Divya, PKAUSreelathakumari, I2017-08-052017-08-052013http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810027594The experiment entitled “Evaluation of cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.var.capitata) for southern Kerala” was conducted at the Department of Olericulture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, during 2012-2013. The objectives were to identify tropical cabbage varieties suitable for plains of southern Kerala and to study the influence of date of sowing on yield and quality. The experiment was laid out in the field in split plot design with four dates of sowing as main plot and 11 varieties of cabbage as sub plot treatments with five replications. Analysis of variance revealed significant difference among sowing dates, varieties and their interactions for all the characters studied. Among the four different sowing dates (October 1st, October 15th, November 1st and November 15th), November 1st sowing recorded best yield characters. Highest yield (net head weight) was recorded for November 1st sowing (519.03 g) followed by October 15th sowing (451.21 g). Sowing on November 1st resulted in early head formation and early head harvest. Better gross plant weight, non wrapper leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf breadth and leaf size were also observed in November 1st sowing. No significant differences were observed for head solidity, core length and quality characters like protein, vitamin A and vitamin C between different sowing dates. Least incidence of physiological disorders, pest and diseases were observed on November 1st sowing. Among the varieties, New Orient (645g) and NS 183 (614.83g) were the highest yielders. Head depth and head diameter were highest for NS 183 followed by New Orient. Earliest among the varieties was New Orient followed by NS 183 and the late variety was Red C-05. Significant differences were observed among varieties for all quality characters. Red C-05 had maximum protein (1.12%) and vitamin C (70.97 mg/100g). The interaction effects were significant for all the characters studied. Yield characters were best for New Orient (876.67 g) and NS 183 (851.33g) sown on November 1st. November 1st sowing of Red C-05 recorded maximum head solidity. New Orient recorded highest gross plant weight, leaf length and leaf size where as Indam 296 sown on October 15th recorded minimum non wrapper leaves per plant. Maximum protein and vitamin C content were recorded for Red C-05 sown on November 1st whereas New Orient sown on same date recorded highest vitamin A. Least incidence of physiological disorders, pest and diseases were observed on November 1st sowing. Variability among genotypes for all the characters was studied using phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation, heritability and genetic advance. High phenotypic coefficient of variation and genotypic coefficient of variation were observed in net head weight, gross head weight, gross plant weight and head diameter. High heritability and high genetic advance was also observed for these characters. The path analysis revealed that leaf size, non wrapper leaves and core length had direct effect on yield. Correlation studies revealed that plant height, gross plant weight, head diameter, core length, head depth and non wrapper leaves had high positive correlation on yield. Selection index values were calculated based on discriminant function analysis and found that New Orient was best followed by NS-183. The present study identified two high yielding varieties namely New Orient and NS 183 as promising and November 1st sowing as the best sowing time for cultivation in southern Kerala.ennullThesis