Abstract
Cauliflower is esteemed for its nutritional benefits and health-enhancing attributes. An experiment was conducted at the field laboratory of the School of Agriculture and Rural Development of Bangladesh Open University, Gazipur, Bangladesh during the period from October 2024 to March 2025 to evaluate the growth and yield performance of three colored cauliflowers under different fertilizer management practices. The experiment consisted of three F1-hybrid cauliflower varieties, viz., V1: White colored (Hamazuki 33), V2: Yellow colored (Yellow Harmony), V3: Purple colored (Purple Harmony) and six fertilizer treatments, viz., T1: Control (No fertilizer), T2: Cow-dung (10 tha-1), T3: Poultry litter (10 tha-1), T4: 100% recommended chemical fertilizers (N P K S Zn B), T5: Cow-dung (5 tha-1) + 50% recommended chemical fertilizers, and T6: Poultry litter (5 tha-1) + 50% recommended chemical fertilizers. The doses of recommended chemical fertilizers for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulfur (S), zinc (Zn), and boron (B) were @ 250-35-65-40-5-1 kgha-1. The experiment was designed as a randomized complete block design with 3 replications and each replication was considered as a block. The white cauliflower variety (V1) performed better compared to the yellow cauliflower variety (V2) and purple cauliflower variety (V3) in relation to yield under local agroclimatic conditions. The highest curd yield was recorded in the white-colored cauliflower variety (31.09 tha-1), followed by the purple-colored cauliflower variety (27.99 tha-1) and the yellow-colored cauliflower variety (26.30 tha-1) irrespective of fertilizer treatments. The highest curd yield (31.27 tha-1) was obtained from T3 (poultry litter @ 10 tha-1), which was statistically similar to T5 and T6 treatment irrespective of variety. The lowest curd yield (20.84 tha-1) was obtained from the T1 treatment (no fertilizers). The interaction between variety and fertilizer had a significant impact on yield and other traits of cauliflower. The highest average yield per hectare (34.91 tha-1) was observed in the white-colored cauliflower under poultry litter @10 tha-1 treatment (V1T3), which was statistically similar to V1T5 and V1T6. So, the application of poultry litter @10 tha-1 or poultry litter @ 5 tha-1 + 50% recommended chemical fertilizer or cow-dung @ 5 tha-1 + 50% recommended chemical fertilizers is suggested to get higher yield in cauliflower irrespective of variety.
Keywords: Cauliflower; Color cultivars; Fertilization; Growth; Curd yield.
