International Journal of Horticulture 2015, Vol.5, No.8, 1
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5
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Research Report Open Access
Selection of Turnip Variety for Nutrition Security in Nepal
Dhruba Raj Bhattarai
1
, Navin Gopal Pardhan
1
, Basanta Chalise
2
, Pandey Y. R.
3
, Giri Dhari Subedi
1
1. Horticulture Research Division, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Lalitpur, Nepal
2. Agriculture Research Station, Dailekh, Nepal
3. Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC)
Corresponding author email
International Journal of Horticulture, 2015, Vol.5, No.8 doi: 10.5376/ijh.2015.05.0008
Received: 01 Apr., 2015
Accepted: 10 Jun., 2015
Published: 19 Jun., 2015
Copyright
© 2015 Bhattarai et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article
:
Dhruba Raj Bhattarai, Navin Gopal Pardhan, Basanta Chalise, Pandey Y. R. and Giri Dhari Subedi, 2015, Selection of Turnip Variety for Nutrition Security in
Nepal, International Journal of Horticulture, 5(8) 1-5 (doi
Abstract
A series of genotype selection and performance evaluation experiments on turnip were conducted at Horticulture Research
Division (HRD), Khumaltar, Agriculture Research Station (ARS) Dailekh, Agriculture Research Station (ARS) Pakhribas and
farmers’ fields between 2010 and 2014 with an aim to identify suitable variety for mid-hills of Nepal. The local genotype from
Kathmandu Valley was used as the base material for the selection of genotype HRDTUR001. The performance of selected genotype
was evaluated for size, colour, taste, yield and other characters using Purple Top a released variety as the standard check. The on
station results revealed that genotype HRDTUR001 was found promising because of attractive root colour, excellent root size
(224.45g) and better taste for vegetable purpose. Based on the biological and socio-economic feedback received from the on farm
trials genotype HRDTUR001 has been recommended to release as a variety for cultivation in the mid hills of Nepal.
Keywords
Genotype; Mass selection; Consumers’ acceptability; Root yield
Introduction
Turnip (
Brassica rapa
L., 2n = 2x = 20) belongs to
Curciferae family and is an important root vegetable
crop of winter season. There is no definite region of
the origin of turnip. Some regard central and western
China, while others assign it to middle Asia (Nath and
Singh, 1987 and Saini, 1996). A few people even
regard the Mediterranean region as the origin of turnip
(Chauhan, 1996). The cultivation of turnip in Nepal is
a smaller amount; however, it is very popular in
Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts
(Bhattarai and Pradhan, 2014). It is cultivated for its
roots and green leaves; it is used as salad, cooked
vegetable and pickled. The young leaves, which
content high amount of vitamin C, iron and vitamin A
are eaten as green vegetable. Furthermore, turnip
leaves and roots are excellent source of roughages,
vitamins and minerals required for maintaining perfect
health. This is not only benefit in protecting against
degenerative diseases but also can play a key role in
neutralizing the acids produced during digestion of
proteinous and fatty acids and also provides valuable
roughages which promote and help in preventing
constipation and cancer. However, overcooking will
result in unutilization of antioxidants and a less
nutritive value. Thus turnip leaves and roots should be
properly handled before consuming raw or in cooked
form. Cooking should be done in appropriate media to
have good nutrition for maintaining good health of the
people in the country.
The economy of hill farmers is mainly based on
agriculture and majority of the rural population
depends on farming for their livelihood. The turnips
produced in the hills are tasty, attractive and of better
quality which are sold at a higher rate (HRD, 2006
and HRD, 2013). The area/space in between fruit plant
rows in young orchards of apple, peach, plum and
citrus can be used for growing turnip and can earn
income till the orchards start bearing fruits. Turnip is
grown very fast and is available to the consumers.
Production and consumption of turnip is directly
related to the improvement of socio-economic status
of the hill people (CBS. 2010).
Purple Top is the only one variety released in Nepal.
But it could not gain popularity among the consumers
because of various reasons including root colour and
taste. Therefore, to identify suitable turnip variety for
Nepali consumers, Horticulture Research Division has
been initiated this varietal improvement work in Nepal.
