Full cultivation practices

1. College Of Agriculture, Gwalior (M.P.)
ASSIGNMENT OF SUBJECT OF
Production Technology of Cool Season Vegetable
Crops (VSC-501)
On topic of
Commercial Cultivation Technology of Knol khol
SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
Dr.Rajesh Lekhi Rajveer Singh Katoriya
(Dept .of Horti.) M.Sc. ( Horti.) Vegetable Science
Semester- 1st
, 2017-18
Roll no. - 17111406

2. KNOL KHOL
Botanical Name : Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes L.
OR
Brassica caulorapa
Family Name : Cruciferae (Brassicaceae)
Chromosome No : 2n = 18
Origin : Mediterranean region
INTRODUCTION :-
 Knol khol or kohlrabi is a cool season, cole crop grown for its enlarged
and fleshy stem.
 The word kohlrabi is the German name for cabbage-turnip, resemblean
above ground turnip.

3.  It is short durationwinter vegetable, tubers are swollenstems which
developabove the ground may be due to secondary growthinthickness.
DISTRIBUTION :-
 According toGarade , the knol khol was discussedincentury Herbals and
statedthat it was grownin Italy ,Spainand Germany.
 It is grown intemperature, subtropical andtropical countries of the
worldwhere the mean temperature is 20 0c – 25 0c for a periodof four
months.
 In India, it is cultivatedinstates like Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal
Pradesh, west Bengal andMadhya Pradesh.
IMPORTANT :-
 Knol khol is characterizedby the formationof khob which arise fromthe
thickening of stemtissue above the cotyledons.
 It is the portionwhich is usedas food. It is primarily usedas cooked
vegetables.
 The small heads may be boiled inwater after adding salt and salt water is
drained.
 The heads are cut into four pieces, cookedandadded withsalt and
vinegar and servedas salad.
COMPOSITION :- ( Per 100 gm of edible portion )
Moisture 92.7g Calcium 20 mg copper 0.09 mg
Protein 1.1g Fat 0.2g Carbohydrates 3.8 g
Vit- A 36 I.U. Vit- C 85 mg Riboflavin 0.12 mg
Magnesium 18 mg sulphur 143 mg Calories 25

4. Botany :-
 Knol khol is a biennial , herbaceous vegetable cropgrownas an annual
which produces a swollen bulblike stem.
 The edible part is a swollenstemcalledtuber or knob which arise from
the thickening of stemtissue just above the ground.
 Glaucous leaves have long slender petioles andgrow out of this stem
arrangedin a compressedspiral onthe bulbous part.
 It is a temperate cropwhichproduces edible vegetable inthe plains and
in the hills.
 For seedproductionit is biennial in the hills.
TAXONOMY:-
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Capparales
Family : Brassicaceae
Genus : Brassica
VARIETIES :-
Roggli : Out door white and is medium type maturing, resistant tobolting .
Szentesi Faber : It is a summer cultivar , has a thin, pale greenskinand crisp
flesh, early bearing , produce a higher marketable yieldandshow greater
resistance toalternarialeaf spot.

5. Goliath: It is a late cultivar maturing between 70-100 days after planting. Tubers are white
and blue type.
Wiesmoor Forcing white: It is European variety whichresistant tobolting
and also cold.
Short duration and resistant to low temperature varieties :
Stuicka, Polni Ranar ,Knaufs Frushweis , Soroksari, Weiver blan.
Varieties suitable for summer Cultivation:
Blaso , Pollux , Reliktess Bleu.
HYBRIDS VARIETIES:-
Early white Vienna : an early variety takes 50-55 days for the development
of knobs after transplanting.
White Vienna : Early variety having dwarf plant. The fleshcreamy white,
tender withdelicate flavor.
Early purple Vienna : Anearly variety whichtakes 55-60 days for knob
formation. Foliage purple withpurple skinand light greenflesh.
Purple Vienna : It takes 55 – 65 from transplanting toknob formation. It have
purplishblue leaves.
King of north : Plant height 20 – 30 cm , dark greenfoliage withbroad leaf –
blade.
Knobs are flattishroundand dark greenincolour. Leaf-Sheathis large and well
– spreadover the knob.

