Cauliflower Seedlings Research Articles

Effects of vermicompost as an alternative substrate on yield and quality of cauliflower and pepper seedlings

It is wondered whether vermicompost can be an alternative to peat in seedling production. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of different vermicompost rates on the growth, quality characteristics and macro and micro mineral concentrations of pepper and cauliflower seedlings. There were 4 treatments consisting of different mixtures in the study. T1: 70% peat + 27% perlite + 3% vermiculite; T2: 70% vermicompost + 27% perlite + 3% vermiculite; T3: 35% peat + 35% vermicompost + 27% perlite + 3% vermiculite; T4: 100% vermicompost. ‘Sivrillo’ F1 (Capsicum annuum var. longum) pepper and ‘Casper’ F1 (Brassica oleraceae var. botrytis) cauliflower varieties were used as the plant material. Vermicompost mixtures had a significant impact on pepper and cauliflower seedlings. The emergence and growth characteristics of pepper seedlings were similar in T1, T2 and T3 treatments. However, the T3 mixture provided the highest emergence rate and seedling height in cauliflower seedlings. T3 also increased the leaf area both pepper and cauliflower seedlings more than the other treatments. Although T2 medium showed the highest N, K, and Mg contents in pepper seedlings, vermicompost mixtures had the highest P, K, Ca, and Mg concentrations in cauliflower. Vermicompost mixtures had higher microelement contents in cauliflower, whereas similar results were obtained from T2 and T1 treatments in pepper seedlings. In conclusion, it was determined that the 35% peat and 35% vermicompost mixture was appropriate for pepper and cauliflower seedlings in terms of many criteria. Additionally, noteworthy results were obtained when 70% peat was substituted with vermicompost.

Seedling Growth, Field Performance and Economics of Production of Early Cauliflower as Influenced by Different Sowing Media and Variety under Greenhouse Condition in Assam, India

An experiment was conducted at the greenhouse and in the field of the Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019) to assess the effect of sowing media and variety on growth of early cauliflower seedling and subsequent performance of seedling in the main field. The results revealed that seedlings raised in different sowing media surpassed the conventional sowing media (soil, sand and farm yard manure) for growth attributes and yield. The media M1 i.e., cocopeat (60): vermiculite (20): perlite (20) recorded the highest seedling emergence whereas minimum days to transplanting and maximum leaf area was recorded in M2 i.e., cocopeat (50): vermicompost (50). Minimum days to 2-true leaf emergence was recorded in both M2 and M3 [cocopeat (50): vermicompost (50): microbial consortium@ 1:100] and M3 recorded the highest seedling height in nursery. Minimum days for 2-true leaf emergence was recorded by variety V2 (CFL1522) while highest leaf area was found in V1(White Diamond). Among interactions, M1V1 recorded maximum emergence, M2V2 recorded minimum number of days for 2-true leaf stage and to transplanting respectively, maximum leaf area in M2V1 and M3V2 produced the tallest seedling. In field, the seedlings that were grown in M3 media in nursery recorded significantly higher value of growth parameters and yield. Variety white Diamond took minimum days for establishment and recorded maximum leaf area index at 30 Days After Transplanting (DAT) as well as at harvest. Though treatment combination, M3V2 recorded the highest curd yield the highest cost benefit ratio was obtained in M3V1 (3.95) and the lowest (2.42) in M1V1. Considering the cost benefit ratio, for producing good quality seedlings of early cauliflower under green house, which will further give best performance in field condition, cocopeat (50): vermicompost (50): microbial consortium (1:100) as sowing media and variety White Diamond can be used in Assam.

