THEORY NOTES

AGRON 363, FIELD CROPS – II (Rabi crops)

Prepared by: Dr. SHASHIDHAR, K. S. Scientist (Agronomy), All India
Co-ordinated Research Project on MULLaRP, CAU, Imphal.

Chapter – 4 RABI OILSEED CROPS

The crops that are cultivated for the production of oils are known as OILSEED
CROPS. Oilseeds are the raw materials for vegetable oils and they are energy rich
crops. Oilseed crops are the most important commercial crops in India. Edible oils are
next to food grains in Indian diet. The Rapeseed and Mustard, Sesamum, Sunflower,
Safflower, Linseed, Soybean, Niger Groundnut and Castor are the most important oil
seed crops of India.
Classification:-
The oilseed crops are classified according to the nature of oil produced as follows:
1) EDIBLE OILSEED CROPS:-
The most important source of supply of edible oils are the seeds known as edible oil
seeds and the crops belong to this category are known as edible oil seed crops.
Ex:Rapeseed & mustard, sesamum, groundnut, niger, sunflower, safflower, soybean
etc.
2) NON-EDIBLE OIL SEED CROPS:-
The most important source of supply of non-edible oils are the seeds known as non-
edible oil seeds and the crops belong to this category are known as non-edible oil seed
crops. Ex.: Castor, Linseed etc.
Nutritional Value of Oilseeds :
 The bio-chemical composition and quality of the oilseeds and their products are
important for the food and feed purposes. Edible oils are the concentrated sources
of energy.
 They contain useful carbohydrates, essential fatty acids and vitamins A,D,E and
K and provide essential fatty acids.
 Oil cakes/ oil meals are rich sources of protein (40-60%) to human and animals.
They can also be used as organic manures.
 Oil quality for food purpose can be described in terms of Saturated Fatty Acid
(SFA), Monounsaturated Fatty Acid ( MUFA) & Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acid
( PUFA) .
 Saturated Fatty Acid (SFA) - Palmitic and Stearic acid They have direct
relation with blood cholesterol and coronary heart diseases as it increases low
density lipoprotein that is harmful.
 Unsaturated Fatty Acid (SFA) - Oleic, Linoleic , Linolenic and Erucic acids.
Linoleic & Linolenic acids (Poly Unsatutated Fatty Acids – PUFA) are Essential
fatty acids (not synthesized by human body and are to supplied from outside) and
if they are absent, it leads to physiological disorders. They increase high density

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 lipoprotein, which is beneficial. Groundnut, coconut, sesame and sunflower oils
have moderate amounts of saturated fatty acid but lack in one essential fatty acid
i.e. linolenic acid. Soybean, safflower and mustard oils have both essential fatty
acids as Linoleic and Linolenic acids.
 Rapeseed and mustard oil have high amount of erucic acid, an anti nutritional
factor and leads to coronary diseases.
What is fat penalty?
o Oil seeds are energy rich crop
o 1g of photosynthate is converted as:
 0.70 g of cereal
 0.64g of pulses
 0.42g of oil / fat
o Energy content MJ/kg
 Oil - 39.8
 Protein - 23.9
 CHO - 16.8
Keeping Quality of Oils :
 The ratio of oleic to linoleic acid affects the storage ability of edible oil and
hence affects the nutritional quality. It should be greater than 1.6 for longer shelf
life.
 Sunflower and safflower oils cannot be stored for longer periods.
 Soybean oil loses its original flavor after once deep frying.
 Groundnut oil has very good stability due to the presence of tocopherols (vit E)
and can be stored at room temperature even up to 18 months without any quality
deterioration.
 Sesamum oil – highly stable due to the presence of ‘ Sesimol’, anti-oxidant
 Mustard oil is also rich in vit. E and has good stability at high temperature also.
IMPORTANCE OF OIL SEED IN INDIAN ECONOMY :
 In terms of vegetable oils , India is the fourth largest oil economy in the World
after USA, China and Brazil.
 India is one of the major oilseed producing countries in the world accounting for
about 16% of the area and 10% of world oilseed production.
 In India oil seeds occupy nearly 14% of country’s gross cropped area and
contribute to 5% of the GNP and 10% of the value of the agricultural products.
 The oil seeds contain 20–60% oil, consumed as food & energy source.
 They are energy rich and cash value crops.
 The edible oils are used as cooking oil, vanaspati and proteins.
 The oil seed crop earn lot of foreign exchange of 1,300 crores of rupees is saved
during 2008-09 by exporting oil seed.
 The oil seed cultivation also provides employment to rural people.
 It is estimated that in India 35 million people are engaged in oilseed production
and one million in their processing.

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 The oldest non-food use in lamp oil and as a lubricant which are used in textile
and leather industries.
 Vegetable oils and its derivatives are biodegradable and eco-friendly thus they can
be used as diesel substitutes.
 Vegetable oils have a number of industrial uses such as plastic films, metallic
foils, Soaps, Detergents, Condiments, Cosmetics, Plastic, Polymers, Organic
coatings, Printing ink, Oiled cloth, linoleum, rubber additive as substitutes to
hydraulic & brake oil & chemical intermediates.
 Oil seeds contain useful carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, vitamins like A, D, E
and K and also contain 18 essential amino acids & trace elements.
 Oil seed crops can serve as pasture, cover and green manure crops. They are also
used as fodder and for silage.
 The oil seed cake which has 40-60% protein is worthwhile as animal feed and
organic manure.
 In India, direct export of cakes has earned foreign exchange of INR 2,200 crores
but can be upgrade as valued human food.
 Vegetable oils have medicinal and therapeutic value and also used as laxatives.
E.g., Castor, Safflower & Sunflower oil.
 Safflower tea – prevents cardiovascular diseases and gynecological disorders if
consumed daily, it reduces blood pressure
 Oil seeds are energy rich crops and in terms of energy equation.
 1Kg of oil = 1.66 g of proteins =2.37g of CHO
 Certain oil seed cakes have vermicidal action & it is used for pest control
purposes. E.g., Mustard, Castor
 Lecithin is a co-product in oil industry which is used as emulsifier in
pharmaceutical products, bakery products & other food stuffs.
 Thus, oilseed crops can be viewed as producers of high quality edible oils and at
the same time they are efficient low polluting chemical factors that can be
metamorphosed to produce value added products, including the substitute for
fossil fuel.
CONSTRAINTS IN OIL SEED PRODUCTION:-
There is an imbalance between demand and supply in edible oils due to low
productivity of oil seeds. The constraints in oil seed production are:-
 Oil seeds are energy rich crops, but are grown in energy starved conditions.
 More than 85% of the area under oilseeds is rainfed, often cultivated with low
input and poor management practices.
 Most of the oil seed crops are raised in marginal and sub marginal lands which
are having poor fertility status.
 Oil seeds are subjected to the vagaries of the monsoon resulting in lower yields
as compared to irrigated crops.
 Lack of suitable HYV or hybrids which are having higher levels of oil content.

