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Crop guide
Coriander (Dhania)
1. Land Preparation Two ploughings and a planking to a fine level bed. Coriander seed is small and needs firm, fine soil to germinate evenly. 2. Sowing Time & Method Sow October–November broadcast for leaf, or in rows 25 cm apart for seed.
Land Preparation
Two ploughings and a planking to a fine level bed. Coriander seed is small and needs firm, fine soil to germinate evenly.
Sowing Time & Method
Sow October–November broadcast for leaf, or in rows 25 cm apart for seed. SPLIT each seed ball between your palms before sowing — each ball is two seeds and rubbing them apart nearly doubles the germination.
Seed Rate & Treatment
8–10 kg per acre for leaf, 5–6 kg for seed.
Fertilizer
Per acre: 1 bag DAP at sowing and 1 bag urea after the first cutting. Coriander is a light feeder and too much nitrogen makes it bolt to flower early.
Irrigation
Every 10–12 days, light. The crop is shallow-rooted and a single dry spell in February sends it straight to flower.
Weed Control
Weed Damage Control Product
Lambsquarters (Bathu) Coriander is slow to come up and bathu takes the field first, leaving the crop thin and yellow. Take it out at the first hand weeding, while the crop is still open
Sweet Clover (Senji) Stands as tall as the crop, takes its water and light through the winter, and its stalk goes into the cut bundle in place of dhania. Pull it out by hand before it flowers
Canary Grass (Dumbi Sitti) Tillers thickly between the rows and takes water and nitrogen right through the winter. Pull it with the root at the hand weeding — cut off at the top it only tillers again
Scarlet Pimpernel (Billi Booti) Carpets the ground under the crop and keeps the lower leaf damp, so the cut leaf spoils. Hand weed early, before it spreads
Field Bindweed (Lehli) Winds through the plants and tangles the crop, so cutting and threshing both suffer. Pull the vines out and hoe the roots between the rows
One or two hand weedings in the first month.
Insect Pests
Aphid on the flowering head is the main pest. Cutworm occasionally takes seedlings.
Diseases
Powdery mildew whitens the leaves in warm dry spells. Wilt kills plants in patches on land cropped to coriander repeatedly — rotate away for three years.
Crop Care
For leaf, cut at 4–6 inches and let it regrow; two or three cuttings are possible.
Harvesting
Leaf from 30–40 days. For seed, cut the whole plant when the heads turn brown but BEFORE they are fully dry — a fully dry head shatters and drops the seed on the ground when you cut it. Cut in the early morning dew, stack, and thresh after two days.
Expected Yield
Leaf 60–100 maund per acre across cuttings; seed 8–12 maund per acre.
