New ACCE$$ TO A$IA Publications

Edamame (Vegetable Soybean): The Potential for a New Victorian Industry. Nicholas J Barton (1997), $40, 45 pages Growing Japanese Pumpkin (Kabocha) - A Production Manual for Victoria. Murat Top and Bill Ashcroft (1997), $30, 15 pages Melbourne Retail Asian Vegetables Survey Part 2: March 1995 - March 1997. Mandy Chew and Wendy Morgan (1997), $40, 169 pages

Vegetable	Symptoms	Part affected	Pest or disease
Eggplant	blemish	skin	Phormopsis spp.
	lesions	leaves	Downy mildew
	sunken patches	leaves	Alternaria spp.
Komatsuna	white pustules	leaves	Albugo candida
Lemon grass	holes, blackening	stems leaves	caterpillar rust fungus
Mibuna	spots, markings	leaves	Pseudocercosporella capsellae
Okra	wilt browning	leaves stems	Meloidogyne javanica (Root knot nematode)
Shallot	premature 'withering'	leaves	Downy mildew
	rot	bulb	Fusarium oxysporum and bulb mite
Spring onion	wilt	plant	Pseudomonas spp.
	rot	leaves	Phytophthora
Snowpeas	necrosis	leaves, stem	Ascochyta spp. Botrytis cinerea Erysiphe polygoni (Powdery mildew)
	spots	leaves	Pseudomonas syringae
	discolouration	pods, whole plant	Fusarium oxysporum
Sweet potato	rot	tubers	Phoma spp.

* [A comprehensive list can be found on our Pests and Diseases webpage]

Physiological and nutritional disorders also occurred with a number of these vegetables. If you know of any other pests or diseases not listed which affect the above Asian vegetables, give us a Feedback.

MUSTARD GREEN (Brassica juncea) *

commonly known as 'kai choy' in Cantonese and 'cai xanh' in Vietnamese is an annual with abundant loose, erect leaves which assumes various arrangements and sizes accounting for the large number of cultivars available. Characteristics used to identify the mustard green varieties include the overall pale green colour, thin-textured serrated leaves and stemlessness (all leaves attaching to the stem base). Two common varieties known are: Swatow (Wrapped Heart) Mustard and Bamboo Mustard. Most mustard greens are pickled. The bamboo mustard green is less bitter and can be eaten fresh.
It is grown in Vic, NSW, Qld and NT.

Production Practices
Majority of the mustards thrive in the warm, humid conditions of south and south-west China. They tolerate high rainfall but are susceptible to dry conditions. Others are cold tolerant, surviving several degrees of frost.

Cultivation
Mustard green are mainly grown outdoors. In temperate climates, they are often grown under cover. They can be grown on a wide range of soils, preferably well drained sandy loams with high organic content and a pH range of 5.5 to 6.8. Seed is generally sown in nursery beds and seedlings transplanted when 7-8 cm high in rows 30-46 cm apart. They mature 45-50 days after planting and are hand harvested for the fresh market. Once cut, they should be immediately cooled to about 0 ºC with 90-95% humidity to extend the shelf life.

Preparation
Wash the heads well. To make soups with the Swatow mustard, chop the whole head cross-section in slices or chunks. For more bitter varieties, parboil or blanch before further cooking.

Western Cooking
It is well complemented by sweetness in the seasoning and oil in the cooking. Sauté with garlic in bacon drippings or in butter with caraway seeds or dill. It can also be tossed with chives and sour cream.

Eastern Cooking
Bring water to boil, add vegetable and simmer it for at least an hour. Use pork bones to flavour the broth. Add a salted duck egg at the end.

* [For additional information see also our Vegetable Thesaurus]

DOMESTIC MARKET INFORMATION

Mustard green is sold in the Asian grocery outlets and supermarkets. The following graph is based on the retail price survey conducted in Melbourne from March 1995 to Sep. 1997, Melbourne wholesale price survey from Nov. 1995 to Sep. 1997 and Sydney 1996 wholesale price survey.

PICK FROM THE BOOK SHELF

In each newsletter we will present a brief summary on one of RIRDC's publications on Asian Foods. This month's issue looks at

Proceedings of the Asian Food Industry Conference
Barry Lee and Dr Roslyn Prinsley
RIRDC Research Paper 96/9, $35 ($6 p&h), 41 pages

The conference was organised to inform the industry of the latest market research results and to provide a forum to discuss strategic directions for the industry. Covers market development, industry development, quality assurance, postharvest processing and distribution as well as research and technology.

The book can be purchased from
Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC)
P O Box 4776, Kingston, ACT 2600, Phone: (02) 6272 4539, Fax: (02) 6272 5877
Webpage: http://www.rirdc.gov.au/

For more RIRDC publications see our 'Asian Foods' Newsletter.