Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
HARVEST
Harvest umbels as soon as they become ripe and dry them. Ripe parsley seeds left on the
plant too long are easily knocked to the ground by wind and rain. Thresh and winnow as for carrots.
Parsley seed is viable for a relatively short period of time, only two to three years.
Curly-leaved parsley
COURTESY SHUTTERSTOCK/© IMAGEMAN
SELECTION CHARACTERISTICS
• fast growth for maximum number of harvests
• powdery mildew resistance in autumn
• root parsley: large, vigorous roots; smooth and unbranched; true-to-type shape (short/plump/stubby,
middle-long/conical, long/pointy, etc.); well-defined shoulders
• leaf parsley: lushness and vigor of foliage; true-to-type shape and color (curly-leaved varieties must
always be selected for curly leaves); vigor and ability to regrow after cutting; tenderness and full-
bodied aroma of the leaf (as a garnish)
DISEASES AND PESTS
Parsley is susceptible to septoria leaf spot (
Septoria petroselini
), a seed-borne
fungal disease. Affected seed is infested with the fungus's asexual fruiting bodies (pycnidia), which
are visible to the naked eye. Some parsley varieties are highly susceptible to powdery mildew in au-
tumn; this can be minimized by quickly removing affected leaves (and, if necessary, plants) and by
careful watering.
Ancient Chinese secret
Eduard Lucas (1905) described a Chinese seed propagation technique that he found in a memo
from the Styrian (Austria) Horticultural Association: “It is well known that the quantity and of-
