Chinese Broccoli (Kailaan) in Southern Australia

Chinese Broccoli (Kailaan) in Southern Australia

A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation

by Dr Wendy Morgan and Professor David Midmore

January 2003

RIRDC Publication No 02/161 RIRDC Project No UCQ-10A

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© 2003 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. All rights reserved. ISBN 0642 58560 1 ISSN 1440-6845 Chinese Broccoli (Kailaan) in Southern Australia Publication No. 02/161 Project No. UCQ-10A The views expressed and the conclusions reached in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of persons consulted. RIRDC shall not be responsible in any way whatsoever to any person who relies in whole or in part on the contents of this report. This publication is copyright. However, RIRDC encourages wide dissemination of its research, providing the Corporation is clearly acknowledged. For any other enquiries concerning reproduction, contact the Publications Manager on phone 02 6272 3186. Researcher Contact Details Professor David Midmore (Plant Sciences Group Central Queensland University Phone: (07) 49309770 Fax: (07) 49 309225 Email:[email protected]

In submitting this report, the researcher has agreed to RIRDC publishing this material in its edited form. RIRDC Contact Details Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Level 1, AMA House 42 Macquarie Street BARTON ACT 2600 PO Box 4776 KINGSTON ACT 2604 Phone: 02 6272 4539 Fax: 02 6272 5877 Email: [email protected]. Website: http://www.rirdc.gov.au Published in January 2003 Printed on environmentally friendly paper by Union Offset

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Foreword This publication, one of a number arising from the RIRDC project UCQ-10a, presents data from cooperative trials on Chinese broccoli (kailaan) carried out in Victoria and Tasmania. These trials show that Chinese broccoli can be grown all year in Victoria and options for cultivars for season and location are identified. No firm conclusions can be drawn about the potential for Chinese broccoli in Tasmania except that transplants bolted when grown in autumn and summer at Burnie in the north of the state. Details on crop duration by season and marketable yields are also addressed in the report. This project was funded from RIRDC Core Funds which are provided by the Federal Government, with varying levels of co-funding from the cooperating institutes. This report, a new addition to RIRDC’s diverse range of over 800 research publications, forms part of our Asian Foods R&D program, which aims to support industry in its drive to develop new products and markets and to gain competitive advantage through improving productivity in, and achieving price premiums for, Australian production. Most of our publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through our website: ! downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/Index.htm

! purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop

Simon Hearn Managing Director Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation

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Acknowledgements Project participating institution Contact person: Agriculture WA, Bunbury Ms Vynka McVeigh Central Queensland University, Rockhampton Professor David Midmore Mac Fresh Foods, Toowoomba Mr Mike O'Brien Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Knoxfield Dr Wendy Morgan NSW Agriculture, Gosford Dr Nguyen Quoc Vong Northern Rivers Agricultural Development Association, Murwillumbah Mr Peter McLaughlin Northern Territory Department of Business and Resource Development, Darwin Ms Melinda Gosbee Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Mareeba Lester Loader Tasmanian Institute for Agricultural Research, Dr Frank Hay Burnie University of Queensland, Gatton Assoc. Prof. Alan Wearing University of Tasmania, Burnie Chris Abbott Craig. Palmer Rowland Laurence

Department of Natural Resources and Environment Bairnsdale Rob Dimsey Neville Fernanado Siva Subramaniam IHD, Knoxfield Mandy Chew Slobodan Vujovic ORS, Myrtleford Gregory Hayes Dianne Ferguson ISIA, Tatura Bill Ashcroft Murat Top Dr David Gallacher of CQU who compiled much of the current knowledge.

Growers who assisted the project by allowing the trials to be carried out on their property. Graeme King whose practical comments on cultivar performance were invaluable and generously given for both Victorian trials. Trong Tring who supplied practical comments and his own OP selection for the trial at Geelong

Tony Byrne, RIRDC Asian Foods Program Manager for support and encouragement.

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Contents Foreword ............................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................... iv Contents.................................................................................................................................................. v Tables and Figures ............................................................................................................................... vi Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ vii Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Current Knowledge............................................................................................................................... 2

Cultivation........................................................................................................................................... 3 Pests and diseases................................................................................................................................ 4 Post harvest ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Quality assessment .............................................................................................................................. 5 Domestic markets ................................................................................................................................ 5 Export markets .................................................................................................................................... 6

Materials and Methods ......................................................................................................................... 6 Tasmania, 1998-1999 .......................................................................................................................... 6

Summer transplanted crop............................................................................................................... 7 Autumn transplanted crop ............................................................................................................... 7

Victoria, 1998-1999 ............................................................................................................................ 7 Harvest measurements, 1998-1999 ................................................................................................. 8

Victoria 1999-2000 ............................................................................................................................. 9 Harvest measurements, 1999-2000 ............................................................................................... 10

Results .................................................................................................................................................. 12 Tasmania, 1998/1999 ........................................................................................................................ 12

Summer crop ................................................................................................................................. 12 Autumn crop.................................................................................................................................. 12

Victoria, 1998-99 .............................................................................................................................. 12 Planting dates and locations .......................................................................................................... 12 Cultivar Summary ......................................................................................................................... 13

Quality Issues .................................................................................................................................... 20 Diseases ......................................................................................................................................... 21 Disorders ....................................................................................................................................... 21

Victoria, 1999-2000 .......................................................................................................................... 22 Myrtleford............................................................................................................................................ 22 Boneo .................................................................................................................................................... 22 Tatura................................................................................................................................................... 22 Stratford............................................................................................................................................... 23

Planting dates and locations .......................................................................................................... 23 Terminal and side shoot yield ....................................................................................................... 24

Discussion............................................................................................................................................. 32 References ............................................................................................................................................ 35

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Tables and Figures Table 1. Trial planting dates, Victoria, 1998 –1999. Table 2. Trial plantings for each cultivar in five locations, Victoria, 1998-1999. Table 3. Trial planting dates in four locations, Victoria, 1999-2000. Table 4. Chinese broccoli plants bolting and mean number of leaves per plant, Burnie, Tasmania,

May 1999. Table 5. Days to harvest, percentage marketable plants and marketable yield, Victoria 1998-

1999. Table 6. Total (terminal and side shoots) marketable yields, Victoria 1999-2000. Table 7. Best performing Chinese broccoli cultivars and planting dates at five locations in

Victoria, 1998-1999 (Terminal shoot yields). Table 8. Best performing Chinese broccoli cultivars and days to harvest at different planting

times at four locations in, Victoria, 1999-2000 (based on terminal and side shoot yields). Fig. 1. Maximum and minimum prices (A) and throughput (B) at Flemington Markets. Fig. 2. Taiwanese imports of fresh or chilled kale and similar brassicas, 1997. Fig. 3 Cultivar terminal and side shoot yields by region and planting, 1999-2000. Fig. 4 Cultivar marketable side shoot number per plant by region and planting, 1999-2000.

Appendix Appendix 1. Leaf shape descriptors 1998-1999 and 1999-2000.

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Executive Summary Chinese broccoli, commonly known as Kailaan (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra) is harvested for its flowering stems with compact florets. Harvest time, and post-harvest conditions are critical in order that the flowering heads do not contain (m)any opened flowerbuds. Characteristic of Asian cuisine, Chinese broccoli is found in Asian markets and to a small, but increasing, extent in Australian retail outlets. The Australian demand is satisfied though production by Asian background growers and by a small number of specialist growers. Open pollination (OP) lines developed by growers meet the requirements of particular markets. A number of trials were established in Victoria and Tasmania within this project, to determine site and variety specificity for optimal production, taking advantage of the varied climatic conditions afforded by the states. Trials assessed the primary stem production, the ratoon sideshoot production, and quantified quality parameters of the respective harvests. All varieties bolted (very early flowering) in Tasmania, in summer or autumn seasons. While low temperatures are known to induce bolting, it may be that the practice of transplanting (seedlings 52 days old in summer and 63 days old in autumn) further induced bolting. The OP variety Mandy was more tolerant to bolting than other varieties. Location and sowing dates in Victoria (all trials were established by direct seeding) affected yield and time to harvest. Crop duration was greater in the north of the state in the winter (sown April to August, c. 110-150 days), and least in early summer (sown December) when the crop duration did not markedly differ between locations (all c. 60 days). There was an inverse relationship between crop duration and marketable yield across sites; the slower longer period of growth in colder plantings did not compensate for the shorter season faster growth of warmer plantings. Yields of shoots ranged from 0.3-21 t/ha, and from 1-42 t/ha when side shoot harvests were included. These are higher than reported yields elsewhere. Almost invariably the higher yields were achieved by the OP varieties, but the market characteristic (eg due to greater resemblance to broccolini) would limit their acceptance beyond the specific markets for which they have been selected. Essentially, harvests of Chinese broccoli could be achieved throughout the year in Victoria by objective choice of variety and location. Marketable yields as a percentage of total yield (based on numbers of marketable shoots per total number of shoots) were consistently low in a number of site by sowing date combinations, and those site by sowing date combinations were not considered suitable for commercial production. For August and February sowings, Boneo (Melbourne), the only site with current commercial production, would appear the most suitable for production of main and side shoots, but October sowing in Myrtleford north east of Victoria, January/February in Mornington Peninsular (Melbourne), September/October in East Gippsland, July in the south west (Geelong), and February for Tatura in north central Victoria.

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From a variety perspective, the following were trialed in both years: ! Green lance was low yielding and only suited to sowing in the north east region (Myrtleford) for

December to February ! OP Kailaan was also low yielding, and only acceptable in Myrtleford and Stratford in the summer. ! Tai Nan had thin terminal and side shoots, with low marketable yield especially suppressed during

the winter sowings. ! Kailaan White showed consistent high yield across sites (but not at all sowing dates) but was

rather variable in terms of harvest date within a sowing. It was a high performer in summer sowings.

