Crosby Egyptian
An old, very early open-pollinated variety with flattened, top-shaped, smooth dark red roots and small tops — fast to a marketable size, suiting catch-cropping and the earliest sowings.
Quick facts
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Rabi
- Maturity period
- ~55–60 days (TNAU)
- Seed rate
- 6–9 kg/ha sown in lines (about 2.5–3.5 kg/acre)
- Expected yield
- No variety figure published (25–30 t/ha is the general beetroot figure)
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- No special resistance claimed
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Crosby Egyptian is a long-established, very early open-pollinated beetroot with flattened, top-shaped, smooth dark red roots and compact tops. TNAU's lecture note describes flat-globe roots with dark purplish-red flesh, ready in 55 to 60 days, and says the root shows white zoning in warm weather. It is among the fastest beetroots to reach a marketable size. That makes it useful as a catch crop between other plantings, or for the very earliest sowing in a staggered programme. But roots left in the ground past their size window turn woody quickly, so lift on time.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Crosby Egyptian when the calendar matters more than the tonnage. TNAU's lecture note gives it 55 to 60 days, one of the quickest beets grown in India, with flat-globe, dark purplish-red roots. No yield figure is published for it, while NHB calls Detroit Dark Red a heavy yielder of 80 to 100 days. TNAU also says the root shows white zoning in warm weather, and roots turn woody quickly if left in the ground, so you must sow in the cool and lift on time. Do not choose it if you cannot harvest promptly. Choose Early Wonder if you want to sell roots with their tops.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeSeptember to November — among the earliest-sowable beetroot varieties
- Seed rate6–9 kg/ha sown in lines (about 2.5–3.5 kg/acre)
- SpacingRows 30–40 cm apart; thin to 8–10 cm between plants
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Among the fastest beetroots to a marketable size
- Useful as a catch crop or for the earliest succession sowing
- Smooth, dark red, flattened roots
Things to consider
- Turns woody quickly if left in the ground past its size window
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Punjab
- Haryana
The 55 to 60 day gap: fitting Crosby Egyptian between two crops
Crosby Egyptian is ready in 55 to 60 days, which is about eight to nine weeks. That is the length of gap you need in the field. If a plot is empty for that long between two crops, a quick beet can use it. If the gap is shorter, a beet will not finish and you lose the sowing.
Count back from the next crop. Say you plan to put the next crop in on 10 January and the beet must be out a week before, on 3 January. Subtract 60 days and you get a sowing date of about 4 November. A beet sown on 4 November is ready between about 29 December and 3 January, so it fits with a few days to spare. Do the same sum with your own dates.
Lift on time. The roots turn woody quickly past their size window, and a catch crop does not get a second chance because the next crop is waiting. TNAU says medium roots of 3 to 5 cm across are in most demand. Keep the soil moist after sowing as TNAU advises, sow in two lots a week apart so the harvest does not land on one day, and book the labour for the lift before you sow.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This is an open-pollinated variety, so seed from a healthy crop of your own can be sown again. Keep seed only from disease-free plants, dry it properly, store it cool and dry, and bring in fresh certified seed every three to four years so the variety does not drift.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Beetroot (Chukandar) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crimson Globe | Farmers who want a quick main-crop beet with crimson flesh and no ring-zoning | ~55–60 days (TNAU) | Best plot 31.7 t/ha marketable in a Gujarat trial (30 October sowing, 30 x 15 cm) | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar |
| Crosby Egyptianthis page | Farmers who need a very quick beet to fill a gap between crops or to start a staggered sowing | ~55–60 days (TNAU) | No variety figure published (25–30 t/ha is the general beetroot figure) | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana |
| Detroit Dark Red | Farmers who want one safe, widely available main-crop beetroot with deep red flesh | ~80–100 days (TNAU) | 25–30 t/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana |
| Early Wonder | Farmers near a city who can sell roots tied with their tops as a bunching beet | ~55–60 days | No variety figure published (25–30 t/ha is the general beetroot figure) | Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi |
| MSH-102 (hybrid types) | Larger commercial and processing farmers who need very uniform, high-yielding roots and will buy fresh seed every season | ~80–95 days | 30–40 t/ha | Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab |
| Ooty 1 | Hill farmers in the Nilgiris and similar cool areas of Tamil Nadu who want a beet bred for their weather | ~120 days (TNAU) | ~28 t/ha (TNAU) | Tamil Nadu |
| Ruby Queen | Farmers who sell small, tender, sweet beets to the young-beet and salad trade | ~55–65 days | No variety figure published (25–30 t/ha is the general beetroot figure) | Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Beetroot (Chukandar) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Beetroot (Chukandar) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Beetroot (Chukandar) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Beetroot (Chukandar) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Beetroot (Chukandar) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Beetroot (Chukandar) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Beetroot (Chukandar) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
How quickly must I lift Crosby Egyptian once it is ready?
Roots left past their size window turn woody quickly, and no source puts a day count on it. A safe habit is to start checking at 45 days and pull a few roots every 2 or 3 days until they reach the size your buyer wants. Then lift the whole plot within a few days. Sowing in small lots a week apart keeps you from facing the whole crop at once.
Why grow Crosby Egyptian when Detroit Dark Red is the heavier cropper?
Because the field is free sooner. Crosby Egyptian takes 55 to 60 days and Detroit Dark Red 80 to 100 (TNAU and NHB). No yield is published for Crosby Egyptian, but the sum is simple. To give the same tonnes for each day in the field, Crosby Egyptian needs only about 55 to 75% of Detroit Dark Red's yield. If the 20 to 40 spare days can grow another crop, the quick beet can win. Weigh your own plots to find out.
When do I sow Crosby Egyptian, and when is it ready?
Sow from September to November, among the earliest sowing windows of any beetroot. TNAU calls beetroot a cool-weather crop, and its lecture note says Crosby Egyptian shows white zoning in warm weather, so do not push the sowing into a hot spell. A crop of 55 to 60 days sown on 15 September is ready between about 9 and 14 November. Sown on 15 October it is ready between about 9 and 14 December.
What spacing and seed rate does Crosby Egyptian need?
Keep rows 30 to 40 cm apart, thin to 8 to 10 cm between plants, and use 6 to 9 kg of seed a hectare. TNAU sows beetroot 10 cm apart on ridges 30 cm apart, about 6 kg a hectare, and thins to one seedling after 20 days. Because the crop is short, thin early. A late thinning leaves crowded plants too little time to recover.
Sourced from: Beet root (Beta vulgaris) — TNAU Agritech Portal, Horticulture, Beet root: origin, varieties, package of practices — TNAU eAgri HORT 281, Lecture 30. editorial policy.