6. Champion (F1)
Dakini ( F1 )
Large Green : It is a late variety whichtakes 60 - 70 days for harvesting and
suitable for hill regions.
CLIMATE :-
 Knol-khol thrives best ina relatively cool, moist climate.
 It can withstand extreme coldandfrost better thanother cool season
crops.
 In temperate regions, the early varieties are sensitive toearly bolting
but under subtropical conditions.
 The high temperature after planting delays the bolting of plants that
have been vernalizedonthe seedbed.
 It grows well witha monthly average temperature of 15°C – 20°C,
maximum and minimum average being 24°C and 4.5°C.
 In late varieties, lowtemperature does not have stimulating effecton
bolting in early stages.
SOIL REQUIRMENT :-
 Knol-khol can be grown on all types of soils.
 A soil richin manures and fertilizers producesexcellent knobs.
 Sandy loam is ideal for an early crop and clay or silt loamfor higher yield
and late crop.
 It does not growwell in highly acidic soil. The optimum pH is 5.5–6.8.

7. TIME OF SOWING :-
 Knol – khol is normally propagatedby seeds.
 It can alsopropagated by cuttings suchas tipcutting and leaf cutting .
 The seeds are sownin lots from the end of August tothe end of
November for continuous crop.
 Time of sowing of a seedavaries according tothe variety viz.
Variety Time of seed in nursery Time oftransplanting in
the main field
Early August September
Main September October
Late October November
SEED RATE and ITS TREATMENT :-
 Knol-khol is usually propagatedby seed, the seedrate being 1–1.5kg/ha.
 Seedshouldbe givena hot water treatment (50°C) for half an hour
against black rot and alsowith 2.5g captan/ thiram3 g/ bavistin1g /kg
seeds against downy mildewbefore sowing in disease-prone areas.
NURSERY MANAGEMENT :-
 Prepare nursery bed size 3mX 1m and 15 cm high from ground level.
 A nursery areaof 2.5 % is requiredfor raising seedlingstoplant one
hectare land.

8.  Drenchthe soil with0.2% captan solutiontoavoid damping off .
 For 1m2 nursery 100g of fertilizer mixture containing 15g eachN, P and K
and 2.5–4kg farmyard manure mixedwell insoil and raisednursery bed
must be preparedwith30cmchannel along withthe nursery.
 Sow seeds of one cm .depth. in a row and 10 days after germinationspray
on the seedbed 1.8ml of thiodanin one litre of water.
PLANTING :-
Preparetionof main field:
 Preparationof land is done by 2–3 ploughings, firstly withsoil turning
plough and after ploughings withordinary plough/tiller or disc harrowto
get fine tilth.
 The beds and channels are preparedtofacilitate irrigation.
Time of transplanting andspacing :
 In the plains of northIndia, planting may be done in September, while in
the milder winter regions, October is best time for planting.
 About 5–6 week old seedlings are transplantedfor summer andautumn
crops.
 Transplanting of seedlings is done inthe evening and/or on cloudy days.

9.  The transplanting is done at a closer spacing of 25cm× 25cm, 25cm×
30cm, 25cm× 40cmor 30cm× 45cm depending onclimatic conditions
and fertility of the soil.
 The yieldis more in close spacing but the size of knobs is reduced.
 The early varieties may be plantedat closer spacing while the late ones
require wider spacing.
MANURING AND FERTILIZATION :-
 It is a heavy feeder. For gating maxim yield/Ha, mix 20 – 25 tonnes FYM
and about 100kg N, 85kg P and 170kg K.
 Excess of N may cause abundant leafy growthand a delayedcrop.
 Split applicationof N is more beneficial.
 Half of N along withfull quantity of P and K are appliedat the time of
transplanting.
 The remaining half N is appliedin 2 equal split doses, 3 weeks after
transplanting andthe other at the knob development stage.
 The farmyard manure is added to soil 4–6 weeks before transplanting.
 Optimum N and K doses are necessary toget goodflavoured knobs.
USE OF MICRONUTRIENTS :-
 The deficiency of B, Mo and N may induce physiological disorders suchas
browning, whiptail and buttoning.
 Foliar applicationof urea(1–2%) to correct the N deficiency is useful and
economical.