Other varieties, sown in only one of two years included OP Mandy (later maturing and higher yields than most, but undesirable marketable characteristics), Dai Sum (well performing across most sites/sowing dates, but quite low yields due to shoot stems), Sak Sum (fast growing and poor yield), 4502 (unsuitable for warm sowings, but otherwise acceptable), BBT 35 (suitable for each of August. October, December, and February sowings for at least one site), Cultivar A (generally poor performing), Cultivar B (consistently high performing, and warranting more attention) and King (on a par with Cultivar B at Boneo, the only site where it was sown). Specific suggestions for varieties, regions and sowing dates are made within the text

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Introduction Chinese broccoli (Chinese flowering broccoli, kailaan, gai lum) is a brassica vegetable (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra) cultivated for its young flowering stems. Shoots with compact florets and small leaves are harvested just as the first flowers begin to open. The main or terminal shoot on each plant is cut to leave buds on the stem for the subsequent development of sideshoots. The stalk, leaves and unopened flowerbuds are all eaten. Chinese broccoli has a slightly bitter taste and is used in soups and stir-fries or eaten as a steamed vegetable. Production in Australia is generally restricted to a few growers of Asian background, and to a limited number of other specialist growers. Both sets of producers tend to have their own lines or cultivars, methods of production, and specific markets. They use their own open pollinated lines because these meet the requirements of their particular markets, such as the restaurant trade or Asian greengrocers. Produce is usually supplied direct and growers have often built up their own clientele. Each market may have a range of product specifications, which can vary with the availability of produce. The growers’ seed lines perform differently from the commercial lines available and are sought for their flavour by many Chinese restaurants. Chinese broccoli has consistently been one of the top five Asian vegetables sought by Australian supermarkets. Because of the obviously limited access to grower lines, industry expansion to meet an increasing demand would need to rely heavily on commercial cultivars. A range of cultivars are available from a number of seed suppliers within Australia. The major issues in expanding production have been to determine cultivars to plant, planting method and planting schedules. The open pollinated cultivars grown commercially are grown either as transplants or are direct seeded and appear to perform under both those establishment methods. The potential for hybrids to provide higher yields and more consistent quality product has not been explored with the Asian vegetable industry. Previous grower experience with commercial hybrids indicated that the use of seedling transplants leads to premature flowering (often in seedling house) and poor plant development. The Victorian Government’s Access to Asia project identified a need to objectively evaluate the performance of commercial hybrid Chinese broccoli cultivars within the different regions of Victoria, with a view to determining the seasonal availability of fresh product. The RIRDC project Consolidating the Asian Vegetable Industry also chose Chinese broccoli as one of six vegetables to be investigated for national seasonal availability and hybrid cultivar performance and decided Tasmania could be a potential production area. In 1998/99, cultivar trials were carried out at Burnie, Tasmania and at five locations in Victoria. Commercially available cultivar performance and the most suitable sowing times across a twelve-month period were investigated. Harvest was restricted to the main or terminal shoots only, as researchers were unfamiliar with the crop and its variety of markets. Cultivars which performed well in these trials are suitable for a once over harvest production requirement. Commercial practice with Chinese broccoli is to harvest both the main shoot and the subsequent side shoots from plants. Therefore, a further evaluation of commercial cultivars was carried out in 1999/00 in Victoria and agronomic measurements were expanded to include both the terminal shoots and the side shoots. Side shoot harvests continued for up to six weeks. Cultivars which performed well in this series of trials are suitable for sequential harvesting. Eight cultivars, including the best from the 1998/99 evaluation, were assessed in replicated trials at four locations. There were four sowing dates at eight week intervals between August and February, the optimum sowing window identified in 1998/99. A number of yield and quality components, including those identified as important to growers, were measured and used to identify the relative merits of cultivars. A comparison with a grower’s open pollinated line was undertaken at one site.

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This report draws together research undertaken at regional, state and national level between 1998 and 2000, funded in part by the RIRDC/UCQ-10a project, Consolidating the Asian Vegetable Industry and by the Victorian Government. The aim of the research was to identify national production capability and supply and productivity issues for supply chain development of domestic and future export markets. The highest yielding cultivars which met market requirements are identified.

Current Knowledge

Chinese broccoli, is a member of the Crucifer family, Brassica oleracea L. cv. group Chinese Kale (name proposed by PROSEA) and has also been described as Brassica alboglabra L.H. Bailey Brassica oleracea L. var. albiflora (O. Kunze) Musil Brassica oleracea L. var. alboglabra (L.H. Bailey) Musil Brassica rapa var. alboglabra

Chinese broccoli is known by many common names which vary between and within countries. broccoli de chine French cai rô Vietnamese chair lan Chinese Chinese broccoli English Chinese kale English gaai laan Chinese gai lan Chinese gai lum Chinese gailan Chinese gailon Filipino gelancai Chinese gui ion Chinese jie lan Chinese kaai laan Chinese kailan Chinese kai lan tsoi Chinese kai lan Indonesian Malaysian Chinese kailan cina Malaysian kailan Chinese Dutch English French Japanese Malaysian Portuguese kailan-kal Danish kairan Japanese phakkhana Laotian, Thai spei saa Khmer white flowering broccoli English

Kailaan is a popular vegetable for Asian stirfries, and is quite easy to grow. The young flowering stem with flower buds is eaten for its distinctive flavour.

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Cultivation Cultivars Varieties differ in stem length and colour, from light to medium green (Cantwell et al. 1996). The F1 hybrid varieties generally grow more vigorously (Moore and Morgan 1998). Seed of selected varieties is collected and re-sown annually by Victorian and producers have an excellent flavour, and are highly competitive with commercial varieties. The flavour makes them much sought after by Chinese restaurants in particular. Production Kailaan is grown commercially throughout Australia (Lee 1995). Victorian production in 1990/91 totalled 22.8 t from 7.1 ha (Waters et al. 1992).

Soil type Kailaan requires a fertile soil with good drainage and a high level of organic matter (Moore and Morgan 1998).

pH Optimum pH is between 6.0 and 7.0. It should not be allowed to fall below 5.0 (Moore and Morgan 1998).

Climate Kailaan is a cool season crop with some frost tolerance. It can be grown year round in the upland tropics (Sagwansupyakorn 1994) and in Victoria, but the optimum variety changes during the season (Moore and Morgan 1998). Uniform conditions are favourable: not too wet, dry or shady, and not too windy when the plant is young (Moore and Morgan 1998). It is a perennial plant that is usually grown commercially as an annual (Sagwansupyakorn 1994).

Temperature The optimum temperature for rapid growth is 18-28ºC. Low temperatures promote early flowering and are necessary for complete floral development. The crop is frost tolerant and more heat tolerant than other broccoli (Sagwansupyakorn 1994).

Mixed cropping Chinese mustard and Chinese broccoli can be used as a bait crop for diamondback moth (Yu et al. 1998).

Plant density A planting layout of 2-4 rows per bed and 8-12 cm between plants gives a density of 108 000 to 220 000 plants/ha (Cantwell et al .1996). Sow heavily and then thin after 3 weeks of growth. Thinned plants can be sold as the first harvest (Sagwansupyakorn 1994). A dense planting results in a high leaf area index, a desirable product and high marketable yield. It also increases time to maturity and reduces the stem mineral content, due to higher competition among plants (Moore and Morgan 1998).

Seeds are sown at about 0.6 cm depth (Moore and Morgan 1998). There are approximately 200 seeds/g.

Germination The optimum temperature for germination is 25-30ºC (Sagwansupyakorn.1994). Emergence occurs 3-6 days in summer and 4-10 days in autumn (Moore and Morgan 1998).

Transplants Seedlings are transplanted at 3-4 weeks (Moore and Morgan 1998). Seedlings often grow too fast in polyhouses, causing early flowering and minimal vegetative production. Growth should be monitored, particularly in warm weather. Seedling trays require wind protection but should only be stored in polyhouses in cool weather.

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Fertiliser A number of fertiliser regimes are discussed in Moore and Morgan (1998). High planting densities require higher levels of N, of 400 kg/ha or more (Hill 1990). One format is a base dressing of 500 kg/ha Pivot 800, followed by side dressings of 125 kg/ha CaNO3 or equivalent at 3 weeks after transplanting. Dual (metalochlor) at 3 L/ha is often applied directly after transplanting.

Watering The crop requires frequent light watering for optimum growth, since it is shallow rooted (Moore and Morgan 1998).

Harvest The crop is ready to harvest at 10 weeks from sowing in autumn and 8-9 weeks in summer (Moore and Morgan 1998). Young flowering stems are selected with compact florets and small leaves attached, and cut at 15 to 20 cm length (Anonymous 1997) with a sharp knife. Flavour is maximised when plants are harvested well before the buds begin to open. They should be harvested frequently to prevent bolting and toughening, particularly in summer. About three cuts can be obtained from one stem, and the main stalk should be cut relatively short to enhance further growth. A liquid feed after each harvest may benefit regrowth (Moore and Morgan 1998).

Yield The average yield in a season with 2-3 harvests is 6-11 t/ha (Shuler 1995). Yield is dependent on harvesting frequency and method (Sagwansupyakorn 1994).

Pests and diseases A wide range of pests and diseases, common to Brassica crops, has been reported in Australia. The crop requires frequent observation and a rapid response to ensure that quality of the crop is maintained. Occasionally spraying can be avoided by harvesting the plants very young, or by growing very small amounts. Generally however, the crop is frequently sprayed to ensure that very few leaves are holed or scarred.

Few chemicals are registered for use on leafy Asian vegetables. This issue is currently being addressed through a collaboration of growers and government bodies. Contact Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers for up to date information.

Disease observations for Victoria are listed in Chew and Morgan (1997), and for New South Wales in Nguyen (1992).

Post harvest Handling Stems are best harvested in the early morning to minimise water stress, and tied into bunches of 5 to 7 plants. The main stem should be 10-15 cm long and 1.5-2.0 cm wide at the base (Moore and Morgan 1998).

Storage temperature: Kailaan is best kept at 0-1ºC (Welby and McGregor 1997, Thomson 1999) but should not be allowed to freeze (Thomson 1999) or 1-5°C (Thomson et al. 2001). Respiration rate was significantly lower at 1°C than at 5°C (Thomson et al. 2001). Low temperature keeps respiration and ethylene production to a minimum with respiration of kailaan 8.1, 10.2 and 29.2 µl CO2/g/hr at 1, 5 and 10°C and ethylene production 0.1, 0.1 and 0.3 µl/g/h (Zong et al.1998).

Relative humidity The harvested product is highly susceptible to water loss, so a relative humidity of 95-100% is obtained with crushed ice topping (Welby and McGregor 1997).

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Shelf life A shelf life of more than 21 days is possible with the correct storage (Zong et al. 1998). This can be increased to 27 days by removing ethylene (Wills et al. 1999). Shelf life at 5-10ºC is reduced to 7-14 days (Zong et al. 1998).

Packaging Use of low density polyethylene bags appears to reduce flower bud deterioration, but generally does not improve storage life (Zong et al. 1998). Thomson et al. (2001) recommend 30 µm polyethylene bag with oxygen transmission rate of 6,400 ml/bag/day.atm for 5 kg product.

Quality assessment A good quality product has 15-20 cm tall green stalks and white flower buds that are developed but unopened. Common postharvest defects include open or deteriorating flowers, and yellowed or decayed leaves (Cantwell et al. 1996).

