The «Carolina» mustard variety belongs to the medium-late and mature types, ensuring high productivity of both seeds and green mass. The plant develops quickly: the vegetative period up to the stage of maturity for cutting is 40–50 days, and up to seed harvest – 85–100 days. The yield of dry matter reaches 5.5–6.5 t/ha, and seeds – 1.5–2.0 t/ha. Crude protein content in dry matter is in the range of 17–19%, and fiber – 21.5%. Plant height ranges from 35 to 105 cm, flowers are white or light yellow, and inflorescences have a raceme form. The fruit is a pod with small seeds.
«Carolina» is widely used as a forage, technical, and cover crop. Due to high drought resistance and green mass quality, the plant is suitable for green fertilizer production: with early sowing (300 g/centner), it quickly gains mass, and after mass flowering, plants can be mowed, chopped, and incorporated into the soil without allowing full pod formation. This approach allows for effective use of mustard as a cover crop, improving soil structure and increasing nutrient availability.
Sowing rate is 15–18 kg/ha (or 300 g/centner for green fertilizer), and seed burial depth is 2–3 cm. The plant has been cultivated for over three thousand years, with its homeland considered to be the Mediterranean, but in Ukraine it has been grown since the 18th century, and its popularity has grown in recent decades. The flowering phase occurs from June to July, and fruit maturation happens in August or September.
