Dear farmer,
The main season for your cabbages (brassica) is now. The weather is usually conducive in February giving the cabbage optimum environment for growth and also market where we have irrigation. Since water is a limiting factor, farming cabbages now gives you a guarantee in Return On Investment since the supply will not be excessive during market period in April/May.
Brassica farming is a lucrative agribusiness venture. However, it comes with several challenges which you must be aware of for forward planning on how to eliminate or mitigate them. At Greenlife Crop Protection Africa, we have your back in regards to these challenges. This is because we have wide experience on the environment, crop trends and other factors affecting tomato crop and we provide working solutions to these challenges.
Important a steps to consider:
- Seed selection
Seed is the source of life!
Selection of a good seed variety is a very important factor in order to get it right. Hybrid seeds are always recommended. This should be coupled by a market research among Key farmers and Agro Dealers to determine the cabbage variety which does well in the locality.
- Nursery/Seed bed management.
The main challenges here are diseases, Pests and nutrition aspects. Since hybrid seeds are costly watch out for seed losses(actually these losses could be as high as 70%), due to hidden factors that affect seed germination. Greenlife has the best solution, consider our PLO (Loyalty, Pyramid, and Optimizer). Mix Pyramid 700WP /Ransom 600WP, Loyalty 700 WDG and Optimizer which will respectively eliminate these challenges. They are drenched on the nursery bed after sowing and covering with grass/gunny bags.
- Weed management
A wide range of weeds (both grass weeds and Broad leaf weeds) usually have a lot of seed bank in the soil. Therefore, they are always ready to compete with your cabbage once transplanted. A good solution is to eliminate all the weeds using a non- Selective herbicide such as Clampdown/Catapult 480SL at rate 200-300ml per 20L of water. Ensure you use clean water, spray when the dew in weeds have sub sided and incorporate Integra as a sticker and wetter for higher efficacy. Spray when the weeds are actively growing for effective elimination. Land ploughing is then done about 3-7 days after spraying
CATAPULT® 480 SL is a broad spectrum non-selective systemic herbicide for the control of post-emergence broadleaf and grass weeds in maize field under minimum tillage or zero tillage and in non-cropped areas.
- Crop Nutrition
Nutritional challenges from poor soils lead to poor crop growth and poor yields because even with basal application of fertilizer such as D.A.P, majority of the nutrients are lost (fixed) in the soils and thus unavailable to the crops. As a farmer you can be able to solve nutrient unavailability from the very beginning by ensuring application of planting fertilizer mixed with soil conditioners such as HUMIPOWER. Humipower contains Humic acids that help in unlocking important nutrients especially Phosphorus essential for root development, enhanced water and nutrient uptake for optimal growth. HUMIPOWER granules are mixed with planting fertilizer at the rate of 1-2 Kg to 50Kg Fertilizer.
HUMIPOWER® is a water soluble soil amendment and blend that contains potassium, Iron EDDHA, humates and fulvic acid in granular form. It is used in agricultural, horticultural and field crops, landscaping lawns, pot plants as well as gardening. It is used both in the soil as an amendment and as fertilizer blend and supplies plants with organic matter that is readily available, easy to use and cost effective.
- Pest challenges
Pests are a major consideration in the management of brassicas. New pests have emerged changing the management and control aspects. A good example is the current challenge of thrips, leaf miners which has caused losses to most farmers in the whole country. At Greenlife, we have the best solution for this challenge. Alternate Escort 19EC at a rate of 10ml with, Kingcode elite at a rate of 10mls and Pentagon at a rate of 10ml during early life of the crop. This products will also be useful in management of other pests such as diamond back moth (DBM). This is a key aspect in management and also avoiding resistance of the pest to chemicals when used in alternation.
ESCORT® 19EC is a highly effective insecticide that is widely used in agriculture, especially for the broad spectrum control of caterpillars, thrips, spidermites and diamondback moth (DBM) in roses, French beans, runner beans, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, capsicum, onion and tomato.
- Management of Brassica diseases
Since irrigation is done and hence the temperatures at the ground level near cabbage are low, Disease management should not be overlooked despite the warm weather experienced in February. The nights during this month can also get quite cold. Disease such as Leaf Spots, Powdery Mildew and blight are experienced. Eliminate them by alternating chariot and Ransom 600WP. Bacterial diseases such as Bacterial Specs also occur and they are controlled using Copper based fungicides such as Greencop 500WP.
RANSOM® 600WP is an enhanced excellent systemic and contact fungicide with preventive and curative actions on a wide range of diseases, particularly powdery mildew and rusts on agricultural crops.
Black rot in Cabbages also called Bacterial leaf spot/ Black spot/ Bacterial rot is a major disease that can survive in decomposing plant material for up to 2 years. They stay this way in the soil then affect brassicas when planted. It is a bacterial disease which means it cannot be cured but only prevented and managed. Use of certified seeds, crop rotation and field hygiene are some ways that are used as cultural method of control.
Drench the planting holes with Copper fungicides (E.g Greencop ) mixed with a Carbendazim (E.g Chariot). This will eliminate development of the diseases around the plant thus minimize chances of infection.
✓ On foliage spray- Alternate Green copper (E.g Greencop) and A strong fungicide. A good one may have mixture of Azoxystrobin+ Defenoconazole + Hexaconazole (Eg Absolute). A mixture of these three molecules is known to hamper development of the bacteria while eliminating all fungal infections.
GREEN COP® 500WP is an excellent contact fungicide with protective action for the control of wide range of diseases particularly Botrytis, rust, Angular leaf spot, Early and Late blight, Coffee leaf rust and Coffee berry disease (CBD) in various agricultural crops.
✓Strengthening the immunity of the plant is also important. Natural plant defence mechanism will assist fight the diseases and keep it at manageable levels (below economic injury threshold). Plant immunity is strengthened using a biostimulant (e.g Optimizer) and micronutrients foliar feed (e.g Lavender Total)
- Crop Stress Management
Cabbage crop is a heavy feeder and hence Nutrition aspect should be given priority for Optimum production. Due to the hot weather in February, Stress level in the crop is high and the plant may spend a lot of Energy nursing tissues injuries. A good solution is to use growth promoters/Bio stimulants such as Optimizer to assist the plant to mitigate this challenge. As the crop move from seedlings, vegetative, heading; we have Lavender Super starter, Lavender Super Growth, Lavender Super Flowers and Fruits to manage the nutrition at each respective growth stage.
During heading stage, check for end rot and control using Ferrari Gold.
Finally, check out our next Newsletter for more information on how to make money in growing brassicas. As our slogan goes, “Our core business is to offer farmers of Africa Support to grow their know-how, market, and capital base”
We have much more and you can be sure that we are with you every step of your way.
