Pest
Aphids
Signs · Tiny insects under leaves; leaves curl and turn sticky.
Manage · Spray neem oil or a strong water jet. Leaves are eaten fresh — avoid chemical sprays close to cutting and always follow the waiting period.
All crops
Vegetable · Amaranthaceae (beet family)
Spinach
Palak · पालक · Beta vulgaris var. bengalensis
One sowing, many cuttings — feed it after every cut.
The palak of North Indian fields is beet-leaf spinach, a close cousin of European spinach and grown the same way. It is sown once and cut again and again through the winter, so a small plot gives a steady weekly income. Nitrogen and water after each cut keep fresh leaves coming.
- Sowing
- 1 Sep – 30 Nov
- Harvest
- 10 Oct – 31 Mar
- Duration
- 30–40 days
- Yield
- 49–81 q/acre
- 120–200 q/ha
Final cut · roots shown through the soil
At a glance
Spinach in one look
A cool-season leaf crop that takes light frost. Long, warm days in March make it bolt — send up a flower stalk — which ends the cuttings.
Sowing time
1 Sep – 30 Nov
Harvest
10 Oct – 31 Mar
30–40 days from sowing
Temperature
10–25 °C to grow
15–30 °C at sowing
Soil
Fertile loam or sandy loam rich in organic matter
pH 6.5–8
Seed rate
8.1–12 kg/acre
20–30 kg/ha
Spacing
20 × 5 cm
2–3 cm deep
Irrigations
8–12
3 critical stages
Yield
49–81 q/acre
120–200 q/ha
Season
AugSepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJun
Grown most inUttar PradeshHaryanaPunjabRajasthanDelhi
Palak tolerates mildly alkaline and slightly salty soils better than most vegetables.
Seed to harvest
Watch spinach grow, stage by stage
Scroll through the season. The plant in the glass tank grows to each stage — roots and all — and every card says what the crop is doing and what you should do in the field that week.
Stage 1 of 7
Sowing
Day 0–4
- 1Day 0–4
Sowing
Soaked seed is sown in lines in flat beds.
Your job · Irrigate lightly.
- 2Day 4–10
Germination
Two narrow seed leaves appear in about a week.
Your job · Keep the surface moist so it doesn't crust.
- 3Day 10–18
Seedling
The first true leaves unfold.
Your job · Thin to 5 cm and weed.
- 4Day 18–30
Leafy rosette
Leaves grow fast into a dense rosette.
Your job · Irrigate and keep weeds out.
- 5Day 30–40
First cut
Leaves are 15–20 cm long and tender — ready for the first cut.
Your job · Cut 4–5 cm above the crown, then top-dress and irrigate.
- 6Day 40–110
Repeat cuttings
New leaves regrow from the crown every 15–20 days.
Your job · Cut, feed and water in a steady cycle.
- 7Day 110–140
Final cut
Warm days arrive and plants start to bolt.
Your job · Take the last cut and clear the field.
The seed
Good seed is half the harvest
Use certified seed of a variety bred for your region, at the right rate, and treat it before sowing.
One seed cluster
≈ 4 mm
Seed rate
8.1–12 kg/acre
20–30 kg/ha
1000-seed weight
—
Recommended varieties
All GreenUniform green leaves; 6–7 cuttings at about 15-day intervals.
Pusa JyotiLarge, thick, tender leaves; many cuttings and high yield.
Pusa HaritUpright dark-green leaves; slow to bolt.
Punjab GreenPAU variety for Punjab; dark-green leaves, several cuttings.
Seed treatment
- 1Soak seed in water overnight to soften the hard seed coat and speed germination.
- 2Treat with thiram or captan at 2–3 g per kg against damping-off.
Field & sowing
Prepare the land, then sow at the right gap and depth
Line sowing in flat beds
Layout
Flat beds
Row to row
20 cm
Plant to plant
5 cm
Depth
2–3 cm
Land preparation
- 1Plough 2–3 times to a fine tilth.
- 2Mix 20 tonnes of well-rotted manure per hectare.
- 3Level carefully and divide into small beds so water spreads evenly.
Sowing, step by step
- 1Make small flat beds (kyaris) with irrigation channels.
- 2Sow soaked seed in lines 20 cm apart, 2–3 cm deep.
- 3Seed can also be broadcast thinly and raked in, but lines make weeding and cutting easier.
