Carrot Cultivation Business Guide for Beginners

Do you want to start a carrot cultivation business? If so, find here in this article how to grow carrots and make money.

Carrots are a member of the Apiaceae (formerly called Umbelliferae) family. Most of the carrots have an orange color. However, you will find other colors such as red, yellow, or purple. carrots are very high in beta carotene, and also contain Vitamin C, Vitamin K, potassium, other vitamins and minerals, and dietary fiber.

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Presently, carrots have become a popular cooking vegetable, salad item, snack food, and raw vegetable. You will find carrot cultivation throughout the globe. However, there is a wide range of varieties. Major carrot-producing countries are India, China, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Uzbekistan, Poland, Ukraine, Turkey, Morocco, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

Economic Importance of Carrot Cultivation

Carrot gives good profit to the growers. Generally, most of the revenue comes from fresh selling. Therefore, fresh carrot fetches more profit than processed ones. The costs of carrot production vary depending on the production location and the level of mechanization. However, it has also good export potential. Baby-cut carrot products have also good market demand. The major export market for carrots is the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia.

Health Benefits of Carrot

• First of all, carrots are rich in beta-carotene. It produces vitamin A in the liver. This is good for eyesight.
• In addition, carrots reduce the risk of lung cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer.
• Vitamin A and antioxidants protect the skin from sun damage. Deficiencies of vitamin A cause dryness in the skin, hair, and nails.
• Carrots clean your teeth and mouth. They scrape off plaque and food particles just like toothbrushes or toothpaste.
• A study found people who ate five or more carrots a week were less likely to suffer a stroke than those who ate only one carrot a month or less.

Best Varieties For Carrot

• Bolero: It resists most leaf pests.
• Nantesa Superior: It has a sweet flavor. Furthermore, it adapts to any soil.
• Thumberline: It is a rounded carrot. Therefore, it is good for clumpy or clay soil.
• Taper-Rooted or Pointed: These roots decrease gradually in diameter from crown to tip and taper to a point.
• Stump-Rooted or Blunt: These roots are shorter than Imperator or Danvers types. However, they grow to a length of 4.5 to 5.5 inches with a medium to large neck.
• Cylindrical: This type is perfect for home growers.
• Ball-Shaped: People generally use this variety for baby carrots, mixed vegetables, and freezing.
• Autumn King: The largest of carrots and last to mature. This is a very healthy and vigorous carrot with the potential of the highest yielding of all.
• Amsterdam: These are small, slender, finger-shaped carrots, excellent for using raw.

Agro-Climatic Condition For Carrot Cultivation

Carrots develop normally within a great range of temperatures. Root growth is fastest at a temperature between 15 ºC and 18 ºC, while optimum temperatures for shoot growth are somewhat higher.

Seeds of carrots may germinate at low temperatures but the germination period is shorter at higher temperatures. Therefore, it requires a soil temperature of at least 10 ºC. Carrots are tolerant of long days but need low temperatures to induce flowering.

Suitable Soil For Carrot

Carrots do well in well-drained, deep, loose, and Loamy soils. Looseness of soils helps in the production of good round-shaped roots and high yield. They love light, stone-free, well-drained, fertile soils with plenty of well-rotted organic matter in them. Rich sandy peaty soils are perfect for providing the best conditions for the carrot roots to penetrate deeply and swell.

The pH value of 6.5 to 7.5 is perfect for the best results. Curiously even within a variety, a carrot’s color and shape can vary according to the type of soil and commencement temperature. Lower temperatures give yellower carrots and reduced size and shape.

Carrot Cultivation Basic Steps

Land Preparation 

First of all, you will need to plow the soil to a depth of 30-40 cm. Prepare raised beds 1 m wide and 20 cm high. Incorporate 5-10 tons/ha of cattle manure or compost to beds and level. You can mix compost fertilizer at the time of land preparation.

Planting

You can sow carrots in raised beds having a dimension of 1-meter breadth. Mix seed with dry soil for even distribution and row sow or broadcast on raised beds. However, for enhancing germination, you can soak the seeds in water for 12-24 hours before sowing.

Manuring

The fertilizer dose depends upon the fertility of the soil and the amount of organic manure applied to the crop. Therefore, for a good yield, you can apply 25 t/ ha of well-decomposed FYM into the soil. However, the general application recommendation is 100kg N, 60 kg P2O5, and 60 kgK2O for optimum yield.

Intercultural Operations

Intercultural operations like weeding and hoeing are necessary to check the weed growth and provide soil aeration.  Hoeing not only checks weeds but also facilitates soil aeration. In addition, you must cover the developing root with soil to avoid discoloration of the crown.

Irrigation

You must arrange irrigation immediately after sowing. However, the irrigation schedule depends on the planting season and the available soil moisture.

You will need to irrigate the carrot yield at 10-12 days intervals during winter and 5-6 days intervals during summer. Therefore, you must stop irrigation 2-3 weeks before harvesting to increase the sweetness and taste of the carrots.

Plant Protection 

Carrots are generally free from pests and diseases. However, you must follow some control measures in the case of leaf blight and soil insects.

Leaf blight: Spray with Indofil M-45 @ 7 level teaspoonful in 1 kerosene oil tinful of water (18 liters) Repeat at 15 days intervals till the disease is controlled.

Alternaria blight: Rotate crops. Treat seeds with a recommended fungicide. Finally, destroy infected plant debris.

Soil Insects: Apply Thiodan 4% Dust @ 17 Kgs/ha or Ekalux 1.5% Dust @ 45 Kgs/ha before preparation of the land.

Post Harvest Processing

However, for processing purposes, you must leave the carrot in the ground for a longer period. After harvesting, you must cut the green tops and separate the carrots. Generally, Asiatic types yield 25-30 t/ha whereas European types yield 10-15 t/ha. Grading is important in carrots for fresh selling. Therefore, you must pack them in uniform and similar shapes.

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Temperature is the most important factor affecting the storage of carrots. You can store the carrots for 3-4 days under ambient conditions. However, in cold storage, you can store topped carrots at temperatures of 0 – 4.4 C with 93-98% relative humidity for 6 months. Therefore you can store untopped carrots only for 10-14 days at 0 C.

How Long do Carrots Take to Grow?

Generally, carrot takes 90 to 100 days to grown-up fully. Most of the edible roots become ready for harvesting in about100-120 days depending on the variety. Therefore, you can apply light irrigation a day before harvesting to facilitate the lifting of roots. You can harvest the crop manually by uprooting the individual plant.