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 Most of the cultivars of oil seed crops are drought susceptible and HYV are
generally long duration (> 100 days).
 Small and marginal farmers generally cultivate the oil seed crops which are still
not well adapted to new farm technologies.
 In India, most of the soil seed crops are grown as monocropping in traditional
areas without crop rotation which results in perpetuation & development of
inoculums of pests and diseases, without crop rotations. Yield losses due to
diseases and pests accounts for 40%.
 The attack of insect pest mainly aphid is one of main causes of low yield of oil
seed crops, particularly rapeseed & mustard.
 Inadequate supply of best quality seeds to the farmers when compared to cereal
crops.
 Failure of hybridization and seed multiplication programmes in oil seed crops
compared to cereals.
 Seed multiplication ratio is very low in case of oil seed crops.
 The progress in respect of oil seeds has not been substantial, mainly because
food grains were given first priority in research & development.
 Supply of desired inputs and transfer of technology from farm institutions to the
farmer is very poor.
 Lack of farm implements and machinery for sowing and post harvest processing
 Lack of suitable post harvest technology to prevent post harvest losses & also to
avoid the deterioration of quality of oil seed.
 Lack of storage, grading & marketing facilities in rural areas due to future
trading.
 The efficiency of oil extraction units or expellers is very poor.
 Scarcity of short, high yielding input responsive drought/insect/pest resistant
crop varieties.
NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT OF PRODUCTIVITY AND PRODUCTION:
 In India edible oil consumption is growing at the rate of 6-8% annually due to
the rapid economic growth and increasing consumption.
 The country’s demand for vegetable oils is expected to increase to 18.3 m t &
21.8 m t by 2015 & 2020 respectively. This is roughly equivalent to about 55 &
66 m t of oilseeds
 The Indian Central Oilseed Committee (ICOC) was established in 1947 to
increase the oilseed production through co-ordinate research effort.
 All India co-ordinate Research Project on Oilseeds (AICRPO) was set up in
1967 to carry out location specific research of different oil seed crops.
 Directorate of Oilseed Research (DOR) was established in Hyderabad on 1st
August, 1977 to guide the research & development in nine mandate crops.
 The oilseed scenario in India had undergone dramatic change with the initiation
of TMO (Technology Mission on Oilseeds) in 1986. The highest oilseed

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 production was achieved by 24.75 m t during 1994-95 against 11.0 m t during
1986-87.
 This dramatic change of Indian oilseed production from a net importer to a status
of self sufficiency and net imported during early nineties has been popularly
known as Yellow Revolution.
 In post WTO regime, there is a great need to adopt multifaceted strategy for
improving oilseed production through increase in area (38%) and productivity
improvement (62%) including processing facility. There is a great scope for
increasing the yields of oil seed crops.
 A no. of oil seed development projects such as NODP (National Oilseed
Development Project) (1984-85), Oilseed Technology Mission etc., have been in
operation & they are essentially an extension of intensive oil seed development
programme.
 The GOI launched ISOPOM (Integrated Scheme for Oilseeds, Oil palm, Pulses
and Maize Development Programme) to provide flexibility to the states in
implementation based on region all differentiated approach to promote crop
diversification.
STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING THE OIL SEED PRODUCTION IN INDIA:
 Bringing more area under irrigation. (as drip & sprinkler irrigation)
 The good quality seed of recommended varieties for the specific area &
situations should be chosen and cultivated.
 The seed should be treated with fungicide, bactericide etc. as recommended
before sowing of seed in the field.
 It is most important to select a leveled field as far as possible and good
drainage should be provided for the oil seed crops, especially for the kharif
crop. Water logging condition is harmful for these crops.
 A fine seed bed free from weeds and clods should be prepared to facilitate
good germination & stand.
 The sowing of the seed should be done at appropriate time with proper row
spacing in case of line sowing crop and the optimum plant population should
be maintained by thinning at 15-20 days after sowing. Early sowing escapes
the attack of many diseases and pests. Under Paira cropping, sowing should
be done at the dough stage of paddy.
 The suitable variety for each crop must be chosen for the tract and season.
 Adoption of improved crop production technologies.
 The recommended doses of fertilizer for the specific crop should be applied at
appropriate time.
 Field should be kept free from weeds particularly during first 20 – 30 DAS.
 The protective irrigation should be provided wherever possible during kharif
season & irrigation should be applied at critical stages for rabi / summer crop.
 The plant protection measures should be under taken, if needed.

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  Harvesting should be done at right time to avoid capsule shattering and
reduction in oil content of seed.
 The seed should be cleaned and dried well before storage.
 Oil extraction from sources such as rice bran, cotton seed and corn apart from
flora underutilized plants of forest.
 Introduction of oil seed crop as intercrops along with cereals in non-traditional
areas and also in double/multiple cropping sequences.
 Extending oilseed cultivation i.e. safflower, sunflower, sesame etc to
underutilized situations like rice fallows.
 Strengthening of research and extension system.
 Strengthening of processing facilities as crushing, solvent extraction, oil
refining and hydrogenation for value addition to products in the context of
WTO.
 Provision of favorable Govt. policies such as price and credit policies etc.
strengthening of farmers support system through supply of all inputs.
India (2009 -10) - Total oilseeds
Area – 26.11 m ha Production – 24.93 m t Productivity -- 955 kg/ha
On Global basis, India ranks
I - in the production of castor, safflower, sesame and niger,
II - in groundnut, rapeseed and mustard,
III - in linseed,
V - in soybean and sunflower.
 Rajasthan produces 21.3% of total annual oil seed crops followed by
Madhya Pradesh (20.5%) , Gujarat (16.7%) and Andhra Pradesh(7.3%).
 India per capita consumption of oil is 11.6 kg/head/year considerably lower
than in developed countries as 17.8 kg/head/year. ICMR recommendation is
14 kg/head/year or 35 - 40 g/head/day.
 Indian edible oil market is the largest after China & European Union. Each
year India consumes around 10 m t of edible oils. Consumer oil preferences in
India
 North India -- Mustard, Rapeseed
 East India -- Mustard, Rapeseed
 West India -- Groundnut
 South India -- Groundnut & Coconut
 The expected demand of oilseeds production is 44, 55 and 65 mt by 2010,2015
and 2020 respectively.
* Supplementary sources of vegetable oils – Rice bran is highly nutritive value &
cotton seed oil having 18 % oil .
Tree Based Oils are Jatropha, Karanj, Pongamia, Neem,Mahua, Sal etc.
Among the major tree crops, Oil palm forms another high potential, prospective and
cheaper source of edible oil in International market.

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 RAPESEED AND MUSTARD (Brassica sp)

 Rapeseed and Mustard are the major rabi oilseed crops of India.
 It is next to Groundnut in area and production, meeting the fat requirement of
about 50 per cent population in all the northern states.
 It is one of the most edible oilseed crop of Indo- Gangetic plains.
 In India rapeseed and mustard account for about 27% of total oilseeds and 31%
of total vegetable oil production.
 In common Indian language, ‘Raya’ refers to mustard while sarson, toria and
taamira are rapeseed.
 It is grown as oilseed crop as well as condiment and for their medicinal use.
 The young plants are used as vegetable as they supply enough sulphur and minerals
in the diet. In the tanning industry, mustard oil is used for softening leather.
 It is used in the preparation of hair oils, medicines, soap making, greases etc...
 The oil cake is used as a cattle feed and manure.
 It is a rich source of protein (40%). But its use is limited due to the anti- nutritional
factor Glucosinolate.
 Refined oil is called colza is used in Europe.
Origin
 Rai – China
 Toria – East Afghanistan
 Brown sarson – E. Afghanistan & adjoining Indian sub-continent
 Yellow sarson – N.E. India
Brassicas Area in India
o Till independence area remained constant (2.0million ha)
o From 50’s area rose steadily
o Due to increase in irrigated area
o Increased productivity, varieties and agronomic practices
o Maximum area was in 6.87 million ha -96-97
o Major states growing are
 Rajasthan, UP, Gujarat, Haryana, MP, WB, Assam & Punjab
Varieties
Mustrad: Varuna (T 59), TM 2, TM 4, Seetha, Geeta, Kranti, Jagannath, Jawahar
Mustard, Vardhan, M-27, Pusa Jaikisan
Brown sarson: KNS 3, KOS 1
Yellow sarson: PUSA GOLD, YS 93
Toria: Jawahar Toria, Panchali, TS 29, Anuradha, Prabati, Agrani
Taramira: RTM 13, TMC 1
Brassicas grown in India
Taxonomic name Common name Hindi Oil Content

