Kern 383 OP Radish

Kern 383 is an open-pollinated desi radish of the palak-patta type for the autumn and Rabi season, grown for long white roots and a quick turnaround.

Sowing window

• Sowing: August to November
• Best lots: mid-September to October in Haryana, Punjab, West UP and Rajasthan give the cleanest, mildest roots; August lots need ridges that drain and more frequent watering
• Batches: because the crop is quick, growers sow in staggered batches through the window — two or three batches in one Rabi season — which also spreads mandi risk
• Land: friable sandy loam, pH 5.5–6.8. Heavy clay gives forked, hairy roots

How to sow

• Seed rate: 4–5 kg per acre, the PoP rate for open-pollinated seed — sow thick and thin to spacing
• Spacing: ridges 45 cm apart, plants thinned to 7.5 cm in the row at the true-leaf stage. Thinning is what gives uniform, well-filled roots
• Depth: 1.5–2 cm on the side of the ridge, followed by a light irrigation
• Seed treatment: for untreated seed, Captan 3 g/kg against damping-off is the PoP recommendation
• Pack size: 500 g — sows about one kanal (400–500 m²); an acre needs 8–10 packs

Manure and fertiliser (per acre)

• FYM: 15 tonnes of well-rotted manure at land preparation — never raw manure, which causes black, forked roots
• Nitrogen (N): 25 kg (55 kg urea), all at sowing
• Phosphorus (P₂O₅): 12 kg (75 kg single superphosphate), all at sowing

Water, weeds and pests

• Irrigation: first irrigation immediately after sowing; then every 6–7 days while it is warm (August–September) and 10–12 days as the weather cools — 5–6 irrigations in all. Over-watering gives misshapen, hairy roots
• Weeds: one weeding at 2–3 weeks, followed at once by earthing up — desi radish roots tend to push above the soil, and covered shoulders stay white
• Pests: flea beetle on young leaves, root maggot at root stage and aphids on late lots. Scout weekly and spray only as per label and your state advisory
• Diseases: damping-off in the seedling stage and Alternaria leaf blight in humid weather — keep the field drained and follow your state advisory

Where it will not do well

Do not sow into the December–February period. Sowing in the cold invites bolting in any desi radish — the crop throws flower stalks, the root never fills and the planting is lost.

Harvest

• Maturity: about 45–60 days depending on sowing date — quicker in the warm September weather, slower in November
• Root: long and white
• Harvest on time: roots left standing too long go pithy (hollow). Pithy roots are rejected at the mandi, and the whole lot loses its rate. A light irrigation a day before pulling makes lifting easier

Please quote product code KERN-383 when ordering.

Crop practices follow state agricultural university recommendations for North India; confirm doses for your district with your Kern dealer or KVK.

Agronomy helpline: 9107062062