Production technology of carrot

Scientific Name - Daucus carota 

Family - Umbelliferae

Common name - Carrot 🥕

  • Herbaceous root vegetable
  • Consumption part of carrot is taproot
  • The greens are also edible as well.
  • Biennial plants
  • There is an experimental evidence that growing it intercropped with tomatoes increases tomato production.If left to flower, it attracts predatory wasps that kill many garden pest

Chemical components 

  • Polyacetylene
  • Falcarinol and Falcarindiol (Falcarindiol- responsible for bitterness in carrots)
  • Pyrrolidine (Present in the leaves)
  • Eugenin (Gazarin)
  • Falcarindiol 3-acetate

Uses

  • Antioxidant benefits - due to Carotenoids,Hydroxycinnamic acid and Anthocyanindins.
  • Cardiovascular Benefits
  • Vision Health
  • Anti-Cancer Benefits
  • Decorations
  • Cosmetics
Carrot cultivation

Plant morphology 

  • Stem - green in color as well as grown up to 1m tall
  • Leaves - variable size and alternately arranged, or alternate with the upper leaves becoming nearly opposite
  • Flowers - the corolla can be white, yellow, pink or purple with 5 petals, sepals, and stamens
  • Seeds - somewhat oblong,Brownish in colour,margins can be appeared externally.

Pollination of carrot

  • Cross-pollinated crop
  • Pollination occurs mainly through bees
  • The pollen viability is depend on the temperature.

Varieties

Hills region 

  • Ooty-1
  • Early Nantes
  • New Korda 

Plains

  • India Gold
  • Pusa Kesar
  • Half Long Danvers 

Climate

  • Normally a temperate crop and cool loving crop
  • Warmer Temperature are only acceptable early in growing process.
  • Grow best in Temperature between 60°F and 70°F.
  • If Temperature < 50°F will stunt the growth of foliage.
  • Can tolerate a light frost; but prolonged exposure should be avoided

Soil

  • Crop needs deep loose loamy soil.
  • The pH of the soil should be around 6.0 to 7.0 for higher production.

Season

Hills

At elevations between 1000 – 1500m, it can be grown during July – February.

Plains

Planting done during August.

Seed rate- 4 kg/ha 

Preparation of field

Hills

Prepare the land to a fine tilth and form raised beds of one metre breadth and convenient length.

Plains

Two ploughings are given and ridges and furrows are formed at 30 cm spacing.

Sowing

  • Mark the rows with spacing of 25 – 30 cm apart.
  • Sow the seeds mixed with sand (one part of seed with 4 parts of sand).

Thinning

Hills

A spacing of 10 cm between plants

Plains

A spacing of 5 cm between plants

Manures and fertilizers 

30 t/ha FYM and 90:90:90 kg/ha NPK are applied as basal dose and 45:45:45 kg/ha NPK after 45 days of sowing.Apply 25 kg of ZnSO4/ha as basal.

Irrigation

  • Irrigate daily until germination occur.
  • Irrigate the field once every 4 days depending on rainfall.

Weed control

  • Hand weed 2 and 4 weeks after planting.
  • Use herbicide Linuron-0.75-1.0 kg/ha pre-or post-- emergence (for wettable powder formulation only)

Plant protection

Carrot is not much affected by pests.

Nematode

Mgt:

  • Application of neem cake @ 1 ton/ha at planting to control root knot nematode, Meloidogyne spp.

Diseases

Leaf spot

Mgt:

  • Leaf spot can be controlled by spraying Mancozeb at 2 g/lit.
  • Destroy infected plant debris

Yield

25 – 30 t/ha in 100 – 120 days.






Reference

Textbook of vegetable crops by Prem nath k.R.M.swamy

Vegetable science by D.singh

TNAU Agri portal 

https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/horticulture/horti_vegetables_carrot.html