Using Defoliation to Estimate Yield Losses in Cauliflower: Application in Hail Damage Assessment
Year: 1998
Type: article
Abstract: Experiments were designed to assess the effects of defoliation and bending back petioles on the head mass of cauliflower ( Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis Alef. subvar. cauliflora, cv. Matra) in the Central Ebro Valley of Spain. Treatments were applied at seven different stages during the growth cycle. Defoliation reduced final head mass, the amount of the reduction increasing with level of defoliation. Bending back the petioles produced a loss in head mass intermediate between that caused by 33% and 66% defoliation. In all four trials, mass loss was highest when defoliation occurred at a head diameter between 20 and 38 mm. Neither defoliation nor bending of the petioles appeared to influence head induction or length of the production cycle. Maximum loss of head mass (85.4% to 64.9%) occurred when cauliflower was totally defoliated at a head diameter of 20—25 mm.
Source: HortScience
Authors: Julio Muro, Ignacio Irigoyen, Carmen Lamsfus
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2275372669