Results of variety testing of medium-late varieties and hybrids of white cabbage and their keeping capacity

White cabbage is the most important vegetable crop. The Russian Ministry of health recommends consuming at least 40 kg/person of cabbage crops per year. The undisputed leader among the varieties of cabbage in our country is white cabbage, although some common cabbage cultures are not much inferior to it. In the consumer market, widely demanded varieties of cabbage of different ripeness groups are still in demand. However, for modern vegetable growing, medium-late varieties and hybrids are of particular value, which differ from ordinary varieties by higher yield, equalization, good keeping quality and at the same time high taste qualities. In the storage laboratory of the Department of Agriculture and Agrochemistry of ARRIVG – branch of FSBSI FSVC, for five years (2015–2019), studies were conducted on the comprehensive assessment of new varieties and hybrids of medium-late cabbage for yield, keeping quality and disease resistance. In total, 11 mid-late varieties and hybrids from various regions of Russia were tested. The experiments were carried out according to the same method in ARRIVG – branch of FSBSI FSVC on alluvial-meadow soils of the Moscow river floodplain on the same background of fertilizers (N120P120K180), the same planting scheme (70×40 cm) using the same agronomic techniques for growing plants. Harvesting was carried out at the same time, products were stored in the refrigerator of the ARRIVG – branch of FSBSI FSVC vegetable storage, where diseases were recorded and the output of marketable products was determined. The highest yield after storage was found in hybrids F1 Favorit (78.8%), F1 Knyaginya (75.7%). Cabbage varieties were significantly inferior to hybrids in terms of preservation (61.3–69.2%). The smallest decrease in the mass of heads (20.2%) was observed in the F1 Knyaginya, and the F1 Favorit was not exposed to disease. To ensure uninterrupted supply of white cabbage to the population in the autumn-winter-spring period, white cabbage varieties were divided into groups according to the most critical implementation dates: III decade of January – Cherkash; I decade of February – Final; I decade of March – Vyuga, Knevichanka, Florin; II decade of March – F1 Knyaginya; I decade of April – F1 Favorit.

Key words: white cabbage, fertilizers, yield, yield increase, variety, hybrid, persistence, disease resistance, keeping capacity