Cabbage – Lima Europe

Cabbage (comprising several cultivars of Brassica oleracea) belongs to the Brassicaceae or Cruciferae family. It is a leafy green or purple biennial plant, grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. This species includes many common vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts.

Climate: Fresh or temperate climate vegetables, requiring high humidity. Under certain conditions can grow in warmer climates though. Average optimum temperature of 15-18ºC, with average maximum temperature of 23 ºC and average minimum temperatures of 5ºC for better growth and quality. Optimal soil temperature for seed germination is 26 to 30°C. In greenhouses, temperatures of 10-12ºC at night and 13-15ºC during the day will lead seedlings to have better growth. Broccoli requires 2 or 3 ºC more for good development.

Soil: Cauliflower is more demanding on soil than the other crops of its species, needing soils with good fertility and with great contribution of nitrogen and water. Brassicas prefer soils with tendency to acidity and not to alkalinity. They can grow in most type of soils but they prefer medium textured soils and soils with the ability to retain moisture.

pH: 5.5-6.5

Nutritional requirements

Vegetable brassicas have many and varied growth habits. As a result, there are big differences in the nutrient requirement between brassica types to produce a unit of yield. Brassicas can take up high rates of nutrients. For example, broccoli utilizes more than 3kg/ha/day of N, K and Ca with uptake peaking at the start of curd development. The key micronutrients needed in greatest quantities are iron, boron, zinc and manganese.

Nutritional requirements (kg/ha). Source: Práctica de la Fertilización Racional de los Cultivos de España, 2010
Crop	Yield	N	P2O5	K2O
Broccoli	17	200-310	80-100	370-450
Cabbage	50	190-210	65-75	290-320
Chinease Cabbage	65	180-230	70-90	230-360
Cauliflower	30	220-250	70-90	300-360

Fertigation recommendations

Fertigation recommendations (kg/ha). Source: Reche (2008), Cabello y Cabrera (2003), IFAPA (Almería)
Crop	Yield	N	P2O5	K2O
Broccoli	15-20	246-272	80-100	370-450
Cabbage	35-45	195-212	65-75	290-320
Chinease Cabbage	60-70	187-221	70-90	230-360
Cauliflower	25-35	221-255	70-90	300-360

Open Field Cauliflower Fertigation Program. Source: Producción hortícola y seguridad alimentaria, Fernández Rodríguez (2004)
Nutrient distribution (kg/ha). Medium cycle
Weeks after transplanting	N	P2O5	K2O
1	0	0	0
2	15	8	18
3	15	8	18
4	20	12	24
5	20	12	24
6	30	12	36
7	30	12	36
8	30	12	36
9	30	12	36
10	20	4	24
11	20	4	24
12	20	4	24
13	0	0	0
14	0	0	0

Foliar fertilizers

Brassicas are prone to calcium and boron deficiency. Foliar fertilization is the fastest and most effective method to supplement and enrich plant nutrition and to correct nutritional deficiencies when needed. This contributes significantly to higher and better quality productions.

Calcium, Boron, Iron and Zinc are also applied via foliar. Lima Europe has a wide range of foliar fertilizers and special products for foliar application.

To verify the safe rate under local conditions, it is advisable to spray recommended rate on a few plants. After 3-4 days check the tested plants for scorching symptoms.

fertilizer guide

Nutritional requirements

Fertigation recommendations

Foliar fertilizers

Brassica fertilizer program