Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Turnips, usually sown in fields right after the grain harvest, are used for many things in this
German-speaking region of the Italian Alps: as livestock feed, as food for people, and as a medi-
cinal. The fresh, blanched shoots of new growth from turnips in storage (
Ruabkeime
) are eaten
in salads or steamed. The juice from fermented turnips (
Ruabenkraut
in the local dialect) is
drunk to combat fever. And a folk medicinal remedy for swelling and abscesses in livestock is to
place rags soaked in fermented turnip juice on them.
SELECTION CHARACTERISTICS
For all crops, select for true-to-type characteristics. Additional selec-
tion criteria for turnips:
• size, shape, and color of root
• flavor (fresh and fermented); tenderness
• portion of root above/below top of soil
• vigorous growth
• shape, color, and hairiness of leaves
• storage life
Additional selection criteria for turnip greens:
• rapid growth
• leaf yield, leaves harvestable over a long period
• flavor
DISEASES AND PESTS
All pests listed for
Brassica oleracea
(which see) can also damage
B. rapa
crops when they are in bloom, especially leaf beetles (
Phyllotreta
spp.).
CULTIVATION HISTORY
The turnip was domesticated in the temperate climate of Europe, before the
domestication of the rutabaga. It was developed from the wild form of rape. Natural histories and herb
topics of the ancient Greeks and Romans contain only general and non-specific descriptions of turnips.
Fast-growing varieties were mostly grown in Europe as livestock feed in stubble fields after the grain
harvest.
CHINESE CABBAGE
Brassica rapa
ssp.
pekinensis
Chinese cabbage has crisp, watery leaves with a mustard-like flavor. Its growth habits are similar to
those of romaine lettuce or collard greens, and its leaves are stalk-free, which differentiates Chinese
cabbage from bok choy (pak choi), whose leaves always have long stalks. Many varieties come from
China and Japan, where European-style legal protections for cultivars are practically nonexistent; this
has contributed to the dominance of hybrid seed on the market.
