Effects of Plant Density and Row Arrangement on Weed Management and Yield in Organic Cabbage Crop (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.)

Cabbage is an important vegetable crop species. To obtain high yield of cabbage, good weed management practice must be implemented. A field experiment was conducted to determine the effects of plant density and row arrangement on weed flora and yield of a cabbage crop under Mediterranean climatic conditions. A randomized complete block design was employed with 4 replicates per treatment (single rows 60 cm x 40 cm, single rows 70 cm x 30 cm, single rows 50 cm x 34 cm and paired-rows: the distances between two rows in a pair and between two consecutive paired-rows were 25 cm and 85 cm, respectively, and plant-to-plant spacing was 40 cm; 58,800 plants ha-1). The intercepted PAR by the cabbage canopy increased with increases in plant density to about 59,000 plants ha-1 and this increased interception of PAR resulted in a decrease in weed biomass. Weed density and weed biomass decreased with increasing plant populations. There were also no significant differences between paired-rows and single row pattern at high density. Moreover, plant density affected cabbage yield. The highest yield (10.54 t∙ha-1) was observed in the paired-rows planting pattern and the next highest in the single-rows 50 x 34 cm. Our results indicate that paired-rows cabbage production is feasible and the control of various weeds was better in paired-rows than single-rows pattern at lower cabbage density