The prospects of intercropping of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) with other vegetables on sorjan system in vulnerable southern coastal saline and non-saline areas of Bangladesh

The demand for food in Bangladesh is increasing due to the increasing population. Land is the primary natural resource that affords habitat and sustenance for living beings. In Bangladesh, the coastal areas cover an area of 47,201 km2 or 32 % of the total land under 19 districts of Bangladesh. The coastal southern saline and non-saline areas are vulnerable to water logging conditions and farmers cannot grow any crops except dry season (rabi). However, in some areas, farmers are trying to use their indigenous technologies to combat natural disasters to ensure food security. For example, floating, sorjan or raised bed systems are potential and farmers are practicing in these areas. Among these techniques, the sorjan bed system is one of the potential techniques that is extensively used in southern Bangladesh, particularly water logging conditions to improve food security. To enhance the production and make land cultivation profitable, the experiments were carried out at the farmers’ fields under the sorjan system in consecutive two growing seasons. The sole crop was brinjal (cv. BARI Begun-12), BARI Lalshak-1 (cv. Red amaranth), BARI Dhania-1 (cv. Coriander leaf), Cauliflower (cv. Cold queen), Cabbage (cv. Equatoria) and Knol Khol were utilized as intercropping with brinjal. The treatments were i) Sole brinjal, ii) Brinjal + Red amaranth, iii) Brinjal + Coriander leaf, iv) Brinjal + Cauliflower, v) Brinjal + Cabbage, and vi) Brinjal +. 24-day-old seedlings of the BARI Begun-12 grown in a nursery bed were transferred to the plots where the seeds of Red amaranth and Coriander leaf were directly sown. However, the seedlings of Cauliflower, Cabbage, and Knol Khol were also transplanted to the field after one week of transplanting brinjal. The results exposed that sole crops had the highest results in terms of days to flowering, days to first fruit set, days to first harvesting, leaf area, fruit length, fruit breadth, single fruit weight, fruits plant−1, fruit yield, TSS %, and dry matter %. In both years, brinjal exhibited the highest yield as the sole crop compared to intercropping. 48.12 t/ha and 46.27 t/ha in the first and second cropping seasons, respectively. In the first cropping season, Red amaranth, Coriander leaf, Cauliflower, Cabbage, and Knol Khol performed with a yield of 10.12, 7.23, 23.14, 22.87, and 9.05 t/ha. During the second cropping season, the same crops exhibited a yield of 10.05, 7.01, 23.09, 22.68, and 9.98 t/ha. The highest land equivalent ratio, gross return, net return, and BCR were obtained from brinjal-cauliflower intercropping, which was 1.74, 1049300 BDT, 553820 BDT, and 2.12, respectively, in the 2021–2022 cropping season and 1.78, 1057900 BDT, 562010 BDT, and 2.13, respectively, in the next season in 2022–2023. This intercropping approach resulted in a higher land equivalent ratio, net return, and benefit-cost ratio of 1.76, 557915 BDT, and 2.125, respectively, over the average of two successive cropping seasons.

First report of Stagonosporopsis pogostemonis causing leaf spot on cauliflower in Italy.

