Yields, quality and nutritional parameters of radish (Raphanus sativus) cultivars when grown organically in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The potential cultivars of Chinese radish which can be introduced to the organic growing conditions of the Czech Republic was focused. We identified which of selected radish cultivars gave the best yields when grown organically, and which contained the highest contents of nutritionally important compounds, such as vitamin C, monosaccharides, fibre and selected minerals. Three cultivars (Jarola, Miyashige and Red Meat) were grown organically in the open field in Lednice during the years 2008 and 2009. All radish cultivars gave the sufficient yield (33-42 t/ha of marketable yield). The study of nutritional properties showed that cv. Red Meat had a significantly higher content of ascorbic acid (271 mg/kg in 2009). Cv. Miyashige had the highest content of fibre (1.7 g/100 g in 2009). Content of potassium was reasonably high, although there were significant différences between the cultivars. Cv. Jarola had the highest content of calcium (157 mg/kg in 2009).