Major oils seed crops grown in India: Mustard, groundnut, soybean and sunflower 

Cultivation of mustard 

Soil and Climatic requirements: Mustard is basically cultivated in temperate region, require an annual precipitation of 40-100 cm. Soil sandy loam with no water-logging. 

Varieties: Some promising varieties of mustard are as under:

Seed and sowing method: For irrigated condition, 3-4kg seed is sufficient for sowing of one ha area whereas, the seed rate can be increased to 5 kg/ha under rainfed condition. 25^th September to the first fortnight of October is the most appropriate time of sowing mustard crop in conserved moisture.

Nutrient requirements: Forrainfed crop, apply 40kg N and 20kg P₂O₅/ha. In irrigated areas apply 60kg N, 20kg P₂O₅ and 25kg K₂O/ha

Major diseases and management 

White rust Downy mildew and Alternariablight are major diseases of mustard. For the control of white rust, Alternaria and downy mildew spray Mancozeb 1.5 kg/ha at initial appearance of white rust or Alternaria and repeat the spray 1-3 times after 15 days.

Pest management 

Mustard aphidis major pest of mustard. Spray the crop with 625 to 1000 ml oxydemeton methyl (Metasystox 25E C) or dimethoate (Rogor) 30 EC after diluting it in 625 to 1000Lwater/ha.

Harvesting, threshing and yield 

Usually rapeseed-mustard crops are harvested as soon as 75% of the pods turn yellow and moisture content of the seed is around 30 to 40%. Under normal