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 B. Campestris Turnip rape Brown sarson Kali sarson
Var. brown sarson Brown sarson Kali sarson 43%
Var. yellow sarson Yellow sarson Peeli sarson 45%
Var. toria Indian rape Toria 35%
B. napus Swede, summer, Gobhi sarson Oilseed
winter rape
B. Juncea Indian mustard Rai, Raya 35%
Mustard Laha
B. toumefortii Wild mustard Jungli rai 18%
B. carinata Ethiopian mustard Karan rai Oilseed
B. nigra Black mustrad Banarsi rai 29% Condiment
[Link] Vegetables
Eruca sativa Rocket Taramira 28%
Rapeseed vs. Mustard
Character Rapeseed (Sarson/Toria/Lahi) Mustard
(Rai, Raya, Laha)
Plant height (cm) 45 – 150 90-200
Leaves Sessile, leaf lamina claps the Leaves stalked but do not
stalk clasp
Siliquae (pod) Short or thicker Long & slender
Pollination Cross pollinated Self pollinated
Seed coat Smooth Rough
Brown sarson vs. Yellow sarson
Character Brown sarson Yellow sarson
Leaves Pale, thin Dark green and fleshy
Branching Erect, spreading Erect
Siliquae (pod) Thin, narrow Thick and broad
Seed coat Dark brown to reddish brown & Yellow & non mucilaginous
mucilaginous
Table: Classification of kinds of rapeseed and mustard grown in India

Indian group International Species Common Local name Chromosome

commercial name number
name
[Link] Indiancolza, B. compestris Turnip rape Yellow 20
colza, rape [Link] sarson
sarson
Brassica Turnip rape Brown 20
compestris sarson
[Link]
sarson

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2. Toria Rape B. compestris Indian rape Yellow 20
[Link] toria toria
B. compestris Indian rape Black toria 20
[Link] toria or Lahi
3. Rai Mustard B. juncea Indian Rai or Raya 36
mustard or Laha
B. juncea var. Rugosa Pahari rai 36
Rugosa
B. nigra Black Banarsi rai 16
mustard
Climate requirements:
o A crop of temperate region also it can be in higher elevation of tropics
o Rabi season crop in India (Sep-Oct to Mar-Apr)
o Temperature range 3 to 40°C
o Optimum 18-25°C with cool, dry clear weather with bright sunshine
o High RF, high humidity, cloudy atmosphere at flowering undesirable
o Most susceptible to frost
o Brassicas grow well in areas receiving 350-550 mm of rainfall. Sarson &
Taramira are preferred in low rainfall areas where as raya and toria are
grown in medium to high rainfall areas respectively.
o Toria is more liable to suffer from frost and cold is, therefore, usually
sown earlier and harvested before the onset of frost.
o Rape seed & mustard are long day plants. These crops neither tolerant to
drought nor water logging.
Season
 Sowing starts from August ends in November however varies region wise
 Sowing of rapeseed is ahead of mustard
 Taramira is sown from mid-Sep to Oct end
Soil
o Varying soil from sandy loam to clay
o Thrives well in light soil
o Mustard on any soil but rapeseed in light soils
o Well drained soil is more suitable
o Water logging should not be there
o Saline alkaline soils are unsuitable
o pH 6.5 to 7.5, neutral soil is ideal
Land preparation
 Fine seed bed since seeds are small
 Flat bed to perform ferti cum seed drill
Seed rate & spacing

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  4-6 kg depending upon seed weight
o 3-5 g/1000 depending upon crop and variety
 30 x 10 to 30 x 15cm
o 22.2 to 33.3 plants m-2
Sowing
 Treat the seeds with fungicides well before sowing
 May be behind the country plough or Fertilizer cum seed drill
 Depth of sowing 3-4cm
 Avoid shallow sowing
 Cover the seeds after sowing
 Sowing may be on conserved soil moisture
Manuring
 Oil seed crops removes huge nutrients
 S is removed in large and needs return
 FYM 10-12 t/ha
 Rape seed and mustard have higher requirements for sulphur; therefore,
nitrogen should preferably be applied through ammonium sulphate and
phosphorus from single super phosphate. In coarse t e x t u r e d s o i l s ,
a p p l i c a t i o n o f 20 -20 k g S /ha i s s u g g e s t e d . But h i g h e r r a t e s o f
sulphur application may increase the anti-nutritional factor glucosinolates.
 General recommendation varies to States 60-40-40 (NPK/ha) for irrigated
 N in two splits as basal and top dressing at 30 DAS
 If SSP is applied S is taken care, if not
 20-40kg elemental sulphur, if soil analyzed with <10ppm
 30-20-20 for rain fed NPK per ha all as basal dose (half of irrigated)
 Among micro nutrients, Zn and Boran have positive role in increasing the
yield of raya. In rice fallows, 25 kg ZnSO 4 applied to rice is sufficient for
the succeeding brassica crop. Application of 2 kg Boran/ha is sufficient to
meet the requirement especially on saline soils.
 Nutrient requirement may be calculated by critical concentration
 6.07 – 6.62% N in top 2-3rd leaf at 60 DAS
 0.408 – 0.412% S in 4-5th leaf from top
 Integration with biofertlizer ‘Azotobactor’ is desirable
Irrigation
 Rape & mustard have low water requirements. It ranges from 400 – 600 mm.
 Moisture at pre-flowering and pod filling stage is critical
 Two irrigations for mustard
 One at rosette stage (20-30DAS)
 Another at siliqua stage (50-60DAS)
 In light soils three irrigations, the third at 90DAS
 IW/CPE ratio of 0.6 is optimum
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Weed management
 Dominant weeds - Chenpodium album, C. murale, Convolvulus arvensis,
Melitotus alba
 Intercultural operation 5-10days after 1st irrigation
 Hand hoeing is desirable, it aerates the soil and conserve soil moisture
 Herbicides can also be used like Fluchloralin 1.25kg pre-plant incorporation
 Pendimethalin pre-emergence 0.5-1.5 kg/ha based on soil
 Post emergence Isoproturan 0.75 kg /ha for Wheat+mustard mixed systems
Harvesting maturity
o Color of leaves, stem and silique turn green to pale yellow
o Lower silique looks – dried appearance
o Upper may be green
o Seeds in the silique makes rattling sound
o Silique with 2 carpels and a false septum
o During over maturity the two carpels split and seeds shed
o Premature harvest leads to shriveled grains
Threshing
o After sun drying for few hours, beat pods along with the plants
 Either manually or Machine
 Also done with walking bullocks, or running tractor
o Cleaning and drying to 8-10% moisture for storage
Cropping systems
o Fallow / millets / pulses – mustard
o Rice – rapeseed
Intercropping systems
 Mustard + chickpea
 Mustard + sugarcane
 Mustard + barley / wheat / chickpea
 Potato + mustard

Yield Attributes:No. of plants/unit area, No. of pods/plant, No. of seeds/pod and

test weight
Yield:
 Average yield of rapeseed and mustard is about 500 kg ha -1.
 Toria gives yield of 800- 1000 kg ha-1.
 Rai is the highest yielder of all. Average 12- 15 q ha -1 have been reported.
Average yield
 Irrigated rapeseed 1.5 to 2.0 t
 Rainfed rapeseed 1.0 to 1.5t
 Irrigated mustard 2.0 to 2.5 t
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  Rainfed mustard 1.5 to 2.0t
Oil Quality Consideration:
 Seed colour could be yellow, black or white or brown depending upon the
cultivars.
 Yellow coloured seeds have lesser seed coats, hence higher oil content.
 The light coloured oil from yellow seeds of brassicas is the premium oils to
enter trade.
 The brassica oilseeds have the oil content of 30- 48% in air dried seeds.
 Colour of the oil is yellow to brown. Rapeseed and mustard oils have anti
nutritional factors like erucic acid. However, varieties are now being
developed with reduced erucic acid (<2%). The cultivars with <2% of erucic
acid in oil and < 30 micromoles/gram of glucosinolates in oil meal are
called as Conola varieties suitable for edible purpose.
 It is also desirable to have less linolenic acid (<3%) and higher linoleic acid
(>30%) for prolonged cooking and higher shelf life. But brassicas destined for
industrial purpose should contain higher erucic acid (>60%) as it has high
heat stability and used as lubricating oil, fossil fuel and additive to diesel.

