This document summarizes information about cabbage breeding. It discusses the botanical classification of cabbage, its origin in the Eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor regions, and the evolution of headed cabbage in Germany. It also outlines common cabbage varieties and their characteristics. The document then covers cabbage genetics, objectives of cabbage breeding including disease resistance and adaptation to tropical climates, and methods for cabbage breeding such as introduction, mass selection, pedigree selection, heterosis breeding, and mutation breeding. Major disease resistant varieties are also listed.

1. Cabbage Breeding

2. Introduction
 Botanical name of cultivated group: Brassica oleracea var. capitata.
 Ancestor: A wild non heading type colewort i.e. Brassica sylvestris.
 Family- Brassicaceae, Chromosome no.- 2n=18
 Origin- Eastern Mediterranean and Asia minor region. Real headed cabbage
was evolved in Germany.
 Cultivated group members-
1. White cabbage- capitata var. alba L. Most common
shapes for cultivated cabbages are pointed,
round and flat or drumhead.
2. Red cabbage: capitata var. rubra L. Leaves have distinct
coat of wax and tolerant to diamond back moth.
3. Savoy cabbage- capitata var. sabuda L. Blistered leaves and the
shape is pointed round, flat. Probably originated in Italy and spread
to France and Germany in the 16th and 17th centuries.

3. Classification of variability
 Colour and form of heads
1. White cabbage : B. oleracean var. Capitata L. f. alba
2. Red cabbage : B. oleracean var. capitata L. f. rubra
3. Savoy cabbage: B. oleraceae var. Sabanda
 Place of origin:
1. Mediterranean cabbage : B.O. var. capitata ssp. mediterranea
2. Oriental cabbage : B.O. var. cap. Ssp. orientalis
3. European cabbage: B.O. var. cap. Ssp. Europea
 Head shape:
1. Round shape : Eg. Golden Acre, Pride of India, Copenhagen Market
2. Flat head / drum head type: Eg. Pusa Drum Head
3. Conical head: Eg: Jersey Wakefield
4. Savoy type : Eg. Chieftain

4. Myers classification based on size and shape of head (Allen, 1914)
 Wakefield and Winning kadt group – Small, conical, early,
eg: Jersey Wakefield.
 Copenhagen Market – Round, early, large heads – Copenhagen Market
 Flat head / Drum Head – Flat, Pusa Drum Head
 Savoy group – Wrinkled leaves, high quality : Drum Head Savoy
 Danish ball head -Thin leaves, Compact head, fine texture.
Eg. Danish Ball Head
 Alpha group – Earliest group, very small heat, solid Eg. Miniature marrow
 Volga group – Thick leaves, loose bottom Eg. Volga
 Red cabbage : Similar to Danish ball head but have red colour leave.
Eg. Red Rock.

5. Genetics
 Stem pigmentation : monogenic – Purple dominant to green
 Core length : Digenic – Incomplete dominant gene action.
Short core x round head, long core x flat head.
 Leaf glossiness : Digenic – Normal dominant to glossy
 Gene symbol
 A : Anthicyanin development several alleles
 ac1 : Albugo candida race 1 susceptibility
 Fn : Fern leaf partially dominant
 Hr1 : Hairy leaf
 ms1 : Male sterility – absence of pollen
 S2-,S-14-25, 63 : Self incompatibility allelic series of varying expressivity.

6. Objectives of breeding
 High yield and earliness
 Hard and compact head with small stem
 Uniform and good looking heads
 Good keeping quality
 Low stem / leaf ratio
 High ascorbic acid
 Resistant to black rot
 Develop varieties suited to warm and humid tropics

7. Breeding methods
 Introduction : Golden Acre, August, Copenliagen Market.
 Mass selection: Characters which can improved through Mass Sel.-
1) Maturity days to 50 per cent heading, 2) Stalk length, 3) Number of non
wrapper leaves, 4) Frame or plant spread,
5) Shape of head – Pollen and equal diameter.
Normal or spherical head 0.8- 1.0 shape index.
Drum head ; SI < 0.5,
Conical head SI > 1.0
6) Compactness of head – associated with short sized core, 7) Net weight of
head < 750 g, 8) Number of marketable heads, 9) Bolting, 10)Yield
 Pedigree method :
Sel.8 (Pusa Mukta): Resistance to Black rot. From EC 10109 X EC 24855.

8.  Heterosis breeding : F1 hybrids. The phenomenon of self incompability
can be utilized is exploit heterosis. Heterosis is observed for earliness, head
size, uniformity in head shape and size and yield.
 F1 seed production:
 Use of ST : Two inbred lines of good specific C.A. for yield are selected
which are self incompatible. These two lines are SI and cross compatible
because of different.
 Single dominant market gene (eg. purple stem pigment) can be tagged with
the male line. But have no collect seeds from female only.
 Synthetics of produced : Set of inbred lines tested for their specific
combining ability effects and differing in the S alleles. These inbred lines
are grown in alternate rows in isolation. Random mating is allowed. Seeds
collected from such a random material population form synthetic seed.
Steps are same as F1 hybrids development.
EG: Katrain, Glory, Pride of India, India Market, Vermas Pride, Pride of Asia,
Golden Acre and Pusa Mukta

9.  Mutation breeding :
 Spontaneous mutant characterized by the lack of waxy layer on leaves has
been located.
 The absence of wax is associated with a significantly higher content of
ascorbic acid, dry matter and coarse fibre compared with normal type.
 Mutant 19P-2 of variety Kjure17 induced by irradiated seeds with 60 kr
gamma rays was semi sterile.
 Mutation breeding is resorted to eliminate defects and to induce characters
like male sterility.
 Polyploid breeding :
 Produced by using colchicine and colchamine latter requiring higher dose
than formal.
 Few tetraploids developed had larger compact heads with the interia stalk.
 Shorter than the diploids.
 These had higher number of stomata on upper and lower leaf surfaces and
higher number of chloroplasm in the cells of stomata.

10. Disease Resistant variety
Tip burn (non-parasitic) Sisconsin
DM (Peronospora parasitica) January King
Yellow (Fus ox. F. coglutinaus) Wisconsin Ball Head
Club root (plasmodiophora
brassica)
Late Moscow
PM (Mycosphaerella brassicola) Louisiana
Black rot Louisiana and selectionv 8 Pusa
Mukta from IARI
Mosaic Badger Ball Head
Salient breeding achievements
 Pusa Ageti : IARI, New Delhi. New heat tolerant varieties.
70-90 days, 600 to 1200 g. 11-38 q/ha. Compact head.