Mekdela Amba University

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND natural resource

Department of horticulture

EFFECTS OF NITROGEN FERTILIZER RATE AND INTRA ROW SPACING ON

GROWTH AND YIELD COMPONENTS OF CABBAGE AT GIMBA UNDER
IRRIGATION FARMING SYSTEM IN LEGAMBO DISTRICT SOUTH WOLLO ZONE,
ETHIOPIA

By

1. MEKDES MEKASHAW (MSC)

2. SEMAHAGN GEREMEW (BSC)

3. ADEM ENDRIS (BSC)

Oct 2019

Tuluawlia,Ethiopia

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3

1.1 Background and justification 3

1.2. Statement of the Problem................................................................................................................6

1.3. Objectives of the Study.....................................................................................................................6
1.3.1 General Objective.......................................................................................................................6
1.3.2 Specific Objectives......................................................................................................................6
1.4. Research Questions..........................................................................................................................7
Chapter 2.LETRETURE REIVIEW..................................................................................................................8
2.1 Origin, Distribution and Botany of Cabbage......................................................................................8
2.2 Importance of Cabbage.....................................................................................................................9
2.3 World Cabbage Production and Importance.....................................................................................9
2.4 Head Cabbage Production in Ethiopia............................................................................................10
2.5 Agronomic Practice of Cabbage Production....................................................................................11
2.6 Nutritional requirement of Cabbage..............................................................................................12
2.8 Cabbage crop response to nitrogen Fertilizer..................................................................................13
2.8 Cabbage Response to Spacing.........................................................................................................14
2.9 Maturity, harvesting, marketable yield and quality of cabbage......................................................14
Chapter 3. MATERIAL AND METHODE......................................................................................................17
3.1 Description of the Study Area..........................................................................................................17
3.2 Experimental Treatments and Design..............................................................................................17
3.3 Procedures and Management of the Experimental Plant................................................................19
3.4 Data Collected.................................................................................................................................20
3.4.1 Growth parameters /Phonological parameters........................................................................20
3.4.2 Yield parameters.......................................................................................................................21
3.4.3 Soil analysis...............................................................................................................................21
4.BENEFICIARY OF THE STUDY...............................................................................................................21
5. DISSEMINATION PLAN.......................................................................................................................22
6 STUDY TEAM-ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN UNDERTAKING AND MANAGING THE STUDY………23

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7. WORK PLAN..........................................................................................................................................23
8. LOGISTIC AND BUDJET.........................................................................................................................24

List of Table
Table 1 : Details of the treatment combinations used in the study.............................................................18
Table 2: Time Schedule for Field Experiment ………………………………………………………………………………………24
Table 3: Personal cost……………………………………………………………………………………..25
Table 4: Equipments and input cost...........................................................................................................25
Table 5: Laboratory Cost...........................................................................................................................24
Table 7: Transport expense.................................................................................................................... 26.
Table 8: Budget summary..........................................................................................................................26

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Chapter1.INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background and justification
Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) belongs to the family cruciferae and it is biennial
crop with a very short stem supporting a mass of overlapping leaves to form a compact head. It
originated from wild non-headed type ‘cole wart’ (Crambecordifolias) from Western Europe and
Northern Shore of Mediterranean (Semuli, 2005). It has been domesticated and used for human
consumption since the earliest antiquity. It is cool season crop that is very popular with gardeners
and commercial producers.

Cabbage is known for its nutritional importance and it is rich in mineral and vitamins like A, B1,
B2 and C. It is also known for its cooling effect. Being an appetizer, it aides digestion thereby
help preventing constipation. It also protects against cancers (Razawlahet al., 2002).

Cabbage can be grown in wide range of soils from light sand to heavier clays. Soils with high
organic matter content give the best yields. Early cultivars grow well in light soils, whereas, late
cultivars perform better on heavy soils. Well-drained soils however give larger yields. Although
cabbage is relatively tolerant to salt, in saline soils cabbage plants show leaf margin dieback and
dark foliage which may increase the susceptibility of plants to diseases like black leg (ARARI,
2005; Rail and Yadav, 2005). The optimum pH of soil for cabbage cultivation is between 6.0 -
6.5 (Yano et al., 1999).

Cabbage can grow easily under wide range of environmental condition in both temperate and
tropical, but cool moist climate is most suitable (Rai and Asati, 2005). Optimum growth occurs
at a mean daily temperature of about 17°C with daily mean maximum of 24°C and minimum of
10°C. Mean relative humidity should be in the range of 60 to 90 percent (FAO, 2012).

Cabbage is grown for its head in more than ninety countries throughout the world (Meenaet al.,
2010). The major cabbage growing countries of the world are China, India, South Korea,
Germany, Japan and South Africa (Sarker, 2002).

