Progressive Horticulture
Year : 2011, Volume : 43, Issue : 1
First page : ( 99) Last page : ( 101)
Print ISSN : 0970-3020. Online ISSN : 2249-5258.

Crop water requirements and fertigation options for early drip irrigated cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrys Linn.) grown in a greenhouse

Singla Chetan, Singh K.G

Department of Soil and Water Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004 (Punjab)

Received:  16  August,  2010; Accepted:  30  November,  2010.

Abstract

Since greenhouse technology has recently been introduced, very limited work has been done for the standardization of different techniques of growing early vegetable crops in greenhouse. Early cultivars of cauliflower are tropical in nature requiring comparatively higher temperature for reproductive onset and, therefore, these are grown during July-August allowing sufficient vegetative growth. But high monsoon rains coinciding with the period of cropping quite frequently disturb the growth and development of the crop in open. A field study on fertigation of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. Botrys Linn.) using drip irrigation system was undertaken with three rates of nitrogen application (100%, 75% and 50%) of recommended dose applied in three splits, i.e., 50% of the dose at planting time, 25% at 30 days after planting and remaining 25% at 60 days after planting with three levels of irrigation at (irrigation water to cumulative pan evaporation ratio) IW/CPE=0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 in fan pad cooled greenhouse and naturally ventilated greenhouse. The studies reveal that the yield 120.7 q/ha and 105.5 q/ha of early cauliflower were maximum under irrigation schedule based on IW/CPE=0.5 and 100% of recommended nitrogen dose in fan pad cooled greenhouse and naturally ventilated greenhouse, respectively.

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