Screening for Heat and Rain Tolerant Cultivars of Cauliflower for Cultivation in Monsoon Season in the Subtropical Region of Bhutan
Ganja Singh Rai, Kencho
https://doi.org/10.55925/btagr.24.7105
There is a shortage of cauliflower in the domestic market during monsoon and early autumn seasons in Bhutan due to the absence of suitable cultivars for cultivation in subtropical region during these seasons. This study was conducted to assess the genotypic variability in yield of different cultivars of cauliflower under heat and rain (flood) stresses in the subtropical region. Four F1 hybrid varieties of cauliflower from the Takii Seeds, Japan (KSB-12.179, KSB-12.180, KSB-18.297 and KSB-20.320) and three F1 hybrid varieties from Syngenta Seeds, India (C-6099, CFL-1522 and Monsoon Queen) were evaluated in August 2022 in open field at ARDC Samtenling. The experiment was laid out in a RCDB design with three replications using Snow Mystique as the check variety. The objective of the study was to identify short duration, rain and heat tolerant varieties of cauliflower for cultivation in the monsoon season (July-August) in the subtropical region of Bhutan. In addition, all the cultivars were further assessed in September, and five cultivars that performed well in monsoon planting were evaluated in November 2022 as the second and third staggered planting trials to find out their performance in late monsoon and main seasons (September-November) respectively. The results from three staggered trials showed that Monsoon Queen matured in 53 days after transplanting (DAT), 56 DAT and 35 DAT in the first, second and third staggered planting trials with the mean head of 462 g, 376 g and 211 g respectively. In comparison, the check variety matured in 142 DAT, 114 DAT and 77 DAT in the first, second and third staggered planting trials with the mean head of 658 g, 403 g and 767 g, respectively. Monsoon Queen was the earliest maturing variety with good head weight and curd quality among the eight cauliflower varieties when transplanted in August 2022. However, both the head yield and curd quality of this cultivar declined in later plantings, indicating that this variety is not suitable for main season (autumn) planting. With the identification of Monsoon Queen as the heat and rain tolerant cultivar in this study, cauliflower can now be grown even in the monsoon season in the subtropical region of Bhutan.
Keywords: Cauliflower; Heat tolerant; Rain tolerant; Variety; Short duration, Yield