- 4Irrigate lightly after sowing and thin plants to about 5 cm.
Feeding the crop
How much fertiliser, and when
These are the standard doses for a medium-fertility field. Your Soil Health Card can raise or lower them — test first, then feed.
Nutrient dose
Nitrogen (N)40 kg/acre · 100 kg/ha
Phosphorus (P₂O₅)20 kg/acre · 50 kg/ha
Potassium (K₂O)16 kg/acre · 40 kg/ha
Plus 20 t/ha (8.1 t/acre) of well-rotted farmyard manure or compost.
When to apply
- 1At sowing: one-third of the nitrogen with all the phosphorus and potash.
- 2Split the remaining nitrogen into small doses, one after each cutting, followed by irrigation.
Bags for your field
For 1 acre of Spinach
What to buy
Urea
1.5
bags · 71 kg
DAP
1
bag · 44 kg
MOP
0.5
bags · 27 kg
Nutrients in it: N 40 kg · P₂O₅ 20 kg · K₂O 16 kg
Also add farmyard manure or compost: 8.1 t
- Don't put it all in at once: follow the timing on the Spinach page.
- Your Soil Health Card can raise or lower these amounts. If you have one, follow it.
- Using SSP, NPK complexes or gypsum instead changes these amounts; the nutrient dose is what matters.
Not yet checked against a package of practices. Confirm the dose with your KVK before you buy.
Urea has 46 % N; DAP 18 % N and 46 % P₂O₅; MOP 60 % K₂O. Urea comes in 45 kg bags, DAP and MOP in 50 kg.
Water
8–12 irrigations — never miss the critical ones
A crop forgives a late irrigation at some stages and punishes it at others. These are the days that decide yield.
Day 4
Day 25
Day 40
SowingDay 140
Critical irrigations
- Day 4Germination
- Day 25Before first cut
- Day 40After each cutting
Watering tips
- 1Irrigate lightly every 6–8 days early on and every 10–12 days in the cold months.
- 2Always irrigate right after a cutting, together with the nitrogen dose.
- 3Do not let water stand in the beds.
Protection
Weeds, pests and diseases to watch for
Walk the field every week. Most problems are cheap to stop early and expensive to fix late. For any spray, follow the label dose and check with your KVK.
Pest
Leaf-eating caterpillars
Signs · Irregular holes and eaten leaf edges; caterpillars hide under leaves.
Manage · Hand-pick, spray Bt or neem. Use an insecticide only if severe — as per label / your KVK, never just before cutting.
Disease
Cercospora leaf spot
Signs · Small round spots with grey centres and reddish-purple edges.
Manage · Use clean seed, avoid overhead watering and remove spotted leaves. Carbendazim if it spreads — as per label / your KVK.
Disease
Damping-off and root rot
Signs · Seedlings or young plants wilt and rot at the soil line.
Manage · Treated seed, good drainage and no over-watering.
Disorder
Bolting
Signs · A flower stalk shoots up and leaves turn small and tough.
Manage · Sow on time, choose slow-bolting varieties and keep cutting regularly.
Disorder
Pale, yellow leaves
Signs · New leaves come up light green or yellow after a few cuttings.
Manage · The crop is short of nitrogen — top-dress after every cutting and irrigate.
Weeds
Common · Bathua (Chenopodium), krishneel (Anagallis), motha (Cyperus)
- 1Hand-weed 2–3 times; weeds get cut with the leaves and spoil the produce.
- 2Line sowing lets you hoe between rows quickly.
Harvest
Harvest on time, dry it well, store it safe
A good crop gives
49–81q/acre
120–200 quintal per hectare
Total of all cuttings in a season.
When is it ready?
- 1Leaves are 15–20 cm long, dark green and tender.
- 2First cut about 30–40 days after sowing, then every 15–20 days.
Harvesting
- 1Cut with a sharp sickle or knife 4–5 cm above the crown so the plant regrows.
- 2Cut in the cool morning.
After harvest & storage
- 1Tie in small bundles, sprinkle with clean water and keep in the shade.
- 2Sell the same day, or keep at 0–2 °C with high humidity for up to 1–2 weeks.
Golden rules for spinach
- 1Feed and water after every cutting — that is what brings the next one.
- 2Cut above the crown; cutting too low kills the plant.
- 3Sow in lines; it makes weeding and clean cutting easy.
- 4Keep chemical sprays away from a leaf crop that is eaten fresh.