Chard

Beta vulgaris var. cicla Chenopodiaceae

Common Names
Chard, Swiss chard, silverbeet, spinach beet, leaf beet (En); bette, poirée, blette (Fr);
acelga (Sp); 菾菜 (Cn)

Plant Distribution
Worldwide

Botanical Features
Annual or biennial herb, robust, erect; leaves in the basal rosette with long petioles
arise from the base of the plant, on stems alternate and shortly stalked, often ovate and
cordate, 20-40 cm or more in length and 15-25 cm in width, margins wavy, leaf tissue
puckered between veins, nearly hairless, dark shiny green to red; petiole and midrib
swollen; inflorescence a long, paniculate, branched spike up to 1.5 m long; flowers
sessile, bisexual, usually 2-5 together, greenish or reddish, subtended by minute
bracts; fruit (utricles) developing mostly from aggregates of 2 or more flowers joining
together at base with swollen perianth bases, 3-7 mm across; seed kidney-shaped,
brown, 1.5-3 mm across.

Shiny green leaves with red veins and petioles

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Environmental Factors
Light requirement: full sun, partial sun; photoperiod: long-day; temperature
requirement: warm; preferred soil type: well-drained sandy loam to clayey loam;
optimum soil pH: 6.5-8.0; tolerance: frost; sensitivity: heat, flooding, shading.

Red leaves, veins and petioles

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Production Methods
System: home gardening, monocropping; planting material: entire fruit (containing 2-
5 seeds); planting method: direct seed followed by thinning, sometimes transplanting;
irrigation: frequent; priority fertilizer: organic matter, nitrogen; crop management:
free standing; planting to 1 st harvest: 35-40 days for outer leaves; harvesting: once-
over at 50-60 days after sowing, repeated cutting of outer leaves with a sharp knife
about 5 cm above the ground every 8-10 days; yield: 30-60 t/ha.

Inflorescence

Fruit (utricles)

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Edible Parts
Leaves and petioles are consumed boiled, steamed, or sautéed. Often boiled and
soaked in water after boiling to remove the strong flavor and acrid taste.

Health Values
Beta-carotene: medium; vitamin E: low; riboflavin: low; folic acid: low; ascorbic
acid: medium; calcium: low; iron: medium; protein: 2.0%. Young leaves and stems
contain antioxidative syringic acid (phenolic acid), kaempferol, and oxalic acid (ca.
0.6%).
Seeds

Field production of light green leaf type (left)

and dark green leaf type (right)

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