Effect of Sowing Date on the Growth and Yield of Three Cultivars of Kale Brassica oleracea L .var.acephala

Abstract

The experiment was carried out at the research station of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape / College of Agriculture / Tikrit University, during the agricultural season 2022-202,  to study the effect of sowing date on the growth and yield of three cultivars of kale. The experiment consisted two factors. The first factor included two sowing dates viz, 15/9/2021 and 1/10/2021, while second factors included three cultivars of kale namely: NeroDiTosccana, Tronchuda and Red Ursa. The experiment was laid out according to the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with a split plot system With three replicares.      The results showed that, the sowing date 1/10 had highest values in percentage of germination and germination speed, while sowing date 1/10 recorded highest values in plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, plant yield and total yield 44.87 cm, 28.62 mm, 2267.5 cm2 plant-1, 529.65 g plant-1 and 17.71 tons ha-1, respectively. Meanwhile,  Nero Di Tosccana cultivar gave significant increment in percentage of germination and plant height, whereas Red Ursa cultivar increased significantly in  stem diameter, leaf area, plant yield and total yield 31.03 mm, 1716.9 cm2 plant-1, 446.99 g plant-1 and  14.99 ton ha-1 respectively. On the other hand, the interaction treatment between sowing date 15/9 and Nero Di Tosccana cultivar had highest values in percentage of germination and plant height. Whereas, sowing date 1/10 and Red Ursa cultivar recorded highest value in germination speed. But, sowing date 15/9 with Red Ursa cultivar gave significant increment in stem diameter, plant yield and total yield. While, the interaction treatment between sowing date 15/9 and Tronchuda cultivar increased significantly in leaf area.