Package of Practices for Cultivation of Sadaphuli (Periwinkle)
Botanical Name: Vinca rosea or Cathranthus roseus
Family: Apocynaceae
Cultivation of Sadaphuli:
Climate:
Well distributed rain and climate of humid warm nature. It comes well under irrigated conditions.
Soil:
Costal land, laterite soil is good but even it can grow in all types of soils.
Sowing:
Direct sowing or transplanting is adopted. Freshly harvested seeds are used for sowing at the rate of 25 kg/ha. Soak the seeds mix it with sand or neem cake while sowing. Seed generally loose their viability rapidly.
Transplantation:
When seedlings attained height about 1 feet in 60 days, it can be transplanted during evening at the spacing 15 x 30 cm.
Interculturing:
Weeding: Hand wedding or hoeing at 30 days interval.
Gap Filling: 30 days after plantation
Fertilizers: N 20 kg, P 30 kg, K 30 kg per hectare.,
Irrigation: 5 – 6 irrigations after rainy season at an interval of 10 days.
Disease: Continuous cultivation for 5 – 6 days in the some land causes yellow mosaic.
Harvesting: First harvesting of leaves after 6 months. Pinching of leaves or apical bunds at days 120 which favours the production of lateral shoots.
Yield:
6 months leaves 1st harvesting, 9 months 2nd harvesting and 12 months roots harvesting.
Under irrigated conditions – No irrigated condition.
3.6 tones/ha dry leaves – 2.0 tones/ha
L5 tones/ha branches (dry) 1.0 tones/ha
1.5 tones/ha-roots (dry) 0.75 tones/ha
Yield may very from place to place and also depends upon crop condition.
Alkaloids:
Vinblastine, vin cristine Ajamlicine, raubasine 9 Total alkaloids 1.5% ) in air dry roots.
Variety: WH – 40 Resistant to Diback.