1Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar.
Department of Vegetables Science, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar-263 145, Uttarakhand
2.Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar.
3Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar.
4Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar.
A study was conducted for two years during the rainy season of 2004 and 2005 to assess the performance of early maturing cauliflower varieties grown in a naturally ventilated polyhouse. The varieties tested were: Pusa Meghna, Pusa Early Synthetic, Early Kunwari, Early Himlata, Pusa Deepali, Pant Gobhi-3 and Pant Composite. Based on two years mean, the plant height was observed maximum (66.05cm) in the variety Pant Composite, while the variety Pusa Meghna produced dwarfest plants (54.5cm) with widest leaf lamina (25.4cm). Maximum number of leaves per plant (23.45) and the longest leaf (50.50cm) were produced by the variety Pant Gobhi-3. The per curd weight was maximum (472.5 g) in early Himlata followed by Pusa Deepali (439.0g) and Pusa Meghna (426.5g). The former also yielded highest (16.25 t/ha) followed by Early Kunwari (15.8 t/ha). The maturity was earliest (78.15 days) in Pusa Meghna followed by Early Kunwari (83.10 days). Considering all characters like vegetative growth, curd size, yield and the crop duration, the varieties Early Himlata, Early Kunwari and Pusa Meghna proved most suitable for protected rainy season cultivation in a naturally ventilated polyhouse.
Cauliflower, Polyhouse, Performance, Varieties
