PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF

BROCCOLI

Akshay Chittora

INTRODUCTIONBotanical name: Brassica oleracea var. italica

Family : Brassicaceae(Crucifereae)

Origin : Mediterranean region(Italy)

Chromosome no. : 2n=2x=18

Progenitor : Colewart ( Brassica oleracea var sylvestris)

The word broccoli came from ‘brocco’ (a Italian word means shoot)

Sprouting broccoli is sometimes briefly called broccoli.

This is not so much popular vegetable in our country. It is mostly cultivated in hilly regions of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh and Nilgiri hills.

. Morphologically sprouting broccoli resembles cauliflower.

The plant forms a kind of head consisting of green buds and thick fleshy stalks, stalks generally longer than cauliflower.

Edible part is terminal head but sometimes sprouts also (which develop in the axil of leaves).

Composition (Per 100g edible portion) Water : 89.9% Carbohydrate : 5.5% Protein : 3.3% Fat : 0.2% Energy : 37cal Vitamin A : 9000 IU Vitamin B : 33 IU Vitamin E : 137 IU Ca : 1.29% P : 0.79% K : 3.5% S : 1.26% Fe : 205ppm I : 1.965ppm Cu : 24ppm

Uses Both heads and fleshy stems are eaten as salad

or cooked as single or mixed vegetables with potato.

It has 130 times more vitamin A than cauliflower and 22 more than cabbage.

It has anticarcinogenic property. It is a rich source of sulphoraphane a compound associated with reducing the risk of cancer.

It is also beneficial in heart disease It is used to prepare salad, soup, curry, pie,

cassarole etc. Boiling more than 10 minutes reduces its

nutritional content.

CULTIVARS There are green, white, purple coloured cultivars but only

green types are generally grown.Early(Matures in 60-70 days)-1. De Cicco2. Green Bud3. Sparten Early4. Waltham 295. Green Mountain6. Coastal7. Atlantic8. Palam Samridhi9. Pusa KTS-1

Mid- (In 90-110 days) Green Sprouting Medium

Late- (In 110-120 days) Green Sprouting Late

F1 Hybrids by private sector- Southern Comet Premium Crop Clipper Laser Corsair Stiff Emerald Corona Green Surf (late) Excalibur Late Corona

CLIMATE

It is sensitive to temp. and warm weather causes small thin leaves and loose heads

The opt. temp. for growth is 20º to 30 ºC for early and 5 to 10º C for late types.

Optimum temp. for heading is 15-20º CSome var. are tolerant to frost but annual

types are sensitive.

SOIL

Sandy to sandy loam soil is good with 6 to 6.8 soil pH.

Water stagnation is problem so heavy soil should be avoided.

Soil should be fertile with good moisture content.

LAND PREPARATION

The land should be thoroughly prepared by ploughing 3-4 times and make it friable.

It should be levelled properly before making small beds for planting the crop.

Generally beds of 3x3 or 4x4m size are prepared for transplanting the seedlings.

Land is prepared about one month before sowing and 15-20 tons of well rotted FYM per ha should be incorporated in soil.

Flowers

Pods Seeds

SOWING The sowing time is September to mid

November in north India.Both direct sowing and transplanting

methods are used.In direct sowing 2 to 2.5 kg. seed per ha

is needed and for transplanting, seed rate is 500 to 600 g/ha.

TRANSPLANTING 3 to 4 weeks old seedlings are used for

transplanting.The general spacing is 60x45cm.

In direct sowing method thinning is essential after 15 to 20 days of sowing.

Fertilizers application60 – 80 kg. N, 60 – 80 kg. P, 40 – 60 kg. K are

recommended for one ha area.Half dose of N with full dose of P and K is

applied as basal dose.Rest half N is top dressed in two split doses,

first after 30 – 35 days of transplanting and second after head formation.

Sometimes B and Mo are also recommended

Irrigation Frequent irrigation at 10-15 days

interval are given depending upon weather condition.

Interculture It is a shallow rooted crop so

hoeing in the early stage is needed and should not be done beyond 5-6cm near to plant.

A light earthing up at final hoeing is beneficial.

Pre planting sprays of Basalin@2kg a.i./ha followed by 2 hoeing control weeds effectively.

