Rapeseed/Toria and mustard are the third most important edible oilseed crops of the world after soybean and oil palm. It belongs to the Family: Brassicaceae (Cruciferae). Two noteworthy species of Rapeseed and mustard are Brassica juncea and B. campestris.The seed and oil are used as condiments in the preparation of pickles, curries, vegetables, hair oils, medicines and manufacture of greases. The oil cake is used as feed and manure. The leaves of young plants are used as green vegetables and green stem and leaves are a good source of green fodder for cattle. In the tanning industry, mustard oil is used for softening leather.
Mustard seeds contain 30-35% oil. The protein content of meal varies from 32-39%. The amino acid profile of rapeseed meal is comparable to that of soybean meal, thus making it a rather high-quality plant protein source. However, it is rather unpalatable.
Rapeseed–mustard crops in India are grown in diverse agroclimatic conditions ranging from north-eastern/northwestern hills down to the south under irrigated/rainfed, timely/late sown, saline soils, and mixed cropping. Indian mustard accounts for about 75-80% of the 6.23 million hectares under these crops in the country during the 2018-19 crop season. With the use of improved varieties, agronomical, and plant protection techniques, farmers may expect to harvest 14-20 quintals per hectare of seed of rapeseed and 20-25 quintals of mustard per hectare.
Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Assam
| Crop | Area (ha) | Production (t) | Productivity (kg/ha) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rapeseed-Mustard | 319,451 | 250,815 | 785 |
| Total Oilseeds | 342,080 | 265,567 | 776 |
Require cool and dry weather and a fair supply of soil moisture during the growing period and dry clear weather at the time of maturity. In India, they are grown in Rabi season from September-October to February-March.
Rapeseed – mustard generally do well in sandy soils. However, other light soils are also equally good
| Varieties | Year of Release | Agroclimatic Zone | Duration (days) | Yield (q/ha) | il Content (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapeseed: (Toria) | |||||
| TS-36 | - | All zones | 90-95 | 10-12 | 41-43 |
| AAU TS-38 | - | All zones | 90-95 | 10-12 | 41-44 |
| M-27 | 1978 | All zones | 90-95 | 10-12 | 44.6 |
| Mustard: | |||||
| TM-2 | 1993 | UBVZ,CBVZ,LBVZ,HZ | 105-115 | 12-16 | 36-40 |
| Varieties | Year of Release | Duration (days) | Seed Yield (q/ha) | Adaptation | Recommended for | Disease & Pest Reaction | Oil Content (%) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JT 90-1 (Jeuti) | 2020 | 89 | 6.97 | Rabi; delayed sowing in rice fallow | All zones except Hills Zone & BVZ | Moderately Susceptible to Alternaria blight (leaves and pods show symptoms); moderately susceptible in case of incidence of aphids and sawfly | 43 | Suitable for late sowing |
| TS 46 | - | 94 | 9.06 | Rabi | All zones except Hills Zone & BVZ | - | - | Suitable for late sowing |
| TS 67 | - | 90 | 7.01 | Rabi | All zones except Hills Zone & BVZ | - | 42 | Suitable for late sowing |
| Mukhtar (AAU JYS 14-2) | 2023 | 93 | 11.5 - 15.5 | Rabi | 42.5% | Normal time of sowing, Irrigated conditions, Bright yellow seeded |
| Varieties | Year of Release | Duration (days) | Seed Yield (q/ha) | Adaptation | Recommended for | Oil Content (%) | Disease and Pest Reaction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM 26 | 2011 | 107 | 12-14 | Rabi | All zones except BVZ and Hills Zone | 40.32 | - |
| PM 27 | 2011 | 107 | 13-14 | Rabi | All zones except BVZ & Hills Zone | 43.03 | - |
| NRCHB-101 | 2009 | 108 | 13-15 | Rabi | LBVZ, CBVZ, NBPZ, UBVZ, HZ | 34.6-42.1 | Moderately resistant to Alternaria blight and tolerant to aphids |
A fine seed bed is essential for rapeseed – mustard. The field should be ploughed 4-6 times followed by laddering in order to obtain a fine tilth.
