Chinese cabbage is one of
most popular vegetables in Asian countries. But you may find very
confusing regarding its names. A great number of descriptive, ethnic
and local terms contribute to such confusion. In Mandarin Chinese, it
is often referred to as Pe-Tsai ( Bai Cai or Da Bai Cai in modern
Chinese alphabet) which means white vegetable. But in Cantonese
dialect it is pronounced Pak Choy or Bak Choy. When Japanese, Thai,
Cambodian, Vietnamese or other Oriental names or dialects are used for
the same vegetable, often with only slight variations on the Chinese
name, as in "choi" or "joy", confusion can result.
Two major types of Chinese
cabbage exist: (1) Michihli type: elongated, cylindrical varieties.
Slowing bolting. For short term storage and usually used fresh. (2)
Napa or Won Bok type: short, blunt, barrel shaped varieties.
Chinese cabbage seeds weigh
approximately 3 gram per 1000 seeds. They may be direct seeded 1 Kg
per acre.
Chinese cabbage is planted
from April through August.
Early spring field seeding
may result in a high percentage of flower stalks. Therefore to produce
a good summer crop, seedlings should be raised in the greenhouse and
transplanted to the field after the risk of cold induction minimized.
Chinese cabbage is not normally transplanted as a bare-rooted plant.
The transplant should be set in the soil to a depth of the first pair
of leaves.
Spring planting can be as
early as possible for early summer harvest. But for direct seeding,
bolting tolerant varieties are highly recommended to use. For fall
cropping, direct seeding is suggested. Early maturing types require
less space than the late type, and the Michihli type requires closer
spacing than the Napa type.
Click here
to see
Varieties of Chinese
Cabbage
