Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
DISEASES AND PESTS
Japanese bunching onions are very robust and rarely succumb to disease. Onion
flies can, however, cause damage (for more on this pest, see onions).
CULTIVATION HISTORY
The Japanese bunching onion is known only in cultivation. The earliest evid-
ence of its cultivation comes from China in the first millennium
BC
. It arrived in Europe during the
Middle Ages, presumably via Russia. Scapes are an important market crop in China and Japan, where
they are often dried for winter storage.
LEEK
Allium ampeloprasum
var.
porrum
The leek is a cherished winter vegetable. It is protected against the frosts of winter by sulfur-contain-
ing essential oils. The mild, white, more-or-less swollen base of the leaves is the part that is typically
eaten, though the green leaves are also delicious. Whereas overwintering leeks, which are harvested in
the spring following the year they are planted, are grown more commonly in Europe, summer leaks,
grown and harvested in the same growing season, are grown more commonly in England. The latter
have lighter colored, less densely packed leaves and are not winter hardy. The related kurrat or Egyp-
tian leek (var.
kurrat
) is cultivated in the Arab world; kurrat produces no stalks, and the leaves are used
in salads or as seasoning. Another crop plant is elephant garlic (var.
ampeloprasum
), which grows and
looks like garlic but is botanically a leek. Its cloves are up to five times as large as typical garlic
cloves; its stalks can grow to be 5 ft. (150 cm) tall. Elephant garlic is used in the kitchen as a milder-
flavored garlic, and its leaves are also edible.
Leek seeds
