Senna
Botanical Name – Cassia angustifolia Vahl.
Family – Leguminosae
KKM – 1, ALFT-2 and Sona
Soil –
In Tamil Nadu, it is grown in sandy or sandy loam or lateritic soils. It is a hardy warm
weather crop grown under rainfed and irrigated conditions.
Climate –
It is a deep rooted hardy plant and requires warm and dry weather conditions. The plant requires bright sun shine and occasional rains during its growth period. It is highly sensitive to heavy rainfall and waterlogging conditions.
Seed Rate
15 – 20 kg/ha. The seeds are scarified with sand or can be soaked overnight in water
and sown in beds at a spacing 45 x 30 cm.
Season
February – March and June – July.
Basal
Apply FYM 10 – 15 t/ha and N, P and K at 40, 40 and 40 kg/ha respectively.
Top dressing
Apply 25 kg N in two splits at 40 and 80 days after sowing.
One or two weedings.
The first harvest of leaves and pods are done 2 months after sowing and subsequent harvests at 30 days interval. Leaves and pods are dried for 7 – 10 days.
Irrigated
Dried leaves: 2 t/ha.
Dried pod: 150 – 200 kg/ha.
Rainfed
Dried leaves: 1 t/ha.
Dried pods: 75 – 100 kg/ha
Seed Production and Technology
Seeds attain physiological maturity at 40 days after anthesis, associated with colour
change of pods from green to brown. Seeds can be processed by using 8/64″ round
perforated metal sieves. Hard seediness can be effectively overcome by acid scarification
with commercial sulphuric acid @ 100 ml/kg of seed for 10 minutes.
Plant Protection
Pest
1) Pod borer (Etiella zinckenella)
Spray neem seed kernel extract 5 %
2)Aphids
Spray neem oil 3%
