Knol Khol Research Paper

Knol-Khol (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes L.) belongs to the family Brassicaceae that is the German name for cabbage turnip, also called kohlrabi, which resembles an above ground turnip. The fleshy enlargement of the stem develops entirely above the ground, called knob and is used as a vegetable. The Knol-Khol is reported to have originated in the coastal countries of Western Europe (Shanmugavelu , 1989).
It can be primarily used as a cooked vegetable. It is high in minerals like calcium (20mg), magnesium (15mg), phosphorous (35mg), potassium (37mg), sodium (112mg), sulphur (143mg) per 100g of edible portion. It contains moisture (92.7g), protein (1.1g), minerals (0.7g), fibre (1.5g), calories (25), carbohydrates (3.8g), fat (0.2g) per 100g

Salt stress is a major environmental stress, which affects seed germination, plant growth and development, metabolic processes and productivity (Al-Taisan, 2010). Salt primarily have two types of effect on the growing plants specific effect due to rising of osmotic pressure of the soil solutions in and around the root zone of the crop (Greenway and Munns, 1980). Salinity effects on Brassica species at germination and early seedling growth, germination rate, shoot and root length, shoot and root fresh weight, shoot and root dry weight (Jamil et al., 2007). Salinity impairs seed germination, reduces nodule formation, retards plant development and reduces crop yield. Although some crops are moderately tolerant of saline conditions and many crops are adversely affected by even low levels of salt (Greenway and Munns, 1980). In Bangladesh a wide range of nutritious vegetables are cultivated in winter season where in 2007-2008 winter vegetables are cultivated in about 451758 acres land with total production of 1460961 M. Tons (BBS, 2009). In 2009-2010, Bangladesh produces 35 thousand tons of Knol-Khol year-1 from 7.29 thousand hectares of land with an average yield of 4.80 tha-1 which is very low against the potential yield (BBS, 2010). However, in Bangladesh salinity problem is severe in winter though during summer the salt concentration decreases (Karim et al., 1990). Therefore,