Mustard | A Brief Botanical Description

Mustard belongs to the family "Crucifence" and genus "Brassica". It has got several cultivated species:

• Brassica Campestris,
• Brassica Juncea and
• Brassica Napus.

Among these different species, the first one is extensively grown in Bangladesh followed by the second one.

Monographic and other characteristics of these species of Rape and Mustard are:

The Mustard is a Dicotyledonous Herbaceous Annual. It grows to a height of 2-3 feet (60-90 cm). As soon as the Mustard plants become 30 to 40 days old, they bear numerous beautiful yellow flowers. The flowers bloom gradually from bellow upwards and bear pods in the same order. The pods in some types, for example, in Tori-7 & Sam pad are two chambered and Sonali (SS-75) are four chambered.

In Brassica Campestris, the leaves of the inflorescence grasp the stalk completely but in case Brassica Napus, they grasp the stalk partially. In Brassica Junecea the lamina of upper leaf does not reach the stalk. The flowering habit of Brassica Napus and Brassica Juncea is such that the open flowers appear below the flower buds but the situation is reverse in case of campestris, i.e., the fresh open flowers appear above the flower buds.

Various group of Mustard and Rape such as, Tori, Rai and Yellow groups are well grown in Bangladesh. Of the total land covered by Mustard, Topi group occupies an area of 60 - 65%, Rai group 20 - 25% and Yellow group is 10 - 15 %. All these three groups are grows several regions in Bangladesh.

Read about Characteristics of various groups of Mustard.

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Rape and Mustard Oil | Important Oil Crop

Rape and Mustard is a famous important Oil Seed Crops in the world. Its very much well known to the farmers. Mustard Oil is being used as a medium of cooking from the time immemorial. The oil is also used by the villagers of Bangladesh for hair dressing and message of the bodies before health.

Most farmers in Bangladesh grow Rape and Mustard without proper care. The only operations undertake is to plough the land twice or thrice before sowing seeds. hence, the per acre yield of Mustard is 6 to 7 mds per acre (5-6 quintals per hectare) as against twice the yield which can be obtained if the crop is grown by scientific and modern methods.

The Mustard Seed usually contains 40 to 44 % oil and 24 to 25 % protein. The Seed roughage which is obtained after extraction of oil is known as Mustard Cake. The cake, which contains 40% protein, is an ideal feed for cattle. The cake can also be used a good organic manure as it contains fair amount of nitrogen in the form of protein, This manure is highly suitable for Cultivation of Banana, Potato and Betel Leaf etc.

In Bangladesh Mustard Paste is used for preparing pickles oh Olive, Ber etc. In some fish curries, particularly "Hilsa Curries", the Mustard Paste is used sometimes.

Mustard Oil has several medicinal uses. If it is rubbed all over the body of a baby or an adult followed by sun bathing for one hour or so, a good amount of Vitamin-D is synthesized in the body which is essential for bone formation. In Herbal Medicine, it is believed that Mustard Oil boiled with few cloves of Garlic can cure some forms of Influenza.

In fact Mustard Oil is not of good quality as the oil contains 45 to 50 % of uric acid, which is an undesirable ingredient. Most people use Mustard Oil continuously on regular basis yet some kind serious harmful affects have been reported, probably because of less oil consumption.

Soil and Climate:

Mustard generally grows well in light soil i.e., silt, loamy, silt-loam and sandy loam soils. Of these four soil types, the loamy type is the best for Rape and Mustard cultivation. Mustard can be grown in heavy soil if it is well drained. The waterlogged soil is not at all suitable for Mustard Cultivation. In rainfall and cold temperature, Mustard grows well. Hence this crop is widely grown under the cloudless sunny skies of winter in Bangladesh.

A brief Botanical Description of Mustard

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