SUNFLOWER

Scientific Name : Helianthus annus Family: Asteraceae

It is an important oilseed crop contributes 14% of the total oilseed production
from nine major oil seed crops. The genus Helianthus (Helio=Sun, anthus= flower).
Sunflower is known as a “suryajmuki” as it is grown for ornamental purpose. It is the
third most important oilseed crop of world after soybean, Rape seed& Mustard in
India. The heliotropic movement is of great importance.
The area and production of sunflower crop significantly increased due to:
 Short duration (90-100 days) as it is fit well in multiple and intercropping
systems.
 Photo-insensitivity of crop enables its cultivation in all seasons
 Wide adaptability: it comes well up in any type of soils.
 Drought and saline tolerant: best component crop in dry land farming.
 High productivity per unit area per unit time with respect to yield of oil.
 High seed multiplication ratio (1:80) with low seed rate requirement.
 It is the best substitute for groundnut crop in contingency crop planning.
 Due to cross pollination nature, there is a great scope for evolution of high
yielding composites and hybrids.
 Good quality oil with high level of poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content
i.e Linoleic & oleic acids. Linolenic acid is absent.
 Availability of good quality of hybrid seeds and varieties.

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  It is the best catch crop when the land is left otherwise fallow between two
seasons.
USES/ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
 The oil content varies from 48-53% and it is premium oil with pale yellow in
colour used for cooking & margarine.
 Sunflower is a rich source of linoliec acid (64%) which helps in reducing the
cholesterol deposition in the coronary arteries of the heart. All most of 90% fat
is good for human.
 Sunflower oil has high oxidative stability and it is more useful as frying oil.
 Sunflower oil is used as industrial feed stock for manufacturing cosmetics,
soaps & pharmaceuticals.
 Oil contains high level of alpha tocopherol, a form of vit. E.
 Oil cake contains 40-50% high quality protein and it is ideally suited for
poultry and livestock.
 The roasted kernels are used as food for human beings.
 Sunflower is grown as green manure, fodder crop.
 The bast fibre of the stem is source for making rough quality paper.
 Recently sunflower oil is recognized as an alternative source for diesel engines
with octane rating of 37 and it is rated as number 2 diesel oil.
ORIGIN: Southern USA (Peru) & Mexico
In 1972, commercial cultivation of sunflower was started in our country with
the introduction of Russian cultivars namely; EC 68413, EC 68414, EC 68415 and
Sunrise.
AREA AND DISTRIBUTION:
It is mainly grown in USSR, USA, Argentina, France, Italy and China. V. S.
Pustovit of USSR is responsible for increasing oil content of sunflower from 30% to
50% by breeding methods.
India has 1.8 m ha of area with production of 1.04 m t with productivity of 580
kg /ha. Karnataka ranks first with respect to area (1015 [Link]) and production (549
th.t) followed by AP. The highest productivity was recorded by UP (1650 kg/ha)
followed by T.N during 2008-09.
· AICRP on sunflower - Bangalore.
· ARS on sunflower – Rajendranagar
· RARS on sunflower - Nandyal.
CLIMATE:-
 Sunflower is a temperate oil seed crop but it is adapted to tropical and
subtropical climate.
 The crop requires a cool climate during germination seedling growth and warm
weather from Seedling to flowering. Warm and sunny days during flowering to
maturity are most favorable. Minimum temperature for germination is 8-10 o C

13
 but it can germinate even up to 400c. Night temperature of 18-200 and day temp.
of 24-260C are ideal for growth, yield and higher oil content.
 The growing degree days for sunflower have ranged from 1042 to 1300 with
base temperature of 100C. Lenoleic levels decreases at higher temperature.
 The crop is photo insensitive as it flowers at wide range of photoperiods.
Optimum day length for better yield should be >12 to 14 hours.
 High humidity accompanied with cloudy weather and rainfall at the time of
flowering results in poor seed set.
 Fairly drought tolerant with deep root system and comes up in areas receiving
minimum rainfall of 500-700mm up to an altitude of 2500 MSL.
 Latitudinal effect was more significant. Generally it is grown between 40 0 S to
550 N latitudes but most of the production is concentrated between 20 0S to 500N
latitude.
 Sunflower grown in Northern USA/Canada has higher linoleic acid (poly
unsaturated) due low temperature. On contrary, sunflower grown in southern
USA had high percentage of oleic acid due to higher temperature.
SOILS:
o Can be in wide range of soils. It does not withstand water logging
o Any soil with good drainage. Best is medium black with high WHC
o Neutral to moderately alkaline soils with pH ranges 6.5 to 8.0
o Complete failure in sandy soil with pH 4.6
Varieties: Maruti, KBSH 44, Pro Sun 09, NDSH – 1, DRSH – 1, MSFH – 8, APSH
11, Jwalamukhi, Sungene 85, Modern
Hybrids: TNAUSUF 7, DRSF 108, EC 69874, EC 68413, EC 68414 (Russian)
Sunrise selection (Canadian ),BSH 1, KBSH 1
Cropping systems:
Development of early and medium duration varieties with thermo and photo
sensitive cultivars is useful in multiple cropping systems. Intercropping systems are
 Sunflower + groundnut (2:6) or (2:4)
 Sunflower + fingermillet (3:6)
 Sunflower + soybean (3:3)
 Sunflower + green gram/Bengal gram (1:1)
Sequence cropping under rainfed conditions is possible when rabi crop can be
grown on stored soil moisture. Under irrigated conditions, grown in kharif & rabi.
Rainfed
 Sunflower - mustard (2 Yrs)
 Sunflower – groundnut (2 Yrs)
 Sunflower – Maize (2 Yrs) and Sunflower – Sorghum (1 yr)
 Sunflower – wheat ( 1 Yr)
Irrigated conditions :
 Rice-groundnut-sunflower
 Rice – Rice - Sunflower

14
  Rice – Sunflower – pulses
 Rice – fingermillet – sunflower
 Rice – sunflower
 Cotton – sunflower
 Mustard - sunflower
Sunflower residues in soil have inhibitory effect because of certain allelochemicals
which cause inhibition of growth of succeeding crops.
Field preparation:
o Fine tilth
o Apply FYM / Compost incorporate
o Ridges and furrows
Seeds and sowing and seed treatment:
For quick germination, under rain fed condition the seed should be soaked in
fresh water for about 14 hours followed by shade drying as sunflower seeds have thick
hulls and imbibes water at slow rate. This process is called seed hardening. Sunflower
seeds cannot be used as seed, immediately after harvest of crop since seeds will have
dormancy period ranging from 40-50 days. To overcome the dormancy, treat the seed
with ethereal solution for 6 hours.
o Trichderma 4 g /kg
o Azospirillum 600 g to one ha
o Soaking the seeds
o 2% ZnSO4 for 12hrs and
o Shade drying for rainfed sowing is desirable
Time of sowing:
Sunflower being a photo insensitive can be grown irrespective of the season.
o Kharif: July-August.
o Rabi (rainfed): September – October
(Irrigated): November – December.
o Summer: second FN of January - First week of February
The sowing date of Sunflower can be adjusted in such a way that flowering
period does not coincide with heavy rains because it affects pollination and seed set.
Spacing: varieties: 45 × 30 cm
Hybrids: 60 × 30 cm
Seed rate and Plant population:
Rain fed (kgha -1) Irrigated (kgha -1)
Varieties 8-10 6-7
Hybrids 5-6 4-5
o 55,000 to 98,000 /ha almost same yield
o If the head diameter is <10cm more population
o If >20cm less population
METHOD OF SOWING:

