average, about 1000 to 2000 kg per hectare of seed can be easily obtained from a good crop.
