Posted by: Neupane November 16, 2005
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Turnip or सलगम or Rutabaga
It is of similar species of रायो साग but there are many varieties.
from http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/publications/vegetabletravelers/turnip.html
Turnip and Its Hybrid Offspring
Much confusion surrounded the origins, even the identity, of turnips and rutabagas, or "Swedes," for a long time. They are distinctly different species.
Most varieties of turnip are white-fleshed and most varieties of rutabaga are yellow-fleshed, but there are also white-fleshed rutabagas and yellow-fleshed turnips. Rutabaga leaves are smooth like cabbage leaves, while those of the turnip are somewhat rough, with sparse, stiff "hairs" over them.
The most significant difference between them, however, is in the make-up of their mechanisms of heredity, the structures of their individual cells. The turnip has 20 chromosomes, while the rutabaga has 38. And thereby hangs a tale-the tale of the origin of the rutabaga.
Study Indicates a Turnip-Cabbage Cross
Recent botanical detective work indicates that a rather rare kind of hybridization between some form of cabbage (18 chromosomes) and turnip (20 chromosomes) resulted in the new species, rutabaga (20 + 18 = 38 chromosomes).
No one knows when or where this occurred, but the new species was probably first found in Europe some time in the late Middle Ages. There was no record of it until 1620 when the Swiss botanist Caspar Bauhin described it.
Turnip (Brassica rapa) is of ancient culture, many distinct kinds having been known to the Romans at the beginning of the Christian Era. Some of those varieties bore Greek place names, indicating earlier culture and development by the ancient Greeks.
In the first century Pliny described long turnips, flat turnips, round turnips. He wrote of turnips under the names rapa and napus. In Middle English this latter term became nepe, naep in Anglo-Saxon. One of these words, together with turn ("made round"), became our common word "turnip."
Man appreciated the usefulness of the turnip during the prehistoric development of agriculture, and the plant was so easy to grow in so many places that it became widely distributed all the way from the Mediterranean across Asia to the Pacific.
The European types of turnip, our commonest kinds, developed in the Mediterranean area. The basic center of the Asiatic kinds is in middle Asia, west of the Himalayas. There are also two secondary centers-eastern Asia and Asia Minor.
The European type of turnip was grown in France for both food and stock feed at least as early as the first century after Christ.
In the England of Henry VIII, turnip roots were boiled or baked, the tops were cooked as "greens," and the young shoots were used as a salad. (In parts of our South today turnip leaves for greens are called "turnip salad.")
The turnip was brought to America by Jacques Cartier, who planted it in Canada in 1541. It was also planted in Virginia by the colonists in 1609 and in Massachusetts in the 1620's. The Indians adopted its culture from the colonists and soon grew it generally.
Since colonial times the turnip has been one of the commonest garden vegetables in America. It is primarily a cool-weather crop, suitable for summer culture only in the northernmost States or at high altitudes.
European varieties of turnips are biennial. One Oriental variety commonly grown here, however, called Shogoin, will go to seed in its first season if planted in the spring.
A few varieties of leaf turnips (no enlarged root) such as Seven Top are grown only for greens. The leaves of the turnip are usually rich in the minerals and vitamins that are essential to health, but the roots have a relatively low food value. In this country the roots are usually eaten boiled, either fresh or from pit or cellar storage. In Europe kraut is commonly made from the sliced roots.
Rutabaga Also Called "Swede"
Rutabaga (Brassica napobrassica) gets its name from Swedish rotabagge. In England and Canada it is commonly called "Swede," or "Swede turnip." The French called it navet de Suede (Swede turnip), chou de Suede (Swede cabbage), and chou navet jaune (yellow cabbage turnip). It was known in the United States about 1800 as "turnip-rooted cabbage." Although common names suggest a Scandinavian origin, this is not certain.
Rutabaga was apparently known on the Continent many years before it was grown in England. It was little known in England in 1664 when it was grown in the royal gardens. It was used for food in France and southern Europe in the 17th century. Both white and yellow-fleshed varieties have been known in Europe for more than 300 years.
