THE MORPHOLOGICAL AND PRODUCTIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME KALE GENOTYPES

Abstract

Kale (Brassica oleracea L. convar. acephala (DC.), belongs to the Brassicaceae family and has a wide variety of uses: culinary, in landscape architecture, in traditional medicine, or as a plant with allelopathic potential through plant residues introduced into the soil releases glycosinolates that have a nematocidal effect. In Europe there are numerous genotypes introduced into the culture. The aim of this study was to analyze the morphological and production characters of an assortment of kale genotypes grown in South-West Region of Romania. The morphological character with the highest variability was plant height, which varied from 45 cm to 74.2 cm. The leaf rosette diameter registered the lowest value of 57 cm and the highest was 70.4 cm. The lenght and width of the leaf varied from 35.4 cm to 45.4 cm and respectively, from 9.05 cm to 16.47 cm, while the average weight of fresh leaves raged between 28.98 g and 56,15 g. All previously mentioned characters influenced useful production of leafy cabbage, which registered an amplitude of variation between 2.23 kg/m2 and 4.90 kg/m2. The morphological and productivity variability registered from within the analyzed genotypes, indicates a high diversity and a degree off their adaptability for cultivation in extensive crops in the SouthWestern area of Romania.