
Cabbage Cultivation (Complete Guide)




Introduction
in this article, I’m going to tell you about Cabbage Cultivation.
- Botanical name: Brassica oleracea
- Family: Brassicaceae
Cultivation




Soil and climatic requirements
- Optimum climatic conditions are
- Temperature: 15-20°C
- Elevation – above 800m
- Cooler climatic conditions preferred but can be cultivated in dry
Soil
- Well drain organic matter rich soils are suitable
- Acidic soils are not suitable for cabbage
- It may cause for clubroot disease
- To correct soil pH level lime or dolomite can be used
- pH 6-6.5
Field Establishment and Cultural Practices
Nursery Management
- Seed requirement: 200-250 g/ha
- 250 seedlings from 1g
- 3.4-4.5g 1000 seeds
- Direct seeding is not practised due to the size of the seeds
- Select suitable area – opened from sunshine, soil should not be an acidic
- Nursery period 3-4 weeks
- 3×1m size nursery beds use for cabbage height of the bed should be (12-15) cm
- Seed should be planted in beds 10cm apart (spacing between two rows is 10cm) at the depth of 1cm and cover with a thin layer of soil
- For germination of seeds, it will take 4-5 days
- Water twice per day
- Harding of seedling should be needed 10 days prior to transplanting
Land Preparation
- Select suitable land soil should not be acidic
- Plough the land to a depth of 30-40cm
- Prepare levelled raised beds to a height of 15-20cm
- Spacing (50×40)cm between rows and 400cm with rows
- 40-30cm for medium size heads
- Size of the hole (30×30×30)cm
- If soil is acidic add lime (2t/ha) 14 days before planting or add poultry manure (10 ton/ha) one week before planting
- Incorporate well-decomposed organic matter at the rate of 3-4 kg/m2
- Add best fertilizer mixture 2-3 days before planting
Field establishment
- Before uproot seedlings from the nursery bed thoroughly
- One plant per hole
- Planting in the afternoon to avoid desiccation to seedling
- Seedling must be shaded with plant material
- Other cultural practices
Irrigation
- Irrigation twice per day until the plant is fully established and then apply one time per day
- Adequate irrigation is needed when crop duration is about 1 ½ months and thereafter (to form an enlarging of heads)
- Maintaining proper soil moisture lever during head forming and enlarging stages is necessary
- Poor water management may effect for checking of head.
Weed Management
- Early-stage of the crop wedding should be done with 2-3 days interval
- Weeding is essential before applying a top dressing of chemical fertilizer
Fertilizer Application
Fertilizer Recommendation (Kg/ha)
UREA | TSP | MOP | |
BD | 275 | 75 | |
TD1 | 110 | ||
TD2 | 110 | 75 | |
TD3 | 110 |
Earthen up and Mulching
During head formation period, Earthen up and mulching is important to obtain better heads
Problems of Cabbage Cultivation
Cracking of Cabbage Heads
- Excess water taken up by plant causes head to burst
- Over maturity
- Control
- Harvest heads as soon as mature
- Sufficient irrigation
- Plant recommended variety
Poor Heading
- Overcrowding
- Dry soil
- High temperatures
- Poor fertility
- Control
- Plant at recommended spacing
- Supply water
- Earthen up
- Maintain soil moisture
- Temperature control
Pests and Diseases




Cabbage pests
Cutworm
- Damage young plants are seen fed upon and cut at base
- The leaves and developing cabbage heads appear with holes
- The caterpillars hide during day time and come out to feed at night
Control
- Ploughing the soil flooding the soil, handpicking
- Chemical control – trichlorfon 50% profenophos (selicorn) 50%, prothifos 50%
Diamond Black Moth
- Damage and symptoms
- Green colour caterpillars
- Larvae feed parts of the lower epidermis
- Leaves show feeding holes among the ribs and wilting appearance
- Adults are small and ash in colour
- Once they flood the wing, three diamond shape marks can be shaped
Control
- Use parasitoid of pupate
- Chemical control by using
- Profenophos 50%
- Azadirachtin (Neem seed extract)
Cabbage Semilptoms
- Damage and symptoms
- Caterpillar start scraping and feeding the leaves initially and later defoliate entire leaving midribs and main veins
Control
- Remove affected plant parts
- Hands picks and destroys caterpillars
- Use a light trap to attract and kill adults
- Chemical control by using profenophos 50% and chlorfluazuron 50%
Cabbage Diseases
Black rot (Xanthomonas campestris)
Symptoms
- Bleaching of veins along leaf margins
- Extracting towards petioles and the main stem
- Yellowing wilting and drying of leaves, defoliation
- Causal organism – Bacteria
Control
- Destroy infected crop residues
- Use crop rotations with non-susceptible crops
- Cultivate resistant varieties
- Apply mulch
Clubroot
Symptoms
- Swelling or malformations on the main laterals roots
- Malformed root growth
- Failure to form heads
- Stunted plants
- Causal organism – Fungi
Control
- Apply 2-4 t/ha of lime to raise soil pH
- Avoid continuous cultivation 0f Brasssicasi crops
- Crop cultivation
- Cultivate resistance varieties
Soft rot
Symptoms
- Rotting of the internal tissues of the head with creating bad odder
- During warm and rainy seasons this disease can be spread rapidly
- Causal organism – Bacteria
Control
- Improve drainage conditions of the soil
- Remove infected plant parts
Damping-off
Symptoms
- When the seedling emerges and grows to a height of an inch or two then wilts and dies by showing fall off the stem near the soil surface
Control
- Seed treatment
- Captan, Thiram, chlorothalonil apply
Harvesting




- Harvesting can begin 80-105 days after and it depends on variety as well conditions
- Over maturity will leads cracking of the heads
Method
- Harvest head with two-three outer leaves
- Cut by using a sharp knife
- should be practised in the morning and avoid heavy sun rays
- Potential yield 40 t/ha
Post-Harvest Handling
- Cleaning, grading and sorting of harvested heads
- Packing in well ventilated creates
check out my other article: How to Grow Pumpkins at Home