Vegetable Production and Practices

805 Pages·2015·26.463 MB·English

by  Gregory E. Welbaum

Vegetable Production and Practices
Vegetable Production and Practices
Gregory E. Welbaum, Ph.D.
Visiting Professor
Department of Plant Sciences
Seed Biotechnology Center
University of California, Davis
Davis, California
USA
and
Professor, Department of Horticulture
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, Virginia
USA
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© Gregory E. Welbaum 2015. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in any form or by any means, electronically, mechanically, by photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, London, UK.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Welbaum, G.E. (Gregory E.)
Vegetable production and practices / Gregory E. Welbaum, Ph.D., Visiting Professor,
Department of Plant Sciences, Seed Biotechnology Center, University of California, Davis,
Davis, California, USA and Professor, Department of Horticulture, Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-78064-534-6 (hardback : alk. paper)--ISBN 978-1-84593-802-4 (pbk. : alk.
paper)
1. Vegetables. I. Title.
SB320.9W45 2014
635--dc23
2014021237
Paperback ISBN-13: 978 1 84593 802 4
Hardback ISBN-13: 978 1 78064 534 6
Commissioning editors: Sarah Hulbert and Charlotte Hammond
Editorial assistant: Alexandra Lainsbury
Production editor: Claire Sissen
Typeset by SPi, Pondicherry, India.
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 Vegetable History, Nomenclature, and Classification
Chapter 2 Tillage and Cropping Systems
Chapter 3 Vegetable Seeds and Crop Establishment
Chapter 4 Fertilization and Mineral Nutrition Requirements for Growing Vegetables
Chapter 5 Irrigation of Vegetable Crops
Chapter 6 Mulches
Chapter 7 Protected Culture
Chapter 8 Organic and Sustainable Vegetable Production
Chapter 9 Vegetable Safety
Chapter 10 Family Cucurbitaceae
Cucumber
Netted and Mixed Melons
Watermelon
Pumpkins and Squash
Chapter 11 Family Solanaceae
Potato
Peppers
Eggplant
Tomato
Chapter 12 Family Asteraceae
Lettuce, Endive, and Chicory
Globe Artichoke and Cardoon
Chapter 13 Family Poaceae
Sweet Corn, Popcorn, and Ornamental Corn
Chapter 14 Family Amaryllidaceae, Subfamily Allioideae
Onions and Garlic
Leek, Shallots, and Chives
Chapter 15 Family Convolvulaceae
Sweetpotato
Chapter 16 Family Brassicaceae
Genus Brassica
Asian Brassicas
Root Crops
Other Crops
Chapter 17 Family Amaranthaceae, Subfamily Chenopodiaceae
Beets and Chard
Spinach
New Zealand Spinach and Orach
Chapter 18 Family Asparagaceae
Asparagus
Chapter 19 Family Polygonaceae
Rhubarb
Chapter 20 Family Fabaceae
Beans and Peas
Chapter 21 Family Apiaceae
Carrot
Celery
Minor Crops in the Family Apiaceae
Chapter 22 Family Agaricaceae
Mushrooms
Index
Online supplementary material
Please visit http://www.cabi.org/openresources/45346 to view the pictures in colour and
to access supplementary material such as videos.

