History

Almost no archaeological records are available to help determine their early history and domestication of Radish. However, scientists have tentatively located the origin of Raphanus sativus in Southeast Asia, as this is the only region where truly wild forms have been discovered.

India, central China, and Central Asia have been secondary centres where differing forms were developed. Radishes enter the historical record in the third century BC. Greek and Roman agriculturists of the first century AD gave details of small, large, round, long, mild, and sharp varieties.

The Radish seems to have been one of the first European crops introduced to the Americas. A German botanist reported radishes of 45 kilograms (100 pounds) and roughly 90 centimetres (3 feet) in length in 1544, although the only variety of that size today is the Japanese Sakurajima radish.

Using 2003-4 data, several sources report annual world production of radishes to be about 7 million tonnes, produced mainly by China, Japan and South Korea and representing roughly 2% of global vegetable production

Wild variants of radishes were discovered in South East Asia. They spread to India, central China, and Central Asia, and they appeared in written history in the 3rd century BC.

Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman agriculturalists mentioned them in the 1st century AD, and from there, they spread through Europe. They were also one of the first vegetables to be introduced to the Americas. Since then, they are in use all over the world.  Using 2003-4 data, several sources report annual world production of radishes to be about 7 million tonnes.