Rocket: a Mediterranean crop for the world - Bioversity International

6SGOIX 

E 1IHMXIVVERIER GVST 

JSV XLI [SVPH 

Report of a workshop 

13-14 December 1996 

Legnaro (Padova), Italy 

S. Padulosi and D. Pignone, editors

ii 

ROCKET GENETIC RESOURCES NETWORK 

The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) is an autonomous 

international scientific organization operating under the aegis of the Consultative Group 

on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The international status of IPGRI is 

conferred under an Establishment Agreement which, by March 1997, had been signed by 

the Governments of Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, 

Cameroon, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Czech Republic, 

Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, 

Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, 

Romania, Russia, Senegal, Slovak Republic, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, 

Uganda and Ukraine. IPGRI's mandate is to advance the conservation and use of plant 

genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations. IPGRI works in 

partnership with other organizations, undertaking research, training and the provision of 

scientific and technical advice and information, and has a particularly strong programme 

link with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Financial 

support for the research agenda of IPGRI is provided by the Governments of Australia, 

Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, 

the Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, 

Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the USA, and by the Asian Development Bank, 

CTA, European Union, IDRC, IFAD, Interamerican Development Bank, UNDP and the 

World Bank. 

The Underutilized Mediterranean Species (UMS) Project is an initiative supported by 

the Italian Government which seeks to improve the conservation and sustainable use of 

the valuable but neglected plant genetic resources present in the Mediterranean region. 

The project's objectives are to promote the conservation of genetic resources of UMS, both 

ex situ and in situ, to encourage the safeguarding of information relative to the conserved 

germplasm and to foster collaboration among institutions and organizations within the 

Mediterranean region. The project operates primarily through networking efforts spread 

throughout the region. Networks have already been established for rocket, hulled wheats 

and oregano; efforts are also underway, in collaboration with FAO, to strengthen genetic 

resources activities for wild pistachio species. Members of the UMS Networks carry out 

an agreed workplan with their own resources while IPGRI coordinates the networks and 

provides financial support for the organization of technical meetings. IPGRI also 

contributes to raising public awareness on the importance of better conservation and use 

of underutilized species. 

The geographical designations employed and the presentation of material in this 

publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IPGRI 

or the CGIAR concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its 

authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Similarly, the 

views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of these 

participating organizations. 

Citation: 

Padulosi, S. and D. Pignone, editors. 1997. Rocket: a Mediterranean crop for the world. 

Report of a workshop, 13-14 December 1996, Legnaro (Padova), Italy. International Plant 

Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. 

ISBN 92-9043-337-X 

IPGRI, Via delle Sette Chiese 142, 00145 Rome, Italy 

© International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, 1997

Contents 

'328)287 MMM 

Preface iv 

Acknowledgements iv 

Genetic Resources, Breeding and Cultivation 1 

Present status of rocket genetic resources and conservation activities 

Domenico Pignone 2 

A brief account of the genus Diplotaxis 

Juan B. Martínez-Laborde 13 

How do we use Eruca to improve Brassica crops? 

Ruth Magrath and Richard Mithen 23 

Seed morphology of some taxa belonging to genus Diplotaxis D.C. and Eruca Miller 

W. De Leonardis, C. De Santis, G. Fichera, S. Padulosi and A. Zizza 25 

Cytological study on rocket species by means of image analysis system 

S. Blangiforti and G. Venora 36 

Up-to-date developments on wild rocket cultivation 

V.V. Bianco and F. Boari 41 

Rocket in the World 50 

Present status and prospects for rocket cultivation in the Veneto region 

Ferdinando Pimpini and Massimo Enzo 51 

Status of rocket germplasm in India: research accomplishments and priorities 

D.C. Bhandari and K.P.S. Chandel 67 

Traditions, uses and research on rocket in Israel 

Z. Yaniv 76 

Rocket in Portugal: botany, cultivation, uses and potential 

João C. Silva Dias 81 

Marketing and utilization of rocket in Turkey 

Dursun Esiyok 86 

International Cooperation 88 

List of Participants 91 

Suggested Bibliography 95

iv 


4VIJEGI 

This publication represents the outcome of the second meeting of the Rocket 

Genetic Resources Network, an initiative launched in 1994 in the framework of 

IPGRI’s project on Underutilized Mediterranean Species (UMS). 

The proceedings contain scientific contributions related to genetic resources, 

breeding and cultivation aspects of rocket, representing an extremely useful tool for 

all those interested in the cultivation and improvement of this crop. In particular, 

the paper on cultivation in the Veneto region can well be considered the first 

thorough scientific presentation ever made of rocket cultivation techniques in 

greenhouse environments. Apart from this paper, other contributions from India, 

Israel, Portugal and Turkey provide an overview of the degree of cultivation, uses 

and popularity of the crop around the world. 

Chapter III on International Cooperation provides a useful insight into the 

activity of the Rocket Network and supplies information on the initiatives 

promoted by UMS for safeguarding the genetic resources of this multipurpose crop. 

Promotion of better use of plant genetic resources represents the core activity of 

the UMS project as well other IPGRI initiatives in the area of neglected/ 

underutilized species. The ultimate goal of all these efforts is the establishment of a 

sustainable conservation of these species through the promotion of their use. 

Rocket, like other minor species on which IPGRI is currently working, is a key 

crop, selected for raising awareness on the great potentials of our agrobiodiversity 

wealth, and to show how little of this richness actually represents the basis of our 

agricultural systems. 

It is estimated that of the 7000 edible species around the world only a tiny 

fraction, amounting to 150 or so, are in fact being commercialized, rocket being one 

of those left out. A greater attention to rocket and to other neglected species 

represents an important step towards both agricultural and diet diversification 

which ultimately contribute to improving our quality of life. 

We pursue this goal in the hope that our agrobiodiversity heritage will in this 

way be passed on to future generations. 

S. Padulosi 

Coordinator, Underutilized Mediterranean Species project 

%GORS[PIHKIQIRXW 

IPGRI wishes to express its thanks to the University of Padova, the Germplasm 

Institute of Bari and the Ente Sviluppo Agricolo Veneto (Centro Po di Tramontana) 

for the warm hospitality and support provided for the organization of this 

Workshop.

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- +IRIXMG 6IWSYVGIW &VIIHMRK ERH 'YPXMZEXMSR

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4VIWIRX WXEXYW SJ VSGOIX KIRIXMG VIWSYVGIW ERH GSRWIVZEXMSR 

EGXMZMXMIW 

Domenico Pignone 

CNR Istituto del Germoplasma, Bari, Italy 

Introduction 

’Rocket’ is a collective name: it indicates many species within the Brassicaceae 

whose leaves are characterized by a more or less pungent taste and are, therefore, 

used to flavour salads. Variation of taste and pungency is great, depending on the 

species, its genetic diversity and the environment. In the Mediterranean region 

three main rocket species can be found, along with several other taxa also occurring 

wild throughout the region. These three species used for human consumption are: 

• Eruca sativa Miller: a diploid, annual, species which flowers in spring and 

whose seeds are ready for collecting in late spring. It seems to prefer rather rich 

soils even though it can be found mixed with ruderal flora in very marginal 

areas. It is frequently cultivated, although domestication cannot be considered 

complete. A wild type, known as subspecies vesicaria (L.) Cav., is also rather 

well represented in the Mediterranean flora. 

• Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC.: a diploid and perennial species, in the sense that 

the roots can survive winters and produce new sprouts in the next spring; it 

flowers from late spring to autumn and its seeds are generally ready for 

collecting in autumn. It seems to be very well adapted to harsh and poor soils, 

and often it can compete well with other species in calcareous shallow soils. 

This species has succulent leaves and is much appreciated in cuisine. In some 

Italian areas D. tenuifolia is also cultivated (see Pimpini and Enzo elsewhere in 

these proceedings), but it is mostly collected from the wild and sold in small 

bunches in local markets. 

• Diplotaxis muralis (L.) DC.: polyploid and perennial, in the same sense as 

D. tenuifolia. It flowers from summer to autumn and its seeds are ready for 

collecting in autumn. It grows in similar habitats as D. tenuifolia and is also 

collected from the wild to be sold in the markets. It seems less adapted to 

cultivation because of its procumbent growth habit, which is the main character 

distinguishing it from D. tenuifolia. 

The above-mentioned nomenclature follows the Flora of Italy (Pignatti 1982). 

This is probably not a complete classification; however, it is being used here for 

practical reasons (for a more thorough classification of Diplotaxis see Martínez- 

Laborde elsewhere in these proceedings). 

Uses of rocket 

Rocket is widely used in Europe and in many countries it is regarded as a speciality 

food or even a delicacy. In most European languages the word used for indicating 

these species may seem to derive from the root roc, which in early Latin meant 

"harsh, rough" with a possible reference to the bitter taste of its leaves, and from 

which the Latin name eruca derived. 

In Italy, no summer salad would be complete without a few leaves of 'rughetta' 

or 'rucola' (Italian names for rocket). Also in France, especially in Provence and in 

the south in general, 'roquette' is a major component of the many different kinds of 

salads so popular in the French diet. Rocket is used also as a vegetable (and not just 

as a condiment), in the sense that cooked leaves are used for the preparation of

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

special dishes like ’pasta e rucola’ or ’bresaola’ a sort of dry meat seasoned with 

cheese, rocket leaves and olive oil (Bianco 1995). 

Besides culinary uses, rocket is also considered a medicinal plant with many 

reported properties, including its strong aphrodisiac effect known since Roman 

times. Among other less intriguing medicinal properties, there is also its depurative 

effect and it is a good source of vitamin C and iron (Bianco 1995 and references 

therein). 

In Egypt, particular ecotypes with large leaves are used as salad species instead 

of other more expensive and less adaptable species like lettuce. These large-leaved 

ecotypes are reported to lack a pungent taste (Mohamedien 1995). 

In the Indian subcontinent, and in Pakistan in particular, special ecotypes of 

E. sativa are cultivated for seed production. The seeds are used to extract an oil 

often named ’jamba oil’ which has many interesting uses such as for illumination or 

in the production of pickles (Padulosi 1995). Detailed information on these uses is 

contained in the paper of Bandhari and Chandel elsewhere in these proceedings. 

In the Americas, rocket has reached the consumers following the European 

immigrants who have brought this crop into their diet, especially with the younger 

generations searching for ’natural food’. Furthermore, the oil of E. sativa is rich in 

erucic acid, an important industrial compound and attempts to exploit the potential 

of this species as an industrial oil crop are also being made (Fig. 1). 

Conserving rocket germplasm: who and where 

When IPGRI’s Rocket Genetic Resources Network was established in Valenzano, in 

March 1994, the Germplasm Institute (IdG) and the Volcani Centre of Israel, Bet 

Dagan, took on the responsibility of surveying which institutions hold rocket 

genetic resources around the world. The preliminary results of this investigation 

were presented at the first meeting of the Rocket Network held in Lisbon in 

November 1994 (Pignone and Ngu 1995). Since then other institutes have 

responded to the request for information and now it is possible to draw a clearer 

picture of the present status of rocket genetic resources collections: 

1. Eruca sativa is generally the most represented species in genebank collections. 

Good collections of this species are present in the genebanks of Gatersleben 

(IPK) and Braunschweig (FAL) in Germany, at IdG in Italy, at Wellsbourne 

(HRI) in the UK and at Ames, Iowa (USDA) in the USA. The only good 

collection of Diplotaxis species is the one maintained at the Universidad 

Politecnica of Madrid, Spain, whose curator is Prof. Gomez Campo. Besides 

this collection, other genebanks possess just a few samples of Diplotaxis 

species. As a follow-up to the Lisbon meeting, over the last few years IdG has 

intensified its efforts to better collect and safeguard genetic Diplotaxis species 

(see below). 

2. From the FAL collection of Eruca, 85 samples originate from Pakistan. All 

these samples are likely to belong to the ecotype selected to produce oil from 

its seeds [these samples were actually gathered by the FAL genebank to carry 

out research on Eruca seed oil (Frese, pers. comm.)]. The remaining Eruca 

collection available in Europe is likely to be made up of horticultural types 

and consists of fewer than 50 samples, of which 24 are of Italian origin and 10 

are from Egypt. The rest of Europe is quite underrepresented with regard to 

Eruca genetic resources.

4 


Fig. 1. Uses of rocket throughout the world. 

3. Since roughly 50% of the samples are of Italian origin, and since their origin is 

not always very clear, it can be speculated that in the present collection of 

Eruca there is a certain level of duplication. Sampling has been conducted 

occasionally without using a well-defined strategy. In fact, specific collecting 

missions have never been mounted for this species. For these reasons, the 

genetic resources of Eruca even in Italy have surely been badly sampled and 

the variation present in this collection might presumably be little 

representative of the area (Fig. 2). On the other hand, it is not possible to 

speculate in more detail on this subject, since no study on the genetic 

variation of Italian material seems to have been conducted until now. 

4. The situation of Diplotaxis genetic resources is quite different. Prof. Gomez 

Campo, in the framework of his project on wild Mediterranean Brassicaceae, 

and also stimulated by the Rocket Network initiative, has planned ad hoc 

collecting missions for all the species belonging to this genus. The result is 

that for these species, the sampling is much more uniform (Fig. 3), with their 

genetic resources now being safely preserved in the Madrid genebank. 

Moreover, Prof. Gomez Campo and Prof. Martínez-Laborde have so far 

conducted many studies on the taxonomic and genetic variation of this 

collection. 

5. Presently, little is known on the collection held by the USDA genebank 

(particularly poor is the information on the exact collection sites of these 

samples). However, it is likely that much of their material has been obtained 

by exchange with European institutions and has not been directly collected by 

the USDA. Additionally, some material has a complex origin in the sense that 

the provenance written in the data files does not correspond to the country of 

origin (this is especially true for material that has undergone exchanges 

through various institutions). A list of the USDA material sorted by the 

reported origin is given in Table 1. Using the Germplasm Resources 

Information Network (GRIN) World Wide Web server and the access via 

Internet it has been possible to reconstruct, at least in part, the passport data 

of that material.

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

Fig. 2. Holdings of Eruca listed in the rocket network database. 

Fig. 3. Holdings of Diplotaxis listed in the rocket network database.

6 


Table 1. Origin of rocket samples stored at the USDA genebank 

Origin No. of samples 

USA 1 

UK 2 

Pakistan 114 

Turkey 9 

India 9 

Egypt 1 

Iran 11 

Afghanistan 3 

Spain 2 

Poland 1 

Cyprus 1 

Czechoslovakia 1 

Rocket genetic resources activity at IdG 

The Germplasm Institute is one of the over 300 main entities of the CNR, the Italian 

National Research Council (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), and is located in 

Bari, southeast Italy. It represents the only Italian genebank sensu stricto, that is the 

only public institution specifically and institutionally devoted to plant genetic 

resources (PGR) collection, conservation, documentation and evaluation. The IdG 

was established in 1970 with the name Germplasm Laboratory (Laboratorio del 

Germoplasma) and gained the status of Institute in 1981, when the President of 

CNR recognized "its outstanding activity in the preservation of plant genetic 

resources of use to the Mediterranean and European agriculture". The Institute 

deals essentially with crop germplasm and stores nearly 80 000 accessions 

representing more than 40 genera and almost 600 species, including the world’s 

sixth largest collection of wheat and the world’s third largest collection of Vicia faba 

(FAO 1996). The activity of IdG, from the late 1980s onwards, has been focusing 

greater attention on the wild relatives of cultivated species (Perrino 1995). 

Before the Rocket Network was launched, rocket species had been receiving 

minor attention from IdG collecting teams. Only a few samples had in fact been 

collected during these missions organized by IdG until that time. Some collections 

had been made in Abruzzi, Lazio, Apulia and Basilicata regions in the mainland 

and in Sicily and Sardinia in the islands (Fig. 4). For some samples the exact origin 

was unknown since they had been obtained by donation from other institutes. In 

all, 32 samples were collected. 

Moreover, by examining the status of the collections held at IdG it can be seen 

that rocket has never been investigated in evaluation programmes, owing to the 

lack of general evaluation projects on the Brassicaceae. Also, because of the 

allogamous behaviour of these species, multiplication of the material had been left 

at the minimum, if not avoided whenever possible. As a consequence, the samples 

of rocket present in IdG were not available for distribution. In general the lack of 

activity on these species was due to their minor economic importance which led to a 

lesser allocation of money for applied research on these minor species and to a 

reduced academic research interest. One of the main achievements of the 

Underutilized Mediterranean Species project (UMS) is to have promoted awareness 

on these neglected species through the establishment of the Rocket Network. 

After the Lisbon meeting, as a consequence of the increased awareness of the 

neglected status of the rocket collections, the question of the conservation of the 

genetic resources of these species was brought to the attention of the Scientific

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

Fig. 4. Collection of rocket samples by the IdG until 1994. 

Fig. 5. Exploration and collection of rocket by the IdG in 1994-96. 

Council of IdG, which discussed the need to intensify the activity on rocket, and 

both Eruca and Diplotaxis species were thus included in the list of high-priority 

species to be secured during IdG collecting missions. The Scientific Council also 

convened to allocate some (albeit very limited) core funding to this task. 

After this historical background, I wish to review those activities undertaken by 

IdG on rocket over the last few years.

8 


'SPPIGXMRK VSGOIX +6 

Several explorations and collections were carried out during the last 2 years. 

Diplotaxis samples (D. tenuifolia and/or D. muralis) were collected in the provinces 

of Bari, Lecce and Matera (Fig. 5). The sampling intensity around Lecce was fairly 

consistent. Moreover the samples collected in Metaponto (Matera province) might 

possibly include an interesting type, morphologically resembling D. muralis but 

having 2n=22 chromosomes (further collections of germplasm and herbarium are 

needed to gather more material and seek confirmation of these findings). Diplotaxis 

seems to be widely spread along the coastal areas of both Apulia (Adriatic and 

Jonian seas) and Basilicata regions (Jonian sea), whereas it seems to be less 

represented in the inner areas or at altitudes above 400 m asl. Eruca samples were 

collected in the provinces of Bari, Brindisi, Matera and Cagliari. With regard to 

Eruca material from Apulia and Basilicata it seems that this species is more easily 

found in the inner parts of these regions, apparently being absent from the coastal 

area (Fig. 5). The material collected in Cagliari does not follow this rule; in fact, 

both collecting sites in that area were close to the sea, and one in particular was 

thriving a few meters from the beach of Is Arenas, a famous touristic site near 

Cagliari. It has to be pointed out that both samples collected near Cagliari had 

peculiar characteristics: they clearly belonged to E. sativa subsp. vesicaria, had a very 

pungent and bitter taste, a luxuriant growth and were very prolific. 

1YPXMTPMGEXMSR SJ -H+ VSGOIX GSPPIGXMSR 

In order to obtain enough seeds to allow distribution of samples and safe deposit of 

a duplicate of the collection, it was necessary to start a proper multiplication 

procedure. The problem associated with this multiplication was essentially 

connected with the allogamous nature of these Brassicaceae. The multiplication in 

purity was actually not a big problem per se since the IdG is equipped with a facility 

for ensuring complete isolation. The problem was essentially how to develop a 

simple system to allow multiplication of rocket species also in places not possessing 

specific equipment. We were able to find a kind of nylon/cloth fabric, made out of 

many aggregated threads, which would allow gas exchanges but at the same time 

stop pollen or insects from passing through. Small multiplication plots of 90 x 

90 cm were established and planted with 40 plants, previously grown in a cold 

greenhouse. When the floral buds started to appear, the fabric was laid over the 

plot and the edges buried in the ground (Fig. 6) to create a complete barrier; the 

fabric was held in place by an iron structure in the form of two crossed arches. The 

results were quite encouraging and other similar solutions are being studied to 

overcome some problems essentially associated with the shape of the isolation 

cages. The main advantage of this approach is that isolation structures of the kind 

described here are easy to build and very economical. Therefore they could be 

proposed even for small institutions, like small research centres or small producers, 

to maintain their stocks in genetic purity at little cost. There are some additional 

points about the maintenance of these stocks but they will be addressed later. 

(IZIPSTQIRX SJ E GSQQSR HEXEFEWI JSV XLI VSGOIX RIX[SVO 

One of the commitments of the IdG after the Lisbon meeting was the development 

of a database that could be common to all institutions holding rocket genetic 

resources (GR) regardless of the species. This database should contain all the 

relevant information on the samples collected or maintained and should be flexible 

to allow future expansion. Some databases developed by other institutions were

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

Fig. 6. Multiplication of rocket under insulation cages at the IdG (Metaponto). 

examined, e.g. the one developed for Brassica sp. by Theo van Hintum at the CPRO- 

DLO, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Moreover, other institutions were requested, 

through a questionnaire, to send their data in electronic format to allow the 

completion of the Rocket Network Database. The FAL and the University of 

Madrid responded promptly and their data, together with the data of IdG, formed 

the prototype of the database that is described in Table 2. The logical significance of 

some fields is straightforward, while other fields need an explanation. ERDBNUM 

is an internal enumeration index and DONID and DONNUM fields indicate 

respectively the identification of the donor institution and the relative number. Two 

pairs of these identifiers are present, for a simple reason: one has to consider that 

the Rocket Network receives samples from national genebanks (’donor 1’ or 

donating institution) which might have collected that material directly or received it 

in exchange from some other centres (’donor 2’). The fields COL_INST, COUNTRY, 

COL_SITE, LAT, LONG and ALT apply only to the material collected directly by 

’donor 1’ and generally do not apply to exchanged materials, unless the donating 

institutions have records of such information. The COL_SOUR field indicates the 

origin of the material, i.e. whether it has been obtained by farmers, collected 

directly, or purchased in markets, and so on, and not the nation or the site of 

collection which are instead to be entered in the COUNTRY and COL_SITE fields. A 

prototype is now available containing slightly less than 200 entries. A copy of this 

database, which is compatible with Database III (DB3) format, will be distributed to 

Network members and to other genebanks to allow them to input their data in the 

same format. Along with this database another file with the donor coding will also 

be sent. If any institution is not included on that list, it should notify the Network 

coordinator for its updating accordingly. 

'SRWXVEMRXW XS VSGOIX KIVQTPEWQ QEREKIQIRX 

In our experience, the main constraints in this area are: 

• Low seed germination. This depends mainly on the fact that the siliques of 

theses species are dehiscent and easily split up at maturity. Therefore, while 

collecting mature siliques, spread their seeds and oblige collectors to harvest

10 


material that is not yet fully mature. This means that the maturation will 

occur after collecting. One system that has been tried at IdG is collecting a lot 

of stalks and putting them into big paper bags to allow natural desiccation. 

After a few days, mature silique will open and the seeds will accumulate in 

the bag. One can get a high seed yield in this way, and even though the 

germination is lower, the numbers compensate for this deficiency. 

• Oily seeds. There are reports in the literature that oily seeds are less easily 

stored and much care has to be taken with their desiccation and storage. At 

IdG, we have little experience on this subject and therefore more information 

from seed physiologists should be sought on how to best preserve them. 

• Capsules opening at maturity. The influence of this point on seed 

germination has been discussed earlier. It is important to stress now that for 

multiplication purposes the dehiscence of fruits poses another question: the 

material near maturity needs daily inspection and careful collecting in order 

to minimize seed loss. In insulated conditions this implies a lot of labour 

with an increased cost. This point is of some importance, especially for 

genebanks which plan large-scale multiplications and have allocated few 

funds to rocket and other underutilized species. 

• Possibility of contamination with local pollen. As just stated, the necessity 

to open the isolation cages for plant care may allow the entrance of foreign 

pollen into the isolation space, especially in those areas where rocket grows 

spontaneously near the multiplication field. This implies that the allocation 

of the multiplication facility has to be chosen very carefully, possibly 

exploring in previous years those areas less infested by wild rocket. The 

irony is that, in this case, germplasmists always looking for rocket need to 

find ways in which to get rid of it! 

• Possibility of increasing self-incompatibility. During multiplication in 

insulation it has been noticed that the level of self-compatibility of these 

species reported as strictly allogamous is rather high. Nevertheless, in the 

next generations problems might arise owing to inbreeding depression or to 

the build-up of an incompatibility system. Many allogamous species have 

internal genetic mechanisms limiting their possibility of selfing over a long 

period. Unfortunately, both Eruca and Diplotaxis have not been sufficiently 

studied from this point of view. The issue is, however, not a minor one since 

it has importance when one needs to select commercial varieties of rocket. In 

this case the possibility of breeding a true variety is linked with the 

possibility of maintaining the stocks in purity throughout selfing. Otherwise 

one needs to choose alternative strategies such as maintenance of artificial 

populations through appropriate mixtures of genotypes. It seems to me that 

this point should receive much more attention by geneticists and plant 

breeders. 

Questions for the future 

The last 2 years have been very productive for the Rocket Network, and this success 

allows some optimism for the future. Nevertheless some points have to be brought 

to the attention of the participants of this workshop. The first is the minor funding 

of this activity. It is essential that all Network participants be proactive in finding 

some ad hoc financial support for the Network; otherwise, the risk is that after a first 

phase of voluntary enthusiasm, this activity will cease. Even a little funding could 

increase the commitment of Network members.

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

Table 2. Structure of the prototype of the Rocket Network Database 

Field name Description 

ERDBNUM Database number 

GENUS Genus 

SPECIES Species 

SUBSPEC Subspecies 

LOCNAME Local name for the crop 

CVNAME Cultivar name for registered or local varieties 

DONID1 Identifier of the donor institution 1 

DONNUM1 Relative number 

DONID2 As DONID1 for exchanged material 

DONNUM2 Relative number 

COL_INST Collecting institution 

COUNTRY Collecting country 

COL_SITE Collection locality 

LAT Latitude 

LONG Longitude 

COL_SOUR Origin of the collected material 

ALT Altitude (metres asl) 

NOTE Note field 

It appears also that much remains to be done in the area of collecting rocket 

genetic resources, especially in those countries where few or no samples have been 

gathered. For instance, from a preliminary look at the rocket database it appears 

that France is largely underrepresented and because of the popularity of rocket 

there, we believe that it must be present in several places. A more detailed analysis 

of the holdings will probably produce an even less optimistic picture. Two 

priorities have to be established: collecting and evaluating genetically the present 

collection to estimate the genetic diversity present. These objectives are 

indispensable to plan a future cost-efficient genetic resources activity in rocket. 

The development of a definitive version of the database is also an important task, 

since it will make it possible to obtain a clearer picture of germplasm availability. 