First report of Stagonosporopsis pogostemonis causing leaf spot on cauliflower in Italy Wassim Habib1, Mariangela Carlucci2, Roberto Fasano3, Franco Nigro1,2 † 1 Centre of Research, Experimentation and Training in Agriculture (CRSFA) - Basile Caramia, via Cisternino 281, Locorotondo, 70010 Bari, Italy 2 Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari - Aldo Moro, via Amendola 165A, 70126 Bari, Italy 3 Bioricerche, Phytopathological Lab, via Pio XI 30, Bellizzi, 84092 Salerno, Italy † Corresponding author: F. Nigro. Email: franco.nigro@uniba.it Keywords: Phoma-like, Multi-locus gene sequencing, Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis, Campania. In September 2022, a severe foliar disease was observed on 2-3-week-old 'Corsaro' and 'Parthenon' seedlings of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) grown under greenhouses in a nursery in Caserta province, Campania (Italy), with an incidence of 90% on about 150,000 plants. Affected plants showed numerous small, irregular, and depressed lesions bordered by a chlorotic halo on leaves that become necrotic, and later drop out giving a shot-hole effect (Fig. 1). Isolations were performed on leaf portions from 30 symptomatic samples which were surface-sterilised by dipping in 70 % ethanol for 30s, then in a sodium hypochlorite solution (1%) for 30s, and rinsed two times in distilled sterilised water. Tissue fragments were left to dry on sterile filter paper and then seeded on potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with 0.5 g/L of streptomycin sulphate (Sigma-Aldrich S.R.L, Steinheim, Germany). After 6 to 8 days of incubation at 24 ± 1°C, colonies revealed a consistent growth of a Phoma-like fungus resembling Stagonosporopsis genus. On PDA, one-week-old colonies were dark olivaceous green to brown with white regular margin (Fig. 2B). Pycnidia (32-160 µm × 30-95 µm) were subglobose, and conidia (2.7-4.8 µm × 1-2.7 µm) ellipsoidal, with rounded ends, aseptate, with two polar guttules (Fig. 2C). All isolates had similar morphological features, therefore further analyses were performed on one representative strain (CRSFA.753.22). The multilocus phylogenetic approach using Maximum likelihood method and Tamura-Nei model on rDNA-ITS, TUB and RPB2 sequences (accession numbers: OQ318550, OQ326503, OQ326504) including reference strains of Stagonosporopsis (Dong et al. 2021) demonstrated that CRSFA.753.22 clustered with Stagonosporopsis pogostemonis Luo, Huang & Manawas holotype (ZHKUCC 21-0001) with 91% bootstrap support. ITS and RPB2 sequences had 100% BLAST match to ZHKUCC 21-0001, whereas TUB sequence had 99.69%. Pathogenicity tests were performed on 20 healthy 'Corsaro' plantlets. Leaves were surface sterilized with 70% alcohol and wounded with a sterile tip of a needle. A suspension of conidia and mycelial fragments, obtained from a 10-days-old colony of the strain CRSFA.753.22, was sprayed on the leaf surfaces at a distance of 20 cm. Five controls plants were inoculated with sterile distilled water. Plants were then covered with plastic bags and kept on the shelf in a growth chamber at 25° C, with a 12-h photoperiod. The first symptoms developed on leaves five days post-inoculation as irregular small brown spots, that were gradually expanded. Leaf tissues showed chlorosis which evolved into necrosis (Fig. 2A). Stagonosporopsis pogostemonis was consistently re-isolated from all diseased leaves, but not from control plants, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. In Italy, Stagonosporopsis species have been reported as severe plant pathogens (Garibaldi et al. 2022; Guarnaccia et al. 2022), and this is the first report of the species S. pogostemonis in the country. References Dong, Z.Y., et al. 2021. Pathogens 10:1093. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10091093 Garibaldi, A., et al. 2022. Plant Pathol. J. 104:1157. doi: 10.1007/s42161-022-01138-7 Guarnaccia, V., et al. 2022. Plant Pathol. J. 104:1491. doi: 10.1007/s42161-022-01197-w.

Supplementary Light on the Development of Lettuce and Cauliflower Seedlings

The production of seedlings is one of the main activities for implementing agricultural crops. Many factors are involved in producing quality seedlings, including nutrition, health, genetics, and climatic factors such as temperature, humidity, and light. To evaluate the effect of light supplementation, a study was conducted using supplementary artificial light to produce lettuce and cauliflower seedlings. Sowing was carried out in styrofoam trays under a floating irrigation system. Part of the experiment containing the two species, received treatment with LED light for an additional 4 h per day, in addition to solar radiation (10 h∙day−1). The remaining seedlings received only solar radiation (without supplementation). After 37 days, the seedlings’ biometric (leaf area, root length, aerial dry mass, and root dry mass) and biochemical parameters (phenolic compounds, flavonoids, chlorophyll a/b, and total chlorophyll) were analyzed. The data showed that the complementary light enhanced the performance in all the biometric parameters evaluated in the experiment for lettuce and cauliflower. The biochemical parameters in lettuce were also higher in seedlings with light supplementation. For cauliflower, supplementary light did not differ from the natural photoperiod for biochemical parameters except for a reduction in the levels of total phenolic compounds. Considering the enhanced biometric and biochemical parameters and greater dry weight and leaf area of the seedlings grown with supplemental light, using such a tool can optimize seedling development, possibly reducing production time in the nursery and providing greater productivity.

