Production of ‘Whiptail’ in Cauliflower Grown in Sand Culture

Abstract

THE importance of molybdenum deficiency in the incidence of ‘whiptail’ in cauliflower and broccoli in acid soils is now established^1–4. The disorder was known only under field conditions until recently, when cauliflower plants grown in molybdenum-deficient sand cultures⁵ showed symptoms closely resembling certain aspects of the disease. In later work^6,7, analogous effects (death of the growing point and malformation of young leaves) developed in several Brassica species; but their occurrence was sporadic and unpredictable, except that they appeared after temporary recovery from an initially severe deficiency. Two features characteristic of many cases of ‘whiptail’, namely, plants with dark blue-green, narrow, elongated middle foliage and large well-developed outer leaves free from chlorosis, were generally lacking in the work cited.