cabbage

Botanical characteristics of cabbage

Kale, a plant with the scientific name Brassica oleracea, is native to Europe and has shallow and short roots. Its leaves appear as a spherical set on a short and relatively thick stem.

Cabbage is not sensitive to day length (like lettuce). This product is one of the cool season plants. Some varieties of this vegetable can withstand temperatures below zero up to -9 degrees Celsius. Cabbage gives a very good and early crop in suitable soils (light and fertile). Cabbage is pollinated by wind and insects. Cabbage reproduction stage in temperate regions is only done in the second year with the influence of cold or spring. Prolonging the juvenile period also leads to the change of the vegetative to reproductive phase.

After the spring, a flowering stem appears with a length of 1.5 to 2 meters. The flowers in cabbage are bright yellow and have 4 sepals, 4 petals and 6 stamens. Cabbage in the first year of bolt formation and in the second year produces fruit and seeds. The number of external leaves decreases under high temperature conditions. In high temperature conditions, cabbage remains in the vegetative stage for several years. High temperature after spring delays or stops flowering.

Cabbage cultivars
Cabbage has a lot of variety, so that this plant has different cultivars from cone shape to sugar head, to ball shape. This plant may even be divided based on color and growth period.

Cabbage has three specific categories:

A: White cabbage

B: Red cabbage

C: Milan kale (with uneven and curly leaves with a blue-green color).

Each of the mentioned categories have different types in terms of the shape of the plant, such as round, elongated or cow heart. Among the above categories, there are early, semi-early, mid-early (autumn) and late-early (winter) varieties.

Ecological needs
Cabbage requires a moderate climate, so that the optimum temperature for vegetative growth is between 15 and 20 and the minimum temperature for vegetative growth is around 1 degree Celsius. In general, temperatures below 10 and above 25 degrees Celsius do not provide suitable conditions for the production of this plant. This product grows well in cool weather conditions and high humidity and shows good resistance to frosts.

Water requirement of cabbage
This plant needs between 380 and 500 mm of water per growing season (depending on the weather). The water consumption of the product is increasing during the growing season and reaches its highest value in the final stages.

Soil requirement of cabbage
Although this plant can be cultivated in a wide range of soils, it needs soil with sufficient drainage to retain sufficient moisture. Loamy soil with medium texture and organic matter is also suitable for this plant. The suitable pH for planting this product is between 5.5 and 6.5 and it will resist if it reaches 4.5.

In soils with a pH higher than 6.5, which is in the alkaline range, the leaves turn dark and their margins disappear.

Cabbage plant growth
This plant is propagated through seeds.

Production of cabbage seedlings
The planting bed should be light and have a high water holding capacity with proper drainage. In Iran, the best substrate can be a combination of perlite and cocopeat, but if peat, wood bark and vermiculite are available, it can be used. After the growth of the main leaves, the seedlings are fed with ready-made food solutions or complete fertilizer. The ideal temperature for sprouting cabbage seeds is around 20 degrees Celsius with high relative humidity. It is better to disinfect all seeds with a general fungicide before planting. If the management of seedlings is not done well, they may suffer injuries, for example, the following are among the harmful ones:

Improper planting time, excessive fertilizer application, damage caused by temperatures lower than 7 degrees Celsius, seedlings grown in cold weather, transplanting seedlings in large size and high temperature difference between the field and the treasury.

Soil preparation before planting cabbage
Before planting cabbage, the ground must be clean and 2 weeks before planting, the ground must be deeply plowed, and immediately before planting, it is better to plow with a disc or one of the appropriate tools to a depth of 45 to 60 cm.

Planting cabbage
Cabbage is planted both directly and as seedlings. About 2 kg of seeds per hectare are needed for direct sowing. Planting seedlings accelerates the germination and early ripening of the crop in the field. Transplantation is done when the plant is sufficiently grown and strong.

At the time of transfer, the seedling should be well established in the soil and watered immediately. In humid areas, cabbage should be planted in high places such as ridge slopes to reduce the possibility of diseases and decay.

The density of the number of cabbage per hectare is effective on the size of the head or screw, the shape of the screw and the yield, and the density of the number per hectare depends on the purpose of production. When the planting distance is small or the plants are planted close together, the size of the screw becomes smaller and longer. The number of plants is 40,000 to 45,000 per hectare for large cabbages and 55,000 to 65,000 per hectare for medium-sized cabbages.

Fertilizing cabbage
Cabbage is a plant that needs nutrition, and for proper production, it needs a sufficient amount of phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen fertilizers and compost. Fertilizer program should be based on soil test and it is different in each farm. The fertilizer requirement is about 200 to 250 kg of nitrogen per hectare and about 500 kg of potassium and 200 kg of nitrogen fertilizer in the form of vinegar is used four weeks after transplanting.

Cabbage needs micronutrient elements for growth and development. This plant has a high need for calcium fertilizers and its deficiency may be observed in acidic soils or soils with high potassium and dry soils. Calcium deficiency It is supplied with calcium nitrate fertilizers using foliar spraying. The use of magnesium in the amount of 5 kg per hectare provides the magnesium requirement in this plant. To provide all the elements including iron, manganese, molybdenum, etc., complete low consumption fertilizers are used.

Irrigation of cabbage
Cabbage should be watered immediately after transplanting. The irrigation interval should be about 10 to 12 days in heavy clay soils and 8 days in light soils until cabbage harvest. Excessive watering causes the crop to burst.

Weed control
Removing weeds mechanically by hand can be as good as herbicides. The first weeding is done about 2 to 3 weeks after transplanting.

Cabbage harvest time
This product is harvested when the screw is sufficiently tightened. In cabbages that are not too hard, they should be harvested with a few leaves around them so that they are not damaged during transportation.

According to the explanations given, chemical fertilizers containing the three main elements nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium as well as fertilizers containing potassium, magnesium, calcium and micronutrients can be effective in improving the performance of cabbage plants. Cinco offers liquid and powder NPK fertilizers, urea phosphate, as well as potassium sulfate (solo potash), magnesium sulfate, and liquid fertilizers such as liquid calcium.