Effect of water quality, mineral fertilizer levels and methods of adding seaweed extracts on reducing salt stress, growth and yield of cauliflower.

A field experiment was conducted at one of the research stations of the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences / University of Baghdad in Al-Jadiriyah region for the autumn season 2021-2022, located within 33.27 north latitude and 44.39 east longitude, in Clay soil with a Split Plot Design design and with three replicates to study the effect of Irrigation water quality, mineral fertilizer and methods of adding marine extracts to reduce salt stress and cauliflower growth and yield. The experiment included three factors: irrigation with two types of water, regular irrigation water (tap water) with an electrical conductivity of 0.9 dSm-1, and the second is saline water (wastewater) with an electrical conductivity of 4.8 dSm-1 and two levels of mineral fertilizer 50% and 100% of Fertilizer Recommendation and Extracts with six different levels of supplementation (S0, S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5). Cauliflower seedlings, Prassica oleracea, and cultivar Megha were transferred to the field on 9-15-2021. Nitrogen was added by 300 kg. N ha-1 in urea (46% N) and phosphate in 100 kg. P ha-1as triple superphosphate (20% p)and potassium by 150 kg. K ha-1 is in the form of potassium sulfate (42% K). Soil samples were taken over the length of the experiment and periods (30, 45, 60 and 75 days) to estimate the electrical conductivity in the soil. At the end of the season, the yield of cauliflower was estimated. The results showed the significant effect of irrigation water quality, mineral fertilizer, and methods of adding marine extracts in reducing the electrical conductivity of the soil and increasing the cauliflower yield and treatment (W1M2S5) achieved the highest significant increase in cauliflower yield, with an increased average of 47.97%, followed by treatment (W2M2S5), with an increased average of 42.63%. Keywords: water quality, seaweed extracts

Amelioration of the physio-biochemical responses to salinity stress and computing the primary germination index components in cauliflower on seed priming

The significant horticultural crop, cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) is vulnerable to the excessive salt concentration in the soil, which contributes to its scaled-down growth and productivity, among other indices. The current study examines the efficacy of hydropriming, halopriming, and osmopriming on the physio-biochemical attributes and tolerance to salinity (100 mM NaCl) in cauliflower under controlled conditions. The results showed that the salinity (100 mM NaCl) has significant deleterious impacts on cauliflower seed germination, seedling growth, and photosynthetic attributes, and provoked the production of reactive oxygen species. In contrast, different priming approaches proved beneficial in mitigating the negative effects of salinity and boosted the germination, vigor indices, seedling growth, and physio-biochemical attributes like photosynthetic pigments, protein, and proline content while suppressing oxidative damage and MDA content in cauliflower seedlings in treatment- and dose-dependent manner. PCA revealed 61% (PC1) and 15% (PC2) of the total variance with substantial positive relationships and high loading conditions on all germination attributes on PC1 with greater PC1 scores for PEG treatments showing the increased germination indices in PEG-treated seeds among all the priming treatments tested. All 13 distinct priming treatments tried clustered into three groups as per Ward's approach of systematic categorization, clustering the third group showing relatively poor germination performances. Most germination traits exhibited statistically significant associations at the p < 0.01 level. Overall, the results established the usefulness of the different priming approaches facilitating better germination, survival, and resistance against salinity in the cauliflower to be used further before sowing in the salt-affected agro-ecosystems.

O tamanho de amostra afeta a precisão da análise de variância em experimentos com mudas de couve-flor

ABSTRACT: This study verified whether sample size would affect the precision of the analysis of variance in experiments with cauliflower seedlings. An experiment was carried out where the number of leaves and shoot, root and total length were measured. For each variable, resamplings with repositions were performed in sample scenarios of 1, 2, …, 100 seedlings per experimental unit, and the sample size was defined for the variance components through Schumacher models and maximum curvature points. The mean squares of the analysis of variance suffer direct interference from the number of sampled seedlings. The sampling of 16 seedlings per experimental unit is enough to estimate the analysis of variance reliably, promoting satisfactory precision gains compared to the sampling of only one seedling per experimental unit.

