Some growers fasten 3-4 seedlings together in a bunch, which is thrashed into the pond bottom by feet. Lateral shoots commonly known as suckers can be detached from the main mother seed nut for transplanting. Single seeded water nuts can develop 20-30 and sometimes even up to 50 such lateral suckers. Each of these laterally developed suckers may very well be able to send out 5-10 further shoots after transplanting. From sowing to later such formations takes about 40-50 days.
Shoots also arise from the nodes, forming roots and new plants.
Thus, within a month or so, the entire water area gets covered with the luxurious growth of brownish-green leaves. Fertilizing the pond with urea is a common practice. Insect pests are controlled by shaking the plants vigorously under water, by hand-picking, and by dusting or spraying exposed parts of the plants. Snails are another destructive pest, particularly during the later stage of growth. Growers remove the snails by hand.