TRIALS REPORT. CAULIFLOWER, coloured and Romanesco, for autumn heading.

Transcription

1 TRIALS REPORT 2005 CAULIFLOWER, coloured and Romanesco, for autumn heading. Trials Office The Royal Horticultural Society Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB

2 AGM AGM Entries receiving The Award of Garden Merit (H4) 'Cheddar' F 1 AGM (H3) 2005 Sent by Pro-Veg Seeds Ltd. Hybrid. Firm, deep orange-yellow curds that keep their colour, both internally and externally when cooked. Average head diameter 16cm. First head cut 5 August 2005; last head cut 22 August. 24 of the curds cut were of first class quality. 'Emeraude' F 1 AGM (H3) 2005 Sent by Thompson & Morgan Ltd. Hybrid. Solid, heavy, bright green, smooth curds. They keep their surface colour when cooked, which contrasts well with the white internal flesh. Average head diameter 16cm. First head cut 17 August 2005; last head cut 1 September. 13 of the curds cut were of first class quality. 'Graffiti' F 1 AGM (H3) 2005 Sent by and available from Johnsons Seeds. Also offered by Sakata UK Ltd. Hybrid. Solid curds of good size and a very attractive amethyst colour. The colour fades a little if boiled but should keep its colour better if steamed. The raw curds have a good flavour and would be a colourful addition to a salad or dish of crudités. Average head diameter 16cm. First head cut 10 August last head cut 1 September. 17 of the curds cut of were first class quality. 1

3 'Veronica' F 1 AGM (H3) Sent by and available from E W King & Co Ltd. Also offered by Thompson & Morgan Ltd. Hybrid. Appetizing light green, Romanesco type. Good-sized heads are well shaped, uniform and solid. Average head diameter 16cm. First head cut 15 August 2005; last head cut 5 September. 18 of the curds cut were of first class quality. The following entries have been recommended for the AGM, but cannot receive the award until they are available to the public in retail catalogues. It is the responsibility of the sender to inform the Trials Office at Wisley that all queries have been resolved. SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY 'Collage' F 1 Sent by Sakata UK Ltd. Hybrid. Smooth, dense, deep orange-yellow curds that keep their colour, both internally and externally when cooked. Average head diameter 16cm. First head cut 15 August 2005; last head cut 1 September. 17 of the curds cut were of first class quality 'Vitaverde' F 1 Sent by Thompson & Morgan Ltd. Hybrid. Uniform crop of good sized, smooth bright green curds that keep their surface colour when cooked, making an attractive contrast with the white internal branches. Average head diameter 15cm. First head cut 5 August 2005; last head cut 5 September. 26 of the curds cut were of first class quality 'White Gold' F 1 Sent by Elsoms Seeds Ltd. Hybrid. Light green, Romanesco type, with solid well-protected curds. The Committee remarked on the misleading name. Average head diameter 14cm. First head cut 15 August 2005; last head cut 22 August. 14 of the curds cut were of first class quality H3 = plants hardy outside in some regions or in particular situations or which, whilst usually grown outside in summer, need frost-free protection in winter. 2

4 Sources of seed for these cultivars vary from year to year. Please see the Royal Horticultural Society's leaflet Award of Garden Merit Vegetables for current stockists. This leaflet is available on the web at A copy can also be obtained by sending an A4 sized, self addressed envelope with two first class stamps to: 'AGM List', Botany Department, Royal Horticultural Society Garden, Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB Trial Notes Objective: Entries: The objectives of the trial were to compare and assess a range of coloured and Romanesco type cauliflower cultivars; to look at their performance in different parts of the country; to recommend the Award of Garden Merit [AGM] to outstanding cultivars for garden use and to demonstrate the cultivation of this crop. There were 27 entries submitted by various seed companies in the UK and USA. A parallel trial was held at East Ruston Old Vicarage Garden, Norfolk, to assess the performance of selected cultivars in another part of the country, where there are different soil and climate conditions. The entries selected for growing at East Ruston were predominantly those that were listed in retail catalogues. Cultivation: At Wisley the planting site was manured and hand dug in the autumn of Seed was sown under glass on the 20 May 2005 into seed trays and drenched with Aliette (a fungicide). Seedlings were pricked out into P24 modules when large enough to handle and again watered in with Aliette. A cover of Environmesh was used to protect the crop from insect pests and a spray was used to prevent downy mildew. The site on the Trials Field was cultivated by hand, raked even and marked out into rows 60cm apart prior to transplanting at 45cm spacing, on the 15 June plants of each entry were grown in three rows of 3.6m long. A collar was placed around each plant to provide a physical barrier against cabbage root fly. In addition, netting was erected over the trial to keep off pigeons. The crop was top dressed with nitrogen in July. Majestik (a natural plant extract that works by physical action) was used as a spray to control Whitefly and Decis was used against caterpillars. The trial was watered as necessary. At East Ruston transplanting took place on 20 June. The plants were watered at this time, but no further irrigation was used until the plants had started to produce heads in late August. The crop was then watered regularly. Netting was used against Cabbage White butterflies. Findings: The Subcommittee were generally impressed with the overall quality of the trial and entries, commenting that it could be difficult to get good quality heads at this time of the year when temperatures are high. They noted that on the Wisley site sowing and transplanting could have taken place two to three weeks later. ACX 860, CLX and 'Green Harmony' had all run to seed by the end of July at Wisley, with CLX and 'Green Harmony' also bolting at East Ruston by the middle of August. The rest of the entries at Wisley had, in most cases, started cropping by the middle of August, which was earlier than expected and would put most of them outside of the autumn criteria for the trial. However, the majority of entries at East Ruston had only just begun to produce heads at the very end of August and the Subcommittee took into account the fact that the Trials Field at Wisley is on a very warm, south-facing slope that generally produces crops weeks ahead of other sites. They agreed that on other sites in the UK the entries would mature as autumn cauliflower, so the title of "autumn heading" was retained. 3

