Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var.capitata) ,Introduction, Breeding Objectives, Breeding Methods, Varieties and Achivements

2.  Introduction
 Breeding objectives
 Breeding methods
 Varieties and Achievements
 References

3. Botanical name Brassica oleracea
Family Brassicacae
Cultivar group Capitata
Origin Eastern Mediterranean and Asia minor
region (prior to 1000 B.C.)
Cultivar group members
White cabbage (capitata var. alba L.)
Red cabbage (capitata f. rubra)
Savoy cabbage (capitata var. sabauda L.)

4.  Spring Greens – Loose-headed, commonly sliced and
steamed.
 Green – Light to dark green, slightly pointed heads. This is
the most commonly grown cultivar.
 Savoy – Characterized by crimped or curly leaves, mild
flavor and tender texture.
 Red – Smooth red leaves, often used for pickling or
stewing
 White (also called Dutch) – Smooth and pale green leaves

5.  Important vegetable grown throughout the world.
 Second most important cole crop after
Cauliflower.
 Heads average between 1 and 8 pounds (0.5 and 4
kg), with earlier varieties producing smaller heads.
 Culinary use- ranging from eating raw and simple
steaming to pickling, stewing, sauteing or braising.
 Nutrition and health- Cabbage is a good source of
beta-carotene, vitamin C, fibres and anti-
carcinogenic (anthocyanins) agents.
 As a medicinal herb to prevent the effects of
alcohol, as compresses for ulcers and breast
abscesses, treatments for rheumatism, sore
throat, hoarseness, colic, and etc.

6. Alternaria Blight Black rot
Downy mildew Head rot

7. Insect pests
White Butterfly Diamond back moth
Cabbage maggot Cabbage Moth

9. Country
Production
(tonnes) Source
People's Republic of China 25,156,578 FAO estimate
India 6,356,800 official figure
Russia 2,732,510 official figure
Japan 2,247,700 official figure
South Korea 2,035,700 official figure
Ukraine 1,497,400 official figure
Indonesia 1,384,660 official figure
Poland 1,141,200 official figure
United States 1,034,050 official figure
Romania 983,648 official figure
World 57,966,986 Aggregate

10.  Higher yield
 Longer staying capacity in the field after head
formation
 Narrow, short, and soft core
 Shorter stem
 Cultivars suitable to grow under mild winter
 Storage ability
 Head compactness
 Resistance to diseases- Club root (Xanthomonas
campestris), Downy mildew (Peronospora
parasitica), Fusarium yellows, Leaf spots, Leaf
Blight (Alternaria brassicola), Ring spot, and
Black rot

11.  Insect resistance- From diamondback moth
(Plutella xylostella), cabbage moth (Mamestra
brassicae), cabbage root fly (Delia radicum),
cabbage maggot (Hylemya brassicae), and
cabbage white butterfly(Pieris rapae)

12.  Mass selection
 Inbreeding (in cultivars with low level of Self
incompatability and inbreeding depressions)

13. The self-incompatability is used to produce hybrid seeds
in cabbage. The individual plants are self-pollinated
through bud pollination. Selection is applied for
desirable characters and strong level of self-
incompatability.
Single cross
 Cross between two inbreds. They are more uniform
than hybrids produce from double/top crosses.
Double cross
 Cross between two single crosses. Seeds are harvested
from both the single cross, which themselves are
vigorous and therefore cost of hybrid seeds is reduce.

14. Top cross
Cross between a single self-incompatible
inbred line as female and good open
pollinated cultivars as pollen parents.

15.  Transgenic cabbage has been developed by
the use of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-
mediated transfer of genes
 Transgenic cabbage for controlling of
Diamond back moth has been developed.

16. Classification based on maturity, head shape,
head size and leaf colour
 Flat Dutch or drumhead group
 Copenhagen market group
 Savoy group
 Danish ball head group
 Alpha group
 Volga group
 Red cabbage group.

17.  Copenhagen Market- head weight 1.5- 3kg,
and 75- 85 days for head formation.
 Golden Acre- earliest variety, 1-1.5 kg head
weight, and takes 60-65 days.
 Pride of India- selection form copenhagen
market, and 1.5-2 kg head weight.
 Pusa Mukta- inter-varietal cross of EC 2885
and EC 10109, and black rot resistant.
 Pusa Ageti- Tropical variety, 0.6-1.2 kg head
weight, and takes 70-90 days.
 Pusa Drum Head- 3-4 kg, and takes 70-75 days.
 September- solid heads weighs 3-5 kg.

18.  Ram, H. H and Singh, H. H. (2003)Vegetable
breeding Principles and Practices.Kalyani
Publishers, New Delhi.
 Singh, K (1993) Improvement of vegetable
crops in India. Vegetable Science., 20:1-13.