Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Cabbage facelift
This article looked at the quest for vigorous regional cabbage varieties that would thrive in specific areas and conditions.
That old Walrus story about cabbages and kings is getting an exciting facelift in South Africa.
And if a Gauteng-based seed company has its way, this crop will soon rank among the highest of the high in the rarefied atmosphere of the local vegetable kingdom.
In recent years, cabbages have become one of the most important vegetable crops in South Africa after tomatoes, onions and green beans.
Right now some 15 hybrid cultivars are available to growers to cater for rapidly expanding consumer tastes and eating habits.
But the search is still on for the ultimate cabbage, and the [then] Roode-Lyon company is doing trials with more than 27 cultivars from all over the world on its experimental farm near Pyramid in Pretoria.
The company’s managing director, HB Roode, says: “The object of these experiments is to find cultivars that are specifically suited to a certain region.
“What we’re really after is to be able to say to a grower in no uncertain terms: ‘Look, man, we recommended this cabbage because it is absolutely perfect for your particular circumstances.”
ADVANTAGES OF NEW VARIETIES
Roode says cabbages are among the easiest vegetables to grow. What’s more, with the new hybrid cultivars now available, farmers are virtually guaranteed a 100% yield from what they plant.
“The hybrids are well adapted. They are vigorous growers, so much so that you can bet your bottom dollar that every seedling you transplant will develop into a fine head of cabbage.
“Another advantage is that pest problems are limited to aphids and cabbage worm. If you control these at an early stage, your crop will need little maintenance afterwards.”
The new hybrids have also changed the old method of planting in 1m rows, says Roode. “Now the farmer can plan his or her spacing according to the particular characteristics of the hybrid they want to grow.
“In short, this means that they can plan their income, with reasonable accuracy, according to the hybrid they are growing.”
Roode-Lyon’s experimental cabbage project entails testing some 30 cultivars a year under summer and winter conditions.
“What happens is that we drop most of the cultivars and usually end up with one or two that we think have potential for this country,” explains Roode.
“The procedure after this is to give seed from these cultivars to the Department of Agriculture for further testing. It takes a minimum of two years before such cultivars are released commercially.
“Some of the cultivars we use in our trials are already established overseas, but we also try out quite a few brand-new ones.”
The latest stars to emerge from the company’s trial cabbage patch include three from America and one from the Netherlands.
The company believes these four cultivars show promise of being adaptable to certain regions in South Africa, but there is still a great deal of work to be done before they get the nod.
The cultivars, namely Superboy, Superpak and Histanda, all have one thing in common: they are very early and mature within 60 to 65 days of transplanting.
The fourth one, Rio Verde, is fairly late, but it is an extremely good shipper as it has a very hard, flat head.
The early cultivars have also been found to produce big heads with excellent weight and uniformity. These, says Roode, are very well suited to salads.
At this stage, the company can’t give specific recommendations on the new cultivars, as they are still very much in the experimental stage.
However, Roode gives this tip on the fertilisation of cabbages in general: “In the trials with the new cultivars so far, we have found that they respond well to a balanced foliar-feeding programme.
“We give them a 2:3:4 mixture only, with no top dressing. In addition, I want to stress the importance of trace elements in cabbage production.
“We found that the crop thrived when we gave it a mixture of boron and molybdenum; this resulted in a complete absence of deficiencies like dryness.”
Future work at the company’s experimental farm will also concentrate on cultivars with the right stem height. This is an important point because when the stem is high enough above the soil, root rot is eliminated to a large extent.