The Occurrence of Hollow Stems of Broccoli and Ways to Control

The empty or hollow stem of broccoli means there are hollowness in the stems but no decomposed ones. It is due to physiological disorders. Hollow stem is a bad trait of goods; no hollow stem is required on the market. So hollowness of the stems will seriously impact the quality of commodities and bring the cultivators enormous losses.
First, the symptoms of hollow stems
Air stems mainly form in the maturing period of ball. Initially there are several small oval gaps in the stems, with the maturity of the plant, these small gaps gradually expand into a major gap in the stem and form a big hollow, sometimes the hollow can extend to the stalk of the flower.
Second, the causes of hollow stems
Several reasons such as planting density, excessive nitrogen fertilizer, water shortages, boron deficiency, high temperature can lead to physiological disorder and form hollowness.
1. Low planting density can speed up the growth rate of plant, and lead to a high incidence of empty stems.
2. Excessive nitrogen fertilizer will cause the over vigorous growth of the plant and accelerate the occurrence of hollowness.
3. Improper watering can also lead to the occurrence of hollowness.
4. Temperature condition. Cool temperature is suitable for broccoli and the suitable growth temperature is 15 to 22 ℃. If there are high temperature (above 25 ℃)during the growth period of broccoli, too fast growth will occur and lead to hollowness.
5. Boron tests have proved that hollow stem of broccoli is related to boron deficiency.
6. Genetic reasons. Different varieties have different sensitivity to hollow stems. Some variety has wide adaptability and it is not easy for it to form hollowness; on the other hand, some variety is easy to form hollowness and hollowness is a dominant character in genetics.
Third, prevention measures
1. Choose fine varieties.
2. Give appropriate arrangements when planting broccoli. Sowing in prompt time, foster robust seedlings and fix plant promptly.
3. Choose rational density of planting. Choose proper planting density according to the characteristics of the variety.
4. Pay attention to fertilizer management to determine the types of fields and quantity of fertilization.
5. Timely harvest. Early harvest will get low output and late harvest will lead to more hollowness of stems. Generally speaking, it is 10~15 days from the appearance of ball to harvest time. The harvest standard is that the ball is 12~15cm in diameter and the ball is compacted and there is no yellow color or necrosis ball. (Reproduced)