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Cabbage ranks fifth among the vegetable crops of the world. The area planted with headed
cabbage worldwide in 2009 was estimated at about 3.2 million hectare in 124 countries
producing some 71 million tones. In the same year, area planted by cabbage was about 2.5
million hectare in Asia, 0.5 million hectare in Europe, 80,000 hectare in America and 120,000
hectare in Africa (Nina, 2011).

In Africa a total of 2 million tons were produced in 2008 and it has shown an increase by 20%
over the 10-year period between 1998 and 2008. The five-cabbage producer of African countries
are Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa and these five countries have maintained
the dominance of the sector throughout this period. Area production and yield of cabbage in
Ethiopia in 2014/2016 were 1989 hectares, 11765 tons and 5.9 t/ha, respectively.

In Oromia, regional state the area covered by head cabbage in year 2015/2016 was 2188.9 ton/ha
while the production was 15,601.9ton and the yield is 7t/ha (CSA, 2015). The average cabbage
yield of national as well as farmers around Bahirdar is very low when compare to the world
average.

The major factors for the low productivity of this crop in Ethiopia in general and around
Bahirdar in particular are low fertility status of the soil, inappropriate use of fertilizer rate,
inappropriate plant population per unit area, disease, pests and inappropriate agronomic
practices. The current farmer’s practice of cabbage production around Bahirdar is similar to
other part of the country. They cultivated this crop by rain fed and irrigation using commercial
fertilizer of DAP and Urea. The fertilizer rates they used is not uniform .Moreover, the plant
spacing they used is also not uniform. Due to this the yield they obtained is low. Its quality is
also poor. Some cabbage heads are very small where are others are very big, cracked, burst
rotten and loose heads which are fewer acceptances in the market. In general crop production can
be increased either by improving inherent genetic potential of the crop or through application of
better agronomic management such as optimum plant density and fertilizer rate which contribute
to substantial amount of crop (Frezer, 2007).

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The possibility of securing high yield depends much upon a proper consideration of optimum
number of plants per unit area and the pattern in which the given quantity of seeds or plant
population is arranged in the field of planting (Endale and Gebremedhin, 2001). This is due to
the fact that the quantity of solar radiation, which penetrates a crop canopy greatly, depends on
planting pattern or spacing and individual plant morphology (Jerry et al., 1980). Likewise the
plant density, low soil fertility also considered as serious problems among several production
limiting factors in the study area. Nitrogen is one of the critical plant nutrients in cabbage yield
and it is significant to note that nitrogen response is directly.

Associated to the soil type, emphasizing that soil varying in fertility status react differentially to
the applied fertilizer (Frezer, 2007). Thus, it requires applying of appropriate rate of fertilizer for
the enhanced cabbage productivity and sustainable yield. Many experiments show that nitrogen
application increases the total yield of cabbage (Westveldet al., 2003). But this is possible as
long as it is managed properly in terms of rate and time of application.

Therefore, plant density and nitrogen level have to be regulated to obtain high yield from
cabbage. Thus, knowledge on the interaction among these factors is helpful to optimize cabbage
yield through efficient use of land and rate of fertilizer. In central highlands of Ethiopia,
particularly around Bahirdar, there is a need by farmers to increase productivity of cash crops
like cabbage to maximize their profit from small plot of farm they have. However, farmers of
this area who grow cabbage frequently give less attention to optimum plant population and
nitrogen fertilizer rate. Moreover, information on cabbage plant density and nitrogen application
rate for optimum yield and other agronomic practices are limited. Since most of the farmers in
this area has smaller plots of land and the yield obtained from this is very low. Due to this their
income is less and they unable to improve their livelihood. So it is important to increase the yield
of cabbage from this small plot of land to improve the income of farmers around the study area.

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1.2. Statement of the Problem

Small-sized early maturing variety like `Copenhagen`, commonly grown variety in Ethiopia, is
planted at the spacing of (50cm x 50cm (ARARI, 2005). In the study area, released and adopted
cultivars Copenhagen it showing insufficient yield and compactness responses at the present
recommended nitrogen fertilizer and intra row spacing disclosed that in specific growing location
maintaining an optimum population should be well established.

Optimizing plant density is one of the most important determining factors for cabbage
production since it affects plant development, yield quality of the crop. However, due to limited
information about optimum nitrogen fertilizer rate and intra row spacing for production of
cabbage in the study area ( Gimba District ) are using the incorrect nitrogen fertilizer rate and
intra row spacing for the production of cabbage variety , they are hindered to produce sufficient
and appropriate head size of Copenhagen variety . So studying the effects of nitrogen fertilizer
rate and intra row spacing on cabbage production on Copenhagen variety is very important to
increase productivity of the crop.

