Toria

Toria (Brassica campestris, now treated as a synonym of Brassica rapa L. by Kew), called simply toria across Pakistan, is the short-duration brown sarson that fits into the gap between the kharif harvest and the wheat sowing. POWO lists B. campestris as a heterotypic synonym of B. rapa and confirms the species is now grown worldwide as an oilseed.¹ For a Pakistani grower it is the brassica oilseed the older books still call sarson.

Where it thrives

Toria runs across the Punjab plains, Pothohar plateau and KPK hills in the rabi window, sown in September after the monsoon retreats and harvested by late January or February. The plant is more frost-susceptible than raya, which is why growers in Punjab pull it forward and harvest before the cold snaps tighten. It accepts a wide range of soils from light to heavy provided drainage is good, and tolerates the pH 6 to 8 band typical of Indus loams.² The oilseed morphotypes recognised under B. rapa include subsp. oleifera (turnip rape), dichotoma (brown sarson and toria) and trilocularis (yellow sarson), all of which grow in Pakistan.³

Role in the system

Toria sits in the secondary stratum as a quick annual groundcover with pioneer behaviour. Its 90 to 110 day cycle makes it the shortest of the Pakistani brassica oilseeds, which is why it is favoured as a rotation slot rather than a stand-alone crop. The taproot lifts phosphorus, the flower spike feeds honeybees through October, and the residue at harvest leaves a quick mulch layer for the wheat or chickpea that follows. It is not a nitrogen-fixer and is a moderate sulphur user, so it pairs best after a legume.

Growing it

Decisions worth getting right. Sow 4 to 6 kg of seed per hectare into a fine, moist seedbed about 1 to 1.5 cm deep in rows 30 cm apart. Use a Pakistani-released variety such as Toria Selection or one of the AARI or NARC lines rather than saved seed of unknown origin. Apply phosphorus and sulphur at planting; sulphur drives both yield and oil content on Punjab soils. Two to three light irrigations through the season are typical, the first about a month after sowing, then every 20 to 25 days through flowering and pod fill.² Pull weeds early; the canopy closes by 40 days and shades the rest out. Harvest when pods turn straw-coloured and seed rattles inside, before shatter loss begins.

What you get

A well-managed irrigated crop yields 800 to 1200 kg of seed per hectare; Pakistan’s national average across rapeseed and mustard sits near 812 kg/ha.² Seed oil content runs 38 to 45 percent. Traditional toria oil carries high erucic acid and pungent glucosinolates, which is the very flavour that defines sarson ka tel in Punjabi kitchens and pickles; cold-pressed it is also a lamp oil and a body-massage oil.³ The seed cake at 30 to 35 percent crude protein is a useful cattle and buffalo feed once heat-treated to reduce glucosinolates.⁴

Sourcing notes

Buy fresh seed each season from Punjab Seed Corporation or a NARC dealer; saved seed segregates. Slot toria after a kharif legume such as moong or guar to bank nitrogen and avoid following any other brassica in the same bed to break Alternaria and Sclerotinia carryover. Honeybee hives nearby noticeably lift seed set.

Sources

1. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2024). “Brassica rapa L.” Plants of the World Online.
2. NC State Extension (2024). “Brassica rapa Rapifera Group.” North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.
3. Bird, K.A. et al. (2017). “Population Structure and Phylogenetic Relationships in a Diverse Panel of Brassica rapa L.” Frontiers in Plant Science.
4. Feedipedia (2024). “Rapeseed meal.” INRAE, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO.