182 – II.3. BRASSICA CROPS (BRASSICA SPP.)
Figure 3.29. Areas and concentration of B. napus production by Australian government districts
Data source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (2002).
Indian sub-continent cultivation and management
The dominant Brassica oilseed crop on the Indian sub-continent is B. juncea,
although a limited hectarage is sown to the B. rapa form, toria, which is grown from
September through December in northern areas. B. napus and B. carinata are grown to a
limited extent in some irrigated and dry land areas of northern and central Indian states,
respectively. The major crop of B. juncea as well as small pockets of yellow and brown
sarson (forms of B. rapa) are sown in October or early November and harvested in late
March or early April. Flowering occurs in early January. Production is centred in the
northern half of the sub-continent, in what is called the mustard belt (Figure 3.30). The
untreated seed is normally broadcast on the ploughed and levelled fields and the seed
buried by drawing a heavy plank over the field. The traditional practice of sowing the
Brassica species mixed with a cereal grain is no longer employed to any degree and the
sowing of pure stands of each crop is now normal practice.
However, mixed cropping is still practiced in several areas by few farmers. Double
cropping in the mustard belt is the standard practice with mustard sown on the same land
each year following the summer crop, which may be pulses (mung and urd bean) or green
manure. Other alternatives are rice, cotton or millets (such as sorghum or pearl millet).
The recommended seeding rate for B. juncea is 4-5 kg per hectare. Fertilization with
nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium, in the ratio of 80-40-40 kg per hectare, together with
40 kg of zinc and 25 kg of sulphur, is recommended.