The rutabaga requires a longer growing season than our turnips, but, like the turnip, it is sensitive to hot weather. Its culture is therefore confined largely to the northernmost States and Canada and to northern Europe and Asia. It is a staple crop in northern Europe, but a minor crop in America and in the Orient. It is more nutritious than the turnip, chiefly because it contains more solid matter.
*****************
from http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/turnip1.html
Turnip / Rutabaga
Turnips grow wild in Siberia and have been eaten since prehistoric times. Rutabagas are a cross between cabbage and turnip.
Turnips are easy to grow if sown in the proper season. They mature in two months and may be planted either in the spring, late summer or fall for roots or greens. The spring crop is planted for early summer use. The fall crop, which is usually larger and of higher quality, is often stored for winter use.
Because rutabagas require 4 weeks longer to mature than turnips, they are best grown as a fall crop. The leaves are smoother and the roots are rounder, larger and firmer than those of turnips. Rutabaga is most commonly grown in the northern tier of states and Canada but should perform fairly well anywhere there is a fairly long cool period in the autumn or early winter.
Recommended%20Varieties
Turnip (white-fleshed unless noted):
Just Right (hybrid - 28 days to harvest for greens and 60 days for roots; smooth, high quality, mild roots, pure white; for fall)
Gilfeather (75 days; Vermont heirloom; egg-shaped, uniform, large; creamy white, smooth texture, delicate flavor, smooth foliage, almost like a rutabaga)
Golden Ball (60 days, sweet, fine-grained yellow flesh)
Market Express (earliest, 38 days for baby turnips, pure white roots)
Purple Top White Globe (55 days, the standard purple and white; smooth, globe roots)
Royal Crown (hybrid - 52 days, purple top, fast growth, uniform roots, resistant to bolting)
Scarlet Queen (hybrid - 45 days, bright scarlet root, smooth white flesh, resistant to downy mildew, slow to get pithy)
Tokyo Cross (hybrid - 35 days; AAS winner; all-white, uniform, round roots; slow to get pithy)
White Knight (75 days, smooth, uniform, pure white, flattened globe roots)
White Lady (hybrid-pure white, sweet, tender, delicious roots, slow to get pithy; smooth tops)
Turnip Greens:
Alltop (hybrid - 35 days, vigorous, high-yielding, rapid regrowth, resistant to mosaic)
Seven Top (open-pollinated - 40 days; dark green leaves; for tops only)
Shogoin (42 days; tender, mild; roots good when young)
Topper (hybrid - 35 days; heavy yields, vigorous regrowth; good bolt resistance; resistant to mosaic; pale green roots also edible)
Rutabaga (yellow-fleshed):
Altasweet (92 days; purple shoulders, light yellow below; mild, sweet flavor)
American Purple Top (90 days, large globe-shaped roots with purple top and light yellow flesh)
Improved Long Island (90 days; large, spherical; purplish red shoulders, light yellow below; small taproot)
Laurentian (90 days; dark purple shoulders, pale yellow below; smooth, uniform roots, small necks)
Pike (100 days; purple shoulders; similar to Laurentian, better leaf cover, may be left in field later in fall); and Red Chief (90 days)
When%20to%20Plant
For summer use, turnips should be planted as early in the spring as possible. For fall harvest, plant rutabagas about 100 days before the first frost and plant turnips about 3 to 4 weeks later.
Fall turnips may also be broadcast after early potatoes, cabbage, beets and peas or between rows of sweet corn. Prepare a good seedbed and rake the seed in lightly. No cultivation is necessary, but you may find that a few large weeds must be removed by hand. Provide ample water for seed germination and vigorous plant growth. Both turnips and rutabagas have been used for excellent fall and early winter stock feed when broadcast onto fields left vacant by earlier crop harvest.
