THE EFFECT OF NITROGEN AND THE METHOD OF APPLICATION ON THE YIELD OF CAULIFLOWER

The effects of nitrogen on the yield of cauliflower were studied over a period of three seasons at several locations. Different amounts of n itrogen fertilizer were applied at planting broadcast or band placed. Another treatment consisted of a split application. The number of plan ts harvested was not consistently influenced by the amount of nitrogen or the method of application. The quality of the product was not infl uenced by the treatments either. Nitrogen application influenced the s ize of the marketable curd. At high yield levels band placement had no advantage with regard to increasing the yield or reducing the amount of fertilizer applied. Split application did not increase the yield an d sometimes even decreased the yield. The best correlation between yie ld and nitrogen availability was found when the mineral nitrogen (Nmin ) in the soil layer 0-60 cm at planting was taken into account. The op timum nitrogen fertilizer application was 224 - Nmin (0-60 cm) kg per hectare.