The optimum time of sowing is from the middle of October to the middle of November. Early sowing helps in escaping the attack of aphids.
In Barak Valley Zone, rapeseed and mustard can be sown as late as November 30 in upland condition and up to the third week of November in medium upland condition.
In Orobanche endemic areas, continuous cropping of toria-mustard should be avoided. Crop rotation with other cereals and legumes may be followed to reduce the attack of the parasite.
Normally no weeding is needed. If necessary, one weeding at 15-20 DAS is sufficient to keep the field weed-free.
One irrigation of 6 cm depth of water may be applied either at 50% flowering or at early siliqua formation stage.
In case a rainfall of 20-25 mm is received during this period, no post-sowing irrigation is essential. Pre-sowing irrigation is normally not required for timely sowing. However, in dry areas, one pre-sowing irrigation may be applied.
Two foliar applications of 1% urea at flowering and pod-filling stages along with the basal application of recommended fertilizer dose, i.e. 60 kg N, 30 kg P2O5, and 30 kg K2O/ha.
Application of FYM or compost @ 2-3 t/ha is beneficial for the crop.
| Nutrient | Requirement (kg/ha) | Form | Fertilizer Requirement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| kg/ha | kg/bigha | |||
| For Rapeseed | ||||
| (a) Plains: | ||||
| Rainfed condition | ||||
| N | 40 | Urea | 87 | 12 |
| P2O5 | 35 | SSP | 220 | 30 |
| K2O | 15 | MOP | 25 | 3 |
| Irrigated condition | ||||
| N | 60 | Urea | 130 | 18 |
| P2O5 | 40 | SSP | 250 | 33 |
| K2O | 40 | MOP | 66 | 9 |
| (b) Hills | ||||
| Rainfed condition | ||||
| N | 65 | Urea | 140 | 20 |
| P2O5 | 35 | SSP | 220 | 30 |
| K2O | 0 | MOP | 0 | 0 |
| (C) Central Brahmaputra Valley Zone | ||||
| Rainfed condition | ||||
| N | 60 | Urea | 130 | 18 |
| P2O5 | 30 | SSP | 190 | 27 |
| K2O | 30 | MOP | 50 | 7 |
| Mustard (for All zones) | ||||
| N | 80 | Urea | 174 | 23 |
| P2O5 | 40 | SSP | 250 | 33 |
| K2O | 30 | MOP | 50 | 7 |
| B (for rapeseed – mustard) | - | Borax | 7.5 | 1 |
Apply 75% N and P when seeds are inoculated with Azotobacter @ 40 g/kg seed and PSB @ 40 g/kg seed.
If SSP is not used as a source of P, sulphur @ 20 kg/ha in the form of gypsum (133 kg/ha) should beused.
NPK may be supplied in the form of mixed fertilizers. Nutrient requirements are to be adjusted according to contents in fertilizers. Rapeseed-mustard have been found to respond well to the application of borax in some agro-climatic zones of Assam. For higher yield of rapeseed and mustard in the North Bank Plains Zone, a fertilizer dose of 60:40:40 kg NPK/ha is recommended. However, the earlier doses of 40:35:15 and 40:20:20kg NPK/ha have also been recommended for those farmers who cannot afford a higher dose.
The crop booster ‘Green Harvest’ is recommended @ 25 g/10 lit of water at 30 days after sowing.
Fertilizer prescription equations can be used to find out the amount of NPK fertilizers required to obtain a certain yield target of the crop based on soil test values for NPK. The FPEs can be used under cultivation practices where only chemical fertilizers are used and where chemical fertilizers+FYM/Vermicompost/Enriched compost etc. are applied. The FPEs are valid for different varieties of the same crop having not more than 15% variations in yield. The amount of NPK fertilizers will vary according to yield target and soil test values. Yield targets must not cross the potential yield of a particular crop.