Influence of Sowing Media and Variety on Growth Parameters and Disease Incidence of Early Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) Seedlings

Healthy seedling production is prerequisite for raising vigorous and profitable crops. The present investigation was carried out at Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam in the year 2018 and 2019 to access the impact of sowing media and variety on growth and incidence of disease in nursery. The treatments consisted of four different sowing media [M1-cocopeat (60): vermiculite (20): perlite (20), M2-cocopeat (50): vermicompost (50), M3-cocopeat (50): vermicompost (50): microbial consortium and M4-Conventional nursery] and two varieties [V1 (White Diamond) and V2 (CFL1522)].Thus, 8 treatment combinations were laid out in a 4x2 factorial arrangement in a Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatment M1, M2 and M3 were inside green house. The results revealed that seedlings raised in different sowing media surpassed the conventional sowing media for growth attributes and disease incidence. The highest seedling stem diameter (0.50 cm), fresh weight (5.44 g) and highest dry weight (0.64 g) was recorded by seedlings grown in M2 i.e cocopeat(50):vermicompost (50), while M3-cocopeat (50): vermicompost (50): microbial consortium recorded maximum seedling growth index (1469.86). The lowest value for all the growth parameters were recorded in conventional nursery(M4). Non-significant effect of variety was noticed for seedling stem diameter. Variety V1 (White Diamond) registered maximum seedling fresh weight (4.12 g), dry weight (0.43 g) and seedling growth index (1254.49).The least disease incidence (2.36 %) was recorded in M3 i.e cocopeat (50): vermicompost (50): microbial consortium and in variety V2 (CFL1522) with 4.76 %. The interaction effect was also found to be significant for growth parameter as well as for disease incidence. The treatment combination M2V1 recorded the maximum seedling stem diameter (0.53 cm), fresh weight (5.50 g) and dry weight (0.66 g) while M3V2 was found to be superior than all other treatment combination with maximum seedling growth index (1482.03) and with the lowest disease incidence ( 2.11 %).Since M3 contains the component of M2 and resulted the lowest incidence of disease which is an important criteria of quality seedlings and considering the superiority of V1 with respect to most of the growth parameters it can be concluded that for producing good quality seedlings of early cauliflower under protected condition the treatment combination M3V1 can be used .

How many cauliflower seedlings are necessary to estimate experimental precision statistics reliably?

The aims of this study were to determine the adequate sample size of cauliflower seedlings per experimental unit to estimate experimental precision statistics, and to forecast experimental precision statistics. From a reference experiment in which 20 seedlings per experimental unit were sampled and the number of leaves, shoot length, root length, and total length were measured, a bootstrapping procedure was applied with replacement, recreating experiments with sample sizes ranging from 1 to 100 seedlings per experimental unit, obtaining 10,000 resamples for each size. For each resample, 13 precision statistics were estimated, for which the 95% confidence interval widths were calculated, fitting these values to the sampling scenarios through traditional power models. The sample size was then determined through the maximum curvature point through the perpendicular distances’ method for each precision statistic and trait, for which a modified power model was used for forecasting. Also the contribution of the precision statistics to sample size definition was verified via principal component analysis. The reference experiment showed high experimental precision, which varied according to the trait and precision statistic considered. An exponential decrease in the confidence interval width was observed as the sample number was increased, and the optimal sample size varied slightly among statistics and traits, where the maximum value found was 20 seedlings per experimental unit, however, considering the statistics that contributed the most to the total variation, 16 seedlings per experimental unit represent the sufficient sample size for estimating experimental precision statistics in experiments with cauliflower seedlings. Also, the forecasting models showed excellent fitting quality and can be used and adapted by researchers performing experiments on seedling production of cauliflower or other horticultural crops.

