Growth and Development of Two Fall-planted Kale Cultivars

Kale, ( Brassica oleracea, var. acephala) is a popular vegetable, known for its high health benefits. The crop can be grown in the fall and winter months as it is hardy and tolerates cold temperatures, even frost or snow if fully matured. On the Delmarva Peninsula, temperatures can dip below freezing for extended periods during this time and therefore our goal was to evaluate how two cultivars, Toscano and Premier grew and developed in two different nutrient treatments in the prevailing weather conditions of the region. Seeds of the two cultivars were planted in early October of 2015 in field plots containing the fertilizer treatments, Nature Safe or poultry compost. The design was randomized complete block with factorial arrangement of the applied nutrients and cultivars. Seed germination averaged between 57 and 69 % at 21 days after planting (DAP). The extra dark green and savoyed Toscano leaves had higher SPHAD values than the lighter green Premier. At harvest at 61 DAP, Premier had highest plant and shoot biomass when grown in Nature Safe treatment. Continued monitoring of the plots beyond harvest, showed new plants in the both the harvested data rows and unharvested border rows of Premier in early spring, but none for Toscano. Temperatures from planting to the final observations in early spring ranged from -0.5°C just before harvest to 20° C immediately following harvest and -18°C later in winter. The results from this trial indicate that the cultivar, Premier is better adapted to growing in the fall climatic conditions of the region than Toscano.