Morphological and qualitative characterisation of globe artichoke head from new seed-propagated cultivars.

Background: Three new artichoke seed-propagated hybrids (Tempo, Opal and Madrigal) were compared with two standard cultivated varietal types [Catanese and Violet du Provence (VP)] in terms of head morphology, processing performance, nutritional or technological qualitative traits, in order to define their best use.

Results: Compared to the other genotypes, Opal and Madrigal had more rounded, heavier, larger heads, higher processing yield (>400 g of heart kg(-1) raw head) and lower total phenol (TP) content (2.4 g of gallic acid equivalents kg(-1) FW).