Varietal Response of Cabbage to Drought Conditions in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines

Abstract

Evaluation of varieties of crops with high tolerance to drought and other stresses is one climate change adaptation strategy. Since future climate conditions are not predictable, it is therefore crucial to evaluate different crop varieties that can withstand drought conditions in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines which has an elevation of 1,521 m asl. Five varieties of cabbage which include Ace Green, Gladiator, Lucky Ball, Rare Ball, and Scorpio were evaluated for two cropping seasons from 2013-2015 to determine their performance under drought condition. The experiments were laid-out following Randomized Complete Block Design with two replications. Drought imposition was done by subjecting plants to moderate drought (45-55 centibars soil matric potential) coinciding with the heading stage of cabbage. The cabbage varieties had varied performance in the two evaluation periods. Drought during the heading stage (starting at 70 DAT) resulted in delayed head initiation, poor heading percentage, low head weight, and decreased yield. Among the varieties evaluated, Lucky Ball and Ace Green consistently produced high yield and heading percentage in both evaluation periods.