Cauliflower

Short description of the species

Botanical name

Cauliflower

Latin name

Brassica oleracea sk. botrytis

Family

Brassicaceae

Plant height

flowering stem (2nd year): 0.5-0.6 m

Exposure

sunny (light deficiency = later floret formation)

Temperature requirement

cold-resistant (temperature significantly above 20 °C after floret establishment = leaf formation in floret)

Keeping

medium

Water requirement

high

Soil requirement

medium-heavy, permeable, high humus content (requirement of direct organic fertilisation)

Soil pH

6.8 – 7.5

Edible part

floret (inflorescene of un-developed flower buds)

accessibility

Usage

direct consumption – side dish, soups; processing – freezing, conservation

Growing technology and harvest 

Propagation 

• generative – explicitly growing from seedlings 

Spacing 

• early cultivars = 0.40 x 0.40 m 

• late cultivars = 0.50 x 0.5 m, or maximally 0.6 x 0.6 m 

Harvest 

• manual selection – cutting closely under covering leaves 

• most suitable arrangement for storage and market = shortening of leaves maximally to 30 mm above floret top (total leaf removal = damage by pressure at manipulation and storage) 

Important dates 

• growing from seedlings + covering textile (late cultivars – protection against pests, mainly 2-3 weeks after planting) 

Storage 

• short-term storage period 

• optimal temperature = 1-2 °C 

• optimal relative air humidity = 90% 

Use 

• direct consumption – side dish, soups 

• processing – freezing, conservation 

Diseases and pests 

• damage in connection to un-suitable growing technology: differentiation of flower buds (delayed harvest; improper planting date); damage by sun light (yellowing/browning of floret) or cold (anthocyan coloration in the floret) – preffering of cultivars with encircled (close) setting of inside leaves; floret blindness (molybdenium defficiency); floret browning (boron deficiency) 

• the most dangerous disease: clubroot (Plasmodiophora brasssicae) – incorrect crop rotation 

• virus diseases: virus mosaics 

• bacterial diseases: wet rottiness (Erwinia sp., Pseudomonas sp.), black rottiness (Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris) 

• fungus diseases: falling of germinating plants (several species of microscopic funguses - Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium spp., Mycosphaerella brassicicola, Olpidium brassicae, Phytophtora spp., Pythium spp., Thanatephrous cucumeris, Verticillium spp. etc.), downy mildew (Hyaloperonospora parasitica), Alternaria leaf spottiness (Alternaria brassicicola, A. brassicae) 

• pests: cabbage root fly (Delia radicum), cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae), flea-beetles (Phyllotreta spp.), white butterfly (Pieris brassicae, Pieris rape), cabbage moth (Mamestra brassicae), diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), swede midge (Contarinia nasturtii), thrips (Thrips spp.), cabbage whitefly (Aleurodes proletella)