Nutritional composition of some jute genotypes as vegetables

Abstract

ABSTRACT Jute (Corchorus sp.) is consumed as a leafy vegetable in many parts of the world. There is little information on nutritional composition of cultivated jute species and their wild relatives. To determine nutritional components of jute leaf, 3 C. capsularis L., germplasm, ‘Merha red’, ‘Merha green’, ‘Birol red’, a C. olitorius L., ‘Accession-3840ʹ, and ‘BJRI deshi pat shak-1ʹ and ‘BINA pat shak-1ʹ were examined, with the latter 2 as controls. In most cases, the four wild species contained more vitamins and minerals, and had more surviving plants per unit area, compared with controls. The highest percent protein and ash, highest leaf area, and most leaves per plant, were in the controls. The desired biochemical properties with high heritability and genetic advance can likely be transmitted from wild germplasm to cultivated C. capsularis species through crossing, but evaluation in other agro-climatic regions is needed to determine the efficacy of wild germplasm as donor parent.