Abstract:
The recommended spacing and nitrogen fertilizer for Cabbage is 50 cm x 50 cm and 82 kg respectively .However this spacing and nitrogen fertilizer produced large head- sized cabbages which are not preferred by the market. Therefore, this field experiment was initiated to improve the productivity and optimize head-size of cabbage for market by identifying of the optimum rate of nitrogen fertilizer rate and intra-row spacing. The experiment was conducted during 2018 irrigation season at Koga Irrigation Scheme. The treatments consisted of four levels of nitrogen rate (0, 41, 82 and 123 t ha-1) and three intra-row spacing (30, 40 and 50 cm) which were laid down in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Data on phenology, growth and yield components of cabbage were collected timely as per their respective standard procedures and analysis of variance for the collected data was done using SAS version 9.2. The results of the study revealed that all the growth and yield-related parameters of cabbage were significantly influenced by rate of nitrogen and intra-row spacing. The highest marketable (32.3 t ha-1) and total (33 t ha-1) head yield were recorded from treatment combination of 82 kg ha-1 nitrogen and 30 cm intra-row spacing. The same treatment combination also gave the highest net profit (140130.5 ETB ha-1) with acceptable marginal rate of return which can be recommended for the production of cabbage at Koga Irrigation Scheme and other areas with similar agro-ecology. As the results are limited to one season and place, it is also recommended to repeat such study in different areas and seasons in the study area.
Keywords: Copenhagen market, Intra-row spacing, Irrigation, Nitrogen fertilizer