Arka Shirish
A long light-green fruited IIHR variety, well suited to the south.
Quick facts
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- 140–150 days
- Seed rate
- 400 g per hectare, the rate for open-pollinated brinjal
- Expected yield
- High
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Susceptible to bacterial wilt in field evaluations, despite earlier resistant-parent lineage
- 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 Shirish (also catalogued as IIHR-194-1) is an ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru brinjal variety that IIHR's own variety pages describe as a pure-line selection from IIHR-194-1, a local Karnataka germplasm collection, not a cross. The plant is tall with green foliage and white flowers; fruits are green, extra-long, and borne singly (solitary bearing) rather than in clusters. IIHR states it matures in 140–150 days and yields 39 t/ha. Notably, neither IIHR page mentions bacterial-wilt resistance for this variety, and screening studies report it as susceptible (see the cautions below).
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Arka Shirish only if your buyer wants extra-long green brinjal and your field has no bacterial-wilt history. Shape is its whole case: the fruit is borne singly rather than in clusters, where Arka Kusumakar's are small and clustered, and no other green here grows that long. It pays for that shape twice — it is the lowest-yielding of IIHR's three, under Arka Nidhi's 48 t/ha and Kusumakar's 40, and the warning is firm: IIHR's pages claim no wilt resistance and screening studies report it as highly susceptible in more than one evaluation. On wilt-prone land choose Arka Nidhi, whose resistance is confirmed. Choose Arka Kusumakar if the market prefers small green clustered fruit.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeDecember–January or May–June
- Seed rate400 g per hectare, the rate for open-pollinated brinjal
- SpacingTransplant on ridges spaced 60 cm apart
- Sowing methodSow on raised beds in lines 10 cm apart, cover with sand, water with a rose can, and transplant 30–35 days after sowing
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
- Extra-long, green fruit with a solitary (non-clustered) bearing habit, distinct in the market from the common purple, clustered types
- High reported yield (39 t/ha per IIHR's own page) within a 140–150 day cycle
Things to consider
- Bacterial wilt: Arka Shirish is not wilt-resistant. IIHR's variety pages do not mention wilt resistance, and screening studies report it as highly susceptible in more than one evaluation. Do not rely on it for wilt-prone fields.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Karnataka
Does your market actually want a long green brinjal?
Arka Shirish bears extra-long, light-green fruit one at a time, not in clusters, and that puts it in a different market slot from the purple clustered brinjals most northern mandis expect. In a town used to purple fruit, a green brinjal can sit unsold next to it even when the quality is better.
So check demand before the nursery, not after the first picking. Take a sample of the fruit type to the traders and hotels you sell to and ask what they pay for it, and whether there is steady demand or only an occasional buyer. Where green long brinjal is the local habit, this is a good variety for it. Note also that it is not wilt-resistant — screening studies report it susceptible — so keep it off land with a wilt history and plant Arka Nidhi there instead.
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 Kusumakar | 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 Shirishthis page | 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 Shirish resistant to bacterial wilt?
No. IIHR's variety pages do not mention bacterial-wilt resistance for Arka Shirish, and screening studies describe it as highly susceptible in more than one evaluation. Don't rely on Arka Shirish for wilt-prone fields. Consider Arka Nidhi instead, whose resistance is confirmed on IIHR's pages.
What is Arka Shirish's parentage?
It is not a cross — IIHR's own variety page describes it as a pure-line selection from IIHR-194-1, a local germplasm collection from Karnataka.
What does Arka Shirish fruit look like?
Green, extra-long fruit borne singly (not in clusters), per IIHR's own variety page.
How long does Arka Shirish take to mature?
140–150 days, per IIHR's variety pages, the same as Arka Kusumakar. Arka Shirish is not wilt-resistant, so a long stay in the field is also a long time exposed to wilt. Give it your cleanest land.
What yield does Arka Shirish give?
39 t/ha, per IIHR's own official variety page, achieved within its 140–150 day maturity window.
What should I do about bacterial wilt if I grow Arka Shirish?
Treat the variety as fully susceptible. Plant only on land with no recent wilt, rotate away from brinjal, tomato, chilli and potato for two or three seasons, keep drainage sharp, and pull out and remove wilted plants with their soil ball instead of leaving them in the field.
How is solitary bearing different for my picking routine?
Fruits come one to a node instead of in clusters, so each picking takes longer per crate but the fruit is bigger and more even, which suits a market paying by piece or by length. Pick before the skin dulls, because an extra-long fruit left on the plant turns seedy quickly.
Its parent had resistance, so why is Arka Shirish susceptible?
Because it is a pure-line selection out of a germplasm collection, not a cross bred for resistance, and resistance does not carry over just because an earlier line had it. What matters is the field result, and more than one screening study put this variety in the highly susceptible group.
How much Arka Shirish seed do I need, and where do I plant it?
400 g per hectare, the rate for open-pollinated brinjal, transplanted on ridges spaced 60 cm apart. Since this variety came out susceptible to bacterial wilt in field evaluations, choose the cleanest field you have and do not follow brinjal with brinjal.
How long does Arka Shirish stand in the field?
140–150 days. With solitary bearing, the fruit does not come in a rush, so the picking runs across most of that period. Budget the labour for repeated small pickings rather than a few big ones.
Sourced from: Brinjal - Arka Shirish (IIHR 194-1) — ICAR-IIHR official variety page, Brinjal - Arka Shirish — ICAR-IIHR official variety page, Crop Production Guide (Horticulture), TNAU and Department of Horticulture, Tamil Nadu: brinjal seed rate, nursery sowing, season, transplanting and spacing. editorial policy.