Growing cabbage as a double crop in Serbia

Abstract

Cabbage is an important vegetable crop that is grown at 20,891 ha in Serbia. Growing cabbage as a double crop intensifies land use and increases the profitability of crop production. Double cropping of cabbage is a well-established practice in Serbia. Domestic cultivars and populations of cabbage predominate in the commercial production and this choice of assortment dictates the subsequent use of the harvested cabbage crop. The two main types of use are fresh consumption and pickling. Under Serbian growing conditions, the optimum time for late cabbage transplanting is the first half of July, a period characterized by high temperatures and insufficient and unevenly distributed rainfall. Growing cabbages during this period without the help of irrigation is a fairly risky proposition. Late cabbage cultivars and hybrids must be harvested before temperatures drops below -5°C. Cabbage can survive temperatures of -4°C to -5°C for only a limited period of time and prolonged exposure to such conditions will result in the plant being winterkilled and the head losing its market value.

Kupus je značajna povrtarska kultura koja se u Srbiji proizvodi na 20.891 ha. Gajenje kupusa kao druge kulture (tj. postrno) omogućuje intenzivno korišćenje zemljišta i rentabilniju prizvodnju. Kasna ili postrna proizvodnja kupusa u Srbiji ima svoju tradiciju. Relativno često se gaje domaće sorte i populacije kupusa koje definišu i način potrošnje, što je pre svega sveža upotreba, ali i sve prisutnije kišeljenje kupusa. Optimalni rok za rasađivanje kasnog kupusa u agroklimatskim uslovima Srbije je prva polovina jula. Ovaj period karakterišu visoke temperature i nedovoljna količina padavina neravnomernog rasporeda, tako da je proizvodnja kupusa bez navodnjavanja nesigurna. Kod kasnih sorti i hibrida kupusa berba se mora organizovati pre nego što temperatura padne ispod -5°C. Na -4°C i -5°C kupus može da bude samo privremeno, jer posle dužeg vremena dolazi do izmrzavanja i gubljenja tržišne vrednosti glavica kupusa.