Head cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata)

White cabbage	Red cabbage	Longitudinal section of head

Source: Bock D., MPI; Wolf-Garten

Distribution, Yield, Use:

Production (1000t) Yield (dt/ha)

Country	1979-81	1992	1979-81	1992
ex-USSR	8950	8550	221	225
China	5850	8300	140	182
Japan	3120	2500	387	396
Korea (Rep.)	3390	2730	666	635
Poland	1490	1290	245	245
UK	796	780	248	273
World	36030	38110	214	221

• Distribution:
  The main growing areas are West Europe and the Baltic countries, ex-USSR, China, Japan and America. White cabbages are predominant. Growth of red cabbage is mainly limited to mid Europe and Holland. Head cabbages thrive on heavy, loamy soils with a regulated water supply.
• Use:
  Foodstuff
  (cooked, conserved or raw as salad)
  5-11% dry mass, 2% protein, 4-5% carbohydrate, 50 mg vitamin C/100 g.

Region of origin: Region of cultivation:

• Cultivation and Breeding:
  Cabbage varieties are biennial, and in the second year of growth the head or rosettes break up to form large flowering shoots, whose yellow inflorescences form many-seeded pods following pollination. The extraordinary polymorphism of cabbages is a result of mutations and crosses. Whilst the mutants would have been quickly eliminated in the wild, they represented an improvement in human nutrition and were purposely propagated. The head cabbages are the most economically important cabbage variety. They derive from a wild type which occurs on the mediterranean and Atlantic coasts. The true head cabbage was probably not known in antiquity. White and red cabbages in their typical distinct shape as a firm, closed round head with smooth leaves appear to have been developed in the Middle Ages, around 1200. Breeding varieties are divided into Spring, Autumn and perennial types.
• Breeding aims:
  High, reliable yields, uniform head development, stability, resistance to bolting and ability to withstand cold are important breeding aims. Early varieties must form heads rapidly. Firm, medium-heavy heads with a high fibre and sugar content are desired for the sauerkraut industry. Good storage is important for perennial varieties.

Text by Dr. Wolfgang Schuchert
Adapted to HTML by R.Saedler