Pungency levels of white radish (Raphanus sativus L.) grown in different seasons in Australia

White Radish, or daikon (Raphanus sativus) is a popular root vegetable in E ast Asian countries but there are increasing export opportunities for lower cost agricultural countries such as Australia. The Japanese processing whi te radish cultivar, Hoshiriso, was grown in spring, summer, autumn and wint er on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia and accumulation of t he characteristic pungent flavour component, 4-methylthio-3-trans butenyl i sothiocyanate (MTBITC) during growth was determined. MTBITC concentration w as found to be higher in roots grown in autumn and spring than in winter an d summer. There was considerable change in MTBITC concentration during grow th in all seasons with a maximum concentration occurring 9 weeks after sowi ng for roots grown in autumn and winter, and after 13 weeks for spring- and summer-grown roots. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.