Spacing%20&%20Depth
Plant seeds 1/2 inch deep (3 to 20 seeds per foot of row). Allow 12 to 24 inches between rows. Water if necessary to germinate the seed and establish the seedlings (especially for summer sowings). Thin rutabaga seedlings to six inches apart when they are two inches tall. Thin turnip seedlings to 2 to 4 inches apart when they are four inches tall. The removed plants are large enough to use as greens. If you have planted turnips for greens, harvest the tops as needed when they are 4 to 6 inches tall. If the growing points are not removed, tops continue to regrow. Successive plantings at 10 day intervals provide later harvests of quality roots or greens. Old turnips tend to be tough and woody. Rutabagas are not usually sown in succession due to their longer time requirement before harvest. In mild areas, large rutabagas may hold in the garden well into the winter.
Care
When the plants are small, cultivate 2 to 3 inches deep between rows. As the plants become larger, cultivate more shallowly to prevent injury to the tender feeder roots. Pull weeds that appear in the row before they become too large.
Harvesting
Turnips and rutabagas store well in refrigerator. Spring turnips should be pulled or cut when the roots or tops reach usable size. Harvest fall roots starting in early autumn or as needed. Turnips and rutabagas are of best quality (mild and tender) when they are of medium size (turnips should be 2 to 3 inches in diameter and rutabagas 3 to 5 inches in diameter) and have grown quickly and without interruption. Both are hardy to fall frosts and may, in fact, be sweetened by cool weather. A heavy straw mulch extends harvest through the early part of the winter. They may be dipped in warm (but not hot) wax to prevent loss of moisture.
Common Problems
Root maggots can be a problem in areas where radishes, turnips or rutabagas were grown the previous year. The soil should be treated with a suggested insecticide before the next planting.
Q. Why are my rutabagas small, tough and bitter tasting?
A. Rutabagas are best grown in northern areas or as a fall crop. When they develop and mature in hot weather, they do not develop typical sweetness and flavor. In southerly locations, try adjusting the planting season so that root development takes place in the cooler days of fall, whenever that may be in your area.
Q. Can you use turnips for greens?
A. Turnip tops are nutritious and often eaten as cooked greens. Certain cultivars - such as ?Shogoin? - are grown exclusively for greens. Other cultivars provide both greens and roots - such as ?Purple Top,? ?White Globe,? ?Just Right? and ?Tokyo Market.?
Turnip and Its Hybrid Offspring
Much confusion surrounded the origins, even the identity, of turnips and rutabagas, or "Swedes," for a long time. They are distinctly different species.
Most varieties of turnip are white-fleshed and most varieties of rutabaga are yellow-fleshed, but there are also white-fleshed rutabagas and yellow-fleshed turnips. Rutabaga leaves are smooth like cabbage leaves, while those of the turnip are somewhat rough, with sparse, stiff "hairs" over them.
The most significant difference between them, however, is in the make-up of their mechanisms of heredity, the structures of their individual cells. The turnip has 20 chromosomes, while the rutabaga has 38. And thereby hangs a tale-the tale of the origin of the rutabaga.
Study Indicates a Turnip-Cabbage Cross
Recent botanical detective work indicates that a rather rare kind of hybridization between some form of cabbage (18 chromosomes) and turnip (20 chromosomes) resulted in the new species, rutabaga (20 + 18 = 38 chromosomes).
No one knows when or where this occurred, but the new species was probably first found in Europe some time in the late Middle Ages. There was no record of it until 1620 when the Swiss botanist Caspar Bauhin described it.
Turnip (Brassica rapa) is of ancient culture, many distinct kinds having been known to the Romans at the beginning of the Christian Era. Some of those varieties bore Greek place names, indicating earlier culture and development by the ancient Greeks.
In the first century Pliny described long turnips, flat turnips, round turnips. He wrote of turnips under the names rapa and napus. In Middle English this latter term became nepe, naep in Anglo-Saxon. One of these words, together with turn ("made round"), became our common word "turnip."
Man appreciated the usefulness of the turnip during the prehistoric development of agriculture, and the plant was so easy to grow in so many places that it became widely distributed all the way from the Mediterranean across Asia to the Pacific.
The European types of turnip, our commonest kinds, developed in the Mediterranean area. The basic center of the Asiatic kinds is in middle Asia, west of the Himalayas. There are also two secondary centers-eastern Asia and Asia Minor.