1.3. Objectives of the Study

1.3.1 General Objective

To improve production and productivity of cabbage by optimizing nitrogen fertilizer rate and
intra-row spacing in the study area.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

 To determine the effect of nitrogen fertilizer rate and intra-row spacing on yield and
yield components of cabbage
 To determine optimum nitrogen fertilizer rate and intra row spacing on yield and yield
components of cabbage

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1.4. Research Questions
 What is the effect of intra-row spacing and nitrogen fertilizer rate on yield and yield
component of cabbage
 Which intra-row spacing is optimum for the production of cabbage
 Which nitrogen fertilizer rate is optimum for the production of cabbage

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Chapter 2.LETRETURE REIVIEW
2.1 Origin, Distribution and Botany of Cabbage

Cabbage (Brassica oleraceae. varcapitata), is also known as Cole crops. It belongs to family
Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae) and generally referred as Brassicas. It is important groups of crop
worldwide. It is originated from Western Europe and Northern Shore of Mediterranean region
where it has been grown for more than 3000 years. It has chromosome number 2n=2x=18
(Ijoyah et al., 2001). It is dicotyledonous biennial crop, but it grows as an annual. In the first
season growth, it produces the head and in the second season it produces seeds. Cabbage form
several different head shapes: pointed conical, or oblong, round or bell shaped or drummed
shaped. Cabbage generally classified as headed which is round, oval or flat. Chinese head
cabbage is oval and flat, moreover it is loosely formed and light in weight. Head formation in
cabbage is quantitative trait controlled additively with low dominance effect.

It is only head cabbage that changes in leaf shape becoming wider because of the shorter petiole
length with increasing leaf position and thus cabbage acquired the developmental change in
leaves. Cabbage has been domesticated and used for human consumption since the earliest
antiquity (Semuli, 2005). The genus Brassica includes about 100 species majority of which are
native to Mediterranean region. The crop is attributed to the Mediterranean center of origin (Rai
and Asati, 2005). It is widely grown as cool-season crop and is very popular with gardeners.

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2.2 Importance of Cabbage

Cabbage is grown for its leaves and commonly used as vegetable. Cabbage is an excellent source
of mineral such as calcium, iron, sodium, potassium, phosphorus. It has substantial amount of ß-
carotene, ascorbic acid and others. It has calories (27%), fat (0.1%) and carbohydrate (4.6%). It
is good source of protein (1.3%) which contains all essential amino acids; particularly sulfur
containing amino acids (Rai and Asati, 2005). The only part of the cabbage plant that is normally
eaten by human being is the leafy head; more precisely, the spherical cluster of immature leaves,
excluding the partially unfolded outer leaves. Cabbage is used us row in salad such as coleslaw,
as a cooked vegetable, or preserved in pickle or sauerkraut. Flavor in cabbage is due to the
glucosidesinigrin (Rai and Asati, 2005). A 100 g edible portion of cabbage contains 1.8 mg
protein, 0.1 mg fat, 4.6 mg carbohydrate, 0.6 g mineral, 29 mg calcium, 0.8 mg iron and 14.1 mg
sodium (Singh and Naik, 1988).

2.3 World Cabbage Production and Importance

Cabbage is a cool season vegetable and produced in most temperate countries. The annual
average world production of cabbage is estimated to be about 70,644,191 tons with the average
productivity of about 29.23 t ha-1. The major cabbage producing countries are China, India,
Russian Federation, Japan and Republic of Korea (FAOSTAT, 2013-14).

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Cabbage is usually consumed as a cooked or stir fried vegetable, or eaten fresh as an ingredient
of coleslaw (a salad made of row sliced and chopped cabbage) and mixed salads (Grubben and
Denton, 2004). It can be also used as processed products such as prickling. Cabbage supplies
essential vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates and vital minerals (Norman, 1992). According to
FAO (2000) and Tindall (1983): a 100 g edible portion of cabbage contains vitamin A (2000 IU),
thiamine (0.06 mg), riboflavin (0.03 mg), protein (1.8 g), fat ( 0.1g), carbohydrate (4.6 g) and
vitamin C (124 mg). Furthermore it contains phosphorus (44 mg), potassium (114 mg), calcium
(39 mg), sodium (14.1 mg) and iron (0.8 mg).
Cabbage is known in neutralizing acids, has a cooling effect, it improves digestion and appetite,
prevents constipation and is very useful for diabetic patient (BBS, 2009; Dhemre and Desale,
2009). Researches also revealed that crucifer family including cabbage provides significant
cardiovascular benefits (Beecher 1994; Singh et al.,2015) and reduces the risks of lung, colon,
breast, ovarian and bladder cancers (Beecher, 1994).
2.4 Head Cabbage Production in Ethiopia

Cabbage is cultivated in mid altitude and highland areas of Ethiopia. It is mostly produced by
stallholder farmers. Cabbage is mostly produced during the rainy season, although some
commercial farmers produce it during dry season using irrigation. According to CSA
(2012/2013), the average annual production of cabbage in the country during 2012/2013
production season was estimated to be 22,160.3 tons which was produced on 2,913 hectares of
land. Of which Oromia Region with 6,179.5 tons was the larger producer of cabbage followed by
Amhara Region, S.N.N.P.R and Benishangul-Gumuz with 6,179.5, 5,561.3, 110.2 tons,
respectively. However, in terms of productivity, Amhara Region was the leader with 10.7 t ha-1
followed by Benishangul–Gumuz (7.8 t ha-1), S.N.N.P.R (7.2 t ha-1) and Oromia (6.6 t ha-1)
(CSA, 2013).

Cabbage is adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions. However, cabbage grows best under
cool moist conditions with altitude under the range of 500 -3000 m.a.s.l (Copenhagen market and
500-1700 m.a.s.l (Early drum head) (Molla Tefera, 2009). The optimum temperature ranges for
growth of cabbage is between 15oC and 20oC. The growth of most of the cabbage varieties is
arrested when temperature rises above 30oC (Chadha, 2006).

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Cabbage can be grown on a variety of soils but it does best on a well - drained, loam soil well
supplied with organic matter. Sandy loams are preferred for early crops, while heavy clay soils
may easily become waterlogged after heavy rain and thus encourage the serious diseases such as
black rot (Xanthomonascampestris) and soft rot (Erwiniacarotovora) (Bok et al., 2006). As
cabbage is sensitive to soil acidity, soil pH should be between 6 and 6.5. When pH falls below
5.5, lime should be applied a month before planting (ARARI, 2005 and ANRSBoARD, 2013)

Cabbage can be either direct seeded or transplanted. However in Ethiopia, it is mostly

transplanted after seedlings are raised in nursery. Depending on the variety about 500-700 gram
of seed is adequate to produce enough seedlings to plant one hectare of land (Chadha, 2006).
Seeds are sown thinly in nursery seedbed at the depth of one centimeter. The spacing between
rows and plants within the rows is 10 cm and 30cm, respectively. Seedlings are ready to
transplanting when they produce two pairs of true leaves or when they attain the height of 8-13
cm which will take about 4-5 weeks after sowing (ARARI, 2005).

According to Tindall et al. (1987) cabbage is transplanted at the spacing of 60 -75 cm between
rows and 40-60 cm between plants within row depending on the types of cultivar used. The
wider spacing is used later maturing cultivars. Small-sized early maturing variety like
`Copenhagen`, commonly grown variety in Ethiopia, is planted at the spacing of 50cm x 50cm or
60 cm x 40cm (ARARI, 2005).

2.5 Agronomic Practice of Cabbage Production

Cabbage grows well on wide range of soil. But it requires well drained sandy loam soil, with pH
of 6-6.5, rain fall of 700-900mm and 17-240c. Water logging is unsuitable for cabbage
production. It is propagated by seed and system of planting is transplanting. It requires 0.6cm by
40cm between rows and plants. Fertilizer interval should be 5-7 days. Its days to maturity are 80-
100days. In Ethiopia, its productivity is 25-30t/ha when improved practices are followed and
7t/ha when grows conventionally at farmer’s level (Simretet al., 1994).

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2.6 Nutritional requirement of Cabbage

For optimum plant growth, nutrient must be available in sufficient and balanced quantities for
better performance of crop. Soil contains natural reserve of plant nutrients, but these reserves are
largely in forms unavailable to plants, and only a minor portion is released each year through
biological activities and chemical processes. Therefore, fertilizers are designed to supplement the
nutrients already present in the soil. The type of fertilizer and quantity to apply depends on soil
type, initial nutrient reserves in the soil and yield level. (Zhibin et al., 2011).

Cabbage is one of the most important, high nutritive and palatable leafy vegetables. It is a rich
source of protein, minerals and vitamin A (Uddin et al., 2009). It has some medicinal value as it
prevents constipation, increases appetite, speeds up digestion and is very useful for diabetic
patient. Fertilizer enhances plant growth by providing amendments to the soil via various macro
and micronutrients. The fertilizer application for cabbage should ensure adequate levels of all
nutrients. Optimum fertilization is required to produce top quality and high yields while a lack of
essential fertilizers will stunt its growth, leading to undersized and poorly developed heads.

Cabbage is well known to be an exhaustive crop and has the capacity to absorb higher amount of
nutrient from soil. The supply of proper nutrient must be ensured during its cultivation, which is
related to the judicious application of fertilizer. In the upland field, cabbage yields were high
when chemical fertilizers were applied (Kamiyamaet al., 1995). The crop production system
with high yield targets cannot be sustainable unless nutrient inputs to soil are at least balanced
against nutrient removal by crops (Jahiruddin and Rijpma, 2004).

