Arka Kusumakar
From IIHR Bengaluru — small, green, clustered fruit, soft-textured with good cooking quality; a heavy 40 t/ha yielder, but not bacterial-wilt tolerant.
Quick facts
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- 140–150 days from transplanting
- Seed rate
- 400 g per hectare as an open-pollinated variety. A cluster-bearing type fills the row quickly, so a full, even stand is worth the extra seed
- Expected yield
- 400 q/ha (40 t/ha)
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- No confirmed bacterial-wilt tolerance — the resistant trait belongs to its bred descendant Arka Unnathi, not to Kusumakar itself
- Release
- Released by ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru. The exact notification year was not found
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Arka Kusumakar is a pure-line selection from IIHR-193, a local Karnataka germplasm collection, released by ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru. Its official IIHR variety page describes green, small fruits borne in clusters, soft-textured with good cooking quality, yielding 40 t/ha in 140–150 days. See considerations for what remains unverified about its disease profile and pedigree.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Arka Kusumakar if your market wants small, green, soft-textured brinjal that cooks well — the type south Indian kitchens in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu ask for. Fruit type is the reason to choose it, not tonnage: IIHR puts Arka Nidhi at 48 t/ha and Arka Shirish at 39, so Kusumakar sits in the middle of its own institute's three, and it is the only small clustered green of the six brinjals here. One important limit: it is not shown to be bacterial-wilt tolerant. That trait belongs to Arka Unnathi, bred from it, not to Kusumakar itself. On a field where brinjal has wilted before, grow Arka Nidhi instead, whose resistance IIHR confirms.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeDecember–January or May–June
- Seed rate400 g per hectare as an open-pollinated variety. A cluster-bearing type fills the row quickly, so a full, even stand is worth the extra seed
- SpacingRidges 60 cm apart
- Sowing method100 sq m of nursery per hectare, seed treated with Trichoderma viride at 4 g/kg, sown in 10 cm lines, transplanted at 30–35 days
Soil & climate
Soil
- Suitable soil
- Well-drained soil rich in organic matter
- pH
- 6.5–7.5
Pest & disease considerations
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Soft-textured, good-cooking-quality fruit valued in south Indian kitchens
- Clustered fruit-bearing habit that helps push the sourced yield to 40 t/ha
- Parent line behind the bacterial-wilt-resistant Arka Unnathi and Arka Harshitha releases
Things to consider
- Bacterial-wilt tolerance is not confirmed for Kusumakar itself. It is documented for its bred descendant Arka Unnathi, not for Kusumakar directly. One report (IIHR Annual Report 2014–15) is said to use Kusumakar as a susceptible check in a wilt trial, but we could not confirm it, so we say only that it is "not shown to be tolerant".
- A second user-supplied source (IIHR Annual Report 2015–16) claims Arka Unnathi, Arka Harshitha and Arka Avinash were bred from IIHR-108 × IIHR-3 — which conflicts with the pedigree given elsewhere for Arka Unnathi (Arka Kusumakar × IIHR-3). That PDF could not be read here either (image-only scan, no extractable text), so this pedigree conflict is flagged, not resolved
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Karnataka
- Andhra Pradesh
- Tamil Nadu
Clean land only: why the field's wilt history decides this one
Arka Kusumakar is a heavy yielder with small, clustered, soft-textured green fruit that south Indian kitchens like. What it does not have is confirmed bacterial-wilt tolerance — that trait belongs to its bred descendant Arka Unnathi, not to this variety.
So check the plot before you choose it. If brinjal, tomato, chilli or potato has wilted in that field in recent seasons, the bacteria are in the soil and this variety will find them; plant Arka Nidhi there instead, which is bred wilt-resistant. On clean land, keep it clean: raised beds for drainage, a rotation with cereals or legumes, removal of any wilted plant along with its soil ball, and clean tools between blocks. Wilt cannot be sprayed out once it is in, which is why the decision is made at planting.
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 Brinjal (Eggplant) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arka Kusumakarthis page | Small green clustered brinjal for south Indian cooking, on clean land | 140–150 days from transplanting | 400 q/ha (40 t/ha) | Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu |
| Arka Nidhi | Wilt-prone fields that still need a heavy purple brinjal crop | 150–160 days | High | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh |
| Arka Shirish | Extra-long green brinjal for a market that wants that type | 140–150 days | High | Karnataka |
| Pusa Hybrid 6 | Round purple brinjal for autumn-winter, picked early | 150–170 days | High | Maharashtra |
| Pusa Kranti | North Indian spring or autumn crop of thick, less-seeded purple fruit | 70–75 days from transplanting | 140–160 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi |
| Pusa Purple Long | The familiar long purple brinjal of the northern plains | 70–80 days from transplanting | 250–300 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal |
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 Brinjal (Eggplant) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Brinjal (Eggplant) 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 Brinjal (Eggplant) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Brinjal (Eggplant) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Brinjal (Eggplant) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Brinjal (Eggplant) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Brinjal (Eggplant) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Arka Kusumakar's fruit purple or green?
Green. IIHR's own official variety page describes small, green, clustered fruit with soft texture and good cooking quality.
Does Arka Kusumakar carry bacterial wilt resistance?
Not confirmed. Wilt resistance is documented for its bred descendant Arka Unnathi, not for Arka Kusumakar itself.
Is Arka Kusumakar safe on a field where brinjal wilted last year?
No. Nothing shows Kusumakar itself to be wilt tolerant — IIHR used it as a parent for the wilt-resistant Arka Unnathi, which is a different variety. On land with a wilt history pick Arka Nidhi, and keep a rotation away from brinjal, tomato and chilli.
Why does clustered bearing matter to me?
Several small fruits sit together on one node, so a picking fills the crate faster and the plant carries a heavy total load — part of how it reaches 40 t/ha. It also means you must pick on time, because an overheld cluster shades and holds back the next set.
Can I save seed from Arka Kusumakar?
Yes, it is an open-pollinated pure-line selection, not a hybrid, so seed from fully ripe fruit on a true-to-type plant comes up right. Keep it from plants with small, even, green clustered fruit, and grow that plant away from other brinjal in flower.
When should I sow the Arka Kusumakar nursery?
December–January or May–June, and transplant onto ridges 60 cm apart. On clean land the December–January crop usually runs more smoothly, because the soil is cooler when the young plants go in.
How long does Arka Kusumakar stand in the field?
140–150 days from transplanting, for about 400 q/ha. That is a long run for a crop with no confirmed wilt tolerance, so it belongs on land where brinjal, tomato or chilli have not wilted, and the field needs watching the whole way.
Sourced from: Brinjal — Arka Kusumakar — ICAR-IIHR official variety page, Crop Production Guide (Horticulture), TNAU and Department of Horticulture, Tamil Nadu: brinjal seed rate, nursery area and treatment, season, transplanting and spacing. editorial policy.