15
 Line sowing by seed drill is recommended (or) behind the plough. Direction of
rows preferably North – South as the sunflower head in phototropic from emergence
to flowering. The head and leaves face east in morning and west in evening.
Phototropic nature ceases one day before the ray florets open.
Depth of sowing: optimum depth of sowing is 4-5 cm.
Seed treatment: Captan/ Dithane M- 45 @ 3g/kg seed.
Thinning: Done at 15 DAS to avoid competition and to maintain single plant/ hill.
Highly sensitive to intra-specific competition
Manures and fertilizers:
 Fast growing high oil yielding thus requires more nutrients
 Low yield in India is attributed to poor fertile soil, rain fed cultivation
 A crop yielding 2 t seed, 3.2 t Stover and 0.8 t root uptakes 82 kg N, 13 kg P,
60 kg K, 9.4 kg S, 37 kg Ca and 21 kg Mg.
 Nitrogen is essential for vegetative growth and Phosphorus to improve seed
size with proper filling.
 Sunflower crop is supposed to deplete the soil fertility besides producing
allelochemicals. Nitrogen is most limiting element in sunflower production.
 The response to N, P and K is higher than other crops. FYM @ 5-10 t ha -1 is
added 2-3 weeks before sowing.
Rainfed crop: 60: 40: 30 kg N, P2O5 and K2O / ha ½ N as basal and ½ N at 30 DAS
Irrigated crop: 80: 60: 40 kg N, P2O5 and K 2O / ha
Hybrids responds upto 120 kg N ha-1
1/3rd N, 1 P 2O5 &1 K2O as basal
1/3rd N at 30 DAS (Button stage)
1/3rd N at 55 DAS (flowering stage)
o Sulphur is essential for increasing oil yield; addition of elemental sulphur @ 25
kg ha-1 is recommended to soil at last ploughing. The response of sulphur is 13
kg seed/kg sulphur applied. Synergistic interaction was observed between
sulphur and nitrogen. SSP is the best source for phosphorus as also supplies
required sulphur.
o In Zinc deficit soils, foliar spraying of ZnSO4 @ 1% is beneficial.
o Borax @ 0.2 % to Capitulum at ray floweret opening improves the seed filling
and oil content.
Irrigation:
 The total water requirement is 500- 600 mm.
 It has the ability to withstand short periods of drought as the crop root system
extending up to 2 m depth. One of the reasons for preferring sunflower than
other crops like groundnut, sorghum and cotton by the farmers was mainly due
to stable yields even under low rainfall situations and its physiological
plasticity i.e. it completes life cycling tailoring the growth and development to
available moisture.

16
  Under moisture stress conditions, centre portion of head is not filled properly
and reduce the yield significantly.
 The critical stages for moisture in Bud initiation (30 DAS), flower opening
(45-50DAS) (most sensitive to moisture stress) and seed filling (60-75 DAS)
 The total number irrigations depend up on seasons. Kharif 3-6 & Rabi 4-8.
 Irrigation should be stopped at 20 days before harvesting.
 Sunflower is an excellent indicator plant for identifying the moisture stress.
 Irrigation should be given at 50% DASM at all growth stages except at critical
stage where irrigation is given at 30 DASM.
 Irrigation at IW/ CPE of .5-1.0 is ideal.
 On an average WUE is 50-60 kg seed ha-1cm-1.
 The crop is irrigated by ridge and furrow method.
Weed control:
 Sunflower has slow growth rate during 4-6 WAS hence weed free condition
during the period results in better yields. The crop weed competition in
sunflower is 30-45 DAS i.e. 4-6 WAS.
 Two inter cultivations or hand weedings at 15 & 30 DAS is recommended.
 PPI: Fluchloralin @ 1 kg a.i ha-1
 PE: Pendimethalin @ 1 kg a.i. ha-1 or Alachlor @1-1.5 kg a.i ha-1
 Post Emergence: not recommended since crop is sensitive to most of the
herbicides & pollinating agents are also damaged, however Nitrofen @ 0.5 kg
ha-1 is recommended. Earthing up at knee high stage is recommended to avoid
lodging the crop before flower opening.
Seed setting and filling
o Problem is seen with poor seed setting particularly in warmer regions
o In India seed filling under good management is only 75%
o It will be as low as 10-20%
o Reasons
 Genetic
 Environmental
 Physiological and availability of pollinators
Harvesting
 The sunflower is ready for harvesting when the moisture content of seed is 20%.
 The sunflower head is mature physiologically at 35-40 Days after flowering. It
ranges from 90-100 DAS.
 The heads are ripe when back of the head turns yellowish brown and lower
leaves become brown to dark brown.
 The harvesting should be done with the help of sickle by removing the head.
 The harvested head should be thoroughly sun dried and threshed by beating the
centre of the head with small stick or threshers are also useful. Then
winnowing, drying and storage of seeds.

17
  Delay in harvesting leads to losses due to birds and shattering in the field itself.
Yield
 Rainfed: 10-15 q/ha Irrigated: 20-25 q/ha Stalk yield: 10-12 q/ha
Quality parameters:
 Oil content in kernel is 48-53%. Oil content in seed is 28-35%.
 Protein is 14-19%,
 Crude fibre – 16-27%.
 Sunflower oil is of premium quality because of its colour, flavor and good
nutritional quality.
 It contains high levels of linoleic acid whereas saturated fatty acids as palmitic
and steiric acids are of only 15%.
 Being free of any toxic constituents, it is excellent edible oil.
 Amino acid composition: Sunflower protein contains higher proportion of
essential amino acids. It contains higher methionine. Sunflower protein is
highly digestible and has high biological value.
 Two important anti-nutritional factors are Phytic and Phenolic acids

LINSEED ( Linum usitatissimum )

Introduction
 It is dual purpose crop like soybean and cotton. It is called ‘Old world fibre’.
Of late in India it is used primarily for oilseed.
 Flax also known as common flax or linseed, (binomial name: Linum
usitatissimum ) is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is
known Tisi in Hindi
 Before the spread of the mechanical cotton gin in the early 1800s, most
Americans had a choice of two clothing fibers – wool or linen
 Linseed oil, squeezed out of flax seed, used as a preservative finish on wood.
 Linseed oil is a "drying oil", as it can polymerize into a solid form.
 It is edible oil but, because of its strong flavor and odor, is only a minor
constituent of human nutrition.
 In parts of Europe, traditionally eaten with potatoes and quark (cheese).
 Flax fiber is obtained from the stem of plants, from a blue flowered plant and
woven into a fabric generally known as linen Flax .
 Common names of flax are alsi, tisi, kshuma, lin, llion, liner, linum, line, linen,
lein
 Flax is grown in modern times for two entirely different purposes (i) for fibre
and (ii) for seed .The seed of the flax plant is known as linseed
 In India, flax is grown primarily for linseed oil which is not only used for
human consumption but also for commercial use as paint, varnish, finished
leather and printing ink.

18
  India imports the flax fibres from European countries and does not utilize the
flax produces in India. The reasons for this are, Indian flax does not match with
the quality standards of imported flax.
 But now a number of dual purpose varieties including Gaurav, Shikha, Jeevan
and Parwati released from Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture &
Technology (CSAUAT), Kanpur are suitable for both oil and fibre purposes.
 Among the four varieties, the white flowered variety (Linum usitatisimum
album) produces stronger plants and are resistant to diseases than the blue
flowered vrieties (Linum usitatissimum vulgare) which yields fine fibres of high
quality
Uses
 Flax is roughly 40% oil by weight, about 55% of which is alpha linolenic acid
(also called omega-3 fatty acid) good quality oil reduces blood cholesterol
levels.
 Flax seed is fed to chickens, eggs from those chickens, marketed as omega eggs.
 On a small scale seed is directly used for edible purpose and 80% of oil goes
to industries. Oil is rich in Linolenic acid (66% and above) and is a perfect
drying oil and used in paint and varnishes
 Its use is limited to animal feed because of undesirable compounds like phytic
acid, cyanogenic glucoside and goitorogen.
 It is used in the manufacture of lit hographic inks and soaps
 Oil cake is good feed for milch cattle & also as manure having microbial
activity
 Linseed stem yields fibre of good quality having strength and durability. The
fibres are lustrous and blend with the wool and silk
 The fibre is used in gloves, foot wear, netting sports, paper and textile industry,
cigarette wrapping paper, strong canvas, suitings and shirtings
 Woody matter and short fibres used as raw pulp in paper industries.
 One hundred kg retted flax yields the following c o product.

