Honey plant is annual herb having height of 80-120 cm. It is also known as Madhugida in Kannada. It belongs to the family of Apiaceae. It is mainly use for medicinal purpose. It is a commercial source of xanthotoxin which is used for treatment of leucoderma or vitiligo. This plant is native of Egypt and it was first introduced in India in 1955. It is cultivated successfully in temperate and subtropical region of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

It can be grown on wide range of soils, but it gives best result when grown on well drained sandy loam to loamy soils.

Local: It is having average height of 150 cm with dark green leaves. It is ready to harvest in 180 to 185 days after sowing. Its flower contains lot of nectar that attracts honey bees.

Nursery is prepared in month of September. For nursery preparation, mix 15 cartloads/acre of well rotten cow dung. Make beds of dimension 8m x 1.25m or any of convenient size. Around eight beds are required for one acre sowing. Provide irrigation channels around bed for irrigation as well as drainage purpose. Apply Urea@80gm and SSP@150gm on each bed soil. Sow seeds@50gm on each bed and then cover seeds with well decomposed cow dung. 60-70 days after sowing, seedlings are ready for transplantation.

Time of sowing
September Month is best time for nursery preparation of Honey Plant.

Spacing
For transplantation, use row to row distance of 60 cm and plant to plant distance of 30 cm.

Sowing Depth
Depth should be 2-3 cm.

Method of sowing
Honey plant can be direct seeded or first nursery is raised and then transplantation is carried out in 60-70 days after sowing.  

Seed rate
For transplanting one acre, 400gm of seeds are required.

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

 Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

Apply Nitrogen@25kg/acre in form of Urea@55kg in two to three splits (at time of sowing, 30days after sowing and at time of flowering) according to soil texture.

To keep field weed free, two or three hoeings are required.

At initial stage, apply light and frequent irrigations. It will help in proper establishment of seedling.
 

Crop is ready in the first week of May month. Right time of harvesting is when, umbels changes its color from green to light yellow. Harvesting should be done at right time, delay in it will increases shattering loss. Carry out harvesting in morning hours. Seed yield of 4-5qtl/acre is obtained.

1.Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana

2.Department of Agriculture

3.Indian Agricultural Research Instittute, New Delhi

4.Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research

5.Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare