Growing cabbage as a double crop in Serbia

Cabbage is an important vegetable crop that is grown at 20,891 ha in Serbia. Growing cabbage as a double crop intensifies land use and increases the profitability of crop production. Double cropping of cabbage is a well-established practice in Serbia. Domestic cultivars and populations of cabbage predominate in the commercial production and this choice of assortment dictates the subsequent use of the harvested cabbage crop. The two main types of use are fresh consumption and pickling. Under Serbian growing conditions, the optimum time for late cabbage transplanting is the first half of July, a period characterized by high temperatures and insufficient and unevenly distributed rainfall. Growing cabbages during this period without the help of irrigation is a fairly risky proposition. Late cabbage cultivars and hybrids must be harvested before temperatures drops below -5°C. Cabbage can survive temperatures of -4°C to -5°C for only a limited period of time and prolonged exposure to such conditions will result in the plant being winterkilled and the head losing its market value.