How to Fertilize Napa Cabbage: A Detailed Guide to Scientific Fertilization Methods and Techniques
Napa cabbage is one of the most common vegetables in daily life, and there are a great many farmers who grow napa cabbage; almost every farmer has grown napa cabbage. So how do you fertilize napa cabbage? Let's take a look below.
1. Apply base fertilizer
Napa cabbage has a long growing period and needs a large amount of high-quality organic fertilizer with long-lasting effects, so applying a large amount of barnyard manure as base fertilizer is very important. Generally, no less than 5000 kg of barnyard manure is used per mu. Before plowing, first spread 60% of the barnyard manure on the field and plow it deep into the soil; before harrowing, spread 40% of the barnyard manure on the surface and harrow it into the shallow soil, then form ridges. Superphosphate or compound fertilizer should be applied in bands together with the barnyard manure, at 50-75 kg per mu.
2. Apply seedling fertilizer well
To ensure that the seedlings get enough nutrients, a quick-acting fertilizer needs to be applied as a “seedling-promoting fertilizer”. Use 4 kg of ammonium nitrate or 5-8 kg of ammonium sulfate per mu, apply it in the sowing holes or furrows before direct sowing and mix it thoroughly with the soil, then water and sow.
3. Fertilizer for the rosette stage
The rosette leaves that grow during the rosette stage are the organs that will later produce large amounts of photosynthetic products during the heading stage. Sufficient fertilization and watering are the key to ensuring strong growth of the rosette leaves, but at the same time attention must be paid to preventing excessive vegetative growth of the rosette leaves, which can delay head formation. The rosette-stage fertilizer should be applied when a small number of plants in the field begin to form a rosette. Generally, apply 800-1500 kg of human and animal manure, 50-100 kg of plant ash, or 10-15 kg of ammonium nitrate plus 7-10 kg each of phosphate and potassium fertilizer per mu. For directly sown napa cabbage, fertilizer should be applied in small furrows 8-10 cm deep opened along the sides of the plants and then covered firmly with soil. For transplanted napa cabbage, apply the fertilizer into the furrows or holes, mix it thoroughly with the soil, and then plant the seedlings. If excessive vegetative growth occurs in the late rosette stage, measures to “harden the seedlings” must be taken.
4. Heading fertilizer
The heading stage is the period when the product is formed, and assimilation is at its strongest, so the demand for fertilizer and water is great. Apply the heading fertilizer 5-6 days before head formation, using a large amount of complete fertilizer with long-lasting effects, and in particular increase the application of potassium fertilizer. Generally, apply 20 kg of ammonium nitrate per mu, 10-15 kg each of superphosphate and potassium sulfate, or 1600-2500 kg of dried manure and 50-100 kg of plant ash as the heading fertilizer. To make the nutrients last longer, it is best to mix chemical fertilizer with decomposed barnyard manure and apply it in bands in furrows 8-10 cm deep between the rows. This topdressing has the effect of filling out the interior of the head and promoting “filling”, so it is also called “heart-filling fertilizer”.
Fertilization of napa cabbage should be determined according to different growth stages. Different growth stages have different fertilizer requirements, so the principle of combining staged fertilization with focused fertilization should be adopted.