CAULIFLOWER (Brassica oleracea l. Var-botrytis)

Cauliflower is an important water vegetables and a good source of Vitamin-C. Climate It requires cool temperature and is mainly grown in winter season and to some extent in later part of the rainy season i.e. from August-September and main season varieties during October-November. Season Early and mid season varieties can be grown during later half of rainy season i.e. from August -September and main season varieties during October-November. Soils Well drained loamy soils are best suited. The soils should be fertile, rich in nutrients, hold adequate soil moisture with good drainage and plenty of organic matter. Acidic and ill drained soils are not suitable. Varieties PUSA KATKI AND PUSA DEEPALI Early varieties suitable for planting early in the season. Crops in about 90-100 days. Medium sized stem. Leaves are bluish color, not incurred and at curding stage seen above the ground. Curds small to medium, compact and white. PANT SHUBRA AND HIMANI Early variety crops in 90-100 days. Medium sized, Leaves are greyish green, curds are medium, compact white, 15 tons of curds per hectare. IMPROVED JAPANESE Mid season variety, crops in 90-95 days. Plants are tall with longish stem. Leaves are not curved, curds are medium to large, compact and white when first formed, soon becoming loose and yellowish when harvesting is delayed SNOW-BALL + 16 Variety suitable for October-November plantings in the season. Crops in 100-120 days. Leaves are greyish green and incurved. Curds are medium, compact white. Seeds and Sowing Seeds of 700-800g sown in 100sq meters area will be sufficient to transplant in one hectare area. 600-800g for early varieties and 400-500g for late varieties. To prevent seed borne disease treat the seed with Agroson at the rate of 3 g per kg of seed. Plough the soil 4 to 5 times to get a fine tilth. Apply 5-6 tons of farmyard manure in 10 0 sq. Meter area and incorporate in the soil. Prepare raised seed beds of 10-15 cm height from the ground level with 4 meters length and 1 meter width. Mix the seed with thin sand or FYM and sow the seeds on the on the nursery bed uniformly and thinly. Cover the seeds with dried leaves. Due to this covering, seeds will not be gathered at one place while sprinkling water. Irrigate daily till the seeds germinate. Remove the dried leaves/ material after the plants attain 1 cm height with 2-3 leaves. Drench the soil twice with 0.2% Fungi copper to prevent diseases. Spray malathion at the rate of 2 1/2 ml/lit of water to control the leaf eating caterpillars. Transplanting Prior to transplanting plough the soil 4-5 times till a fine tilth is obtained. Incorporate 40-50 tons of farmyard manure in the last ploughing and form ridges at 60cm distance. The seedlings of 25-30 days old are used for transplanting . Early varieties are transplanted at 45 X 45 cm while late varieties are planted at 60 X 40 cm spacing. Manures and Fertilizers Apply super phosphate 150-200 kg/hectare and muriate of potash 100 kg/hectare in the last ploughing as a basal dose. Then apply 60-80 kg of Nitrogen/hectare in three uniform split doses, first dose at 30-40 days after transplanting, 2nd dose 50-60 days after transplanting and 3rd dose75-80 days after transplanting. Generally Boron deficiency is noticed which can be rectified by spraying 0.3 to 0.4% boric acid in two sprays 1)Above two weeks after transplanting 2) Two weeks before head formation Intercultivation Plants will be established well within 15 days, weeding and hoeing and earthing up operations should be taken up twice on 25th and 50th day after transplanting. Deep hoeing should be avoided. To obtain perfect white heads, it is necessary to exclude the sun light to the growing heads. It is done by bringing the outer leaves up over head and tying them with a twine or a coloured rubber band. By using a different colour twine or rubber band each day, it will be easy at the time of harvest to select those tied earliest. Irrigation Irrigate the crop whenever the top soil upto 5-6 cm depth finds dried up. Irrigating once in a week in light soils and at 10 day interval in heavy soils is good. Plant protection See as in cabbage Harvesting It is harvested when the curds attain a proper size and before they begin to discolour.