Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial for Greenhouse Cabbage
Cabbage is one of the important vegetables in China and also one of the best vegetables recommended by the World Health Organization. It is also known as lotus white, cabbage, Korean cabbage, cauliflower, bao bao cai, round cabbage, etc. It is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant of the genus Brassica in the cruciferous family. Except for Chinese kale, which originated in China, all its varieties originated from the Mediterranean to the North Sea coast. Let us take a look at greenhouse cabbage cultivation techniques below!
Land Preparation and Fertilization
For greenhouse cabbage cultivation, generally 5000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure and 50 kg of compound fertilizer with medium nitrogen, high potassium, and low phosphorus are applied per mu. To improve quality and enhance stress resistance, high-quality calcium fertilizer can be applied together, which can prevent tipburn. Spread the fertilizer evenly in the field, plow and rake level, then make beds.
Timely Transplanting
Greenhouse cabbage cultivation is generally completed before the end of March. If planting is too late, the advantage of early marketing under protected cultivation cannot be realized, economic benefits are not high, and the significance of early cultivation is lost. Generally, for early and mid-maturing varieties, the density per mu is 2500-2800 plants. If the density is too high, single plant weight decreases; if the density is too low, overall yield also decreases. Choose continuous sunny and high-temperature weather lasting 3-5 days for transplanting. After transplanting, water each plant with transplanting water; the amount of water should not be too large.
Field Management
Cabbage is a semi-cold-tolerant vegetable. When cabbage has just been transplanted and is recovering, it needs relatively high temperatures. The daytime temperature in the greenhouse should be kept at 25-28°C, and at night not lower than 10°C, to promote rapid root growth. Generally, the seedlings recover after three to five days. After that, it enters the seedling hardening stage; appropriately lower the temperature, keep it at 20-25°C during the day, control water, and harden seedlings for about 10 days. When it enters the rosette stage, according to soil moisture and seedling growth, water lightly and apply 15 kg of urea to promote rapid leaf growth. When it enters the heading stage, the demand for phosphorus fertilizer and potassium fertilizer is relatively large, and the demand for water is also relatively large. Apply 20 kg of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. In the field, it is best to keep the soil alternately dry and moist; do not irrigate heavily. The temperature during the heading stage should not be too high. As the outside temperature rises, gradually increase ventilation, and the daytime maximum should not exceed 28°C.
Disease Control
Because greenhouse cabbage production takes place in a high-humidity growing environment, two diseases often occur: downy mildew and black rot. The symptoms of cabbage downy mildew are yellow, polygonal, irregular lesions on the upper side of the leaves, with perforation in severe cases, and a layer of gray mold on the underside. It generally occurs frequently under high humidity in the middle heading stage. Infinito can be used for control at the early stage of disease onset, with two consecutive applications. Black rot causes rot at the base of the plant, leaves rotting, a foul odor, and black patches. Vanguard can be used and sprayed twice.
Timely Harvest
The harvest period for greenhouse cabbage is generally in late April and early May. When the top of the cabbage head becomes flat and the head is firm, it can be harvested. For early-maturing varieties, the net weight of a single head is generally 1-1.5 kg. When harvesting, keep two to three outer leaves at the lower part of the head to protect the head, prevent compression and mechanical damage during transport, and improve the marketability of the head.