Causes of Hollow Broccoli and the Latest Prevention and Control Measures

Hollow broccoli refers to a hollow cavity inside the main stem of broccoli without any rotting. This is a common physiological disorder in broccoli cultivation, mainly occurring at the curd maturity stage. At first, several small gaps form inside the main stem, and as the plant grows and matures, these small gaps keep expanding and eventually form a large gap, making the stem hollow. So what causes the hollowing? Let's take a look with Qinnong Web.

I. Causes of Hollowing

1. The main cause of hollowing is improper planting management. When planting density is too sparse and nutrients are sufficient, the plants grow extremely fast, and the probability of hollowing is high.

2. Soil that is too fertile: when planting, farmers often apply excessive nitrogen fertilizer to speed up growth and increase yield, causing rapid plant growth and hollowing.

3. In addition, water shortage during the growing period can also cause hollowing. During the curd growth stage of broccoli, the demand for water is relatively high; if there is a water shortage or improper watering at this time, the probability of hollowing is extremely high.

4. Temperature is also one of the causes of hollowing. Broccoli is a cool-loving vegetable, with an optimum growth temperature of 15-22 degrees. Generally, when the temperature exceeds 25 degrees during cultivation, photosynthesis and respiration speed up, making the curd grow too fast and causing hollowing.

5. In addition, when the plant is deficient in boron at the late stage of cultivation, the old leaves begin to fade, the leaves become thicker and brittle, the tissues inside the stem degenerate and become lignified, causing hollowing.

6. Variety reasons: different broccoli varieties have different adaptability to the environment. Some are not prone to hollowing, some varieties are prone to hollowing, and in some varieties hollowing is inherited.

II. Prevention and Control Measures

1. Choosing varieties that are not prone to hollowing is one of the main means of preventing hollow broccoli. When selecting seeds, choose varieties suited to the local climate and soil according to local conditions. Sow in time so as not to miss the best sowing time and later suffer hollowing caused by temperature. Raise seedlings carefully. When transplanting, pay attention to density: it should be neither too wide nor too dense, with a suitable plant spacing of 30-45cm and a row spacing of about 60-70cm.

2. When transplanting, choose plots with good soil permeability and good drainage. When fertilizing, determine the amount according to the variety, soil fertility and growth conditions. During the curd growth stage, apply less nitrogen fertilizer and appropriately increase phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. If boron deficiency is found, promptly spray foliar fertilizer to maintain boron levels; these take effect quickly, and apply an appropriate amount of boron fertilizer as a top dressing.

The above are the causes of hollow broccoli and the prevention and control methods brought to you by Qinnong Web. We hope they can help you. To learn more about broccoli cultivation, please follow Qinnong Web.