AGRONOMIC TRAITS OF CABBAGE CULTIVARS FOR SAUERKRAUT PRODUCTION

Abstract

To identify white cabbage cultivars of suitable agronomic and physical traits for sauerkraut production, 7 domestic varieties and populations as well as 16 imported hybrid cultivars (cvs) were tested in 2001 and 2002 at the family farm. Field trials were laid out according to the randomized block scheme with four replications (plot area 10.4 m2, spacing 0.65 m × 0.4 m). A significant share of undeveloped plants (31 to 56%) was recorded in domestic varieties. Cultivars ‘ Gideon’ , ‘ Cassandra’ , ‘ Fieldwinner’ , ‘ Ramada’ , ‘ Cecile’ , ‘ Krautman’ , ‘ Krautkaiser’ , ‘ Atria’ and ‘ Azan’ stood out with statistically comparable yields (46.4 to 74.7 t/ha). Relatively uniform individual head weight (coefficient of variation less than 25%) was recorded for ‘ Arena’ , ‘ Atria’ , ‘ Krautman’ , ‘ Metis’ and ‘ Ultor’ . Domestic varieties have generally flatter heads than hybrid cultivars (head diameter-to-height ratio 1.25 to 1.55), but they also have a larger relative inner stem height (over 50%). Share of dry matter ranged from 6.39 to 9.96%, soluble solids (°Bx) from 4.0 to 7.0%, while the share of NaCl amounted to 0.10 to 0.17%. Total acidity ranged from 0.12 to 0.27%, and pH-values from 6.22 to 6.70. Considering the agronomic, physical and chemical traits of the raw material, the sensory attributes of the final product – sauerkraut, and also producer and consumer requirements, besides the leading domestic variety ‘ Varaždinski’ , ‘ Field winner’ and ‘ Krautman’ were selected for the main pickling season, ‘ Metis’ and ‘ Ultor’ for early pickling, and ‘ Arena’ and ‘ Atria’ for late pickling.