The European type of turnip was grown in France for both food and stock feed at least as early as the first century after Christ.
In the England of Henry VIII, turnip roots were boiled or baked, the tops were cooked as "greens," and the young shoots were used as a salad. (In parts of our South today turnip leaves for greens are called "turnip salad.")
The turnip was brought to America by Jacques Cartier, who planted it in Canada in 1541. It was also planted in Virginia by the colonists in 1609 and in Massachusetts in the 1620's. The Indians adopted its culture from the colonists and soon grew it generally.
Since colonial times the turnip has been one of the commonest garden vegetables in America. It is primarily a cool-weather crop, suitable for summer culture only in the northernmost States or at high altitudes.
European varieties of turnips are biennial. One Oriental variety commonly grown here, however, called Shogoin, will go to seed in its first season if planted in the spring.
A few varieties of leaf turnips (no enlarged root) such as Seven Top are grown only for greens. The leaves of the turnip are usually rich in the minerals and vitamins that are essential to health, but the roots have a relatively low food value. In this country the roots are usually eaten boiled, either fresh or from pit or cellar storage. In Europe kraut is commonly made from the sliced roots.
Rutabaga Also Called "Swede"
Rutabaga (Brassica napobrassica) gets its name from Swedish rotabagge. In England and Canada it is commonly called "Swede," or "Swede turnip." The French called it navet de Suede (Swede turnip), chou de Suede (Swede cabbage), and chou navet jaune (yellow cabbage turnip). It was known in the United States about 1800 as "turnip-rooted cabbage." Although common names suggest a Scandinavian origin, this is not certain.
Rutabaga was apparently known on the Continent many years before it was grown in England. It was little known in England in 1664 when it was grown in the royal gardens. It was used for food in France and southern Europe in the 17th century. Both white and yellow-fleshed varieties have been known in Europe for more than 300 years.
The rutabaga requires a longer growing season than our turnips, but, like the turnip, it is sensitive to hot weather. Its culture is therefore confined largely to the northernmost States and Canada and to northern Europe and Asia. It is a staple crop in northern Europe, but a minor crop in America and in the Orient. It is more nutritious than the turnip, chiefly because it contains more solid matter.
*****************
from http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/turnip1.html
Turnip / Rutabaga
Turnips grow wild in Siberia and have been eaten since prehistoric times. Rutabagas are a cross between cabbage and turnip.
Turnips are easy to grow if sown in the proper season. They mature in two months and may be planted either in the spring, late summer or fall for roots or greens. The spring crop is planted for early summer use. The fall crop, which is usually larger and of higher quality, is often stored for winter use.
Because rutabagas require 4 weeks longer to mature than turnips, they are best grown as a fall crop. The leaves are smoother and the roots are rounder, larger and firmer than those of turnips. Rutabaga is most commonly grown in the northern tier of states and Canada but should perform fairly well anywhere there is a fairly long cool period in the autumn or early winter.
