MEGASTAR was first trialled in a cabbage show block at Rainbow Seedlings, East London, against 11 other established varieties from different seed suppliers during the winter of 2019. Although this was an unfavourable planting slot for MEGASTAR due to high levels of black rot infection, which is common in this area’s rainy season, the show block of MEGASTAR performed exceptionally well. MEGASTAR was harvested at 120 days after planting and showed the ability to stand for another 20 days without detrimental effect. Some of the other varieties had already bolted by that time.
The MEGASTAR plants showed field tolerance to bacterial soft rot under these conditions, while the heads showed fantastic round shape, excellent colour and uniformity, and most of all great size (averaging 8kg, with potential to grow larger).
For the Eastern Cape, MEGASTAR’s ideal slot is sowing during February to deliver a winter harvest of optimum yield, uniformity and quality. MEGASTAR has really proven itself to be a strong competitor in this area as a large-frame cabbage variety. With its round, uniform heads that fill out well to produce great weight, we see a bright future for this variety as an all-round large, loose-head cabbage.
Figure 1: A beautifully shaped, extra-large head of MEGASTAR at Rainbow Seedlings show block.
Figure 2. Typical round head and large frame of MEGASTAR.