Therefore all participants have to put their maximum efforts into updating the 

database as soon as they get their own copy. At IdG we are experimenting with the 

possibility of putting the rocket database on Internet, so that every scientist or 

producer will be able to connect to it directly. A page dedicated to the Rocket 

Network is already present at the URL http://WWW.BA.CNR.IT/~GERMDP02/ 

ROCKET.HTML which is periodically updated by IdG. I hope that by next spring you 

will be able to find a preliminary version of the Rocket Network Database on line. 

Finally, Dr Padulosi told me that the development of the Rocket Descriptor List 

is in its final stage. It is hoped that within the next few months a final version will 

be distributed to all Network members. This represents an important step forward, 

as it will strengthen cooperation with the producers, encouraging ultimately the use 

and conservation of rocket, the main objectives of this Network. 

6IJIVIRGIW 

Bianco V.V. 1995. Rocket, an ancient underutilized vegetable crop and its potential. 

Pp. 35-57 in Rocket Genetic Resources Network. Report of the First Meeting, 13-15 

November 1994, Lisbon, Portugal (S. Padulosi, compiler). International Plant 


FAO. 1996. Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and 

Agriculture. Prepared for the International Technical Conference on Plant

12 


Genetic Resources, Leipzig, Germany, 17-23 June. Country reports: Italy. FAO 

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 

Mohamedien, S. 1995. Rocket cultivation in Egypt. Pp. 61-62 in Rocket Genetic 

Resources Network. Report of the First Meeting, 13-15 November 1994, Lisbon, 

Portugal (S. Padulosi, compiler). International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, 

Rome, Italy. 

Padulosi, S. (compiler). 1995. Rocket Genetic Resources Network. Report of the First 

Meeting, 13-15 November 1994, Lisbon, Portugal. International Plant Genetic 

Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. 

Perrino, P. 1995. Italy’s Bari Germplasm Institute serves as a beacon for global 

biodiversity research. Diversity 11:94-96. 

Pignatti, S. 1982. Flora d’Italia. Edagricole, Bologna. 

Pignone, D. and M.A. Ngu. 1995. Collection and conservation of rocket genetic 

resources: the Italian contribution. Pp. 8-11 in Rocket Genetic Resources Network. 

Report of the First Meeting, 13-15 November 1994, Lisbon, Portugal (S. Padulosi, 

compiler). International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy.

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

% FVMIJ EGGSYRX SJ XLI KIRYW (MTPSXE\MW 

Juan B. Martínez-Laborde 

Dep. de Biología Vegetal, Escuela T.S. de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Universidad 

Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain 

Variation in Diplotaxis 

The genus Diplotaxis DC. is fairly well known, mostly because of a few species that 

have become quite widespread in several countries, even almost cosmopolitan in the 

case of D. tenuifolia and D. muralis. But Diplotaxis includes about 30 species, plus 

several additional infraspecific taxa (listed in Table 1 together with their geographical 

distribution). Figure 1 shows the number of species and infraspecific taxa reported or 

estimated for each country around the Mediterranean basin and the Near East. The 

western Mediterranean area appears as a clear centre of diversity for the genus. 

In morphological and cytological data, the group displays a considerably large 

amount of infrageneric variability. 

Chromosome numbers are known for most Diplotaxis species, as shown in Tables 

2, 3 and 4, compiled by Gómez-Campo and Hinata (1980) with additional 

contributions from Al-Shehbaz (1978), Amin (1972), Fernandes and Queirós (1970-71), 

Martínez-Laborde (1991) and Romano et al. (1986). These data indicate that practically 

all taxa are diploid. Cytological variability in Diplotaxis does not rely on polyploidy, 

but mostly on diploidy. The series of gametic numbers ranges from n=7 in 

D. erucoides, through n=8, 9, 10 and 11, to n=13 in D. harra, whereas only D. muralis 

has n=21 (although 2n=22 has been recently reported by Pignone and Galasso (1995)). 

In most cases, interspecific boundaries are associated with genomic divergence, so 

that interfertility is by no means widespread in the genus. On the basis of the 

available data, Harberd (1972), together with Takahata and Hinata (1983), found that 

13 species of Diplotaxis should be classified in 11 cytodemes. According to Warwick 

and Black (1993), 27 species belong to 19 cytodemes, but in any case little grouping 

seems possible on this basis. 

Morphological variability is shown by many characters. These plants can be 

annuals or perennials, with leafy or subscapose stems. The indumentum on stems, 

leaves and sepals can be made of hairs of different size, position and density. Leaf 

shapes range from almost entire to pinnate. Petals can vary considerably in size, 

shape, colour and venation; they are usually yellow, but can also be white or purple, 

whereas the nervation pattern can be kladodromous or brochidodromous. Variation 

in the silique includes size, shape and the particular characteristics of the beak. The 

beak also shows variation in size and shape, and can be either more or less compact, 

seedless, as found in D. tenuifolia and D. muralis, or hollow, provided with 1-2 ovules 

that eventually can become 1-2 seeds, as can be seen in D. erucoides or D. virgata. The 

seeds are usually arranged in 2 rows, occasionally in one as in D. siifolia, or even in 3-4 

rows per locule, as in D. harra or D. siettiana. The seeds vary in size and also in shape; 

although in most cases they are elliptic or slightly ovoid, in D. siifolia they are notably 

spherical (Figs. 2, 3). 

A numerical analysis carried out using 47 morphological characters and 39 

OTUs (Operational Taxonomic Units), representing 18 species and 7 subspecies of 

Diplotaxis (Martínez-Laborde 1988) led to an ordination of OTUs in which three main 

groups, one of them with three subgroups, could be distinguished. These groups, 

produced from morphological data, proved to fit fairly well with the distribution of

14 


Table 1. Species and infraspecific taxa of Diplotaxis † and main area of distribution 

Taxon Area 

D. acris (Forsk.) Boiss. var. acris 

Egypt, Near East to Iraq 

var. duveyrieriana (Coss.) Coss. 

S Algeria, S Tunisia, S Libya, N Chad 

D. assurgens (Del.) Thell. central and N Morocco 

D. berthautii Br.-Bl. and Maire central Morocco 

D. brachycarpa Godr. N Algeria 

D. brevisiliqua (Coss.) Mart.-Laborde NE Morocco, NW Algeria 

D. catholica (L.) DC. var. catholica 

Spain, Portugal, N Morocco 

var. rivulorum (Br.-Bl. and Maire) Maire central Morocco 

D. erucoides (L.) DC. subsp. erucoides Europe, North Africa, Near East to Iraq 

subsp. longisiliqua (Coss.) Gómez-Campo N Algeria 

D. glauca (J. A. Schmidt) O.E. Schulz Cape Verde 

D. gracilis (Webb) O.E. Schulz Cape Verde 

D. griffitthii (Hook.f. and Thomps.) Boiss. Afghanistan, Pakistan 

D. harra (Forsk.) Boiss. subsp. harra 

North Africa, W Asia to Iran 

subsp. crassifolia (Rafin.) Maire 

Sicily 

subsp. lagascana (DC.) O. Bolòs and Vigo SE Spain 

D. hirta (Chev.) Rustan and Borgen Cape Verde 

D. ibicensis (Pau) Gómez-Campo Ibiza, Formentera, Cabrera, E Spain 

D. ilorcitana (Sennen) Aedo et al. E Spain 

D. kohlaanensis A. Miller and J. Nyberg N Yemen 

D. muralis (L.) DC. subsp. muralis 

Europe, N Algeria, Near East, America, etc. 

subsp. ceratophylla (Batt.) Mart.-Laborde NE Algeria, N Tunisia 

D. nepalensis Hara W Nepal 

D. ollivierii Maire S Morocco 

D. pitardiana Maire S Morocco, S Algeria, Mauritania 

D. scaposa DC. Lampedusa 

D. siettiana Maire Alboran 

D. siifolia Kunze subsp. siifolia 

SW Iberian Penisula, N Morocco, NW Algeria 

subsp. bipinnatifida (Coss.) Mart.-Laborde S Morocco 

subsp. vicentina (Samp.) Mart.-Laborde SW Portugal 

D. simplex (Viv.) Sprengel S Morocco to Egypt 

D. tenuifolia (L.) DC. subsp. tenuifolia 

Europe, North Africa, Near East, America, etc. 

subsp. cretacea (Kotov) Sobr. Vesp. NE Ukraine, S Russia 

D. tenuisiliqua Del. subsp. tenuisiliqua 

central and N Morocco, NW Algeria 

subsp. rupestris (J. Ball) Mart.-Laborde central Morocco 

D. villosa Boulos and Jallad Jordan 

D. viminea (L.) DC. var. viminea 

Europe, North Africa, Near East 

var. integrifolia Guss. 

Europe, North Africa, Near East 

D. virgata (Cav.) DC. 

Spain and Portugal, Morocco 

f. sahariensis Coss. 

SE Morocco, SW Algeria 

D. vogelii (Webb) O.E. Schulz Cape Verde 

† 

In some cases the status is doubtful or should be changed 

chromosome numbers and seem to correspond to what could be called ’natural’ 

groups within the genus. 

The D. tenuifolia group includes taxa with seedless beak and petals mostly 

brochidodromous (Table 2). Most of them are annuals with subscapose stems, but 

D. tenuifolia is perennial and has leafy stems (Figs. 4, 5). Two additional characters, of 

phytochemical nature, reinforce the group. First, the petal extracts of these species 

lack the very common aglycone kaempferol, which is however present in their leaves 

and otherwise widespread in the genus (Sánchez-Yélamo 1994). And second, a 

strong, acrid smell comes out from their foliage, which most probably is due to

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

Fig. 1. Number of species and infraspecific taxa in each country around the 

Mediterranean basin and the Near East. 

Table 2. Taxa of the Diplotaxis tenuifolia group and their known chromosome numbers 

Taxon No. 

D. tenuifolia (L.) DC. subsp. tenuifolia 11 

D. tenuifolia (L.) DC. subsp. cretacea (Kotov) Sobr. Vesp. 11 

D. simplex (Viv.) Sprengel 11 

D. viminea (L.) DC. var. viminea and var. integrifolia Guss. 10 

D. muralis (L.) DC. subsp. muralis 21 

D. muralis (L.) DC. subsp. ceratophylla (Batt.) Mart.-Laborde ? 

D. scaposa DC. ? 

Table 3. Taxa of the Diplotaxis harra group and their known chromosome numbers 

Taxon No. 

D. harra (Forsk.) Boiss. subsp. harra 13 

D. harra (Forsk.) Boiss. subsp. crassifolia (Rafin.) Maire 13 

D. harra (Forsk.) Boiss. subsp. lagascana (DC.) O. Bolòs and Vigo 13 

D. hirta (Chev.) Rustan and Borgen 13 

D. gracilis (Webb) O.E. Schulz 13 

D. glauca (J.A. Schmidt) O.E. Schulz 13 

D. vogelii (Webb) O.E. Schulz ? 

D. kohlaanensis A. Miller and J. Nyberg ? 

D. pitardiana Maire ? 

D. nepalensis Hara ? 

D. villosa Boulos and Jallad ? 

D. acris (Forsk.) Boiss. var. acris 11 

D. acris (Forsk.) Boiss. var. duveyrieriana (Coss.) Coss. ? 

D. griffitthii (Hook.f. and Thomps.) Boiss. ?

16 


Table 4. Taxa of the three subgroups of the third group of Diplotaxis and their known 

chromosome numbers 

Taxon No. 

D. erucoides (L.) DC. subsp. Erucoides 7 

D. erucoides (L.) DC. subsp. longisiliqua (Coss.) Gómez-Campo 7 

D. ibicensis (Pau) Gómez-Campo 8 

D. brevisiliqua (Coss.) Mart.-Laborde 8 

D. ilorcitana (Sennen) Aedo et al. 8 

D. siettiana Maire 8 

D. assurgens (Del.) Thell. 9 

D. berthautii Br.-Bl. and Maire 9 

D. catholica (L.) DC. var. catholica 9 

D. catholica (L.) DC. var. rivulorum (Br.-Bl. And Maire) Maire ? 

D. tenuisiliqua Del. subsp. Tenuisiliqua 9 

D. tenuisiliqua Del. subsp. rupestris (J. Ball) Mart.-Laborde ? 

D. virgata (Cav. DC.) subsp. Virgata 9 

D. virgata (Cav. DC.) f. sahariensis Coss. ? 

D. siifolia Kunze subsp. Siifolia 10 

D. siifolia Kunze subsp. bipinnatifida (Coss.) Mart.-Laborde ? 

D. siifolia Kunze subsp. vicentina (Samp.) Mart.-Laborde 10 

D. brachycarpa Godr. † 

D. ollivierii Maire ? 

† Count still unpublished. 

volatile isothiocyanates. This group comprises three taxa with n=11: D. tenuifolia, 

including subsp. cretacea, and D. simplex; D. viminea has n=10 and differs from the rest 

in having much smaller flowers. Also with a different chromosome number, 

D. muralis subsp. muralis has n=21 and is considered to be an allotetraploid from 

D. viminea and D. tenuifolia. The analysis of several isozymes (Sánchez-Yélamo and 

Martínez-Laborde 1991) supported the hybrid origin, and also showed a considerable 

similarity of patterns within the whole group. The other subspecies, D. muralis subsp. 

ceratophylla (Fig. 6), also appeared in this group. Little is known about D. scaposa, but 

it is morphologically close to D. muralis and seems to belong in this group. 

A second, very small group includes two OTUs, representing two subspecies of 

D. harra (Fig. 7). They are perennials with leafy stems, petals with brochidodromous 

nerviation, and seedless beak. Several other taxa could be added here (Table 3). The 

four species from Cape Verde – D. gracilis, D. glauca, D. hirta and D. vogelii – are 

morphologically very similar to D. harra; at least the first three have n=13 

chromosomes, and two of them have even been reduced to subspecies of D. harra 

(Sobrino Vesperinas 1993). Other species, also morphologically close to D. harra but 

with unknown chromosome numbers, are D. villosa, D. kohlaanensis, D. nepalensis and 

D. pitardiana. 

A difficult case is that of D. acris. This species has larger flowers with purple 

petals, but is morphologically very similar to the D. harra group in most other 

respects. However, it has n=11 chromosomes – instead of 13 – and shows no evident 

affinity with the D. tenuifolia group. The same is valid for D. griffithii, of unknown 

chromosome number but very close to D. acris. 

The third group is the most numerous and heterogeneous, and includes three 

subgroups (Table 4). Taxa here are in general annuals with leafy stems, petal 

nervation generally kladodromous, and a frequently seminiferous beak. The two 

subspecies of D. erucoides (Fig. 8) are the only taxa with brochidodromous petals and

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

Fig. 2. Seeds of Diplotaxis Fig. 3. Seeds of Diplotaxis 

siifolia. harra. 

Fig. 4. Diplotaxis tenuifolia 

(right). 

Fig. 5. Perennial rots in Fig. 6. Diplotaxis muralis 

Diplotaxis tenuifolia. subsp. cerathophylla. 

Fig. 7. Diplotaxis harra 

subsp. lagascana (right). 

Fig. 9. Diplotaxis siifolia Fig. 10. Diplotaxis 

subsp. vicentina (above). assurgens: plant habit. 

Fig. 8. Diplotaxis erucoides 

subsp. erucoides (left).

18 


Fig. 11. Diplotaxis Fig. 12. Diplotaxis Fig. 13. Diplotaxis 

assurgens: flowers. assurgens: fruits. catholica: petal. 

Fig. 14. Diplotaxis catholica: 

leaf variation (below). 

Fig. 15. Diplotaxis virgata 

(right). 

Fig. 16. Diplotaxis 

brachycarpa (far right). 

Fig. 17. Diplotaxis viminea. Fig. 18. Diplotaxis Fig. 19. Diplotaxis 

siettiana: inflorescences. siettiana: habit. 

also the only one with n=7 chromosomes. A second subgroup is that made of species 

with n=8 chromosomes, either with a seminiferous silique beak (D. ibicensis and 

D. brevisiliqua) or a seedless one (D. ilorcitana and D. siettiana) and stem with retrorse, 

more or less appressed hairs. All other species have one or two seeds (or ovules) in 

the beak. The only species here known to have n=10 chromosomes is D. siifolia 

(Fig. 9), with spherical seeds and almost pinnate leaves. The remaining taxa have 

ellipsoid to ovoid seeds and, at least most of them, n=9 chromosomes. Two species 

are characterized by their subamplexicaule, more or less clasping upper leaves, 

D. assurgens (Figs. 10, 11, 12) and D. tenuisiliqua, whereas D. catholica (Figs. 13, 14) has

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

a much divided foliage and D. virgata (Fig. 15) is usually quite hairy. The most 

distinct taxon appears to be D. brachycarpa (Fig. 16), with siliques and silique beak of 

very peculiar shape. Lastly, it is very difficult to find affinities between D. ollivieri and 

other taxa. This species, of which little more is still known, is characterized by linear 

foliar segments and seedless beak. 

Studies on the relationships among species of Diplotaxis carried out by other 

authors led to not much different conclusions. Takahata and Hinata (1986), working 

with 30 OTUs – representing 12 species – and 53 morphometric traits, obtained a quite 

comparable grouping of four clusters, one corresponding to the D. tenuifolia group, 

one to D. harra group, and the remaining two to the third group. A survey based on 

chloroplast DNA of 24 species and subspecies (Warwick et al. 1992) indicated that the 

two main lineages found in subtribe Brassicinae (Warwick and Black 1993) also exist 

in the genus. In the consensus tree these taxa formed six groups, three belonging to 

each lineage. In the Rapa/Oleracea lineage one group is formed by the n=11 species 

on the one hand, and the n=13 species on the other, whereas D. muralis and D. viminea 

(Fig. 17) grouped together but independently; the third group was constituted by 

D. erucoides. In the Nigra lineage one group was formed by the n=8 species, the other 

big group included those with n=9 plus D. siifolia, and D. brachycarpa remained 

separate. 

Geographical distribution and conservation 

The species and subspecies of Diplotaxis vary considerably with respect to the range of 

their geographical distribution (Table 1). In two species, D. muralis and D. tenuifolia, 

the type subspecies have become almost cosmopolitan weeds that can be found even 

in America or Australia, whereas the other subspecies have a considerably restricted 

area of distribution: D. muralis subsp. ceratophylla to northeast Algeria and northwest 

Tunisia, and D. tenuifolia subsp. cretacea to chalk soils in northern Ukraine and 

southern Russia. Within the same group, D. viminea is considerably widespread in 

central and southern Europe, North Africa and the Near East, and D. simplex extends 

across North Africa, whereas the almost unknown D. scaposa has only been collected 

in the island of Lampedusa, Italy. 

The D. harra group seems to exhibit an east-west diversification. Four species – 

D. gracilis, D. glauca, D. vogelii and D. hirta – are endemic to Cape Verde islands, and 

D. pitardiana grows in southern Morocco, southern Algeria and Mauritania. To the 

east, D. villosa is restricted to Jordan, D. kohlaanensis grows in northern Yemen and 

D. nepalensis is endemic to western Nepal. On the other hand, D. harra covers almost 

the whole area, extending from Morocco to Iran and Pakistan, and includes two 

restricted subspecies: D. harra subsp. lagascana, on more or less gypsic soils in 

southeast Spain, and D. harra subsp. crassifolia in Sicily. Most taxa here grow in 

considerably dry habitats. Close to this group, and also growing in subdesertic 

conditions, D. acris var. acris occurs in the Near East, whereas var. duveyrieriana grows 

in southern Algeria, southern Tunisia, southern Libya and northern Chad, and 

D. griffithii replaces it in Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

In the case of D. erucoides, again the type subspecies is widespread around the 

Mediterranean basin, whereas D. erucoides subsp. longisiliqua (=D. cossoniana) is 

endemic to northern Algeria. The four species with n=8 chromosomes are fairly 

restricted in distribution: D. ilorcitana, on more or less gypsic areas of eastern Spain, 

and D. brevisiliqua, which extends from northeast Morocco to northwest Algeria, are 

the most widespread, D. ibicensis grows on coastal sites in Ibiza, Spain and a few other 

islands, and D. siettiana (Fig. 18) is limited to one population in the small island of 

Alboran.

20 


In the remaining group, D. siifolia is distributed on sandy soils along the Atlantic 

coast of the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco, and occurs also on the Mediterranean 

coast of northwest Algeria; it comprises subsp. vicentina, endemic to the southwest 

corner of Portugal, and subsp. bipinnatifida, along southern Morocco. The most 

widespread species in this group is D. virgata, with the type subspecies growing in the 

central and southern Iberian Peninsula, f. sahariensis occurring in southeast Morocco 

and southwest Algeria, and additional variants extending across most of Morocco and 

western Algeria. Also D. catholica var. catholica grows on the western, mostly siliceous 

half of the Iberian Peninsula, and extends to northern Morocco, whereas var. 

rivulorum (=D. rivulorum) occurs in central Morocco. Other species occur only in 

North Africa, mostly in Morocco: D. assurgens is endemic to central Morocco, 

D. ollivieri is only known from a few localities in the south, and the more extended 

D. tenuisiliqua grows in most of Morocco and West Algeria, with subsp. rupestris in the 

south; only the very peculiar D. brachycarpa is a narrow endemism in Algeria. 

Those species with a narrowly restricted distribution are threatened to various 

extents. Although the weedy or ruderal habit that characterizes most of these taxa 

seems to protect them against many disturbances, there are cases in which their 

survival is in real peril. An extreme case is that of D. siettiana, of which the only 

known population has not been found for the last 10 years, and might well be 

considered extinct. Other narrow endemics may be or become exposed to different 

threats, and for many of them there is no germplasm kept in any seed bank. Some of 

them, like D. muralis subsp. ceratophylla and D. scaposa, almost unknown to us, but 

probably relevant in relation to rocket cultivation, should deserve some collection 

efforts, in order to be able to study and better preserve them. 

Uses 

The species of Diplotaxis have not been much utilized by man. The leaves of several 

species are used as green salad vegetables, somewhat in the way Eruca is eaten, due to 

their peculiar, pungent taste. At least in some species, such taste might be related to 

the strong flavour that readily comes from the foliage when it is crushed, or even 

touched, probably due to volatile isothiocyanates. Although glucosinolates have been 

fairly studied in Eruca seeds, the only information available for Diplotaxis seems to be 

the contribution by Al-Shehbaz and Al-Shammary (1987), who found two compounds 

(2-hydroxy-3-butenyl and p-hydroxybenzyl) in seeds of D. harra, and only one (allyl) 

in those of D. erucoides. 

The use of D. tenuifolia as a vegetable has been recorded in France at least since the 

last century where, according to Vesque (1885, cited by Ibarra and La Porte 1947), it 

was eaten as a substitute for rocket, and Italy (Parlatore 1893), where it continues to be 

increasingly used for salads and other dishes and is cultivated mainly in the south 

(Bianco 1995). The regular presence of adventitious buds on its roots, from which 

new shoots easily appear, makes this species behave, under certain conditions, as an 

invasive weed (Caso 1972). However, such a trait might well represent, in a 

Mediterranean situation, an advantage for its propagation and cultivation. 

Also D. muralis can be used in a similar way, but it seems to be, at least in Italy, less 

appreciated than D. tenuifolia (Pignone and Api Ngu 1995). No records have been 

found on the utilization of the other species of the group, like D. viminea or D. simplex. 

However, the very short life-cycle of D. viminea and the dry habitats preferred by 

D. simplex may encourage their cultivation or the use of their genetic resources for 

rocket improvement. 

The use of D. acris, also an interesting plant from desert regions, is apparently 

similar. According to data from collectors reported by Hedge et al. (1980), its leaves

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

have a pungent taste and are eaten by people in Iraq. Boulos (1977) reports the use of 

these leaves as green salad in Jordan, where it is also considered a good grazing plant, 

especially for sheep. 

There are several other species of Diplotaxis which seem to be a good source of 

forage and might potentially become vegetable crops. Camels and sheep graze on 

D. harra (hairy rocket) in Iraq (Hedge et al. 1980). The closely related D. villosa (locally 

called ’harra’) is also grazed in Jordan (Boulos 1977), although very little information 

is available on this rare, much undercollected species. Also D. erucoides in Iraq 

(Hedge et al. 1980) and Spain (Sennen 1930), together with D. assurgens, D. catholica 

and D. virgata in Morocco (Nègre 1961) have been reported to be grazed by animals. 

Both D. tenuifolia (Caso 1972) and D. erucoides (Rigual and Magallon 1972) have 

been reported as good melliferous plants. Medicinal uses of D. harra in the Near East 

(Yaniv 1995) and of D. tenuifolia in Italy (De Feo et al. 1993) also have been reported. 

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flora, 1070-1081. Inf. Bot. Ital. 18:159-167. 

Sánchez-Yélamo, M.D. 1994. A chemosystematic survey of flavonoids in the 

Brassicinae: Diplotaxis. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 115:9-18. 

Sánchez-Yélamo, M.D. and J.B. Martínez-Laborde. 1991. Chemosystematic approach 

to Diplotaxis muralis (Cruciferae: Brassiceae) and related species. Bioch. Syst. Ecol. 

19:477-482. 

Sennen, F. 1930. La flore du Tibidabo (cont.). Le Monde des Plantes 31:14-16. 

Sobrino Vesperinas, E. 1993. Revisión taxonómica de dos especies del género 

Diplotaxis endémicas de las islas de Cabo Verde. Candollea 48:137-144. 

Takahata, Y. and K. Hinata. 1983. Studies on cytodemes in subtribe Brassicinae 

(Cruciferae). Tohoku J. Agric. Res. 33:111-124. 

Takahata, Y. and K. Hinata. 1986. Consideration of the species relationships in 

subtribe Brassicinae (Cruciferae) in view of cluster analysis of morphological 

characters. Plant Sp. Biol. 1:79-88. 

Vesque, J. 1885. Traité de Botanique Agricole et Industrielle. Paris. 

Warwick, S.I. and L.D. Black. 1993. Molecular relationships in subtribe Brassicinae 

(Cruciferae, tribe Brassiceae). Can. J. Bot. 71:906-918. 

Warwick, S.I., L.D. Black and I. Aguinagalde. 1992. Molecular systematics of Brassica 

and allied genera (Subtribe Brassicinae, Brassiceae) - chloroplast DNA variation in 

the genus Diplotaxis. Theor. Appl. Genet. 83:839-850. 

Yaniv, Z. 1995. Activities conducted in Israel. Pp. 2-6 in Rocket Genetic Resources 

Network. Report of the First Meeting, 13-15 November 1994, Lisbon, Portugal (S. 

