Napa cabbage

Last updated

Napa cabbage
Napa cabbages.png
Species Brassica rapa
Cultivar group Pekinensis Group
OriginChina, before the 15th century

Napa cabbage ( Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis, or Brassica rapa Pekinensis Group) is a type of Chinese cabbage originating near the Beijing region of China that is widely used in East Asian cuisine. Since the 20th century, it has also become a widespread crop in Europe, the Americas, and Australia. In much of the world, it is referred to as "Chinese cabbage".

Contents

Names

25 to 40 mm (1 to 1+12 in) of water per week is needed to maintain sustained growth rates. [27]

Temperature requirements are low. Temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) are tolerated for short time periods; persistent frosts below −5 °C (23 °F) are not endured. [25] Too low temperature can induce premature bolting. The plants perform best under temperatures between 13 and 21 °C (55 and 70 °F), depending on the cultivar. [29]

Seedbed requirements & sowing

Napa cabbage has very small seeds with a thousand kernel weight of about 2.5 to 2.8 g. For professional cultivation it is recommended to use disinfected seeds to prevent onset diseases. With the single-grain sowing technique, about 400 to 500 g of seeds per hectare is required; with the normal sowing technique, about 1 kg per hectare. If the normal sowing technique is used, the seedlings must be thinned out after two to four weeks. The seeds should be deposited 1 to 2 cm (0.39 to 0.79 in) deep, with a row width of 40 to 45 cm (16 to 18 in) and 25 to 30 cm (9.8 to 11.8 in) distance between the seeds.[ citation needed ]

The seedlings can be grown in the greenhouse and then transplanted into the field after two to three weeks. Earlier harvest can be achieved with this method. Seventy thousand to 80,000 seedlings per hectare are required. [25] [28] The transplanting method is normally used for the spring crop and the seeding technique for the fall crop. [29]

Fertilization, field management

The nutrient removal of napa cabbage is high: [25]

Fertilizer recommendations are in the range of the nutrient removal. [25] [28] [30] Organic fertilizer must be applied before sowing due to the short cultivation time of napa cabbage and the slow availability of organic fertilizers. Synthetic N fertilizer should be applied in three equal doses. The last application must happen before two thirds of the cultivation time is over to avoid quality losses during storage.[ citation needed ]

Weeds should be controlled mechanically or chemically. [25]

Harvest, storage and yield

Harvested napa cabbage being loaded on a truck in Tonghai County, Yunnan Tonghai Xian - Gaoda Daizu Yizu Xiang - P1360659.JPG
Harvested napa cabbage being loaded on a truck in Tonghai County, Yunnan
Napa cabbage sold in Japan Fei Tuo noBai Cai  (49180905102).jpg
Napa cabbage sold in Japan

Napa cabbage can be harvested 8–12 weeks after sowing. The harvest work is mostly done by hand. The plant is cut 2.5 cm (0.98 in) above the ground. It is usual to harvest several times per field to achieve consistent cabbage quality. Cabbages will keep in good condition for three to four months in cool stores at 0–1 °C (32–34 °F) and 85 to 90 percent relative humidity. [25] Napa cabbage achieves a yield of 4 to 5 kg/m2. [14]

Breeding

Brassica rapa species are diploid and have 10 chromosomes. A challenge for breeding of napa cabbage is the variable self-incompatibility. The self-incompatibility activity was reported to change by temperature and humidity. In vitro pollination with 98% relative humidity proved to be the most reliable as compared to greenhouse pollination.[ citation needed ]

A lot of work has already been done on breeding of napa cabbage. In the 21st century, 880 varieties of Napa cabbage were registered by the Korea Seed and Variety Service. [11]

Breeding of napa cabbage was started by the Korean government research station of horticultural demonstration in 1906 to overcome starvation. As napa cabbage and radish are the main vegetables for kimchi, research focused on increasing yield. The most important person for this process was Dr. Woo Jang-choon who bred hybrid cultivars with self-incompatibility and contributed to commercial breeding by developing valuable materials and educating students. The main purpose of the hybrid cultivar was high yield and year-round production of napa cabbage after 1960. [11]