2.7 The Role of Nitrogen in Cabbage

The doubling of agricultural food production worldwide over the past four decades has been
associated with a seven fold increase in use of nitrogen fertilizer. As the consequence, both the
recent and future identification of the use of nitrogen fertilizer in agriculture already has and
will continue to have major determinate impacts on agriculture (Hirel et al., 2007). Plants take

up nitrogen in the form of nitrate (NO3-) or ammonium (NH4+) from organic matter, inorganic
matter and fixation of free nitrogen by microorganisms. Nitrogen plays a major role in protein
formation and as a component of chlorophyll.

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 Chlorophyll is required for light energy absorption by the process of photosynthesis. Therefore,
adequate nitrogen supply enhances the amount of chlorophyll as the result of increase
photosynthesis. A deficiency of nitrogen reduces the formation of chlorophyll, as result plants
lose their green color leading to reduction the rate of photosynthesis (More, 2006).
2.8 Cabbage crop response to nitrogen Fertilizer

Higher levels of nitrogen have often been found to induce optimum yields in Brassica
vegetables. Zebarth et al. (1991) observed a positive yield response up to 500 kg·ha-1 N, but that
percentage nitrogen recovery was lower at the higher rates (± 30% lost at 500 kg·ha-1).Peck
(1981) reported increased yields of cabbage heads to about 40 tone/ha fresh mass more than
plants grown without nitrogen fertilizer.

Parmar et al. (1999) recorded higher yields in cabbage with increased nitrogen rates. The
application of 200 kg·ha-1 N produced significantly higher yield over 150 kg ha-1 N but at par
with 250 kg ha-1 N. This was attributed to the fact that higher nitrogen levels favored the growth
of plants with larger leaf area and it was more usefully utilized in head formation.

Similar observations on cabbage were made by Ghantis et al. (1982), where yield contributing
characters such as head diameter and gross mass of heads and number of marketable heads
increased with increase in the levels of nitrogen up to 200 kg ha-1. Gupta (1987) observed
significantly higher cabbage yields at 150 kg·ha-1 N than yields at 0, 50 and 100 kg·ha-1 N yet
at par with yield at 200 kg·ha-1 N.

Increase in yield was attributed to increase in head mass. To produce optimum yields of good
quality cabbages, often high amounts of nitrogen fertilizer are applied. In reality, the amount of
nitrogen fertilizer used is probably higher as farmers may apply more fertilizer than
recommended to secure yields .Nitrogen produces reliable and optimal yield and quality of
vegetables. It is however, the most difficult element to manage in a fertilization system in order
to ensure an adequate, yet not excessive, amount of available nitrogen within the rhizosphere
from planting to harvest (Peck, 1981).

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 Assessing of cabbage total yield, marketable yield, weight per head, head density, and head size
for two season by Westerveld et al.(2003) total yield showed a peak at 265 kg N ha-1 Head size
and weight per head increased with increasing N rate only in, reflecting differences in yield.
Days to maturity decreased with increasing N rate reaching a minimum at 245 and 226 kg ha-1.
Nitrogen rates above recommended levels are beneficial in maximizing cabbage yields in wet
years and minimizing days to maturity. Richards et al. (2016) say cabbage yield is higher at 375
kg nitrogen per hectare and get a total yield of 103.9ton/ha.

2.8 Cabbage Response to Spacing

The possibility of securing high yield depends much on a proper consideration of optimum number
of plant per unit area and the pattern in which the given quantity of seed or plant population is
arranged in the field of planting. The most suitable crop density is that insures higher yields, good
quality and low production cost. Dragan (2007) reported highest cabbage head diameter (16.6 cm)

recorded in the case of lowest crop density (8 m 2) whereas the lowest diameter (9.6 cm) was

recorded at higher plant density (16.6 cm 2). It was observed that head diameter decreased in
parallel with increased crop density.

In the contrary, higher cabbage yield (73 t/ha) were recorded in the case of higher plant density

(16.6 cm2) but the Lowest yield (71 t/ha) was recorded at lower plant density (8 m 2).The higher
crop densities were as the result recommended for cabbage production. It is however, important to
compare the issue of probability of such a production with the higher cost of transplant and
manual labor. The explanation given was that increasing plant population increased competition
among plant resulting in reduced marketable yield (Semuli, 2005).
2.9 Maturity, harvesting, marketable yield and quality of cabbage

Determining the optimum time of harvest is often difficult and differs between heading and non
heading types (George, 2002). According to the author the principal harvest maturity index is
based on size. Heading-type cabbage may be harvested as small as 10 cm in diameter and
continued until 15 cm. The maturity indicator for non-heading type are that the color of the
leaves will change from deep green to light green and the leaves will spread outwards.