Padulosi, compiler). International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy.

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

,S[ HS [I YWI )VYGE XS MQTVSZI &VEWWMGE GVSTW# 

Ruth Magrath and Richard Mithen 

John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom 

Brassica napus (genome AACC, n=19), oilseed rape, is an amphidiploid species 

derived from the spontaneous hybridization of B. oleracea (CC, n=9) and B. rapa 

(AA, n=10). It is likely that there are potentially important agronomic traits in 

species and related genera, such as Eruca sativa, which are related to Brassica. The A 

and C genomes of B. napus are similar to each other, and pairs of homoeologous 

chromosomes can be identified. Despite the similarity, the homoeologous 

chromosomes do not pair with each other at meiosis, preventing recombination 

between the A and the C genomes (Parkin et al. 1995). Owing to this strict control 

of chromosome pairing, hybridization between naturally occurring B. napus and 

E. sativa is unlikely to result in recombination between chromosomes of either the A 

and the C genomes and chromosomes of the E. sativa. 

However, in synthetic forms of B. napus, developed by the artificial hybridization 

of B. oleracea and B. rapa, control of chromosome pairing is relaxed, and extensive 

recombination occurs between the A and the C genomes. Thus to enhance the 

introgression of genes from E. sativa into Brassica at the John Innes Centre, we have 

developed a novel amphidiploid between B. rapa and E. sativa using the method of 

ovary culture and embryo rescue described by Mithen and Magrath (1992). The 

synthetic amphidiploid, although fertile, is very self-incompatible but can be 

propagated through vegetative cuttings. The synthetic amphidiploid has been 

successfully crossed to the oilseed rape cultivar Westar although embryo rescue had 

to be used to obtain the new hybrid. Subsequent crossing and selfing should result 

in a set of oilseed rape inbred lines containing parts of the E. sativa genome. 

Some accessions of E. sativa have been shown to possess resistance to the stem 

canker pathogen, Leptosphaeria maculans (Tewari et al. 1995), which is an important 

fungal pathogen of oilseed rape. Currently, the resistance of E. sativa to the fungal 

pathogen Pyrenopeziza brassicae is being tested in our laboratory. This pathogen 

causes light leaf spot disease in oilseed rape and new sources of resistance would be 

of value in oilseed rape breeding programmes. 

The synthetic amphidiploid has also been successfully hybridized to 

horticultural forms of B. rapa (Chinese cabbage) and, through a crossing and selfing 

programme, inbred lines containing part of the Eruca genome should be obtained. 

One character of particular interest and importance that could be transferred from 

E. sativa to B. rapa is flavour. A mustard oil, 4-methylthiobutyl isothiocyanate, is 

responsible for the flavour of E. sativa. Isothiocyanates are derived from 

glucosinolates, which are secondary metabolites containing a glycone moiety and a 

variable aglycone side chain that are found in both E. sativa and B. rapa. E. sativa 

and B. rapa differ in both their side chain lengths and their side chain modifications 

and thus produce different flavours. Erusca sativa contains 4-methylthiobutyl 

glucosinolate and a small amount of 4-methylsulphinylbutyl glucosinolate. In 

contrast, B. rapa contains 3-butenyl, 2-hydroxy-3-butenyl, 4-pentenyl and 2hydroxy-4-pentenyl 

glucosinolates. We are hoping to combine many of the textures 

of salad brassica such as Chinese cabbage with the characteristic flavour of E. sativa. 

Methylsulphinylbutyl isothiocyanate induces enzymes which have anticancer 

activity and is found in both the genera Eruca and Brassica. This glucosinolate does 

not occur in B. rapa and it has much greater anticancer potency than those

24 


isothiocyanates which do occur in B. rapa (Zhang et al. 1992). It may therefore be 

possible to alter the flavour composition and the nutritional value of B. rapa through 

the introgression of Eruca genes. 

6IJIVIRGIW 

Mithen, R.F. and R. Magrath. 1992. Glucosinolates and resistance to Leptosphaeria 

maculans in wild and cultivated Brassica species. Plant Breed. 108:60-68. 

Parkin, I.A.P., A.G. Sharpe, D.J. Keith and D.J. Lydiate. 1995. Identification of the A 

and C genomes of amphidiploid Brassicas napus (oilseed rape). Genome 38:1122- 

1131. 

Tewari, J.P., V.K. Bansal, G.R. Stringam and M.R. Thiagarajah. 1995. Reaction of 

some wild and cultivated Eruca accessions against Leptosphaeria maculans. Can. J. 

Plant Pathol. 17(4):362-363. 

Zhang, Y., P. Talalay, C. Cho and G. Posner. 1992. A major inducer of 

anticarcinogenic protective enzymes from broccoli: Isolation and elucidation of 

structure. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:2399-2403.

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

7IIH QSVTLSPSK] SJ WSQI XE\E FIPSRKMRK XS KIRYW (MTPSXE\MW ( ' 

ERH )VYGE 1MPPIV 

W. De Leonardis 1 , C. De Santis 1 , G. Fichera 1 , S. Padulosi 2 and A. Zizza 1 

1 Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Catania, Italy 

2 International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Rome, Italy 

Introduction 

In recent years, the specialization of techniques used to assess seed vigour and 

germinability, or applied in gametophytic selection and transgenic plants, has 

provided valuable elements for crop improvement or for the safeguarding of 

genetic diversity even in crops that, for too long, have been scarcely – if at all – used 

by people (Morinaga 1934; Labana et al. 1977; Gorini 1979; Arora and Lamba 1980; 

Goth and Webb 1980; Lamba and Arora 1981; Des and Lal 1982; Matsuzawa and 

Sarashima 1986; Mascagno 1987; Kanthaliya et al. 1990; Amla and Dhingra 1991; 

Hammer et al. 1992; Nuez and Bermejo 1992; Anonymous 1993; De Leonardis et al. 

1996a, 1996b). 

The use of flowering brassicas as a source of food has always been of great 

interest to botanists (Tonzig 1941; Beijerink 1947; Garnier 1961; Leclerc 1966; 

Maugini 1973; Tomaselli 1974; De Capite 1984; Gastaldo 1987; Biagi and Speroni 

1988; Anzalone 1989). 

The culinary use of seeds of Sinapis alba and S. arvensis was already known at the 

time of Theophrastus (4th century BC). In families like the Brassicaceae, which 

show distinct homogeneity of morphological characters, SEM (Scanning Electronic 

Microscope) analysis of the seed coat and the use of data for seed size can be useful 

diacritical features – as they are in pollen studies (Maurizio and Louveaux 1960; 

Perez De Paz 1977, 1980; De Leonardis et al. 1984, 1986, 1989a, 1989b, 1995; Díez 

1987; Hodgkin 1985, 1987; Hodgkin and Lyon 1986) – in assessing their proper 

classification, the possible effects of anthropic selection and, last but not least, in 

detecting cases of seed adulteration (Cauda 1914; Musil 1948; Berggren 1960, 1962; 

Vaughan 1970; Vaughan and Whitehouse 1971; Corner 1976; Mulligan and Bailey 

1976; Buth and Ara 1981; Matarese Palmieri 1990-91; Brochmann 1992; De Leonardis 

and Fichera 1994). 

Materials and methods 

Seed material was provided by Professors Gomez Campo and Martínez Laborde of 

the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain. Full names of species used in the text 

are those adopted by the institutions providing the germplasm. 

Seeds were examined under the stereomicroscope (Wild M8) and under the SEM 

(Philips) after specimens had been dehydrated in the alcohol series and gold coated. 

The terminology used in this work follows that of Berggren (1981). The seed colour 

was scored according to Kornerup and Wanscher's manual (1978). 

The 20 taxa examined were coded with the initial of the genus D (Diplotaxis) or E 

(Eruca) followed by the specimen number (e.g. D3 =Diplotaxis muralis, etc.). Table 1 

shows the average values for seed length, width and thickness. 

Results and discussion 

The results of these investigations are reported as follows, according to the 

alphabetical order of the species analyzed (L=length, W=width, T=thickness).

26 


Table 1. Taxa examined under stereomicroscopy and their average dimensions (mm) 

Length Width Thickness 

Codes Taxa 

(L) (W) (T) 

D1 Diplotaxis brachycarpa 1.05 0.60 0.55 

D2 Diplotaxis berthautii 0.82 0.60 0.45 

D3 Diplotaxis muralis 1.06 0.72 0.62 

D4 Diplotaxis assurgens 0.87 0.64 0.62 

D5 Diplotaxis virgata 0.79 0.51 0.47 

D6 Diplotaxis siettiana 0.64 0.48 0.42 

D7 Diplotaxis siifolia 0.89 0.82 0.82 

D8 Diplotaxis viminea 0.95 0.58 0.47 

D9 Diplotaxis brevisiliqua 0.77 0.49 0.45 

D10 Diplotaxis tenuifolia 1.12 0.75 0.58 

D11 Diplotaxis harra 0.86 0.50 0.37 

D12 Diplotaxis simplex 0.83 0.58 0.48 

D13 Diplotaxis longisiliqua subsp. cossoniana 1.02 0.63 0.50 

D14 Diplotaxis ibicensis 0.73 0.47 0.42 

D15 Diplotaxis erucoides 1.00 0.71 0.58 

D16 Diplotaxis tenuisiliqua 0.88 0.63 0.61 

D17 Diplotaxis catholica 0.88 0.65 0.63 

E18 Eruca pinnatifida var. aurea 1.47 0.99 0.55 

E19 Eruca vesicaria 1.35 0.83 0.77 

E20 Eruca sativa 1.44 1.04 0.80 

Diplotaxis assurgens (Del.) Gren. 

Shape: elliptical 

Side outline: elliptical 

Transversal outline: subcircular 

Radicular shape: not evident 

Radicular extremity: as long as cotyledon, little curved, subacute 

Cotyledon extremity: subobtuse 

Basal cut: little evident 

Radicular and cotyledonous furrow: not evident 

Hilum and micropyle: covered with funicular tissue 

Tegument: reticulum with narrow lumina 

Colour: orange brown 

Measurements: L. 0.80(0.87)0.95 mm; W. 0.60(0.64)0.75 mm; T. 0.60(0.62)0.65 mm. 

Diplotaxis berthautii Br. Bl. et Maire (Fig. 1) 

Shape: ovate 


Transversal outline: widely elliptical 

Radicular shape: wide 0.2 mm 

Radicular extremity: long 0.1 mm as regards as to cotyledonous, little curved, 

subacute 

Cotyledonous extremity: subobtuse 


Radicular and cotyledonous furrow: evident 


Tegument: reticulum with medium lumina 

Colour: light brown yellow 

Measurements: L. 0.80(0.82)0.85 mm; W. 0.55(0.60)0.65 mm; T. 0.40(0.45)0.50 mm.

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

Diplotaxis brachycarpa Godr. 


Side outline: tightly elliptical 


Radicular shape: indistinct 

Radicular extremity: just longer than that one cotyledonous, lightly curved, 

subacute 





Tegument: reticulum scarcely prominent 

Colour: egg-yellow 


Diplotaxis brevisiliqua (Coss.) Mart. Laborde 




Radicular shape: wide 0.1 mm 

Radicular extremity: as long as cotyledonous, little curved, subacute 

Radicular extremity: subobtuse 

Basal cut: evident 

Radicular and cotyledonous furrow: little evident 

Hilum and micropyle: hilum subcircular, very little funicular tissue 

Tegument: reticulum with very narrow lumina 



Diplotaxis catholica (L.) DC. (Fig. 2) 

Shape: widely elliptical 



Radicular shape: extremity just longer than that one cotyledonous, subobtuse 


Basal cut: not evident 


Hilum and micropyle: covered with funicular tissue as the subcircular hilum as the 

micropilum 

Tegument: reticulum with wide lumina 

Colour: orange brown and green olive 

Measurements: L. 0.85(0.88)0.90 mm; W. 0.60(0.65)0.70 mm; Th 0.60(0.63)0.65mm. 

Diplotaxis erucoides (L.) DC. 



Transversal outline: elliptical 

Radicular shape: 0.1 mm wide 

Radicular extremity: as long as cotyledonous, subacute 


Basal cut: little evident

28 


Radicular and cotyledonous furrow: evident 





Diplotaxis harra (Forsk) Boiss. 


Side outline: strictly elliptical 

Transversal outline: ovate 

Radicular shape: in the medium area of the seed 0.1 mm wide 

Radicular extremity: 0.1 mm longer than that one cotyledonous, lightly curved, 

subacute 



Radicular and cotyledonous furrow: very distinct 


Tegument: reticulate-rugulate 


Measurements: L. 0.80(0.86)0.90 mm, W. 0.45(0.50)0.55 mm, T. 0.30(0.37)0.40 mm. 

Diplotaxis ibicensis (F.Quer.) Gz. Campo (Fig. 3) 





Radicular extremity: as long as the cotyledonous, curved, subacute 

Cotyledonous extremity: subacute 







Diplotaxis longisiliqua DC. subsp. cossoniana (Reut) Maire et Weiller (Fig. 4) 





Radicular extremity: long 0.1 mm as regards as the cotyledonous, curved, subacute 


Basal cut: evident 

Radicular and cotyledonous furrow: very evident 





+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

Diplotaxis muralis (L.) DC. 





Radicular extremity: 0.2 mm longer than cotyledonous extremity, curved, subacute 


Basal cut: very evident 





Diplotaxis siettiana Maire 


Side outline: widely elliptical 



Radicular extremity: longer than the cotyledonous, curved, subacute 



Radicular and cotyledonous furrow: very evident. 

Hilum and micropyle: hilum subcircular, micropile covered with funicular tissue 




Diplotaxis siifolia G. Kunze (Fig. 5) 

Shape: subcircular 

Side outline: circular 

Transversal outline: circular 


Radicular extremity: as long as the cotyledonous, curved, subobtuse 


Basal cut: absent 


Hilum and micropilum: hilum subcircular, funicular tissue reduced or absent 




Diplotaxis simplex (Viv.) Sprengel 




Radicular shape: 0.2 mm large 

Radicular extremity: 0.1 mm large, curved, subacute 

Cotyledonous extremity: 0.1mm large, curved and subacute 



Hilum and micropyle: subcircular, funicular tissue only on basal cut

30 





Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC. 


Side outline: tightly ovate 






Radicular and cotyledonous furrow: evident the first, the either almost absent 


Tegument. reticulum with medium lumina 



Diplotaxis tenuisiliqua Del. 










Tegument: reticulum with medium lumina 

Colour: orange-yellow 

Measurements: L. 0.80(0.88)0.95 mm; W. 0.60(0.63)0.65mm; T. 0.55(0.61)0.65 mm. 

Diplotaxis viminea (L.) DC. (Fig. 6) 




Radicular shape: 0.2 mm large 

Radicular extremity: 0.1 mm long, curved, subacute 



Radicular and cotyledonous furrow: evident only the radicular furrow 


Tegument: reticulum scarcely prominent 

Colour: orange brown and green olive 


Diplotaxis virgata (Cav.) DC. 




Radicular shape: not evident

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

Radicular extremity: as long as the cotyledonous, little curved, subacute 




Hilum and micropyle: hilum subcircular, little funicular tissue 



Measurements: L. 0.75(0.79)0.85 mm; W. 0.50(0.51)0.55 mm, T. 0.40(0.47)0.50 mm. 

Eruca pinnatifida (Desf.) Pomel var. aurea (Batt.) Maire (Fig. 7) 

Shape: ovate 


Transversal outline: tightly elliptical 


Radicular extremity: as long as the cotyledonous, subobtuse 



Radicular and cotyledonous furrow : very evident 

Hilum and micropyle: covered with a wide wing of funicular tissue 


Colour: egg yellow 


Eruca sativa Boiss.et Reut. (Fig. 8) 

Shape: from ovate to widely elliptical 


Transversal outline: from subcircular to subrhombic 




Radicular and cotyledonous furrow. very evident 



Colour: from yellow brown to green olive 


Eruca vesicaria (L.)Cav. 

Shape: from widely elliptical to widely ovate 










Colour: from yellow brown to green olive 


32 


Fig. 1. Diplotaxis berthautii: Fig. 2. Diplotaxis catholica: Fig. 3. Diplotaxis ibicenseed; 

reticulum with narrow seed; reticulum with wide sis: seed; reticulum 

lumina. lumina. scarcely prominent. 

Fig. 4. Diplotaxis longi- Fig. 5. Diplotaxis siifolia: Fig. 6. Diplotaxis viminea: 

siliqua subsp. cossoniana: seed; reticulum with seed; reticulum with very 

seed; reticulate-rugulate medium lumina. narrow lumina. 

ornamentation. 

Fig. 7 (left). Eruca pinnatifida 

var. aurea: seed; reticulum 

scarcely prominent 

with subcircular lumina. 

Fig. 8 (right). Eruca sativa: 

seed; reticulum with subcircular 

lumina. 

On the basis of these biometric data, and particularly referring to colour, 

ornamentation, length, width and thickness of the seeds, we are able to clearly 

typify and differentiate the 20 taxa studied. 

The taxa belonging to the genus Diplotaxis show seed reticulum length ranging 

from 0.64 to 1.20 mm, width from 0.45 to 0.85 mm, thickness from 0.30 to 0.85 mm, 

whereas seed coat and colour vary largely in type and tonality. 

Within the three analyzed entities of the genus Eruca, a greater morphobiometric 

interspecific homogeneity has been detected which clearly distinguishes them from 

the other taxa belonging to Diplotaxis. The most important discriminative character 

between these two genera is represented by the seed length, which in Eruca varies 

from 1.30 to 1.55 mm (Fig. 9).

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

Fig. 9. Hierarchical cluster analysis dendrogram of seed affinity between 20 

specimens based upon three characters and using the Kulczynski similarity ratio and 

Complete linkage methods. 

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Maurizio, A. and J. Louveaux. 1960. Pollens de plantes mellifères d'Europe. I. Pollen 

et Spores 2(2):159-182. 

Morinaga, T. 1934. Interspecific hybridization in Brassica VI. The cytology of F1 

hybrids of B. juncea and B. nigra. Cytologia 6:66. 

Mulligan, G.A. and L.G. Bailey. 1976. Seed coat of some Brassica and Sinapis weedy 

and cultivated in Canada. Econ. Bot. 30:143-148. 

Musil, A.F. 1948. Distinguishing the species of Brassica by their seed. Misc. publ. no. 

643:1-35. U.S. Dept. Agric., Washington, DC. 

Nuez, F. and J.E. Bermejo. 1992. Hortícolas marginadas. In Cultivos marginados, 

otra perspectiva de 1492:303, 332. FAO, Rome, Italy. 

Perez De Paz, J. 1977. Contribucion al atlas palinologico de endemismos Canario- 

Macaronesicos. 2. Bot. Macar. 2:35-39. 

Perez De Paz, J. 1980. Contribucion al atlas palinologico de endemismos Canario- 

Macaronesicos. 3. Bot. Macar. 7:77-112. 

Tomaselli, R. 1974. Botanica Farmaceutica. Libreria Internazionale Garzanti, Pavia. 

Tonzig, S. 1941. Botanica Farmaceutica e Veterinaria. La Grafolito, Bologna. 

Vaughan, J.G. 1970. The Structure and Utilisation of Oil Seeds. London, UK. 

Vaughan, J.G. and J.M. Whitehouse. 1971. Seed structure and the taxonomy of the 

Cruciferae. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 64:383-409.

36 


']XSPSKMGEP WXYH] SR VSGOIX WTIGMIW F] QIERW SJ MQEKI EREP]WMW 

W]WXIQ 

S. Blangiforti and G. Venora 

Wheat Experimental Station for Sicily, Caltagirone, Italy 

Introduction 

Rocket is a crop that has been known for many centuries. Romans utilized it 

broadly as a vegetable and condiment plant. Although different species are 

referred to under the common name of rocket, the most common ones are those 

belonging to Eruca and Diplotaxis genera. These genera belong to the subtribe 

Brassicinae, which includes 10 genera, according to the classification made by 

Schulz (1919, 1923, 1936). 

The economic interest in rocket is growing. This is particularly due to the 

diffusion of ready-to-use salads (4th generation of vegetables) that extend the shelf 

life of rocket leaves and preserve their freshness and the typical scent. However, a 

good number of varieties to meet the large market demand are still lacking. To 

achieve this goal, it is necessary to proceed to a systematic collection of germplasm 

in different regions of the Mediterranean area, where rocket occurs spontaneously 

and where targeted crop genetic improvement would yield great benefits. 

With regard to genetic improvement, the role played by cytological studies is 

essential to contribute to a deeper characterization of the species and thus to a more 

sensible classification of their genetic resources. A direct impact of these studies is 

most evident in hybridization activities. 

It is known that Brassicaceae generally have chromosomes that are difficult to 

observe, owing to their very small size. This is also true of Eruca and Diplotaxis, 

whose chromosome number in many species is the only known cytological 

information, any other indication on the morphology being lacking (Warwick and 

Anderson 1993). 

Recently, the use of image analysis, also applied to the karyotyping of plant 

chromosomes in species with difficult chromosomes, has allowed the 

accomplishment of detailed karyotypes (Venora et al. 1991, 1995a, 1995b, 1995c; 

Ocampo et al. 1992; Venora and Saccardo 1993; Venora and Padulosi 1997). 

This paper reports on the use of this innovative technique for the karyotyping of 

some rocket species (Eruca and Diplotaxis) which have so far not been investigated 

for this purpose. 


Seeds of Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa (Mill.) Thell., Eruca vesicaria subsp. pinnatifida 

(Desf.) Emb. and Maire and Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC. were kindly supplied by 

Prof. Gomez-Campo of the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (ETSIA). 

Seeds were germinated on moist filter paper in Petri dishes kept in the dark at 

room temperature. For the analysis of the somatic chromosomes, young and turgid 

primary roots (0.5-1 cm long) were cut off and pretreated in a saturated water 

solution of 1,4 dichlorobenzene for 2 hours at 15°C. They were then fixed in 

ethanol-acetic acid (3:1) for 24 hours at 4°C, after a thorough rinsing in water. The 

staining process was performed following the Feulgen technique by hydrolyzing 

the material in 5N hydrochloridric acid at room temperature for 55 minutes. The 

stained roots were then squashed in 45% acetic acid and mounted in Entellan 

(Merk).

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

The microscopic investigation was conducted by using a Zeiss Axioplan 2 

microscope connected to an image analysis system KS400 Kontron, with dedicated 

to karyotyping software ’KSChromo’ that enables more reliable results than the 

traditional hand-made karyotyping procedure (Venora et al. 1991). Total 

chromosome length, as well as the length of short arms, long arms and satellites, 

were all measured with this computerized system. 

All the data obtained by each plate were loaded in the dedicated software ’Karyo 

95’ for the better matching of chromosome couples, which was done automatically 

on the basis of each chromosome data (Pavone et al. 1995). 

The short/long arm ratio does not include the satellite. The nomenclature of 

Levan et al. (1964) was followed in classifying the chromosomes. 

With regard to chromosomal indices, the classification of Stebbins (1971), the 

TF% index (Huziwara 1962) and the Rec and Syi indices (Greilhuber and Speta 

1976) were used. The classification of Stebbins (1971) is based on the relative 

frequency of chromosomes with a long arm ratio greater than 2 and on the ratio 

between the lengths of the longest and the shortest chromosomes in the 

complement. The TF% index is expressed by the ratio between the sum of the 

lengths of the short arms of individual chromosomes and the total length of the 

complement. The Rec index expresses the average of the ratios between the length 

of each chromosome and that of the longest one. The Syi indicates the ratio 

between the average length of the short arms and the average length of the long 

arms. 


Figure 1 shows a typical metaphase plate with 22 chromosomes. In Figure 2 are 

represented the idiograms of the haploid complement of Eruca vesicaria subsp. 

sativa, E. pinnatifida and D. tenuifolia, obtained by using the image analysis system 

and the software ’Karyo 95’. The 3 species’ chromosome number is 2n=22, which is 

in agreement with previous reports from Warwick and Anderson (1993). 

The asterisks indicate the dissimilar pairs between the two Eruca species; the 

greater differences concern the first pair and the ninth pair (in general such 

differences are attributable to chromosomal rearrangements due to pericentromeric 

inversions). 

The idiogram of D. tenuifolia shows a karyogram similar to Eruca, but each 

chromosome is longer, and the karyotype formula is different. 

The karyotypic data have also been used to speculate on the degree of karyotype 

evolution in each species (Fig. 3). On the basis of these preliminary results, it seems 

that the two Eruca species are relatively more evolved than Diplotaxis species, from 

a karyotypic point of view, while being very similar to each other. 

Additional work is, however, necessary to confirm these data, possibly by using 

a greater amount of seeds and good metaphase plates. This study has been useful 

in providing cytogenetic information on these little-studied species. It has also been 

particularly successful in karyotyping (with the use of image analysis system) such 

difficult chromosomes as those of Eruca and Diplotaxis.

38 


Fig. 1. Metaphase plate of Eruca sativa 2n=22. 

Fig. 2. Idiogrammatic representation 

of the haploid complement of 

each species studied.

40 


Venora, G. and F. Saccardo. 1993. Mitotic karyotype analysis in the Vigna genus by 

means of an image analyser. Caryologia 46(2-3):139-149. 

Venora, G., C. Conicella, A. Errico and F. Saccardo. 1991. Karyotyping in plant by 

an image analysis system. J. Genet. Breed. 45:233-240. 

Venora, G., I. Galasso and D. Pignone. 1995a. Retrospects and perspectives of 

cytogenetical studies in Vigna. Biologischen Zentralblatt 114:231-241. 

Venora, G., B. Ocampo and F. Saccardo. 1995b. The last decade of cytogenetic 

studies on wild and cultivated Cicer species. Pp. 95-106 in New Perspectives for 

an Ancient Species, the Chickpea in the Economy and Diet of Mediterranean 

People. Proceedings of a Conference held in Rome, 5 December 1995. 

Venora, G., B. Ocampo, K.B. Singh and F. Saccardo. 1995c. Karyotype of the Kabulitype 

chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) by image analysis system. Caryologia 48(2):147- 

155. 

Warwick, S.I. and J.K. Anderson. 1993. Guide to the wild germplasm of Brassica and 

allied crops. Part II. Chromosome Numbers in the Tribe Brassiceae. Agriculture 

Canada, Technical Bulletin:1993 -15E, 22 pp.