Domestic markets Kailaan is one of the most popular Asian vegetables in Australia, and there is potential for development of both fresh and processed produce. It is eaten boiled, steamed or fried (Anonymous 1997). Ethnic restaurants and small retailers are well supplied, and interest from supermarket chains created a surge in demand in the early to mid 1990's (Vinning 1995).

Prices and throughput at Flemington Markets, Sydney, are given in Figure 1. Kailaan is available throughout the year in Asian grocery stores of Sydney and Melbourne. Prices at Melbourne Markets average $0.90 to $1.50/bunch wholesale, while retail prices are $1.00 to $1.60/bunch (Moore and Morgan 1998). Melbourne Markets is supplied by both local and interstate growers (Chew and Morgan 1996).

$4

$6

$8

$10

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Pric

e ($

/doz

en)

1996 19971998 1999

0

4

8

12

16

20

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Volu

me

(x10

00 d

ozen

)

199619971998

A B

Figure 1: High and low prices (A) and throughput (B) of kailaan at Flemington Markets. Note that the weight of one dozen cuttings can vary with season (Flemington Market Reporting Service)

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Export markets Markets exist wherever there are ethnic Chinese (Vinning 1995). There have been mixed reports about the potential for exports. Prices are generally low and shipping costs high, due to the low density of the produce. There have been a number of cases of Australian exports to spot markets, but continued supply has not occurred.

Singapore Kailaan prices have been in steady decline, reaching about S$3.00/kg in 1994. Prices tend to peak from April to June (Vinning 1995). Taiwan Three varieties of kailaan are marketed in Taiwan: Pugong, Helgelan and Gelanya, totalling about 4 200 t/year. Helgelan is produced at much greater quantity but Gelanya prices are higher, usually double (1993 data). Prices are highest June to July and November to December, reaching NT$20 - 40/kg (Vinning 1995). Most Taiwanese imports are sourced from Vietnam (Figure 2).

Thailand About 145 000 t was produced in 1994. Retail prices have steadily increased, reaching 14 Baht/kg in 1993. Prices are higher in the second half of the year, particularly October and November (Vinning 1995).

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5

Australia

Indonesia

Netherlands

Philippines

Thailand

USA

Viet Nam

Price (US$ / kg)Value (x US$10 million)Volume (x1000 MT)

Figure 2: Taiwanese imports of fresh or chilled kale and similar brassicas 1997. This material provided courtesy of the Asia Regional

Agribusiness Project/Fintrac Inc. through the Market Asia web site at http://www.marketasia.org.

Materials and Methods Tasmania, 1998-1999 Seven varieties of Chinese broccoli were evaluated in replicated field trials at the TAFE farm in Burnie, Tasmania in the summer of 1998 and autumn of 1999. The trials were located in a field with red Ferrosol soil, with a history of regular cropping. The cultivars were evaluated as a summer and an autumn sown crop. The following Chinese broccoli cultivars (and their sources) were tested: Fairbanks Green Lance F1, Kale Kailaan Magnus Kahl Thainan V50-CT Yates Kailaan Known You Chinese Kale: Veg gin, Full White, Kale Kailaan IHD, Knoxfield: Mandy (open pollinated)

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Summer transplanted crop Seed was sown in trays on 28/9/98 and seedlings transplanted on 17/11/98. The trial consisted of three replicate plots per cultivar in a completely randomised block design. Each plot was 2 m2 and consisted of 3 rows with 20 plants/row (inter row spacing 10 cm). Plots were watered using overhead sprinklers. The trial was terminated on 18/1/1999. Autumn transplanted crop Seed was sown on 8/3/99 and seedlings transplanted into plots on 10/5/99. Trial design and plot size were as above except that there were 4 replicate plots per cultivar arranged in a randomised block design and there were 15 plants in each of the 3 rows per plot (inter row spacing 13 cm). Numbers of plants bolting were recorded on 31/5/1999 and 2/7/1999. The trial was terminated on 16/7/1999. Victoria, 1998-1999 Replicated field trials evaluated eight cultivars in five regional locations; Lindenow (Gippsland), Boneo on Mornington Peninsula (Melbourne), Geelong (south west), Tatura (north central), and Myrtleford (north east). Plantings commenced from the end of mid-April 1998 and continued approximately bi-monthly until mid-March 1999. Locations differed in actual planting dates (Table 1). Plantings undertaken in each region and cultivars evaluated are given in Table 2. Table 1. Trial planting dates, Victoria, 1998 – 1999. Planting number

Trial locations – Planting date

North Central Melbourne North East East Gippsland South West 1998 1 22/4 11/5 30/4 23/4 24/4

2 3/7 1/7 24/6 1/7 3 21/8 26/8 26/8 4 25/9 12/10 12/10 30/9 24/9 5 12/11 16/11 17/11 20/11 19/11 6 22/12 14/12 22/12 30/12 18/12

1999 7 11/2 28/1 29/1 10/2 3/2 8 22/3 15/3 25/3 15/3

The cultivars evaluated (and their seed sources) were: Fairbanks OP Kai Laan, Kailaan White Magnus Kahl Seeds Thainan Golden Harvest Dai Sum Kailaan, Sak Sum Kailaan Hendersons Green Lance Open Pollinated grower lines Mandy, Trong

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Table 2. Trial plantings for each cultivar in five locations, Victoria, 1998-1999. Cultivar Trial locations – Planting number1

North Central Melbourne North East East Gippsland Geelong OP Kailaan 1-8 1-7 1-8 1, 3-8 1,2, 4-8 Kailaan white 1,2,7,8 1-7 1-8 1, 3-8 1,2, 4-8 Dai sum 1,2,7,8 1-7 1-8 1, 3-8 1,2,4,6,8 Sak sum 3-6 3-7 2-8 3-8 4-6 O.P. Mandy 1-4,7,8 1-7 1-8 1, 3-8 1,2,4,6,8 Green Lance 3-6 3-7 3-8 3-8 1,2,4,5,7,8 Thainan 1-8 1-7 1-8 1, 3-8 1,2, 4-8 Trong 1,2,4,6,8 1Corresponds approximately to dates in Table 1 At Geelong and Melbourne some of the growers’ own seed line was included in the trial and replicated as for the other cultivars for performance comparison with the hybrids. Establishment was by direct seeding either by hand or using a hand seeder at a depth of approximately 20 mm. Unless otherwise described the trial layout was as a randomised block design with 3 replicates for each cultivar. Block layout was dependent on the nature of the site, including soil type and block gradients.

Plots were 3 metres long with 3 rows per bed and an interow spacing of 30 cm at all locations except Tatura (20 cm), giving 45 plants per plot. The trial was located within the growers’ crops to facilitate cultural practices. Irrigation varied with location. For details of each location’s cultural practices (fertiliser and pesticide applications) refer to Dimsey et al. (2002). Harvest measurements, 1998-1999 Measurements were taken on the terminal shoot only. Plots were subsampled based on the middle 1 metre of the plot, which should have comprised 15 plants. The whole plant was cut just above the second node from the ground. The following was recorded on each plant in the subsample: Stem length from base to tip. Stem thickness: a. Measured from base of plant where it is cut and halfway up plant (2 measurements) b. Measured from base at trim length and halfway up plant (2 measurements) Stem was trimmed to 15 cm if needed. Weight in grams. Number of plants with flower buds starting to open. Number of marketable plants – percent marketable plants. Leaf shape Based on photos from descriptor (Appendix 1) 1. Shape is Oval and leaf margin is Sinuate (to be described as leaf shape 1). 2. Shape is Oblanceolate and margin is Sinuate (to be described as leaf shape 2). 3. Shape is Elliptical and margin is Crennate (to be described as leaf shape 3). Leaf Size Length and width of 2 leaves per plant 1. The first leaf from the trimmed base. 2. The youngest fully expanded leaf. Stem Length - Measured from base of plant where cut to tip. Petiole length is to be recorded as an observation on each cultivar. Flower colour. Days to harvest.

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Total and marketable subsample weight for leaves and stems was measured and dry weights taken (after drying to a constant weight at 72°C). Marketability was assessed on trimmed shoots. The percentage marketable was calculated as the number marketable as a proportion of the number for 100% harvestable. Marketable yield was derived using the weight of marketable trimmed shoots and the percentage of marketable shoots. Victoria 1999-2000 Replicated field trials evaluated eight cultivars at four locations in regional Victoria which were the same as the 1998-1999 trial sites, except that Geelong was excluded. Planting commenced in mid August 1999 and continued bi-monthly to February 2000. There were four trials at Myrtleford and Boneo, three at Tatura, and two at Stratford. Sowing dates for each location are shown in Table 3. Table 3. Trial planting dates in four regions, Victoria, 1999-2000.

Location Planting Number Myrtleford North East

Boneo Melbourne

Tatura North Central

Stratford East Gippsland

1999 1 2 3 2000 4

August 25 October 19 December 7 February 7

August 18 October 13 December 30

February 16

September 15 No trial December 15t March 8

August 20 No trial No trial February 23

The cultivars evaluated (and their sources) were: Hendersons Green Lance Fairbanks OP Kailaan Magnus Kahl Kailaan White, Thainan East West 4502, Bang Bua Thong 35 (BBT 35) Golden Harvest Cultivar A, Cultivar B All the cultivars in this list were commercially available in 1999 and some had been evaluated for terminal shoot production in 1998/99. Cultivar A and Cultivar B were supplied only with Chinese character identification (an English translation was obtained but did not offer clearly distinguishable cultivar names). An open pollinated ‘grower’ cultivar, King, was included at the Boneo site. Cultivars were replicated three times in a randomised block design at each of the four locations. Each sowing used a single, raised bed approximately 60 m long at Myrtleford and Stratford, 70 m long at Boneo and 87 m long at Tatura. Respective total (centre to centre) and formed bed widths were 1.8 m and 1.2 m at Myrtleford and Stratford, 1.7 m and 1.2 m at Boneo, and 1.5 m and 0.9 m at Tatura. Each experimental plot was 2.25 m long and contained approximately 35 plants at Myrtleford and Stratford, 3.0 m long with 45 plants at Boneo, and 3.6 m long with 32 plants at Tatura. Three rows were sown per bed at Myrtleford, Stratford and Boneo, and two rows at Tatura. Inter-row spacing was 0.3 m at Myrtleford and Stratford, 0.4 m at Boneo and 0.2 m at Tatura. Seed was sown with a hand seeder at a depth of 0.2 cm. Seedlings were thinned to an intra-row spacing of 20 cm. Plant population (at this spacing, and the respective location, bed width and row number/bed) was 83,300 plants per hectare at Myrtleford and Stratford, 88,200 at Boneo and 66,667 at Tatura.

For details of cultural practices at each location refer to Hayes et al. (2002).

