ACCE$$ TO A$IA ASIAN VEGETABLES NEWSLETTER Issue No. 6, April 1996 (English Edition)

In this issue, we will list the Asian vegetables which two of the major supermarkets chains are interested in buying and some of the work that is being done on Asian vegetables at the Institute for Horticultural Development, Knoxfield. As well, information on the Chinese cabbage including wholesale and retail market prices, and some facts for you to consider for increasing the postharvest life of Chinese cabbage are presented.

The Asian vegetables identified for Victoria supermarket requirements are:

• Chinese broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra)
  
• Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa var. pekinensis)
  
• Chinese chard (Brassica rapa var. chinensis)
  - Chinese chard, Shanghai chard, Baby chard
  
• Chinese/Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum)
  - flowering type, round-leaved type, flat-leaved type
  
• Chinese flowering cabbage (Brassica rapa var. parachinensis )
  
• Amaranth/Chinese Spinach (Amaranthus gangeticus)
  
• Garland chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium)
  
• Water convolvulus (Ipomea aquatica)
  
• Watercress (Rorippa nasturtium - aquaticum)
  
• Mustard green (Brassica juncea)
  

Supermarkets are looking for year round supplies of these products.

Some of these vegetables have been described in more detail in past issues of the Access to Asia newsletter.

Product descriptor language booklets for Chinese broccoli, Chinese cabbage, Chinese chard, Chinese chives and Chinese flowering cabbage are presently being compiled. A product descriptor language booklet is a document which clearly describes the characteristics of a vegetable which can then be used with product specifications to define the requirements of customers. Once the requirements are understood and consistently met, quality can be achieved.

Chinese Cabbage or Headed Chinese Cabbage ( Brassica rapa var. pekinensis)
commonly known as wong bok in Chinese and cai bap thao in Vietnamese is one of the more well-known Asian vegetables. It is readily available in most retail grocery shops and supermarkets in Melbourne. There are two types of Chinese cabbage - cylindrical and the hearted barrel.
Nutrient content: In every 100 g, there are: 95.7 g water 1.1 g protein 0.9 g carbohydrates 25 mg calcium 250 mg phosphorus 0.3 mg iron 0.04 mg vitamin B2 0.4 mg niacin

IMPROVING POSTHARVEST LIFE
(Paul Daly TEL.: (03) 9210 9222)
The saying "garbage in equals garbage out" refers to the fact that postharvest storage techniques generally aim to minimise produce quality loss rather than improve it. Therefore, good postharvest practices do not just start after harvest, but rather should be factored into your initial variety selection decisions and throughout your crop management program. In other words production of quality produce at harvest is most important.

After harvest the number one critical factor in optimising the postharvest life of all fresh produce is correct temperature management. For Chinese cabbage (and many other leafy vegetables) this means removing field heat from the heads as soon as possible after harvest by getting the produce into storage temperatures around 0 -1o C and maintaining as close to this temperature as possible during all handling, transport and distribution. The number two critical factor is humidity management and for Chinese cabbage this means at least 98% relative humidity (RH) in storage. Chinese cabbage, under these conditions, can store for many months in good quality, even without the use of controlled atmosphere (CA) storage.

Okay, this is the ideal for storage. But remember, quality into storage will determine quality out of storage. So how can we minimise quality loss between harvest and initial storage ? (after all, we can't place each cabbage in storage as it is cut!). Some things to consider are :

• Warmer temperatures speed up wilting and quality loss - leafy vegetables can show signs of wilting after only a couple of hours at warm temperatures.
• Any shelter from the sun in the field, whether it be shade from a tree or more ideally, a temporary field holding point covered with shade cloth, will reduce wilting and quality loss compared with the situation where heads are left in the direct sun. Shelter from wind will also reduce wilting. Wet hesion bags placed over produce will increase humidity and slow down wilting.
• The less the heads are damaged during harvest and handling, through broken leaves or unclean cuts, the less likely storage infection will occur. Minimising physical injuries also reduces stress to the head. Stressed Chinese cabbage deteriorates rapidly after harvest.