YIELD COMPONENTS OF BROCCOLI CULTIVARS GROWN IN THE CONTINENTAL CLIMATE OF CROATIA

Increased import and considerable demands of the processing industry in northwestern Croatia gave rise to the great interest in the commercial production of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica). As numerous hybrid cultivars are available, cultivar investigations should be conducted in order to plan a continuous supply of fresh broccoli to the processing industry and the market. Hence the object of this trial is to select promising hybrid broccoli cultivars, suitable to be grown in the agro ecological conditions of northwestern Croatia. Investigations were carried out at two family farms (with and without irrigation) in the vicinity of Zagreb in the spring-summer and summer-autumn growing periods of 2003. The field trial involving 12 hybrid broccoli cultivars was laid out according to the randomized block method with three replications. The following yield components were analyzed: share of plants with marketable and unmarketable inflorescences, without formed inflorescence, average weight of top and lateral inflorescences, yield of marketable inflorescences (top, lateral and total), and number of lateral inflorescences, earliness and duration of the harvesting period. The effect of the cultivar on the parameters studied was determined using the analysis of variance and Duncan’s multiple range tests. The results of one-year testing of broccoli cultivars at two locations in the agro ecological conditions of northwestern Croatia point to the conclusion that the summer-autumn growing period was more favorable than the spring-summer one. ‘Captain’ stands out with the highest total yield as well as top and lateral inflorescence yields, the largest top inflorescence weight and marked earliness. This was followed by cultivars ‘Lucky’, ‘General’, ‘Griffen’, ‘Liberty’ and ‘Milady’, which also achieved high values of the measured parameters.