Otago

Root celery variety Otago, developed by seed company Rijk Zwaan, is a high-yielding and productive variety intended for fresh markets, processing, and long-term storage. The plant forms a robust, upright rosette with small light-green leaves, and the root has a round shape with a smooth surface. The average fruit weight ranges from 1 to 1.5 kg, with yields reaching 3.1–5.2 kg per square meter. The maturity period varies from 110 to 180 days, allowing flexible harvest planning. The root flesh is snow-white, dense, and uniform, without air chambers inside, ensuring high product quality and ease of culinary use. The variety exhibits resistance to bolting, enhancing yield stability and reducing losses during cultivation. Due to its robustness, Otago celery tolerates mechanical harvesting and is resistant to mechanical damage during cleaning, making it suitable for industrial production and processing. The variety is adaptable to soils and climatic conditions, easily withstands weather fluctuations, but requires crop rotation and regular watering to achieve maximum productivity. The recommended planting density is 70–85 thousand plants per hectare, with transplanting into the soil conducted in early May. Thanks to its uniform fruiting and absence of anthocyanins, Otago celery is ideal for culinary purposes, providing consistent quality and ease of use.