The developmental growth and quality assessment of five selected cultivars of baby spinach grown in Gauteng province, South Africa

Baby spinach is a relatively new crop in South Africa that has commercial significance in retail stores. Currently, seed companies have developed varieties that have not been evaluated locally. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the growth, development and quality of five selected baby spinach cultivars in Gauteng province, South Africa. Treatments consisted of five selected baby spinach cultivars viz., Ohio, Dash, Monstrous Viroflay, Guitar F1 and Lazio, arranged in a randomised complete block design (RCBD), and replicated three times. The parameters recorded were morphological characteristics, biomass, physiological parameters, minerals, and amino acids. The results showed that cultivar Dash had longer leaf size, petiole and leaf blade, followed by Ohio, which had the highest leaf number (8.4). Monstrous Viroflay yielded higher biomass than other cultivars. Cultivar Ohio indicated a significantly higher level of photosynthetically active radiation with a level of 893.00 mu mol m-2 s-1 and leaf area index of 5.90. The aliphatic (isoleucine), aromatic (phenylalanine, tryptophan), acidic (aspartic acid), basic (arginine, histidine), sulphur (cysteamine) and amidic amino acids (asparagine) were dormant in baby spinach. The cultivation of Dash baby spinach by both small- and large-scale producers in the north of Pretoria, Gauteng province of South Africa, is recommended.