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

9T XS HEXI HIZIPSTQIRXW SR [MPH VSGOIX GYPXMZEXMSR 

V.V. Bianco 1 and F. Boari 2 

1 

Istituto sull’Orticoltura Industriale, CNR, Bari, Italy 

2 

Institute for Industrial Vegetables, National Research Council (CNR), Bari, Italy 

Introduction 

Wild rocket, Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) D.C., is a member of the Brassicaceae family, 

characterized by a perennial and suffruticose habit at its base. It is found endemic 

in most Mediterranean countries and in Northern and Eastern Europe. It thrives in 

many kinds of soils (preferably calcareous) in fields, roadsides, waste places, 

beaches and rock crevices. 

Its leaves, entire to pinnatifid, have a piquant flavour resembling that of Eruca 

vesicaria (L.) subsp. sativa (Mill.) Thell. (rocket salad) and are eaten raw in salads or 

cooked in many dishes (including pizza). Flowers are used as a garnish (Bianco 

1995). Older leaves, which are too piquant to be consumed raw, can be pureed and 

added to sauces and soups (Facciola 1990). 

Baldrati (1950) reported that in Fano (central Italy) seedlings of E. vesicaria with 

cotylydon leaves and two to four leaves were sold in markets. These tender leaves 

are still used to prepare a delicate salad called ’persichina’. 

In southern Italy, Diplotaxis species have been used as a food for a long time, but 

their popularity is now increasing remarkably. In fact, more and more restaurants 

are offering dishes with rocket as the main ingredient. A list of 35 old traditional 

Apulian recipes along with some new ones which can be tasted in famous 

restaurants throughout Italy was compiled by Bianco (1995). 

Rocket was believed to have aphrodisiac properties (Fernald 1993) and for this 

reason in the past its growth was forbidden in monastery gardens (Mascagno 1987). 

Virgilius, the ancient Roman poet, praised the aphrodisiac virtues of rocket (’et 

venerum revocans eruca morantem’=the rocket excites the sexual desire in drowsy 

people) and Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (1st century AD) in the Garden 

Poem (Cult. Hort. L., X, 108) affirms: "Excitat veneri tardo eruca maritos" (=rocket 

excites as the lovers embrace the lazy husbands (Penso 1986)). 

Rocket is used in traditional pharmacopoeia for many different purposes: it is 

antiphlogistic, astringent, depurative, diuretic, digestive, emollient, tonic, 

stimulant, laxative, stomachic, anti-inflammatory for colitis, antiscorbutic and 

rubefaciens (Arietti 1965; Uphorf 1968; Ellison et al. 1980; Anonymous 1988, 1991; 

De Feo and Senatore 1993). 

An infusion at 4-8% is used against itching, chilblains, scalds and urticaria. 

Among other applications is the preparation of a lotion to enhance hair regrowth 

and to fight against greasy scalps (Ellison et al. 1980), as a tonic for the face, to 

eliminate gum inflammation (Anonymous 1988) and to cure catarrh and hoarseness 

(Mascagno 1987). 

The market demand is often met by harvesting the plant from the wild rather 

than by cultivating it. In Italy it is common to find the crop grown in a traditional 

way in backyards and small gardens together with basil, sage and other herbs. Wild 

rocket can be easily spotted in Italian vegetable marketplaces where it is often 

supplied directly by the peasants. But in the last few years the presence of 

cultivated plants is increasing remarkably, also due to the appearance of the socalled 

’4th generation’ vegetables.

42 


These vegetables are neatly prepared and sold in sealed plastic bags after having 

been sorted, cleaned and trimmed. This type of packaging does in fact enhance the 

shelf life of wild rocket which deteriorates quickly in marketplaces where no 

protection is provided to reduce wilting of leaves. The price of wild rocket in 

sealed plastic bags ready to be used is around US$8/kg in Italian supermarkets. 

In Italy wild rocket is cultivated in both field and greenhouse conditions. 

Adequate soil moisture is needed to obtain good tender leaves. In fact, though 

the crop is well adapted to dry soils, irrigation increases its yield noticeably. 

A few words should be added here to stress the importance of investigating the 

optimization of water uptake by wild rocket. 

The increasing demand of fresh water for civil and industrial needs as observed 

in the last few years in all the most industrialized countries has caused a decrease 

in the amount used for agricultural purposes. Moreover, in the Mediterranean 

areas the indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater has deteriorated water quality 

(increase in salinity) which often causes heavy damage to irrigated crops and soil 

fertility. An increase in the salinity of the soil nutrient solution causes crops to 

extract water from soil with more energy expenditure, which means growth and 

yield reduction and, in extreme cases, death. Therefore it is very important to 

identify which phenological stages are most sensitive to water salinity in wild 

rocket. 

Seed germination is one of the biological processes most sensitive to stress 

conditions, particularly salt stress (Khatri et al. 1991). The root zone is richer in salt 

because of the capillary rise of soil water solution and evaporation from the soil 

surface. High salt concentrations in soil solution make water absorption by seeds 

difficult. Water is necessary for enzyme activation and for reserve substance 

demolition, translocation and use. 

Wild rocket is directly seeded or transplanted. Transplants are made using pots 

filled with peat-lite seedling medium. Apart from some indications given by 

Bianco (1995), Baggio and Pimpini (1995) and Pezzuto et al. (1996), no information 

is available on the cultural practices for wild rocket, though some research has been 

carried out on E. vesicaria for plant spacing (Takaoka and Minami 1984; Kara 1989; 

Branca and Minissale 1996), fertilization (Kheir et al. 1991; Ventrella et al. 1993; 

Santamaria et al. 1995, 1996) and irrigation with brackish water (Pezzuto et al. 1996). 

Increased plant density, nitrogen fertilization and irrigation have resulted in 

increased yields of many leafy vegetables. Results of experiments on wild rocket in 

these fields are, however, not yet available. Therefore, to fill this gap, this paper 

reports on the results of experiments carried out by the Institute for Industrial 

Vegetables of Bari, with the purpose of evaluating the response of sown or 

transplanted wild rocket to nitrogen rate, plant density and saline water on yield 

and seed germination. A full account of these studies is available in other 

publications (Bianco and Minissale 1996; Pezzuto et al. 1996). 


2MXVSKIR ERH TPERX HIRWMX] I\TIVMQIRXW 

Two experiments on nitrogen and plant density effects were conducted in 1995 and 

1996 at the experimental farm ’Pantanelli’, Policoro, southern Italy (the farm is 

located on the Ionic coast, at 10 m asl and 40°N lat.). 

In both years the study involved three plant densities and three different 

nitrogen applications for the comparison of yields in both field-sown and

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

transplanted plants. In 1995 both trials were planted on 5 May, while in 1996 

transplanting took place on 22 April and sowing on 29 April. 

Plant density trials were based on three plant populations (33, 50 and 100 

plants/m 2 ) grown in single rows 10 cm apart and with 10, 20 and 30 cm within-row 

spacing, fertilized as side-dress with 100 kg/ha of N. 

Fertilization studies were carried out with 100 plants/m and were based on 

three rates of nitrogen (0, 100 and 200 kg/ha). During the first year, urea was the N 

source, while in 1996 N was provided as ammonium nitrate and ammonium 

sulphate. Nitrogen was applied as side-dress on two occasions each year – 15 May 

and 6 June 1995, and 6 May and 5 June 1996 – for the transplanted and seeded 

fields, respectively. 

All experiments received a broadcast of preplant soil-incorporated application of 

100 kg/ha of P O . The experimental design was always a randomized block using 

2 5 

four replications in 1995 and three replications in 1996. 

Irrigation was provided as needed by overhead sprinklers. During 1995 and 

1996 trials the total water volume supplied was about 2000 and 2500 m 3 

/ha, 

respectively. 

Harvest was made by hand with knives. There were four and two cuttings in 

1995 and 1996, respectively. Plant material from each harvest was dried in a forcedair 

oven at 65°C for 48 hours to determine dry weight, fibre and nitrate content. 

7EPMRI [EXIV IJJIGX 

The experiment on salinity level and seed germination was carried out in 1995 in a 

controlled environment (25°C germinator, 90% relative humidity, 16/8 hours 

day/night photoperiod). 

Germination of seeds was done in embedded substrates with different salinity 

levels of water solution. Solutions were obtained with commercial salt (NaCl) and 

tapwater. Eleven treatments with ECw corresponding to 0.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 

18 and 20 dS/m were made. 

Seeds, which had been kept in aluminium sealed envelopes at room 

temperature, were placed in Petri dishes, sealed with parafilm and covered with 

Whatman filter paper imbibed for 5 minutes with the different saline solutions. 

'Beginning germination' was recorded as soon as seedlings had evident 

cotyledons (generally the 4th day after their inhibition). Germination was 

monitored every 2 days for 2 weeks and maximum germination percentage, 

average time of germination (ATG, days), germination precocity (days) – 10 (T 10 ), 25 

(T 25 ), 50 (T 50 ), 75(T 75 ) and 90 % (T 90 ) – of total germinated seeds with normal 

seedling was calculated. 

An experiment on the influence of salinity levels on some morphologic 

characteristics and yield of wild rocket was conducted during 1995-96 in pots at the 

greenhouses of the Agricultural Faculty of the University of Bari. 

Wild rocket seedlings were transplanted, one in each pot, with a randomized 

block design replicated four times and six treatments were carried out: ECw equal 

to 0.5 (T 1 ), 4 (T 2 ), 8 (T 3 ), 12 (T 4 ), 16 (T 5 ) and 20 dS/m (T 6 ). Transplanting took place 

at the beginning of December. 

Tapwater was used to irrigate the pots up to the end of February and later on 

water with the different salinity levels was used, obtained by adding commercial 

salt to tapwater. Watering volume was higher to meet the leaching requirement. 

Five harvests were made between the end of March and the beginning of July.

44 


Results 

2MXVSKIR ERH TPERX HIRWMX] I\TIVMQIRXW 

4PERX HIRWMX] IJJIGXW 

Plant density has a significant influence on biomass and leaf marketable yields in 

both years. 

Marketable yields, as an average of the number of cuttings and seasons, 

increased from 2742 to 3327 and 3710 and from 4648 to 5473 and 6752 g/m 2 for 33, 

50 and 100 plants/m 2 , respectively for the first cut and total yield. The dry matter 

was not significantly different from plant densities for both the first cut and the 

average of cuttings, but during 1996 it was higher at the first cut (Table 1). Biomass 

and marketable yields of direct-seeded crops, compared with transplanted ones, 

were always higher (Table 1). 

Production decreased in both years from first to last harvest and in 1995, when 

four cuttings were taken, the yields of the last two were very low (Fig. 1). 

Stems elongated very rapidly. On average they grew about 1 cm/day, and they 

were taller in seeded plants and in the second cut (Fig. 2). 

Table 1. Effects of plant density and planting method on wild rocket (1995 and 1996 

average) † 

Biomass 

(g/m 2 

Marketable yield 

) 

(g/m 2 

Dry matter 

Stems 

) 

(%) 

(g/plant) 

1st cut Total 1st cut Total WX GYX Total 1st cut Total 

Plant density 

(no./m 2 ) 

100 4762 A 9124 A 3710 A 6752A 10.3 A 13.0 A 32.8 A 23.9 B 

50 4228 B 7396 B 3327 B 5473 B 9.7 A 13.1 A 32.7 A 24.9 B 

33 3466 A 6247 C 2742 C 4648 C 10.4 A 13.1 A 39.0 A 30.0 A 

Season 

1995 4013 A 8790 A 3114 A 6329 A 9.2 B 13.1 A 39.8 A 26.4A 

1996 4257 A 6689 B 3380 A 5057 B 10.9 A 13.0 A 31.1 A 26.2 A 

Planting method 

Direct sowing 4520 A 7830 A 3535 A 5888A 9.5 A 12.1 B 38.0 A 25.8 B 

Transplanted 3785 B 7348B 2990 B 5364 B 10.8 A 13.9 A 31.6 B 26.7 A 

† Mean separation within column by SNK, P=0.01. 

Marketable yield (g m -2 ) 

7000 

6000 

5000 

4000 

3000 

2000 

1000 

0 

D 

C 

B 

A 

B 

A 

cut 4 

cut 3 

cut 2 

cut 1 

1995 1996 1995 1996 

Fig. 1. Yield of wild rocket in successive cuttings for the plant density (left) and 

nitrogen rates (right) experiments. Values with different letters are significantly 

different at P=0.01 according to SNK. 

D 

C 

B 

A 

B 

A

Lenght of stems (cm) 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

A 

B 

B 

S T 1 

Pl. method Cuttings N rates 

st 

2 nd 

0 100 200 

Fig. 2 Effect of planting method, time of cutting and nitrogen rates on length of stem 

of wild rocket in1996. Bars with different letters are significantly different at P=0.01 

according to SNK. 

Table 2. Effects of nitrogen rates, nitrogen source and planting method on wild 

rocket † 

Treatments 

Biomass 

(g/m 2 

) 

A 

Marketable 

yield (g/m 2 

) 

C 

B 

A 

Dry matter 

(%) 

Stems 

(g/plants) 

1995 

N rates (kg/ha) 

0 1435 A 13.2 A 19 A – 

100 2092 A 1492 A 12.9 A 19 A 

200 2063 A 1475 A 13.7 A 18 A 


Seeded 1859 B 1285 B 13.1 A 17 B 

Transplanted 2230 A 1649 A 13.5 A 20 A 

Cutting 

1st 3661 A 2719 A 9.6 C 26 A 

2nd 2494 B 1832 B 12.7 B 21 B 

3rd 1261 C 830 C 15.6 A 15 C 

4th 760 D 488 C 15.2 A 13 C 

1996 

N rates (kg/ha) 

0 3643 B 2419 B 14.4 A 17 B 

100 3866 B 2636 B 13.6 B 18 AB 

200 4245 A 2906 A 13.3 B 20 A 

N source 

NH 4 NO 3 4091 A 2755 A 13.8 A 19 A 

(NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 3746 A 2551 A 13.8 A 17 A 


Seeded 4057 A 2720 A 13.3 B 16 B 

Transplanted 3779 A 2586 A 14.2 A 20 A 

Cutting 

1st 4664 A 3392 A 11.9 B 20 A 

2nd 3172 B 1914 B 15.7 A 16 A 

† Mean separation within column by SNK, P=0.01.

46 


)JJIGX SJ RMXVSKIR JIVXMPM^EXMSR 

No yield response occurred in the 1995 trial while in 1996 the yields were slightly 

higher with 200 kg/ha of nitrogen. This response can be explained by the high soil 

fertility. In 1996, dry matter was lowered by nitrogen application and stems were 

heavier and taller (200 kg/ha) than those of the unfertilized plants (Table 2, Fig. 2). 

There were no statistical differences between nitrogen sources for all the 

considered parameters. 

During the 1996 experiments, the weight of leaves per plant was affected by the 

planting method. In the transplanted crop, it was higher in the nitrogen rates trial 

and lower in the plant density experiment (Fig. 3). 

The stems per plant were heavier in the transplanted crop and with 200 kg/ha of 

nitrogen (Table 2). As always, yields were decreasing from first to last cuttings, 

and in the 1995 trial a linear trend was observed. In 1995, the fibre content of the 

unfertilized plants did not show any significant difference among cuttings: on 

average it was 9.3% in the first two cuttings and 7.6% in the last two. 

Although wild rocket accumulates a large amount of nitrates – as much as other 

leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach and rocket salad (Ventrella et al. 1993; 

Santamaria et al. 1995; 1996) – no significant differences were detected between the 

two nitrogen sources and among the nitrogen rates. On average, nitrate content 

was 4000 mg/kg of fresh leaf weight. 

The SO - 

content (3412 mg/kg ) was higher with ammonium sulphate than with 

4 

ammonium nitrate (2771 mg/kg). 

Leaves (g plant -1 ) 

Leaves (g plant -1 ) 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

B 

B 

A 

0 100 200 

Plant density 

A 

N rates (kg ha-1) Pl. method 

Cuttings 

B 

B 

B 

S T 

Nitrogen rates 

A A 

B 

A 

B 

1st 2nd 

0 100 200 

S T 

1st 2nd 

N rates (kg ha-1) Pl. method 

Cuttings 

A 

B 

Fig. 3. Effect of plant density, planting method, time of cutting and nitrogen rate on 

weight of leaves of wild rocket in the two trials (top = 1995; bottom = 1996). Bars with 

different letters are significantly different at P=0.01 according to SNK.

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

7EPMRI [EXIV IJJIGX 

Salinity influenced significantly the different parameters taken into account. 

7EPMRMX] ERH WIIH KIVQMREXMSR 

Total germination decreased as salinity increased and varied between 62% for 

control and 22% for the most stressed treatment (20 dS/m). This decrease was 

significant compared with the control (ECw >10 dS/m (Fig. 4). 

The ATG (Fig. 5) seemed to increase with higher salinity with values ranging 

between 4.5 (ECw=6 dS/m) and 6.2 days (ECw=20 dS/m). 

Precocity germination values (Fig. 6) showed a steady upward trend (up to 

ECw=12 dS/m), increasing for ECw >12 dS/m and varying from 3.1 to 3.4, 3.3 to 

3.9, 3.6 to 4.9, 3.9 to 6.0, 5.1 to 7.4 days for T , T , T , T , T , respectively, passing 

10 25 50 75 90 

from the control to the most concentrated solutions. 

7EPMRMX] ERH QEVOIXEFPI ]MIPH 

The increase of salinity caused a strong decrease of marketable yield of wild rocket. 

The marketable yield ranged between 399 and 130 g/plant, passing from the 

control to the more stressed treatment (T 6 ) (Fig. 7). The yield reduction, compared 

with the control, was 10, 40, 49, 62 and 67% from T 2 to T 6 (Fig. 7), respectively. 

Germinated seeds (%) 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

A A 

B 

A 

D 

A 

C 

A 

D 

A 

D 

B 

D 

0 2 4 6 8 101214161820 

ECw (dS/ m) 

Fig. 4. Germinability of wild rocket 

seeds trend vs. ECw. 

Number of days 

C 

E 

D 

E 

8 

7.5 

7 

6.5 

6 

5.5 

5 

4.5 

4 

3.5 

3 

E 

F 

F 

ATG (days) 

0 4 8 12 16 20 

ECw (dS/ m) 

7 

6.5 

6 

5.5 

5 

4.5 

4 

DE E 

CE 

E 

BC BD 

CE CE 

CE 

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 

ECw (dS/m) 

Fig. 5. Average time of germination 

(ATG) vs. ECw of wild rocket seeds. 

T10 

T25 

T50 

T75 

T90 

Fig. 6. Germination precocity trend vs. ECw of wild rocket seeds. 

B 

A

48 


Marketable yield (g/plant) 

500 

400 

300 

200 

100 

(a) 

0 

0 4 8 12 16 20 

ECw (dS/m) 

(%) 

0 

-20 

-40 

-60 

(b) 

-80 

0 4 8 12 16 20 

ECw (dS/m) 

Fig. 7. Values + SE (n=4) of marketable yield (left) and percentage decrease of this 

parameter compared with control (right) vs. ECw. 

Conclusions 

Wild rocket, very common in both uncultivated and cultivated areas in southern 

Italy, shows good adaptability to cultivation. However, because of its wildness it 

does not give higher yields with the increase of agrotechnical inputs. 

The results presented in this paper give evidence that types and rates of nitrogen 

do not increase yields remarkably. This is due to the high soil fertility, and to the 

short biological cycle of wild rocket as reported by Bianco (1995). 

Wild rocket tends to accumulate high levels of nitrates, which are also high in 

unfertilized plots, in agreement with results obtained on E. vesicaria (Ventrella et al. 

1993). 

Ammonium sulphate raised the sulphate content of leaves. 

For maximum production of leaves it is suggested that wild rocket be grown at a 

plant density of 100 plant/m 2 

or even more. 

No definite response was observed when comparing results from direct-seeded 

fields and transplanted ones. 

On average, the production of successive cuttings was lower and of inferior 

quality, but plant stands remain unchanged. We are inclined to conclude therefore 

that, in pedoclimatic conditions similar to those of our experiments, more than two 

cuttings per cultivation are not profitable. 

Wild rocket seeds showed low germinability, but they are quite tolerant to 

salinity, showing a germination decrease significant only for ECw greater than 10 

dS/m. 

The increase of salinity caused a dramatic decrease in marketable yield of wild 

rocket. Furthermore, yield quality worsened with salinity increase due to evident 

leaf clorosis leaf thickening. 

6IJIVIRGIW 

Anonymous. 1988. Il grande libro delle erbe, 1 a ed., 500-501, Peruzzo Editore. 

Anonymous. 1991. Horta è saude. Editoria Abril, São Paulo, 338 p. 

Arietti, N. 1965. Flora medica ed erboristica nel territorio bresciano. 1 a edn. 

Commentari Ateneo di Brescia, Tip. Fratelli Geroldi, Brescia, 460 p.

+)2)8-' 6)7396')7 &6))(-2+ %2( '908-:%8-32 

Baggio, C. and F. Pimpini. 1995. Preliminary results of agronomic trials on rocket 

conducted by the ESAV. 1st Meeting, 12-14. 

Baldrati, I. 1950. Trattato delle coltivazioni tropicali e subtropicali. 1 a edn. Hoepli, 

Milano, 615 p. 

Bianco,V.V. 1995. Rocket an ancient underutilized vegetable crop and its potential. 




Branca, F. and F. Minissale. 1996. Metodi di produzione per la rucola. Atti III 

Giornate Scientifiche S.O.I. 1996 Erice (TP), 433-434. 

De Feo, V. and F. Senatore. 1993. Medicinal plants and phytotherapy in the 

Amalfitan coast, Salerno Province, Campania, Southern Italy. J. Ethnopharmacol. 

39:39-51. 

Ellison, J.A., P. Hylands, A. Paterson, C. Pick, K. Sanecki and M. Stuart. 1980. 

Enciclopedia delle erbe. 1 a edn. A. Mondadori, Verona, 303 p. 

Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia. A Source of Edible Plants. 1st edn. Kampong 

publication, Vista, California, 678 p. 

Fernald, M.L. 1993. Gray’s Manual of Botany. 1st edn., 2. Dioscorides Press, 

Portland, Oregon, 709 p. 

Kara, K. 1989. Effect of row spacing on the yield and yield components of rocket 

cress (Eruca sativa) under the condition at Erzurum. Doga Türk Tarim 

Ormancilik Dergisi, 13:293-299. Field Crop Abstr. (1990) 43:2737. 

Khatri, R., V. Sethi and A. Kaushik. 1991. Inter-population variation of Kochia indica 

during germination under different stresses. Ann. Bot. 67:413-415. 

Kheir, N.F., A.H.H. Ahmed, E.A.A. El Hassan and E.M.Z. Harb. 1991. Physiological 

studies on hazardous nitrate accumulation in some vegetables. Bull. Fac. Agric. 

Univ. Cairo 42:557-576. 


campagna 5(12):42-43. 

Pezzuto, A., F. Boari and V. Cantore. 1996. Influenza del livello di salinità sulla 

germinabilità dei semi di Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) D.C. Atti III Giornate 

Scientifiche S.O.I. 1996 Erice (TP):57-58. 

Santamaria, P., A. Elia, F. Serio, G. Conversa and M. Gonnella. 1996. Effetti 

dell'accumulo dell'azoto sui principali ioni inorganici e sulla produzione della 

rucola. Atti III Giornate Scientifiche S.O.I. 1996 Erice (TP):425-426. 

Santamaria, P., F. Serio and D. Ventrella. 1995. Influenza dell'irradiazione e 

dell'azoto sul contenuto di azoto e di anioni inorganici nella rucola (Eruca sativa 

Miller). Italus Hortus 2(3):27-31. 

Takaoka, M. and K. Minami. 1984. Efeito do espacamento entre - linhas sobre a 

producão de rùcula (Eruca sativa L.). O Solo, Piracicaba (SP) 76(2):51-55. 

Uphorf, J.C.T. 1968. Dictionary of Economic Plants. 2nd edn. Verlag Von J. Cramer 

Publ.; New York, 591 p. 

Ventrella, D., P. Santamaria, V. Magnifico, F. Serio, A. De Boni, S. Cordella. 1993. 

Influenza dell'azoto sull'accumulo dei nitrati in foglie di rucola (Eruca sativa 

Miller) allevata a differenti condizioni di temperatura e irradianza. Riv. di 

Agron. 27:621-626.

50 


-- 6SGOIX MR XLI ;SVPH

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

4VIWIRX WXEXYW ERH TVSWTIGXW JSV VSGOIX GYPXMZEXMSR MR XLI :IRIXS 

VIKMSR 

Ferdinando Pimpini 1 and Massimo Enzo 2 

1 

Department of Environmental Agronomy and Vegetable Production, University 

of Padova, Italy 

2 

Regional Institute for the Increase of Professionalism in Agriculture, Venice, Italy 

Areas of production and economic importance in the Veneto Region 

Rocket is a herbaceous plant indigenous to the Mediterranean basin and western 

Asia and was cultivated and also highly appreciated by the ancient Romans. In 

recent years, in various Mediterranean countries, the area dedicated to its 

cultivation has grown with ever more interest. In Italy, thanks to its geographical 

position and mild climatic conditions, wild rocket can be found in many regions 

throughout the year, though in varying quantities. In the Veneto region, which has 

a surface area of rocket cultivation of approximately 130-150 ha, as well as in 

Campania, Latium, Apulia, Lombardy, Abruzzi and Sardinia, cultivation in both 

open fields and protected areas is increasingly growing, playing an important role, 

particularly with regard to autumn to spring harvests. 

In Veneto the most extensive areas are situated in the province of Venice, Verona 

and Padova (Fig. 1) totalling over 120 ha, which can be divided as follows: 10-20% 

open fields and 80-90% protected areas. Total production is around 2400 t, of which 

over 90% is obtained from protected cultivation. Considering an average of 2.5 

harvests for Eruca sativa and 1.3 for Diplotaxis spp., average production per hectare 

is around 16-18 t/ha and 19-21 t/ha respectively. The final product, packaged in 

different ways, is then principally sent to regional markets (Padova, Verona, 

Treviso, Venice and Vicenza), neighbouring regions’ markets (in cities like Trieste, 

Udine, Milan, Brescia, Bergamo and Bologna) or directly despatched to 

supermarket chains (for example ALI, COOP, GS, INTERSPAR, La Rinascente, 

PAM, STANDA), whereas only a small quantity is exported abroad to Switzerland 

and Germany. 

