Cabbage

Varieties – Tekila, Quisor (F₁ hybrids)

Soil – It is grown in varied types of soils ranging from sandy loam to clay. It requires pH range of 5.5 to 6.5.

Season of Sowing – January – February, July – August and September – October.

Seed rate – 250 g/ha.

Nursery – 100 sq.m nursery area/ha. Apply FYM at 300 kg/100 sq.m. Sow the seeds in rows drawn at 10 cm spacing in raised seed beds. Seedlings will be ready for transplanting in 40-45 days after sowing. Avoid land infected with ‘club root disease’.

Protected Nursery

A nursery area of 5 cents with a slanting slope of 2% is required for the production of seedlings for 1 ha. Cover the nursery area with 50 per cent shade net and the sides with 40/50 mesh insect proof nylon net. Form raised beds of 1m width and convenient length inside the nursery and the portrays are placed over the bed. Decomposed, pH neutralised coir compost is used as a media for raising protray seedlings.

Protray

The protrays of 98 cells are ideal for cabbage seedling production. Around 300 protrays are required for the production of 29,400 seedlings required for one hectare at spacing of 60 x 45 x 45 cm in three row planting.

Growing Medium

The sterilized cocopeat of 720kg is mixed with 10 kg of neem cake and one kg each of Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria to prepare media for raising seedlings for one hectare. About 1.25 kg of the cocopeat medium is required for each tray.

Seed treatment – 250 g of hybrid cabbage seeds are required for the production of seedlings for 1 ha. A quantity of 25g of Azospirillum is required for the seed treatment of 250g cabbage seeds.

Sowing – Sow the seeds in protrays @ one seed per cell. Cover the seeds with cocopeat and keep the tray   one over the other (8-10Nos) and cover it with polythene sheet for five days or till germination starts. After five days, when the seeds start germinating, arrange the protrays on the raised beds inside the shade net nursery. Water the tray   by rose can everyday (twice/day) up to seed germination. The cabbage seedlings are ready for transplanting in 25 days.

Preparation of field – Bring the soil to a fine tilth. A spacing of 40 cm either way is recommended.

Spacing – 40 x 40 cm

Irrigation 

Install drip system with main and sub-main and place the inline laterals at the interval of 1.5 m. Place the drippers at the interval of 60 cm for 4 LPH or 50 cm for 3.5 LPH in the lateral system. Form raised beds at 120 cm width at an interval of 30cm and place the laterals at the centre of each bed. However, under hills under rainfed situation, adequate moisture should be maintained by sprinkler irrigation.

Application of Manures

Growing Lupin as green manure to get the biomass of 6-7 tonnes /ha and ploughing in situ on 45-50 DAS.

Basal application of 25 t of FYM and 2 kg each of Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria and top dressing of vermicompost @ 2 t/ha in 2 equal splits at 15 days interval (15 days after planting and 30 days after planting).

Foliar Nutrition – Spray 3% Panchagavya  twice at 30 and 45 days after planting

After Cultivation

Deep hoeing should be avoided as the cabbage roots are surface feeders.

Plant Protection

Pests

Aphids 

• Install yellow sticky trap @12 no/ha to monitor “macropterous” adults (winged adult).
• Spray neem oil 3 % 
• Spray Azadirachtin 0.03% (300 ppm) @2.5 ml/lit.

Leaf eating caterpillars

• Spray Azadirachtin 0.03% (300 ppm) @2.5 ml/lit
•  Neem Seed Kernal  Extract 5.0ml / 1.0 litre of water

Diamond back moth

• Grow mustard as intercrop at 20:1 ratio to attract diamond backmoth for oviposition. 
• Install pheromone traps @ 12/ha.
• Spray NSKE 5 % at primordial stage or 
• Beauveria bassiana 10 SC  2  ml /lit.

Diseases

Club root disease

Biological control

• Seed treatment with Pseudomonas fluorescens at 10 g/ kg of seeds followed by  seedling dip @ 5 g/ l and  soil application @ 2.5 kg/ha with 50 kg FYM  before planting
• Follow crop rotation
• Crucifers should be avoided for three years

Yield – 70 – 80 t/ha in 150 days.