HIGH YIELDING ADAPTABLE CARROT CULTIVARS TO IMPROVE LOCAL PRODUCTION IN ST. KITTS AND NEVIS

Melvin James1, Ronald Thomas1, Tonisha Weeks1, Nakisha Mark2* and Wendy-Ann Isaac2

1Ministry of Agriculture, St. Kitts and Nevis,

2Department of Food Production, Faculty of Food and Agriculture, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad

Conclusions The three best cultivars of carrots are Juliana in terms of weight and Abaco and Kuroda in terms of nutritional content, and considering there were no significant difference between Juliana and Abaco with respect to fresh or dry weight; Abaco can be considered the best variety of carrot in the first trial.

The Abaco cultivar can therefore be recommended for local production in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Introduction Carrot is an important vegetable crop in St. Kitts and Nevis. According to the Department of Agriculture (DOA), St. Kitts Annual review 2011, 61,000 kg carrots was produced in 2009 compared to a national demand of 79,000 kg resulting in a production short fall of 18,600 kg or an opportunity gap of 22%. The crop is produced by a number of farmers on small holdings for the harvest of fresh roots for the local market. In recent years there has been a decline in crop yields and quality of roots, mainly a preponderance of irregularly shaped roots. The most recent yield trials done in St Kitts was in 1993, and 4 tons per acre was obtained, which is low.

Objective To examine the performance of adaptable improved high yielding cultivars To develop improved cultivation practices for good crop performance.

Materials and Methods Five carrot cultivars (Abaco, Danver, Juliana, Chantenay and Kuroda) were planted in six rows in plots of 0.457 meters in width by 2 meters in length with 1 meter spacing. Plots were arranged in a randomized complete block design with 5 replications (Fig. 1). Plots were irrigated with drip irrigation. The crop was seeded on 24 October 2011 and harvests began on 12 January 2012. Measurements were taken on fresh and dry weights. Elemental analysis were conducted for Ca, N, P, K, Mg and S for each cultivar. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis of variance procedure of SPSS, version 17.0.

Results and Discussion Significant differences between the carrot cultivars and the fresh weights and dry weights (fresh root (p= 0.003), stem (p=.021) and leaves (p= 0.15) weights between the groups showed significant differences). There were also significant differences in fresh root weights between Danver and Juliana (p=0.02), and Juliana and Chantenay (p=.017). Differences were observed between Danver and Kuroda (p=0.03) for the fresh stem weight; and for the fresh leaves weight a significance difference of p=0.016 between Danver and Juliana. There were significant differences for dry root weights between Abaco and Chantenay (p=0.02), Danver and Chantenay (p=0.005), and Kuroda and Chantenay (p=0.016). For the dry stem weight, differences were observed between Danver and Juliana (p=0.048) and Danver and Kuroda (0.034). No significant differences were observed between the carrot cultivars and the moisture and dry matter content. Elemental analysis were conducted on the carrot cultivars and the results showed that Abaco had the highest values for Ca, P, K and S which were 0.59%, 0.34%, 4.10% and 0.23%, respectively. Kuroda had the highest value of Mg of 0.19% and the highest N value was recorded in Chantenay 1.68%.

Figure 2: Carrot Fresh weights (g)

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Figure 1: Carrot experimental site at La Guerite, St. Kitts

ELEMENTAL ABACO DANVER CHANTENAY JULIANA KURODA

L S R L S R L S R L S R L S R

Ca (%) 2.24 1.31 0.59 1.94 1.57 0.54 2.28 1.62 0.51 1.92 1.79 0.39 2.01 1.49 0.35

Mg (%) 0.35 0.17 0.17 0.46 0.27 0.19 0.47 0.27 0.17 0.44 0.23 0.14 0.45 0.27 0.19

N (%) 2.61 1.13 1.17 3.49 1.52 1.66 2.82 1.20 1.68 2.82 1.36 1.35 2.91 1.41 1.61

P (%) 0.30 0.38 0.34 0.26 0.24 0.30 0.24 0.23 0.22 0.27 0.31 0.31 0.23 0.24 0.33

K (%) 3.45 6.38 4.10 3.29 6.30 4.05 3.04 6.35 4.04 3.01 5.61 4.04 3.80 6.46 4.94

S (%) 0.54 0.18 0.23 0.59 0.30 0.12 0.55 0.23 0.14 0.62 0.26 0.08 0.56 0.26 0.20

Table 1: Elemental Analysis of carrots at second harvest

Figure 3: Marketable and unmarketable yields (kg)

Figure 4: Harvested Juliana carrots

Key: L – leaf, S – stem and R - roots