Type of soil and preparation 

In favourable climatic conditions, E. sativa can be cultivated in almost any type of 

soil, provided there are no difficulties in working or preparing the soil, whereas 

calcareous soils are preferable for Diplotaxis spp. 

At the outset of cultivation, careful attention must be paid to soil preparation, 

particularly in the case of direct sowing, which is one of the most important factors 

in ensuring its success. Generally, in open fields with medium-clay soils, ploughing 

should be 30-35 cm deep and carried out prior to the date of sowing or 

transplanting, above all when residues of a previous planting have to be interred. 

Subsequently, correct procedures to break up the clods must be carried out (either 

through harrowing and/or pulverizing), which should, however, not be excessive 

so as not to cause powder on the surface, which indicates the formation of a 

successive surface crust. In sandy soils, however, mechanical spading or 

pulverizing at 25-30 cm is carried out. Such practices are also reserved for 

cultivations in protected environments, but at a less shallow depth (20-30 cm). 

* 

This article has been published in Italian in the journal Colture Protette, issue no. 4 (1997). 

Photo credit for the figures in the text: Enzo Massimo.

52 


When necessary, these steps can also be followed by further refining procedures 

(Fig. 2). 

Sometimes soil preparation ends with the formation of ridges of various width 

(1-3 m), on which sowing by scattering or in rows or even transplanting can be 

carried out. This option is generally chosen when the farmer intends to obtain 

many harvests. In all cases, the levelling of the entire surface or of the turf in order 

to guarantee a more uniform depth of the seed planting is deemed very important. 

To avoid compressing the soil excessively, the formation of ridges, the levelling of 

the surface and sowing are carried out in one single operation. It is worth 

mentioning that, in view of the precision needed in all of the above operations, they 

should not be carried out until soil conditions are correct. Sometimes, particularly 

in the summer, this can be achieved by irrigating the field before commencing the 

work which, at the same time, also facilitates weed control (’false sowing’) and 

maintains the soil water level at an optimum level to ensure fast and uniform 

germination as well as rapid emergence. 

Sowing, transplanting and cultivation density 

With regard to leaf production, direct sowing is generally the technique with which 

cultivation begins, although transplanting should not be excluded, especially when 

cultivation takes place during the autumn-winter period for Diplotaxis spp. 

To obtain the best production results, it is often advisable to avoid 

intersuccession which, if practised for successive cycles, can favour parasitic 

damage. It is also inappropriate for rocket cultivation to follow beans or other 

species belonging to the Apiaeae, Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae (Bianco 1995), 

while positive results have been observed in the Veneto region with regard to 

tomato, pepper, cucumber and zucchini production cultivated after it. These 

advantages were noted in sandy soils with a verified presence of gall-producing 

nematodes. This nematode-control capacity of rocket seems to be better when soil 

was previously ploughed. The above information has been accepted by the farmers 

who pay increasing attention to interannual rotation of rocket-Solanaceae or rocket- 

Cucurbitaceae. 

The germination level in rocket seed is close to 85% with a reduction of 15-20% 

when seed is obtained from September to October (Fig. 3). Summer cultivation is 

practised above all in the Romagna region (Cesena), and rocket is always 

transplanted or sown in rows with distances constantly being widened to the point 

of reaching 40 cm between rows with plants 20-30 cm within rows. 

For E. sativa (’cultivated rocket’) sowing is carried out throughout the year by 

scattering or in rows. With the first method, ridges must first be prepared and 5-8 g 

of seed/m 2 

(1.7-2.0 g in weight per 1000 seeds) are planted at a depth of 0.5-1.0 cm. 

For winter cultivation, or when seed germination is below 80%, the amount of seed 

increases by 20-30%. Sometimes, particularly with soft soils, a light rolling is 

carried out either after or during sowing (Fig. 4). Sowing in rows 3 cm apart is 

normally carried out by machine (a seed drill) (Fig. 5) using slightly less seed than 

that used for sowing by scattering; in this case emergence is more uniform and 

simultaneous (Fig. 6). Germination occurs approximately 24 hours after sowing 

during summer with temperatures around 25°C, whereas it occurs 2-3 days later in 

colder periods, when temperatures drop below 10-15°C. At this point, the 

importance of speed of germination and emergence should be highlighted, as both 

are very closely linked to weed control because of the high initial seed density 

(2000-3000 plants/m 2 ).

Fig.1. Distribution of rocket in the Veneto region of Italy. 

Fig. 2. Making the field Fig. 3. Seeds of Eruca 

ready for sowing. sativa (A) and Diplotaxis 

spp. (B). 

Fig. 4 (right). Rolling/ 

flattening of soil. 

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360(

54 


Fig. 6. Even plant emerg- Fig. 7. Transplanting cubes 

ence in a field sown of compressed peat moved 

in rows. to simple soil. 

Fig. 5 (left). Detail of a sowing machine. 

Fig. 8. Transplanting Fig. 9. Perforated hose Fig. 10. Irrigation bar in 

cubes of compressed sprinkler system. a protected environment/ 

peat on mulched soil. greenhouse. 

Fig. 11. Nonhomogen- Fig. 12. Tunnel-shaped Fig. 13. Plant Plane 

ous plant emergence greenhouses covered Hydroponics (PPH) 

due to irregular water with double EVA film. system. 

distribution/watering.

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

Fig. 14. Rock wool. Fig. 15. Floating system Fig. 16. Eruca sativa 

(panels placed in the ready for harvesting. 

cultivation basin). 

Fig. 17. Diplotaxis spp. Fig. 18. Detail of a sickle Fig. 19. Harvesting 

ready for harvesting. used in harvesting rocket. operations. 

Fig. 20 (left). Cultivation 

after the first harvest. 

Fig. 21 (right). Different 

leaf morphology in Eruca 

sativa from 1st to 2nd 

harvests (from left to 

right). 

Fig. 22 (left). Eruca sativa 

ready for marketing. 

Fig. 23 (right). Diplotaxis 

spp. ready for marketing.

56 


Figs. 24-25-26. Various stages of the packaging process. 

Fig. 27 (left). Damage 

caused by fungal attacks. 

Fig. 28 (right). Damage 

caused by excessive 

watering in Eruca sativa 

cultivation. 

Diplotaxis spp. (’wild rocket’) is sown by scattering or in rows, particularly in 

greenhouses (protected environments) from April to September using the same 

methods as for the previous species. Of course, owing to the lighter seed weight 

(0.280-0.300 g per 1000 seeds), the quantity per surface unit is notably lower than 

the amount used for E. sativa and to obtain the same cultivation density, around 

0.8 g/m 2 

should be used. After sowing, the seeds are very rarely covered. Often, 

when scattered sowing is carried out by hand, flour and other material is mixed 

with fine sand and the seeds in order to make seeds visible on the soil and to 

improve homogeneity of distribution. Sowing in cubes of compressed peat (4 x 4 x 

4 cm) or in alveolar containers of expanded polystyrene with 80-150 holes is always 

carried out in greenhouses to obtain seedlings for transplanting, in particular from 

autumn to late winter. In both cases the substrate is made up of equal parts of light 

and dark peat. 

Eight to ten seeds per cube or alveolar container are used and are covered with a 

very thin layer of fine vermiculite and placed in germination greenhouses at a 

temperature of 20-22°C. In these conditions, germination takes place after 

approximately 2-3 days and transplanting by machine or more frequently by hand, 

either in open fields or in greenhouses, is carried out when plantlets have reached 

the stage of 3 true leaves (40-60 days after sowing) (Figs. 7, 8). Variable cultivation 

layouts from 20x10 cm to 20x15 cm are used for which 50-35 cubes/m 2 are needed 

and which offer the possibility of obtaining a cultivation density of 200- 

300 plants/m 2 . In most cases, transplanting takes place into mulched soil with a 

0.05 mm thick black or white film of polyethylene. With irrigation in sandy soils, a 

sprinkler providing 5-6 L m -1 

hour -1 

of water or nutritive solution is placed under the 

mulching film in alternate rows (Fig. 9). Transplanting has certain obvious

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

advantages such as shortening the productive cycle, enhancing harvest precocity, 

improving the cleanliness and quality of product, as well as reducing problems 

associated with weed control. 

This practice is limited by the rather high cost of the cubes of compressed peat 

(40-50 It. lire each, equivalent to US$ 0.034) and so, to reduce the costs, farmers tend 

to use the alveolar containers that do not, however, allow the same precocity in 

harvesting and the same efficient use of the cultivation environment. 

Fertilization 

Considering rocket’s short biological cycle of leaf production and the speed with 

which nitrogen accumulates in the plant, it is now generally confirmed that it is not 

advisable to use more than 100 kg/ha of nitrogen in various forms (Bianco 1995). 

Preliminary results obtained from an experiment conducted in the Veneto region on 

a medium-muddy soil (Baggio and Pimpini 1995) confirmed the influence of 

nitrogen (0, 100, 200 and 300 kg/ha of N) in increasing production of the species 

examined, sown in an open field in three different periods (9 May, 15 June, 

1 August) with the most interesting results obtained in response to 100 kg of 

nitrogen spread in the same way as ammonium nitrate. Similar results were also 

obtained in research conducted in southern Italy (Apulia region) with the same 

levels of nitrogen. When working in a protected environment and on a sandy soil, 

when several harvests are foreseen, the doses can even be doubled. With regard to 

rocket’s phosphorus and potassium requirements, only approximate data have been 

gathered and it is widely believed that modest doses of both elements should be 

used. In Israel, in leaf breeding cultivations, 100 and 50 kg/ha respectively are used 

(Yaniv 1995), while for seed cultivation Jaugir et al. (1990) observed no increase in 

production when increasing doses of P 2 O 5 from 20 to 60 kg/ha. Some Italian 

farmers recommend as optimum 50-60 kg/ha of P 2 O 5 and 100-120 kg/ha of K 2 O in 

sandy soils. Farmers in the region tend to follow the information provided in the 

literature, even though their practices vary according to the type of soils with which 

they work, which in different areas of cultivation can differ considerably [soils go 

from sandy (95-98% sand) in coastal areas to heavy soils (20-40% clay) in inland 

areas]. 

The above refers to the traditional distribution of solid chemical fertilizers and 

sometimes even organic ones. In recent years, however, fertigation (fertilization + 

irrigation) is becoming widespread among the more innovative farmers. For this 

procedure, particular attention is focused on improving the availability of nutritive 

elements, and the bicarbonates present in the water used are nearly always 

neutralized by adding nitric acid or phosphorus. The solution is made up of levels 

of EC varying between 1500 and 2500 nS/cm and pH 6.0-6.5, starting from water 

with an EC content between 350 and 1000 nS/cm. The relationship between the 

three principal macroelements varies according to the cultivation phases to which 

they belong and are as follows: 1.5-0.5-1.0 in the period leading from sowing or 

transplanting to the first harvests and 2.0-0.5-1.5 for successive regrowth. In this 

case, sometimes fertigation can be carried out with a solution consisting only of 

calcium nitrate (3-4 g/L). 

Irrigation 

Even though rocket adapts well to cultivation in arid soils, to improve the quality of 

production (for example, obtaining non-fibrous leaves), soil with a good availability 

of water is essential. Such a requirement is supported by numerous results 

obtained in irrigation tests carried out by various authors, particularly on

58 


cultivations from seed [viz. studies on water with different saline concentrations, on 

soils found in conditions where water was increasingly more available, and with 

varying degrees of fertilization (see Bianco 1995)]. 

Having defined farming methods and requirements, it then follows that the 

choice of irrigation system must ensure a uniform distribution of water and, above 

all, must not cause leaf crushing or staining. The most widely used irrigation 

mechanisms are those with medium sprinkling capacity (120 L/hr) and medium 

range (3-5 m). To improve evenness of distribution, in some companies specialized 

in rocket cultivation and particularly where soils are heavy, low-capacity irrigation 

bars (10-15 mm/hr) on trolleys (Fig. 10) are increasingly being used. In this case, 

besides irrigation and fertigation, these structures can also be used for carrying out 

antiparasitic treatment. 

It has been observed that rocket requires frequent watering to the point of 

complete immersion of the plantlets (Fig. 11). Most of the watering will be carried 

out immediately after sowing. In soils where a superficial crust is easily formed, it 

is best to decrease the volume of water and increase the frequency of watering up to 

full immersion. In the next phase, irrigation by sprinkling can cause serious 

damage to cultivation since, with the high plant densities used, the plants grow 

with very tender leaves that, having been wet for long periods, are easily prone to 

disease attacks, in particular to downy mildew. Considering that the ground is wet 

enough from previous watering, that the plant itself does not require large 

quantities of water and that the cycle between emergence and the first harvest is 

quite short in the period that goes from the complete spread of cotyledons and the 

first cutting, only one watering may be necessary, often just to ensure a supply of 

nutrients. Careful observation of the cultivation is an essential point of reference in 

judging whether further irrigation is necessary. Where there is a lack of watering 

during cultivation, plants with stunted growth, dark green colour and noticeable 

thickening of the leaves which emit a rather intense aroma are noted. Between one 

cutting and another fertigation with a watering volume equal to 20-30 m 3 

/ha is 

appropriate. 

It should be remembered that rocket is less tolerant of excessive watering than of 

drought. However, it is always useful to pay particular attention to the latter, since 

as with other types of stress, drought may accelerate the flowering and jeopardize 

the good results of the whole cultivation. 

Weed control 

At present, only a small number of registered active herbicides for rocket are 

available, which do not, however, provide a wide range of action and a good degree 

of selectivity. Therefore, the fight against weeds during cultivation must be carried 

out by hand or by chemical, physical and/or agronomic means (if for prevention). 

In fact, the problem is particularly marked in the case of Diplotaxis spp. which, in 

unfavourable climatic conditions, has a fairly long germination emergence and 

growth period and thus allows weeds to take over the cultivation. This aspect is, 

however, less important for E. sativa since, as previously mentioned, it covers the 

soil very quickly and often the weeds are unable to grow. However, even in the 

cultivation of these species, above all when carrying out subsequent harvests 

between one regrowth and another, the presence of Stellaria media L., Veronica spp. 

and other weeds cannot be excluded during winter, while in the summer and with 

cultivation sown in rows, there is a fairly intense presence of Portulaca oleracea L., 

Chenopodium album L., Solanum nigrum L. and Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv.

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

Methods currently adopted for weed control range from ’false sowing’ to the 

presence of mulch in the case of transplanted cultivations. It should always be 

borne in mind, however, that in the majority of cases, soils that are destined for 

rocket cultivation do receive different types of disinfestation before planting (e.g. by 

steam, pyrodisinfestation, Dazomet, methyl bromide) which, until now, have 

provided satisfactory results. 

Cultivations in protected environments and on banks 

As mentioned above, the majority of cultivations in the region are kept in protected 

environments throughout the year. The most widely used protective measures in 

85-90% of cases are tunnel-shaped greenhouses with a volume of 1.5-4.0 m 3 /m 2 per 

unit, covered with plastic material (Fig. 12). Occasionally, greenhouses with a 

volume of more than 4.0 m 3 

/m 2 

with a glass covering can be seen. Sometimes 

tunnel-shaped greenhouses of medium to high volume and always those made of 

metal and glass are equipped with heating systems with warm-air generators, the 

air being piped through plastic tubes capable of guaranteeing a difference of 15- 

20°C between the outside and inside. Such practices are necessary to speed up the 

productive cycles during colder periods (end of autumn-beginning of spring), 

considering that optimum thermic values are reached at 22-24°C during the day 

and 16-18°C at night with an RH of less than 60%. During these periods, a cover 

weighing approximately 17-20 g/m 2 

is spread over the cultivation to accelerate 

regrowth immediately after harvesting. 

Covering materials used for tunnel-shaped greenhouses are made of 

polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, ethylene vinyl acetate 0.20 mm thick, laid either 

singly or in double layers. In the latter case, room temperature or warm 

pressurized air is emitted between the two layers of plastic film which are placed 

5-15 cm apart, thus creating an insulation layer that allows a better greenhouse 

effect, the formation of condensation on the inside layer and therefore making RH 

control easier. However, when the covering material is glass, and as greenhouses 

are not meant solely for rocket cultivation but are often also used for floricultural 

species, the type of covering material can also be slightly different (e.g. Hortiplus, 

U-Glass, double-layered). Occasionally, covers made of semi-rigid layers of 

polimetacrilate, polyester, PVC or polycarbonate are used. 

The choice of greenhouse cover must be made paying particular attention to light 

characteristics insofar as they play an important role in the quality of production. In 

the case of protected cultivations, particularly during months of the year with poor 

natural light, episodes of aetiolation are frequent which in rocket manifests itself in 

the form of thinner surface leaves, light green colouring with elongated petiole, 

poor intensity of aroma, high nitrate content and poor shelf life. 

Moreover, cultivation results are closely linked to a careful management of 

climatic parameters inside the greenhouse. To a certain extent, these can be 

controlled by openings which, besides temperature, help to avoid excessive RH 

values, which is particularly feared by producers of E. sativa, as the plant's 

conditions often favour severe attacks by downy mildew. 

Fungal attacks (e.g. Pithium spp., Phoma spp., Fusarium spp., Sclerotinia spp. and 

others) also cause concern among rocket producers and, even moreso for those who 

only specialize in 'leafy vegetables' (e.g. lettuce, chicory and chard; this is a typical 

Italian production which consists of leafy vegetables harvested with scissors or by 

sickle) as they find themselves in a situation where large yearly successions are not 

foreseeable. For this and other reasons, research is being carried out to set up outof-soil 

cultivation techniques, to allow for better planning of fast productive cycles,

60 


typical of this type of production system, and also marketing. Moreover, out-of-soil 

cultivation leaves scope for improving the quality of production (e.g. aroma, colour 

and nitrate content), thanks to better management of the replenishment of nutrients. 

At the research station Centro Sperimentale Ortofloricolo Regionale Po di 

Tramontana in Rosolina (Rovigo province, Veneto region) and in horticultural pilot 

companies, certain systems have been set up to investigate the most reliable 

cultivation systems with attention focused on prospects for mechanization. 

The systems on which most attention is being focused are Plant Plane 

Hydroponics (PPH), Rock wool, Aeroponics and Floating system. 

The following is a summary of information on these systems: 

PPH: This is made up of a 3-5 mm thick layer of polyethylene of ca 100 g/m 2 in 

weight, placed on a plastic film and put on an inclined board on the ground (Fig. 

13) or on suspended structures. Nutritive solution is distributed through a plastic 

handle with holes positioned in the uppermost part. 

Rockwool: The substratum on which the plant grows its hypogeal part is a rock 

wool carpet 8 mm thick and 400-500 g/m 2 in weight, placed on supports directly on 

the ground or raised up (Fig. 14). The nutritive solution is spread with a ’flex and 

reflex’ system. 

Aeroponics: Support structures have to be built in steel or other material on which 

the polyethylene material weighing between 150-400 g/m 2 is fixed. Once ready for 

cultivation, they are used in two different ways. The first consists of placing it in a 

horizontal position over basins dug out of the ground or built up on them with 

cheap and easily adaptable material (e.g. boards recycled from the building 

industry). The internal part of the basins should always be insulated with plastic 

film. The second method consists of fixing together two structures (normally along 

the longest side) creating and preparing a triangular section to place on the support 

bench or on soil that has been carefully levelled off and covered with plastic film 

where it comes into contact with the structure. The nutritive solution is spread 

through a sprinkling system aimed directly at the root system. 

Floating system: The system is essentially made up of expanded polystyrene 

panels or other lightweight water-repellent material, as containers for the substrate 

and to support the plant, and of cultivation basins 0.25-0.3 m deep for 

replenishment of water and nutritive solution. Conic holes are made in the 20-30 

mm thick panel, of which the widest part of the holes (10 mm) are the side of the 

sheet that will be exposed to the light, and the narrowest (1 mm) are on the opposite 

side of the sheet, which will be in contact with the liquid. The holes, which cover 

the entire surface of the panels, are made 3 cm apart and are filled with various 

substrates (e.g. perlite, vermiculite, flakes of rock wool, etc.) on which sowing will 

take place. 

This is followed by cultivation carried out in two possible ways. The first 

consists of floating the panel directly on the nutritive solution with which the 

cultivation basins have been filled. The second method consists of first sending the 

panel to germination cells, in order to accelerate this phase, and then after 24-36 

hours, as soon as the rootlet has released itself into the sublayer, the panel is 

transferred to the cultivation basins (Fig. 15). It is obvious that the second option is 

most often carried out during periods in which temperatures do not reach the 

optimum level required for this important and delicate phase.

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

Knowledge acquired so far allows some conclusions on the above-mentioned 

systems to be drawn, which will, however, only receive a final assessment through 

future tests. It has been noted that with regard to the first three systems, only the 

rock wool seems to be particularly interesting, insofar as it could represent a new 

way of selling rocket which, having been sold in the market with its cultivation 

support, can be considered a ’live’ product. Until now, the other two methods have 

instead proved to expose cultivation to excessive risks (for example, for even very 

brief periods (15 minutes) a failure in the nutritive solution’s distribution 

mechanism can occur owing to only a slight availability of water to the system). 

With regard to the floating system, as well as being that which currently gives 

the best production results from a quantitative and qualitative point of view (as it is 

a closed system), it also guarantees that the environment will be respected. 

Moreover, it is not difficult to run and may soon become automated or mechanized. 

Its functional characteristics show an easy adaptability to different climatic 

situations. In fact, the thermal conditions of the nutritive solution are less prone to 

rapid and consistent changes as is often the case with the soil. This aspect 

accelerates production by 7-10 days as well as causing an interesting reduction in 

the productive cycles. 

Comparisons have been made of the effect of various nutritive solutions on the 

quality of taste, aroma, colour and nitrate content of rocket leaves. First results 

showed that the taste, aroma and intensity of leaf colour are closely linked to EC in 

the nutritive solution and it seemed that, with similar EC values, quality parameters 

can be subject to variation according to the type of ion that defines it. Moreover, 

different NO 3 /NH 4 ratios, as well as the presence of chlorides and sulphates, can 

influence the reduction of nitrate concentration in the edible parts, as previously 

observed with lettuce by Malorgio et al. (1995). 

Until now, nutritive solutions with a pH varying between 5.5 and 6.0 and EC 

between 1300 and 6000 nS/cm, have been used and it has been confirmed that, 

during a very reduced cultivation cycle, no correction of the initial values is 

necessary. This is only useful after the first harvest, when the level of the solution 

in the cultivation tanks needs to be replenished for subsequent harvests. After 

having corrected the pH and EC, the actual residue of the initial solution was used 

again for a further 10 successive cycles without any negative effects on the plant. 

For all closed systems, the use of a sand filter is advisable to withhold biotic or 

abiotic impurities present in the nutritive solution, at least at the end of each cycle. 

Harvesting, packaging and conservation of product 

The harvesting of leaves can begin 20-60 days after emergence or transplanting 

according to the species used, the period, environment and market destination 

(Figs. 16, 17). Tests conducted by Haag and Minami (1988) clearly highlighted the 

appropriateness of harvesting no later than 34 days after emergence. 

Taking advantage of the species’ ability to regrow, after the first harvest it is 

possible to carry out a further 4-5 harvests at intervals of 10-20 days for Eruca and 

1-3 times at 15-30 day intervals for Diplotaxis. Bianco (1995) suggests not continuing 

cultivation beyond the third harvest as a general rule, but the different pedoclimatic 

conditions may make prolonging the productive cycle economically viable. 

Combined production weight can vary between 15 and 25 t/ha according to the 

number of harvests made; as a good guess, the values given (Fig. 29) seem reliable. 

Harvesting is mainly carried out by hand with the aid of a knife or sickle to 

which a collecting plate or other tool around 10 cm high is applied, in order to 

collect the leaves at the back of the blade (Fig. 18). This helps to facilitate the

62 


subsequent packaging of the leaves (Fig. 19). Mechanical sickle bars which can 

speed up the process slightly are also available, but the leaf tissue is subject to slight 

crushing and quick oxidation at the cutting area, thus jeopardizing the quality of 

the product and its preservation. These negative aspects have so far prevented the 

spread of this interesting harvesting procedure. In the case of both mechanical and 

manual harvesting with a sickle, careful soil preparation before beginning 

cultivation must be carried out paying particular attention to eliminate even the 

slightest depression in the ground. During the first harvest, the leaves must be cut 

at least 0.5 cm above the cotyledons to avoid damaging the vegetative apex, thus 

allowing a quick and abundant regrowth (Fig. 20). 

Leaf morphology of E. sativa varies greatly between harvests. In fact, at every 

regrowth, leaves tend to take on an increasingly lobate form (Fig. 21). The length 

varies between 5 and 8 cm at the first harvest and from 8 to 15 cm in subsequent 

harvests. As mentioned above, the number of harvests varies greatly; however, 

producers in the Veneto region are normally only able to carry out two harvests 

from summer cultivations because of the ease with which the plants, which are 

stimulated by the long period of daylight, rapidly show their flower racemes. 

During this period of cultivation, regrowth of new leaves occurs so quickly that 

within 7-10 days harvest can again take place. When crops are sown in autumn, 5-6 

harvests can be made as the productive cycle carries on well into spring. 

Diplotaxis spp. regrowth is far less rapid and intense and does not, therefore, 

allow more than 1 or 2 cuts to be made as the plants have a tendency to flower 

quickly. This occurs mainly when planting takes place during the spring-summer 

by direct sowing seeing as, in the case of transplanting in autumn-winter, it is 

possible to make up to 4 harvests. In all the harvests, the leaves must always be 

longer than 12-15 cm. 

As far as quality characteristics of production are concerned, it is appropriate to 

mention that some markets prefer subsequent cuts to the first as the leaves are more 

consistent, aroma is more intense and the product preserves better. It also appears 

that leaves obtained from regrowth tend to improve in quality as cultivation density 

is reduced. In fact, after every harvest, when raking the soil to clean away residual 

leaves, some plants are inevitably uprooted and their removal favours regrowth. 

This modest thinning is probably responsible for the improved organoleptic 

characteristics of the leaves. In other markets, however, this situation may turn out 

to be a negative aspect, as only slightly fibrous, tender and crisp leaves with light 

aroma are preferred. The product depreciates when the small leaf petioles are 

excessively long compared with the leaf blades. Another problem encountered 

after the first harvest, in subsequent crops, is the production of leaves bearing 

petiole residues, when one would like to obtain a product only largely made up of 

blades. The petioles remain on the plant and can be a receptacle for plant diseases 

during the productive cycle and should, in any case, always be removed after 

harvesting, before the rocket blades are placed on the market. 