10.  Multiplex (0.2–0.3%) canbe addedin the spray to correct the general
micronutrient deficiencies.
 However, tocorrect deficiency alone, 10–15kg/haof borax as soil
applicationor 2 sprays of 0.3% borax on the crop are beneficial.
 In highly acidic soils, Modeficiency canbe overcome by liming or soil
applicationof ammonium molybdate @ 200–300g/haat aconcentration
of 0.01–0.1%.
USE OF BIO-FERTILIZERS :-
 Chattooet al.(1997) reportedthat bio-fertilizers hada beneficial effect on
growth, yieldand quality of knol – khol.
 In their study they used Azospirillum andAzotobacter as seedinoculant
(500g/ha), seedling treatment(2.0 kg / ha ) and soil inoculant (2.5 kg/ha
).
 They found that Azospirillum inoculation markedly increasedgrowth,
yieldand quality of knol khol and resultedina nitrogeneconomy of 25%.
 Azospirillum alsoprovedbetterthan Azotobacter inrespect of growth,
yieldand quality of knol-khol.
IRRIGATION :-
 Knol-khol requires acontinuous supply of moisture for uniform growth
and development of knobs.
 First irrigationis done immediately after transplanting andthereafter
irrigationis done whenneeded, depending on soil and weather
conditions.
 Irrigations at 6 -7 days interval are adequate.

11.  Heavy irrigationshouldbe avoidedbecause it cause crack of tubers.
 Irrigationshouldbe applied whenthe moisture content of the soil has
droppedbelow 50% of fieldcapacity.
 At the time of maturity of knobs, irrigationis detrimental.
WEED CONTROL :-
 Presence of weeds inthe early stages reduces the yielddue topoor
growthof the plants.
 Timely hoeings helpcheck the weedpopulation.
 As soon as the weeds start appearing, shallowhoeing shouldbe
done.
 Once the weeds are well-established, their removal disturbsthe
root systemof plants resulting inweak growth.
 Hoeing during the knob development stage is discouragedand
weeds if any removedby hand.
 Treflan(Trifluralin@ 0.5 litre/ha) andSemeron (Desmetrayne @
1kg/ha) appliedbefore transplanting control bothmonocot and
dicot weeds.
MULCHING :-
 The plastic mulchis beneficial toincrease the yieldof knol – khol.
 During the night the mulch soil lost heat.

12.  During nights the slowrelease of heat was observedandduring the day
it has warmed up quickly.
 The knol khol sownin boxes or insoil blocks had stronger stems and
plants were compact when the surface of the substrate was covered
withgranules of polystereneproducts, eg- styromull whichreflects light.
PHYSIOLOGICAL DISORDER:-
Pre –mature bolting :
 Development of seedstalks before the formationof sufficient ediblepart
is known as premature bolting.
 It may be due toearly sowing , warm open winters, coldwinters,
extreme fluctuationintemperature , poor growth, poor seeds andother
cultural practices affecting the growthrate.
 Exposure of plants to continuous lowtemperature ( below 10 °C ) for 6 –
8 weeks result intoprematurebolting.
PLANT PROTECTION MEASURES:-
Some important insect pest anddiseases alongwiththeir controlmeasuresare :
INSECT PESTS

13. Mustard Sawfly (Althalia lugens proxima )
 The blackish caterpillar that attacks all Cole crops and feed on
leaves of young seedling in the early stages.
 The infested leaves become curl and falls on the ground when
touched.
Control Measures
(i) If low infestation and number of attacked plants are few, hand picking of
caterpillar, is the best method of controlling the larvae.
(ii) Dusting the plants with sevin @ 20-25 kg per hectare or spraying the
same @ 5 g per litre of water is also effective to control this insect.
Mustard Aphids (Lipaphis erysimi )
 This is a greenishwhite small insect that attacks knol khol and other cole
crops, when there is a cloudy weather.
 They suck the sap from the plants.
 The affected leaves get curled and plants wither and die.