Recommended%20Varieties
Turnip (white-fleshed unless noted):
Just Right (hybrid - 28 days to harvest for greens and 60 days for roots; smooth, high quality, mild roots, pure white; for fall)
Gilfeather (75 days; Vermont heirloom; egg-shaped, uniform, large; creamy white, smooth texture, delicate flavor, smooth foliage, almost like a rutabaga)
Golden Ball (60 days, sweet, fine-grained yellow flesh)
Market Express (earliest, 38 days for baby turnips, pure white roots)
Purple Top White Globe (55 days, the standard purple and white; smooth, globe roots)
Royal Crown (hybrid - 52 days, purple top, fast growth, uniform roots, resistant to bolting)
Scarlet Queen (hybrid - 45 days, bright scarlet root, smooth white flesh, resistant to downy mildew, slow to get pithy)
Tokyo Cross (hybrid - 35 days; AAS winner; all-white, uniform, round roots; slow to get pithy)
White Knight (75 days, smooth, uniform, pure white, flattened globe roots)
White Lady (hybrid-pure white, sweet, tender, delicious roots, slow to get pithy; smooth tops)
Turnip Greens:
Alltop (hybrid - 35 days, vigorous, high-yielding, rapid regrowth, resistant to mosaic)
Seven Top (open-pollinated - 40 days; dark green leaves; for tops only)
Shogoin (42 days; tender, mild; roots good when young)
Topper (hybrid - 35 days; heavy yields, vigorous regrowth; good bolt resistance; resistant to mosaic; pale green roots also edible)
Rutabaga (yellow-fleshed):
Altasweet (92 days; purple shoulders, light yellow below; mild, sweet flavor)
American Purple Top (90 days, large globe-shaped roots with purple top and light yellow flesh)
Improved Long Island (90 days; large, spherical; purplish red shoulders, light yellow below; small taproot)
Laurentian (90 days; dark purple shoulders, pale yellow below; smooth, uniform roots, small necks)
Pike (100 days; purple shoulders; similar to Laurentian, better leaf cover, may be left in field later in fall); and Red Chief (90 days)
When%20to%20Plant
For summer use, turnips should be planted as early in the spring as possible. For fall harvest, plant rutabagas about 100 days before the first frost and plant turnips about 3 to 4 weeks later.
Fall turnips may also be broadcast after early potatoes, cabbage, beets and peas or between rows of sweet corn. Prepare a good seedbed and rake the seed in lightly. No cultivation is necessary, but you may find that a few large weeds must be removed by hand. Provide ample water for seed germination and vigorous plant growth. Both turnips and rutabagas have been used for excellent fall and early winter stock feed when broadcast onto fields left vacant by earlier crop harvest.
Spacing%20&%20Depth
Plant seeds 1/2 inch deep (3 to 20 seeds per foot of row). Allow 12 to 24 inches between rows. Water if necessary to germinate the seed and establish the seedlings (especially for summer sowings). Thin rutabaga seedlings to six inches apart when they are two inches tall. Thin turnip seedlings to 2 to 4 inches apart when they are four inches tall. The removed plants are large enough to use as greens. If you have planted turnips for greens, harvest the tops as needed when they are 4 to 6 inches tall. If the growing points are not removed, tops continue to regrow. Successive plantings at 10 day intervals provide later harvests of quality roots or greens. Old turnips tend to be tough and woody. Rutabagas are not usually sown in succession due to their longer time requirement before harvest. In mild areas, large rutabagas may hold in the garden well into the winter.
Care
When the plants are small, cultivate 2 to 3 inches deep between rows. As the plants become larger, cultivate more shallowly to prevent injury to the tender feeder roots. Pull weeds that appear in the row before they become too large.
Harvesting
Turnips and rutabagas store well in refrigerator. Spring turnips should be pulled or cut when the roots or tops reach usable size. Harvest fall roots starting in early autumn or as needed. Turnips and rutabagas are of best quality (mild and tender) when they are of medium size (turnips should be 2 to 3 inches in diameter and rutabagas 3 to 5 inches in diameter) and have grown quickly and without interruption. Both are hardy to fall frosts and may, in fact, be sweetened by cool weather. A heavy straw mulch extends harvest through the early part of the winter. They may be dipped in warm (but not hot) wax to prevent loss of moisture.
Common Problems
Root maggots can be a problem in areas where radishes, turnips or rutabagas were grown the previous year. The soil should be treated with a suggested insecticide before the next planting.
Q. Why are my rutabagas small, tough and bitter tasting?
A. Rutabagas are best grown in northern areas or as a fall crop. When they develop and mature in hot weather, they do not develop typical sweetness and flavor. In southerly locations, try adjusting the planting season so that root development takes place in the cooler days of fall, whenever that may be in your area.
Q. Can you use turnips for greens?
A. Turnip tops are nutritious and often eaten as cooked greens. Certain cultivars - such as ?Shogoin? - are grown exclusively for greens. Other cultivars provide both greens and roots - such as ?Purple Top,? ?White Globe,? ?Just Right? and ?Tokyo Market.?