When was the carrot introduced to China?
The carrot is a crisp, tasty and nutritious everyday vegetable, also known as red radish, sweet ginseng, etc. It is a variety of the wild carrot in the genus Daucus of the family Apiaceae. It is rich in nutrients and contains sugars, fats, volatile oils, carotene, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, anthocyanins, calcium, iron and other components. Now let us take a look at when carrots were introduced to China!
When were carrots introduced to China?
At first glance, the "Hu" in carrot shows that it is certainly not a crop of the Central Plains. It originated in southwestern Asia, and its ancestor is the purple carrot of Afghanistan, with more than two thousand years of cultivation history. Around the 10th century AD in the Afghanistan area, wild carrots were domesticated into a vegetable carrot, and afterward the domesticated carrot began to travel the world. Around the 13th century it reached China, and it quickly adapted to local customs, gradually becoming today's long-rooted Chinese carrot.
The spread history of the carrot
1. The carrot originated in southwestern Asia, with Afghanistan as the earliest center of evolution.
2. The carrot was introduced from Iran to the European continent in the 10th century AD.
3. The carrot was introduced from Iran to China around the 13th century and developed into the Chinese ecotype.
4. The carrot was introduced to England in the 15th century and developed into the European ecotype.
5. The carrot was introduced to the United States in the 16th century.
6. The carrot was introduced from China to Japan in the 16th century.
Carrot cultivars
1. Hongying No. 2: Hongying No. 2 is an excellent early-maturing hybrid first-generation carrot variety introduced from Japan. It can be harvested 95 days after sowing, has particularly strong bolting resistance, and is suitable for film-covered sowing in early spring. It grows vigorously, and its fleshy root enlarges quickly. Under low-temperature conditions it has strong ability to form shape and color, with peel, flesh and core all red, neat root shape, good tapering, and attractive appearance.
2. Super Red Core: Super Red Core is a super variety with late bolting, early tapering and a high three-red rate. It has strong growth vigor, strong heat tolerance and disease resistance, and a well-tapered root. It is long cylindrical, with a root length of 18-22 cm and a single root weight of 250-300 g. It colors well and enlarges quickly with a high marketable rate. The growth period is about 100 days, and the yield per mu is about 5000 kg.
3. Seoul Six Inch: Seoul Six Inch grows quickly, has strong growth vigor, is not prone to bolting, has a uniform and consistent root shape, and has good marketability. The growth period is about 100 days. The root shape is a long cylinder, with a root length of 18-23 cm, a single root weight of about 250 g, and a root diameter of 4.0-4.6 cm. It has strong disease resistance and is a high-yielding variety, with a yield per mu of more than 5000 kg.
4. French Aya: French Aya is a large early-maturing high-yielding variety with outstanding early maturity, good root shape and excellent core color. It is harvested 90 days after sowing, with a root length of 19-20 cm and a shoulder width of 5.5-6 cm. The root shape is good, tapering gradually, and the root skin is orange-red. It has good heat tolerance and resistance to shrinkage disease and leaf spot.
5. Red Core No. 6: Red Core No. 6 is a hybrid. Its aboveground part grows strongly but not excessively, and its leaf color is dark green. The growth period is 105-110 days, and it has extremely strong bolting resistance. Its fleshy root is smooth and neat, with the peel, flesh and core a deep bright red, and the core column is thin, giving good taste. The fleshy root is 22 cm long, a single root weighs about 200 g, and the yield per mu is about 4000 kg.
6. Chunhong No. 2: Chunhong No. 2 has a growth period of about 90 days and is an early-maturing variety. Its root shape is a neat column, the surface is smooth, and the peel, flesh and core are all bright red. The root is 18 cm long and 5-6 cm in diameter, and the yield per mu is about 3500-4000 kg. It is suitable for spring sowing cultivation in most areas of China.