Golden Acre
The earliest common cabbage — small, round heads, first to market and open-pollinated, so seed can be saved.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Cabbage
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Rabi
- Maturity period
- 60–65 days from transplanting
- Seed rate
- 200–250 g per acre for a transplanted crop. For direct sowing on ridges, which picks about two weeks earlier, use 325 g per acre
- Expected yield
- 200–240 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- pH
- 5.5–6.5
- Disease resistance
- Field tolerance to black rot
- Release
- Not an ICAR/state-university breeding release — a 1920s American selection (Copenhagen Market type) introduced to India via germplasm accession EC-6774 (Japan) and maintained since as open-pollinated seed
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Golden Acre is the earliest common cabbage grown in India — a small, solid, round-headed type descended from the American "Copenhagen Market" selection popularised by seed house D. M. Ferry & Co. in the 1920s. Indian variety literature lists it as introduced via germplasm accession EC-6774 (Japan); it is not an ICAR or state-university breeding release, but a long-naturalised, open-pollinated type grown and re-seeded by farmers for decades. A university course compilation and a trade variety roundup both describe it this way.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Golden Acre if you want the earliest cabbage of the season, when the price is still high, and you would rather save seed than buy it. It is a century-old Copenhagen Market type grown as open-pollinated seed in India, not an institute release, though IARI recommends it for cultivation. The National Horticulture Board puts it at small, solid, round heads of 1–1.5 kg, ready 60–65 days after transplanting, averaging 20–24 t/ha (200–240 q/ha). The short season frees the plot early for a second rabi vegetable. One warning from the same source: harvest as soon as the heads firm up, because late harvesting makes them crack. Choose Pusa Drumhead for heavy heads and storage, or Pusa Mukta where black rot is severe.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeSeptember to October is the ideal planting time in the plains (PAU). In the hills the Tamil Nadu guide puts cabbage sowing in January–February, July–August or September–October
- Seed rate200–250 g per acre for a transplanted crop. For direct sowing on ridges, which picks about two weeks earlier, use 325 g per acre
- Spacing45 x 45 cm, the spacing PAU gives early-maturing varieties. For direct sowing, ridges 60 cm apart with plants 15–20 cm apart
- Sowing methodRaise seedlings on 100 sq m of nursery per hectare, drenched with copper oxychloride at 2.5 g/litre, sown in rows 10 cm apart; they are ready in 40–45 days. Keep off land that has had club root
- IrrigationFirst irrigation immediately after transplanting, then every 10–15 days, 8–12 irrigations in all (PAU)
- Fertilizer40 tonnes farmyard manure with 50 kg N (110 kg urea), 25 kg P2O5 (155 kg single superphosphate) and 25 kg K2O (40 kg muriate of potash) per acre. All the manure, phosphorus, potash and half the nitrogen before transplanting; the other half four weeks later (PAU)
Pest & disease considerations
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Earliest cabbage to reach market among the varieties compared here
- Compact, round heads suit close spacing and high plant density
- Open-pollinated, so seed can be saved and re-sown farm to farm
- Short field duration frees the plot early for a second rabi vegetable crop
Things to consider
- Harvest on time. The National Horticulture Board warns that late harvesting makes Golden Acre heads crack, which kills their market value — so check the field from about day 55 and cut as soon as the heads are solid.
- Being a century-old open-pollinated type, Golden Acre gives smaller heads (about 1–1.5 kg per source write-ups) and a lower total yield than modern hybrid cabbages, in exchange for earliness and seed-saving
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- West Bengal
- Bihar
First to market: nursery dates and staggering
Golden Acre is the earliest of the common cabbages, cutting 60–65 days from transplanting with small, round, solid heads. Early and small is a market position: the first cabbage of the season sells at a rate the main-season crop never sees, and small heads suit households buying one at a time.
Work the dates backwards from the week you want to sell in, and then stagger the transplanting by seven to ten days across two or three batches. That way the field does not all mature on the same day, which matters most for an early crop, where a few days of glut can erase the price advantage. Being open-pollinated, this variety also lets you keep your own seed from a good plant. Keep an eye on black rot even though it has field tolerance, and do not leave heads standing after they are firm, or they split.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This is an open-pollinated variety, so seed from a healthy crop of your own can be sown again. Keep seed only from disease-free plants, dry it properly, store it cool and dry, and bring in fresh certified seed every three to four years so the variety does not drift.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Cabbage variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Acrethis page | The first cabbage to market, from seed you can save | 60–65 days from transplanting | 200–240 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar |
| Pride of India | An early cabbage that still gives a decent-sized head | 70–80 days after transplanting | 200–280 q/ha | |
| Pusa Drumhead | Heavy flat heads for weight and storage, on a longer season | 80–90 days from transplanting | 500–540 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana |
| Pusa Mukta | Fields where black rot keeps destroying the cabbage crop | 80–90 days | Medium–high | Delhi |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Cabbage is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Cabbage plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Cabbage variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Cabbage into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Cabbage in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Cabbage rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Cabbage seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Golden Acre an ICAR-bred variety like Pusa Drumhead?
No — Golden Acre is a decades-old American selection (the "Copenhagen Market" type) introduced to India and grown as open-pollinated seed ever since, not a formal Indian institute release.
Does Golden Acre resist black rot?
Variety write-ups report field tolerance to black rot. Head splitting is the opposite — the National Horticulture Board warns that heads crack if harvest is delayed, so cut them as soon as they are solid.
How do I save Golden Acre seed?
Leave a few of the best, firmest heads to bolt and flower instead of cutting them, keep them well away from any other cole crop in flower, and harvest the pods when dry. It is open-pollinated so the seed stays true, but cabbage crosses easily with cauliflower and knol-khol, so isolation is the whole job.
Why are Golden Acre heads smaller than a hybrid's?
Because it is an old open-pollinated type bred for earliness, not size — heads run about 1–1.5 kg, and total yield is below a modern hybrid. You get the first-of-season price and your own seed instead. Plant it closer together to make up part of the yield gap.
Can I take a second crop after Golden Acre?
That is one of its best uses. It clears the field weeks before a drumhead cabbage, leaving time for a short rabi vegetable or an early summer crop. Plan the next crop before you transplant, so the land is ready the week the cabbage comes out.
What yield does Golden Acre give?
200–240 q/ha in 60–65 days from transplanting. Pusa Drumhead gives 500–540 q/ha but takes 80–90 days. Golden Acre is grown for the early market, where a smaller head sold three weeks sooner can be worth more than a bigger one later.
Which states is Golden Acre listed for?
Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar. It is not an institute release but an old American selection kept as open-pollinated seed in India, so availability depends on your seed dealer rather than on a state notification list.
Sourced from: Top 11 Cabbage Varieties in India — India Inputs, Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops, Punjab Agricultural University: cabbage planting time, seed rate, spacing for early and late varieties, fertiliser and irrigation, Crop Production Guide (Horticulture), TNAU and Department of Horticulture, Tamil Nadu: cabbage season for hills and plains, nursery and soil pH. editorial policy.