The potential of mini cauliflowers

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33626, 30 August 1974, Page 11

The potential of mini cauliflowers

Mini cauliflowers were ! (originally developed in Eng-j, (land for the purpose of pro-,; 'viding an end product suit- i able for freezing. Since the i ■ inception of this size ofj< vegetable some three years' [ago assessments have also!. : been made for its potential!, on the fresh market and this;, 'has met with similar success;( (to the frozen commodity. The size of the curd is>( (limited to about 3Lin. (7.62 h cm). This is achieved by!' direct drilling of the seed in., (close rows with no thinning,! cultivation or side dressing , of the plants and with one!, single destructive Graded seed has boosted! yields by 10 per, cent and[, the aim' is to grow the ! plants with sufficient uni- | formity to enable maximum , harvesting on the same day. , By drilling different size grades of seed separately, , some form of continuity of harvesting can be achieved — the largest seed will mature first, the next in size a day or two later and so : on. Trials have indicated that the yield of marketable-sized curds is influenced by the' spacing of the individual plants both in and between the rows. The yield tends to i

increase as the plant spacing 'decreases with the highest ,yield being obtained from that of 6 inches by 4. inches (15.24 cm by 11.43 .cm). ' However at the very close [ (spacings there was a tendency for the curds to be (rather stalky and flatj I topped, a characteristic of possibly doubtful acceptance, ion the market when com>pared to the more solid! 'hemispherical curds pro-; ;duced by the traditional (methods of growing! , cauliflowers and also i achieved with somewhat I wider spacings. i Row spacings of 6, and 9 inches (15.24, 19.05 and 22.86 cm) with 41 to 6 inches (11.43 to 15.24 cm) between plants have been found suitable. Selection of cultivars also has a most important bearing on a successful venture into mini cauliflower production. Uniformity of maturity characteristics, high yield and high curd quality under close planting conditions are essential criteria. Early summer selections have generally proven more suitable than autumn types.