To enable year round production of napa cabbage, it has to be modified to tolerate high and low temperatures. Normally, sowing in the late summer and harvesting in late autumn can produce high quality vegetables. As an example, a summer cultivar called “Nae-Seo-beak-ro” was developed 1973 by a commercial seed company. It tolerates high temperatures, could endure high humidity in the monsoon, and showed resistance to viral disease, soft rot and downy mildew. The low temperature in early spring reduces the quality of the vegetable and it cannot be used for kimchi. In the 1970s the developing of winter cultivars started. The majority of new cultivars could not endure the cold winter conditions and disappeared. The cultivar “Dong-Pung” (meaning “east wind”) was developed in 1992 and showed a high resistance to cold temperature. It is mostly used in Korea, where fresh napa cabbage is nowadays cultivated year round. [10]

In the 1970s, one seed company developed the rose-shape heading variety while other seed companies focused on the semi-folded heading type. As a result of continuous breeding in the commercial seed companies and the government research stations, farmers could now select what they wanted from among various high quality hybrids of Chinese cabbage. [11] The fall season cultivar 'Yuki', with white ribs and tight leaf folding, gained the RHS's Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in 2003. [31]

In 1988, the first cultivar with yellow inner leaf was introduced. This trait has prevailed until today. [11]

A very important breeding aim is to get varieties with resistance to pests and diseases. There exist varieties with resistance to turnip mosaic virus but as mentioned above, there exist numerous other diseases. There have been attempts to breed varieties with clubroot resistance or powdery mildew resistance but the varieties failed due to bad leaf texture traits or broken resistances. [11]

Pests and diseases

Gomasho

Gomasho (ゴマ症), [32] [33] also known as pepper spots, is a cosmetic defect affecting leaves' surfaces, primarily the outer ones. It takes a form of spots appearing on the white parts of a leaf, with clearly defined edges, usually elongated, up to 2 mm in size. The color ranges from brown to black. A spot is formed through a collapse of cell walls and may be invisible during harvest and packing, only becoming apparent after storing in cold. [34] [32]

No pathogen is known to cause pepper spots and affected leaves are safe to eat. [34] The formation of gomasho has been linked to high nitrogen levels in fertilizers. [35] The defect has to be differentiated from fungal diseases and soil fragments.

Fungal diseases

Alternaria diseases are caused by the organisms Alternaria brassicae , Alternaria brassicicola and Alternaria japonica . Their English names are black spot (not to be confused with midrib 'pepper spots' which are physiological in origin and often result from improper storage), pod spot, gray leaf spot, dark leaf spot or Alternaria blight. The symptoms can be seen on all aboveground plant parts as dark spots. The infected plants are shrivelled and smaller than normal. Alternaria diseases infect almost all brassica plants, the most important hosts are oilseed brassicas. The fungus is a facultative parasite, what means that it can survive on living hosts as well as on dead plant tissue. Infected plant debris is in most circumstances the primary source of inoculum. The spores can be dispersed by wind to host plants in the field or to neighbouring brassica crops. This is why cross infections often occur in areas where different brassica crops are cultivated in close proximity. The disease spreads especially fast when the weather is wet and the plants have reached maturity. Alternaria brassicae is well adapted to temperate regions while Alternaria brassicicola occurs primarily in warmer parts of the world. Temperature requirement for Alternaria japonica is intermediate. [29] There exist some wild accessions of Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis with resistance to Alternaria brassicae but not on commercial cultivars. These resistances should be included to breeding programmes. Alternaria epidemics are best avoided by management practices like at least 3 years non-host crops between brassica crops, incorporation of plant debris into the soil to accelerate decomposition and usage of disease-free seeds. [29]

Anhracnose is a brassica disease caused by Colletotrichum higginsianum that is especially damaging on napa cabbage, pak choi, turnip, rutabaga and tender green mustard. The symptoms are dry pale gray to straw spots or lesions on the leaves. The recommended management practices are the same as for Alternaria diseases. [29]

Black root is a disease that infects mainly radish, but it also occurs on many other brassica vegetables inclusively napa cabbage. It caused by the fungus Aphanomyces raphani . The pathogen can persist for long times in the soil, therefore crop rotations are an essential management tool. [29]

White leaf spot is found primarily in temperate climate regions and is important on vegetable brassicas and oilseed rape. The causal organism is Mycosphaerella capsellae . The symptoms are white spots on leaves, stems and pods and can thus easily be confused with those of downy mildew. The disease spreads especially fast with rain or moisture and temperature is between 10 and 15 °C (50 and 59 °F). [29]

Yellows, also called Fusarium wilt, is another Brassica disease that infects oilseed rape, cabbage, mustards, Napa cabbage and other vegetable brassicas. It is only a problem in regions with warm growing seasons where soil temperatures are in the range of 18 to 32 °C. The causal organism is Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. conlutinans. Napa cabbage is relatively tolerant to the disease; mostly the only external symptoms are yellowing of lower, older leaves. The disease is soil borne and can survive for many years in the absence of a host. Most cruciferous weeds can serve as alternate hosts. [29]

