Abstract
This study was conducted in a private farm at Al-shallalat region approximately 15 km far from Mosul /Iraq during growing season of 2005_ 2006 to investigate the effect of three sowing dates (15th Aug, 1st Sept. and 15th Oct.), and the foliar application of GA3 at (0, 200 and 400 mg/l) on the vegetative growth, quantity and quality of curd yield in two Cauliflower cultivars Rami (Hybrid ) and White Cloud ( pure ). Treatment of GA3 were sprayed in two times, the first treatment was after a month of transplanting whereas the second treatment was done one month following the first spraying. The experiment involved 18 treatments arranged in a factorial experiment within split-plot using Randomized Complete Block Design with three replicates. The results could be summarized as follows:
1- White Cloud cv. Showed a significant increase in some vegetative growth (leaf number and leaf area), all yield quantity and quality characters (marketable curd weight, total marketable yield, curd circumference, curd thickness, curd color and curd compactment) as compared with Rami cv. Whereas Rami cv. revealed a significant decrease in the number of days from sowing to maturation 10٪ of curd as compared with the White Cloud cv.
2- Early sowing date (15th Aug) leads to a significant increase in all vegetative growth (leaf number and leaf area), all yield quantity and quality characters for both cultivars, whereas late sowing date (15th Oct) leads to a significant decrease in the number of days from sowing to maturation 10٪ of curd in the two cultivars
3- Treatment with GA3 at two concentrations (200 and 400 mg/l) showed a significant effects on average of marketable curd weight, total marketable yield, curd circumference and curd thickness, while it has no significant effects in the number of days from sowing to maturation 10٪ of curd, curd color and curd compactment. There where no significant effects between concentrations of GA3 in all the previous characters.
