Fresh, green leafy cabbage is incredibly nutritious; but very low in fat and calories. Fresh cabbage is an excellent source of natural antioxidan; vitamin C. It is also rich in essential vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6) and thiamin (vitamin B-1). Cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin-K. Cabbage contains powerful antioxidants that may help reduce inflammation. Cabbage contains 1.4% protein, 0.2% fat and 5.7% of carbohydrate. This vegetable has been grown around the world for thousands of years and can be found in a variety of dishes. In India, cabbage covers about 4 lakh hectare area with the total production of 90 lakh metric tonnes and average production of 22.1 metric tonnes/ha. Higher productivity of cabbage can be achieved by adoption of improved cultivation practices.
Crop is sown in August, September and October for early, mid and late sowing. For early planting, Prime of India, Golden acre, Early Drumhead and Meenakshi are most suitable varieties, whereas for late planting Pusa Drumhead, Red cabbage, Pusahillgroup and Copenhagen Market varieties are preferred. High yielding hybrid varieties are also available for main season planting. A seed rate of 500gram per hectare is sufficient.Prepare seedbeds 10-15cm above the ground maintaining width of 1m and length of 2m. Seedlings become ready for transplanting in 4-6 weeks. For early planting,distance between the plants should 45/45cm and for late farming it should be 60/60cm. Cabbage requires 120kilogram nitrogen, 60kilogram phosphate and 60 kilogram potash per hectare.
An addition of 30 tonnes of farm yard manure will take care of requirement for other nutrients.Irrigate cabbage field at interval of 10-15 days and keep the field weeds free. There are two common pests which damage the crop, aphids and caterpillars.
To control these pests spray neem seed kernel extract (4%).Cabbage heads should be harvested when they attain full size.The marketable cabbage heads can be stored for 4-5 days under ordinary conditions and for several weeks in cold storage.
To sell the crop at appropriate price, collect information about price at different markets and sell the produce accordingly. By adopting improved cultivation practices and better marketing, one can obtain higher yield and high profit.
