Spinach

Spinach Composition Botanical Name : Spinacea oleracea L. Origin : Central Asia Family : Umbelliferae Chromosome no.: 2n=12 Composition Moisture- 92.1% Vit. C- 28mg P- 21mg Protein- 2.0g Vit. A- 9300 IU Fe- 10.9 mg Minerals- 1.7g Mg- 84mg Thiamine- 0.03mg Ca- 73mg Oxalic acid- 658mg CHO- 2.9g

Importance Normally consumed as cooked vegetable and sometimes as a salad in company with lettuce and other vegetables. Not commercially grown in India except hilly areas. It ranks next to broccoli in total nutrient concentration among vegetable crops. Rich source of vitamin A, Fe, Ca Also contains appreciable quantity of ascorbic acid, riboflavin and small quantity of thiamine. Ca is unavailable since it unites with oxalic acid to form calcium oxalate.

On basis of leaf character Cultivars Classification Smooth Savoyed On basis of seeds On basis of leaf character Two groups: Prickly seeded Round seeded Two groups: Smooth leaved Savoy leaved Early smooth leaf Virginia Savoy

Cultivars suitable for growing in Himachal Pradesh 1. Virginia Savoy Prickly seeded cultivar having blistered large dark green leaves with round tips. Plants are upright and vigorous in growth, average yield 100-125 q/ha 2. Long Standing Dark green thick leaves triangular in shape with a pointed apex, slow in growth, average yield 100-125 q/ha

Plant growth and development Spinach is an annual. Plants are usually dioecious some monoecious plants may develop rarely in certain cultivars. Dioecious types produces two different kinds of male plants: Extreme males: small with very little vegetative development and tend to bolt quickly. Vegetative males and females: slower to flower and produces considerably more foliage, making them the preferred plants type for commercial cultivation. Eliminate the extreme males from commercial strains by selection.

Stages of Plant Development 1. Vegetative stage or rosette stage Single stem with extremely short internodes Leaves may be smooth or savoyed, arise in a whorl around the stem forming a rosette of foliage 2. Reproductive stage Initiated by the elongation of stem which breaks apart the rosette and forms a branching flower seed stalk. Spinach is a long day plant with critical day length ranging from 12-15 hours. The change from vegetative to reproductive growth is conditioned by temperature and is usually accelerated by exposure to cold temperature followed by high temperature. Once the critical photoperiod is reached, spinach will go to seed rapidly with increasing photoperiod and warm temperature.

Soil Same as beet leaf. This crop is susceptible to injury by high acidity Climate A hardy, cool season crop that does best at temperature of 60-65oF. Withstands hard frost and temperature as low as 20oF, but the growth is depressed below 35oF. The plant is very intolerant of warm temperature above 77oF which in combination with long days causes plants to bolt, quickly destroying market value. Good seed germination at 10-15.5oC (50-60oF) and decreases at higher temperature. It is a long day crop.

AGRONOMIC PRACTICES

Sowing time N.I. Plains September-October Low Hills October-November Mid Hills High Hills April-July

(Thinning is done to maintain the spacing within the rows) Seed Rate 37-45 kg/ha Soil preparation The soil should be thoroughly pulverized so as to obtain fine tilth for getting the best crop Spacing 30cm X 5-10cm (Thinning is done to maintain the spacing within the rows)

Manures and fertilizers Recommended dose FYM N P2O5 K2 O (q/ha) (Kg/ha) Open pollinated varieties 100 70 50 30 Full dose of farmyard manure, P, K and half N should be applied at the time of sowing. Remaining part of N should be top dressed in 2 equal installments at an interval of one month each.

Interculture and weed control To keep away the weeds from the field and to loosen the soil for proper aeration, 2-3 hoeings cum weedings are required. Irrigation A pre-sowing irrigation is to be given to help the seeds absorb moisture and germinate properly. The crop requires irrigation at about 10-15 days interval.

Harvesting The crop will be ready for harvest about 4 weeks after sowing. It gives about 3-4 cuttings in the season. Harvesting by hand gave higher yield than mowing. A plant with seed stalk is considered unmarketable. Yield 100 q/ha

Diseases Insects Damping off Leaf spot: spray 0.2% Blitox at 15 days interval White rust: Downy mildew: 0.2% Dithane-M-45 Insects Aphids: Spray oxy demeton methyl@ 0.025% or malathion@0.05% Catterpiller: Spray malathion@0.05% or deltamethrin@0.0028% or cypermethrin@0.0075%