Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) is a root crop belonging to the Cruciferae or mustard family.
For fresh markets and in kitchen gardens, radish is a very popular vegetable crop. Generally, a cool-season crop grows well under temperate conditions.
Radish roots are consumed as raw as salad and cooked like a vegetable.
It is used as a medicine for liver and gall bladder ailments.
How to Grow Radishes
Varieties and hybrids of radish:
- Red Globe radish has red and while color and is small with size 1-4 inches.
- White icicle
- Scarlet globe
- Rapid red white-tipped
- Scarlet long
- Daikon Long
- California Mammoth White
- Black radishes
Soil
Like most of the other vegetable crops, radish cultivation is possible in various kinds of soils.
However, deep, well-drained, friable, alluvial soil will give the crop the best quality.
Humus content in the soil and its ability to retain moisture in it need to be remembered in radish production. Heavy soils and sandy soils should be avoided as they are not suitable for radish production. Even though radish cultivation is possible in a wide range of soils, it does well under slightly acidic soils.
Climate
Even though it is a cool-season vegetable, radish is able to tolerate warm temperatures.
At temperatures between 10.0 and 15.5°C, we can get good quality produce. Pungency will increase in temperature before it reaches marketable maturity.
At elevated temperatures, roots will attain a repulsive flavor and become more fibrous and mature early.
Temperature requirements will change from variety to variety. So, the selection of a variety for a given location is the most important factor in obtaining the best quality roots.
It bolts under long days with high temperatures.
Propagation
In radish, propagation is done by seeds; in the field, seeds are sown either by dibbling, x, broadcasting, or dibbling.
Radish seeds will be brown to reddish-brown in color; it weighs around 100 seeds per gram.
Radish seeds will remain viable for several years. It takes around 4 -6 days to germinate at 20°C. Staggered sowing can be done to get a continuous supply of roots.
Seed rate
The seed rate of radish is around 10-12 kilograms per hectare for temperate types, and it is 8 – 10 kilograms per hectare for tropical types.
Land preparation
As the radish seeds are directly sown in the field, land should be thoroughly prepared to provide proper conditions that are optimum for the germination of radish.
Field preparation should be done by repeated plowings, harrowings, and leveling until getting a fine tilth.
The field should be kept clean by removing weeds, the debris of previous season crops, etc.
In the plains, radish cultivation is possible almost throughout the year except during the summer season, as the roots produced in that period will be very pungent, lack pleasant flavor, and be of poor quality compared to the roots produced in other seasons.
Roots of radish can be continuously supplied over a longer period by staggering planting at 10-15 days intervals.
Spacing
Radish seeds are usually sown in ridges, which are 30 – 45 cm apart. A distance of 7.5-10 cm is recommended for this crop between plants to plant.
Two or three seeds can be sown per hill in order to ensure that at least one will get germination.
In the case of the drilling method of sowing, sowing is done in rows at 30-45 cm apart. Seeds need to be mixed with sand or ash to make sowing easy.
Thinning
The seedlings need to be thinned after the completion of germination, and the desired plant population needs to be maintained.
Manures and fertilization
Radish fertilizer requirements are high compared to the other root crops as it is a heavy feeder.
Particularly it requires high amounts of nitrogen and potassium.
However, these fertilizer requirements will change from variety to variety, depending upon the type of soil, etc.
A variety that yields around 20 tonnes will require around 120-kilo grams of nitrogen, 65 kilograms of phosphorous, and 100-kilo grams of potash.
It is suggested that farmyard manure should be used after proper decomposition; otherwise, it may cause the forking of roots by making soil hard.
Time of fertilizer application
The entire dose of farmyard manure needs to be applied during the time of land preparation so that it will thoroughly mix with the soil.
Apart from that, half of the nitrogen and the entire dose of phosphorus and potassium need to apply during the sowing, whereas the remaining dose of nitrogen needs to apply after the seedlings have emerged completely.
Irrigation
Light irrigation should provide soon after sowing to ensure proper germination of the seeds. During the summer season, irrigation should be provided at every 4- 5 days intervals.
In winters, it can be given every 10 – 15 days. In the rainy season, regular irrigation is not necessary.
Weeding
In the early stages of the growth, the field should be kept free from weeds by regular weeding and hoeing. While carrying out intercultural operations, care should be taken to avoid damages to the growing roots.
Earthing up
Earthing up needs to be done one month after germination in case of long-rooted verities to encourage proper root growth.
Intercrops
As it can be grown in little space, various vegetable crops like brinjal, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, methi, etc., can also be cultivated as intercrops in the radish field.
Sometimes, it is grown as an intercrop in orchards and as a border crop in onion, wheat, and chili fields.
Harvesting of radish
Roots are harvested immediately after the roots achieving edible and marketable size. Early maturing spring varieties will become pithy if they are not harvested after getting maturity.
Summer and winter types will remain edible for prolonged times if stored well. In radish, maturity varies from 3 – 4 weeks for the fast-growing spring varieties and 8-14 weeks for Chinese types.
Radishes are tender, mild, and crisp at these stages, usually of the proper marketable size.
Radishes grown for the home garden and with small plantings are pulled by hand, tied up in bunches of 6-12 in the field, and washed to remove dirt and soil.
Tops of winter radish are removed before they are kept for storage.
Harvesting was done with the help of mechanical harvesters in commercially grown crops in the United States.
Storage
Topping just below the growing tip will improve the keeping quality of radishes. Radish roots are packed in plastic bags after topping.
They are cooled quickly to 5°C or below to maintain the crispness of roots.
Hydro cooling is said to be the best method of cooling radishes. Radish roots can be stores well up to 3 – 4 weeks at 0°C.