The experiment was carried out in a glasshouse in the Centro de Ecofisiologia e Biofísica of the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil, between August and December 2008. The kale cultivars Manteiga São José, Verde-Escura, IAC-Campinas, Orelha de Elefante, and Vale das Garças were evaluated every 14 days until 126 days after planting. The kales were produced from plantlets. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with eight replications, in a split-plot design for time of evaluation. The plant height and stem diameter were measured and all commercial leaves were harvested and counted. Leaf areas were measured and their fresh and dry weights were determined. The sprout number and all totally expanded but not yet commercial leaves were counted and the total number of leaves was calculated. Vale das Garças was the cultivar with highest vegetative development for all variables analyzed. Although the sprout, commercial leaves and total number of leaves showed lower values in 'Orelha de Elefante', the final yield of fresh and dry leaves of this cultivar presented higher specific foliar area and its fresh and dry weight were similar to that of Vale das Garças. 'Vale das Garças' and 'Orelha de Elefante' presented themselves as a good alternative for kale production.
Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala; plant development; vegetable physiology
