Breeding Leafy Vegetable Cultivars for Summer

News source: Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute, Taiwan ROC.
See PDF file for e-mail address, 2002-04-01

New Amaranth Cultivar in Taiwan

New amaranth cultivar, "Tai-nong No. 1" has been released recently by the Taiwan Agriculture Research Institute. It has characteristics of disease resistance, early maturity, cold tolerance, and high yield. A major problem in cultivating amaranth during the summer in Taiwan is white rust, a fungal disease caused by Albugo blitium Kuntz.

Resistance to White Rust Disease

The new cultivar "Tai-nong No. 1" had a lower incidence of disease, both in the field and after inoculation by spraying a suspension of zoosporangia. The disease ratio of the control was 100%, while in "Tai-nong No. 1" it was only 5 _ 10%. The disease index of the control was 84%, compared to only 2% in "Tai-nong No. 1".

Short Cultivation Period

The cultivation period of local amaranth cultivars is usually 21 days in summer. "Tai-nong No. 1" can be harvested after only 18 days, a reduction of the cultivation period of 14%. This is very important when crops are being grown after typhoons or flooding in summer. In March, which is towards the end of winter in Taiwan and cool, "Tai-nong No. 1" grew faster than the local red and white cultivar, and could be harvested after ten days. If "Tai-nong No. 1" was given the same cultivation period as the local cultivar, its yield was three times higher because of its faster growth rate.

Download the PDF. of this document, 25,952 bytes (25.3 KB).