Brassica oleracea L. subsp. capitata (Cabbage)

Crop Type: Garden Crop

Breeding system: Predominantly allogamous

Brassica crops are used for human nutrition; they include important vegetable crops such as B. oleracea (broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower) and B. rapa (Chinese cabbage, pak choi and turnip) as well as oilseed crops such as B. napus, B. juncea and B. rapa which collectively provide 12% of the world edible vegetable oil production (Labana and Gupta 1993).

Cabbage is grown for an annual vegetable crop. Its origins are hard to trace due to many varieties of similar leafy greens being classified broadly as ‘brassicas’, though it was likely domesticated in Europe before 1000 BC. Heads of cabbage are usually picked in the first year of growth, while plants designated for seed production will be grown for another year before seeds are harvested. Cabbage is regarded as a nutritious vegetable and contains high levels of vitamins C and K (Web.archive.org, 2019).  Fermented cabbage, or sauerkraut, is considered to be a probiotic (Orgeron II, Corbin and Scott, 2016).

References

• Hammer K, Gladis T, Laghetti G, Pignone D (2013) The wild and the grown - Remarks about the botanical classification of Brassica. Acta Hortic 1005:49–60.
• Orgeron II, R., Corbin, A. and Scott, B. (2016). Sauerkraut: A Probiotic Superfood. Functional Foods in Health and Disease, 6(8), p.536.
• Labana KS, Gupta ML (1993) Importance and Origin. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 1–7
• Web.archive.org (2019)’USDA database table for raw cabbage per 100 g’. US Department of Agriculture, National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, version SR-27. 2014. [Accessed 4 Dec. 2019]

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