Products Quantity (kg) Utility

Sketched flax 16 Spinning
Tow broken fibre 8 High grade paper
Woody parts 54 Chip board panels
Seed 10 Oil and meal
Straw 7 For fodder
Dust 5 compost
Problems and prospects for linseed in India
 As fibre there is scope, even today, but farmers’ preference is for oilseed.
 As oil seed also its is importance for industry is declining due to:

19
 o Paint industries are relying on synthetic and petroleum based
alternatives
 Expansion of area is limited to cooler regions only
Origin and Distribution
 Linen's history dates back to 7000 BC when Mesopotamians used flax
 No clear centre. May be originated from Ethiopia
 Persian gulf
o The Caspian sea and Black sea
 Possibilities of introduction to India
o By Aryans from Central Asia
o From Europe sources
o Aryan materials crossed with other species
o Independent origin of Peninsular linseed in the South and Gangetic
linseed in the North
 Major producers are Canada, Argentia, USA, Poland, Uruguay, Romania,
USSR, China and India
 Reported to have spun in countries like Belgium, Russia, Switzerland, Brazil,
England, France and Argentina etc. and is used in making fine quality fabrics
called linen.
Area and Production
 Flax is currently grown on about 12 million acres worldwide, with the majority
of the production in northern Europe and Russia.
 India occupies 25 per cent of world acreage and ranks first in area (4.368 Lakh
ha), fourth in production (1.725 Lakh tonnes) and eighth in productivity (395.0
Kg/ha) of the flax crop.
Morphology
 Annual herb
 Tap root system
o Gangetic group – shallow with secondary roots
o Peninsular – deep tap root – drought tolerant
 Stem either erect or procumbent
o Fibre varieties are thin, tall growing, less tillering
o Oil seed are dwarf, highly tillering and branched
 Leaves
o Attractive
o Linear to lanceolate
o Smooth, margin entire, tapering to blunt apex
o Green to bluish green with variable size & thickness
 Inflorescence
o Carymbose, with single flower
o Petals 5, varying colors
o Ovary is 5 celled, each locule divided into two by false septum thus
making 10 roomed capsule with each with one ovule

20
 o The fruit is capsule of 5-10mm diameter
o Mature capsule is dehiscent
 Seeds
o Oval, smooth, shiny and pointed
o Seed color varies from pure yellow, yellowish with brownish tinge, light
brown, to deep brown
 Pale yellow – edible
o Linola, Linoleic is higher
 Brown – industrial purpose
Climate
 Requires temperature of 25-300C - germination,15-200C - seed formation.
 It requires high humidity.
 Temperature above 320C along with the drought during flowering reduces
yield, oil content and oil quality of linseed
 Requires moderate to cool temp during vegetative
 Dry weather during maturity
 Crop grown for oil seed
o Moderate cool climate
 Crop grown for fibre
o Cool and moist climate
 Susceptible to frost causes blossom injury
 Fairly resistant to drought grows well in area receiving 450-750 mm rainfall
 Well distributed rainfall, but not heavy rains. Also grown as irrigated in dry
regions
Soils
 Variety of soils except sandy and poorly drained soils
 Well drained fertile, medium heavy soils, silty & clay loam & silty clay are
best. Soil pH 5.0 to 7.0. Acid range 6.0 is more suitable
 Oil content decreases but iodine increases under saline
 More sensitive to salinity, but fibre and oil content decrease at EC of 6.0 dsm-1
Land Preparation
 Majority of linseed area is rainfed and grown in marginal and submarginal
lands, Hence adoption of soil & moisture conservation practices is important for
good yields
 Ploughing 2-3 times with cultivator, followed by 2-3 harrowings to obtain fine
tilth,
 Hoeing after each shower conserves the soil moisture
Sowing Time
 Sowing time varies from October - Nov 15th in different states depending on
availability of soil moisture, irrigation and cropping systems
 Early sowing helps to escape attack of powdery mildew, rust, and linseed bud
fly
 Pure “Rabi” crop should complete the sowings by Nov 15th .

21
 Varieties
State Utera Rainfed Irrigated
Himachal Pradesh Surabhi, Janki, Surabhi , Janki Janki, Himalini, Nagarkol
Himalini
Maharastra R -552 Kiran,Sheetal Jawahar - 23
Madhya Pradesh R -552 Kiran,Sheetal Jawahar - 23
Punjab LC-54,Himalini LC-54,
Uttar Pradesh Swetha,Shubra Garima,
Shubra, Neelam
Seed rate
 The following seed rates are optimum under moist conditions
 Under rainfed : Broad casting @ 40 kg/ha - 5 lakhs plants/ha
: Drilling @ 30kg /ha - 5 lakhs plants/ha
 Under irrigated : Broadcasting @ 35 kg / ha - 5 lakhs plants/ha
: Drilling @ 25 kg/ha - 5 lakhs plants/ha
 Under all situations : Dual methods @ 25 kg/ha - 4 lakhs plants/ha. Thinning
should be done 15 days after emergence.
 Under rice fallows @ 35 kg /ha cuscuta free seeds.
Seed Treatment
Seed treatment with thiram @ 3g/kg of seed or bavistin @ 1.5g or topsin M @
2.5g/kg seed to protect the linseed from seed borne diseases.
Sowing depth
 Shallow sowing @ 2-3 cm with adequate soil moisture helps in early
establishment. Drilling facilitates even distribution, uniform depth of seeding
result in better stand and good yields.
 In drier situations, where surface moisture is not adequate, sowing in deeper
layers of 5-8 cm ensures germination.
Spacing
 Spacing between the rows : 25 - 30 cm
 Spacing between the plants in a row : 7 - 10 cm

Nutrient Management
Application of FYM or compost @ 5-8 t/ha, final land preparation, improves
water holding capacity of soil , improves soil structure, increases nutrient uptake there
by leading to good yields.
N deficiency : is very common in linseed crop. This shows small erect, pale green to
yellowish green leaves. Early defoliation, crop matures earlier, producing lesser
flowers and fruits leading to poor yields.
P deficiency: Shows dwarfness of plants, dark green color, small leaves and dies
prematurely. Phosphorus increases oil in the seed and yield of flax. Hastens root

22
development, promotes deeper penetration, helping in preventing. Lodging and better
utilization of soil moisture.
K deficiency: Shows stunting of shoots with shorter internodes. Brown scorches at
the tips and withering. Use of potassium causes complementary effects to the use of N
and P increasing the yield of linseed.
Sulphur deficiency: Sulphur requirement of oil seeds is high. Sulphur deficiency
Shows stunted plants, leaves turn yellow and become chloratic. 40 kg S /ha should be
applied to linseed crop to improve the oil yield.
Zinc deficiency: Shows stunted plants. Grey brown spots appear on the younger
leaves on the upper surface and dark green blotches on lower surface. Internodes are
shortened and forms rosette. Defeciency can be corrected by soil application of zinc
sulphate @ 22.5 kg/ha once in 2-3 yrs or spraying of zinc sulphate @ 0.25% after 2
weeks of emergence is recommended.
Fertilizer Schedule:
 Under rainfed conditions : 40 + 20 + 20 kg N P K / ha
 Under irrigated conditions : 90 + 40 + 30 kg N P K /ha
Rice fallow / Utera / Piara
o Management starts with previous rice
o Nutrients applied to rice
o Leveling, weed & water management all like rice fallow pulse
Weed Management
 Crop-weed competition is – 20-45 DAS
 Hoeing and aerating 15 and DAS
 Herbicides:
o PPI – Fluchloralin @ 1.0 kg
o PE – Methabenzthiozuran @ 1kg
o Post Emergence – Dichlofop-methyl @ 0.7 kg at 30 DAS
 Cuscuta is menace with linseed
o Crop rotation with non-host cereals
o Herbicides:
 Pronomide @ 1.5kg as post-emergence at 2-3 weeks stage
 PPI of Fluchloralin itself is sufficient to reduce infestation

