Analysis of the Causes of Early Flowering in Cauliflower and Control Methods
In recent years, as the cauliflower planting area has grown larger and larger, the early flowering phenomenon has become more and more serious. Early flowering in cauliflower causes it to lose its commercial value, seriously affects yield and income, and brings huge economic losses to farmers. So what causes early flowering in cauliflower? How should it be controlled? Let's take a look together.
I. What Is Early Flowering
Cauliflower is a green-plant vernalization crop. Its seedlings can only pass through vernalization after they have grown to a certain number of leaves and a certain stem thickness and then encounter low temperatures for a certain number of days, but the vernalization temperature and plant size differ among different varieties. If cauliflower that has passed through vernalization cannot meet the conditions for vegetative growth, its reproductive growth will be stronger than its vegetative growth, causing many small plants to grow small curds. This is early flowering.
II. Causes
1. Abnormal climate
In recent years, the warm-winter phenomenon in China has been serious. Excessively high temperatures make cauliflower overwintered as small seedlings grow faster after sowing and transplanting than in previous years. A warm winter also shortens autumn, causing cauliflower to grow slowly after transplanting. In early winter, the stem thickness and leaf number of the plants reach the vernalization requirements, causing cauliflower overwintered as small seedlings to vernalize early. By late winter and early spring, the leaves of the cauliflower have not yet grown large, but curds appear prematurely.
2. Improper cultivation and management
Cauliflower should overwinter as small seedlings. After transplanting in November and recovering from transplanting, it enters the seedling-recovery growth period, and after December it basically stops. In early spring, fertilizer and water management should be strengthened to promote its growth so that vernalization is completed. If management before overwintering is improper, it will cause excessively vigorous growth and large plants to overwinter, making vernalization occur earlier and ultimately leading to early flowering.
III. Control Methods
1. Sow at the right time
Before sowing cauliflower that overwinters as small seedlings, pay attention to the weather forecast. If the forecast says winter temperatures will be on the low side, sowing can be appropriately advanced to ensure transplanting into the field before freezing. If the forecast is for a warm-winter year, sowing must be delayed.
2. Control seedling growth
During the cauliflower seedling-raising period, the method of seedling hardening can be used to prevent seedlings from growing leggy. If the temperature remains high and some seedlings grow too fast, growth inhibitors such as chlormequat can be sprayed to inhibit seedling growth. The method of transplanting seedlings temporarily can also be used to inhibit seedling growth, because temporary transplanting can damage the seedling root system, thereby achieving the purpose of inhibiting aboveground seedling growth and delaying the vernalization time of the seedlings.
The above is an introduction to the causes of early flowering in cauliflower and the control methods. We hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please follow us.