Results of tests carried out by IRIPA in Venice have indicated that the best time 

for harvesting is the afternoon after the plant has been exposed to a fairly long 

period of sunlight. In fact, in this case, the leaves showed a much lower 

concentration of nitrates than those harvested in the morning. This is hardly 

surprising and, if anything, concurs with results reported by Malorgio et al. (1995) 

regarding lettuce grown in Nutrient Film Technique (NFT).

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

Fig. 29. Variation in yields of Eruca sativa and Diplotaxis spp. under different growing 

conditions. 

Packaging takes place in different ways. Eruca sativa is marketed in rigid plastic 

packages 30x50x10 cm or 30x40x25 cm (Fig. 22). The first packages are able to 

contain, in a single layer, 1.5-2.0 kg of leaves placed ’upright’, the second size 

packages containing 2.5-3.0 kg of leaves ’in bulk’; the placing of leaves in the 

containers is carried out directly in the field immediately after harvesting. Diplotaxis 

spp., however, because of their good preservation qualities and their resistance to 

feared diseases like downy mildew, are placed in 10-12 kg cases immediately after 

cutting (Fig. 23). Packaging is carried out later in appropriate premises with an 

automatic system capable of filling clear trays or bags of polyethylene with 100- 

150 g each (Figs. 24, 25, 26). Rocket packaged in this way is destined exclusively for 

supermarket distribution. Finally, it should be mentioned that this particular 

species is still sold in bunches of plants or leaves of 100-150 g in weight. 

Post-harvest preservation criteria have not yet been backed by research results. It 

should be said that these procedures are carried out in an empirical way using 

knowledge available for similar types of vegetables, with particular reference to the 

’4th generation vegetables’ which, thanks to their particular way of being packaged 

allow the product to be preserved quite effectively for up to 5 days after harvesting 

(Caponigro et al. 1996). For shorter periods and by packaging the product in a more 

traditional way, satisfactory results can be obtained by keeping the leaves in 

environments at 4-6°C and 60-70% RH.

64 


Diseases and pests 

The greatest worry is undoubtedly caused by fungal attacks which damage both 

epigeal and hypogeal parts of the plant, and whose effects are even more drastic 

when production takes place in a protected environment, where the temperature 

and RH often favour their growth. 

In the cotyledon leaf phase, plantlets can be killed by Fusarium spp., Pythium spp. 

and Rhizoctonia spp. on which secondary rot can set in caused by Botrytis and/or 

Sclerotinia spp. (Fig. 27). Alternaria spp. can also attack leaf blades, petioles and 

hypocotyls. The most feared biotic agent of vegetable origin is without doubt 

peronospora (Phytophthora brassicae L.). These phycomycetes attack blades and 

small leaves causing more or less widespread discolouration, first yellowish and 

very quickly turning brown. In these parts, where there is a high level of humidity, 

a potentially whitish mycelium appears. This grows best in temperatures of 10- 

16°C and, when the leaves are wet, the cycle is concluded rapidly and the 

cultivation is lost within 1-2 days. In this regard, it is appropriate to mention that 

even in the case of slight damage, the product depreciates considerably. It should 

also be remembered that E. sativa is very sensitive to this disease, unlike Diplotaxis 

spp. which is fairly resistant to it. 

In addition to these pathogens, attacks on leaves by some microlepidopters and 

aphids also have been reported, though so far causing limited damage. 

Furthermore, over the last 2-3 years, a steady increase in the presence of 

Liriomyza spp. (phylominator fly) has been noted during the summer. These attacks 

could cause serious concern to the growers if not carefully controlled. 

Finally, it is appropriate to mention that plants exposed to excessive watering in 

conjunction with low temperatures (4-5°C) tend to have reddish leaves, whereas, 

once exposed to higher temperatures, these turn yellow and this is accompanied by 

reduced growth, loss of aroma and preservation qualities (Fig. 28). 

Conclusion 

Examination of the situation regarding rocket cultivation in the Veneto region has 

shown that in recent years the species has played an ever-increasing role in the 

horticultural sector, to the point of becoming an independent activity within the 

sector. The continuous increase in the surface area occupied by rocket has led to an 

inevitable dynamism of the entire production/marketing network linked to the 

species. New directions have been taken in the choice of production techniques, 

considerable agronomic evolution has been reported, wider commercial market 

distribution has been attained and many possible new uses of the product have 

been identified to the extent that the conviction that the crop satisfies only certain 

market niches seems increasingly unfounded. As briefly outlined in this paper, a 

certain amount of enthusiastic expectation from the farmers seems justified. 

However, some considerations on the uncertainties of goals attainable in the near 

future also seem necessary. For example, because the majority of cultivation is 

carried out in greenhouses owing to an unfavourable climate, more detailed 

information should be made available with regard to cubic space, covering 

materials, ventilation openings and irrigation (with added nutrients/chemicals) 

corresponding to the total cultivation area employed. 

From a strictly agronomic point of view, in view of the species' ability to adapt 

well, it can be confirmed that soil conditions do not generally cause problems. Most 

concerns lie in choosing the right variety of rocket, in view of the need for highly 

selective genetic material with regard to quality and quantity of production,

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

preservation, and resistance to the most common diseases, as well as being able to 

give consistent results in order to constantly satisfy market demand. 

There is also a lack of results from appropriate research to dispel the many 

doubts regarding fertilization procedures for both open-air cultivations and 

protected cultivations. In this regard, besides the influence of nitrogen on the 

accumulation of nitrates in the edible parts, it would also be interesting to be able to 

specify the need for phosphorus and potassium as well as that of certain important 

microelements. 

Irrigation has proved to be an efficient way of improving production quality and 

quantity, thus speeding up the production cycles. In this regard, it must be stressed 

that on the more efficient farms, low-capacity irrigation systems have already been 

installed for which the time of use and amount of watering must be identified, 

according to the needs of the plant. 

Careful attention also must be paid to the appropriate use of a limited amount of 

plant protection products so as to offer a good-quality final product from a 

marketing and hygiene point of view. A very interesting and recent practice 

involves out-of-soil cultivation techniques as they guarantee good disease control, 

they produce a clean, homogeneous, pest-free product that is easy to manage and, 

thanks to good management of the nutritive solution, also is better from an 

organoleptic point of view. It is therefore very relevant to carry out specific 

research on this newly developed sector aimed specifically at addressing the many 

unsolved problems related to rocket cultivation. 

Very special attention must be paid to harvesting methods, the packaging of the 

product according to the different market requests, and to preservation. Those 

directly concerned must pay better attention to studying mechanization throughout 

the various stages of cultivation, particularly to harvesting. At present, until better 

solutions have been found, it would be advisable to begin studies aimed at adapting 

the machinery already present for other types of cultivation that could also prove to 

be suitable for this particular type of plant. This would allow work to be carried out 

more quickly and precisely, to reduce farmers’ labour and cut production costs, thus 

spreading cultivation over ever-wider areas. These aspects are of particular 

importance for out-of-soil cultivations, insofar as complete mechanization of the 

productive cycle would bring about great advantages that can be easily imagined. 

6IJIVIRGIW 

Baggio, C. and F. Pimpini. 1995. Preliminary results of agronomic trials on rocket 

conducted by the ESAV (Agency for the Rural Development of the Veneto 

Region). Pp. 12-14 in Rocket Genetic Resources Network. Report of the First 

Meeting, 13-15 November 1994, Lisbon, Portugal (S. Padulosi, compiler). 

International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. 

Bianco, V.V. 1995. Rocket, an ancient vegetable crop and its potential. Rocket 

Genetic Resources Network. Pp. 35-57 in Rocket Genetic Resources Network. 


compiler). International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. 

Caponigro, V., G. Cafiero, A. Tonini, C. Perrella and F. Piro. 1996. Microbiologia 

superficiale della rucola confezionata pronta per l’uso. Atti Workshop Nazionale 

"Postraccolta dei prodotti ortofrutticoli", 28 Novembre, 11. 

Haag, H.P. and K. Minami. 1988. Nutriçao mineral de hortaliças. LXXVII. Demanda 

de nutrientes por una coltura de rucola. An. Esc: Sup. Agric. Luiz de Queiroz 

Piracicaba 45(2):589-595.

66 


Jaugir, R.P., S.L. Sharma, P.L. Malival and M.M. Dubey. 1990. Response of taramina 

(Eruca sativa L.) to frequency of irrigation under varying levels of fertility. Trans. 

Ind. Soc. Desert Technol. 117-119. Field Crop Abstr. (1990) 43:2737 

Malorgio, F., A. Pardossi, D. Casarotti and F. Tognoni. 1995. Contenuto di nitrati 

nella lattuga coltivata in NFT. Colture Protette 7/8:67-70. 

Yaniv, Z. 1955. Preliminary report on major activities initiated within the 

framework of Network activities. Pp. 2-6 in Rocket Genetic Resources Network. 


compiler). International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy.

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

7XEXYW SJ VSGOIX KIVQTPEWQ MR -RHME VIWIEVGL EGGSQTPMWLQIRXW 

ERH TVMSVMXMIW 

D.C. Bhandari and K.P.S. Chandel 

National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources Regional Station, CAZRI Campus, 

Jodhpur 342-003, India 

Introduction 

Rocket (Eruca sativa Mill), a member of the rapeseed and mustard group, is a minor 

oilseed crop of India. Its inedible, pungent oil, mainly used for industrial purposes, 

has a characteristic odour. Commonly known as ’taramira’, it is a winter crop 

(’rabi’) of drier areas in north and northwest India, grown either as a pure or mixed 

crop with other cereals, oilseeds and pulses. It is endowed with suitability to 

marginal lands having poor soil fertility, and is drought resistant, tolerant of biotic 

and abiotic stresses and has a fast-penetrating root system for moisture absorption 

from deeper soil profiles. 

This allows its successful cultivation in uncongenial and hostile environments. 

Owing to its wider range in the time of sowing, it is the only alternative crop which 

if grown during the years of severe drought and late winter rains, would thrive and 

bear fairly good yield with ensured returns. 

Rocket-seed oil is mainly used in industries as lubricant, soap-making, 

illuminating agent, in massaging, in medicines, for adulterating rapeseed/mustard 

oil and in cooking as salad oil. The oil cake is a source of cattle feed and manure. 

The young plants are used as salad, vegetable and as green fodder. Tender leaves 

are stimulant, stomachic, diuretic and antiscorbutic. Seeds are vesicant 

(Anonymous 1952). 

Areas and production 

In India, the chief rocket-growing states are Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya 

Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Rajasthan has the highest area and production of 

rocket. Cultivation of rocket in Rajasthan alone during 1993-94 accounted for more 

than 1.6 lakh/ha mainly under rain-fed conditions with a total production of 

95 632 t (Anonymous 1994). The northwest region of the state constitutes more than 

56% of the area under cultivation and contributes more than 52% of total 

production. Productivity of the crop is highly variable, from as low as 89 kg/ha in 

Bikaner district to as high as 1527 kg/ha in Dholpur district (Table 1). 

Research accomplishments 

Research priorities go hand in hand with demand. Since rocket lacks demand as an 

edible oil crop in India, so does its crop improvement programme/exploitation, 

irrespective of the fact that it offers good production potential in drier regions. The 

only variety of rocket released/identified is through direct introduction/selection 

(Ranga Rao and Ramachandram 1988). 

Research accomplishments to date on various aspects in the area of genetic 

resources, crop improvement and management are summarized in the following.

68 


Table 1. Area and seed production of rocket in different regions/districts of Rajasthan, 

India during 1993-94 (source: Anonymous 1994) 

%ZK 

8SXEP GVST -VVMKEXIH TVSHYGXMSR 8SXEP ]MIPH 

Region District EVIE LE EVIE LE OK LE X LE 

Bharatpur 15655 145 973 15231 

Alwar 2281 17 490 1118 

Bharatpur 3623 37 821 2973 

Dholpur 2537 40 1527 3875 

Swaimadhopur 7214 51 1007 7265 

Bhilwara 5034 699 386 1943 

Bhilwara 2082 390 358 953 

Chittorgarh 2573 252 313 806 

Rajsamand 379 47 486 184 

Jaipur 26927 1048 615 16553 

Ajmer 10981 602 638 7002 

Dausa 3432 32 885 3036 

Jaipur 10661 369 519 5538 

Jhunjhunu 309 25 534 165 

Sikar 1544 80 526 812 

Jodhpur 42025 2888 639 26874 

Barmer 193 89 394 76 

Jaisalmer 410 155 263 108 

Jalore 1159 797 506 586 

Jodhpur 12777 115 802 10244 

Nagour 22265 1274 472 10501 

Pali 5136 378 1037 5325 

Sirohi 85 80 400 34 

Kota 21654 265 512 11090 

Baran 530 16 596 316 

Bundi 2124 38 566 1202 

Jhalawad 30 4 100 3 

Kota 1424 22 505 719 

Tonk 17546 185 504 8850 

SriGanganagar 48449 1822 477 23101 

Bikaner 2528 361 89 226 

Churu 2046 14 282 576 

SriGanganagar 43875 1447 508 22299 

Udaipur 1137 182 739 840 

Banswara 82 1 378 31 

Dungerpur 565 89 968 547 

Udaipur 490 92 535 262 

160881 7049 594 95632 

+IVQTPEWQ GSPPIGXMSR 

Germplasm is the most valuable and essential raw material for any crop 

improvement programme. A wider genetic base thus assumes priority in breeding 

research aimed at developing new varieties with desired traits. This diversity 

encompasses native landraces, local selections, elite cultivars, promising exotic 

introductions and wild relatives of crops with specified traits. 

The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi, has been 

entrusted with responsibility for the collection of germplasm through organizing 

region-specific crop-specific/multicrop explorations. However, not a single cropspecific 

exploration has been undertaken so far by NBPGR for rocket germplasm.

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

Nevertheless, germplasm has been collected from different parts of India during the 

explorations carried out either for the collection of germplasm of rapeseed and 

mustard or for other winter crops (Anonymous 1987a, 1988a, 1989-90; Kumar 1988; 

Chandel and Bhandari 1989). Rocket exhibited rich genetic variation in plant type, 

branching pattern, pigmentation, fruit habit, pod size, shape, grain size and colour 

(Chandel and Bhandari 1989). However, crop/region-specific exploration(s) for the 

collection of rocket germplasm have been undertaken at SKN college of Agriculture 

(Rajasthan Agricultural University), Jobner under an Indo-Swedish Project on 

Rapeseed and Mustard started in 1979 and later on under the All India Coordinated 

Research Project on Oilseeds - Taramira Unit commencing from 1987 (Sharma et al. 

1991). In total, 650 collections of rocket germplasm have been made from different 

parts of India (Table 2). Variability for various qualitative and quantitative traits 

was observed in the collected germplasm. Information on the present status of 

these collections is, however, not available at present and there is a need to ensure 

that whatever collections of rocket germplasm have been made so far are properly 

evaluated, documented, conserved and available for utilization. If some of the 

collections have been lost in the process, efforts are to be made to recollect them. 

In addition to locally found rocket diversity, three exotic accessions from 

Hungary [introduced in 1984 by NBPGR (Kumar 1988)] are also available. 

)ZEPYEXMSR ERH QEMRXIRERGI 

To enhance crop use, germplasm collected/introduced from different sources is 

usually evaluated in the field for various qualitative and quantitative traits. To 

make use of available germplasm in crop improvement programmes, it is necessary 

that germplasm traits are known on the basis of 2-3 years of evaluation at one or 

preferably more locations for a set of heritable characteristics. Accessions with 

desired traits so identified are then utilized as donor parents in developing new 

varieties (Rana and Singh 1992). 

At Jobner, the rocket germplasm collected under an Indo-Swedish Project was 

evaluated for seed yield over 4 years (1979-83) (Sharma et al. 1991). Variability for 

various traits including seed yield was noted (Table 3). A number of accessions 

were identified as superior to the National check (T-27). Again, during the 1985-86 

period, an evaluation of 399 new collections (the source of collection is not 

mentioned) indicated RTM-126 to be the highest yielder, followed by RTM-2, -7, -9, 

-13, -33, -75, -77, -95, -101, -108, -110, -115 and -118 which were superior to the 

National check (T-27). None of the collection was found to be free from important 

diseases such as downy mildew and Fusarium wilt, though a good number of these 

was tolerant to both (Table 4). 

Because of the self-incompatibility of rocket, its germplasm maintenance is rather 

difficult. The collections are generally maintained by sib-mating, bud pollination 

and close inbreeding. Population improvement work on rocket was initiated at 

Jobner to preserve and enhance crop variability. These studies led to the 

constitution of two composite varieties through the random mating method using 

entries of a polycross (Sharma et al. 1991). 

The two varieties are the following: 

• JOB-TC-I: this was synthesized through random pollination in a polycross 

block among the seven selected progenies, viz. RTM-10-4, -9-11, -23-1, -23-4, 

-30-1, -29-14 and LDH-2-10. The performance of the composite was at par 

with the National check (T-27), having an oil content of 38.1%.

70 


Table 2. Collection of rocket germplasm in India 

Year of 

No. of samples 

Organization collection Areas explored 

gathered 

SKN College of 

Agriculture (RAU), 

Jobner 

1980 Parts of Rajasthan 516 

NBPGR 1982 Northern-western and central India 64 

1983 Jammu region, Madhya Pradesh, 

Kachchh region in Gujarat and Pune 

region 

10 

1984 Semi-arid regions of Haryana 26 

1986 Northeastern Rajasthan 16 

1987 Southern Rajasthan 1 

1988 Southeast Rajasthan 1 

1989-90 Southeast and western Rajasthan 16 

650 

Table 3. Variability in some agrobotanical traits in rocket germplasm 

evaluated at Jobner, Rajasthan (source: Sharma et al. 1991) 

Trait Range of variation CV 

50% flowering (days) 50.0 - 55.7 3.4 

Maturity (days) 118.7 - 121.3 1.6 

Plant height (cm) 49.4 - 84.0 16.5 

No. of primary branches/plant 3.8 - 6.6 19.2 

No. of secondary branches/plant 3.4 - 16.2 33.0 

Pods/plant 59.2 - 181.8 22.8 

Pod length (cm) 1.6 - 2.3 9.3 

Seeds/pod 13.1 - 26.9 23.7 

Seed yield/plant (g) 2.6 - 9.2 33.6 

Oil content in the seed (%) 32.2 - 36.4 3.2 

Table 4. Rocket accessions tolerant to downy mildew and Fusarium wilt as observed 

at Jobner, Rajasthan (source: Sharma et al. 1991) 

Disease Accessions 

Downy mildew RTM-2(I), -110, -127, -216, -228, -355, -360, -397 and -466 

Fusarium wilt JOB-TC-I, JOB-TC-II, RTM-2(I), -101, -112, -126, -360, -397, -461, 

-465, -466, -521, -522, -523, T-27 and TMH-52 

• JOB-TC-II : the synthesis was initiated in the winter of 1980-81 during which 180 

open-pollinated single plants were selected from 69 germplasm accessions. The 

progenies of these single plants were evaluated in the subsequent season and, 

out of these, 5 best-performing ones, viz. RTM-46-1, -82-3, -84-2, -99-2, and 

-100-3 were selected on the basis of their general performance, growth, fruit 

bearing, pod shape and size. The remnant seeds of these selected progenies 

were harvested and composited. Some promising accessions, viz. RTM-314 (a 

selection from Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan), RTM-521 (a selection from the 

progeny of cross between T-27 and RTM-2), RTM-522 (a selection from the 

progeny of the cross between RTM-2 and -1) and RTM-523 (a selection from the 

progeny of the cross between T-27 and RTM-1) were developed also at Jobner 

(Sharma et al. 1991). A comparative performance of these two composite 

varieties with that of the National check (T-27) is given in Table 5.

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

Table 5. Performance of rocket composites at Jobner, Rajasthan (average of 3 years) 

(source: Sharma et al. 1991) 

Variety Maturity (days) Seed yield (kg/ha) Downy mildew incidence (%) 

JOB - TC-I 146.0 823.0 45.4 

JOB - TC-II 143.3 940.7 56.1 

T-27 (check 151.5 824.8 50.2 

Kumar (1988) reported that 427 accessions of rocket are being maintained by the 

Germplasm Unit of the Centre of All India Coordinated Research Project on 

Oilseeds. Several accessions of this collection are likely to be duplicates of material 

available at various cooperating research centres, where only working collections 

are kept. As a whole, 903 working collections in 1985-86 compared with 314 and 

198 in 1983-84 and 1984-85, respectively, were maintained by cooperating centres. 

RTM-439 recorded minimum days for maturity while the exotic accessions (EC 

159505 and 159506) were the latest to mature but are high yielding. Accessions 

RTM-51 and -327 possessed maximum primary branches (15 and 18 respectively) 

and RTM-31, -92 and -327 possessed maximum secondary branches. The accessions 

RTM-78 and RTM were identified as the highest yielders (22.3 and 18 g, 

respectively) (Kumar 1988). 

At Hisar, evaluation of 270 accessions of rocket led to the identification of several 

promising accessions (Anonymous 1991). On the basis of comparative performance 

of various accessions with the National check (T-27), 10 best-performing accessions 

were identified for each of the 12 traits observed (Table 6). 

Table 6. Identification of 10 promising rocket accessions each for some agrobotanical 

traits at Hisar (source: Anonymous 1991) 

Check Range in 10 promising Best promising 

Trait 

(T-27) 

accessions 

accession 

First flowering (days) 51 49 - 50 RTM-418 

50% flowering (days) 63 59 - 60 RTM-448 

Maturity (days) 141 137 - 140 RTM-44 

Plant height (cm) 102 123 - 142 RTM-252 

Primary branches 5 7 - 10 RTM-411 

Secondary branches 15 22 - 24 RTM-441 

Main shoot length (cm) 53 67 - 93 RTM-323 

No. of siliques 22 34 - 43 RTM-418 

Silique length (cm) 1.8 2.6 - 2.9 RTM-246 

Seeds/silique 18 27 - 37 RTM-286 

Seed yield/plant (g) 8.4 12.6 - 26.1 RTM-514 

Oil content (%) 35 38.6 - 39.9 RTM-367 

'SRWIVZEXMSR 

The agricultural scenario, in India, is rapidly changing over time. Availability of 

high-yielding crops lures farming communities to shift to more profitable farming 

over the traditional one. This fact may lead to the partial or complete loss of some 

of the lesser-utilized crops such as rocket. Efforts are therefore needed to promote 

the use of these species as a means to safeguarding their genetic diversity. 

The rejuvenation of cross-pollinated crops for maintenance is difficult and 

expensive. To avoid frequent regeneration and to check genetic drift, facilities have 

been developed for long-term conservation of germplasm at the National Gene 

Bank of the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources in New Delhi. Prior to

72 


conservation, the germplasm is first tested for its germination percentage and 

moisture content is reduced to 5-6%. Samples meeting the minimum standards are 

sealed hermetically in laminated aluminium foil packets and kept in the module at 

–20ºC (Rana and Singh 1992). 

According to IPGRI's recommendations, the sample size for long-term 

conservation should be made of a minimum of 12 000 seeds which correspond to 

about 50 g of seed for rapeseed and mustard group (IBPGR 1981). This figure 

should also be valid for rocket, owing to the closeness of these species to this crop. 

Periodic monitoring is done to monitor seed variability in genebank collections 

falling down to the 85% germination rate, when seed needs to be rejuvenated and 

restored. 

'VST MQTVSZIQIRX 

Rocket, though known for its wide adaptation, is poor in its yield potential. There 

could be various reasons behind this. Kumar and Yadav (1992) cited inter alia the 

following: 

• Lack of attention from scientists in developing high-yielding, efficient and 

stable cultivars 

• Cultivation of rocket is characterized by poor production technology and its 

planting takes place on neglected, marginal and submarginal lands 

• Less stability of yield in fluctuating environments 

• Physiologically inefficient plant type and poor yield potentials of cultivars 

• Poor response of the cultivars to management practices. 

Highlights of research carried out on rocket improvement are briefly 

summarized below: 

• Some early maturing strains, viz. TC-4, -40, -52 and -59 maturing in 125-130 

days, with better yield performance have been isolated (Yadav and Kumar 1983) 

• TMH-24 and TRM-522 with higher seed yield have been identified as better 

suited to arid areas (Anonymous 1988b) 

• Stable strains for yield and silique traits and some with general combining 

ability under salt conditions have been isolated (Kumar et al. 1986, 1988) 

6IWTSRWI XS EFMSXMG WXVIWW 

Research on the response of rocket to abiotic stress is briefly summarized here: 

• Rocket has been found to possess twice as much frost tolerance as Indian 

mustard in terms of seed damage (Yadava 1976) 

• In respect to seedling emergence, rocket was more salt tolerant than Brassicas at 

ECe 16 dS/m (Kumar 1990). Simultaneously, it showed less yield decline than 

Brassicas at ECe 10.5 dS/m (Anonymous 1987b). 

Crop management 

A brief highlight of major accomplishments and constraints in crop management is 

given below: 

• Experiments have indicated that 3-5 kg/ha of seed is the best amount for 

optimizing yield production under varied soil moisture regimes (Yadava and 

Bhola 1977) 

• Cultivation spacing of 30 x 15 cm has been found to be ideal for optimizing 

yield production in limited soil moisture conditions in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh 

and parts of Rajasthan (Anonymous 1982). However, under severe moisture

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

stress in western Rajasthan, wider spacing (45 x 15 cm) and delayed sowing 

have resulted in higher seed production (Anonymous 1988b) 

• Fair rocket yields occur generally over a wider range of sowing dates; however, 

best yields are obtained when the crop is planted by mid-October (Yadava 1976; 

Maliwal 1985; Singh et al. 1985) 

• Significant response to fertilization has been observed with a 30 kg/ha of N 

supply (Singh and Sharma 1981; Anonymous 1986a) 

• Intercropping of rocket and chickpea (3:2) has proved most remunerative when 

compared with other combinations or sole cropping cultivations (Yadava 1976) 

• Hand-weeding contributes to higher seed and slower yields (Anonymous 

1986b) 

• In terms of production potential and monetary gain, rocket has been rated the 

second most economic winter oilseed crop under limited moisture conditions 

(Kumar and Singh 1984; Singh and Sharma 1984) (Table 7). 

