Cauliflower plant is grown for its white tender heads called ‘curds’; it is grown as a winter vegetable in tropics and subtropics. It is a biennial plant like other Brassica vegetables but grown as an annual for vegetable purposes. It is grown as a biennial crop for seed production purposes. Cauliflower curd is a highly modified flower stalk (stalk of the inflorescence); no part of the flower/inflorescence is apparent in a curd. Cauliflower curds are used as a vegetable in curries and soups. Curds are also used for pickling purposes.

Varieties: There are mainly four groups of cauliflowers. These are,

  1. Italian Cauliflowers
  2. Northern European annuals
  3. Northwest European biennials
  4. Asian Cauliflowers

Italian Cauliflowers: One major cultivar of Italian cauliflowers is Romanesco. These cauliflowers are available in many colours such as white cauliflowers, brown cauliflowers, green cauliflowers, purple cauliflowers, and yellow cauliflowers.

Northern European Annuals: These cauliflowers are grown in Europe and North America as annual crop. They are cultivated for summer and fall harvest. Examples are Erfurt and Snowball. These cauliflowers are developed in Germany.

Northern European Biennials: They are grown in Europe for winter and early spring harvest. These cauliflowers are developed in France. Examples are Angers and Roscoff.

Asian Cauliflowers: They are grown in tropical Asian regions such as China and India. They are developed from Cornish type cauliflowers. Examples are Early Benaras and Early Patna.

Three Types of Cauliflower Varieties: Based on their responsiveness to temperature and photoperiod, cauliflower varieties can be grouped as:

  1. Early varieties: These are short season crops with small, yellow-coloured curds; Early varieties mature within 7 to 12 weeks from transplanting.
  2. Mid season varieties: Their growing season is longer than that of early varieties but produce larger curds which are dull white in colour.
  3. Late varieties: They are grown towards the end of the winter season and they produce good quality milky white-coloured compact curds.

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