Agriculture: Turnips & Rutabagas Introduction

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Turnips & Rutabagas Introduction

Both turnip and rutabagas are in the cruciferae (mustard family).

Brassica rapa Rapifera group (turnips) are closely related to Chinese cabbage and mustards. It is a biennial but is cultivated as an annual. It seems to have originated in areas of Europe and Siberia. It has been cultivated since ancient times. Turnips have a white or yellow fleshed root generally with a flattened globe shape. The root is less dense than the rutabaga and lacks a neck. It is also free of secondary roots which occur on the tap root of a rutabaga. The leaves are hairy and without the wax of a rutabaga. Turnips are sometimes used for fresh or cooked greens.

Brassica napus Napobrassica group (rutabagas) are closely related to cole crops and were an interspecies hybrid bred in Switzerland (summer turnip x winter white cabbage). The rutabaga was introduced into England about the end of the 18th century and was called the turnip rooted cabbage. Both white and yellow fleshed cultivars exist. The rutabaga root consists of both true root and true stem. The upper portion of the stem forms a neck. This neck distinguishes rutabagas from turnips. Rutabaga is a Norwegian term for a "Swede" turnip.

Turnips and rutabagas are well adapted to cool and humid growing conditions. The minimum temperature for germination is 5ºC, the optimum germination range is 15 to 29ºC, with an optimum germination temperature of 15ºC. They favour growing temperatures in the 15ºC to 20ºC range and are frost resistant but are not usually left in the ground later than the end of October. They can withstand dry periods if some soil moisture is available. Growth is reduced by an excess of water. Cracking of the root may occur with a fast growth rate brought on by excessive fertilization, wide spacings and hot humid weather. Sometimes these growth cracks become infected with soft rot bacteria.

Bolting or flowering can be a problem. Normally rutabagas are biennials, i.e., they form a swollen root during the first year of growth and flowering stems in the second year of growth after a cold period. If transplants are subjected to low temperatures (below 5ºC) when they are less than 10 weeks old, this will trigger the development of flowering stems. The duration of the low temperature period required to cause flowering varies with the cultivar being grown. However, as little as 3 to 5 nights with temperatures around 3ºC are believed to result in development of flowering stems. Field plantings or seedlings can be affected by low temperatures but transplants more than 10 weeks old would require several nights of freezing temperatures to induce flowering.

These crops thrive on moist, well drained and moderately acid, sandy loams, loams and clay loams which are well supplied with organic matter. On sandy loams roots may tend to be elongated especially in dry weather and with dense plant populations. The best quality crops seem to come from clay loam soils which are well drained and that have not been intensively cropped. Soil "capping" can be a problem on heavy soils with poor rotation and problems with weather.

In the Atlantic area both turnips and rutabagas are grown commercially only for their roots. The turnip (white purple top) being earlier is marketed 2 weeks before the early rutabagas are available (July 1 - 14). Turnips may be grown throughout the growing season (especially with the aid of irrigation) from July 1st to the end of October. This crop may also be stored for short periods of time depending on the availability of markets. Yields of turnips could range between 25,000 to 35,000 kg per hectare. Rutabagas are marketed from mid July until the end of October from the field and are marketed from storages until the 1st of July (or later in some years). It is one of the few vegetable crops we can have on the market 12 months of the year. Rutabagas should produce marketable yields of 20,000 to 50,000 kg per hectare under good growing conditions with adequate pest control.

Turnips and rutabagas are important crops in the Atlantic area for domestic markets and for export. Maintaining and expanding markets for this crop with better quality and marketing techniques is probably the best development strategy. Small amounts of rutabagas are processed on a sporadic basis. Diced rutabaga is either frozen or canned. Specialty markets may exist for some types of turnips.

Nutrient Content: Good source of Vitamins A and C, potassium and small amount of other nutrients. Low in sodium. 250 mL (1 cup) rutabaga raw contains 42 kilocalories; cooked - 74 kilocalories.