Soil
Well drained soil rich in organic matter with pH of 6.5-7.5.

Season of Sowing
December – January and May – June.

Nursery bed preparation
Apply FYM 10 kg, neem cake 1 kg, VAM 50 g, enriched super phosphate 100 g and furadon 10 g per square metre before sowing. Area required for raising seedling for planting 1.0 ha is 100 sq.m.

Seed rate
Varieties : 400 g / ha
Hybrids : 200 g / ha

Seed treatment
Treat the seeds with Trichoderma viride @ 4 g / kg or Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 10 g / kg of seed. Treat the seeds with Azospirillum @ 40 g / 400 g of seeds using rice gruel as adhesive. Irrigate with rose can. In raised nursery beds, sow the seeds in lines at 10 cm apart and cover with sand. Transplant the seedlings 30 – 35 days after sowing at 60 cm apart in the ridges.