As the UK watercress season begins, National Watercress Week (May 24-31) gets underway with a comprehensive agenda of activities.
Ropley Station in Hampshire will be the focus for Victorian-themed entertainment on the weekend of May 29-30, commemorating a time when watercress was first carried up to Covent Garden Market and sold in wicker basket flats by the half hundred weight. Entertainment will include a Victorian Wizard and a Punch and Judy. Celebrity chef Phil Vickery, from TV’s This Morning will highlight the versatility of watercress with a series of cookery demonstrations, while free watercress and recipe leaflets will be distributed.
In recent years, publicity such as this has done wonders to enhance the image of watercress - with a notable effect on sales. “The market for watercress is progressing very strongly,” says Dr Steve Rothwell, production and technical director at Vitacress. “We are now seeing double figure growth - which is ahead of other prepared salads. This is thanks to the Watercress Alliance’s PR efforts that have all been aimed at raising the profile of the crop.”
“From the growers point of view the Not Just a Bit on the Side campaign which was launched last year, has been a great success,” says Charles Barter, managing director of the Watercress Company. “Sales have increased by 10-15 per cent since the campaign began and we have also managed to increase the frequency of watercress purchase. This year we are aiming to encourage young families to eat watercress in response to research that showed that although the older generation liked it, the younger generation didn’t use it as much.”
The Watercress Alliance has a six-figure budget funded by Vitacress, Geest and the Watercress Company. “We aim to raise awareness of the health benefits, the versatility of watercress as a culinary ingredient and its specific anti-cancer properties,” says Rothwell. “We are funding a dietary intervention study at Ulster University which we hope will prove the significant impact the consumption of watercress has on protecting against cancer.”
Increasingly recognised as a superfood, there should be no difficulty in proving the health enhancing properties of watercress - known to be brimming with beta-carotene and vitamin A equivalents. As well as being important antioxidants, these are also needed for healthy skin and eyes. The Ulster University project began earlier this year and is specifically concerned with watercress’s anti cancer potential in relation to colorectal cancer. The two-year study funded by The Watercress Alliance, includes a 23-week dietary trial involving 30 men and 30 women aged between 18 and 55. The first in vitro results are due to be submitted for publication this spring.
UK watercress has arrived slightly later than usual this year, owing to a cold snap late in March and into April. “Temperatures were lower than usual,” says Barter, “and there was also more rain so we were a week later than last year with the crops. The installation of overhead irrigation on our UK farms is a significant development for the Watercress Company. “Irrigation on young, seedling crops helps reduce the pressure of pests and also helps to establish seedlings,” says Barter. “We hope to have this installed on all our UK farms by the end of the year.”
Vitacress grows its own watercress seed each year from selected stock and has recently gained Horticultural Development Council funding for a Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association project, aimed at characterising the flavour of watercress and establishing consumer preference. “We hope to use this data to help in a second phase of researched aimed at identifying the agronomic and genetic drivers of watercress flavour (and mustard oil content that confers anti-cancer properties) so as to be able to manipulate flavour,” says Rothwell.
In March this year Vitacress responded to criticisms of its environmental practices when a local activist complained about Portuguese sand found in the man-made outflow ditch from Vitacress’s plant at St Mary Bourne (see the Journal March 18). Rothwell acknowledges the “subtle invertebrate imbalance declining with distance” found by the Environment Agency (EA), below their outfall. He adds: “In most instances this is of little ecological consequence - and brown trout thrive. But on one Vitacress site, St Mary Bourne, the imbalance has concerned fishermen. Responding to this concern Vitacress, working with the EA, has invested a great deal of time and energy in identifying the cause and a means of mitigation. I believe the imbalance is due to the anti-cancer mustard oils, phenyl ethyl isothiocyanates, released from watercress when we harvest. (A professor Newman in the US is an expert in the field and has published on the avoidance behaviour of freshwater shrimps to watercress juice.)
“We hired Environ, leading environmental management consultants to help and concluded a reed bed / wetland was the best solution. We then persuaded David Bellamy to help us in the design of the project.
“The final result is an elegant solution to the problem that would enhance the ecology of the valley as well as restoring invertebrate population balance. Indeed the scheme we developed has the support of the EA, English Nature, The Test and Itchen Fishing Association and the Hants and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. Sadly, however, the owners of the fishing below the farm are refusing to allow us to build the wetland...so we are not there yet.”