14. Control Measures
 Aphid can effectively be controlled by spraying the crop with any one of
the insecticides like Methyl Dematon (Metasystox-25 EC, Hexasystox-35
EC, etc.)
 or Dimethoate (Rogar 30 EC, Methoate 30 EC, Sumidon, Demidon, etc. @
1 ml per litre of water or Phosphomidon (Demacron 100 EC, Sumidon,
Demidon, etc.)
 @ 0.5 ml per litre of water, starting just after the germination of seed and
subsequently at an interval of 15 days.
Diamond Back Moth (Plutella xylostella L.)
 In India, it was first recorded in 1914 (Fletcher, 1914) on cruciferous
vegetables.
 A small slender pale green caterpillar that feeds on leaves and makes
holes in them.

15.  The infested crop becomes unsuitable for marketing.
Control Measures
The pest can be control by (i) Foliar spray twice or thrice Cypermethrin(0.2 kg
a.i.) or Femvalerate (0.1 kg a.i. /ha) or Sulprofos (1.0 kg a.i./ha) or Prothiophos
(0.75 kg a.i./ha).
Cabbage Butter Fly (Pieris brassicae )
 The maggots first attack the young rootlets and then burrow into
the main roots.
 The affected plants become yellow, wilt and sometimes they may
die.
Control Measures
Sprays of 0.15 per cent Carbaryl and 0.4 per cent fungicide give adequate
control of the pest (Atwal and Singh, 1969).
DISEASES
Black Rot of Crucifers (Xanthomonascapestrispv. Campestris)
 The disease was first observedinthe USA on cabbage in1891, but the
causal bacteriumwas identifiedduring 1895.
 In India, disease was first describedin1928 oncabbage from Pune,
Maharastra(Patwardhan, 1928).
 Development of ‘V’ shaped chlorotic toyellowlesions take place fromthe
leaf margin.

16.  The veinand veinlet turnblack and the leaf tissue necrotic andbrittle.
 Lesionprogress towards the midribandfrom this systematic infection
further spreadintostemand root.
 Vascular tissues inaffectedparts become conspicuously black, followed
by internal break down of fleshy tissue.
 Black sunkenspots may developonsucculent seedstocks andsiliqua.
Control Measures
 The disease may be controlledby following croprotation, the hot water
treatment of seeds at 48 °C for 30 minutes and use resistant varieties.
 Considerable reductionindisease has beenobservedwhenseeds are
treatedwithPlantomycin(100 ppm) or Agrimycin (100 ppm) or
Streptocyclin(100ppm).
Club Root (Plasmodiophora brassicae )
 This is a typical root parasite. Club root is particularly prevalent in
soils with a pH above 7.
 Once affected, it causes irregular galls on the roots and these on
the lateral roots take the shape of spindle.
 Leaves become yellowish and wilt.
Control Measures

17.  At the planting time, 250 ml of 0.05 to 0.10 per cent solution
of mercuric chloride may be applied for direct control.
 Roots are treated with 4 per cent calomel paste before
transplanting
Black Leg (Phoma lingam)
 The fungus is carried by the seed and hence it may occur from the
early stage.
 Stemof the affectedplant whensplit vertically, shows severe black
discoloration of sap stream.
 Whole root system decays from bottom upward.
 Frequently, the affected plants fall over in the field.
Control Measures
 As the main infectionis through seeds, hot water treatment can
be prevented.
 Spraying Copper oxychloride or with Organomercuric compound
and.
 (iii) Use of resistant variety like Pusa Drumhead.
Leaf Spot and Blight (Alternaria brassicae )
 The first symptom is a small dark spot on the leaf surfaces.
 As the spot enlarges, concentric rings develop.
 The diseased spot enlarges progressively and defoliate plants.

18.  It is a destructive disease on seed crop, affecting pods and seeds.
Control Measures
Spray Captan (0.2 per cent) or Copper oxychloride (0.5 per cent) for the control
of disease
HARVESTING :-
 Tuber are harvested before they are full grown, because old tubers
eventually become fibrous .
 Usually tubers may be harvested when they are of 6 – 8 cm diameter.
 In late maturing varieties sometime bigger tubers of 10 – 12 cm diameter
are also harvested
.
 Early cultivars are ready for harvesting within 60 – 70 days after
transplanting.
 However late cultivars of Europe matures between 70 – 100 days after
transplanting.
 The harvesting should be done twice or thrice a week by a sharp knife or
sickle from below stem.
YIELD :
 250 – 300 quintal yield per hectare is obtained.
POST HARVEST MANAGEMENT :-

