Chapter 6. Cole Crop Production
Botany and Planting
Broccoli—Brassica oleracea Italica group, Brassicaceae (Cruciferae).
Cabbage—Brassica oleracea Capitata group.
Cauliflower—Brassica oleracea Botrytis group.
Chinese broccoli—Gailan or gai lan/kalian or kai lan/flowering kale—Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra.
Chinese cabbage—Napa (tight headed), chi-hili (semi-loose headed)—Brassica rapa var. pekinsis.
Chinese mustard—Bok choi, shanghai choi, baby bok choi, yuchoi, yuchoy, u-choi, choy sum—Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis.
Collards—Brassica oleracea Acephala group.
Kohlrabi—Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes.
Mustard—Brassica juncea.
Oriental radish—Daikon (Japanese), lobok or lo bok (Chinese)—Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus.
Turnip—Brassica rapa Rapifera group.
Table 1. Planting information for cole crops.
Cultivars
Table 2. Cabbage cultivars.
Table 3. Broccoli, cauliflower, collard, kale, mustard, and turnip cultivars.
Asian Crucifers
The term “Asian crucifers” is a broad category that encompasses Asian crucifer vegetables grown in the countries that comprise Asia and those eaten mainly by people of Asian extraction or who like Asian cuisine. Because many of the Asian crucifers described in this chapter belong to the crucifer family, which is covered in depth in chapter 5, “Ethnic Vegetable Production,” that information will not be duplicated elsewhere. However, there are still some overlaps between these two chapters.
This group of Asian crucifer vegetable species includes crops with edible leaves, like cabbage, broccoli, and bok choi, but also kohlrabi, which has edible swollen stems or tubers, and daikon, which is an edible root. These crops can be grown on raised beds with or without mulch and with drip, overhead, or subsurface irrigation. Fertilizer recommendations for these crops can be found in chapter 2, “Fertilizer Management for Vegetable Production in Florida,” as general information. For pest-control products, these crops are included under this chapter, with the exception of daikon, for which refer to information on radish in chapter 15, “Root Crop Production in Florida.”
Table 4. Planting information for Asian crucifers.
Table 5. Asian crucifer cultivars.
The following tables list registered pesticides that should be integrated with other pest management methods. Additional information on integrated management methods can be requested from UF/IFAS Extension horticulture or agriculture Extension agents. A list of local UF/IFAS Extension county offices is available at https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/find-your-local-office/.
Table 6. Herbicides approved for managing weeds in cole crops. Contact: Peter Dittmar, UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department.
Table 7. Insecticides labeled for management of pests of cole crops. Contact: Bonnie Wells, UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County.
Table 8. Cole crop fungicides ordered by disease and FRAC group according to mode of action. Contact: Nicholas S. Dufault, UF/IFAS Plant Pathology Department.
Table 9. Nonfumigant nematicides for crucifer/cole crops in Florida. Contact: Johan Desaeger, UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center.
Table 10. Fumigant nematicides for crucifer/cole crops in Florida. Contact: Johan Desaeger, UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center.
