Response of Chinese Cabbage Cultivars to Petiole Spotting and Bacterial Soft Rot

Abstract

Nine chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris ssp. pekinensis group var. cephalata) cultivars were evaluated for petiole spotting (gomasho) and bacterial soft rot (caused by Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora) in 1999 and fifteen in 2000 and 2001. The cultivars were arranged in a randomized complete block design in a Granby sandy loam soil with six replications in 1999 and three replications in 2000 and 2001, at the Greenhouse and Processing Crops Research Centre, Harrow, Ontario, Canada. Plants were harvested in the fall of each year during two harvest periods, one for early-maturing cultivars, and one for late-maturing cultivars. At harvest, the percent bacterial soft rot, percent marketable heads, plant size, uniformity of harvest maturity, and the mean head weight were determined for each cultivar. The number and weight of spotted leaves was determined by rating (0 to 5 scale) each leaf. Petiole spotting was also rated following storage at 2 °C (36 °F) and 89% ± 5% relative humidiyt for 3 to 4 weeks in 1999 and 2000. `Yuki', `Manoko', and `Summer Top' had lowest losses from bacterial soft rot while `Akala', `Ohken 75', `Spring Flavor', and `Yuki' had low levels of petiole spotting. Cold storage increased the incidence of the spotting disorder for most cultivars.