19.  For better marketing and to get higher price from the produce , it is
necessary to put them in proper grading and packing before sending to
market for sale.
Grading:
 The grading is done according to the size of tubers appearance and
maturity of harvest of the crop.
 Big size matured , uniform and tender tubers with brightness and lustre
are graded separately as super grade , medium size good tubers with
uniform shape , texture and appearance are kept in fancy grade.
 Tubers with variable size , shape , uniform , free from pest and diseases
and any spots are grade in commercial grade.
Packing :
 For local market packing is done in bamboo basket / dalia / jhali.
 Tubers are packed in gunny bags for transport to distant market.
 Big baskets made of bamboo chips /arhar sticks are also used for packing
produce to distant markets.
 For export purpose tubers are packed in plastic basket/shallow
basket,plastic crates , corrugated fiber boad boxes.
Storage :
 Under ordinary condition tubers can be stored for two to three days but
under cold storage condition it can be kept for relatively longer time
period.

20.  Storage life and quality of the wrapped produce are better than the
unwrapped.
SEED PRODUCTION OF KNOL KHOL :-
 Knol khol does not produce seedinthe plain of India.
 The seed is produced only in hills like Kullu,Katrain, Lahaul and
Kashmir valley.
 Knol- khol does not have any such variety that can be produce seed
in the plains.
METHOD OF SEED PODUCTION :-
 There are two method for seed production i.e. seed to seed
(in situ) and head to seedmethod( transplanting method ).
SEED TO SEED MATHOD :-
 In Seedto Seedmethodsevere winter conditionmay require
some protection from freezing and thawing.
 The crop is allowed to over-winter and produce seed in the
original position where they were first planted in the
seedling stage.
 After rouging when the heads are fully matured in autumn ,
a shallow furrow is ploughed on each side of a row and a
large ridge of the soil thrown against the plants by potato
ridger.

21.  This method gives higher and early yield and cost of
production is also less and commonly followed at Katrain
and Kashmir valley.
HEAD TO SEED METHOD:-
 In this method , true to type plants are selected and uprooted during
autumn.
 The leaves are all round the knobs and tops are removed, keeping the
crown intact and plants are immediately replace in a such way that the
whole stem, up to the base of the knob, is pushedinto the soil, so that the
knob almost touches the ground and rests at the surface.
 At katain and other places , this methodis essentially followedfor raising
nucleus seed.
ISOLATION REQUIREMENT :-
 Knol-khol is a cross – pollinated crop and pollination is done
by bees.
 The seed field must be separated from fields of other
varieties, field of the same variety not confirming to varietal
purity requirement of certification and from all other kind of
cole crops , at least by 1600 M for foundation seed class, and
1000 M for certified class.
BRIEF CULTURAL PRACTICES :-
 The cultural practices like nursery preparation , seed rate , seed
sowing, seedling raising, planting , fertilizers application, intercultural

22. operation and plant protection measures are same described in crop
production chapters.
CROP INSPECTION AND ROGUING:-
 The crop should be inspected before the marketable stage.
 Off – type plants can be rogued out on the basis of knob shape, colour
of leaves and maturity time of knobs / tubers.
 A minimum of three inspections shall be made, the first before the
marketable stage of the knob, second when knobs have been formed
and the third at the flowering stage.
HARVESTING AND THRESHING :-
 When the pods / siliques turn yellow and the seed become brown ,
harvesting can be commenced to avoid shattering ,the seed crop mat be
harvested in 2 to 3 lots.
 Early plants are harvested first and the remaining crop is cut when about
75% of the pods turn yellowish brown.
 Harvestedcropis collectedonthe threshing floor inheaps for curing for 4
to 7 days.
 Every day heap is turned up and down.
 After curing , the seed is threshed and separated from straw.
 The seed is thoroughly dried in the sun and processed.
SEED YIELD :-
 The average seed yield Not to confirm

23. REFERENCES :-
1. Dr. D.N.SINGH and VISHAL NATH ; Winter vegetables:Advances and
Developments.
2. D.V.S. CHAUHAN ;Vegetable ProductioninIndia, EditionSixth2008
3. Official website of TNAUAgriculture University Of India
4.Professional website Agriinfo.in

24. Thank you