10

Harvest measurements, 1999-2000 Approximately 15 plants in the middle 1.0 m of each plot at Myrtleford, Boneo and Stratford, and 16 plants from the middle 1.6 m of each plot at Tatura, were harvested for terminal shoot and sideshoot measurement. Five of these plants were marked to provide data on single sideshoots.

The harvestable percentage was the number of surviving plants in the whole plot as a percentage of the potential number (36 per plot at Myrtleford and Stratford, 45 at Boneo, and 32 at Tatura).

Measurements were taken on the terminal and side shoots. Terminal shoot measurements Terminal shoots were harvested at Myrtleford, Tatura and Stratford when flowers began to open, and at Boneo when buds on at least 50 percent of plants were nearly open. At Myrtleford, Tatura and Stratford, harvest within a plot often extended over several days. The number of days from sowing and the number of plants harvested were recorded at each harvest. At Boneo, terminal shoots of all plots of a given cultivar were harvested in a single pass, even though a mixture of harvest stages may have been present.

Terminal shoots were cut to a length of approximately 15 cm, or shorter if necessary. At Boneo, some were cut at a length of up to 30 cm. The harvested length was measured and shoots trimmed to 15 cm. Trimmed terminal shoot measurements were length, base diameter, weight, number of open flowers, marketable or not marketable. Side shoot measurements The number of nodes on each harvestable plant in the middle 1.0 m of each plot was counted after the terminal shoot was removed. At Myrtleford, Tatura and Stratford side shoot harvest commenced when most plants in a plot had shoots with an open flower. Side shoots with open flowers were considered harvestable and cut to leave one or two nodes at the base. At Boneo, side shoot harvest began when the first side shoots were considered marketable. At Myrtleford side shoots were harvested at approximately 7-day intervals over five weeks in Sowing 1, over six weeks in Sowing 2, over seven weeks in Sowing 3, and at 10 to 14 day intervals over six weeks in Sowing 4. Harvests at Tatura were at 7-day intervals over four weeks in Sowing 1 and 3, and over 6 weeks in Sowing 4. Those at Stratford were at 7-day intervals over five weeks. Side shoots were harvested once a week for five weeks for all four sowings at Boneo.

Data collection and analysis At each harvest the following per plot measurements were made: Number of plants with harvestable side shoots. Number of side shoots harvested. Number of untrimmed side shoots in each of five length classes: 10 cm, 11 to 15 cm, 16 to 20 cm, 21 to 25 cm and >25 cm. Total weight of untrimmed side shoots. Total weight of trimmed marketable side shoots (at 15 cm, but 20 cm+ at Boneo). Number marketable or not marketable. In addition, each side shoot from a (marked) five-plant subsample was measured for: Untrimmed shoot length. Trimmed shoot length (approximately 15 cm, but 20 cm+ at Boneo). Trimmed shoot base diameter. Trimmed shoot weight. Number of leaves. Marketable or not marketable.

Terminal shoots and side shoots were classed as marketable if they had only one or two open flowers, a soft stem easily penetrated by a fingernail, a stem diameter at the base of no less than 0.8 cm and no more than 2.5

11

cm, and if they were largely free of external faults. A minimum trimmed shoot weight of 15 g was also imposed for marketability at Tatura.

The terminal shoot marketable percentage was calculated from the number of marketable shoots as a proportion of the total potential number harvestable, from the middle one metre of each plot (approximately 15 plants). The side shoot marketable percentage was calculated from the number marketable as a percentage of the total number of side shoots harvested from the middle one metre of plot.

Terminal shoot marketable yield was derived from the trimmed shoot weight, the percentage marketable, and the population density for a particular location (83,300 plants per hectare at Myrtleford and Stratford, 88,200 at Boneo, and 66,667 at Tatura).

Side shoot marketable yield was calculated from the marketable trimmed side shoot weight per plant and the population density as above.

‘Per plant’ side shoot results (number harvested, number marketable, marketable weight) and the number of nodes per main stem were derived using the number of harvestable plants in the middle metre of each plot, at the time the terminal shoots were harvested. Statistical analysis was carried out using the Analysis of Variance package of the Genstat 5 program.

12

Results Tasmania, 1998/1999 Summer crop One month after transplanting (17/12/98), all cultivars exhibited over 30% of plants bolting. Bolting appeared to be delayed slightly in the open pollinated variety compared to others. Plants were pruned on 26/12/98 to encourage vegetative growth. However, by 18/1/99 all varieties exhibited a high proportion of regrowth bolting. As none of the cultivars appeared suitable for summer planting, the trial was discontinued shortly thereafter (62 days after transplanting). Autumn crop Most varieties exhibited a high percentage of bolting and flowering soon after transplanting (Table 4). This occurred when plants were at an early stage of growth, as shown in Plate 1 and by the mean number of leaves/plant (Table 4). An exception was the open pollinated variety, which exhibited a low proportion of bolting at this time. On 16/7/99, 67 days after transplanting nine plants from the 4 plots of the open pollinated cultivar had produced marketable heads. However, a large proportion of plants bolted in the month after this (results not shown). Table 4. Chinese broccoli plants bolting and mean number of leaves per plant, Burnie, Tasmania, 1999.

Mean % bolting (±sd1) 31

May

Mean % bolting (± sd) 2 July

Mean number of leaves/ plant (± sd)

2 July Fairbanks Green Lance F1 91.0 ± 8.5 96.5 ± 5.5 5.7 ± 2.6 Magnus Kahl Thainan 54.4 ± 25.3 69.2 ± 6.3 9.6 ± 0.5 Open pollinated 4.6 ± 3.3 8.0 ± 5.9 8.8 ± 1.2 Yates Kailaan 74.1 ± 36.0 96.7 ± 2.9 8.1 ± 0.9 Chinese Kale Veg gin 87.8 ± 4.6 97.8 ± 1.8 8.0 ± 1.7 Chinese Kale Full white 80.0 ± 11.3 88.0 ± 5.0 10.2 ± 1.8 Kale Kailaan 88.3 ± 6.3 94.9 ± 5.9 7.1 ± 0.3 1Standard deviation Victoria, 1998-99

Planting dates and locations Days to harvest, percentage of marketable plants and marketable yield of terminal shoot, varied with planting date, cultivar and location (Table 5). Optimal planting time was from late September to late January for best marketable yield and least time in the ground. Marketable yields varied with season, from 0.3-20 t/ha across Victoria from winter to summer production. Yields varied with production season with 0.3-14 t/ha in winter, 0.4-11.3 t/ha in late spring and 1.1-20.7 t/ha early summer 0.6-14 t/ha in summer. These highest yields in all cases included cultivar Mandy which had marketable yields up to 20 t/ha. Days to harvest were longer when production was during winter months (90-180 days) and were least when production was during summer (50-80 days).

13

Dai Sum and Mandy took longer to mature than the other cultivars in plantings 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and Mandy took longer than all other cultivars in plantings in June/July and September/October. Similarly, Mandy and Dai Sum had lower percentage of marketable plants but high marketable yields during the winter production crops. Days to harvest were greater in the north of the state during winter production (plantings in April to August). During spring production (plantings in September to November) plants took longer to mature in north central and south west regions. Crops in all locations matured at the same time with early summer production (Planting 6), the south west crop took longer than other locations during mid summer and in late summer crops took similar periods to mature but cultivars varied in maturity times. Time to harvest across sites was inversely related to marketable yield with lower marketable yields associated with a longer time to harvest. Cultivar Summary Descriptions of cultivars across trials is given below and performance of each cultivar is shown in Table 5. Table 6 summarises information on the best performing cultivars across five locations in 1998/1999. In general, later cultivars gave larger plants with higher yields.

14

Table 5. Days to harvest, marketable plant percentage and marketable yield of terminal shoots, in five regions in Victoria 1998-1999.

Planting 1

Mornington Peninsular

North East

East Gippsland

South West

North Central

C

ultiv

ar

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

OP Kailaan

102

64.4

1.71

116.7

60.0

1.3

90

46.0

0.34

109

80

2.31

120

50.0

1.1

Thainin 107 60.0 3.87 123.0 35.6 0.6 103 78.1 1.47 109 73 2.61 120 64.6 1.1 Kailaan White 107 64.4 4.15 133.0 42.2 1.5 91 73.4 1.61 109 78 2.93 120 56.2 1.1 Dai sum 120 53.3 4.80 152.0 35.6 5.4 105 93.7 4.45 119 89 6.39 180 54.2 1.7 Green Lance 116.7 64.5 1.6 105 87 1.82 Mandy 120 77.8 14.69 152.0 40.0 5.0 117 90.0 8.48 129 78 14.03 149 62.5 2.7 Trong 129 40 3.94 LSD (P=0.05) 14.3 2.07 26.9 4.4 10.1 1.85 9.8 1.47 NS 0.7

Planting 2


North East

East Gippsland

South West

North Central

C

ultiv

ar

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

OP Kailaan

105

64.4

6.31

123

47.8

0.5

*

*

*

109

54.2

1.3

Thainin 112 64.4 10.57 123 42.2 0.4 99 67.0 6.38 109 58.3 1.4 Kailaan White 112 64.4 11.17 123 37.8 1.3 99 60.0 5.31 109 33.3 1.2 Dai sum 112 71.1 11.26 123 17.8 1.2 104 64.0 6.24 131 41.7 1.0 Green Lance 93 60.0 2.23 Mandy 126 80.0 16.73 133 13.5 1.4 111 84.0 14.49 125 37.5 3.0 Trong 111 56.0 7.28 LSD (P=0.05) 6.9 1.96 7.3 13.1 NS 8.2 1.85 17.6 0.9

15

Planting 3 Mornington Peninsular

North East East Gippsland South West North Central

Cul

tivar

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

OP Kailaan

61

87.0

2.1

77

35.4

0.9

Thainin 64 75.0 1.3 89 45.8 1.5 Kailaan White 67 78.3 1.3 Dai sum 75 81.2 1.4 Mandy 80 67.7 1.8 89 37.5 2.6 Green Lance 61 82.7 1.4 77 43.7 1.1 Sak Sum 61 81.7 1.4 77 33.3 0.8 LSD (P=0.05) 3.1 NS NS 16.6 0.8

Planting 4


North East

East Gippsland

South West

North Central

C

ultiv

ar

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

OP Kailaan

63

48.9

1.7

57

51.1

1.5

59

91.1

2.92

86

53.3

2.64

68

39.6

1.2

Thainin 70 51.1 2.32 57 51.1 1.1 61 91.1 3.55 91 55.6 3.65 74 58.3 1.7 Kailaan White 70 60.0 3.03 65 48.9 0.8 62 83.8 4.60 91 57.8 5.18 Dai sum 70 55.6 3.68 70 55.6 2.9 66 83.2 7.72 91 60.0 7.28 Mandy 77 75.6 11.46 80 31.1 1.7 70 84.1 8.67 97 66.7 9.06 74 35.4 2.2 Green Lance 63 53.3 12.2 57 91.0 1.2 57 100 3.60 86 53.3 1.77 68 47.9 1.3 Sak Sum 63 53.3 10.9 57 71.1 1.0 60 84.5 2.14 86 55.6 2.08 68 33.3 0.8 Trong 97 62.2 6.0 LSD (P=0.05) 8.9 1.36 18.5 0.9 4.2 NS 1.67 9.0 1.26 9.1 NS