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Harvest maturity for heading type is also based on head compactness and firmness to the touch.
A firm or compact head is mature. A very loose head is immature and will not be harvested.
Harvest maturity may also be based on arrangement of the wrapped leaves; when they are spread
and the head is exposed it is usually matured (Semuli, 2005). A mature cabbage has a longer
post-harvest life than immature cabbage. Delayed harvest even a few days beyond maturity can
result in split heads and increased incidence of field disease. Cabbage is ready for harvest when
the head has attained its expected full size and its firmness. The early cultivar takes 60-80 days,
the medium 80-100 days and late 100-130 days for harvest after transplanting (George, 2002).

Cabbage will be sorted according to size, shape, and compactness of the head. There are three
established size categories (small, medium, large) for domestic marketing of cabbage, based on
the weight of the head. Small size heads weight 0.8 kg or less, medium sized heads weight
between 0.9 kg and 1.4 kg, and large sized cabbage heads weigh 1.5 kg or more (NAARR,
1986). Only the cabbage with crisp and turgid leaves will be packed for market. The heads will
be a color typical of the cultivar (i.e. green, red or pale yellow-green), firm, and heavy for the
size and free of insect, decay, leafy head and other defect. The harvest of cabbage will be
marketable and non-marketable.

The marketable sizes are those with; compact head, minimum head weight of 0.45 kg, non-
damage to edible portion of the plant. Whereas non-marketable sizes are; those that will not be
headed, heads too small in size and weight, head burst or split, damage by insect or disease,
miscellaneous categories in which some essential quality for marketable was lacking (NAARR,
1986). Westerveld et al. (2003) also noted that a cabbage heads that are burst (split), rotten, and
non-headed are considered as unmarketable. When cabbage doesn’t form head, this condition is
called blindness and can arise due to excess nitrogen to form more leaves than are loosely held
and do not make a head. The yield of early maturing cabbage ranges between 30-40 t/ha,
whereas medium and late maturing cabbage yield 40-60 t/ha (Rai and Asati, 2005). The crop is
hand harvested by cutting the stem below the head but including a few of the loose outer leaves.

In large scale production, mechanical harvesting may be used where the production is intended
for processing. To preserve quality, cabbage may be stored for several months at high relative

humidity (95 %) and low temperature (0oC) (George, 2002). Quality is also one of the important

15
factors in cabbage production. Cabbage growers aim to harvest their crop with the least possible
number of cuts. To achieve this, good cultural methods are necessary at all stages of production.
Careful attention to size of transplants, fertilizing, irrigation and pest and disease control helps to
ensure even maturity. Cell- produced transplants are more uniform in their maturity than are
seedbed- produced plants. This in one of the major reasons grows are using this method of
producing seedlings (Murison and Nipier, 2006).After trimming outer wrapper leaves, cabbage
heads should be a color typical of the cultivar (green, red, or pale yellow-green), firm, heavy for
the size and free of insect, decay, seed stalk development and other defects. Leaves should be
crisp and turgid.

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Chapter 3. MATERIAL AND METHODE
3.1 Description of the Study Area
The study will be conducted at Gimba Irrigation Scheme in south wollo Ethiopia particularly at
Gimba vegetable research site during the irrigation season of 2019/2020EC. Legambo/gimba is
in Amhara national regional state, in south Wollo zone at about 501 km to north away from
Addis Ababa and 372 km from Bahirdar, (11’00°E and 39’00°N) latitude and longitude with an
altitude of 1500 to 3700 meters above sea level in the rift valley.

Its annual rainfall ranges from 700 to 1200 mm and has a temperature of between 0°C to 13°C.
Major crops grown in Gimba irrigation command area include: - wheat and barley during the
main cropping season and lettuce, beet root, carrot, potato, garlic and cabbage during the
irrigation season.

3.2 Experimental Treatments and Design

Treatments will be consisting of four levels of nitrogen fertilizer rate (0, 50, 100, 150 kg) and
three level of intra row spacing (40cm, 50cm, 60cm). The experiment will be laid out using
Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in a factorial arrangement with three replications
(Fig 1).A total of 12 treatments combinations will be used in this experiment (Table 1).

Copenhagen market variety, one of the most popular and reliable early round- headed cabbages,
will be used for this experiment. This vigorous variety is widely adopted and requires 80-90 days
of maturity after transplanting. Copenhagen market will be used for this experiment, because it is
produced widely in high altitude of Ethiopian. In Ethiopia it is well grown in an altitude of 1500-
3000 m.a.s.l (Girma, 2002).

