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BY JULIO P. YAP JR.
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Friday, February 3, 2017
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THERE is a new celery variety that grows very well in the vegetable terraces of Loo in Buguias, Benguet, which is longer and heavier but not brittle.
The variety is the Stetham RZ F1 Hybrid Celery that was developed by the Allied Botanical Corporation (ABC) for planting in highland areas of the country like the municipalities of Benguet.
The variety grows very well in cooler regions of the country, particularly in high altitude areas where the temperature could go down between 10 to 13 degrees Celsius.
During a recent harvest event and farmers’ meeting hosted by ABC at the Loo, Buguias campus of the Benguet State University (BSU), I witnessed how prolific the variety is, and how attractive was the darker green color of its leaves, compared with the leaves and stalk of other celery varieties growing in the area.
The Stetham RZ F1 Hybrid Celery is aromatic but with a light sweet taste.
It features long and heavier petiole or stalks, but not brittle, which make it to be a dark green heavy weight plant.
The Stetham Celery has a higher recovery rate – about 85 to 90 percent, as compared with other varieties which have 60 to 65 percent recovery rates.
The variety is also early maturing, which means it could be harvested in just 60 to 65 days after transplanting.
Based on the field trials conducted by agronomists on several vegetable terraces in Loo, Buguias, a head or a plant of the Stetham RZ F1 Hybrid Celery variety can weigh as much as 485 grams, compared with another variety which weighed only 283.33 grams.
This would amount to an additional weight of about 30 percent more than the other varieties being cultivated in the area.
The Stetham Celery variety also features uniform root size which is very robust and healthy.
Another advantage of the Stetham Celery over that of the other varieties is the number of stalks which can be found in a single head or plant.
Stetham could have an average of up to 7.9 stalks per plant, as compared with the other varieties which can have about 5.4 stalks only – based on the actual field trial in Benguet.
The Stetham RZ F1 Hybrid Celery variety has good qualities, such as crispier and has longer shelf life.
However, celery plants do need a lot of watering to make it resistant to leaf spots.
The uniform size of the Stetham variety also adds to the appeal and value of the vegetable in the market.
The Stetham celery variety has an upright plant habit, which makes it easier to harvest and pack.
The whfoods.org website says that celery is an important food source of conventional antioxidant nutrients, including vitamin C, beta-carotene, and manganese.
In terms of antioxidant nutrients, it may very well be described as its phytonutrients.
Many of these phytonutrients fall into the category of phenolic antioxidants and have been shown to provide anti-inflammatory benefits as well.
An interesting aspect of the celery’s antioxidant phytonutrients involves its furanocoumarins./PN
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