Mitigation Effects of Melatonin Applied to Cauliflower Seedlings Under Different Flooding Durations

Mitigation Effects of Melatonin Applied to Cauliflower Seedlings Under Different Flooding Durations

Study of Plasmodiophora brassicae's Virulence and its Management on Cauliflower

Club root disease is one of the most serious diseases affecting the production and the quality of cruciferous vegetables. The main aim of the study was to identify virulence of Plasmodiophora brassicae's pathotypes and assessment of efficacy of different treatments against clubroot disease. A field survey was conducted on 10 cauliflower's sample from Dhading, Makawanpur, Kavrepalanchowk, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kathmandu, similarly laboratory experiment were conducted to assess the efficacy of different treatments. Disease inoculum was inoculated in 7 days old healthy seedlings of cauliflower and transplanted in the potting mixture with treatments applied. The virulence of each isolates and effectiveness of treatments along with differential hosts against clubroot was evaluated for disease incidence and severity. Isolates collected from Kavre (Panauti), Makawanpur (Palung) and Dhading (Benighat) showed highest disease incidence and severity. Similarly, Boron and Lime showed the least disease incidence and severity percentage, of 44.45% and 33.33% respectively followed by Trichoderma and Lime treatment with 48.14% and 37.03% disease incidence and severity respectively. Similarly, differential reaction among cole crops, cauliflower had highest incidence (100%) and severity (45%) followed by broccoli. While efficacy results of different treatments are derived from pot experiment so, it is needed to further validate by testing in disease infested fields.

First report of cauliflower anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gigasporum in India

Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) is an important vegetable in India, where it is mostly grown in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. India is the world's second largest producer of cauliflower with over 8.84 million tonnes produced annually (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2020). In August 2019, sunken, dark brown stem lesions, covered with acervuli, were observed on cauliflower seedlings in commercial fields in Jalna, Maharashtra, India (Figure 1). Approximately 5% of the seedlings were affected by the disease. Five diseased cauliflower seedlings were collected, and surface sterilised with 1% NaOCl for two minutes followed by two washings with sterile distilled water. Surface-sterilised sunken necrotic lesions on the stems were examined under the microscope. Conidial suspensions were obtained by dispensing 20 µl of distilled water onto acervuli. Serial dilutions of the suspensions were plated onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) with 50 mg/l streptomycin sulphate to obtain pure cultures. The plates were then incubated at 28°C with a 16 h light/8 h dark cycle for seven days. The fungal colonies were grey with scattered black conidial masses (Figure 2). The mycelial growth rate on PDA was 10 mm per day. Conidia were cylindrical, thin walled, hyaline and aseptate. The conidia measured 21.1 ± 1.0 × 8.3 ± 0.4 µm (Figure 3). These morphological characters align with the description of the Colletotrichum gigasporum species complex (Liu et al., 2014). For molecular characterisation, the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), parts of the β-tubulin and actin (ACT) genes were amplified (Liu et al., 2014) and sequenced. BLAST analysis in the NCBI database showed 100% identity to GAPDH, β-tubulin and ACT gene sequences of C. gigasporum (GenBank Accession Nos. KF687829, KF687872 and KF687787, respectively). The sequences were deposited in GenBank (MW307265-MW307267) and aligned with published sequences using MEGA11 (Tamura et al., 2021), followed by phylogenetic analysis using the UPGMA method (Figure 4). Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the identification as C. gigasporum. To confirm the pathogenicity of the isolates, leaves of five potted 40-day-old cauliflower seedlings were surface sterilised with 70% ethanol for 30 seconds and inoculated with 10 µl of conidial suspension (c. 105 conidia/ml) obtained from a seven-day-old culture grown on PDA. Leaves of an additional five seedlings were inoculated with sterile water as a control. Typical anthracnose symptoms developed on C. gigasporum-inoculated cauliflower seedlings seven days after inoculation (Figure 5) and no symptoms were seen on control plants. The pathogenicity experiment was repeated twice with similar results. Conidia were re-isolated from symptomatic cauliflower seedlings. Colony morphology and conidial characteristics were identical to the cultures used for inoculation, thereby fulfilling Koch's postulates. Colletotrichum gigasporum has been reported as a causal agent of anthracnose of avocado (Persica americana) in Sri Lanka (Hunupolagama et al., 2015) and of fragrant rosewood (Dalbergia odorifera) in China (Wan et al., 2018). Colletotrichum gigasporum has not been reported previously in India. To our knowledge, this is also the first report of anthracnose on cauliflower caused by C. gigasporum. The authors are thankful to Mahyco Research Centre, Maharashtra for support and suggestions.

