Vegetable brassicas and related crucifers

339 Pages·2007·3.984 MB·English

by  Geoffrey R Dixon

C P S H
ROP RODUCTION CIENCE IN ORTICULTURE
S
ERIES
Series Editors: Jeff Atherton, Professor of Tropical
Horticulture, University of the West Indies, Barbados, and
Alun Rees, Horticultural Consultant and formerly Editor,
Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology.
This series examines economically important horticultural crops selected from
the major production systems in temperate, subtropical and tropical climatic
areas. Systems represented range from open field and plantation sites to
protected plastic and glass houses, growing rooms and laboratories. Emphasis is
placed on the scientific principles underlying crop production practices rather
than on providing empirical recipes for uncritical acceptance. Scientific
understanding provides the key to both reasoned choice of practice and the
solution of future problems.
Students and staff at universities and colleges throughout the world involved
in courses in horticulture, as well as in agriculture, plant science, food science
and applied biology at degree, diploma or certificate level will welcome this series
as a succinct and readable source of information. The books will also be
invaluable to progressive growers, advisers and end-product users requiring an
authoritative, but brief, scientific introduction to particular crops or systems. Keen
gardeners wishing to understand the scientific basis of recommended practices
will also find the series very useful.
The authors are all internationally renowned experts with extensive
experience of their subjects. Each volume follows a common format covering all
aspects of production, from background physiology and breeding, to propagation
and planting, through husbandry and crop protection, to harvesting, handling and
storage. Selective references are included to direct the reader to further
information on specific topics.
Titles available:
1. Ornamental Bulbs, Corms and TubersA.R. Rees
2. CitrusF.S. Davies and L.G. Albrigo
3. Onions and Other Vegetable AlliumsJ.L. Brewster
4. Ornamental Bedding PlantsA.M. Armitage
5. Bananas and PlantainsJ.C. Robinson
6. CucurbitsR.W. Robinson and D.S. Decker-Walters
7. Tropical FruitsH.Y. Nakasone and R.E. Paull
8. Coffee, Cocoa and TeaK.C. Willson
9. Lettuce, Endive and ChicoryE.J. Ryder
10. Carrots and Related Vegetable Umbelliferae V.E. Rubatzky, C.F. Quiros
and P.W. Simon
11. StrawberriesJ.F. Hancock
12. Peppers: Vegetable and Spice CapsicumsP.W. Bosland and E.J. Votava
13. TomatoesE. Heuvelink
14. Vegetable Brassicas and Related CrucifersG.R. Dixon
This book is dedicated to the memory of my brothers
Peter Thomas and Michael James Dixon
V B
EGETABLE RASSICAS AND
R C
ELATED RUCIFERS
Geoffrey R. Dixon
Centre for Horticulture and Landscape, School of Biological Sciences,
University of Reading, UK
(formerly at The Department of Bioscience, The Royal College,
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK)
CABI is a trading name of CAB International
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Nosworthy Way 875 Massachusetts Avenue
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Website: www.cabi.org
© G.R. Dixon 2007. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means,
electronically, mechanically, by photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the copyright owners.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library,
London, UK.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dixon, Geoffrey R.
Vegetable brassicas and related crucifers / Geoffrey R Dixon.
p. cm. -- (Crop production science in horticulture series ; 14)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-85199-395-8 (alk. paper)
1. Brassica. 2. Cole crops. 3. Bok choy. I. Title. II. Series:Crop production science in
horticulture ; 14.
SB317.B65D59 2006
635’.34--dc22
2006006061
ISBN: 978 0 85199 395 9
Typeset by Columns Design Ltd, Reading, UK.
Printed and bound in the UK by Biddles Ltd, King’s Lynn.
C
ONTENTS
PREFACE vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS(COPYRIGHTS) xi
1
ORIGINSANDDIVERSITYOFBRASSICAANDITSRELATIVES 1
2
BREEDING, GENETICSANDMODELS 35
3
SEEDANDSEEDLINGMANAGEMENT 73
4
DEVELOPMENTALPHYSIOLOGY 91
5
CROPAGRONOMY 113
6
COMPETITIVEECOLOGYANDSUSTAINABLEPRODUCTION 141
7
PESTSANDPATHOGENS 183
8
POSTHARVESTQUALITYANDVALUE 243
REFERENCES 277
INDEX 307
v
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P
REFACE
Brassica vegetables serve mankind as they have done for millennia as sources
of food, fodder and forage. The quiet mundanity of rural cabbage yards belies
the botanical miracles taking place within them by these arch-exponents of
genotypic and phenotypic diversity and flexibility. Brassicas provide one of the
finest examples of convergent evolution in the horticultural forms of the
EuropeanBrassica oleracea and Oriental B. rapa. These mirror each otherin a
diverse spectrum of fresh foodstuffs that have been selected and bred for
particular regional preferences over many centuries. Travelling alongside
through evolutionary time are numerous other taxonomic variants brought
