RESPONSE OF CAULIFLOWER GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT UNDER WATER SCARCITY CONDITIONS IN TEMPERATE ZONE

The study was carried out at the College of Forestry & Hill Agriculture, Hill Campus, Ranichauri, Uttarakhand. Soil moisture content was measured using gravimetric method periodically in 0-15, 15-30, 30-45 and 45-60 cm soil profiles. Field experiments were conducted on cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) crop during 2007-08 and 2008-09. The crop was transplanted in October and harvested in February spanning 100 and 99 days, respectively. Four irrigation treatments were maintained based on the maximum allowable depletion (MAD) of available soil water. The treatments were 15% (T1), 30% (T2), 45% (T3) and 60% (T4) maximum allowable depletion of available soil water. No water stress was maintained at the initial stages of the crop development in order to allow the plants attain a healthy growth. Results revealed that irrigation schedule with 45% maximum allowable depletion of available soil water gave the maximum water use efficiency for cauliflower crop. It was found that for scheduling of irrigation for cauliflower crop 0-30 cm soil profile should be considered as most of the water was found to be extracted from this layer by the plant.