Germination temperature
Optimum soil temperature 29 °C (85 °F); good range 7-32 °C (45-90 °F), minimum about 4 °C (40 °F).
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Radish is one of the quickest crops to grow from seed: sow it directly, keep it moist and pull roots young. Rat-tail radish such as Singra (Mongra) is grown the same way but left to flower for its long, crisp pods.
Optimum soil temperature 29 °C (85 °F); good range 7-32 °C (45-90 °F), minimum about 4 °C (40 °F).
About 1 cm (1/2 in); about 2 cm for winter and mooli types.
3-4 days in warm soil; 7-10 days in cool spring weather.
Full sun.
None needed.
Direct sow only.
No special preparation. Radish seed is large enough to space by hand along the drill, which saves thinning.
Not needed. Radish seed takes up water quickly.
Not needed. Radish germinates in cool or warm soil without cold treatment.
Not needed. Seedlings appear within days in moist soil.
Radish germinates from about 4 °C (40 °F) to 35 °C (95 °F), fastest at 25-30 °C (77-86 °F). Roots develop their best flavour and texture at about 15 °C (59 °F), so TNAU sows in September on the plains and in June-July in the hills.
About 1 cm (1/2 in) for salad and pod radish; about 2 cm for winter and Asian (mooli) radish. The legacy 1-2 cm range is correct.
Fine, level, stone-free sandy loam rich in organic matter, pH 5.5-6.8.
Keep the soil consistently moist. Roots short of water fail to swell and uneven watering makes them split.
No light is needed under the soil. Grow in an open, sunny bed.
About 3 days at 25-30 °C, 6 days at 15 °C (59 °F) and about four weeks at 5 °C (41 °F).
Do not transplant radish. Sow in drills: RHS spaces salad radish 2.5-5 cm (1-2 in) apart in rows 15 cm apart; TNAU uses 15 x 10 cm for Indian root radish.
Thin early: salad radish to at least 2.5 cm, winter and mooli radish to at least 15 cm. Pod radish needs much more room; the Udaipur trial used 50 cm between plants and 75 cm between rows.
Weed and hoe as needed and thin dense patches at the second weeding. Steady water at this stage gives fast, crisp roots.
Cause: flea beetles. Fix: damage is usually cosmetic and does not slow growth; cover seedlings with fine insect mesh if attacks are heavy.
Cause: hot, dry weather or the wrong sowing time. Fix: sow root radish in the cool season and keep the soil moist. For pod radish, flowering is what you want.
Cause: roots left too long or short of water. Fix: sow small batches and pull salad radish at about 2.5 cm across.
Cause: cabbage root fly larvae, mainly in winter and mooli types. Fix: cover the crop with fine insect-proof netting or fleece.
Cause: white rust. Fix: rotate crucifers and, in fields, spray mancozeb or copper oxychloride as TNAU recommends.
Rat-tail radish is grown for the long, slender pods on its flowering stems, which can reach 45 cm or more; in the Udaipur trial pods averaged about 21 cm long, flowering began about 49 days after sowing and harvest about 78 days. Pick pods young and crisp, before they turn stringy, and keep picking so plants keep flowering.
Sow small amounts of salad radish at intervals through the season for a steady supply instead of one large sowing.
TNAU works in 25 t/ha farmyard manure with a basal NPK dose and adds nitrogen 30 days after sowing.
Salad radish can be ready about four weeks after germination; Indian mooli types take 45-60 days. Winter radish stays crisp even when large.
Sow radish directly in moist, fine soil for quick roots or crisp pods.
It is the rat-tail or pod radish (Raphanus sativus var. caudatus). It is grown for its long, slender seed pods rather than the root. Pick the pods young and crisp.
Usually crowding, heat or too little water. Thin early, sow root types in the cool season and keep the soil evenly moist.
TNAU sows in September on the plains and in June-July in the hills. Quick salad radishes can be sown in batches through the cool season.