Varietal evaluation of organic leafy green vegetables for urban and semi urban growers

Abstract

Organic farming is becoming popular among the consumers and growers in urban areas as well. Twenty-four cultivars of six leafy green vegetables were evaluated at the certified organic field at Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN. In lettuce, 'Buttercrunch' provided the highest yield reaching 21,116 kg ha-1 followed by 'Merville 4 season' with a yield of 19,195 kg ha-1. 'Red Romaine' exhibited the lowest yield of 10,180 kg ha-1. 'White Russian' kale had the highest yield (20,388 kg ha-1), followed by 'Red Russian' kale (18,380 kg ha-1). The minimum yielding cultivar among kale was 'Lacinto' with a yield of 10,066 kg ha-1. In mustard greens, yields of 'Green Wave', 'Southern Giant Curled', 'Tendergreen', and 'Giant Red' were 21,734, 18,509, 31,067 and 28,823 kg ha-1, respectively. In collards, 'Champion' provided the highest yield with 20,254 kg ha-1 followed by 'Morris Heading' with 18,502 kg ha-1. The 'Rainbow Chard' yield was 19,519 kg ha-1 and the 'Golden Chard' was 16,492 kg ha-1. In amaranths, 'Love Lies Bleeding' performed better than the 'Hopi Red Dye' with yield of 11,545 kg ha-1.