ISHS Acta Horticulturae 218: XII African Symposium on Horticultural Crops
COMPARATIVE FIELD PERFORMANCE OF MUSTARD, TRONCHUDA AND KALE DURING MILD WINTERS IN ZAMBIA |
| Authors: | W.W. Msikita, N.A. Mnzava |
| Abstract:
The performance in 3 consecutive winter seasons of Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata cv. 'CRRS V'), kale (Brassica oleracea var acephala cv. 'Choumollier') and tronchuda (Brassica oleracea var costata cv. 'Portuguesa') were compared. Leaf yields of tronchuda (29.98 t ha-1) and mustard (27.71 t ha-1) were significantly higher than kale (17.71 t ha-1) at mean leaf harvest durations of 78.7, 71,5 and 65 days in that order. Although mustard attained an early harvestable age (35 days), kale and tronchuda at 55 and 52 days, respectively, were significantly late. In the absence of defoliation, seed yield was higher in mustard (2.22 t ha-1) than tronchuda (1.59 t ha-1) while kale failed to flower. Consumer preferance rating for the three leafy vegetables were equally very high. The differences in agronomic performance in the 3 crops are discussed and prospects for tronchuda in Zambia are examined. | |
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