about through natural genetic manipulation and polyploidy that produce oil-
rich and condiment crops.
This book per forceof sizeconcentrates on the vegetable brassicas, but has
made great use of the science underlying the biggest world Brassicacrop on an
area basis, oilseeds and canola. It is impossible to study vegetable brassicas
without being influenced by B. napus and the other oil-rich crops, but to
include them in any detail would have required a vastly larger volume. Only
very recently has science begun recognizing the nutritional benefits of both
vegetables and oilseed brassicas. In comparative terms, only more recently
have the biological properties of some of their wild relatives come to the fore.
That tiny weed or rock garden speciality, depending on your horticultural
predilection,Arabidopsis thaliana, has achieved enormous scientific clout as a
model system for molecular biological studies. In future decades it could
outstrip some of the crop vegetable brassicas in its economic significance.
In considering the horticultural science underpinning Brassica crops, I
have attempted to think forward into those aspects that will be important for
students and others who use this book and whose working careers may have
three or more decades still to run. Consequently, there is an emphasis on
husbandry as the key tool in pest, pathogen and physiological disorder
control. Plant breeding and the potential for genetic manipulation are
emphasized. The brassicas are of pivotal significance in providing wholesome
and nutritious foodstuffs for our burgeoning world population and are
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viii Preface
capable of doing even greater service to mankind when tailored to use land
with an elevated salt content and minimal water supply. Rich sources of
pharmaceuticals could also flow from the brassicas in the next couple of
decades.
The view of vegetable brassicas as expressed here is entirely my own, and
I fully accept responsibility for all errors, omissions and unconventional
thinking. Much tribute is due, however, to my very good friend Dr Michael
Dickson of Cornell University, New York State, USA. He has been a constantly
supportive mentor during the overlong gestation of the book. Mike’s
comforting and ever-kindly help is greatly valued. Indeed, he penned parts of
Chapter 2 relating to Plant Breeding and Genetics, and sections concerned
with pest and pathogen resistance in Chapter 7, for which his help is
gratefully acknowledged.
Similarly, substantial gratitude is also due to Professor Paul Williams of
Wisconsin University at Madison, USA; he has offered abiding friendship, deep
intellectual sustenance and a common view of the convergence of biological
science and practice over many decades.
The roots of this book are set deep in my own lifetime of scientific
fascination with the biology of Brassicaallied to their commercial production.
These bind together early horticultural experiences in the Thames Valley, the
broad fenlands of East Anglia from a Cambridge plant pathologist’s
perspective, the Scottish Mearns, Fife and the Moray Firth as Head of
Horticulture in the Aberdeen School of Agriculture and Scottish Agricultural
College. These experiences are topped by all too brief acquaintances with the
kale yards of Europe, extensive and intensive efficiencies of the Valley Lands of
California, the fertile fields of Wisconsin and the sheer magical diversities of
Asian cropping. Founding influences in understanding the true nature of
scholarship in the natural sciences based around the concept of ‘One Foot in
the Furrow’ were my trio of mentors at Wye College (then London University’s
Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture). These true teachers, Professor
Herbert W. Miles, Dr Edward H. Wilkinson and MrAlan A. Jackson, entranced
young minds in the early 1960s with a rich mixture of ecology, crop
physiology, plant breeding and commercial instinct founded firmly in the
nascent implications of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.
Committing this text to paper needed the support and encouragement of
many other friends and professional colleagues. Particular gratitude goes to
Professors John Watson and John Anderson, previous and current Heads of
the Department of Bioscience; MrStewart Roy, Faculty Officer in the Faculty
of Science; and Professor Sir John Arbuthnott, Vice-Chancellor and Principal
of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Collectively they provided a
welcome haven for scholarship. Recently, this Scottish haven has been
exchanged for Professor Paul Hadley’s equally warm welcome in Reading
University’s Centre for Horticulture and Landscape.
My dear wife, Kathy, continues with her unstinting support of my life and
Preface ix
interests, aided by Lucy and Richard whose mirthful tolerance of Dad’s odd
interest in cabbages keeps me sane and smiling. Finally, but not least by any
means, I thank my editor, Tim Hardwick, for his continued support and
enthusiasm for this book that has helped ensure its completion.
Geoffrey R. Dixon
Sherborne, UK
2006
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