Pusa Mridula
An IARI radish with globular roots and bright red skin, mildly pungent, ready in about 25 days. The national checklist gives 130 q/ha and recommends it for the Delhi NCR.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Radish (Mooli)
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Rabi
- Maturity period
- About 25 days
- Expected yield
- 130 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- No special resistance claimed
- Release
- Listed by IARI as released in 2005 for the Delhi NCR region
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Pusa Mridula is a table radish from ICAR-IARI, New Delhi. The national checklist of commercial vegetable varieties describes globular roots with bright red skin that are mildly pungent, an average yield of 130 q/ha and maturity in 25 days, and recommends it for the Delhi NCR. An IARI listing gives 2005 as the year it was released for the NCR. That makes it a quick salad radish and a useful catch crop. It is open-pollinated, so you can save seed.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Pusa Mridula if you want a small, bright red, globular salad radish and a very fast catch crop of about 25 days. The national checklist lists mildly pungent roots, 130 q/ha and the Delhi NCR, and an IARI listing gives 2005 as its release year there. The yield is far below the long Asiatic types, so it earns by the bunch, not by the tonne. Sow in cool weather. Choose Pusa Chetki for warm months, Japanese White for long winter roots, Pusa Himani for a larger mild root in the hills.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Ready in about 25 days, a very quick crop
- Bright red, globular roots, mildly pungent, for the salad market
- Open-pollinated, so seed can be saved
Things to consider
- The yield of 130 q/ha is far below the long Asiatic types, so it earns by the bunch, not by the tonne
- Listed for the Delhi NCR, so try a small strip first elsewhere
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Delhi (NCR)
A 25-day crop can run four rounds on one strip
Pusa Mridula is ready in about 25 days. Four months of cool weather is about 120 days, so one strip has room for four rounds in a row, if you sow again as soon as you pull.
The yield per round is small, 130 q/ha on the national checklist, and the roots are small, round and bright red. So the money is in selling many small, fresh bunches to salad buyers, not in tonnage.
Talk to buyers first. Ask how many bunches or kilos they will take a week and at what price. Then sow only what you can sell each week, and use other strips for a longer main crop.
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 Radish (Mooli) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arka Nishant | Forgiving harvest window, resists pithiness and bolting | 50–55 days | 25–40 t/ha | Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra |
| Japanese White | Mild white daikon for the main winter market | 60–65 days | 30–35 t/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal |
| Kashi Hans | Quick 40–45 day radish for Uttar Pradesh, tolerant of pithiness | 40–45 days | 430–450 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh |
| Pusa Chetki | Heat-tolerant warm-season white radish | 40–45 days | 25 t/ha | Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka |
| Pusa Desi | Sharp traditional mooli with leafy tops for saag | 50–55 days | 25–30 t/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana |
| Pusa Himani | Sweet, mild European radish for hills and cold plains | About 55 days | 30–35 t/ha | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir |
| Pusa Mridulathis page | Small red salad radish, ready in about 25 days | About 25 days | 130 q/ha | Delhi (NCR) |
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 Radish (Mooli) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Radish (Mooli) 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 Radish (Mooli) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Radish (Mooli) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Radish (Mooli) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Radish (Mooli) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Radish (Mooli) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
How fast is Pusa Mridula, really?
The national checklist gives maturity in 25 days after sowing. A sowing on 1 November is ready about 26 November, and one on 1 December about 26 December. Pull one root at about 22 days to check size.
How much will it yield?
The national checklist gives 130 q/ha, which is 13 t/ha. That is well below the long Asiatic types such as Pusa Chetki (200–250 q/ha), so price it by the bunch or kilo to salad buyers, not as a long mooli.
Where is it listed for?
The national checklist lists the Delhi NCR. We found no published trial for other regions, so outside the NCR try a small strip first, and sow it in cool weather.
How many crops can I fit in one cool season?
At 25 days a crop, four months of cool weather is about 120 days, so one strip can run four rounds if you sow again right after you pull. Sow a new small strip every week or two so you always have something to pick.
Can I save Pusa Mridula seed?
Yes, it is open-pollinated. Choose small, round, bright red roots true to type for seed, and keep the plot away from other radish so they do not cross.
Sourced from: PPV&FRA — Radish DUS test guideline, National Checklist of Commercial Varieties of Vegetables (TNAU Agritech hosting) — radish. editorial policy.