Caraway 273
humus and nutrients. Commercial caraway crops are usually grown on free-draining
clays or heavy loams soils provided moisture is adequate. The growers in northern
Netherlands, the known high-productivity zone, harvest a high yield and quality of
caraway under such soil conditions. Prolonged water-logged conditions may cause
damage to the crop. Caraway grows well only on neutral or slightly alkaline soils, a
soil reaction of pH 6.5–7.5 is preferred, and above or below this, yield is progressively
reduced, although there may be no major difference in vegetative growth (Chotin and
Szulgina, 1963). Below pH 6.0, caraway plants generally make poor growth and
many die.
Liming can adjust soil acidity, but heavy application may induce manganese and
born deficiencies thus acid or high alkaline soils should be avoided for the cultivation
of caraway. Dry sandy and arid soils are not suitable for the cultivation of caraway.
In the Netherlands, the highest yield of carvone (>70 kg/ha) was obtained on sandy
loam, whereas on sandy soils the yield was about 40 kg/ha (Toxopeus and Lubberts,
1994). In India, the sandy loam and well drained soils are best for caraway cultivation
and can be grown in fruit orchards in between the rows of the plants.
15.2.3 Sowing
Caraway is propagated through seeds and is usually sown at a row distance of 30–40
cm, during March–April in temperate areas and October–November in subtropical
areas in India and the Mediterranean region. Biennial caraway can either be sown in
late spring-early summer in areas with a relatively mild winter or in autumn where
winters are more rigorous. In areas where there are very cold winters, caraway should
be sown in late July to ensure vernalization occurs. In the Netherlands it is frequently
sown in March–April, mostly the biennial type, but the annual cultivars should be
sown as early as possible in spring when the ground has warmed after winter. A soil
temperature between 10 and 15 ∞C gave the highest germination percentage in Israel
and germination time was halved when seeds were leached with water and dried
before sowing. Annual caraway can be sown under cover early in the year and grown
mostly by direct seeding in the field. This produces an early herb crop or a high seed
yield, but is profitable only near a high-value urban market or for domestic use.
About 6–8 kg good-quality seed is required for sowing in one hectare and significantly
advanced and more uniform emergence can be obtained as a result of seed stratification
at 0 ∞C for 20–25 days and also by warming up the seeds just before sowing (Chotin
and Szulgina, 1963). A sufficient water supply for maintaining optimum soil moisture
during germination is required for getting maximum germination level and uniform
emergence of seedlings. In the moderate climate of Central Europe, two cultivation
methods are used, mixed or pure crop. Mixed cultivation with a cover crop is usually
preferred by the small farm holdings located under favourable soil and climatic
conditions. The pure sowing can be delayed to the end of May and even to August
(Ruminska,1981), whereas in mixed cultivation, possibly the earliest sowing (March,
April) is just obligatory (Weglarz, 1998).
Seed sowing rate depends both on cultivation method and soil type, ranging from
6–8 kg to 8–10 kg per ha for mixed and pure crops, respectively. Sowing is performed
in rows at a 35–50 cm spacing and sowing depth increase from 1.5 cm on heavy soils
to 2–4 cm on relatively higher soils, exposed to fast drying of the top layer. The
optimum stand density for caraway as worked out by Wander (1997) is 75–100
plants/m^2 for getting higher seed yield and quality. In Saskatoon, western Canada,