Adaptability Studies of Head Cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.) Varieties at Adola Rede Areas, Southern Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Cabbage is an important leafy vegetable in sub-saharan Africa, yet breeding and seed production activities take place in Europe and Asia. Evaluation of varieties alongside different crop characteristics was carried out to select the most adaptable and yielder varieties. Field experiments were conducted during the 2017 and 2018 short rainy season at three locations with supplemental irrigation. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used; each plot consisted of five rows and eight plants per row having spacing of 40cm*50cm on a plot size of 2.5 m* 2.8 m. Cabbage varieties those were commercially available on the market Olsen, Royal, Monarch and DSA Copenhagen market were marketed and used in the study. A widely cultivated variety (Gloria) was included as check. The two years combined data analysis results revealed that for each seasons and locations head yield without wrapper differently significance (P < 0.05) among the varieties. The maximum (78.69 t ha^-1) yield without wrapper was recorded by Royal variety and followed by maximum (68.84 t ha^-1) yield by Monarch variety. While the minimum (53.39 t ha^-1) yield without wrapper was recorded by DSA Copenhagen variety. And also the maximum (164.14 t ha^-1) total yield was observed by Royal variety and the minimum (129.49 t ha^-1) total yield was recorded by DSA Copenhagen variety. Generally, as a conclusive and recommendation, head cabbage growers at Adola Rede and surrounding area need to grow head cabbage varieties of Royal and Monarch for better early maturing, head yield , head shape, firmness, head size, and low incidence of loose heads.

Keywords: Cabbage, DSA, Head yield, Maximum, Monarch, Royal, Yield with wrapper.