VARIETIES OF AQUATIC VEGETABLES AND THEIR UTILIZATION IN CHINA

Aquatic vegetables, primarily cultivated in south China, are rich in nutrition, dietary fiber, phytochemicals and particular flavors.
The cultivated areas and quantity of their harvest have increased annually because of both market policy in China and the prominent ecological and economical benefits of wet-dry cropping rotation.
Many processed products of aquatic vegetables are exported around the world, especially where Chinese or foreign citizens of Chinese origin reside.
However, production and industrialization of aquatic vegetables are still restricted by the limited species and varieties, cultivation and processing techniques, incomplete market information and the lack of acceptance by foreign consumers.
In this review, we analyzed the future production and industrialization of aquatic vegetables, and introduced the cultivation technologies, germplasm resources and processing approaches of 9 important aquatic vegetables in China, including lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn), water bamboo (Zizania latifolia Turcz.), arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia L.), water dropwort (Oenanthe stolonifera DC.), water caltrop (Trapa spinosa Roxb.), water chestnut (Eleocharis tuberose Roem et Schult), cordon euryale (Euryale ferox Salisb), common cattail (Typha latifolia L.), water shield (Brasenia schreberi Gmel), and water cress (Nasturium officinale R. Br.).

XXVII International Horticultural Congress – IHC2006: International Symposium on Asian Plants with Unique Horticultural Potential

J.Z. Jiang, B.S. Cao

aquatic vegetable, varieties, utilization

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2008.769.8