THE MANIPULATION OF PLANT DEVELOPMENT BY CONTROL OF NITROGEN NUTRITION IN CAULIFLOWERS RAISED IN CELLULAR TRAYS, AND EFFECTS ON CROP YIELD

Cauliflowers were raised in peat compost (50 mg/l N) in cellular trays and given 50:100, 100:200 or 200:200 mg/l N:K liquid feeds once, three or seven times a week.
The trial was transplanted when the middle treatments had produced plants of normal transplant size.
Although plant size at transplanting varied greatly, all treatments performed similarly in the field.
Using transplants raised in cellular trays, good crops can be produced despite wildly varying cultural conditions during propagation.

In a second experiment, sequential cauliflower crops were produced either from a single sowing (in which case plants were held by restricting nitrogen feeding) or from sequential sowings (to give plants that were not held). No adverse effect on field crops in terms of yield, quality or timing was recorded by holding plants in the propagation area.
The implications of these findings on cauliflower cropping schedules is discussed.

VI Symposium on the Timing of Field Production of Vegetables

R.W.P. Hiron, C.D. Paterson

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1990.267.27