16

Planting 5


North East

East Gippsland

South West

North Central

C

ultiv

ar

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

OP Kailaan

56

55.6

2.87

44

64.4

2.6

50

48.9

1.7

76

44

1.51

74

79.2

3.8

Thainin 56 55.6 2.73 51 38.7 3.4 56 18.7 0.4 78 42 1.96 78 62.5 3.3 Kailaan White 63 60.0 4.80 55 44.4 1.7 55 47.4 2.0 57 33 1.47 Dai sum 70 55.6 10.84 62 48.9 2.9 61 45.3 2.9 Mandy 70 57.8 19.58 69 42.2 3.6 61 32.2 2.4 Green Lance 56 48.9 1.75 44 84.3 1.0 47 51.0 1.1 78 51 1.60 74 56.3 1.4 Sak Sum 56 44.4 1.61 51 24.4 0.5 52 32.6 0.2 78 40 1.63 74 62.5 1.6 LSD (P=0.05) 12.6 2.66 23.0 1.0 4.5 NS 1.5 5.9 NS 19.4 1.4

Planting 6


North East

East Gippsland

South West

North Central

C

ultiv

ar

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

OP Kailaan

60

51.1

3.37

51

54.7

3.3

59

59.1

1.4

65

72.9

3.7

Thainin 60 46.7 2.9 58 40.0 1.6 57 36.7 1.1 59 27 1.76 70 56.2 3.2 Kailaan White 60 44.4 3.1 58 56.7 2.7 57 48.6 2.2 59 51 2.78 Dai sum 67 57.8 6.6 66 28.9 2.7 62 70.7 5.9 66 58 4.15 Mandy 67 64.4 10.1 72 39.1 3.0 63 70.0 3.0 66 60 5.75 Green Lance 54 48.9 20.7 51 88.9 4.3 56 51.2 1.6 65 52.1 1.4 Sak Sum 54 44.4 1.73 51 46.7 1.9 55 26.7 0.5 59 51 1.66 65 64.6 1.8 Trong 59 47 3.53 LSD (P=0.05) 11.0 1.43 29.6 1.7 4.6 24.5 1.4 NS 3.69 NS 1.7

17

Planting 7


North East

East Gippsland

South West

North Central

C

ultiv

ar

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

OP Kailaan

56

88.9

9.6

60

68.9

2.5

50

75.2

2.6

72

47

1.2

55

87.5

4.6

Thainin 62 77.8 7.0 60 63.3 1.9 55 74.5 3.3 78 44 1.7 55 86.7 5.3 Kailaan White 62 91.1 12.9 62 49.6 2.3 55 82.0 3.9 80 36 1.8 55 93.5 5.7 Dai sum 69 77.8 11.1 73 21.6 1.6 68 59.3 3.5 67 100.0 14.0 Mandy 71 82.2 15,5 80 36.3 2.1 71 64.7 5.7 73 95.8 12.6 Green Lance 53 93.3 7.1 55 76.1 3.0 50 84.3 2.9 78 56 1.1 Sak Sum 56 75.6 5.73 60 66.3 2.3 52 42.9 0.9 LSD (P=0.05) 9.1 3.27 20.7 1.0 5.7 19.2 3.7 NS NS NS 3.6

Planting 8


North East

East Gippsland

South West

North Central

C

ultiv

ar

Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

) Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

) Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

) Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

) Day

s to

Har

vest

Mar

keta

ble

%

Mar

keta

ble

Yie

ld

(t/ha

)

OP Kailaan

83

73.3

1.4

78

51.1

1.0

64

80

1.7

72

49

0.7

Thainin 90 66.7 2.6 88 55.5 0.8 70 80 2.2 72 51 1.0 Kailaan White 90 77.8 3.9 88 44.4 0.7 72 77 2.2 72 38 0.8 Dai sum 90 73.3 4.3 106 60.0 1.5 82 80 3.5 84 53 1.7 Mandy 97 80.0 9.2 122 35.5 1.2 97 58 2.8 84 44 1.7 Green Lance 78 84.4 1.9 78 82.4 0.9 64 87 2.5 72 38 0.6 Sak Sum 83 80.0 1.6 78 60.5 0.8 66 70 1.8 Trong 78 33 0.6 LSD (P=0.05) 13.9 1.96 24.0 0.5 8.3 17.7 1.4 NS 0.64

18

O.P. Kailaan This was generally a fast growing early maturing cultivar and often flowered too early. The fast growth rates may have been the cause of lower individual plant weights and reduced marketable yields, which occurred at all sites. O.P. Kailaan appears to be more suitable to the North East and North Central growing conditions particularly over summer and to a lesser extent autumn. This was the most sensitive cultivar to downy mildew across all plantings and locations. It had a tendency to produce plants with a “tree” like structure in plantings with a summer harvest. Thainan Thainan appears to be most suitable over all regions (except for the North East) during a range of months, indicating that this cultivar is suitable to a wide range of growing conditions. However, it displayed non-uniform maturity, low marketability and corresponding low yields. It had long stems and large leaves and showed a moderate tolerance to downy mildew. Thainan was very susceptible to clubroot. This tended to be a large leafed cultivar with leaves contributing significantly to the overall weight. Kailaan White Kailaan White appears to be more suitable to the Melbourne and Geelong growing conditions particularly over summer. This may help explain the mixed reports from industry about harvest times and marketability. This cultivar tended to be short stemmed with large leaves and was non-uniform in maturity. Kailaan White was moderately tolerant to downy mildew but was affected by clubroot. There was some tendency to produce plants with a “tree” like structure in summer harvested plantings, but not as strongly as OP Kailaan or Sak Sum. Dai Sum As for Thainan, Dai Sum appears to be most suitable over all regions (except for the North East) during a range of months, indicating that this cultivar is suitable to a wide range of growing conditions. Considered a uniform crop it was generally slow growing with large leaves and short stems. A high percentage of plants were marketable but yield in t/ha was lower due to the short small size of the plant. The most resistant cultivar to downy mildew was Dai Sum, across all plantings and locations and in East Gippsland was consistently the most tolerant of clubroot. This tended to be a large leafed cultivar with leaves contributing significantly to the overall weight. Mandy This was a grower’s selected cultivar and later maturing than the others, which consistently produced plants of the greatest weight. In general this cultivar was promising in early stages of growth but close to harvest it began to look more like broccoli with a very large framed leafy plant and a large flower head with large florets. This cultivar was not desirable given these characteristics. Mandy at times expressed some degree of tolerance to clubroot. Mandy was the second most resistant cultivar to downy mildew, second only to Dai Sum. This cultivar tended to have very large leaves contributing significantly to the overall weight of the plant and high yields. Green Lance Green Lance appears to be suitable cultivar for all regions throughout the trial, particularly in the North East. Generally this fast growing cultivar was very consistent with uniform growth and yield. It was a light plant with long stems, small leaves but low yielding. Green Lance, like Kailaan White and Sak Sum, was susceptible to downy mildew second only to O.P. Kailaan. Also Green Lance was susceptible to clubroot. There was some tendency to produce plants with a “tree” like structure in summer harvested plantings, but not as strongly as OP Kailaan or Sak Sum. This tended to be the smallest leafed cultivar with the leaf contributing less to the overall yield and as a consequence was one of the lower yielding cultivars.

Sak sum This cultivar was considered to be fast growing producing thin stems with corresponding low weights and yields. Sak sum appears to be most suitable to Geelong, North East and North central growing

19

conditions, particularly during spring and summer. Sometimes woody stems and a “tree structure” were reported in plantings with a summer harvest. Sak Sum was very susceptible to downy mildew, clubroot and also blackleg. This tended to be a smaller leafed cultivar with the leaf contributing less to the overall yield and as a consequence was a lower yielding cultivar. Trong This was a grower selected cultivar and was only grown at Geelong. In general this cultivar was promising in early stages of growth but it was not uniform in appearance. It often had large dark green leaves and a large flower head with large florets. This cultivar was not desirable given these characteristics. Trong was the second most resistant cultivar to downy mildew second only to Dai Sum. This cultivar had an average leaf size which was relatively consistent.

20

Table 6. Best performing Chinese broccoli cultivars and planting dates at five locations in Victoria,

1998-1999. (Terminal shoot yields only, therefore suitable for once over harvest)

Planting Date

Days to Harvest

Harvest Date

Gippsland

Melbourne

Geelong

North East

North central

0 Late April ••

90 –180 Early August

Dai sum Thainan

Dai sum K White

Green Lance OP Kailaan

Thainan Dai sum

Early May ••

102-120

Late August

Dai sum K White Thainan

Early July ••

93-133 Late October

** Dai sum K White Thainan

Dai sum Thainan K White

None Thainan OP Kailaan

Mid August ••

61-89 Late October

Green Lance HK Taisum

** Thainan Green Lance

Late September •

59-74 Late November

Thainan Green Lance

Thainan Green Lance

Mid October •

57-80 Mid December

Dai sum K White

Dai sum Thainan

Green Lance Sak sum

Mid November •

50-78 Mid January

Dai sum*

Dai sum Green Lance Sak sum


OP Kailaan Thainan

Mid December •

51-72 Late February

Dai sum # K White

Dai sum K White Dai sum Thainan

Green Lance K White

OP Kailaan Thainan

Late Jan/Early February •

50-80 Early April

Thainan Green Lance

Green Lance K White

Thainan K White

Green Lance OP Kailaan Sak sum

Dai Sum K White

Mid March ••

64-122 June/July Green Lance HK Taisum

Dai aum Kailaan white Green Lance

K White Thainan


Note: - the long winter growth period * The best but planting affected by clubroot. # Lower clubroot incidence. ** Flood plantings not carried out or harvestable Late spring – early autumn harvest. • Late autumn – early spring harvest •• Days to harvest varied with the region. The North East region tended to have the longest period in winter and East Gippsland the shortest. Over summer days to harvest were similar between regions. Quality Issues

21

Diseases Downy Mildew (Peronospora parasitica) This was the main disease issue for Chinese broccoli production with the incidence more prevalent in southern districts of the state. The only plantings where the incidence of downy mildew was not an issue were those in November/December, harvested in early January and late February respectively. The most sensitive cultivar across all plantings and locations where downy mildew occurred was OP Kailaan. The next most sensitive cultivars were Green Lance, Sak Sum, Kailaan White with Thainan showing a lower incidence. The most resistant cultivar was Dai Sum again across all plantings and locations and on occasions Dai Sum failed to contract the disease. The next most tolerant cultivars were Mandy and Trong. Clubroot (Plasmodium brassicae) This only occurred in the East Gippsland plantings and was confined to November to March plantings with yield most affected in the first two. Chinese brocolli is a crucifer and as such is clearly susceptible to clubroot as are other cruciferous plants. Normal clubroot management practices should be applied if the incidence is expected. Only one cultivar, Dai Sum, was consistently tolerant of clubroot with other cultivars at times expressing some degree of tolerance. These included OP Kailaan, Mandy, Sak Sum and Kailaan White. Black Leg (Erwinia carotovora) This disease was only present in two plantings in the North central August September plantings. No cultivars were resistant but two, Thainan and Mandy, showed a higher level of tolerance than the others. Disorders Plant quality varied significantly with time of the year and growing conditions. Generally Mandy did not fit the accepted mould of a Chinese broccoli plant bearing more resemblance to broccoli or broccolini and consequently resulted in its downgrading for quality.

