2. Physiological Disorder
• It is the abnormal growth pattern or abnormal
external or internal conditions of plant or
plant part due to adverse abiotic
conditions/environmental conditions such as
deviation from normal growing temperature,
light intensity, humidity, soil moisture,
nutrients, composition of gases and
inadequate supply of growth regulators.
3. Cracking
Symptoms
• Cracks appear on head.
Cause
• Hot dry weather
• Sudden irrigation after a dry spell
• Excess N fertilizer
Control measures:
• Planting at mild or cool weather
• Apply regular irrigation
• Judicious application of Nitrogen
4. Symptoms
•Calcium deficiency results in rotting of leaf margins.
•Inner leaves of heads of cabbage and Brussels sprouts are
affected, often without external symptoms
Cause
• Inadequate transport of calcium to rapidly growing tissues.
Control measures:
• Two foliar applications of CCC at 1120 or 2240 ppm combined
with CaCl2 at 2g/l or 4 applications of CaCl2 alone reduced the
appearance of tip burn.
• Spraying 5 times with 0.7% CaCl2 + 50 ppm NAA.
Tip Burn
6. Symptom
• Premature seed stalk development
Cause
• may take place due to sudden rise in temperature.
• Over mature seedlings
Control measures:
• Timely planting
Bolting
8. Black Spec/ Pepper Spot
Symptoms
•Black spec resulting from discolouration and coalescing of
tissue surrounding the stomata in both inner and outer leaves
of the head
•Initially the specks are minute but develop further, coalescing
into more substantial lesions
Cause
•Mg deficiency
•Post harvest dipping in fungicide
Control
•Spray of manganese salt
•Storage in controlled environment
10. Riceyness
Symptoms
• velvety surfaced loose curd
• elongation of pedicle results in the formation of small flower buds.
Cause
• fluctuations in temperature
• poor seed stock
• Excess Nitrogen application
• High humidity
Control
• proper selection of varieties,
• optimum application of nitrogen
• planting of tolerant and resistant varieties.
12. Blindness
Symptoms
•In the earlier stages of plant growth the growing buds of
cauliflower get affected due to which curd formation does
not occur.
•The leaves become thick, dark green, large and leathery by
accumulating carbohydrates and the plant remains
vegetative
Cause
•low temperature
• insects such as cutworms.
Control
•application of insecticides
•avoid exposure to low temperature.
14. Leafiness or bracting
Symptoms
•Development of small green leaves between the sections of the
curd.
Cause
•high temperature after curdling stage
•delay in harvesting
Control
•selection of varieties based on their adaptability.
16. Multiple curds
Symptoms
•appearance of a number of small button like curds in the form of
bunch.
Cause
• low temperature and damage to terminal bud resulting in
branching and formation of small curds on each branch
Control
• plant protection measures which reduces the damage to
terminal bud,
• prevent exposure to low temperature
18. Pinking
Symptoms
• The curd show pink tinge
Cause
• exposure of the curds to
high light intensities.
• anthocyanin pigment
develops which impart
pink color to curds
Control
• Blanching
19. Black speck
Symptoms
• The development of black lesions with collapse of
cells in interior of the curd
Cause
•It is caused when snowball (late) cultivars are exposed
to warm weather at curd development stages
Control
• Planting at right time
• of snowball type cauliflower.
21. Browning
Symptoms
• In the early stages water soaked areas can be seen on the Leaf and on the
• surface of the curd which later turn into rusty brown in color.
• In case of severe deficiencies the curd appears brown or pink, so it is
called red rot or brown rot or browning of cauliflower.
• Foliage colour changes from dull green to greenish yellow, leaves become
small and undeveloped
Cause
• It is also called red rot or brown rot and it caused due to boron deficiency.
The salinity.
Control
• application of borax.
• In acute deficiency, four spraying of 0.25 to 0.50% of borax solution @ of
1-2
• kg/ha along with 0.1 % Teepol as sticker give satisfactory control.
• Spraying of 0.2 to 0.25 % boric acid or sodium borate is equally effective
23. Whiptail
Symptoms
• Young plants becomes chlorotic and turn white particularly along leaf margins, they also
become cupped and wither. Eventually the leaf dies and growing point also collapse
• In older plants, the lamina of newly formed leaves is irregular in shape and frequently consist
of only a large bare midrib
Cause
• molybdenum deficiency.
• when they are grown on acidic soils because availability of molybdenum is reduce with the
decrease in soil pH below 5.5.
Control
This condition is called
• Application of sodium molybdate @ 10-15 kg/ha
• or spraying the plant with 0.1 % ammonium molybdate along with 0.1% Teepol as sticker
thrice.
25. Hollow stem
Symptoms
• The thick, fleshy centre of the stem splits and a cavity
is formed
• This cavity extends to both the ends to form opening to
the outside environment.
Cause
• high nitrogen levels or boron deficiency.
Control
• adopting close spacing
• Judicious nitrogen application
• spraying of 0.25 to 0.50% borax
27. Buttoning
Symptoms
• In the early stages of plant growth after formation of few number
of leaves development of small white coloured buttons or curds can
be seen.
Cause
• deficiency of nitrogenous fertilizers,
• overaged seedlings because aged seedlings
• planting of early variety late and
• exposure of the transplants to poor light conditions.
Control
• application of excess doses of nitrogen;
• minimization of transplantation shocks and
• provides favourable conditions during the vegetative growth of
plant and the seedlings to be transplanted should not be more than
six weeks
29. Fuzzy curd
Symptoms
• curd appears velvety or hairy
Cause
• This is caused to hereditary or
• growing out of their normal season
Control
• sowing good quality seed in particular season
• following proper cultural practices.
