September 22 Fruit History

Turnip (Brassica rapa L.) is a root Brassica crop and has been used as a vegetable for human consumption in Europe since prehistoric times. Turnip root has been a popular livestock fodder for at least 600 years wherever the crop can be grown. For most of that time turnip roots have been managed as forage. Researchers in the United States determined in the early 1900s that turnip roots are valuable energy sources for young ruminant animals. However, livestock farmers at that time were turning away from the Brassica root crops (which also include rutabagas or swedes) for fodder because much hand labor was required for the production and utilization of the large roots. One study showed that the labor requirement on a nutrient basis for these crops was three times that needed for corn silage production.

In the late 1970s, however, researchers began to demonstrate the potential of turnip as pasture. The development of varieties with partially exposed roots rendered the roots more available to grazing animals. Livestock graze turnip tops and roots readily, and the forage is of high quality. Pasturing eliminates the need for manual labor in harvesting and storing. In general, the root Brassicas are fast-growing, high yielding and well adapted to seeding into existing pastures with little or no tillage or to seeding into a conventionally prepared seedbed.

Turnip is a cool-weather crop and well adapted for the northern parts of the United States and Europe and for Great Britain and Canada. However, truck-growing areas of the South also produce turnip roots and greens in all seasons for human consumption.