Package of practices of Spinach: Pusa Vilayati Palak (Spinach Selection-1) Salient features of Spinach: Pusa Vilayati Palak (Spinach Selection -1) :It is a prickly seeded variety having succulent stem and leaves. :Plant is vigorous having completely green stem and leaves. :Leaves are smooth, soft having pointed apex with slightly serrated margin. :It is short duration crop suitable for 2 cuttings. :It recorded high content of ascorbic acid, iron and calcium (65, 8 and 186 mg/100g respectively). :It is suitable for autumn winter season for both plain and hilly areas. :It gives an average green leaf yield of 14 t/ha. Crop production Climate It is a cool season crop and tolerant to frost. At high temperature early flowering takes It can be grown on a variety of soils but sandy loam or loam soils are best suited than heavier soils. It is a moderately salt tolerant and can also be grown successfully in saline- sodic soils having pH6.5 to 7.5. It responds well to farm yard manures. Seed rate 25 kg seed are required for direct sowing in one-hectare land. Seed treatment: before sowing seed should be treated with thiram @3g/kg seed or Trichoderma @5g/kg seed. Sowing It can be sown October onwards, but November is the best time for northern plain. In hilly area it can be sown in summer (April-May) after melting of snow. The seed is sown in rows 30 cm apart at proper soil moisture. Plant to plant distance of 10 cm is maintained after germination by thinning extra plants. Apply pendimethalin @3.5 lit /500 litre of water on soil surface immediately after sowing and covering seeds. Manure and fertilizers A basal dose of 25-30 tonnes of farmyard manure per hectare should be incorporated in the soil at the time of preparation of land. Application of nitrogen fertilizer is the foremost requirement for leafy growth. N:P:K @ 50:50:50 kg/ha should be applied. It is advantageous to apply 30 kg urea per hectare as top-dressing after first cuttings of the leaves or spray 1% solution of urea for quick growth. Irrigation This crop requires less irrigation. However light irrigation should be given in 10-12 days interval. Intercultural operation One or two weeding or hoeing is required to keep the crop free of weeds i.e. 30 and 45 days after sowing. Harvesting First harvest is available 40-45 days after seed sowing. Next harvests can be taken at about 20 days afterwards and 2-3 cuttings are possible till the crop starts flowering when the leaves become unfit for consumption. Yield Average 14 t/ha green leaves are harvested. Plant protection Insect-pests No serious insect-pest is observed. However, aphids may sometimes cause damage and can be controlled by spraying of malathion @ 2 ml/litre of water. Apply 5% solution of NSKE once or twice at 10 days intervals during active vegetative growth to control insects.