Crops

Brassica oleracea L. convar capitata L. - Headed cabbage.

Taxonomic position.

Family Brassicaceae Burnett, genus Brassica L.

Biology and morphology.

Biannual plant. Root system is fibrillose, not very deep (30-50 mm). The short cabbage-stalk with rather short internodes is formed in the first year. Leaves are large, integral. Upper leaves are sessile, convexo-concave, from widelylanceolate till orbicular. Lower leaves are bended back, with leafstalk. Aggregate of leaves, densely overlapping each other, forms cabbage-head. It's weight 0.3-16 kg depending on sort and growing condition. Colour of leaves is different shade of green, with blue-green waxy thin coating of different intensity. Viens are thick, exceeded harshly. Leaf-bearing pedunculed shoots up to 1,5 m height are developed from the buds on cabbage-stalk on the second year of vegetation. Inflorescence - cluster. Flowers are large, corolla is light yellow, sometimes almost white, till 2 cm diameter. Fruits - long pods (6-14 cm) with short beaks. Seeds are spherically-angular, up to 2 mm diameter. 1000 seeds - 3-3,5 g.
All grades of cabbage are divided on two groups: green head and red head. Grades differ by form, size, thickness of cabbage-head, precocity. Early ripening grades (Kuuziku verojane, Nomer pervyi gribovsky 147, Ijun'skaja, Skorospelaja) give cabbage-head on 100-120 day after sowing; middle ripening grades (Slava, Slava gribovskaja 231) - on 130-150 day; late-ripening grades (Amager 611, Moskovskaja pozdn'aja 15, Zimn'aja gribovskaja 13, Podarok) - on 160-170 day after sowing. Averige productivity for early-ripening grades is 10-20 ton per hectare, for late-ripening sorts 30-60 ton per hectare, record yield is up to 200 ton per hectare.

Distribution.

Wild species are not known. The origin of the species is related with Mediterranean genetic center. It is cultivated since an early neolith. All existing cultural forms of cabbage occur from one wild-growing kind of leaf cabbage Brassica sylvestris (L). Mill.. It was delivered to the Kiev Russia from Transcaucasia, beginning from 11-12 century seeds were delivered from Western Europe. The basic vegetable plant of the countries of temperate climate. In the USSR cabbage was cultivated on the area 250 thousand hectares (it gives about 20 % of world production). It is universal culture, which is cultivated everywhere on agriculture lands. Since 30-th years of 20 century cabbage moves on the north (Kola Peninsula, Igarka, Norilsk, Dudinka, Vrhoyansk, Eniseiskoe Zapol'ar'e, Yamal). A lot of cabbage is cultivated in the central regions of Siberia, and much less - in nothern regions and Zabajkal'e.

Ecology.

It is not very demanding to heat, suffers from high temperature much more, than from low temperature. Maintains frosts up to minus 5-7° C even as seedlings. Optimal growing temperature is 15-18° C. Sum of active temperature (above 10 degrees of Celsius) for early-ripening sorts is 1100-1200, for middle-ripening sorts - 1200-1300° C. The plant of long day. It is requiring to lighting, but may grow between wings of tall plants. It is requiring to soil, gives high crops on the rich soil only. Optimal value of pH 6,0.

Economic value.

Vegetable plant. Leaves are used in salads, for preparation of soups and the second courses, for salt and preserve products. Leaves contain 2,6-6,7 % sugars, 1,1-2,5 % protein, many mineral salts, up to 70 mg % vitamin C, vitamins B₁, B₂, PP, K, and vitamin U, which is used at treatment of a stomach ulcer.

The literature.

Belokochannaya urozhajnaja. Compiler G.S. Mikusheva. Syktyvkar, 1992
Boos G.V., Azarenok T.M., Romanovsky N.N. Cabbage growing in Nechernozemja zone of Russian Federation. Leningrad, 1983
Cabbage. Compiler D.A. Starikova. Novosibirsk, 1989
Kitaeva I.E., Orlova V.I. Witehead cabbage. Moscow, 1988
Kotsuba T.Ya. Cabbage in Zapol'arje. Krasnojarsk, 1959
Lizgunova T.V. Witehead cabbage. Leningrad, 1967
Rusanov B.G. Cabbage. St.-Petersburg, 2000
Vehov V.N., Gubanov I.A., Lebedeva G.F. Cultural plants of the USSR. Moscow, 1978
Zhukovskij P.M. Cultural plants and their relatives. Leningrad. 1971, page 46

© Terekhina N.V.