It is the most important cash crop in the central highlands of Ethiopia, including surrounding of
legambo. The variety will be obtained from Adet Agricultural Research center. The intention of
studying this research is at present in appropriate use of nitrogen fertilizer rate and intra row
spacing because very large head size and less compacted heads are produce. In order to produce
medium head size and compacted head cabbage optimum nitrogen fertilizer rate and intra row
spacing will be used in the study area during irrigation season of 2019/2020.

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The width and length of each experimental plot will be 2.4m x 2.4 m. Each plot has five rows of
which each row holds 6, 5, and 4 plants per row for the 40, 50m and 60cm intra-row spacing,
respectively. The gross plot size of 2.4m x 2.4 m (5.76 m 2) and the space between blocks and
plots 1m and 0.5m respectively will be used.

Table 1: Details of the treatment combinations used in the study

Treatment Intra-row Treatment combination Replication

I II III
Nitrogen 0 (N1) 40 (R1) N1R1 = T1 9 14 25
50 (R2) N1R2 = T2 6 18 36
60 (R3) N1R3 = T3 4 16 34
Nitrogen50(N2) 40 (R1) N2R1 = T4 2 19 35
50 (R2) N2R2 = T5 10 21 31
60 (R3) N2R3 = T6 5 17 27
Nitrogen 100 (N3) 40 (R1) N3R1 = T7 7 24 29
50 (R2 N3R2 = T8 12 23 33
60 (R3) N3R3 = T9 3 20 32
Nitrogen 150 (N4) 40 (R1) N4R1 = T10 11 13 26
50 (R2 N4R2 = T11 1 22 30
60 (R3) N4R3 = T12 8 15 28

18
Randomizations and field layout (Fig 1)

→ Rep-1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

T11 T4 T9 T3 T6 T2 T7 T12 T1 T5 T10 T8

→ Rep-2
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

T7 T8 T11 T5 T9 T4 T2 T6 T3 T12 T1 T10

→Rep-3
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

T1 T10 T6 T12 T7 T11 T5 T9 T8 T3 T4 T2

3.5 Procedures and Management of the Experimental Plant

Seedlings will be raised on a seed bed and transplanting to main field after one month. The field
will be well prepared and irrigated three days before transplanting. Then it will be transplanted to
the main field according to the experimental design and layout .Phosphorus fertilizer (triple super
phosphate) will be applied once during planting at the rate of (1.6 kg) and the four rates of
nitrogen (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg/ha) in the form of urea will be applied in split, half at
transplanting and half at forty five days after transplanting. It will be plowed, weeded and hoed
three times. It will be irrigated in five days interval until the plant matures.

19
3.6 Data Collected
To evaluate the effect of nitrogen fertilizer rate and intra row spacing on cabbage yield and yield
components, five samples will be taken from the two middle rows per plot. On the basis of five
sampled plant head from each experimental unit, gross yield, marketable and unmarketable yield
will be weighed and converted in to t/ha. Plant whole fresh weight, days to maturity, head
diameter and height, leaf number and area, and harvest index will be also taken from five
samples per plot.

3.6 .1 Growth parameters /Phonological parameters

Number of leaves per plant:

The numbers of leaves of five randomly selected plants will be counted from net plot area at 45
dates and the average number of leaves per plant will be calculated.

Days to maturity (DMt) - When the cabbage head will be compacted and firm to the touch it is
matured. The other indicator of maturity of head cabbage is the arrangement of wrapped leaves.
When they will be spread and the head is exposed it is usually matured. A very loose head is
immature and should not be harvested (Semuli, 2005). Cabbage heads will be harvested based on
these indicators when 50 % of the samples will be matured at the days of 91, 101 and 109 after
transplanting.

Head height (HH) (cm) - Cabbage head height (HH) will be measured from selected plant
samples from the central rows of the plot and their mean will be recorded. The measurement will
be done with ruler from the tip head to down the collar at maturity and it will be expressed in
centimeter.

Head diameter (HD) (cm)-At harvest, randomly taken samples of cabbage heads from the
central row will be taken and the head diameter (HD) will be measured at widest part using
Caliper.

Outer leaf number (OLN) - Total numbers of fully developed outer leaves from each sample
head will be counted at time of harvesting.

20
3.6.2 Yield parameters

Head weight (HW) (kg/plant) - At time of harvesting (91, 101 and 109 days) after translating
randomly selected samples will be taken from each treatment and their head weight will be
measured using analytical balance.

Marketable yield (t ha-1):

Heads which will be free from any damages and decay as well as those which haven’t loose and
open heads will be considered as marketable. Heads which fulfilled these characteristics will be
harvested from net plot area and expressed as tone per hectare and used for further analysis.