Irrigation
 Responds well to irrigation
 >90% is rainfed even then one or two irrigations will enhance the yield
o Two irrigations at 35 & 75 DAS
o In light soils 3-4 irrigations
o Drought during after flowering reduces the seed yield
o Moisture stress at stem elongation benefits seed yield
o With more (>4) number of irrigations
 WUE decreases
 Oil content decreases
23
  Moisture stress at stem elongation stage benefited the seed yields and
adversely effected the straw yields
 Scheduling irrigation at 50% DASM and IW/CPE is 0.6.
Maturity
 When the stem become
o Woody
o Capsules turn hard
o Leaves dry
o the capsules turn brown and
o the seeds become shiny
Harvesting
 For fibre purpose, harvesting s hould be done at physiological m aturity when
the crop is still green.
 Crop is harvested in March to April, cutting the plants close to the ground or
pulling the plants.
 Harvested crop is left in the field for few days for sun drying.
Threshing is done by beating the dried plants with the sticks or trampling under
the cattle feet.
 The seed is separated from chaff by winnowing.
 Care should be taken in cutting the stalk and facilitate undamaged stalk in
retting.
Quality considerations
 It contains 20- 24% protein, 37- 42% oil, 15- 29% CHO, 5- 9% crude fibre,
2- 4% ash.
 Linseed oil cake contains 30% protein, 7% fat, carbohydrate - 42% which is a
valuable protein source to poultry and ruminants.
Double Purpose Linseed
 Linseed when grown for fibre is known as fibre flax, when cultivated for seed
known as seed flax/oil flax/linseed.
 Linseed or seed flax: varieties are dwarf profusely branched & high seed
potential.
 Fibre flax : varieties are tall, scarcely branched, having low seed yielding,
ability with high fibre yields. Commonly cultivated in temperate regions.
 Looking for fibre and oil is advantageous
 Varieties needed for this purpose
 Double purpose varieties may show differential response
o In temperate region with long growing period, controlled supply of N
can do the need
o Extraction of fibre requires cooler climate for retting
o This is a major limitation in our country
 Dry scotching machine was developed for oil and fibre extraction.

24
  DPL 21, LCK 152 & RL 993 (Meera) are the promising double purpose linseed
varieties.
 Giza 5 and Giza 6 are high yielding double purpose varieties.
Yield : of fibre flax is about 10-15 quintal/ha
Utera / Pyra cultivation
 Pyra or utera cultivation is broadcasting linseed in standing kharif rice, when
the crop is at is at flowering and dough stage or 10-12 days before harvest of the
crop.
 This practice is followed for utilizing the conserved soil moisture in post rainy
season, there by utilizing the available irrigation sources judiciously in season.
 In sufficient water available areas, a new method of utilizing available soil
moisture, Crack system of sowing linseed is practiced.
 This method involves development of deep 5 cm cracks, in the standing rice
crop at the end of dough stage, followed by watering/ irrigating the field.
 Then sowing are done in October preferably with short duration varieties.
 Varieties like R-7 (Jawar -7) & (R-552) resistant to rust, powdery mildew and
wilt are preferred for utera cultivation.
Fertilizers : Linseed utilizes residual fertility of manures and fertilizers applied to the
rice crop. 10 kg of Nitrogen is applied to rice crop itself at flowering or one week
before sowing of linseed , which is beneficial for establishment and growth.
Weeding : Once manual weeding is done in linseed crop after rice is harvested. Utera
method gives 50% higher linseed yield, without any adeverse effect on rice yields.
Retting flax
 There are several methods of retting flax pond, stream, field or tank retting.
 When the retting is complete, the bundles of flax feel soft and slimy, and
quite a few fibers are standing out from the stalks.
 When wrapped around a finger the inner woody part springs away from the
fibers.
 Pond retting is the fastest. It consists of placing the flax in a pool of water
which will not evaporate.
 It generally takes place in a shallow pool which will warm up dramatically
in the sun; the process may take from only a couple of days to a couple
weeks. Pond retted flax is traditionally considered lower quality, possibly
because the product can become dirty, and easily over-retts, damaging the
fiber. This form of retting also produces quite an odor.
 Stream retting is similar to pool retting, but the flax is submerged in
bundles in a stream or river. This generally takes longer than pond retting,
normally by two or three weeks, but the end product isless likely to be dirty,
does not smell as bad and, because the water is cooler, it is less likely to
over-retted.

25
  Both Pond and Stream rettings were traditionally used less because they
pollute the waters used for the process.
 Field retting is laying the flax out in a large field, and allowing dew to
collect on it. This process
 normally takes a month or more, but is generally considered to provide the
highest quality flax fiber and produces the least pollution.
 Retting can also be done in a plastic trash can or any type of water tight
container of wood, concrete, earthenware or plastic. Metal containers will
not work, as an acid is produced when retting, and it would corrode the
metal. If the water temperature is kept at 80°F, the retting process under
these conditions takes 4 or 5 days.
 If the water is any colder, then it takes longer time.
 Scum will collect at the top and an odor is given off the same as in pond
retting. Currently 'enzymatic' retting of flax is being researched as a
retting technique to engineer fibers with specific properties “Pectinolytic
enzymes and retting,” "Processing techniques for improving enzyme -
retting of flax,”.
LINOLA
 A new crop developed
 Low linolenic acid mutants
 Have elevated levels of linoleic acid, 65 - 76%.
 Reduction in linolenic acid greatly increases the oxidative stability of the oil
 It becomes an edible PUFA oil equal to sunflower in fatty acid
 The colour of the seed is also changed, with edible linseed being a pale yellow
colour enabling it to be distinguished from non-edible linseed, which is brown
Development of edible linseed is a joint venture between
 CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation,
Australia) and United Grain Growers Ltd of Winnipeg, Canada (UGG Ltd)
 This crop has been named Linola.
 Linola is a registered trademark of CSIRO
o Specialty of Linola – it’s oil quality
o Mostly cultivated in Australia & Canada
o 60-130 thousand ha =(0.06 to 0.13 m ha)
Fatty acid composition of Linola with 5 major vegetable oils (%)
Mono Poly Unsaturated
Saturated unsaturated Fatty Acids P/S
Crop Oleic Linoleic Linolenic
Linola 10 17 71 2 7.3
Safflower 10 14 76 Trace 7.6
Sunflower 12 16 71 Trace 6.0
Maize 13 29 57 1 4.5

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 Soybean 15 23 54 8 4.1
Canola 7 61 21 11 4.6

SAFFLOWER
Family - Compositae
Safflower is an ancient oilseed crop grown in India for the orange red
dye (Carthamin) extracted from it bright coloured florets as well as seed oil. Due
to the availability of synthetic dyes at present, it is used for extraction of oil only.
The cultivated Carthamus tinctorius in supposed to originated either from
 Carthamus lanatus - Saffron thirstle
 Carthamus oxycantha- Wild Safflower
Safflower was known to ancient India and the poet laurate kalidas compared
safflower to the “sakhis of shakuntala” as kusum (or) kusumba in Sanskrit literature.
Carthamus is derived from Arabic word “Quartum”.
Economic Importance
 Rich in PUFA (78%) – to reduce blood cholesterols
 Used for preparation of:
 Margarine, and salad dressing
 Varnishes, paints and surface coating materials
 The hot oil poured in cooled water, it become a plastic of
thickness and used for adhesive in glass industry
 The oil is used in the preparation of “ROGHAN” which is used
for preservation of leather and production of water proof cloth.
 Oil (28-32%) is also used in:
 Infant food and liquid nutrition formulations
 Effective non-allergenic dispersant for injectable medicines
 Charred oil is used to heal sores and rheumatism
 Quality can be further enhanced by blending with rice bran oil
 It is also a drying oil
 Flowers
 For dye extraction –red dye
 Cosmetics preparations
 Petals reported to have effects on circulatory systems and other medicinal
benefits in pharmaceutical industry
 Safflower petals are also used to provide resistance to inflammation
 The yield of floret ranged between 70- 100 kg/ha and it contains two
colouring materials.
 Water soluble yellow pigment “carthamidin” and orange red dye (2%)
which is insoluble in water but readily soluble in alkaline solution is
known as “CARTHAMIN”.
 Carthamus +H 2S o4+Phosphoric acid - Carthamidin & Isocarthamidin
 Cake (30%)
 Un decorticated cake as manure