Seminis has been breeding spinach varieties for many years and remains strongly focused on increasing the baby and teen leaf spinach markets. It is also working hard to expand its position further into the oriental spinach sector. “Oriental spinach, with its distinct, Christmas tree shaped leaves is particularly desired by the Asian community,” says special projects manager Steve Parrott, “but we are also finding interest from growers supplying catering firms and restaurants. As the global leader in vegetable seeds, many produce businesses look to us first to provide new varieties and innovations and we work closely with growers, food service and retailers to help predict future trends in production and consumption.”
Although Seminis has not officially launched any new varieties this year, it has six new lines on extensive trials with key growers. “These new varieties are very dark in colour with a strong savoyed look to the leaves and we expect that they will suit the summer periods best, when fast growing conditions make the spinach leaves flatter and smoother in appearance,” says Parrott. “By using very savoyed varieties in this period, it should be possible to achieve a good balance between smoothness and savoy.”
From a seed point of view, the weather always has a great effect on the new seed crops, says Parrott. “Hail damage, in particular, can be very destructive. From a grower’s point of view, mildew infestation can render a crop useless. In keeping with Integrated Pest Management and reduced input strategies, we always look to breed new varieties fully resistant to all of the existing strains of mildew. Unfortunately this is always an on-going process. New races of mildew can evolve, to which the existing varieties may not be resistant. Breeders then have to screen varieties and make new crosses to achieve full resistance again. Given time, new races of mildew evolve and so on.”
Sakata UK has two important breeding programmes of spinach available for the UK market. Sakata is an important global supplier of spinach, particularly in its domestic region of Asia. “This part of the world generally demands an oriental pointed leaf shape grown to a large size for bunching or sleeved bag presentation,” says Stuart Cox, Sakata UK’s technical manager. “Sakata UK has introduced oriental varieties that the UK ethnic population appreciate. Koto F1 is used for spring and autumn production, plus winter production under glass, the variety has dark pointed leaves with an attractive pink root that customers appreciate as a sign of quality. Koto F1 is also now grown in Spain for the domestic bunching market.”
New for 2004 is the slow bolting SC7-103 F1. This variety brings to the market, for the first time, a true oriental type variety that can be grown for full summer production during long days in the UK summer. Previously, early bolting has limited the season for this type of Spinach in high latitude areas such as the UK.
“A new European type spinach from Sakata with full Pf1-7 mildew resistance is generating serious interest with UK growers for baby and teen leaf production,” Cox continues. “SC1-604 has thick, round, dark leaves with a slight cupped shape ideally suited for bagged spinach use.”
Daehnfeldt is the second breeder working on spinach that Sakata UK promotes. This year the varieties Tirza F1 and Marita F1 are in the first season of commercial introduction. Tirza F1 is used for mid-summer production and Marita F1 for spring and autumn use. Both varieties have full Pf1-7 mildew resistance.
“Two years ago Daehnfeldt launched spinach Reddy F1 and this unique red-stemmed type has grown in sales as retailers and consumers appreciate the unique colour and flavour combination of this variety. Daehnfeldt is now working hard to develop complimentary varieties to Reddy to lengthen the season of production, mildew resistance package, plus intensify the colour and taste aspects,” says Cox.
Koppert Cress BV is a company that focuses on the restaurant and catering market. The product range consists of an assortment of sprouted vegetables, herbs and tree seeds. “Most of our products are sold in the two to four leaf stage,” says owner Rob Baan. “The products are all selected for their specific taste - a product that does not taste distinctive will not be sold. Kopper Cress supplies 52 weeks of the year and has a 3,000 sq metre greenhouse where all new products are tested.”
The range includes Shiso® Purple, a distinctive red herb with the taste of cumin. Mustard Cress has the fragrance of Wasabia (Japanese mustard) - and is spicy during the first 10 seconds of tasting, before becoming milder again. Tahoon® Cress has a nutty taste and the most recent addition are the edible Orchids, Karma.
While watercress continues to benefit from tireless promotional activity, the extensive use of spinach in bagged salads equates to a fairly steady demand. “It would be great if one of the fast food outlets like McDonald’s would use spinach in one or more of its products,” says Parrott.
“The Salads Plus initiative from McDonald’s seems to be successful so maybe there is an opportunity to get spinach and watercress into fast food. The McPopeye could be right round the corner.”
Although bagged salads are enjoying sustained growth, it is not, says Rothwell, a record start to the year owing to a cool spring and poor weather in May to date. But with summer yet to come, there is still time for that to change.
“With sales increasing as they are, if we have another summer like last year, we will be very pleased,” says Barter.
While watercress, rocket and spinach remain the most popular salad mix, the main issue this year, says Rothwell, is going to be keeping up with demand. “We are keen to build more beds but are very restricted when it comes to environmental controls of water abstraction and discharge. The Water Act will make things tougher.”
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