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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Charleston, South Carolina » Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #367199
Research Project: Genomics and Genetic Improvement of Disease Resistance and Horticultural Characteristics of Watermelon, Broccoli, and Leafy Brassicas

Location: Vegetable Research

Title: Hi-Test: A self-compatible green sprouting broccoli cultivar that yields seed with high levels of glucoraphanin

Author
item Farnham, Mark

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/15/2020
Publication Date: 4/6/2020
Citation: Farnham, M.W. 2020. Hi-Test: A self-compatible green sprouting broccoli cultivar that yields seed with high levels of glucoraphanin. HortScience. 55(5):743-745. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI14569-19.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI14569-19

Interpretive Summary: Broccoli is recognized as a vegetable crop that imparts good health when eaten by consumers. A particular compound found in broccoli called glucoraphanin is partially responsible for this recognition because it is known to have a health promoting effect when it is consumed in food. Broccoli seed is the part of the plant that can contain the highest levels of glucoraphanin, and this seed has been deemed useful for producing broccoli seedling sprouts and as a source of extractable glucoraphanin. ARS scientists in Charleston, South Carolina have worked to breed new varieties of broccoli that are highly uniform in plant type and that readily produce seed with very high concentrations of glucoraphanin. One particular variety named 'Hi-Test' has been identified as an exceptional variety that yields high quality seed and that contains higher levels of glucoraphnin than previously observed. 'Hi-Test' will be made available for use by private companies very interested in producing broccoli seed that can be used to make sprouts or to extract glucoraphanin.

Technical Abstract: A green sprouting broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica), designated Hi-Test, has been released by the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a Plant Variety Protection Certificate has been applied for it. ‘Hi-Test’ is a self-compatible, inbred cultivar that yields high quality, uniform seed containing high levels of the glucosinolate glucoraphanin (GR). This variety has very uniform growth characteristics, plant size, seed yield, and chemical makeup of the seed. ‘Hi-Test’ was derived from a cross of two genetically different inbred lines of green sprouting broccoli maintained in the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory (USVL) collection at Charleston, SC.