Preface
The topic of vegetable crop production is vital to human health and should be of interest to
everyone. The study of vegetable crops is a fundamental discipline because it deals with the
needs of mankind rather than our wants. Each one of us eats vegetables, lots of them, to stay
healthy. According to the World Health Organization, the average adult has an annual per
capita vegetable consumption estimated to be 102 kg (240 lb). There is growing awareness
that the way we grow vegetables has a profound effect not only on our health but also our
environment. As the average person in developed countries becomes more and more
detached from vegetable production, misconceptions grow about the safety and sustainability
of production practices. One of the goals of this book is to provide a scientifically based
discussion of some of the current and traditional issues surrounding vegetable production,
handling and consumption. Hopefully, this book will educate students about how vegetables
are actually produced as well as offer ideas and stimulate thinking to improve future
practices.
I developed an interest in vegetable crops at an early age. Having grown up on a diverse
family farm in west-central Ohio, I became interested in vegetables because of their greater
profit potential and amazing diversity compared to the corn, soybeans, wheat and hay we
were growing. I remember planting my own vegetable garden at age 8. I started growing
vegetables commercially on our farm and selling them from a roadside vegetable market in
western Miami County, Ohio during the 1970s. I attended the Ohio State University
primarily to learn more about vegetable crop production from Dr. Kenneth Alban, Dale
Kretchman and others. Wanting to know even more, I ventured across the country to UC
Davis and earned an M.S. in Vegetable Crops in 1979. I returned in the 1980s to get a Ph.D.
in Plant Physiology studying the water relations of cantaloupe seed development for my
research. While at Davis, I was a teaching assistant (TA) for Systematic Olericulture, World
Vegetable Crops, and Vegetable Seed Production and Physiology and was fortunate to be
mentored by several notable scientists: M. Allen Stevens, Kent J. Bradford, Vince E.
Rubatzky, Mas Yamaguchi, Oscar A. Lorenz, Jim Harrington, Ron Voss and many others.
The book World Vegetables: Principles, Production and Nutritive Values is based on the
syllabus used by Mas Yamaguchi to teach the World Vegetable Crops class that I once TAed.
This book updates and references portions of Vince and Mas’s outstanding text.
This book is based on the class Horticulture 4764 at Virginia Tech that I have taught since
1992. I developed an online version of this course that has been taught as an asynchronous
web-based course since 1999. In the book, I have tried to share my own personal knowledge
of vegetables through my experiences as a grower, farm owner, international agriculturist and
scientist whenever possible. The book is intended to have global appeal for use outside North
America with pictures and discussions of various aspects of vegetable production from many
different states and countries based on my international experiences in Canada, China,
Taiwan, the Netherlands, Israel, India, Germany and Greece. Both US and metric units are
provided throughout. In some instances, units have been rounded to give a practical rather
than an exact conversion. For example, for a measurement of stake height or bed width of 1.8
m, the exact conversion is 5 ft 11 in. However, a stake or bed would be sold or constructed to
a measurement of 6 ft for practical purposes.
I have wanted to covert my teaching website to a book for several years and a sabbatical
in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis allowed me finally to
do so.
The book consists of 22 chapters. The first nine chapters cover general background
information that applies to all vegetable crops. I have included chapters about particularly
timely topics such as vegetable safety, where the causes of biological contamination are
discussed. The chapter on seeds and stand establishment includes a section on the genetic
improvement of vegetables to dispel the common notion that genetic modification is a new
phenomenon. The chapter entitled Organic and Sustainable Vegetable Production provides a
brief history of the organic movement and how it may evolve in the future. This book is not
intended to advocate for either conventional or organic production. I have described plant
requirements for growth and development and described some of the more serious crop
pests. Examples are given of how both methods could be used for production to let the reader
decide which approach may be best suited. The chapter on protected culture covers the many
ways vegetables can be grown out of season or in optimized environments. The chapter on
Fertilization and Mineral Nutrition Requirements for Growing Vegetables takes a somewhat
unique approach of using basic plant physiology to educate readers about how plants use
minerals to grow and develop. The tillage and cropping systems chapter describes intensive
monoculture systems but provides alternatives that may work better in certain situations.
Chapters 10–22 cover many of the important vegetable crops of the world in detail. In
addition to tomato, potato and lettuce, a discussion of several less traditional vegetables like
rhubarb, horseradish and mushrooms is provided to broaden knowledge and add perspective.
To add context to crop production, chapters on specific vegetables contain a brief history of
the crop, basic botanical information, human nutritional information and descriptions of
diverse types and cultivars. Also included is fundamental information on germination,
establishment, fertilization, crop management, crop pests, the status of transgenic crops,
harvesting and recommendations for postharvest handling. This allows the book to be used
as a reference by home gardeners, food industry professionals and vegetable producers.
Creating this book was frustrating because time and space do not allow discussion of all
topics and pictures that I had hoped to include.