Nutritional compositions and yield of sweet fennel cultivars - Foeniculum vulgare Mill. ssp. vulgare var.azoricum (Mill.) Thell

Abstract

In two-year trials taking place at the Faculty of Horticulture in Lednice (Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno), three cultivars of sweet fennel (<I>Foeniculum vulgare</I> Mill. ssp.<I>vulgare</I> var.<I> azoricum</I> [Mill.] Thell) – Precoce di Bologna, Rudy F1 and Zefa Fino have been evaluated. The trials were conducted in two terms in each of the trial years (summer and autumn term). In the harvest time, nutritional value was evaluated: content of vitamin C, minerals (K, Na, Ca, Mg), dietary fibre, dry matter and nitrates. Besides, the weights of pseudobulbs and its yield have been evaluated. The content of the monitored substances ranged in the following intervals: vitamin C 87–347 mg/kg, K 4,241–5,851 mg/kg, Na 77–512 mg/kg, Ca 56–363 mg/kg, Mg 82–389 mg/kg, dietary fibre 5.75–7.59 g/kg, dry matter 61–75.8 g/kg, nitrates 650 to 3,767 mg/kg, weight of pseudobulb 199–383 g. A significant influence of cultivar on K content has been observed; furthermore, growing term markedly influenced the content of vitamin C, K, Na, Ca, Mg, dietary fibre, nitrates and on weight of pseudobulb. A significant influence of year on the content of vitamin C, Ca, Mg, dietary fibre, dry matter, nitrates and weight of pseudobulb has been recorded as well. From the three tested cultivars, Zefa Fino showed significantly higher average yield (331 kg/100 m<sup>2</sup>) in summer terms and Rudy F1 (267 kg/100 m<sup>2</sup>) in autumn terms.