5 Purple-headed cauliflower cultivars have been available for many years as Cape Broccoli. The Romanesco types have heads composed of conical green florets arranged in a rising spiral, with the florets decreasing in size from the edge to the centre of the curd. These were grown traditionally in Italy, long before becoming popular in this country. With cultivars such as 'Collage' and 'Cheddar', that are now becoming popular, the Subcommittee commented that for years hybridisers had been working to breed out the creamy colour and produce a whiter curd, but now there was a demand for yellow and orange heads. The plants at East Ruston were not sprayed against caterpillars, but had been netted to protect them from Cabbage White butterflies. This had only been partially successful and illustrated the problem that the gardener has when growing cauliflowers without the use of chemical controls that are only available to the professional Judging: The Vegetable Trials Subcommittee inspected the trial at intervals throughout the growing season. The Trials Office provided records of the number, size and quality of curds cut and the Subcommittee assessed the produce on 17 August and again on 1 September 2005 for the Award of Garden Merit [AGM] using the following criteria: quality : colour : maturity : head symmetry : freedom from defects. AWARD NAME SENDER AGM (H3) 2005 'Cheddar' Pro-Veg Seeds Ltd. AGM (H3) 2005 'Emeraude' Thompson & Morgan AGM (H3) 2005 'Graffiti' Johnsons Seeds AGM (H3) 2005 'Veronica' E W King & Co Ltd AGM (H3) 2005 STA 'Collage' Sakata UK Ltd AGM (H3) 2005 STA 'Vitaverde' Thompson & Morgan AGM (H3) 2005 STA 'White Gold' Elsoms Seeds AGM(H4) 1994 'Violet Queen' Thompson & Morgan AGM(H4) 1994 'Violetta Italia' Western Hybrid ACX 800 Pro-Veg Seeds Ltd. ACX 860 Pro-Veg Seeds Ltd. ACX 880 Pro-Veg Seeds Ltd. 'Amfora' D T Brown 'Celio' Clause Tezier CLX Thompson & Morgan 'Di Sicilia Violetto' Seeds of Italy 'Gitano' Clause Tezier 'Green Harmony' Moles Seeds 'Magnifico' Clause Tezier 'Panther' Thompson & Morgan 'Trevi' Suttons STA = Subject to availability 4

6 Addresses of senders Clause Tezier, PO Box 111, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire LN7 6XY D T Brown, Bury Road, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7PR Elsoms Seeds Ltd, Pinchbeck Road, Spalding, Lincolnshire PE11 1QG E W King & Co Ltd, Monks Farm, Kelvedon, Essex CO5 9PG Johnsons Seeds, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7QB Moles Seeds, Turkey Cock Lane, Stanway, Colchester, Essex CO3 8PD Pro-Veg Seeds Ltd, 6 Shingay Lane, Sawston, Cambridge CB2 4SS Sakata UK Ltd, Spalding Road, Sutterton, Boston, Lincolnshire PE20 2EW Samuel Dobie & Son, Long Road, Paignton, Devon TQ4 7SX Seeds of Italy, 260 West Hendon Broadway, London NW9 6BE Suttons Consumer Products Ltd, Woodview Road, Paignton, Devon TQ4 7NG Thompson & Morgan Ltd, Poplar Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk IP8 3BU Western Hybrid Seeds Inc., P O Box 1169, Hamilton City, CA 95951, USA Source: Trials Office, The Royal Horticultural Society Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB trials@rhs.org.uk. web: 5