Table 7. Production potential of winter crops under limited moisture conditions 

(source: Kumar and Singh 1984) 

Gross return/ha 

Crop Seed yield (kg/ha) Rupees US$ 

Barley 1041 1960 55.21 

Chickpea 586 1488 41.91 

Indian mustard 1074 4400 123.94 

Rocket 998 3162 89.07 

Safflower 607 1565 44.08 

Major constraints in rocket improvement are: the narrow genetic base for crop 

breeding programmes, difficulty in germplasm maintenance, limited knowledge on 

its genetics and its socioeconomic status. 

In addition, the fact that rocket is usually grown on marginal lands and 

cultivated with poor management can also be perceived as a limiting factor to its 

diffusion to other more fertile areas. 

Future thrusts 

In spite of its wider adaptability to harsh and rustic environments, rocket is not 

widely accepted for enhancing the productivity of dry regions or as a source of oil 

and/or vegetable. Indeed it is rather underutilized and underexploited, being 

considered a minor oilseed crop in India. Taking into consideration that our need 

in rocket improvement programmes is to create a rich genetic resource base with 

desired traits in germplasm readily available to the breeders, we recommend that 

greater emphasis be laid on the following: 

• Build up a good germplasm collection. This is the first and foremost activity to 

be initiated for both locally grown and exotic germplasm. Crop-specific 

collecting explorations are to be undertaken in those areas or regions not 

covered by previous missions or scarcely sampled. 

• Efforts need to be made to promote the introduction of rocket as a vegetable 

crop in India. 

• To have valid and consistent work on rocket, it is desirable that the collected/ 

introduced germplasm be evaluated simultaneously at different locations. These 

evaluations should be made under a wider range of environmental conditions

74 


using standard agronomic practices, during the same season and with specific 

and clear objectives. 

• Action needs to be taken to eliminate duplicates in germplasm collections 

through the use of genetic or biochemical markers. 

• Research should be initiated to identify and develop new varieties with desired 

fatty acid composition in order to enhance its exploitation as a source of edible 

oil crop. 

• Crop improvement programmes are to be strengthened for developing 

physiologically efficient plant types, for the crop’s better response to inputs, for 

stability in traits related to seed yield and crop management, for quality and 

quantity of seed oil content and for its greater adaptability and better performance 

in marginal/submarginal lands including saline and alkaline areas. 

• There is a need to develop a set of region-specific package of practices to 

enhance the overall crop productivity and ensure higher economic returns when 

rocket is grown in pure or mixed stands taking into account prevailing 

environmental, biological and socioeconomic constraints. 

• Efforts should be made to establish greater collaboration on germplasm 

conservation initiatives within the country: rocket germplasm maintained at 

different research centres and units should be sent to the National Gene Bank at 

NBPGR in New Delhi along with passport and evaluation data to ensure longterm 

conservation, avoid loss of material and provide greater availability to users. 

6IJIVIRGIW 

Anonymous. 1952. The Wealth of India. III: D-E, pp. 190-192. Council of Scientific 

and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 

Anonymous. 1982. Effect of dates of sowing and varieties on growth and yield of 

taramira. Pp. 268-69 in Annual Report. All India Coordinated Res. Project on 

Rabi Oilseeds (1981-82). 

Anonymous. 1986a. Effect of different nitrogen levels on yield and yield attributes 

of taramira varieties. Pp. 249-252 in Annual Report. All India Coordinated Res. 

Project on Rabi Oilseeds (1985-86). 

Anonymous. 1986b. Weed control studies in taramira. Pp. 248-258 in Annual 

Report. All India Coordinated Res. Project on Rabi Oilseeds (1985-86). 

Anonymous. 1987a. Annual Report 1987. National Bureau of Plant Genetic 

Resources, Regional Station, Jodhpur, 47p. 

Anonymous. 1987b. Breeding for salt tolerant/resistant varieties of Indian mustard. 

Pp. 70-72 in Annual Report. All India Coordinated Research Project on Rabi 

Oilseeds (1986-87). 

Anonymous. 1988a. Annual Report 1988. National Bureau of Plant Genetic 

Resources, Regional station, Jodhpur, 35 p. 

Anonymous. 1988b. Evaluation of taramira under rainfed situation. Pp. 59-61 in 

Annual Report. All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, 

Main Centre, Jodhpur (1988). 

Anonymous. 1989-90. Annual Report 1989-90. National Bureau of Plant Genetic 

Resources, Regional Station, Jodhpur, 48 p. 

Anonymous. 1991. Catalogue on rapeseed and mustard germplasm. Unit of the 

Project Coordinator (Rapeseed and Mustard), Haryana Agricultural University, 

Hisar, 29 p. 

Anonymous. 1994. Vital Agricultural Statistics (1993-94). Director of Agriculture 

Rajasthan (Statistical Cell), Jaipur, 40 p.

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

Chandel, K.P.S. and D.C. Bhandari. 1989. Collection of germplasm resources in 

north-eastern Rajasthan. Indian J. Plant Genet. Resour. 2(2):150-56. 

IBPGR. 1981. Genetic resources of cruciferous crops, pp. 11-48. 

AGP:IBPGR/BO/100. IBPGR Secretariat, Rome. 

Kumar, A. and R.P. Singh. 1984. Agronomic requirement of rapeseed mustard - a 

review of research work done in India (1968-84). Annual Oilseed Workshop, 

Rajasthan Agricultural University, Agric. Res. Station, Durgapura (Rajasthan), 6- 

10 August 1984. 

Kumar, D. 1990. Screening of related Brassica species for seedling emergence and 

yield under saline conditions (Abstr.). Nat. Seminar Genet. Brassica, 8-9 August 

1990. Rajasthan Agricultural University, Agric. Res. Station, Durgapura 

(Rajasthan). 

Kumar, D. and I.S. Yadav. 1992. Taramira (Eruca sativa Mill.) research in India - 

present status and future programme on yield enhancement. Pp. 327-358 in 

Advances in Oilseed Research. Vol. I. Rapeseed and Mustard (D. Kumar and M. 

Rai, eds.). Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur. 

Kumar, D., I.S. Yadav and B.S. Gupta. 1988. Combining ability analysis for 

quantitative traits of rocket - salad (Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa) grown on 

normal and alkaline soils. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 58(1):11-15. 

Kumar, D., I.S. Yadav and S.C. Sharma. 1986. Stability for siliqua traits in taramira. 

J. Oilseeds Res. 3: 239-241. 

Kumar, P.R. 1988. Genetic resources activities in oilseed Brassicae. Pp. 201-209 in 

Plant Genetic Resources - Indian Perspective (R.S. Paroda, R.K. Arora and K.P.S. 

Chandel, eds.). National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi. 

Maliwal, P.L. 1985. Effect of dates of sowing on yield and quality of taramira (Eruca 

sativa L.) varieties. Indian J. Agron. 30:112-118. 

Rana, R.S. and Ranbir Singh. 1992. Present status of rapeseed and mustard germplasm 

in India. Pp. 189-200 in Advances in Oilseed Research. Vol. I Rapeseed and 

Mustard (D. Kumar and M. Rai, eds.). Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur. 

Ranga Rao, V. and M. Ramachandram. 1988. Genetic resources of oilseed crops in 

India - constraints and opportunities. Pp. 193-200 in Plant Genetic Resources - 

Indian Perspective (R.S. Paroda, R.K. Arora and K.P.S. Chandel, eds.). National 

Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi. 

Sharma, R.K., H.R. Agrawal and E.V.D. Sastry. 1991. Taramira: importance, research 

and constraints. S.K.N. College of Agriculture (Rajasthan Agricultural 

University), Jobner, Rajasthan. 23 p (mimeo). 

Singh, B.P. and H.C. Sharma. 1984. Production potential of rabi crops on aridisols 

under Dryland conditions of Haryana. Haryana Agric. Univ. J. Res. 14:455-459. 

Singh, B.P., H.C. Sharma and B.P. Chugh. 1985. Effect of seeding time and plant 

geometry on the seed yield and water use of taramira in dryland. Haryana Agric. 

Univ. J. Res. 15:289-294. 

Singh, S. and H.C. Sharma. 1981. Effect of soil moisture status and fertility levels on 

the yield of taramira. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 51:875-880. 

Yadav, I.S. and D. Kumar. 1983. Stability for maturity traits in taramira (Eruca sativa 

L.) under rainfed conditions. Trop. Plant Sci. Res. 1:349-350. 

Yadava, T.P. 1976. Present available status of production technology or rapeseed 

and mustard for future programme of work. Paper at Intern. Seminar on 

Rapeseed and Mustard, Mysore, 22-24 November 1976. 

Yadava, T.P. and A.L. Bhola. 1977. Research achievements 1970-77. P. 16 in Dept. 

Bull. Oilseeds Section, Dept. Plant Breeding, Haryana Agricultural University, 

Hisar.

76 


8VEHMXMSRW YWIW ERH VIWIEVGL SR VSGOIX MR -WVEIP 

Z. Yaniv 

Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Centre, Genetic Resources 

Department, Division of Plant Introduction, Bet Dagan, Israel 

Summary 

Ten accessions of Eruca sativa were cultivated in Bet-Dagan experimental farm 

during the 1995-96 growing season. Physiological as well as chemical parameters 

were recorded. Special attention was given to the genetic diversity detected in the 

analyzed accessions and its relationship to their origin. 

Introduction 

The name rocket (Eruca sativa) is well documented in the old literature of the Holy 

Land. The identity of the plant was a subject of dispute among medieval as well as 

modern scientists. Most botanists and plant historians agree that the ’gargir’ 

mentioned in the Talmud (5th-7th centuries) is the garden rocket. Our ancestors 

cultivated it both as a vegetable and for seed production. It is accepted that rocket 

corresponds to the Biblical ’oroth’. In the Book of Kings (II Kings 4: 39-40) in the 

Bible, it is said: "one of them went out into the field to gather ’oroth’". The plant is 

gathered near Gilgal, in the Jordan Valley, where the ’gargir’ is very common. The 

local villagers or Bedouin collect it as a pot herb or wild salad. Since ’oroth’ also 

appears as ’gargir’ in the Talmud it can plausibly be identified with rocket (Zohari 

1982). 

According to Pliny, physician and botanist of the 1st century, a tea made from 

rocket seeds is used as an antihelmintic, i.e. to eliminate intestinal worms. From the 

Talmud we learn that it was used to treat eye infections. Our ancestors mentioned a 

decoction made from rocket seeds as an aphrodisiac and with the ability to increase 

semen. 

Maimonides, a famous Jewish physician of the Middle Ages, indicated that seeds 

of Eruca, when eaten, stimulate saliva secretion, and Asaph Haropheh, another 

medieval physician, recommended the use of rocket to treat liver and stomach 

problems, kidney stones and for increasing milk flow in nursing mothers. In 

addition we also found in 13th century literature a mention of the use of rocket in 

biological control: rocket seeds were sown together with other vegetables to inhibit 

pest development. 

Nowadays the Bedouins use fresh rocket leaves in salads, and rocket seeds as a 

substitute for mustard and as an aphrodisiac. 

As part of the extensive effort to preserve the species of E. sativa we studied the 

biodiversity of native accessions of rocket and compared chemical and 

physiological properties with those of some European accessions. 

Material and methods 

7IIH GSPPIGXMSR 

Seeds of E. sativa were collected from the wild, as part of an ongoing large project of 

Cruciferae collection in Israel. These were collected during two expeditions led by 

two leading botanists. The following material was gathered:

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

• ’Mattatia’ seeds were collected from two sites in the Jordan Valley, Saharo- 

Arabian region (see phytogeographical map of Israel of Plitmann et al. (1983) 

(Zohari 1996) 

• ’Yair’ seeds were collected from four sites in the Mediterranean region. At 

least three plants were collected from each site and seeds were kept 

separately for further research (Elber et al. 1989). 

Oil quantity and fatty acid composition of the seeds were analyzed using the 

methods described by Yaniv et al. (1991). 

7IIH MRXVSHYGXMSR 

Four seed samples of E. sativa from different Botanical Gardens were sent to our 

genebank and used in cultivation trials, viz.: 

• Accession No. 1/96 from Berlin Botanical Garden, Germany 

• Accession No. 2/96 and 6/96 from Torino, Botanical Garden, Italy 

• Accession No. 16/95 from Bari Botanical Garden, Italy. 

'YPXMZEXMSR 

Ten accessions (four introduced and six indigenous) of E. sativa were cultivated at 

the Bet Dagan Experimental Station. Each accession was replicated four times. 

Seeds of each accession were sown in 2.4 m 2 plots consisting of four rows, with 

30 cm between rows. Basic fertilization was done at the time of soil preparation, at 

a rate of 100:100:50 N:P:K. Treflan (2.5 kg/ha) was used as a herbicide. Irrigation 

was applied until plantlets were fully established. 

Plants were harvested at seed maturity during the month of May 1996 (8-26 

May), some 150 days after emergence. Oil quantity and fatty acid analysis were 

conducted as described above (Yaniv et al. 1991). 


Data regarding the cultivation and the chemical analysis of the seeds are 

summarized in Table 1. In spite of uniform sowing and emergence dates, there is a 

significant variability in the onset of flowering and ripening. Both oil content in the 

seed (between 24 and 29) and content of major fatty acids varied. Data show 

similarity in oil composition across both foreign and indigenous material. This 

observation could indicate that the fatty acid profile of each E. sativa line is 

genetically controlled. 

Table 2 presents data on the time required for flowering and ripening. There is a 

difference of 27 days between early and late flowering types, and a difference of 18 

days between early and late ripening. It is interesting to note that the ’Yair’ 

indigenous accessions (3, 20, 21, 22) are the earliest to flower and to ripen. 

Table 3 shows data regarding oil content and the fatty acid composition in seed 

oils of 10 E. sativa accessions: oil content varied from 24.5 to 29.2%. The three top 

lines are European introductions. There is a genetic difference in oil content of 

seeds but this trait could be improved by selection and breeding. 

Eruca sativa, as a member of the Brassicaceae family, contains erucic acid (C22:1), 

a unique fatty acid of seed oils. The content of erucic acid in the oil varies between 

33% (in native Israeli material) and 47% (in the introduced accessions from 

Germany) (Table 3). In accessions characterized by high erucic acid, the level of 

linoleic (C18:2) and linolenic (C18:3) unsaturated fatty acids is reduced. These 

fluctuations indicate within the species in relation to a range of genetic diversity the 

geographical origin of the collected accessions.

78 


Table 1. Cultivation and oil composition data of 10 accessions of Eruca sativa 

cultivated at the Bet-Dagan Experimental Station in 1995/96 

Sowing date (in the field) 3 December 1995 

Emergence date 14 December 1995 

Flowering date 12 February - 11 March 1996 

Ripening date 8 May - 26 May 1996 

Oil (%) 24.5 - 29.2% 

Oil composition (fatty acids % from total oil): 

Cultivated seeds Original seeds 

C 16:0 4.0 - 5.2 4.0 - 5.1 

C 18:0 1.3 - 1.9 < 1 > 

C 18:1 9.9 - 17.8 10.2 - 17.2 

C 18:2 8.3 - 15.3 8.8 - 15.9 

C 18:3 14.6 - 19.7 14.7 - 20.7 

C 20:1 7.3 - 9.8 7.3 - 10.4 

C 22:1 32.1 - 45.6 34.4 - 47.5 

Table 2. Flowering and ripening times of 10 accessions of Eruca sativa cultivated at 

the Bet-Dagan Experimental Station in 1995/96 

No. of days from emergence to: 

Line no. Origin Flowering* Ripening † 

1/96 Germany 77 163 

2/96 Italy 73 163 

6/96 Italy 71 163 

16/95 Italy 88 163 

14/96 Israel-(Mattatia) 74 163 

18/96 Israel-(Mattatia) 70 163 

3/96 Israel-(Yair) 66 146 

20/96 Israel-(Yair) 66 145 

21/96 Israel-(Yair) 62 145 

22/96 Israel-(Yair) 60 145 

† Values are average of four replications. 

Table 4 compares the presence of mono-unsaturated fatty acids (oleic, C18:1; 

eicosenoic, C20:1; erucic, C22:1) with polyunsaturated ones (linoleic, C18:2; 

linolenic, C18:3). It is interesting to note that the four Israeli accessions collected in 

Yair (Mediterranean region) are very uniform in their fatty acid profiles (lines 3/96, 

20/96, 21/96, 22/96). European introductions are different from these, although 

uniform too. The two native lines collected from the Jordan Valley are closer to the 

European group than to the other Israeli lines. There is a reciprocal correlation 

between the levels of monosaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the seed 

oils. In a study done by our group on analysis of diversity of native Sinapis alba 

accessions, a genetic variability among eight accessions collected from two 

geographical locations was demonstrated by RAPD (Random Amplified 

Polymorphic DNA) markers (Yaniv et al. 1993; Granot et al. 1996). A genetic 

distance between accessions from the two locations was found. In addition, RAPD 

analysis revealed a genetic link between S. alba genotypes and their erucic acid 

content. These results emphasize the importance of preserving and documenting 

the genetic diversity within E. sativa species.

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360(

80 


6IJIVIRGIW 

Elber, Y., Z. Yaniv, D. Schafferman, E. Ben-Moshe and M. Zur. 1989. List of wild 

crucifer seed collection. The Israel Gene Bank for Agricultural Crops (Internal 

publication), Bet Dagan, Israel. 

Granot, D., E. Shabelsky, D. Schafferman and Z. Yaniv. 1996. Analysis of genetic 

variability between populations of Sinapis alba and the effect of cultivation on the 

variability. Acta Hort. 407:67-74. 

Plitman, U., C. Heyn, A. Denin and A. Shmida. 1983. Pictorial Flora of Israel. 

Massada, Israel. 

Yaniv, Z., D. Schafferman, Y. Elber, E. Ben-Moshe and M. Zur. 1993. Evaluation of 

Sinapis alba, native to Israel, as a rich source of erucic acid in seed oil. J. Indust. 

Crops 2:137-142. 

Yaniv, Z., Y. Elber, M. Zur and D. Schafferman. 1991. Differences in fatty acid 

composition of oils of wild Cruciferae seed. Phytochemistry 30:841-843. 

Zohary, M. 1966. Flora Palaestina. Part 1, pp. 246-329. Israel Academy of Sciences 

and Humanities, Jerusalem. 

Zohary, M. 1982. Plants of the Bible, p. 101. Cambridge University Press, London.

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

6SGOIX MR 4SVXYKEP FSXER] GYPXMZEXMSR YWIW ERH TSXIRXMEP 

João C. Silva Dias 

Technical University of Lisbon, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Lisbon, Portugal 

Introduction 

The name rocket is normally applied to a number of species belonging to the genus 

Eruca Miller and Diplotaxis DC. of the Brassicaceae family. The Mediterranean region 

and Western Asia are credited as centres of origin and domestication of these genera. 

Rocket has an ancient use in Lusitania since it is reported to have been known by 

the ancient Romans before the birth of Christ. The market demand in Portugal, until a 

few years ago, was very limited and its utilization in traditional cuisine and medicine 

was limited to extensive harvesting from the wild by rural populations. Although its 

popularity as a market vegetable has increased recently in many European countries, 

in Portugal the commercial exploitation and production of this crop for salad started 

only a few years ago with the increased employment of rocket in the so-called 4th 

generation of vegetables. The actual Portuguese commercial production of rocket is 

basically destined to the supermarkets in United Kingdom and other northern 

countries like the Netherlands. In some big Portuguese supermarkets of Lisbon and 

Porto, rocket is also appearing more often. 

The objective of this presentation is to give a brief description of the botany, 

cultivation, uses and potential of rocket in Portugal. 

Botany 

Eruca vesicaria (L.) Cav. subsp. sativa (Miller) Thell. and five species of Diplotaxis DC. – 

D. catholica (L.) DC., D. vicentina (Coutinho) Rothm., D. virgata (Cav.) DC., D. viminea 

(L.) DC. and D. muralis (L.) DC. – can be found in different regions of Portugal (Franco 

1971). The geographical distribution of these species is presented in Figure 1. 

Diplotaxis catholica is the most widespread species in Portugal followed by D. virgata. 

The other species are very localized: D. vicentina is endemic in the southwest coast of 

Portugal, D. muralis was introduced in S. Miguel island of the Azores. 

Diagnostic characters for Eruca include a conical, flattened, seedless beak with a 

minute stigma, and a silique that is rounded in section and has one-nerved valves. 

Seeds are small, ellipsoidal or flattened, and arranged in 2-3 rows. Diplotaxis have 

long siliques, papyraceous valves and minute ellipsoidal seeds arranged in two rows. 

An important character for diagnosis of Diplotaxis species is the presence or absence of 

1-2 seeds in the silique beak. 

According with Franco (1971) the main characteristics presented by the Portuguese 

rocket species are as follows: 

1. E. vesicaria subsp. sativa (n=11), annual herbaceous plant 10-100 cm high; 

elongated branching stem; lower leaves lyrate-pinnatisect, all slightly fleshy, 

sparsely pilose, rarely glabrous with a characteristic fetid smell. Sepals 8- 

10 mm long; petals 15-20 mm long, at the beginning whitish and later yellow, 

violet veined; fruiting pedicels 3-4 mm long almost appressed to stem; siliques 

12-25 mm long and 3-5 mm broad, valves firm with prominent midrib and a 

long (5-10 cm) ensiform and compressed beak.

82 


Fig. 1. Geographical distribution of Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa (A), Diplotaxis 

catholica (B), Diplotaxis virgata (D), Diplotaxis viminea (E) and Diplotaxis muralis 

(F) (Franco 1971).

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

2. D. catholica (n=9), annual herbaceous plant 5-90 cm high; branching stem, 

glabrous or sparsely pilose at the base; leaves mostly basal pinnatisect or 

bipinnatisects. Sepals 3-4 mm long; petals 5-8(12) mm long, sulphur yellow; 

fruiting pedicels 5-20 cm long; siliques (14)20-35(45) long and 1.5-2 mm broad; 

beak 2-3 mm long sometimes with 1-2 seeds. 

3. D. vicentina (n=10), annual or biennial herbaceous plant 15-30 cm high; very 

branching from the base; stem pilose at the base; leaves mostly basal, lower 

leaves thick, lyrate-pinnatiparted to pinnatisect with small lateral segments 

pilose in both pages. Sepals 2.5-3 mm long; petals 6-7 mm long, yellow; 

fruiting pedicels 6-10 mm long; siliques 14-20 mm long and 1.5-2 mm broad; 

conic beak 5-8 mm long. 

4. D. virgata (n=9), annual herbaceous branching plant 30-90 cm high; stem pilose 

at the base; leaves mostly basal, lower leaves lyrate-pinnatisect or 

pinnatiparted with broad oblong or sublanceolated segments. Sepals about 

3 mm long; petals 5-8 mm long, sulphur yellow; fruiting pedicels 10-15 mm 

long; siliques 15-50 mm long and 1-2 mm broad; beak 2-3 mm long. 

5. D. viminea (n=10), annual herbaceous plant 5-30 cm high, glabrous or slightly 

glabrous; rosette leaves at the base of the stem, veined, lyrate-pinnatiparted 

with broad sub-entire segments, sometimes oblong-spatulated. Sepals about 

2 mm long; petals 3-4 mm long, sulphur or citrus yellow; fruiting pedicels 

5-10 mm long; siliques 10-25(40) mm long and 1.25-1.75 mm broad; beak 1-2 

mm long. 

6. D. muralis (n=21), annual or biennial herbaceous plant of 10-50 cm high, 

usually branching from the base; stem glabrous or sparsely covered with hairs 

at the base; rosette leaves, oblong, more or less sinuate-dentate to 

pinnatiparted. Sepals 3-4 mm long; petals sulphur yellow turning to violet, 

6-8 mm long; fruiting pedicels with 7-15 mm long; siliques 20-45 mm long and 

1.5-2.5 mm broad, glabrous with a fleshy, finely ribbed, tapering beak 2-3 mm 

long. 

Besides E. vesicaria subsp. sativa, the Portuguese species with better agronomic 

interest are D. muralis and D. viminea both with rosette, thin and membranous green 

leaves. Diplotaxis species have a less sharp flavour than Eruca. 

Cultivation and uses 

Until few years ago rocket was not commercially cultivated in Portugal. Nowadays 

there is some cultivation of E. sativa, mainly in the southwest coast of Portugal, for 

exportation in sealed bags to the supermarkets of the United Kingdom, and in the 

central west coast for exportation mainly to the Netherlands. Both productions are 

used as a ’4th generation’ salad product, i.e. usually neatly prepared and sold in 

sealed bags after having been cleaned and mixed with other leafy vegetables. The 

export material consists of plantlets of E. sativa with 3-4 leaves. The cultivation is 

done almost all the year round (8-9 months), with successive sowing to provide 

successive harvests, mainly during autumn and winter. There is no commercial 

interest in the summer production for exportation. Cultural practices vary from 

grower to grower. Traditional growers, after preparation of soil, do a widespread 

seed sowing on large beds with high densities (10-15 g/m 2 ) and basically fertilize the 

crop with nitrogen in a manner similar to what is traditionally done in the case of 

turnip-green cultivation in Portugal. Usually, hand-weeding is not necessary. In the 

southwest coast, in farms managed by foreign technicians, a soil disinfection is 

performed by applying methyl bromide every 3 years to avoid weeds along with a 

dense seed row sowing (250 kg/ha) with rows placed 12-15 cm distant apart and

84 


fertigation with a proper fertilizer mixture. Water deficits give rise to low-quality 

rocket. The tender leaves in both cases are hand-harvested by cutting them at the soil 

level. To facilitate emergence and uniformity, an agryl type cover is sometimes used. 

Seed packages of introduced cultivars of rocket can also be found in some seed 

stores and are used by amateur growers. 

Before its commercial cultivation, rocket was traditionally collected from the wild 

and used in some regions of Portugal as a vegetable or in traditional medicine. 

The wild rocket (mainly Diplotaxis spp.) was and is traditionally consumed in 

Portugal. There are reports of the following recipes: 

• raw in green salads mixed with lettuce and onions, seasoned with salt and 

olive oil; this salad can also include coriander or tomato but it is not so frequent 

• simply boiled with salt, like the Portuguese do with turnip greens, to eat 

seasoned with olive oil with fish or meat 

• boiled greens, finely chopped with flour, garlic, salt and olive oil, the 

Portuguese ’esparregado’ that could also be made with turnip greens, spinach 

or a mixture of these vegetables 

• rocket rice with onions and salt 

• with a mixture of sheep/goat cheese 

• fried with thin beef slices and wine 

• in sauces or in meat stews. 

