Abstract
Curly kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) and Chinese kale (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra) are cruciferous vegetables, which have recently gained great popularity in the world as a ‘superfood’. Generally, kale has the capacity to tolerate diverse climatic conditions while demanding fewer inputs, thus making it possible to cultivate them with a minimum cost for crop management. However, kale is still not widespread in Sri Lanka as a vegetable. Therefore, it has not been a commercialized crop to date. This study was conducted to explore the potential for cultivating kale in Sri Lanka. Two cultivars of curly kale (‘Dwarf green curled’ and ‘Winterbor F1’) and Chinese kale were cultivated in three agro-climatic zones representing three main climatic zones in the country, namely the Mid-Country Wet Zone, Mid country Intermediate Zone and Low-Country Dry Zone, using three different media (M1: Existing soil in each location; M2: Sand and coir dust mixture – ratio 1:1; M3: Sand, coir dust, and soil - ratio 1:1:1) at each location. The experiment was carried out as a three-factor factorial with three replicates as a pot experiment. Based on the present study results, even though all the varieties displayed a significantly (p < 0.05) higher growth in terms of dry matter accumulation in the Wet Zone, the growth in the other two locations was also found to be satisfactory. Dry matter accumulation was not significantly different among the varieties within each location. Different media did not have a significant influence on growth. Even though the antioxidant contents in all varieties varied among locations, the values were within the acceptable range. Therefore, both curly kale and Chinese kale can be successfully grown in the tested locations in Sri Lanka and can be easily introduced to local consumers as a ‘superfood’.
Highlights
Patterns of food intake play an essential role in the maintenance of the health and well-being of people
The results of the soil analysis revealed that total Nitrogen, available Phosphorus, exchangeable Potassium, electrical conductivity (EC), soil pH, and Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) of the media in three locations were within the levels favorable for crop cultivation
The zones were identified at the agro-ecological region level as WM2, IM3, and DL1 (Table 1), hereafter, those regions will be referred to as Wet zone (WZ), Intermediate zone (IZ), and Dry zone (DZ) for clarity
Summary
Patterns of food intake play an essential role in the maintenance of the health and well-being of people. It still lacks popularity among people in the country. It can be grown in a wide range of soils with a minimum cost for crop management. It is tolerant to unfavorable climate conditions (Samec et al, 2018) It has not been a commercialized crop in Sri Lanka to date. At the home garden level, few plants are good enough for family consumption. Adding this vegetable as a part of the diet at least 2-3 times a week is healthier because of its health benefits and as a change for the common vegetables that we eat daily
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