Influence of Date of Sowing and Number of Cuttings on Leaf Yield and Quality of Seed in Palak (Beta vulgaris var. bangalensis)

A field experiment was conducted to ascertain the Influence of Date of sowing and number of cuttings on leaf yield and quality of seed in Palak (Beta vulgaris var. bangalensis) in Experimental Field, Division of Vegetable Science, SKUAST-K Shalimar during three consecutive rabi seasons of 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16. The experiment comprised of three sowing dates viz first fortnight of October, 2nd fortnight of October and 1st fortnight of November and four levels of cutting i.e no cutting, one cutting, two cutting and three cutting. The observations were recorded on Green leaf weight (q/ha), 100 seed weight (g), seed yield (q/ha), Germination %, Vigour Index I & II and Economics of Production. The date pooled over three years reveals a significant effect of sowing dates and number of cuttings on leaf and seed yield. Results obtained indicated that highest green leaf yield can be obtained by sowing in the first fortnight of October and three cuttings, however highest seed yield can be obtained by sowing in the second fortnight of October with two cuttings. Benefit-cost ratio for various treatments was also worked out. D2C1 treatment i.e sowing in 2nd fortnight of October and one cutting gave a highest benefit cost ratio of 3.66:1.