Carrots are vegetables which are eaten
raw or cooked. It is an emerging high value crop; very rich in vitamin A which
is what gives it the characteristic bright colour and sweetness good to be used
in some fruit-like roles. When grated, they can be used in cakes, carrot
puddings, blended in jams and other fruits. It has a demand in both small scale
use and processors like canneries and dehydration firms.
Ecological Requirements
· Carrots do well
in cool to warm areas. The roots are very sensitive to high soil temperatures.
· Deep, loose
loam soils which should be well drained and with a pH of 6 to 6.5. Poor drained
soil encourages prevalence of bacterial diseases. Heavy clay soils give low quality,
malformed and twisted carrots.
· Altitude of 500m
above sea level.
Varieties
Carrot varieties can be categorized
into two fresh market and processing (canning) varieties. The common varieties are
Nantes,
Super Kuroda, Oxhart and Chantney.
Planting
Carrots are usually sown directly into
a ready bed. To sow carrots:
· Select a bed
which is fertile and crops of carrot family has not been previously grown.
· Clear any
vegetation, plough and harrow to get a fine tilth.
· Make shallow
drills 1 foot (30cm) apart with a stick or hand.
· Mix seeds with
soil, manure and fertiliser
and spread along the drills. Use planting fertiliser like MAVUNO VEGETATIVE NPK
20:10:18. You need 50kg bag of fertiliser per acre.
· Sow seeds
thinly along the drills and cover with a light soil. You need 2.5kg of seeds
per acre. After 7 days, carrots will start to germinate.
Management
· After 2 to 4
weeks, thin to leave a spacing of 10cm from plant to plant. This will allow
enough space for good growth.
· Weed twice to
control weeds before the crop forms canopy. First weeding should be done after 2 weeks
when thinning. The second
weeding is then done 2 to 3 weeks later depending on the emergence of weeds.
Weed with care to avoid damage to the roots.
· Herbicides like Lufenuron, Stomp or Dosanex can also
be used before and after carrots & weeds grow.
· When the crop
is 10cm high, top-dress with nitrogen rich fertiliser like MAVUNO TOP-DRESSING
NPK 26.0.0 or CAN.
· Water/
irrigate if there is no frequent rains and the soil is dry.
Excess manure causes forking
NB: Avoid using
manure in growing carrots as it induces forking. This is growth of roots which
forms fork-like extensions which are not desirable by consumers.
Pest and Diseases Control
The major diseases to lookout for
include:
· Powdery mildew: On attack, you will see white-powder
like cover on stems and leaves. It is common during wet seasons. Use FLOSOL
PLUS or CONTROL 70DF to protect.
· Leaf blight:
It is characterized by brown spots on leaves, brown streaks on the leaf stalk
and blighting of floral parts which eventually destroy the whole crop. To control,
spray early before attack with fungicides like MISTRESS or MANCOFLO.
· Nematodes: Nematodes are tiny worm like insects
which eat up the roots of carrots. They are common in field crops like tomatoes
or potatoes which have been crop over and over. To control, rotate
field and use insecticides like NIMBECIDINE.
· Aphids: They are small insects with suck sap of plant.
Use effective insecticides like ALPHA DEGREE to control them.
Harvesting
Carrots take 3
to 4 months after planting to mature. 2 or 3 weeks before harvesting, stop
watering. This increases the sweetness in the carrots. A day before harvesting,
water to make it easier to
uproot the carrots.
Timing in
harvesting is very important. Late harvesting lowers quality as the roots will
have cracks. Harvest when the roots are enlarged, soft and juicy. To harvest
carrots, pull out by hand or dig out using spade/fork. Finally, cut the top
parts to prevent carrots from rotting and grade depending on the size and
length. Clean ready for the market. The upper vegetative part can also be used
as livestock fodder.
The expected yield is 10 to 15 tons per acre but can extend up to 17 tons per acre under proper management.
Comments
Post a Comment