EFFECT OF BIOFERTILIZER (AZOTOBACTER CHROOCOCUM) AT DIFFERENT NITROGEN LEVEL ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF CAULIFLOWER IN PALUNG, MAKWANPUR

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of nitrogen-biofertilizer Azotobacter chroococcum on the growth and yield of Brassica oleracea var botrytis; White Top under open field conditions. The study was done by planting 480 cauliflower seedlings distributed into six treatments; T1-control (without treatment), T2- 25% N and Azotobacter, T3- 100 N only, T4- 100 Nitrogen with Azotobacter, T5- 75% Nitrogen with Azotobacter and T6- 50% nitrogen with Azotobacter. The treatments were replicated four times. After 75 days and through cauliflower growth parameters; plant height, leaf number, leaf area, and yield parameter; curd height, curd diameter, curd weight, and yield were measured. The result depicted that the growth parameter of cauliflower increased its productivity of cauliflower. Plant height (20.69 cm), leaf number (13.5), and total leaf area (1035 cm2) were observed highest in treatment full dose of nitrogen along with Azotobacter inoculation. The shortest plant height (14.49 cm), lowest leaf number (10.00), and total leaf area (602 cm2) were observed in the control. The curd weight was found to be maximum in treatment full dose of nitrogen with inoculation (1.12 kg) whereas minimum curd weight was observed in control. Furthermore, the highest yield (43.08 Mt/ha) was obtained with treatment; the full dose of nitrogen along with biofertilizer inoculation followed by 75% nitrogen with biofertilizer and 100 full doses of nitrogen without biofertilizer had statistically similar yields showing the inoculation of biofertilizer can reduce the need of nitrogen through inorganic source by about 25%. Biofertilizer has been identified as an alternative to chemical fertilizer to increase soil fertility and crop production in sustainable farming. The use of biofertilizers is steadily increased in agriculture and offers an attractive way to replace chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and supplements.

How Many Cauliflower Seedlings are Necessary to Estimate Experimental Precision Statistics Reliably?

How Many Cauliflower Seedlings are Necessary to Estimate Experimental Precision Statistics Reliably?

Qual é a melhor maneira para definir o tamanho amostral para mudas de couve-flor?

ABSTRACT: This study compared four methods for defining the ideal sample size per experimental unit to estimate the overall experimental mean for the total length, shoot length, root length, and the number of leaves of cauliflower seedlings. An experiment was carried out where the number of leaves, shoot, root, and total length were measured, and the general, perpendicular distance, linear response plateau, and spline methods were tested. While the general method may under or overestimate sample size and the sampling of 10 seedlings suggested by the spline method is still too far from the stabilization point of the curve, the perpendicular distance and linear plateau response methods are recommended to obtain results corresponding to narrower confidence interval widths. Therefore, according to the perpendicular distance method, at least 15 seedlings per experimental unit are required to estimate the overall experimental mean of cauliflower seedlings reliably for the traits here measured.

Seed-priming with H2O2 alleviates subsequent salt stress by preventing ROS production and amplifying antioxidant defense in cauliflower seeds and seedlings