The term “Tree Structure” was used to describe appearance of a plant when secondary shoots have begun to grow too early and too close to the top of the main stem, making it impossible to harvest the main stem without sideshoots. Industry feedback is that plants with a “tree structure” are still marketable but with packing, bunches will look uneven and it will also result in loss of subsequent side shoots. Such plants would be down graded in quality. More detailed qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the cultivars are given in Dimsey et al. (2002).

22

Victoria, 1999-2000 Days to harvest and terminal, side shoot and total marketable yields varied with cultivar, location and planting date or season (Table 7 and 8, Figures 3 and 4).

Table 7. Total (terminal and side shoots) Marketable Yields (t/ha), Victoria 1999-2000 Myrtleford Cultivar Sowing 1 Sowing 2 Sowing 3 Sowing 4 Green Lance OP Kailaan Kailaan White Thainan 4502 BBT 35 Cultivar A Cultivar B

0.85 d 1.08 cd 2.00 bcd 2.53 bc 3.33 ab 4.59 a 1.52 cd 2.35 bcd

3.74 bc 3.29 c 8.67 a 7.18 ab 8.51 a 10.64 a 4.92 bc 8.64 a

12.13 a 10.00 ab 8.79 ab 8.79 ab 6.13 b 10.06 ab 10.12 a 8.22 ab

7.74 ab 6.49 ab 6.59 ab 5.50 b 5.69 b 8.91 a 6.31 ab 6.87 ab

LSD (p=0.05) 1.51 3.58 3.99 2.76 Boneo Cultivar Sowing 1 Sowing 2 Sowing 3 Sowing 4 Green Lance OP Kailaan Kailaan White Thainan 4502 BBT 35 Cultivar A Cultivar B King

18.15 b 8.66 c 36.68 a 20.11 b - 18.76 b 14.37 bc 40.67 a 38.92 a

10.92 d 10.54 d 29.97 b 21.87 bc 14.58 cd 20.64 c 12.10 d 38.73 a 40.05 a

13.68 ef 10.46 f 26.86 bcd 21.46 cde 18.01 def 29.83 abc 16.85 def 35.28 ab 38.08 a

28.40 abc 15.79 e 28.01 abc 24.90 bc 32.20 a 19.09 de 23.28 cd 29.25 ab 31.94 a

LSD (p=0.05) 8.81 7.69 10.96 5.43 Tatura Cultivar Sowing 1 Sowing 2 Sowing 3 Sowing 4 Green Lance OP Kailaan Kailaan White Thainan 4502 BBT 35 Cultivar A Cultivar B

2.49 c 2.49 c 4.50 abc 3.01 bc 5.84 a 5.44 ab 3.21 bc 6.60 a

No Trial 5.34 b 6.63 b 10.64 a 6.65 b 5.09 b 4.50 b 5.75 b 7.43 ab

4.68 de 4.13 e 7.01 bc 6.10 cd 11.30 a 8.14 b 4.29 e 8.01 b

LSD (p=0.05) 2.62 3.60 1.54

23

Stratford Cultivar Sowing 1 Sowing 2 Sowing 3 Sowing 4 Green Lance OP Kailaan Kailaan White Thainan 4502 BBT 35 Cultivar A Cultivar B

4.10 b 4.80 ab 5.70 a 4.30 b - 5.00 ab - 3.90 b

No Trial No Trial 7.00 7.20 6.30 6.80 6.30 6.20 6.40 8.70

LSD (p=0.05) 1.60 Ns Any two means with the same letter are not significantly different at the 95% probability level. Planting dates and locations August was the least suitable sowing date at Myrtleford, Tatura and Stratford, with cultivars producing the lowest yields and number of marketable sideshoots. October and December were the best dates at Myrtleford, followed by February. December and February were the best of the three sowing times investigated at Tatura except that the sideshoot yield was less in February.

At Stratford trials were only established in August and February and cultivars performed best at the latter date. At Boneo the effect of sowing date on cultivar performance was small compared with the other sites. Most cultivars had a noticeably higher terminal shoot yield in the February sowing at all locations.

October and December were the best sowing dates at Myrtleford. Yield and marketable sideshoot numbers of most cultivars was highest in these sowings. There was a noticeable decrease in performance in February.

Best cultivar performance was at Boneo. It produced the highest cultivar marketable yields and sideshoot yield and numbers in all plantings except December, when three cultivars had a greater number of sideshoots at Myrtleford. Sideshoot yields were inflated because shoots were trimmed to the grower’s market length of 20 cm, as opposed to 15 cm at the three other sites. However, the estimated yields assuming a 15 cm length remained the highest. Myrtleford was the next best location. Though terminal shoots were of poor quality and low yield, sideshoot yields were higher than at Tatura and Stratford. Total yields at Stratford were similar to those at Myrtleford and Tatura, but with a much higher terminal shoot contribution.

At Myrtleford, terminal shoots produced a lower yield than at the other sites due to a lower marketable percentage. However, sideshoot and total marketable yields were higher than at Tatura or Stratford. The number of marketable sideshoots per plant was similar to Boneo in December, but lower at the other three sowing times.

At Stratford, cultivars were only sown in August and February. Total marketable yields were generally similar to Myrtleford and Tatura at both dates. However, the terminal shoot contribution was much higher than at Myrtleford and Tatura.

Cultivars at Tatura had poor sideshoot yield and marketable number per plant. The terminal shoots contributed over half the total marketable yield in the August sowing and up to three-quarters in December and February. There was little difference in the total yield between the December and the February sowings. The sideshoot yield, however, decreased in February sowings.

24

Cultivars Cultivar performance for the important production characteristics of marketable (terminal and side shoot) yield and the number of marketable sideshoots produced per plant is summarised in Figures 3 and 4. Most cultivars showed variation in performance between sowing dates for at least one location. Kailaan White, BBT 35 and Cultivar B were the best commercial cultivars when all locations and sowing dates were considered. All three were high yielding.

Kailaan White performed consistently well at Boneo, was the best at Myrtleford and Tatura in late spring and summer, but performed well at Stratford only in August. The performance of BBT 35 varied with location and sowing date. In the October sowing it was the best at Myrtleford but not at Boneo, whilst in December it was one of the better cultivars at Myrtleford and Boneo but not at Tatura. In the February sowing it was the best cultivar at Myrtleford and good at Tatura, but was relatively low yielding at Boneo.

Cultivar B was slow growing and later maturing. Its performance was good at Boneo and Tatura in the August sowing, and at Myrtleford and Boneo in October. In the December sowing it was one of the better cultivars at Boneo and Tatura, and one of the best at all four locations in February.

The grower cultivar King was sown only at Boneo, where it was amongst the highest yielding cultivars at all four sowing dates.

Terminal and side shoot yield The terminal and side shoot contribution to marketable yield varied with location, cultivar and planting date (Figure 3).

25

Table 8. Best performing Chinese broccoli cultivars, and days to harvest for different planting dates at

four locations in Victoria, 1999-2000.

(Terminal shoot and side shoot production therefore suitable for sequential harvests)

East Gippsland (Stratford)

Melbourne (Boneo)

North East (Myrtleford)

Northern Irrigation (Tatura) Sowing

Date Cultivar Days to Harvest Cultivar Days to

Harvest Cultivar Days to Harvest Cultivar Days to

Harvest

August

Kailaan White BBT35

68 68

Kailaan White Cultivar B

78 82

None Recommended

93 88

4502 BBT 35 Cultivar B

79 72 74

October No Trial


63 69

Kailaan White Thainan 4502 BBT 35 Cultivar B

59 58 74 64 65

No trial

December No Trial

Kailaan White BBT 35 Cultivar B

65 65 72 72

Green Lance OP Kailaan BBT 35 Cultivar A

53 52 62 55


72 72

February

Green Lance OP Kailaan Thainan BBT 35 Cultivar A Cultivar B

63 57 67 74 55 69

Green Lance Kalian White Thainan 4502 Cultivar B

56 63 56 68 72

Green Lance Kailaan White BBT 35 Cultivar B

58 69 73 79

Kailaan White 4502 BBT 35 Cultivar B

84 93 93 92

‘Days to Harvest’ = days from sowing to harvest of terminal shoots.

These recommendations are based on the results of trials carried out by the Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment during season 1999/2000.

26

Figure 3. Cultivar mean terminal shoot, side shoot and total marketable yield, Victoria 1999-2000. – location x sowing date.

M arke table Yie ld - Sowing 2 (Octobe r)

0

510

15

2025

30

3540

45

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B King

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Cultiva r

t/ha s ideshoot

term inal

Myrtleford Boneo Tatura Stratford

M arke table Yie ld - Sowing 3 (D e ce mbe r)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Green L

ance

OP Kailaa

n

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kailaa

n

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B King

Green L

ance

OP Kailaa

n

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kailaa

n

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Cultiva r

t/ha s ideshoot

term inal

My rtle f ord Boneo Tatura Stratf ord

Marketable Yield - Sowing 4 (February)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B King

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Cultivar

t/ha sideshoot

terminal

Myrtleford Boneo Tatura Stratf ord

M arke table Yie ld - Sowing 1 (August)

0

510

15

2025

30

3540

45

Green L

ance

OP Kailaa

n

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kailaa

n

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B King

Green L

ance

OP Kailaa

n

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kailaa

n

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Cultiva r

t/ha s ideshoot

term inal

My rtlef ord Boneo Tatura Stratf ord

27

Figure 4. Cultivar mean number of marketable sideshoots per plant , Victoria 1999-2000.– location x sowing date.

