New cauliflower variety

IN NOVEMBER-MATURITY group of cauliflower, `Improved Japanese' is the only open-pollinated variety available. Its creamish-coloured curd is medium-sized. To develop another variety in this group was a long-felt demand. Therefore Dr. S. R. Sharma et al. at the IARI, New Delhi, have developed a new variety of cauliflower. Released by the Central Variety Release Committee in 1999, the new variety. Pusa Sharad', is recommended for Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Rajasthan and West Bengal.

The plants of `Pusa Sharad' are semi-erect and open type with small stalk. Leaves are glaborous, bluish-green, long, petiolate oblong with narrow opex, wavy margin, prominent midrib and ear like lobes at the base of lamina. Its curd becomes ready 85 days after transplanting, about 2 weeks earlier than `Improved Japanese'. Retentive white, knobby, very compact and semi-dome- shaped curds weigh 750-1,000 g each. On an average `Pusa Sharad' provides 26 tonnes/ha of curd, about 20 per cent higher than `Improved Japanese'.

It is suitable for cultivation in mid-early (November maturity group). However, it can be cultivated as a variety of December maturity group but with a smaller-sized curd. The optimum temperature for its curd development is 16-20 deg. Therefore sowing and planting time should be adjusted according to locality and planting time.

July-end to early-August is sowing time for north Indian plains, whereas August-end or early-September is ever for transplanting. About 400- 500 g of seed is enough for raising seedings for a hectare crop.

Treat nursery-beds with 0.3 per cent Catan or Thiram before a day of sowing. Seeds should also be treated with Bavistin or Thiram or Captan at 3 g/kg seed. This helps check damping off. Add farmyard manure at 30 tonnes/ha, and N, P and K 60, 50 and 60 kg/ha as a basal dose. The spacing between and within rows should be kept to 45 cm. Apply N at 60 kg/ha followed by earthing-up one month after transplanting. The curds become ready from mid- November to mid-August.

Som Dutt

P&I Division ICAR

Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan

Pusa New Delhi-110012

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