In the present study, we examined the impact of three seed priming agents; H2O2, GA3 and NaCl on the oxidative stress status in primed seed germination dynamics and growth establishment of cauliflower seedlings subsequently grown under salt stress. Results showed beneficial effect of all priming agents in improving plant responses to salinity. However, specific differences, depending on development stage, organ and priming type were recorded. At the germination stage, GA3 was the most advantageous agent to accelerate seedling emergence. At the seedling stage, seedlings obtained from redried H2O2-primed seeds showed the highest level of seed superoxide anion (5-fold) and H2O2 (4-fold), resulting in higher MDA content (2.4-fold). At the same time, priming seeds with H2O2 triggered the overall seedling antioxidant defense, including enzymatic (SOD, CAT, GPX and APX) and non-enzymatic systems (AsA, GSH and proline). Salinity restricted the growth of both leaves (43%) and roots (60%) of cauliflower seedlings issued from unprimed seeds. Under primed conditions, the relative contribution of GA3 and NaCl was more associated with growth establishment and osmotic adjustment. However, H2O2 role was greatly correlated with the antioxidant defense. Indeed, salt-treated seedlings issued from H2O2-primed seeds showed the lowest levels of superoxide anion, H2O2 and MDA, resulting in the highest activities of the entire antioxidant systems. These findings support the hypothesis that cauliflower plants, when exposed to salt stress benefit from H2O2 seed priming, as a pre-germination stimulus, to prevent itself from subsequent oxidative injuries, which supports the hypothesis of “stress memory” of subsequent salt stress.

Development of cauliflower seedlings due to the increase of silicon in substrate

The production of seedlings is an important step in the establishmentof the crop, with repercussions on yield, whose application of Si can improve phytosanitary and performance characteristics.The objective of the study was to analyze the increase of silicon in substrate on the development of seedlings of Brassica oleraceavar. botrytis. The experiment carried out in randomized blocks, with five amounts of silicon (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 g kg-1of substrate) and four replications. Silicon oxide (98% SiO2) used, mixed with the substrate with subsequent filling of the polyethylene trays (128 cells) and seeding. The trays kept in a greenhouse. At 30 days after sowing, the height of seedlings, number of leaves, fresh weight of leaves and stem, dry weight of leaves, stem and root evaluated. The data subjected to analysis of variance by the F test and regression analysis. Of the variables analyzed, only the dry root mass did not show a significant difference. Quadratic models can represent the variation in components. Seedling height increased with the increase of silicon up to thedoseof 75 g kg-1. Other variables showed increases up to a dose of 50 g kg-1. The increase of silicon in the substrate was efficient in the development of seedlings of Brassica oleraceavar. botrytisin an amount of up to 50 g kg-1of substrate.

English

The objective of this research is to evaluate the impact of soil management and localized irrigation techniques on water use efficiency in the cultivation of cauliflower. The treatments consisted of 4 different types of soil management: Direct seeding using crotalaria and brachiaria cover crops, a treatment used both in conjunction, and another that employed a conventional system. Two different irrigation techniques were used: Surface and subsurface. The experimental design was completely random in a factorial arrangement (4x2) with four repetitions. Each experimental unit was composed of 20 cauliflower plants, with a density of 1.8 m between rows and 0.5 m between plants. The experiment was carried out in two stages; the first stage consisted of the establishment of the cover crops and the second stage of the planting of cauliflower cv. Avenger in the different treatments. The cover species were cut at ground level 108 days after they had been sown. The cauliflower seedlings were grown in a protected environment and transplanted after 21 days. Irrigation was managed through the use of tensiometry. Water use efficiency was the variable that was analyzed; the Tukey Test at 5% level of probability was applied to the data that was obtained. A combined use of crotalaria/brachiaria cover crops with subsurface drip irrigation is recommended; this was the combination that most efficiently saved water. Key words: Brassica oleracea cv. botrytis, Crotalaria ochroleuca, Brachiaria ruziziensis, soil management, irrigation.

Identification of Brassicadiene, a Diterpene Hydrocarbon Attractive to the Invasive Stink Bug Bagrada hilaris, from Volatiles of Cauliflower Seedlings, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis

Brassicadiene, a novel tricyclic diterpene hydrocarbon, was identified by a combination of mass spectrometry, microchemical tests, and analysis of NMR spectra. The compound constitutes >90% of the volatile organic compounds produced by cauliflower seedlings, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis. The invasive stink bug Bagrada hilaris is strongly attracted to brassicadiene, providing a mechanism for this herbivore, which specializes on cruciferous plants, to locate its hosts in a nutrient-rich and vulnerable stage.