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Effect of cultivar and harvest date on dry‐matter content, hardness and sugar content of swedes for stockfeeding
Author(s) -
Gemmell Dorothy J,
Griffiths D Wynne,
Bradshaw John E
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2740530306
Subject(s) - dry matter , sugar , cultivar , fructose , sucrose , zoology , horticulture , dry weight , reducing sugar , yield (engineering) , biology , chemistry , food science , materials science , metallurgy
Eighteen bulbs of each of four cultivars and two inbred lines of swede (Brassica napus ssp rapifera L) were harvested at monthly intervals from 25 July 1988 to 6 March 1989. On average, dry‐matter yield increased from 50.8 to 277.0 g plant −1 by 14 November and then slowly fell to 240.5 g plant −1 on 6 March; and dry‐matter content rose from 99.5 to 118.9 g kg −1 fresh weight on 19 September and then slowly declined to 99.0 g kg −1 fresh weight in March. Hardness also increased from 25 July to 19 September but then remained constant. A hard high‐dry‐matter line, BWc4hca, and a soft lowdry‐matter line, CRdagaa, were the extremes for changes in sugar content. From July to October the average contents in g kg −1 DM of BWc4hca and CRdagaa were respectively: fructose 146.8, 224.3; glucose 206.8, 293.7; and total 390.7, 543.9. In contrast, from November to March their contents were much closer: fructose 187.9, 209.9; glucose 314.7, 323.I; and total 534.4, 549.3. Sucrose levels were much lower and more variable, but overall BWc4hca was highest, 34.1, and CRdagaa lowest, 20.6. The implications for swede breeding are discussed.