Effect of Sowing Dates on Morphological Characteristics, Root Yield and Chemical Composition of the Root of Withania Somnifera Grown in the Semi-Arid Regions of Andhra Pradesh, India

The present study was undertaken to study the effect of sowing date on morphology, yield and chemical composition of root of Withania somnifera grown in the semi arid regions of Andhra Pradesh, India. The experiment was carried out in the research farm of Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Research Centre, Hyderabad, India during 2009-2011. The experimental material included two morphologically different ashwagandha cultivars i.e. Poshita [variety developed by CIMAP] and Nagore [local variety grown in Madhya Pradesh, India]. Treatments consisted of two varieties [Poshita and Nagore] sown at ten different sowing dates [June to October at 15 days interval] replicated thrice in a randomized complete block design. The influence of treatments on morphological characters, root yield, seed yield, starch, fibre content and the total alkaloid content of the roots were studied. Among the varieties tested, Poshita produced significantly more number of roots having more dry weight which ultimately resulted in significantly higher root yield compared to variety Nagore. Variety Poshita exhibited superiority over Nagore in all the morphological characters studied also. Early sowings (June-July) resulted in higher root yield. The yield variation in the varieties in relation to sowing time is discussed in this paper.