Pusa Sweti
An IARI Asiatic (desi) variety with smooth, round, pure white roots and mild flavour, bred for the northern plains. Quick to mature and a heavy, reliable cropper for the everyday market.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Turnip (Shalgam)
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Rabi
- Maturity period
- 45–50 days
- 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
- 20–30 t/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- No special resistance widely documented
- Release
- Released by ICAR-IARI, New Delhi
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Pusa Sweti is an Asiatic (desi) turnip released by ICAR-IARI, New Delhi; a course deck gives 1976 and says it was selected from germplasm collected in Punjab. NHB describes attractive pure white roots that mature 45 to 50 days after sowing and average 20 to 30 t/ha, and the TNAU lecture note calls it a very early variety suited to October sowing in the plains. Roots are round to flattish round, medium sized and tender with white flesh, and the mild flavour suits everyday cooking. An Asiatic type stands warmer weather better than a European turnip, but it is still a cool-season crop. It does not keep as long as a yellow-fleshed or European type, so sell it within days of pulling.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Pusa Sweti when you want a fast white desi turnip and plan to sell it fresh. The National Horticulture Board (NHB) lists it for October sowing, 45 to 50 days to harvest and 20 to 30 t/ha; a course slide deck says it was released by IARI in 1976 as a selection from Punjab germplasm and suits August to September. Sources disagree on the month, so take it from your local advice. In a 2020 trial of 12 turnip genotypes at Neri, Himachal Pradesh, it gave the best root yield with leaves (200.66 g a plant) against a Purple Top White Globe check. If you need roots to keep for weeks, a yellow-fleshed or European type suits better.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeOctober in the plains (NHB, TNAU); PAU advises August to September for desi turnips, so confirm the month locally
- 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
- Quick: 45 to 50 days (NHB), so it works as a catch crop between two main crops.
- Smooth, round, pure white roots with a mild flavour for everyday cooking.
- An Asiatic type, so it stands warmer sowing than a European turnip; the exact month needs local advice.
Things to consider
- Being an Asiatic type, it does not keep as long in storage as a European (temperate) turnip variety — best sold and eaten fresh within a few days of pulling.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Bihar
- Punjab
- Haryana
Which month? What four sources say about sowing Pusa Sweti
NHB's variety sheet says Pusa Sweti suits sowing in October, and the TNAU eAgri lecture note says the same: a very early variety for October sowing in the plains. A course slide deck gives August to September with 40 to 45 days. PAU's package does not name Pusa Sweti but says desi (Asiatic) turnips are best sown in August to September and European types in October to November.
Why the gap? A turnip does best at 10 to 15 degrees C; long days and high temperature bring early bolting, and in hot weather the root turns fibrous, tough and pungent (PAU, TNAU). A sowing that is safe in a cool Punjab September can be too hot in the Bihar plains. So the month depends on when the heat breaks where you farm, not on the variety. A practical test is to sow three small strips a fortnight apart and keep notes on which gives clean, mild roots at 5 to 10 cm across.
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-4 | 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 Swetithis page | 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
Should I sow Pusa Sweti in August to September or in October?
The sources split. NHB and the TNAU eAgri lecture note say October sowing in the plains. A course slide deck says August to September. PAU says desi turnips are best sown in August to September and European types in October to November. A turnip likes 10 to 15 degrees C; long days and high temperature bring early bolting, and in hot weather roots turn fibrous, tough and pungent (PAU, TNAU). So sow when the heat has broken in your area and ask your KVK for the month they trust.
How many days and how much yield should I plan for?
NHB gives 45 to 50 days and an average of 20 to 30 t/ha. A course deck gives 40 to 45 days and about 250 quintals a hectare, which is 25 t/ha. So plan on 45 to 50 days and 20 to 30 t/ha, and pull by root size, not by the calendar: TNAU says harvest at 5 to 10 cm across, and roots turn tough and fibrous if you wait. We found no field trial from the plains that measures Pusa Sweti in t/ha.
How is Pusa Sweti different from Pusa Chandrima?
Both have white roots. Pusa Sweti is the quicker one: 45 to 50 days (NHB). Pusa Chandrima takes 55 to 60 days (NHB), and TNAU describes its roots as medium to large with an average of 400 quintals a hectare and sowing from October to December. If you want the earliest white turnip for a thin market, take Sweti. If you can wait 10 days for bigger roots, look at Chandrima.
Can I save seed from my own Pusa Sweti crop?
It is open-pollinated, and TNAU says Asiatic turnips set seed in the plains. Pick true-to-type roots, trim the root tip, keep about a third of the crown, and transplant at 45 x 35 cm. Turnip is cross-pollinated, so keep 1,000 to 1,600 m from other turnips, Chinese cabbage and mustard. TNAU quotes a seed yield of 5 to 6 quintals a hectare and says to harvest when 70% of pods turn light yellow. Mustard fields nearby make this hard, so many farmers buy fresh seed.
Is there any independent trial of Pusa Sweti?
One that we found: a 2021 master's thesis from Dr YS Parmar University, Neri (Hamirpur), Himachal Pradesh, which grew 12 turnip genotypes in the 2020 rabi season. Pusa Sweti gave the best average root yield with leaves, 200.66 g, and the line T-COHF-NERI-5 (185.77 g) was statistically at par. It is one season at one hill location and gives grams a plant, not tonnes a hectare, so treat it as a hint that the variety is sound, not as a yield promise for the plains.
Sourced from: National Horticulture Board (NHB), turnip varieties sheet, TNAU eAgri, HORT281 lecture 29: Origin, area, production, varieties and package of practices for turnip, PAU, Package of Practices for Cultivation of Vegetables 2021 (radish and turnip chapter), Turnip course slide deck (Pusa Sweti 1976 release, selection from Punjab germplasm; secondary source), Assessment of genetic variability and correlation studies in turnip, Neri (Hamirpur) thesis abstract, KrishiKosh, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. editorial policy.