Being a temperate climate crop, cauliflower plant grows best in cool moist climate with daytime temperature range 20–25 °C. The plant prefers full sunlight; but long periods of sun exposure may cause discolouration of cauliflower heads. Regarding soil, well-drained moist soils high in organic matter and sandy loam soils are preferred. Acidic soils are detrimental to its growth. Plants are frost-hardy but curds may get damaged by frost.

Propagation: Propagation is by seeds. Seedlings are raised in well-prepared nursery beds in sterilized soil. Seeds are sown in rows and covered with light mulch. For early crops 600 to 750 g of seed are required and for late crops 375 to 400 g of seed are required per hectare. 4-6 week old seedlings are transplanted in the fields.

Transplanting: Transplanting seedlings is generally done in the well-prepared fields. Spacing is kept at 30-45cm between plants and 30-60cm between rows. Recommended spacing: 30x30cm for early crop, 30x45cm for mid season crop and 45x60cm for late crop. However, the planting distance depends on soil fertility, season, and variety; and can be adjusted accordingly.

Manures and Fertilizers: Cauliflower is a heavy feeder and it removes large quantities of major nutrients from the soil. For enhancing soil fertility, 15 to 20 tons of farmyard manure, compost or sludge per hectare should be incorporated into the top soil about 3-4 weeks before transplanting. Another dose of 50-60 kg of nitrogen may be top-dressed about 6 weeks after transplanting.

Interculture and Irrigation: Shallow cultivation is recommended as it is a shallow-rooted crop. For weed control, the plants should be earthed up about four to five weeks after transplanting. Regular irrigations are necessary to ensure continuous growth. An early crop after transplanting may need irrigation twice a week and a late crop once a week.

Blanching: Blanching is a cultural practice most commonly adopted for cauliflower cultivation. It is done in order to preserve the pure white/yellow colour of the curds by covering the young curds of cauliflower to protect them from sunlight. It is normally done by bringing the large outer leaves towards the top of the young curd and covering them. Small strings or rubber bands may be used to tie up the outer leaves together. Prolonged periods of exposure to sunlight may cause discoloration of curds which is not desirable for the market

Harvesting and Yield: Cauliflower is harvested when the curds attain a proper size and develop proper white colour. Firm and compact curds are harvested. Cauliflowers are usually picked in big nets. They should be harvested before they begin to discolor. Soon after harvesting, curds are pre-cooled by forced air cooling to remove field heat. The yield of cauliflower may vary from 20 and 30 tons per hectare.

Grading, Packing and Storing: Cauliflower curds are separated into three grades, depending on the size, colour, quality and variety. The graded cauliflowers are packed according to the specific standards and transported in big trucks. Tight packing is essential to prevent shifting and bruising. Cauliflower with leaves attached can be stored for 30 days at 0OC with 85 to 90% relative humidity.

Physiological Disorders: Major physiological disorders of cauliflowers are,

  1. Browning (Brown-rot or Red-rot): This is caused by boron deficiency. It is associated with hollow stems.
  2. Whiptail: It is caused by the deficiency of molybdenum. The leaf-blades do not develop properly.
  3. Buttoning: It is characterized by the development of small heads that look like buttons. Deficiency of nitrogen is the main cause of buttoning.
  4. Blindness: Blind cauliflower plants are those without terminal buds. Blindness is supposed to be due to low temperature when the plants are small, or due to damage to the terminal bud during handling of the plant or injury by insects and pests.

Cauliflower Diseases: Major diseases of cauliflowers are damping off, black rot, soft rot, club root, downy mildew, and Sclerotinia rot.

  1. Damping Off: It is a common problem in the nursery-beds and affected seedlings die immediately.
  2. Black Rot: It affects leaves and they start yellowing. Yellowing of affected leaves is followed by blackening of veins. Seedlings may die when attacked in the young stage.
  3. Soft Rot: It occurs in the field usually after an attack of black rot, or after mechanical injury of nearly mature curds.
  4. Clubroot: In club root, the roots of the affected plants show large swellings that present like a clubbed appearance. It is caused by a fungus called Plasmodiophora brassicae.
  5. Phoma lingam: It affects all the parts of the plant.
  6. Downy Mildew: It is common in young plants and is characterized by the appearance of purplish brown spots on the underside of the leaves.
  7. Sclerotinia Rot: It is a severe disease particularly for seed crops.

Insect Pests of Cauliflower: Major insects and pests that affect cauliflowers are cabbage maggots, green cabbage worms, cabbage loopers, and aphids.

  1. Cabbage Maggot: The maggots first attack the young rootlets and then burrow into the main root, causing the plant to wilt.
  2. Green Cabbage Worm and Cabbage Looper: These feed on the foliage of cauliflower and can be controlled by the application of pyrethrum when the curds have formed.
  3. Cabbage and Turnip Aphids: These insects are more injurious during the later part for the growth or when the crop is left for seed production. They can be effectively controlled by the use of beneficial insects such as ladybugs.

Seed Production in Cauliflower: Cauliflower is a cross-pollinated crop and pollination is normally done by bees. Proper isolation is essential between varieties for the production of seeds. The best method of seed production is to leave the plants insitu. The seed yield of early cauliflower is about 400 to 500 kg per hectare. Chilling is required after the full vegetative phase is completed to initiate seed production.

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