Damping-Off is a disease in temperate areas caused by soil inhabiting oomycetes like Phytophthora cactorum and Pythium spp. The disease concerns seedlings, which often collapse and die. [29]

Other diseases that infect napa cabbage:

Bacterial diseases

Bacterial soft rot is considered one of the most important diseases of vegetable brassicas. The disease is particularly damaging in warm humid climate. The causal organisms are Erwinia carotovora var. carotovora and Pseudomonas marginalis pv. marginalis. The rot symptoms can occur in the field, on produce transit or in storage. Bacteria survive mainly on plant residues in the soil. They are spread by insects and by cultural practices, such as irrigation water and farm machinery. The disease is tolerant to low temperatures; it can spread in storages close to 0 °C, by direct contact and by dripping onto the plants below. Bacterial soft rot is more severe on crops which have been fertilized too heavily with nitrogen, had late nitrogen applications, or are allowed to become over-mature before harvesting. [29]

Black rot, the most important disease of vegetable brassicas, is caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris. [29]

Virus diseases

source: [29]

Insect pests

source: [27] [36] [37]

Other pests and diseases

Aster yellows is a disease caused by a phytoplasm. [29]

Nematodes are disease agents that are often overlooked but they can cause considerable yield losses. The adult nematodes have limited active movement but their eggs contained within cysts (dead females) are readily spread with soil, water, equipment or seedlings. [29]

Parasitic nematode species that cause damage on napa cabbage:

See also

References

  1. "Oxford English Dictionary nappa, n.2" . Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  2. "Chi′nese cab′bage" . Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  3. "Chinese Cabbage". chinesefood.about.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  4. "Wombok". 7 April 2022.
  5. "黃芽白 (Wong4 ngaa4 baak6 | ) : Napa cabbage; chinese cabbage - CantoDict".
  6. Tan, Terry. A Little Chinese Cookbook. Chronicle Books. p. 51.
  7. Afable, Patricia O. (2004). Japanese pioneers in the northern Philippine highlands: a centennial tribute, 1903-2003. Filipino-Japanese Foundation of Northern Luzon, Inc. p. 116. ISBN   978-971-92973-0-7.
  8. Toxopeus, H & Baas, J (2004) Brassica rapa L.. - In: Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen. - p.146-151.
  9. Growing the Peking cabbage (in Russian)
  10. 1 2 Genetics, Genomics and Breeding of Crop Plants (2011) N. Ramchiary, S. Park, X. P. Lim: Classical Breeding and Genetic Analysis of Vegetable Brassicas. Book 2. Clemson University, USA
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sadowski, J., & Kole, C. (2011). Genetics, genomics and breeding of vegetable brassicas. Enfield: Science Publishers.
  12. "Napa cabbage nutrition facts" . Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  13. Cartea, M.E. (2011). Genetics, Genomics and Breeding of Crop Plants. Clemson University.
  14. 1 2 3 Genetics, Genomics and Breeding of Crop Plants (2011) Clemson University, USA Cartea M. E., Lema M., Francisco M, Velasco P.
  15. W. Franke (1976) Nutzpflanzenkunde. - Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany
  16. Feller, C., Bleiholder, H., Buhr, L., Hack, H., Hess, M., Klose, R., et al. (1995). BBCH-Codierung der phänologischen Entwicklungsstadien von Blattgemüse (kopfbildend). In U. Meier, Entwicklungsstadien mono- und dikotyler Pflanzen: BBCH Monografie (S. 120). Biologische Bundesanstalt für Land und Forstwirtschaft.
  17. 1 2 Lee, Cecilia Hae-Jin (22 May 2012). Frommer's South Korea. John Wiley & Sons. p. 326. ISBN   978-1-118-33363-1.
  18. Klein, Donna (4 December 2012). The Chinese Vegan Kitchen: More Than 225 Meat-free, Egg-free, Dairy-free Dishes from the Culinary Regions of China. Penguin Group US. p. 30. ISBN   978-1-101-61361-0.
  19. United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  20. "TABLE 4-7 Comparison of Potassium Adequate Intakes Established in This Report to Potassium Adequate Intakes Established in the 2005 DRI Report". p. 120. In: Stallings, Virginia A.; Harrison, Meghan; Oria, Maria, eds. (2019). "Potassium: Dietary Reference Intakes for Adequacy". Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. pp. 101–124. doi:10.17226/25353. ISBN   978-0-309-48834-1. PMID   30844154. NCBI   NBK545428.
  21. Yang X, Hu W, Xiu Z, Jiang A, Yang X, Saren G, Ji Y, Guan Y, Feng K (17 July 2020). "Effect of salt concentration on microbial communities, physicochemical properties and metabolite profile during spontaneous fermentation of Chinese northeast sauerkraut". Journal of Applied Microbiology. 129 (6): 1458–1471. doi:10.1111/jam.14786. PMC   6723656 . PMID   32677269.
  22. Vongerichten, Marja (2 August 2011). The Kimchi Chronicles: Korean Cooking for an American Kitchen. Rodale. pp. 37–42. ISBN   978-1-60961-128-6.
  23. Michael Todt (1989) Untersuchungen zur Mikroflora des lagernden Chinakohls (Brassica pekinensis Rupr.). Dissertation, University Kiel, Germany
  24. Deutschen Forschungsanstalt für Lebensmittelchemie, 5. Auflage, (1994) Souci/Fachmann/Kraut.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Buschbaum, H., & Heinen, B. (1978). Chinakohl. Bonn: Rheinischer Landwirtschafts-Verlag.
  26. Nerlich, K., Pfennig, J., Kleemann, G., Feike, T., Graeff, S., Claupein, W., et al. (2009). Beschreibung von Wachstum und Entwicklung bei Chinakohl (Brassica rapa L. var. pekinensis) in Abhängigkeit von Temperatur und Tageslänge - Basisdaten zur Modellierung mit DSSAT. 45. Gartenbauwissenschaftliche Tagung, (S. 158). Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
  27. 1 2 3 Cook, W. P., & Smith, P. (February 1996). Oriental Cabbage Production. Hort. Leaflet 68, S. 1-4
  28. 1 2 3 Baggaley, A., Barter, G., Caldon, H., Rosenfeld, R. L., Ruch, P., Vowles, D., et al. (2011). RHS Good fruit & veg guide. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rimmer, R. S., Shattuck, V. I., & Buchwaldt, L. (2007). Compendium of Brassica Diseases. St. Paul: American Phytopathological Society.
  30. Ackermann, I., Funk, M., Hintze, C., Joachimi, A., Potzkai, G., Rieger, W., et al. (1993). Feldgemüsebau : Buschbohnen, Chinakohl, Dicke Bohnen, Erbsen, Einlegegurken, Grünkohl, Knollensellerie, Kohlrabi, Kopfkohl, Kopfsalat, Möhren, Porree, Rote Beete, Schälgurken, Spargel, Spinat, Zwiebeln . Münster-Hiltrup: Landwirtschaftsverlag.
  31. "Brassica rapa (Pekinensis Group) 'Yuki'". Royal Horticultural Society. November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  32. 1 2 Burt, John; Phillips, Dennis; Gatter, David (June 2006). "Growing chinese cabbage in Western Australia" (pdf). Bulletins of Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (4673). Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development: 20. ISSN   1833-7244 . Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  33. Matsumoto, Mieko (1988). "Studies on the Occurrence of Goma-sho of Chinese Cabbage and its Prevention". Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science (57(2)): 206–214. doi:10.2503/jjshs.57.206 . Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  34. 1 2 Simonne, Eric; Brecht, Jeff; Guodong, Liu; Ozores-Hampton, Monica. "HS1101/HS352: Pepper Spot ("Gomasho") on Napa Cabbage". Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. University of Florida . Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  35. Warner, John; Cerkauskas, Ray; Zhang, Tiequan; Xiuming, Hao. "Response of Chinese Cabbage Cultivars to Petiole Spotting and Bacterial Soft Rot" (pdf). HortTechnology (January–March 2003). American Society for Horticultural Science: 190–195. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  36. Kirk, W. D. (1992). Insects on cabbages and oilseed rape. Richmond Publishing.
  37. Li, Xiao-Ming; Zhu, Xiu-Yun; Wang, Zhi-Qiang; Wang, Yi; He, Peng; Chen, Geng; Sun, Liang; Deng, Dao-Gui; Zhang, Ya-Nan (2 December 2015). "Candidate chemosensory genes identified in Colaphellus bowringi by antennal transcriptome analysis". BMC Genomics. 16: 1028. doi: 10.1186/s12864-015-2236-3 . PMC   4667470 . PMID   26626891.
Regional names
Chinese.cabbage-01.jpg
Napa cabbages