Fertilizer Prescription Equations without IPNS (Fertilizer alone)
FN = 10.37 * T - 0.39 * STVN
FP = 1.86 * T - 1.07 * STVP
FK = 4.47 * T - 0.74 * STVK
Fertilizer Prescription Equations with IPNS (Fertilizer + FYM)
FN = 10.37 * T - 0.39 * STVN - 0.58 * M
FP = 1.86 * T - 1.07 * STVP - 0.10 * M
FK = 4.47 * T - 0.74 * STVK - 0.21 * M
Fertilizer Prescription Equations without IPNS (Fertilizer alone)
FN = 8.71 * T - 0.27 * STVN
FP = 5.90 * T - 3.13 * STVP
FK = 9.42 * T - 0.78 * STVK
Fertilizer Prescription Equations with IPNS (Fertilizer + FYM)
FN = 8.71 * T - 0.27 * STVN - 0.22 * M
FP = 5.90 * T - 3.13 * STVP - 0.08 * M
FK = 9.42 * T - 0.78 * STVK - 0.18 * M
where, FN,FP,FK-Fertilizer N,P2O5, K2O; STVN, STVP, STVK-Soil test values for N, P2O5, K2O, T-Targeted yield, M-IPNS component
Apply sulphur @15 kg/ha as gypsum (100 kg /ha or 13 kg/bigha) to rapeseed only, plus 25% recommended dose of NPK in form of urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP), and muriate of potash (MOP), along with biofertilizer (Azotobacter and PSB for rapeseed and Rhizobium and PSB for blackgram @ 50 gm each /kg seed), and 2 tons FYM/ha (3q FYM/bigha) to each crop in rapeseed-blackgram sequence (Zones: All Zones).
CaCO3 in the form of dolomitic lime @ 65.5 kg/bigha should be applied 15 days before seeding and incorporated into the soil in areas where multiple cropping is practiced.
For enhancing yield through increased pollination, 5 honey bee colonies/ha are recommended in rapeseed-mustard.
Symptoms:
Both nymphs and adults suck the sap from leaves, buds, and pods. Infested leaves get curled, and the field looks sickly and blighted in appearance. The insect excretes honeydew, which encourages the development of black sooty mold on leaves interfering with photosynthetic activities of the plant. The Economic Threshold Level of the pest is 50 – 60 aphids per plant at flower bud initiation.
Management:
Symptoms: Initially, the larva nibbles leaves, later it feeds from the margins towards the midrib and ultimately causes skeletonization of leaves leading to heavy defoliation. They devour the epidermis of the shoot, resulting in drying up of seedlings and failure to bear seeds in older plants.
Management:
Symptoms:
Initially, young larvae feed on the leaves by scraping of epidermal leaf tissues leading to appearance of white patches. The affected leaves show withered appearance and later create bite holes in the leaves. The insect was also found making bore holes on developing pods and feeding the seed inside. In severe cases, the leaves are skeletonized by this insect.
Management:
Symptoms:
Management:
Symptoms:
Management:
Symptoms:
Management:
Symptoms:
Caused by A. brassicae, appearing as damaging spots in all rapeseed-mustard growing areas
Management:
The crop is ready for harvest when 75-80% siliquae turn yellow. The crop is harvested by pulling out whole plants or cutting by sickle.The crop is liable to shattering, hence it should be harvested just before the pods open in order to avoid losses. Sarson is less liable to shattering as compared to toria and mustard. The harvested crop should be stacked in threshing floor for 5- days before threshing. The threshed grain is separated from the husk with the help of slow-moving natural air current. Cleaned seed must be dried in the sun for four to five days or till the moisture content comes down to 8 percent.
Jorhat, PIN - 785013 Assam