Harvesting

Central head is harvested before the buds open and bud clusters are compact. The head may be 15 – 25 cm. in dia and 250 – 600 gm. In weight The heads are cutoff with about 15 cm. of the stem attached and after cutting the part of foliage is removed from the harvested shoots

Early- 50 – 60 q/haLate -100 – 150 q/haAverage- 75 -100q/ha

Yield

Post harvest handling After harvesting heads are kept in dark

place for sometime otherwise they become yellowish

Yellowing can be checked by storing in O2 free chamber or aplication of BA @ 10 ppm or 2,4,5-T @ 2-4 ppm 3-4 days before harvesting.

Storage

• Heads can be stored at 32º F with 80–85 % RH for 8-10 days.

Diseases DISEASE SYMPTOMS CONTROL1. Damping off(Pythium, Phytophthora,

Rhizoctonia spp.)

Germinated seed killed or seedlings topple down due to collar rotting

i. Seed teeatment with Thiram or Captan@ 3g/kg seed

ii. Spray 0.2% Dithane M-45

iii. Soil sterilization

2. Downy Mildew (Pernospora parasitica)

Fluffy downy growth on lower surface and purplish or yellow brown spots on upper surface of leaves

i. Seed treatment in hot water at 50 C for 30 min.⁰

ii. Spray 0.3% Dithane M-45 or Ridomil-72

3.Yellowing(Fusarium oxysporum fsp. coglutinans)

Yellowing of leaves starting from lower leaves leading upward fast

i. Seed treatmentii. 0.2% Carbendazim or

Benlate

DISEASE SYMPTOMS CONTROL4. Club root (Plasmodiophora

brassicae)

Swelling of roots causes club shaped rootlets

i. Drenchimg of seed beds with 1% formeldehyde

ii. Liming to correct soil pH as it is more in acidic soils

5. Black leg (Phoma lingam)

Seedlings topple over due to distortion of vascular bundle and root system

i. Seed treatmentii. Hot water treatmentiii. Spray 0.2% Dithane M-45

6. Black rot (Xanthomonas

campestris)

V shaped lesions with brown veins on leaf

i. Hot water seed treatment ii. Seedling treatment with

0.01% Streptocyclineiii. Spray 0.01%

Streptocycline

7. Soft rot (Erwinia carotovora)

Water soaked patches on head which later turn dark brown

As black rot

Downy mildew

Black leg

INSECT SYMPTOMS CONTROL1. Cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicae)

Bluish green caterpillars feed on leaves starting from margin to centre

i. Grow paired mustard rows after every 25 row of crop

ii. Spray 0.03% Fenvelerate or Cypermethrin

2. Cut worm (Agrotis ipsilon)

Caterpillars cut down the young seedlings just above the ground level

i. Clean cultivation ii. Destruction of big soil

clodsiii. Soil application of Aldrin

@ 20 kg/ha

3. Cabbage aphids (Brevicoryne brassicae)

Nymphs and adults suck the sap from leaves and causes sooty mould

Spray 0.03% Dimethoate or 0.05% Methyl demeton

Insects pests

INSECT SYMPTOMS CONTROL4. Diamond back moth (Plutella xylostella)

1cm long greenish caterpillars feed on the lower side of leaves producing whitish patches and make holes

As cabbage butterfly

5. Cabbage flea beetle (Phylloterata cruciferae)

Grub feed on tender roots and adult is bluish green, 1.5-2cm long and make small round holes in leaves & stem

Spray 0.2% Carbaryl

Cabbage butterfly

Physiological disorders DISORDER CAUSES CONTROL1. Browning/ Red Rot/ Brown Rot (water soaked lesions on

leaf & head which later turn rusty brown)

B deficiency i. Soil application of Borax @ 10-15 kg/ha

ii. Spray of 0.25-0.5 % solution of Borax

2. Whiptail (Plants become chloratic

later leaves may be strap like)

Mo deficiency i. 1.5 kg Sodium or Ammonium molybdate/ha

ii. Spray 0.1% Ammonium molybdate

3. Blindness (head not formed due to

damage to terminal bud)

• Low temp.• Mechanical injury of terminal bud• Insect injury such as Cutworm

i. Careful handling of plants

ii. Avoid exposure of plant to very low temp.

DISORDER CAUSES CONTROL

4. Riceyness (velvety or granual

appearance on surface of head)

• Higher or lower temp. then the optimum• Poor seed stock

i. Selection of proper variety and transplanting at right time.

ii. Use good seed stock.

5. Hollow Stem (water soaked and

diccoloured tissue)

• B deficiency• Higher N

i. Spray 0.25-5 % Boraxii. Reduce fertilizer dose

and closer spacing.

Thank you