Punjab Safed-4
A white-rooted early turnip named in a TNAU lecture note as commonly grown in Punjab and Haryana; we found no release notice, so the PAU release claim made earlier has been removed.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Turnip (Shalgam)
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Rabi
- Maturity period
- Early maturing; days not published
- Seed rate
- 2–3 kg an acre (about 5–7.5 kg/ha) per the PAU package; thin early to the spacing below
- Expected yield
- No variety figure published
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- No special resistance widely documented
- Release
- Named in a TNAU lecture note as commonly grown in Punjab and Haryana; no release notice found
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Punjab Safed-4 is named in the TNAU eAgri lecture note as an early maturing turnip commonly grown in Punjab and Haryana, with pure white, round, medium-sized roots and a mild taste; a course deck lists it with the Asiatic types. We found no release notice, release year, yield or day count for it, and PAU's 2021 vegetable package names only L-1 (1974) for turnip. Where the figures here come from PAU's package (sowing in August to September for desi turnips, seed rate, ridges 45 cm apart, plants 7.5 cm apart), they are advice for Punjab turnip in general.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Punjab Safed-4 only if it is what your local seed seller and mandi already know. The one published description we found, in the TNAU eAgri lecture note, calls it an early maturing variety commonly grown in Punjab and Haryana with pure white, round, medium roots and a mild taste. A course deck lists it as an Asiatic type. PAU's 2021 vegetable package names only L-1 (1974) for turnip: round, pure white, smooth, rat-tailed, crisp, harvested 45 to 60 days after sowing, about 105 quintals an acre. We found no release notice, year or yield for Punjab Safed-4, so we cannot say it is a PAU release.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeAugust to September in Punjab and Haryana
- Seed rate2–3 kg an acre (about 5–7.5 kg/ha) per the PAU package; thin early to the spacing below
- SpacingRows 30 cm apart; plants thinned to 8–10 cm apart in the row
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Pure white, round, mild-tasting root for everyday cooking (TNAU lecture note).
- Described as early maturing and commonly grown in Punjab and Haryana, so seed and buyers are familiar locally.
- Open-pollinated, so seed can be saved from a true-to-type root, though we found no separate PAU method for it.
Things to consider
- No release notice, year, yield or day count was found, so treat the name as a local trade name and check the seed source.
- PAU's own package lists L-1 for turnip, so ask a PAU or KVK adviser which one they recommend.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Punjab
- Haryana
What we could and could not confirm about Punjab Safed-4
Confirmed in a published source: the TNAU eAgri lecture note lists Punjab Safed 4 as an early maturing variety commonly grown in Punjab and Haryana, with pure white, round, medium roots and a mild taste; a course deck lists it with the Asiatic or tropical types. PAU's 2021 package confirms the Punjab crop calendar (desi turnip in August to September) and the seed rate, spacing, fertiliser and irrigation figures given here, but names only L-1 for turnip.
Not confirmed: a release notice, a release year, the institution that released it, the number of days to harvest, and any yield. If the seed packet carries a PAU tag, that is your proof of source. If it does not, treat the name as a local trade name and judge the crop on your own plot.
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 Turnip (Shalgam) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Ball | Farmers and kitchen gardeners in cool areas who want a yellow-fleshed turnip with fine flavour, not the quickest or the biggest root | 60–70 days | 20–25 t/ha in course notes | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh |
| Punjab Safed-4this page | Farmers in Punjab and Haryana who want a plain white early turnip and will ask the seller where the seed came from | Early maturing; days not published | No variety figure published | Punjab, Haryana |
| Purple Top White Globe | Hill farmers and late-sown plains farmers who want a large, firm globe turnip that keeps, and who can wait for real cold | 60–70 days | 25–30 t/ha | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh |
| Pusa Chandrima | Plains farmers who want a larger white turnip than Pusa Sweti and can wait 55 to 60 days for it | 55–60 days | 30–40 t/ha as reported; no trial found | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi |
| Pusa Kanchan | Farmers who want a red-skinned, creamy-yellow-fleshed turnip that can stand in the field a little longer without going spongy | 55–60 days | About 25 t/ha (250 quintals) in course notes | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi |
| Pusa Sweti | Plains farmers who want a quick, plain white desi turnip for the local fresh market and can match the sowing month to their own advice | 45–50 days | 20–30 t/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana |
| Snowball | Farmers who want a quick, mild, near-white European turnip for a cool-season catch crop and will pull it young | 50–60 days | 25–30 t/ha in course notes | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh |
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 Turnip (Shalgam) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Turnip (Shalgam) 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 Turnip (Shalgam) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Turnip (Shalgam) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Turnip (Shalgam) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Turnip (Shalgam) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Turnip (Shalgam) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Punjab Safed-4 a PAU release?
We could not confirm it. It is often said to have been released by PAU, Ludhiana; we found no release notice, and PAU's 2021 vegetable package lists only L-1 (1974) for turnip. Other lists do name Punjab Safed-4 as a variety common in Punjab and Haryana. Ask the seller for the packet's source, lot number and tag, and prefer PAU-supplied seed.
What does PAU actually recommend for growing turnip in Punjab?
PAU's 2021 package: sow desi turnips in August to September and European types in October to November. Seed 2 to 3 kg an acre. Ridges 45 cm apart and plants thinned to 7.5 cm. 15 tonnes of farmyard manure, 25 kg nitrogen (55 kg urea) and 12 kg P2O5 (75 kg single superphosphate) an acre at sowing. One weeding 2 to 3 weeks after sowing followed by earthing up. First irrigation right after sowing, then every 6 to 7 days in summer and 10 to 12 days in winter.
What yield can I expect from Punjab Safed-4?
No figure is published for this name, and the 18 to 22 t/ha that circulates in listings has no source behind it. The only PAU number for turnip is for L-1: about 105 quintals an acre, which is roughly 26 t/ha. Use that as a rough ceiling for a well-managed PAU crop, not as a promise for Punjab Safed-4, and keep your own plot record.
How do I protect seedlings from damping off and crown rot?
PAU's package describes damping off as seedlings dying before or after they emerge, with black corky collar lesions on turnip, and crown rot (Alternaria brassicae) as black, corky, cracked lesions on the root crown. Its control advice is to treat the seed with 3 g Captan per kg and drench the soil around seedlings with 200 g Captan in 100 litres of water on the 7th and 15th day after sowing. Check the label and current PAU advice before using any chemical.
Can I save seed, and how does PAU do it?
PAU gives the method for L-1, not for Punjab Safed-4: roots from one acre are enough to plant 3 to 4 acres of seed crop. Sow in mid-September and transplant in the first week of December. Choose roots wider than 5 cm. Rows 45 cm and plants 15 cm apart. And use the radish seed-crop fertiliser, 30 kg nitrogen and 8 kg P2O5 an acre, half the nitrogen and all the phosphate before planting. The same steps are a reasonable guide, but there is no separate PAU advice for this name.
Sourced from: TNAU eAgri, HORT281 lecture 29: Origin, area, production, varieties and package of practices for turnip, PAU, Package of Practices for Cultivation of Vegetables 2021 (turnip variety L-1, sowing, seed rate, fertiliser, crown rot, seed production), Turnip course slide deck (lists Punjab Safed 4 with the Asiatic types; secondary source), Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana. editorial policy.