Oakes Irrigation Research Site
Carrington Research Extension Center * North Dakota State University
P.O. Box 531, Oakes, ND 58474-0531, Voice: (701) 742-2189, FAX: (701) 742-2700, email: rgreenla@ndsuext.nodak.edu

CABBAGE HYBRID PERFORMANCE TRIAL, 1998
Richard Greenland, Leonard Besemann, and Heidi Kerlin


Cabbage grows well in the cool climate of North Dakota, but cabbage production is limited due to market uncertainty. Data were collected to determine suitability of six hybrids for both the fresh and slaw markets.

Results summary

Table 5. Yield data, overall quality and head shape of early (fresh market) cabbage.

Table 6. Cabbage head characteristics for early (fresh market) harvest.

Table 7. Late (slaw market) yields and harvest data.

Table 8. Cabbage head characteristics for the late (slaw market) harvest.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Soil: Maddock sandy loam; pH=7.4; 2.2% organic matter; soil-P and soil-K were very high; soil-S was very low.
Previous crops: 1997 - potato; 1996 - field corn; 1995 - soybean.
Seedbed preparation: Disked on 31 October 1997. Multiweeded (field cultivated) twice on April 20 to incorporate herbicide and smooth seedbed.
Planting: Direct seeded cabbage on April 21 with a Stanhay vegetable planter modified to drill barley (1 bu/acre, 6-inch rows) between and parallel to the cabbage rows. Cabbage seeds were spaced about 7 inches apart in 17-inch rows. Plants were later thinned to 15 inches apart (about 26,000 plants/acre). Seeds were placed about ½ to ¾  inches deep into a flat, fine seedbed. Sprayed Poast + Dash (1.5 pt/acre + 1 qt/50 gal) on May 26 to kill the barley cover crop.
Plots: Main plots were 34 ft long by one row (17 inches) wide. Each main plot was divided into 2, 17-ft long sections. The study had 4 reps.
Fertilizer: On April 13, broadcast 14 lbs N/acre and 70 lbs P2O5/acre as 10-50-0, 16 lbs N/acre and 19 lbs S/acre as 21-0-0-24, and 94 lbs K20/acre as 0-0-60. Applied 69 lbs N/acre as urea on May 29 and sprayed 50 lbs N/acre as 28-0-0 on June 24.
Irrigation: Overhead sprinkler irrigation as needed.
Pest Control: Weeds were controlled using Treflan (1 pt/acre applied preplant incorporated on April 20), Dacthal (10 lbs/acre on May 5), Lentagran (2 lbs/acre on June 11) and by hand weeding. Sprayed Sevin (1.5 pt/acre on May 20) to control flea beetles. Agree (1 lb/acre on June 16), Malathion 57 EC (2 pt/acre on July 24), DiPel (1 lb/acre on June 25, July 1, July 7, July 13, July 20, July 27, Aug 11, and Aug 20), and Asana (8 oz/acre on Aug 7 and Aug 13) controlled cabbage looper and cabbage worm.
Harvest: One section of each main plot was hand harvested when heads were firm and of marketable size (early harvest for fresh market). The other section was harvested about two weeks later (late harvest for processing). Cabbage head characteristics were measured on representative cabbage heads selected at each harvest from each plot.


RESULTS

Bobcat, Bronco, and Cheers all had high yields and good quality. Bronco was the best fresh market cabbage (mostly due to head size and quality). Cheers had some leaf tip burn if harvested late. Headstart and Gourmet didn't have good quality. Loughton was too late maturing to grow this far north.

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Table 5. Yield data, overall quality and head shape of early (fresh market) cabbage in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 1998 cabbage hybrid performance trial.
Hybrid Seed source Days to harvest Harvest spread Number of heads Yield Overall score Head shape§ Head size
------- days ------- 1000s/acre tons/acre 1 to 10 1 to 5 lbs
Bobcat R 108 19 22.6 39.9 6.9 2.4 3.5
Bronco BZ 119 31 22.2 26.8 7.8 3.7 2.4
Cheers AT 115 21 20.9 35.4 7.3 2.9 3.4
Gourmet FM 117 21 16.2 21.7 5.6 3.0 2.7
Headstart AS 106 7 14.9 29.4 5.7 5.0 4.0
Loughton ST 131 15 4.3 6.9 6.8 4.6 3.2
LSD (0.05) 5 13 3.4 5.8 0.7 0.9 0.6
C.V. (%) 3 44 13 14 7 16 13

See appendix A for seed source codes.

Harvest spread is the number of days between first head ready to harvest until last head in plot
  ready to harvest.

§Head shape: 1 is very flat; 2 is flat; 3 is round; 4 is tall; 5 is very tall.

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Table 6. Cabbage head characteristics for early (fresh market) harvest in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 1998 cabbage hybrid performance trial.
Hybrid Seed source Head
density
Diameter Color Core
equator polar inside§ outside length width
1 to 3 ----- inches ---- 1 to 3 1 to 4 --- inches ---
Bobcat R 2.4 6.8 5.8 2.0 3.0 3.4 1.1
Bronco BZ 3.0 5.3 5.9 2.0 3.0 3.1 1.1
Cheers AT 2.3 6.4 6.0 1.8 3.0 3.5 1.1
Gourmet FM 1.5 5.9 5.8 1.7 3.3 3.1 1.0
Headstart AS 1.6 6.5 7.3 2.0 2.9 3.6 1.1
Loughton ST 3.0 5.3 6.6 2.0 3.0 3.4 1.3
LSD (0.05) 0.9 0.3 0.6 0.2 NS NS 0.1
C.V. (%) 8 4 6 8 8 10 5

See appendix A for seed source codes.

Visual estimate of head density. The higher the number the more solid the head.

§Color of inside of cabbage head: 1 is whitish green; 2 is yellow green; 3 is light green.

Color of outside of cabbage: 1 is yellow green; 2 to 4 are light, medium, and dark green.

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Table 7. Late (slaw market) harvest data for the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 1998 cabbage hybrid performance trial.
Hybrid Seed source Days to harvest Number of heads Yield Overall score
1000s/A tons/acre 1 to 10
Bobcat R 127 21.8 54.6 a 7.5
Bronco BZ 137 20.9 45.7 b 7.5
Cheers AT 140 21.8 61.4 a 7.5
Gourmet FM 140 17.9 30.6 c 6.0
Headstart AS 127 16.2 44.7 b 6.1
LSD (0.05) 4 2.9 0.8
C.V. (%) 2 10 10 8

See appendix A for seed source codes.

Values in this column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 0.05 level.

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Table 8. Cabbage head characteristics for the late (slaw market) harvest in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 1998 cabbage hybrid performance trial.
Hybrid Seed source Inside color Head density§ Head size Head diameter Core
equator polar length width
1 to 3 1 to 3 lbs/head ------------- inches ---------------
Bobcat R 1.6 2.9 5.0 a 7.7 6.6 3.2 1.1
Bronco BZ 2.0 3.0 4.4 a 7.1 7.3 3.8 1.2
Cheers AT 1.8 3.0 5.4 ab 7.4 6.7 4.1 1.1
Gourmet FM 1.5 2.8 3.4 b 6.3 6.7 3.6 0.9
Headstart AS 1.8 2.6 5.5 c 7.3 7.9 4.3 1.0
LSD (0.05) NS NS NS 0.7 NS 0.1
C.V. (%) 19 9 11 6 8 20 8

See appendix A for seed source codes.

Inside head color: 1 = whitish green; 2 = yellow green; 3 = light green.

§Head density: 1 to 3; 1= loose, 3 = solid.

Values in this column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 0.05 level.

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