Unmarketable yield (UMY) (t/ha) - Cabbage such as non-headed, split (burst), disease affected

And under sized head (below 0.45 kg) will be recorded as unmarketable NAARR (1986) and
calculated on the basis of t /ha. Continuous use of symbols t ha-1 or t /ha

Total head yield (TY) (t/ha) - Total number of heads and their weight will be recorded as sum
of marketable and unm

arketable head yield and calculated on the basis of t/ha.

3.6.3 Soil analysis

Representative soil samples will be taken using an auger at 0-20 cm depth from different places
of experimental field before planting to make one composite sample. Soil samples will be
collected from each plot after crop harvest. The collected soil samples will be air dried in
wooden tray, ground and sieved. The soil analysis made before planting included total nitrogen,
phosphorous, potassium, organic matter, soil pH, CEC and soil texture. All the soil samples will
be analyzed in Laboratory.

21
3.6 Data Analysis
Data will be analyzed statistically using SAS version 9.0 software computer package program
(SAS, 2004, version 9.0). Least Significant Difference (LSD) procedure will be used to
determine differences between treatment means whenever the treatments will be significantly
different.

4. Beneficiaries of the project

The project will have the potential to benefits large numbers of societies, both directly and
indirectly. Users include the cabbage production operators themselves; individuals, community
organizations, farmer groups, corporate or private customers, government and non-governmental
organizations.

The project operators: They will obtain satisfaction and engages different research activity
following the project success.

Community: Obtain benefits like job opportunity, demonstration, the agronomic practice, its
consumable use, as an income source from the new technology.

Government and non-government organization: use it as informal education center and

experience sharing site.

The correlation analysis will be performed to determine extent of association between yield and
yield components as influenced by nitrogen application rate and different intra row spacing.

5. Dissemination plant

Cabbage production with the recommended rate of nitrogen and intra raw spacing and should be
disseminate and shared with intended users and beneficiaries. The project operators and other
research groups have high potential for technology dissemination because of their farmer-
friendly atmosphere. For farmers by different trainings readily share new technologies among
themselves. Governmental and non- governmental institution also have a moderate capacity for
disseminating technology and for the world it will disseminate with documentation.

22
6. Study team roles and responsibilities in undertaking and managing the study

 Differentiate the best nitrogen rate and intra raw spacing for cabbage
 Create awareness about cabbage production

7. Expected outcome of the study

 Optimum nitrogen fertilizer rate of cabbage (Copenhagen variety ) will be identified

 Optimum intra-row spacing of cabbage (Copenhagen ) will be determined

 Yield and yield components of cabbage ( Copenhagen) will be evaluated

 The interaction effect of nitrogen fertilizer rate and intra row spacing of cabbage will be
found out.

23
8. WORK PLAN
Table 2: Time Schedule for Field Experiment.
No Activities Time line
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
1 Proposal
preparation
1 Seed purchase
2 Site selection
3 Seed bed
preparation,
Sowing
4 Main field
preparation
5 Transplanting
to the main
field
6 Cultivation and
weeding
7 Data
collection
8 Harvesting
9 Data
organization
10 Data analysis
11 Manuscript of
write up
12 Report
circulation for
comments

24
13 Submission

14 Thesis defense

9. Logistics and budget

Table 3: Personal cost

No Activities Unit Number Daily Total

1 Consultation Man days 1 800/per day 800.00
2 Land preparation and Man days 10 20 birr/m2 21297.6.00
plowing/3/times
3 Bed preparation Man days 10 15birr/m2 7099.2.
4 Transplanting of seedling Man days 15 200 3000.00
5 Data collection Man days 10 200 2000.00
Sub-total 34196.2

Table 4: Equipment’s and input cost

No Item/material/ Unit Quantity Unit cost Total cost

1 Cabbage seed G 500 1600 1600.00
2 Fertilizer(Urea and Kg 25 40 1000.00
TPS
3 Rope Role 6 130 1080.00
6 Shovel No 6 100 600.00
5 Sack No 45 25 1125.00
6 Rakes No 6 80 480.00
7 Hoe No 6 80 480.00
8 Meter No 1 300 200.00
Sub-total 6565.00

Table 5: Laboratory Cost

No Item Cost(Birr)
1 Oven to dry measurements 3000.00
2 Soil sample test 5000.00
Sub total 8000.00

25
Table 6: Transport expense

No Person Departure Destination No. of Cost per one Total cost

round way trip (birr) (birr)
1 researcher Gimba Segno 56 90 5040
2 Advisor Ginma Segno 5 30 150
Subtotal 5190

Table 7: Budget summary

No Item Subtotal( birr)

1 Personal cost 34196.2
2 Equipment cost 6565.00
3 Laboratory cost 8000.00
4 Transport cost 5190.00
5 Contingency 5395.12
Grand Total 59346.32

26
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