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  Decorticated fed to ruminants and mono-gastric animals
 Can be as human food, if bitter principles and phenolics are
removed
 Hulls (40%)can be used for manufacture of
 cellulose, insulations, abrasions, hard boards and as fuel
 Thinned young plants are used as vegetables
 since contains carotene, riboflavin and vitamins
 It is crop as border against animals
 In Ethiopia, decorticated seeds are pounded finely and mixed with water to
prepare abeverage “FIT -FIT”.
 Hull is used is manufacture of cellulose insolations.
 The safflower cake is used as cattle feed which contains 20% protein but low
in lysine. It is consumed domestically and hardly enters international market.
ORIGIN:
Decondolle – Arabia. Vavilov – India
Spiny type of Safflower is having higher oil content than non spiny type. Yellow
coloured flowers yielded higher oil content. It is a xerophytic in nature.
AREA AND DISTRIBUTION:
India, China Mexico, USA, Ethiopia, Argentina and Australia are the
major growing countries. China mostly grown Safflower for medical purpose.
Safflower occupies seventh place in the area among nine oilseed crops.
In India 98% of the area comes from three state s viz- Maharashtra,
Karnataka and A.P. It is cultivated with an area of 3.00 Lakh ha and production of
1.89 Lakh tons with a productivity of 630 kg/ha. India is the largest producer of
Safflower with 54% area and 40% production.
Maharashtra and Karnataka are the first and second with reference to area
and production where as productivity is highest in Gujarat (1000 kg/h a) followed
by Karnataka ( 2008- 09).
Climate
o A day neutral plant
o But short day can prolong rosette stage
o Temp is more important than day length
o Thermo-sensitive
 Extremes of cold and heat not suitable
o Tolerance to low temp at vegetative
o But susceptible to high temp during flowering
o For germination 15°C
o Vegetative : 20-21°C
o Flowering: 24 to 32°C
o Rainfall at flowering affects pollination
o Excessive humidity at any stage affects
o More suitable for rabi season in India
The Plant
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 o Highly branched, herbaceous
o Annual height varying from 30-150cm
o Well defined fleshy tap root system
o Stem is stiff cylindrical fairly thick at base and thin at top
o Central stem branches at 15-20cm to secondary
o Each branch terminates in a flower head
o The angle of branching is varietals but can be by environment also
o The leaf deeply serrated on lower stem, short, stiff, ovate at the
inflorescence
o The inflorescence – numerous florets
o Flower color may vary from whitish yellow to red-orange
o The capitula, head size may vary from 1.25 to 4.0 cm
o The fruit achene, resembles small slightly rectangular sunflower seeds
o Seed weighs 250 – 800mg/grain
Soils
o Fertile, fairly deep and well-drained
o pH range of 5-8
o Shallow soils irrespective of fertility seldom produces high yield
o In traditional belts it is black cotton soil
o On heavy soils
 This crop follows early Kharif crops
 Or may often single crop in Rabi
o It is considered as salt tolerant next to cotton
o Tolerant to Na salts but < to Ca & Mg
o Salinity reduces seed size and oil content
Seeds and sowing
Varieties
o K1 120 days, CO 1 125 days
o Bhima (33% oil) - Maharastra
o JSF 1 (30%) – Rajasthan & MP
o Manjira - AP
o Nira – (30%) Maharastra & TN
o HUS 305 (35%) for Peninsular India
Seed rate
o 7-20 kg depending upon spacing and variety
Spacing
o 45 x 15 cm in TN
o 45 x 20 cm
o 60 x 30 cm etc
Seed treatment
o Pre-sowing seed hardening
o Use fresh seeds every year

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Sowing
o From last week of Sep to end of Oct
o Early sowing has advantage
o Line sowing using improved seed drill. Ferti. cum seed drill more desirable
o Seeds can be sown behind the plough also
o Small furrow may be opened and seeds dropped and half coved
o Depth of sowing may be 5-7.5cm
o Light planking for the soils which looses moisture
Nutrient management
Rainfed crops
o N ranges from 25 kg N to 50 kg
o P2O5 – 20 to 50 kg
o K2O – Mostly not recommended
o General: [Link]
Irrigated
o [Link] (Chatisgarh) to
o [Link] 35 (Karnataka)
Time of fertilizer application
o Rainfed – basal – deep placed by ferti-cum seed drill
o Irrigated 50% N+ full P & K as basal
o Remaining half N at 5th week during 1st irrigation
Water management
o Water requirement is around 250-300 mm
o It is deep rooted xerophytic plant, can thrive under scarce soil moisture
o One or two irrigations (25 & 75 DAS) is optimum
o Rosette stage (Early vegetative stage) is the most critical stage of safflower
i.e. 21DAS or 4-6 leaf stage and yield can be increased by 40- 60%.
o Poorly drained soil and water logged condition enhanced the problem of wilt
and root rot. The WUE is 5.64 kg/seed/ha/mm.
o Sensitive to excess moisture at any stage
o If the soil profile contains 250mm ASM
o ET of the season is 250-300mm- no response to irrigation
o Under irrigated condition the crop may be sown under Broad beds of 1.35 to
1.8m and furrow
o To drain the excess water
o Points to remember:
o If one irrigation is possible , provide it at critical period
o Avoid contact of above ground parts with irrigation water
Weed management
o Being wider spaced

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 o critical periods for weed management extends up to end of rosette (25-
50DAS)
o Hand weeding and hoeing
o at 20 and 35 DAS is good
o Herbicides
o PPI – Fluchloralin 0.75 to 1.0 kg
o PE – Oxadiazone – 0.75 -1.0 kg or
o PE – Pentimethalin – 0.75 kg
Important intercultural operations
o Thinning to single plant and filling the gap at the early stage (before 15DAS)
o Nipping of central shoot to induce branching
o Bird damage:
o By parrots at Isolated pockets
o Cultivate in contiguous block
o Bird scaring - morning and evening during
 Seed filling to physiological maturity
Harvesting
o Duration of the crop varies due to regions
o 115-140 days
o 120-125 days in TN
o Gujarat & Orissa – 140-150days
o In cooler regions 150-180days
o Maturity
o When the lower leaves and most of the bracteoles dry and brown
o Harvest in the early hours
 Shattering minimum
 Spines relatively soft
o Combine harvester is becoming popular now since
 Manual harvesting, bundling, threshing are all becoming
problematic
o Duration of the crop varies due to regions
o 115-140 days
o 120-125 days in TN
o Gujarat & Orissa – 140-150days
o In cooler regions 150-180days
o Yield
o In improved agro-techniques are used
 Under scanty moisture – 800-1200kg/ha
 Under favourable 1500-2000 kg
 Under irrigated – 1800-2800kg/ha
o Storage
o 5-8% moisture, clean and dry
NOTE

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 Plants are thorny and harvesting is taken up at the early hours of the day and to
be completed before 10.00 am when the spines will b e s o f t . As the day advanced,
spine becomes stiff causing inconvenience to harvesting.
Cropping system
o It is potential crop to replace dry rabi crops
o Wheat, coriander, linseed, chickpea, pulses
o In traditional areas it is raised as intercrops
o Sorghum, wheat, linseed, chickpea, coriander etc.
o Sequence cropping
o Farmers rarely raise more than one crop due to non availability of
moisture
o There is scope for double cropping either preceding with Kharif crop or
after rabi by irrigation
Oil Quality :
Traditional safflower seed contain 50% hull & 28-32% oil. It is pale yellow.
Good drying oil. Fatt y acid composition is - Linoleic acid 70- 80%, Oleic acid
– 6-8%, Stearic acid – 2- 3% and Palmitic acid – 5-8%. Due to 90% of poly
unsaturated fatty acids, safflower oil is considered to be the best edible oil.

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