Number of Marketable Sideshoots Per Plant - Sowing 1 (August)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B King

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Cultivar

Num

ber/P

lant


Number of Marketable Sideshoots Per Plant - Sowing 2 (October)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B King

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Cultivar

Num

ber/P

lant


Number of Marketable Sideshoots Per Plant - Sowing 3 (December)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B King

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Cultivar

Num

ber/P

lant


Number of Marketable Sideshoots Per Plant - Sowing 4 (February)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B King

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Green L

ance

OP Kail

aan

K. Whit

e

Thai N

an45

02

BBT35

Cultiva

r A

Cultiva

r B

Cultivar

Num

ber/P

lant


28

Terminal shoot yield was greater than side shoot yield at Tatura and Stratford. At Boneo, particularly and at Myrtleford side shoot yields were much greater than terminal yield and contributed more of the total marketable yield at all planting dates. Side shoots contributed less to total marketable yield at the other two locations.

The number of marketable side shoots was greater at Boneo and Myrtleford, except at the February planting when number of sided shoots at Myrtleford was similar to Stratford (Figure 4).

Terminal shoot yields were highest in the February sowing at Myrtleford and Boneo.

August appears to be the least suitable sowing date at most locations. October and December were best at locations where trials were established at these sowing dates. February was also a suitable sowing date at all locations. However, a decrease in total yield, a larger terminal shoot yield contribution, and an increase in the days to harvest could be expected. Pests and Diseases Slug damage occurred with October planting in the north east particularly on Green Lance, OP Kailaan, Thainan and Cultivar A.

Downy mildew was present at all plantings in the Melbourne region. OP Kailaan, Green Lance and Cultivar A were the most susceptible cultivars with King, 4502 and Cultivar B showing a high degree of resistance. In the north central and east Gippsland regions it was present in planting 1 on OP Kailaan (moderate to severe levels) and Green Lance (less severe).

Aphids and leafminer were observed at low levels in East Gippsland in the August/September planting on Green Lance (aphids), OP Kailaan (both) and BBT 37 (leafminer).

Clubroot was not present in East Gippsland during these trials, for they did not take place in the clubroot season.

1999-2000 cultivar summary As for the previous season, detailed description of cultivars and their performance is presented herein. Green Lance Green Lance plants were relatively small, and their shoots long and thin. In August, it performed poorly at all locations. The marketable yield of both the terminal shoots and sideshoots was usually the lowest. At Myrtleford shoots were thin and light and marketable percentages very low. At the other three sites the low yields were mainly due to low shoot weight. In October, Green Lance was sown only at Myrtleford and Boneo, where it was again one of the lowest yielding cultivars. Terminal shoots were very thin and light at Myrtleford and almost none were marketable. In the December sowing Green Lance responded to the warmer growing conditions at Myrtleford and was the best cultivar. Terminal shoot yield and quality were low, but sideshoot number and yield were the highest. In contrast, it was one of the lowest yielding cultivars at Boneo. At Tatura, shoot quality was reasonable but yields were relatively low. There was no December sowing at Stratford. In February sowings Green Lance was one of the better cultivars at Myrtleford and Boneo, performed reasonably well at Stratford, but had the lowest yield at Tatura. It had the highest yields at Myrtleford and shoot quality was good. At Boneo damping off reduced the terminal shoot yield but sideshoot number and yield, and the total yield, were the highest. It was low yielding at Tatura, though sideshoot quality and number were good. At Stratford the sideshoots were heavy and their yield was one of the highest.

Green Lance is an early maturing cultivar, but tended to produce long, thin and light shoots. It was low yielding when sown in August or October. In the North East region it appeared suited to warm weather sowing dates from December to February.

29

OP Kailaan Plants tended to be small, and the shoots long and thin with small leaves. It was very susceptible to downy mildew at Boneo and Tatura in the earliest sowings, and damping off caused losses at Boneo in February. OP Kailaan is recommended only for East Gippsland (August or February), and the North East region (December). Terminal shoot and sideshoot yields were low at Myrtleford, Boneo and Tatura in the August sowing. It performed better at Stratford, where it had the highest terminal shoot yield and a high total yield. In the October sowing, it was the poorest cultivar at Myrtleford and Boneo. Shoots were thin and light and marketable yields low. OP Kailaan was one of the better cultivars at Myrtleford in December, was lower yielding at Tatura, and a poor performer at Boneo. It responded positively to summer temperatures at Myrtleford, where the marketable percentages and yields were amongst the highest. Yields at Tatura were not high, but improved over the August sowing. At Boneo plant maturity was uneven and some terminal shoots developed a ‘tree-structure’, with long, thin sideshoots in the upper axils. Shoot quality was poor and it had the lowest yields. In the February sowing, Stratford and Myrtleford were the best sites. Terminal shoot yield and marketability were low at Myrtleford but high at Stratford, whilst sideshoot yield was high at Myrtleford but middle-ranked at Stratford. OP Kailaan was the worst cultivar at Boneo. Damping off reduced terminal shoot marketable percentage and yield, while low shoot number and weight reduced sideshoot yield to the lowest mean. At Tatura shoots were light and marketable yields low.

OP Kailaan was low yielding and often the poorest performing cultivar. However, it was acceptable at Myrtleford and Stratford when sown in summer. At Boneo it was very low yielding at all four sowing dates.

Kailaan White Kailaan White plants were small to medium in size and carried large, round leaves with a crinkled surface. Shoots were of medium length and thickness. It is recommended for most sowing dates in all regions In August it was one of the best cultivars at Boneo and Stratford. At Tatura terminal shoot production was good but the sideshoot yield was poor. Yields and marketable percentages at Myrtleford were well below the best cultivars. Sowings in October were made only at Myrtleford and Boneo, where it was one of the best cultivars. Shoots were relatively thick and heavy and yields amongst the highest. At Myrtleford the total yield was four times that of the August sowing. In December, Kailaan White was the best cultivar at Tatura, one of the better ones at Boneo, had only fair to good performance at Myrtleford, and was not grown at Stratford. At Tatura, the terminal shoot yield was the highest and the sideshoot yield and marketable percentage were the second highest. Plants at Boneo displayed uneven maturity and a ‘tree-structure’ but sideshoot yield was equivalent to the best. At Myrtleford the terminal shoot quality was low and sideshoots thick, heavy and leafy. Performance was good in the February sowing at Boneo and Tatura, acceptable at Myrtleford, but only fair at Stratford. Despite damping off losses at Boneo, terminal shoot yield, and sideshoot yield and quality, were high. At Tatura, sideshoots number was low but the yield was close to the highest. Terminal shoot yield at Myrtleford was low, but sideshoot yield was reasonably high. At Stratford, terminal shoots were thick and heavy, but sideshoots were short, light, low in number and the lowest yielding.

Kailaan White was high yielding and one of the better cultivars at most locations. It performed consistently across all sowing dates at Boneo, was best in the late Spring and Summer sowings at Myrtleford and Tatura, but performed well only in the August sowing at Stratford.

30

Thainan Thainan plants were small to medium sized, with long, thin shoots. It is recommended only for the North East in October, and for the East Gippsland and the Melbourne regions in February. Thainan was one of the worst cultivars at all locations in the August sowing and does not appear suited to cool temperatures. Terminal shoot yield was reasonable at Boneo and Stratford, but low at Tatura and Myrtleford. Sideshoots were long and thin, and the yield amongst the lowest, at all sites. In October, Thainan was acceptable at Myrtleford and Boneo. At Myrtleford, terminal shoot yield and quality were low but sideshoot yield was equivalent to the best cultivars. At Boneo terminal shoot quality was good despite uneven plant maturity, but the yield was low, and the sideshoot yield was around half that of the best cultivars. There was no trial at Tatura or Stratford. In December sowings Thainan was acceptable at Myrtleford and Boneo, but not at Tatura. At Myrtleford terminal shoots were very long, thin, and of low quality, but there were a large number of marketable sideshoots per plant. At Boneo terminal shoot yield and quality were low, but that of the sideshoots was reasonable. Terminal shoot performance at Tatura was good, but sideshoot yield and number per plant were the lowest. When sown in February, Thainan was one of the better cultivars at Stratford and performed quite well at Boneo. At Tatura sideshoot performance was poor, and at Myrtleford it was the lowest yielding cultivar. Its performance at Boneo was the best of all four sowings. At Stratford terminal shoot yield was high but a low number of sideshoots were harvested. Shoots were thin and light at Tatura and sideshoot yield was one of the lowest. At Myrtleford, thin, light, poor quality shoots reduced both terminal shoot and sideshoot yield to amongst the lowest.

Thainan was not one of the better cultivars. Both terminal and sideshoots tended to be thin and light. Marketable yields were consequently low. It performed particularly poorly in cool weather.

4502 4502 produced bigger plants than most other entries. The leaves were large and had a distinctly crinkled surface. Terminal shoots tended to be thick and woody. In August, 4502 was sown only at Myrtleford and Tatura. Its performance was acceptable at Tatura, where there was a high terminal shoot yield, and at Myrtleford where the sideshoot yield was high. In October, 4502 performed poorly at Boneo but was one of the better entries at Myrtleford. It produced few sideshoots per plant at Myrtleford but these were heavy and the yield high. It was later maturing at Boneo, with slow sideshoot growth and low yields. 4502 was unsuited to hot conditions and performed poorly in the December sowing at the three trial sites. It was the worst cultivar at Myrtleford where terminal shoots were thick, heavy and of poor quality and where sideshoot number per plant and yield were the lowest. At Boneo, terminal shoot yield was high but quality was low, sideshoot number and yield were amongst the lowest, and some plants developed a ‘tree structure’. At Tatura 4502 was late to mature and produced low quality terminal shoots and a low number of light sideshoots. In February it was the highest yielding cultivar at Boneo and Tatura, had good terminal shoot but poor sideshoot production at Myrtleford, and only fair performance at Stratford. Despite slow initial growth at Boneo, yields were amongst the highest. It was again slow maturing at Tatura but shoots were heavy and it had the highest yields. At Myrtleford terminal shoots were thick, heavy and high yielding, but sideshoots were light, of low quality and number and had the lowest yield. Sideshoot number and yield were also low at Stratford, but the terminal shoot yield was mid range.

4502 was slow growing and later maturing. Plants were large and the leaves big and characteristically crinkled. Quality was often reduced by the thick and heavy nature of both terminal shoots and

31

sideshoots. Where a high proportion of shoots was marketable, yields were amongst the highest. It was not suited to the warmer temperatures of an October or December sowing date.