Eruca is used in the Portuguese traditional medicine for various purposes: 

depurative, digestive, diuretic, tonic, stimulant, laxative and anti-inflammatory. For 

these properties it is recommended to fight asthenia and as a ’Spring restorer of 

health' for the disintoxication of the organism (Balmé 1978; Anonymous 1983). The 

plant is also used to treat greasy scalps and to prevent hair loss (owing to its 

properties to enhance hair regrowth). A lotion prepared by the addition of 30 g of 

edible burdock (Arctium lappa L.), 30 g of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.) and 30 g of 

rocket (E. vesicaria subsp. sativa) in one litre of water, boiled for 15 minutes, is a folk 

recipe recommended to enhance hair regrowth. Aphrodisiac properties for the plant 

have been reported since Roman times. It is also believed that Eruca has antiinflammatory 

properties for colitis and is a good coadjutant in digestion. It also can 

be used as cough syrup because of its properties against phlegm, catarrh and 

hoarseness. 

Furthermore, Diplotaxis is also mentioned to be stimulant, diuretic, and 

antiscorbutic, and the oil of its seeds is recommended to fight bronchitis and catarrh/ 

phlegm since it is believed to be a fluidizer of bronchial secretions and to reduce 

inflammation of throat mucous membranes. 

Crop potential and future 

Until a few years ago the demand for rocket in Portugal was met by harvesting plants 

directly from the wild. Commercial cultivation of rocket for fresh leaves has started 

recently for exportation to the United Kingdom and to other northern European 

countries. In these growing areas local people are also starting to appreciate the crop, 

and in some famous Portuguese supermarkets of Lisbon and Porto, rocket is 

appearing more and more often on the shelves. Some amateur growers are also 

growing it, sometimes thinking that they are growing pungent turnip greens. Over 

the last few years, rocket is certainly increasing, and this is true especially for those 

sold in the form of small tender leaves. Having mentioned the market potentials in 

the country and outside, we can conclude that rocket seems to have a very good 

potential in Portugal. Much has to be done, however, in the area of research and 

market promotion. The success of rocket in Portugal does not depend much therefore

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

on the work of breeders but rather on market tendencies which are driven by market 

forces and trade organizations. 

The production of rocket frozen leaves for ’esparregado’ can be an interesting way 

to adapt this old vegetable to the modern consumer habits. Rocket can be consumed 

like spinach and turnip greens in ’esparregado’ or in a mixture with those vegetables 

but has a different taste and texture that seems to be enjoyed by some consumers. The 

taste depends on the content of glucosinolates which is a genetically controlled trait 

and is influenced by plant age, soil and climatic conditions. The texture also depends 

on the age and size of the plants and cultural practices. These characteristics, 

important also in traditional markets, are of considerable importance when rocket has 

to be processed and sold in more sophisticated markets. 

Taking these facts into account, a concerted action on germplasm collecting, 

evaluation of available diversity, research in cultural practices, industrial storage and 

freezing, and conservation of rocket genetic diversity is highly needed in Portugal for 

the sustainable utilization and commercial exploitation of rocket in the future. 

6IJIVIRGIW 

Anonymous. 1983. Segredos e virtudes das plantas medicinais. Selecções do Reader's 

Digest, Lisboa, 463 pp. 

Balmé, F. 1978. Plantas Medicinais. Hemus Livraria Editora Limitada, São Paulo, 398 

pp. 

Franco, J.A. 1971. Nova Flora de Portugal (Continente e Açores). I. Lycopodiaceae- 

Umbelliferae. Sociedade Astória Lda, Lisboa, 648 pp.

86 


1EVOIXMRK ERH YXMPM^EXMSR SJ VSGOIX MR 8YVOI] 

Dursun Esiyok 

Ege University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture 35100 Bornova, 

Izmir, Turkey 

Introduction 

Rocket is grown for fresh consumption mostly in the southern and western parts of 

Turkey. Green fresh leaves are mostly used as appetizers with traditional Turkish 

foods like ’pide’ (Turkish pizza) or ’kisip’ (Turkish wheat meal), or to prepare fresh 

salads. Temperate and wet climates are appropriate to achieve high quality and 

acceptable yields. After harvest, rocket leaves are prone to microbial decay and 

should be immediately transported to the market. Low temperatures limit its growth 

and development. However, increases in temperature result in bleaching of leaves, 

and shoot and flower formation which decreases commercial value significantly. At 

appropriate temperatures, leaves can achieve a darker green colour and become more 

aromatic and pungent in order to meet different market requirements. 

Vegetable production in Turkey 

According to 1992 records, the total vegetable production area in Turkey is estimated 

to be 592 990 ha with about 17 467 920 t of production (Anonymous 1993). Vegetables 

consumed as shoots or leaves correspond to approximately 8% of this (1 419 638 t). 

The production of rocket is estimated to be 170 t. Furthermore, according to 1993 

records, total vegetable production area is estimated to be 654 420 ha, with a 

production amounting to 16 818 636 t (Anonymous 1994). The proportion of leafy or 

shoot vegetables is recorded as approximately 9% with 1 433 670 t production, and 

that of rocket as 190 t. In fact, the values of 170-190 t provided for rocket production 

for both years do not reflect the reality of the rocket cultivation in the country, because 

a great amount of rocket is produced on small parcels and home gardens, which are 

generally not included in official records. 

Mineral composition of rocket leaves is shown in Table 1. These data have been 

obtained from experiments carried out by the Ege University on rocket leaves to 

investigate the variation in mineral composition by plant age. These results are 

similar to those of Haag and Minami (1988), although some slight differences 

encountered could be attributed to different environmental conditions and cultural 

practices. 

Table 1. Mineral composition of fresh rocket leaves at different ages 

(Esiyok, Oktay and Yagmur unpublished) 

Plant age (days after emergence) 

Mineral (mg/100 g fresh weight) 20 days 50 days 

N 460 324 

P 59 38 

K 298 261 

Ca 286 178 

Mg 34 23 

Cu 0.07 0.04 

Fe 2.93 1.74 

Mn 0.37 0.25 

Zn 0.49 0.29 

Na 11.2 6.95

63'/)8 -2 8,) ;360( 

Rocket marketing in Turkey 

Rocket leaves that reach harvest maturity are cut 2 cm above the ground during the 

cooler hours of the day (late afternoon) and are placed in bundles (Fig. 1). Average 

bundle size varies between 50 and 100 g, according to the production. Bundles are 

placed in plastic or wooden boxes, or in large deep baskets for transport to 

wholesalers or local markets. Rocket is sold at greengrocers, in supermarkets or local 

markets (Fig. 2) at relatively high prices. Furthermore, rocket growers also sell their 

product directly to restaurants and bars. In this case, production and sale are mostly 

done on the basis of verbal agreements between farmers and buyers. 

High quality and good economic returns are achieved at the first harvest. At 

successive harvests, yield and quality decrease, partly owing to an increasing 

presence of incised leaves which ultimately affects the economic value of the product. 

Fig. 1 (above). Bundles of rocket leaves at harvest 

maturity. 

Fig. 2. Rocket sales at an open-air market. 

Utilization of rocket in Turkey 

Rocket leaves sold as bundles are consumed fresh and green. Yellow leaves are 

discarded prior to consumption. It is prized for garnishing Turkish food specialities 

like ’pide’ (pita=a Turkish pizza), ’kisir’ (a Turkish wheat speciality made of rocket, 

tomato paste, hot paprika, lettuce, green onions, parsley, etc.), meatballs or fish. 

Rocket is even used as an hors d’oeuvre accompanied by alcoholic drinks (like 

Turkish raki). 

Another way of consuming rocket is as a salad. Rocket leaves are cut into small 

pieces together with tomato, paprika, cucumbers, and green onions and mixed with 

some lemon juice and olive oil. Alternatively, rocket leaves can be mixed with lettuce, 

green onions and dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. 

6IJIVIRGIW 

Anonymous. 1993. Statistical Yearbook of Turkey. State Inst. of Statistics Prime 

Ministry, Republic of Turkey. ISBN 975-190779-9. Publication No. 1620. 

Anonymous. 1994. Statistical Yearbook of Turkey. State Inst. of Statistics Prime 

Ministry, Republic of Turkey. ISBN 975-19-0956-19. Publication No. 1720 

Haasg, H. P. and K. Minami 1988. Nutriçao Mineral de Hortaliças. LXXVII. Demanda 

de Nutrients por de Rucula. Annl. Esc. Sup. Agric. Luiz de Querioz Piracicaba. 

45(2):589-595.

88 


--- -RXIVREXMSREP 'SSTIVEXMSR 

The second meeting of the Rocket Genetic Resources Network was held in Legnaro, at 

the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Padova, Italy. It was attended by the 

following persons: Monserrat Aguade’, D.C. Bhandari, Ferdinando Branca, Luigi 

Filippo D'Antuono, Carmelinda De Santis, Hamdy El-Doweny, Dursun Esiyok, César 

Gomez-Campo, Gerrit Hey, Ruth Magrath, Juan Martínez-Laborde, Stefano Padulosi, 

Domenico Pignone, Ferdinando Pimpini, João Silva Dias, Gianfranco Venora and 

Zohara Yaniv. 

Padulosi and Pignone chaired the meeting. 

The meeting consisted of two parts: during the first part, a general overview of 

past accomplishments of the Network was presented along with a discussion among 

participants of ongoing and future initiatives for rocket. The second part was entirely 

devoted to the revision of the final draft of the Eruca spp. descriptor list. 

Part I: Network activities 

Germplasm survey, collecting and exchange 

• Gomez-Campo will collect wild Eruca in Spain and Morocco (during 1997); 

• El-Doweny will send samples of the two Egyptian rocket varieties to Pignone for 

conservation in the Bari genebank (by January 1997); 

• Silva Dias will survey the cultivation and uses of rocket in Portugal (during 1997); 

• Yaniv will send to Pignone seed samples of wild Eruca material she has collected 

in Israel for safe conservation in the Bari genebank; 

• D'Antuono and Pimpini pointed out that it would be useful to survey the 

cultivation of rocket in the Veneto as well as other Italian regions (e.g. Marche and 

Emilia Romagna regions – in the latter D'Antuono reports the presence of both 

Diplotaxis muralis and D. tenuifolia). It is therefore recommended that collecting 

missions be launched in these areas (Padulosi to investigate with Pignone the 

possibility that CNR might carry out these explorations); 

• It was suggested to send samples of Diplotaxis material (herbarium and seeds) 

gathered in Italy and elsewhere to Martínez-Laborde to obtain proper taxonomic 

identification (attention ALL); 

• The University of Catania is planning to collect rocket germplasm in Sicily and 

Branca agreed to send duplicates of the material that will be gathered to Pignone 

for conservation (during 1997); 

• Esiyok will send samples of rocket accessions collected in Turkey to Pignone (by 

March 1997). 

+IVQTPEWQ GSRWIVZEXMSR 

• Pignone will continue to look after the germplasm collection of cultivated rocket 

deposited in Bari. In this regard he announced that the Germplasm Institute has 

agreed to include the rejuvenation and multiplication of rocket in its working plan 

for 1997. This decision will be beneficial for the seed increase of rocket accessions 

and thus enhance the possibility of germplasm exchange among rocket users. 

• Gomez-Campo will continue to be responsible for the wild Eruca and Diplotaxis 

material. He intends to regenerate some old unpreserved accessions in 1997. He 

pointed out that frequent germplasm regeneration is not advisable and an 

equilibrium between good conservation and regeneration should be always 

maintained in genebanks. Rocket species are outbreeders and therefore they need

-28)62%8-32%0 '334)6%8-32 

to be kept in isolation; such isolation leads inevitably to inbreeding depression 

and has a negative effect on the genetic structure of the material. Therefore, the 

group recommends doing less regeneration and whenever possible go back to the 

original site of collection in order to contribute to seed increase. Ex situ 

conservation is always required to ensure a constant seed availability. With 

regard to the size of the sample to collect, it was suggested that a reasonable 

collecting sample for rocket would be made by collecting seeds from at least 40-50 

plants, whenever of course these populations would allow to do so. Concerning 

the seed viability of rocket seeds, two facts have been highlighted by Gomez- 

Campo: rocket seeds have a natural post-harvest dormancy of usually 2 months 

(this can be broken by using giberrelic acid), and genebank management of rocket 

seeds has demonstrated that these have a relatively long life in long-term storage 

conditions (after 25-50 years of storage these seeds are likely to still maintain a 

good germination). 

• Pimpini announced his planned trip to Argentina some time in 1997. He 

volunteered to bring back from this country some samples of rocket seeds 

cultivated/and or wild for safe conservation in Bari. 

• Several Network members indicated their interest in carrying out some 

agrobotanical characterization work. It was pointed out that the availability of the 

germplasm material represents a major constraint for promoting these activities. A 

strong recommendation was therefore made for a greater effort in the area of 

germplasm multiplication in the various genebanks (attention ALL). 

(EXEFEWI 

Pignone reported on the Rocket Database that has been developed at the Germplasm 

Institute. A suggestion to add to the DB the columns Local Name and Geographical 

Distribution was made (attention Pignone). It was also stressed that proper 

identification should be made before the material is listed in the DB. Yet, it was 

noticed that material listed in the DB might have been wrongly identified in the past 

by previous collectors. The recommendation was made to seek the opinion of experts 

(e.g. Gomez-Campo, Martínez-Laborde) whenever there is uncertainty on 

identification of material; however, such uncertainty should always be stated in the 

DB. 

The need to have a standardization of the names used in the DB (attention 

Pignone) was expressed. To meet these requirements and to implement the 

recommendation in a consistent way it was decided to circulate the DB to all Network 

members and seek their comments. This procedure will allow colleagues to update 

the DB by adding further information on genebank holdings not previously included 

(attention Padulosi, Pignone, ALL). The possibility of putting the DB on the Internet 

will be investigated (attention Pignone). 

)ZEPYEXMSR 

• Venora expressed keen interested in collaborating in the area of cytogenetics of 

Eruca and Diplotaxis species. There are several taxa whose karyotype is still 

unknown, and owing to the extremely small dimension of their chromosomes 

such identification is a very difficult task. Venora intends to multiply the material 

received by Gomez-Campo (via IPGRI) in collaboration with Branca (attention 

Venora, Branca); 

• De Santis, in collaboration with De Leonardis and Zizza of the University of 

Catania, will continue working on the carpological characterization of rocket.

90 


Palynological analyses also will be carried out pending the availability of material 

(attention Padulosi, Gomez-Campo, Pignone); 

• Branca is interested in carrying out rocket evaluation for salinity through anther 

culture. To this end, Magrath suggested that Branca contact her lab to obtain the 

protocols set up in Norwich, for carrying out anther culture in Brassica species 

(attention Branca); 

• The antinematode activity discovered in rocket is of great interest for some Italian 

institutions. In Israel there have been a number of investigations on this topic, 

with some promising results. Pignone will contact Yaniv to discuss possible 

collaboration in this area of common interest (attention Pignone). 

-RJSVQEXMSR HMWWIQMREXMSR TYFPMG E[EVIRIWW 

• Participants strongly recommended the establishment of a Rocket Newsletter. 

This newsletter could be made available on the Internet (attention Padulosi, 

Pignone) and circulated as hard copy. Such a medium would be very useful to 

promote exchange of information, ideas and promote collaboration among all 

people interested in rocket and at the same time raise the profile of the Network. 

The newsletter could be the vector of useful and practical information among 

users: inter alia it may contain data on the period of rocket cultivation in each 

country, characteristics of rocket varieties from different countries, market 

information, food recipes made with rocket (maybe a different one for every 

issue?), create awareness of the agronomic technique required for successful 

rocket cultivation (i.e. material should be free from nitrates), etc.; 

• D’Antuono noted that rocket material already has been evaluated by private seed 

companies in Italy and elsewhere, so contacts with these companies should be 

promoted to gain a greater knowledge in this domain. In this regard Network 

members have been requested to pass on to Padulosi the address of any seed firm 

currently working on rocket for a follow-up (attention ALL). 

Next Network meeting 

The invitation from Turkey to host the next Network meeting was enthusiastically 

received by all participants. Dr Esiyok confirmed the offer after having consulted his 

colleagues of the Ege University in Izmir. It is suggested to hold the meeting toward 

the end of May 1998. 

Part II: Descriptors list for Eruca spp. 

The final draft of the Eruca DL was discussed during the meeting. Further 

amendments have been made to this version and will be incorporated by Padulosi. 

The document will be sent to Prof. Gomez-Campo, Drs Martínez-Laborde and 

Pignone for a final perusal before its submission to IPGRI's Publication Committee 

(attention Padulosi).

-: 0MWX SJ 4EVXMGMTERXW 

ABU-RAYYAN Azmi 

Dip. Agronomia Ambientale e 

Produzioni Vegetali 

University of Padova 

Agripolis, Via Romea 16 

35020 Legnaro (Padova) 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 49- 827 28 27 

Fax. (+39) 49- 827 28 39 

AGUADE’ Montserrat 

Dep. de Genetica 

Faculty of Biology 

University of Barcelona 

Diagonal 645, 08071 

SPAIN 

Tel. (+34) 3- 402 14 93 

Fax. (+34) 3- 411 09 69 

email aguade@porthos.bio.ub.es 

BALESTRI Stefano 

SATIVA SCARL 

Via Madonna dello Schioppo 415 

Cesena 

ITALY 

BATTISTINI Gianluca 

Battistini Sementi snc 

Via Montaletto 2500 

47020 San Giorgio di Cesena (Forlì) 

ITALY 

BERGAMASCO Ferruccio 

Via dei Calafati 4 

34015 Muggia (Trieste) 

ITALY 

BHANDARI D.C. 

National Bureau of Plant Genetic 

Resources (NBPGR) 

Regional Station, CAZRI Campus 

Jodhpur 342003 

INDIA 

Tel. (+91) 291- 404 90/ 49 265 

c/o New Delhi Office 

Tel. (+91) 11- 573 23 65/573 14 75 

Fax. (+91) 11- 573 14 95 

email nbpgr@x400.nicgw.nic.in 

4%68-'-4%287 

BLANGIFORTI Sebastiano 

Stazione Sperimentale di Granicoltura 

per la Sicilia 

Via Rossini, 1 

95041 Caltagirone (Catania) 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 933-25543/ 25759 

Fax. (+39) 933-24802 

email stazgra@mbox.vol.it 

BOARI Francesca 

Istituto di Agronomia Generale e 

Coltivazioni Erbacee 

Faculty of Agriculture 

University of Bari 

Via Amendola 165 

70126 Bari 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 80- 544 30 97 

Fax. (+39) 80- 544 28 13/544 29 75 

BRANCA Ferdinando 

Istituto di Orticoltura e Floricoltura 

University of Catania 

Via Valdisavoia, 5 

95123 Catania 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 95 - 23 43 26 

Fax. (+39) 95 - 23 43 29 

email Brancaf@mbox.fagr.unict.it 

CHILLEMI Giovanni 

Ente Sviluppo Agricolo Veneto (ESAV) 

Centro Po di Tramontana 

Via Moceniga 7 

45100 Rosolina (Rovigo) 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 426 - 66 49 17 

Fax. (+39) 426 - 66 49 16 

D'ANTUONO Luigi Filippo 

University of Bologna 


Via Filippo Re, 6-8 

40126 Bologna 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 51- 35 15 10 

Fax. (+39) 51- 35 15 45

92 


DE SANTIS Carmelinda 

Università di Catania 

Dip. e Orto Botanico 

Via A. Longo 19 

Catania 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 95- 43 09 01/2 

Fax. (+39) 95- 44 12 09 

EL-DOWENY Hamdy 

Agricultural Research Center 

Vegetable Research Department 

Nady El-Sad Street 

Dokki - Cairo 

EGYPT 

Tel. (+20) 2- 36 15 154 

(+20) 2- 33 73 022 

Fax. (+20) 2- 34 90 053 

ENZO Massimo 

Regional Institute for the Increase of 

Professionalism in Agriculture 

Venice 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 41-96 68 40 

ESIYOK Dursun 

Ege University, Faculty of Agriculture 

Horticulture Dept. 

Bornova, 35100, Izmir 

TURKEY 

Tel. (+90) 232- 388 01 10 # 2621/2931 

Fax. (+90) 232- 388 18 64 

email tuncay@ziraat.ege.edu.tr 

GARAGNANI Marco 

Via Don Minzoni 18 

30010 Campagna Lupia 

Venice 

ITALY 

GOMEZ-CAMPO César 

Universidad Politecnica de Madrid 

Dep. de Biologia Vegetal, ETSIA 

28040 Madrid 

SPAIN 

Tel. (+34) 1- 336 56 61 

Fax. (+34) 1- 336 56 56 

email gomezcampo@bio.etsia.upm.es 

HEŸ Gerrit 

Research Station for Floriculture and 

Glasshouse Vegetables 

PBG Naaldwijk 

Postbus 8 

2670 AA Naaldwijk 

THE NETHERLANDS 

Tel. (+31) 174- 636700 

Fax. (+31) 174- 636835 

email g.heÿ@pbgn.agro.nl 

LIPPARINI 

Associazione Italiana Sementi (AIS) 

Piazza Costituzione 8 

40128, Bologna 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 51- 50 38 81 

Fax. (+39) 51- 35 51 66 

LIVERANI Faliero 

SAIS SpA 

Via Ravennate 214 

Cesena (Forlì) 

ITALY 

LUCCHIN Margerita 





ITALY 

Fax. (+39) 49- 827 28 39 

MAGNANI Marco 

SAIS SpA 

Via Ravennate 214 

Cesena (Forlì) 

ITALY 

MAGRATH Ruth 

Dept. of Brassicas and Oil Seeds 

John Innes Institute 

Norwich Research Park 

Colney Lane 

Norwich NR4 7UH 

UNITED KINGDOM 

Tel. (+44) 1603- 45 25 71 

Fax (+44) 1603- 45 68 44 

email magrath@bbsrc.ac.uk

MARTINEZ-LABORDE Juan 

Universidad Politecnica de Madrid 

Dep. de Biologia Vegetal, ETSIA 

28040 Madrid 

SPAIN 

Tel. (+34) 1- 336 56 64 

Fax. (+34) 1- 336 56 56 

email juanbau@bio.etsia.upm.es 

ORAZIO Gianluca 

Via San Michele 4 

30100 P. Sabbioni (Venice) 

ITALY 

PADULOSI Stefano 

IPGRI 

Via delle Sette Chiese, 142 

00145 Rome 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 6- 518 92 243 

Fax. (+39) 6- 575 03 09 

email s.padulosi@cgnet.com 

PERRELLA Anna 

Istituto Sperimentale per l’Orticoltura 

di Salerno 

Via dei Cavalleggeri 25 

84098 Pontecagnano (Salerno) 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 89- 38 12 52/ 38 12 83 

Fax. (+39) 89- 38 41 70 

PERRELLA Ciro 


di Salerno 


84098, Pontecagnano (Salerno) 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 89- 38 12 52/ 38 12 83 

Fax. (+39) 89- 38 41 70 

PIGNONE Domenico 

Istituto del Germoplasma 

National Research Council 

Via Amendola 165/A 

70126, Bari 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 80 - 558 34 00 

Fax. (+39) 80 - 558 75 66 

email germdp02@area.ba.cnr.it 

4%68-'-4%287 

PIMPINI Ferdinando 






ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 49- 827 28 27 

Fax. (+39) 49- 827 28 39 

PIRO Filippo 


di Salerno 



ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 89- 38 12 52/ 38 12 83 

Fax. (+39) 89- 38 41 70 

PROSDOCIMI GIANQUINTO Giorgio 






ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 49- 827 28 26 

Fax. (+39) 49- 827 28 39 

email gianquin@agripolis.unipd.it 

SILVA DIAS João 

Instituto Superior de Agronomia 

Technical University of Lisbon 

Tapada da Ajuda 

1300 Lisbon 

PORTUGAL 

Tel. (+351) 1- 36 38 161 

Fax. (+351) 1- 36 35 031 

email jsdias@isa0.isa.utl.pt 

TEI Francesco 

Istituto di Agronomia 

Borgo XX Giugno 74 

06100 Perugia 

ITALY

94 


VENORA Gianfranco 

Stazione Sperimentale di Granicoltura 

per la Sicilia 

Via Rossini, 1 

95041 Caltagirone (Catania) 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 933- 255 43/ 25 759 

Fax. (+39) 933- 248 02 

YANIV Zohara 

Agricultural Research Organization 

The Volcani Centre 

Genetic Resources Dept. 

Division of Plant Introduction 

PO Box 6 

Bet Dagan 50250 

ISRAEL 

Tel. (+972) 3 - 968 32 28 

Fax. (+972) 3 - 966 53 27 

Unable to attend 

BIANCO Vito Vincenzo 

Istituto di Agronomia Generale e 

Coltivazioni Erbacee 


University of Bari 

Via Amendola 165 

70126 Bari 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 80- 544 30 97 

Fax. (+39) 80- 544 28 13/80- 544 29 75 

CAPONIGRO V. 


di Salerno 



ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 89- 38 12 52/ 38 12 83 

Fax. (+39) 89- 38 41 70 

CRISP Peter 

Crisp Innovar Ltd. 

Glebe House, Station Road 

Reepham, Norfolk NR10 4NB 


Tel. (+44) 1603- 87 05 41 

Fax. (+44) 1603- 87 05 41 

DE LEONARDIS Walter 

Università di Catania 

Dip. e Orto Botanico 

Via A. Longo 19 

Catania 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 95- 43 09 01/2 

Fax. (+39) 95- 44 12 09 

LOMBARDO Ettore 

Sezione Operativa 

Assessorato Agricoltura e Foreste 

Regione Sicilia 

Via Sicilia, Spadafora (Messina) 

ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 90- 994 17 03 

Fax. (+39) 90- 994 17 03 

MAGNIFICO Vitangelo 

Istituto Sperimentale per l'Orticoltura 

di Salerno 



ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 89- 38 12 52/ 38 12 83 

Fax. (+39) 89- 38 41 70 

ROTHWELL Steve 

VITACRESS SALADS Ltd 

Vitacress House, New Farm Road 

Alresford, Hampshire SO24 9QH 


Tel. (+44) 1962- 73 33 66 

Fax. (+44) 1962- 73 41 04 

SCHIAVI M. 

Istituto Sperimentale per l'Orticoltura 

di Salerno 



ITALY 

Tel. (+39) 89- 38 12 52/ 38 12 83 

Fax. (+39) 89- 38 41 70

: 7YKKIWXIH &MFPMSKVETL] 

&-&0-3+6%4,= 

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Rocket: a Mediterranean crop for the world - Bioversity International

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