What varieties of napa cabbage are there? What about yield per mu and price trends?
Napa cabbage is also called heading cabbage, hearted cabbage, yellow sprout white, and jiao cabbage; in Cantonese it is called “siu choy”. It is a vegetable native to China. So what types and varieties of napa cabbage are there? What is the yield per mu? What is the price trend? According to Uncle Wu, a napa cabbage grower in Shandong, with current superior varieties, if fertilization and management are proper, exceeding 10,000 jin is not difficult. The land must be good, and the cost is not high. In particular, if the climate is warmer and no greenhouse is needed, an investment of 1000 yuan per mu is enough, mainly for fertilizer input, not counting labor costs. With a greenhouse, the cost varies.
What types and varieties of napa cabbage are there?
1. Loose-leaf napa cabbage: This is the primitive type of napa cabbage. The leaves spread out, the terminal bud is not well developed, and no head is formed. It has relatively strong cold or heat tolerance and is harvested for its intermediate leaves. The growing period is 50-60 days for spring sowing and 35-40 days for summer sowing. It is the main leafy vegetable variety in Dali City during the off-season in spring and summer.
2. Semi-heading cabbage: It evolved from the loose-leaf variety. The outer terminal leaves fold together to form a head, but the interior is hollow and the top of the head is open. It is harvested for part of the intermediate leaves and head leaves. It has relatively strong cold tolerance, with a growing period of 60-80 days, or 60-70 days in Dali City, but it is generally sown later and harvested in February-March.
3. Flower-heart cabbage: It is formed by the terminal leaves of the semi-heading cabbage variety folding together further. The tips of the head leaves curl outward, and the color is white or pale yellow, appearing flower-hearted. It has relatively strong heat tolerance and can be cultivated in spring, summer, and autumn, with a growing period of 50-80 days.
4. Heading cabbage: It is the advanced type of napa cabbage formed by the terminal bud of the flower-heart variety folding together further. The head is solid, the terminal bud is well developed, and the terminal leaves fold completely without curling outward. There are oval ecotypes, flat-head ecotypes, and cylindrical ecotypes.
What is the price trend for napa cabbage?
Napa cabbage originated in our country and is the main vegetable variety supplied in the northern region during autumn, winter, and spring, and has long been known as “plant one season, eat for half a year.” Napa cabbage not only has a long edible period but is also easy to store. When purchasing, the main things to look at are the growth period of the napa cabbage, the color of the head leaves, and how full the heart is. The production period of napa cabbage has three types: early, medium, and late maturing, and the color of the head leaves is further divided into white petiole, green petiole, and green-white petiole.
Cabbage marketed from September to October each year belongs to the early-maturing varieties. Its characteristics are that the head leaves are light green, yellow-green, or white, called white-petiole cabbage or white-mouth cabbage. The plant is small, the leaf flesh is thin, the texture is fine and tender, there is relatively little crude fiber, the taste is mild, and the quality is medium. It does not store well, so it is best to buy and eat it as needed; hence it is also called vendor cabbage. Cabbage marketed in November belongs to the late varieties, with green leaf color, called green-petiole cabbage or green-mouth cabbage. The leaf flesh is thick, the tissue is compact, the toughness is high, it is not easily damaged, and it stores well, so it is also called “cellar cabbage.”
After cabbage prices continued to rise in 2014 and 2015, the cabbage planting area grew for a time, and last year prices saw a cliff-like fall. However, this year the planting area for winter-storage cabbage did not necessarily shrink significantly, so whether prices can rise again still depends on the pull of climate and market demand.
Last year, total napa cabbage production in northern production areas exceeded that of 2015. The price increase before New Year's Day was mainly because farmers, influenced by the surge in winter-storage napa cabbage prices in spring, harvested and stored napa cabbage early in hopes of high prices this winter and next spring, which reduced the circulation of cabbage on the market and thus pushed prices up.
Attachment: Prices in some areas
Napa cabbage Jishou City Vegetable and Fruit Wholesale Market, Hunan Province 0.9 yuan/kg
Napa cabbage Hunan Changsha Mawangdui Vegetable Wholesale Market 0.9 yuan/kg
Napa cabbage Shandong Laixi Dongzhuangtou Vegetable Wholesale Market 0.56 yuan/kg
Napa cabbage Shaanxi Xianyang Xinyangguang Wholesale Market 0.9 yuan/kg
Napa cabbage Wuzhong City Xinxian Agricultural and Sideline Products Market Co., Ltd. 0.8 yuan/kg
Napa cabbage Xinjiang County Vegetable Wholesale Market, Shanxi Province 0.8/kg