BBT 35 Plants of BBT 35 were medium sized, with large and flat leaves, with a thick blade and petiole. It is recommended for at least one site at each of the four sowing dates. In August its performance was fair. Though the best cultivar at Myrtleford, shoot quality and yield were not high. At Tatura there was good terminal shoot and fair sideshoot performance, and the total yield was one of the highest. It was low yielding at Boneo. Sideshoot yield at Stratford was equal highest, but terminal shoot yield was low. BBT 35 was the best cultivar at Myrtleford in the October sowing, where shoot yield and quality were good. At Boneo, plant maturity was uneven and yield and quality only acceptable. There was no sowing at Tatura or Stratford. In the December sowing, BBT 35 was one of the better cultivars at Myrtleford and Boneo, but not at Tatura. Terminal shoot yield at Myrtleford was the highest, but sideshoot number and weight were low and yield middle-ranked. At Boneo it was one of the highest yielding cultivars, thanks to the large contribution of reasonable quality sideshoots. At Tatura, BBT 35 produced no sideshoots, while terminal shoots were thick and heavy and some were too short to be harvestable. In February sowings BBT 35 was the best cultivar at Myrtleford, was one of the better ones at Tatura and Stratford, but had relatively low yields at Boneo. The terminal shoot yield at Myrtleford was the highest for all sowing dates. A large number of good quality sideshoots, with the highest yield, were also produced. Plants were later maturing at Tatura, but a high yield of good quality terminal shoots was produced. Sideshoots were heavy and their yield middle-ranked. At Stratford BBT 35 was the last to mature. Terminal shoot yield was the lowest, but sideshoot number and yield were the highest, and shoot quality was good.

BBT 35 was one of the best cultivars in the trial, though its performance across locations and sowing times was inconsistent. It is recommended at each of the four sowing dates from August to February for at least one location.

Cultivar A This cultivar had a poor growth habit, particularly in the Spring sowings. Plants were small, terminal shoots were thin, and sideshoots were long and thin. It is recommended only for the North East region in December, and for East Gippsland in February. Cultivar A performed poorly at all sites in the August sowing. Both terminal shoots and sideshoots were thin and light, and their quality and marketable yield were low. In October it again produced thin, light and poor quality shoots at both Myrtleford and Boneo, and had low yields. There was no sowing at Tatura or Stratford. In December it was one of the better cultivars at Myrtleford, was low yielding at Boneo, and had good terminal shoot, but only fair sideshoot, performance at Tatura. It responded positively to summer temperatures at Myrtleford and produced much higher yields than in the earlier sowings. At Boneo sideshoots were of good quality but yielded significantly less than the best cultivars. Cultivar A produced the most sideshoots per plant at Tatura but its total yield was one of the lowest. Its performance in the February sowing was good at Stratford, but marginal at Boneo and Myrtleford, and poor at Tatura. At Stratford sideshoots were heavy and their yield was the second highest. At Boneo sideshoot production was good, with high yield and number per plant, but the terminal shoot yield was the lowest. At Myrtleford terminal shoot marketability and yield were amongst the highest, but sideshoot

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yield was comparatively low. At Tatura shoots were long, thin, and light and the cultivar was low yielding.

Cultivar A generally performed poorly. Shoots were thin and light, and marketable yields of both terminal shoot and sideshoot marketable yields were low. Its performance was better at the December and February sowing dates than in spring.

Cultivar B Cultivar B was a slow growing and later maturing cultivar, producing large and leafy plants with thick shoots. It is recommended for all regions across most of the sowing dates where it was trialed. In August it was the best cultivar at Boneo, performed quite well at Tatura, but was low yielding at Myrtleford and Stratford. At Boneo terminal shoot quality and yield were good, while sideshoots were the thickest, heaviest and had the highest yield. Cultivar B also produced the highest sideshoot yield at Tatura, as well as good quality terminal shoots with a high yield. At Myrtleford and Stratford shoots were thin and light and yields low. It was one of the best cultivars in the October sowing at Myrtleford and Boneo. At both sites shoots were thick, heavy and high yielding. There was no sowing at Tatura or Stratford. In December sowings Cultivar B was one of the better cultivars at Boneo and Tatura, but was only fair at Myrtleford. At Boneo, some terminal shoots displayed a ‘tree structure’, but it produced the most sideshoots per plant and had the highest yield. At Tatura, terminal shoot quality was good but yield low, while sideshoot yield was the highest. Terminal shoots at Myrtleford were of poor quality and had the lowest yield, while the sideshoot and total yield were similar to most other cultivars. Cultivar B was one of the best cultivars in the February sowing at all four sites. Though one of the last to mature, the terminal shoot and sideshoot marketable yield of Cultivar B were amongst the highest.

Cultivar B was one of the best cultivars evaluated. Though later maturing, it was generally one of the highest yielding cultivars at each site at each sowing date, and produced good quality shoots.

King King, a grower-selected cultivar, was only sown at Boneo, where it was one of the best entries. It is recommended for all four sowing dates evaluated. It was a later maturing cultivar, with small to medium sized leafy plants. At each sowing time it was one of the highest yielding cultivars. Terminal shoots were relatively thick, heavy and short but their quality remained reasonably high. Sideshoots were amongst the heaviest and the number marketable per plant amongst the highest. The first sideshoots were harvestable about three weeks after the terminal shoots, and production was maintained for some time after this.

King was one of the best cultivars trialed at Boneo and appeared suited to sowing times from August to February.

Discussion Chinese broccoli or kailaan can be grown in most states of Australia. Marketable yields were achieved in Victoria which are higher than those previously reported of 6-11 t/ha over 2-3 harvests in Florida (Schuler, 1995). In Victoria marketable yields of terminal shoot only varied from 0.3-21 t/ha depending on cultivar, location and season. With terminal and sideshoot harvests marketable yields varied from 1-42 t/ha depending on location, cultivar and season. Yields were usually, but not always, higher with growers’ selected seed eg. Mandy and King, than the commercially available seed. However, even when grown on the farm where it was selected, grower selected cultivar Trong did not have a marketable yield as high as Mandy and, in many plantings, as Dai

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sum. Mandy, whilst having good yields in both years in Victoria, had some quality characteristics which, even if it were available to growers, would prevent its recommendation. However, it does meet the customers’ requirements of the grower who selected it. Optimal sowing times were found to be from September to January 1998-1999 and from August to February in 1999-2000. Best performing cultivars for each region and sowing date were identified (Dimsey et al. In press, Hayes et al. In Press). The second year of trials confirmed previously recommended cultivars, Green Lance and Kailaan White, particularly for the summer production plantings in December and February. With the cooler production period plantings in August and October in all locations except Melbourne region (October planting), recommended cultivars were different. As well, for the four planting dates, additional cultivars that were selected for both terminal and side shoot production, were added to the recommended list. Most of the added cultivars had not been in the previous year trials. Unfortunately the consistent performer in 1998-1999 trials, Dai Sum, was not included in the second year trials. Bolting was rarely reported in the Victorian trials, being only observed in the second planting (July 7 1998). All plants of cultivar OP Kailaan bolted at this, but not other, plantings suggesting a genetic response to bolting. It is not known why the cultivars in the Tasmanian 1998-1999 trials became so responsive to flowering so early in development leading to visual bolting and no marketable yield. Comparing the Tasmanian November 1998 planting with the Victorian November 1999 planting, the Tasmanian trial was terminated without any data collected because all plants had bolted. In contrast comparing common cultivars evaluated, Green Lance in Victoria had 50% marketable plants in all regions except north east with 84% marketable plants, Thainan in three regions less than 45%, Melbourne 56% and north central 62% marketable plants. The non-commercially available cultivar Mandy varied from 32-60% marketable plants. In Victoria the non-marketablity was due to appearance (eg. very large stems and leaves, disease, non-uniform maturity) rather than due to bolting as experienced in Tasmania. Similarly, comparing Burnie, Tasmania May 1999 transplanting with the Melbourne region planting in May 1998, Thainan had 30% non-bolting plants in Tasmania whereas in Victoria, marketable percentage was 60%. The open pollinated Mandy, showed least bolting tendencies, with 90% non-bolted plants when the trial was terminated in Tasmania and 78% marketable at harvest in the Melbourne region where it was selected. All other cultivars evaluated in Tasmania had less than 12% non-bolting terminal heads. The Tasmanian trial was established using transplants 52 days after sowing (DAS), for summer production and 63 DAS for autumn production. Transplant shock may have resulted in the high percentage of plants bolting. Bolting was recorded one month after November transplanting and 21 days after the May transplanting. Low temperatures at establishment are known to induce bolting in many brassicas. It is well known that transplanted Chinese broccoli bolts readily and that commercially grown crops are direct seeded. These trials have shown that Chinese broccoli has a relatively low marketable plant percentage. It is not known whether this is due to the rigorous assessment that the Victorian trial imposed for marketability (see materials and methods) or whether this is common in commercial production. However in the February plantings of both years trials the range across cultivars’ terminal shoot marketable percentage was similar at each location to that of the previous year. Marketable percentage of terminal shoots was higher in Melbourne and north central regions than in North East and East Gippsland. Boneo side shoot and total marketable yields were consistently greater than those of other sites. It was the only site where Chinese broccoli was grown commercially. The combination of soil type, climate and the cultural practices used may have produced this comparatively good result. At Boneo the grower had input into determining marketability of the product. Terminal shoot yields were generally similar to

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those at Tatura or Stratford in all but the February sowing, where Boneo was higher indicating that genetics has greater influence than environment on cultivar terminal shoot performance. Downy mildew was the most consistent disease occurring in both years in Victoria with severity affected by location, cultivar and season. It was most severe from March to August with low incidence throughout the remainder of plantings. It was most severe in the South West, Melbourne and Gippsland regions with incidence up to 100% of OP Kailaan and 75% Green Lance plants being affected in a single planting. Other cultivars varied in susceptibility with planting date and location. Downy Mildew was not recorded in the north central region where all cultivars were susceptible to black leg, particularly OP Kailaan and Green Lance in the August and October plantings. In East Gippsland clubroot was very severe particularly in the November and December plantings and less severe in other plantings. Thainan, Sak Sum and Green Lance were the most affected and Dai Sum the least. This was not unexpected as clubroot seriously affects brassicas in this region with seriousness of effect related to cultivar. These trials have shown that Chinese broccoli can be grown all year in Victoria and recommended cultivars for season and location have been identified. No firm conclusions can be drawn about the potential for Chinese broccoli in Tasmania except that transplants bolted when grown in autumn and summer at Burnie in the north of the state.

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Appendix 1

Leaf Shape Descriptors

Shape 1.

Shape 2.

Shape 3.

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Plate 1 Early bolting of kailaan plants in autumn transplanting in Tasmania.

Documents

Chinese Broccoli (Kailaan) in Southern Australia