Vegetable farming, growing of vegetable crops, primarily for use as human food.
The term vegetable in its broadest sense refers to any kind of plant life or plant product; in the narrower sense, as used in this article, however, it refers to the fresh, edible portion of a herbaceous plant consumed in either raw or cooked form. The edible portion may be a root, such as rutabaga, beet, carrot, and sweet potato; a tuber or storage stem, such as potato and taro; the stem, as in asparagus and kohlrabi; a bud, such as brussels sprouts; a bulb, such as onion and garlic; a petiole or leafstalk, such as celery and rhubarb; a leaf, such as cabbage, lettuce, parsley, spinach, and chive; an immature flower, such as cauliflower, broccoli, and artichoke; a seed, such as pea and lima bean; the immature fruit, such as eggplant, cucumber, and sweet corn (maize); or the mature fruit, such as tomato and pepper.
The popular distinction between vegetable and fruit is difficult to uphold. In general, those plants or plant parts that are usually consumed with the main course of a meal are popularly regarded as vegetables, while those mainly used as desserts are considered fruits. This distinction is applied in this article. Thus, cucumber and tomato, botanically fruits, since they are the portion of the plant containing seeds, are commonly regarded as vegetables.
This article treats the principles and practices of vegetable farming. For a discussion of the processing of vegetables, see the article food preservation. For information on nutritive value, see nutrition: Human nutrition and diet.
Types of production
Vegetable production operations range from small patches of crops, producing a few vegetables for family use or marketing, to the great, highly organized and mechanized farms common in the most technologically advanced countries.
In technologically developed countries the three main types of vegetable farming are based on production of vegetables for the fresh market, for canning, freezing, dehydration, and pickling, and to obtain seeds for planting.
Production for the fresh market
This type of vegetable farming is normally divided into home gardening, market gardening, truck farming, and vegetable forcing.
Home gardening provides vegetables exclusively for family use. About one-fourth of an acre (one-tenth of a hectare) of land is required to supply a family of six. The most suitable vegetables are those producing a large yield per unit of area. Bean, cabbage, carrot, leek, lettuce, onion, parsley, pea, pepper, radish, spinach, and tomato are desirable home garden crops.
Market gardening produces assorted vegetables for a local market. The development of good roads and of motor trucks has rapidly extended available markets; the market gardener, no longer forced to confine his operations to his local market, often is able to specialize in the production of a few, rather than an assortment, of vegetables; a transformation that provides the basis for a distinction between market and truck gardening in the mid-20th century. Truck gardens produce specific vegetables in relatively large quantities for distant markets.
In the method known as forcing, vegetables are produced out of their normal season of outdoor production under forcing structures that admit light and induce favourable environmental conditions for plant growth. Greenhouses, cold frames, and hotbeds are common structures used. Hydroponics, sometimes called soilless culture, allows the grower to practice automatic watering and fertilizing, thus reducing the cost of labour. To successfully compete with other fresh market producers, greenhouse vegetable growers must either produce crops when the outdoor supply is limited or produce quality products commanding premium prices.
Production for processing
Processed vegetables include canned, frozen, dehydrated, and pickled products. The cost of production per unit area of land and per ton is usually less for processing crops than for the same crops grown for market because raw material appearance is not a major quality factor in processing. This difference allows lower land value, less hand labour, and lower handling cost. Although many kinds of vegetables can be processed, there are marked varietal differences within each species in adaptability to a given method.
Specifications for vegetables for canning and freezing usually include small size, high quality, and uniformity. For many kinds of vegetables, a series of varieties having different dates of maturity is required to ensure a constant supply of raw material, thus enabling the factory to operate with an even flow of input over a long period. Acceptable processed vegetables should have a taste, odour, and appearance comparable with the fresh product, retain nutritive values, and have good storage stability. The major vegetables processed commercially are indicated in the Table.
Major vegetables and kinds of processing
|asparagus ||+ ||− ||− ||− |
|bean ||+ ||+ ||+ ||− |
|broccoli ||− ||+ ||− ||− |
|cabbage ||− ||− ||+ ||+ |
|carrot ||+ ||+ ||+ ||+ |
|celery ||− ||− ||+ ||− |
|cucumber ||− ||− ||− ||+ |
|garlic ||− ||− ||+ ||− |
|lima bean ||+ ||+ ||− ||− |
|onion ||− ||− ||+ ||+ |
|parsley ||− ||− ||+ ||− |
|pea ||+ ||+ ||− ||− |
|pepper ||− ||− ||+ ||+ |
|potato ||− ||+ ||+ ||− |
|spinach ||+ ||+ ||− ||− |
|sweet corn ||+ ||+ ||− ||− |
|sweet potato ||+ ||− ||+ ||− |
|tomato ||+ ||− ||+ ||− |
Vegetables raised for seed production.
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This type of vegetable farming requires special skills and techniques. The crop is not ready for harvest when the edible portion of the plant reaches the stage of maturity; it must be carried through further stages of growth. Production under isolated conditions ensures the purity of seed yield. Special techniques are applied during the stage of flowering and seed development and also in harvesting and threshing the seeds.
Production factors and techniques
Profitable vegetable farming requires attention to all production operations, including insect, disease, and weed control and efficient marketing. The kind of vegetable grown is mainly determined by consumer demands, which can be defined in terms of variety, size, tenderness, flavour, freshness, and type of pack. Effective management involves the adoption of techniques resulting in a steady flow of the desired amount of produce over the whole of the natural growing season of the crop. Many vegetables can be grown throughout the year in some climates, although yield per acre for a given kind of vegetable varies according to the growing season and region where the crop is produced.
Climate involves the temperature, moisture, daylight, and wind conditions of a specific region. Climatic factors strongly affect all stages and processes of plant growth.
Temperature requirements are based on the minimum, optimum, and maximum temperatures during both day and night throughout the period of plant growth. Requirements vary according to the type and variety of the specific crop. Based on their optimum temperature ranges, vegetables may be classed as cool-season or warm-season types. Cool-season vegetables thrive in areas where the mean daily temperature does not rise above 70° F (21° C). This group includes the artichoke, beet, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, garlic, leek, lettuce, onion, parsley, pea, potato, radish, spinach, and turnip. Warm-season vegetables, requiring mean daily temperature of 70° F or above, are intolerant of frost. These include the bean, cucumber, eggplant, lima bean, okra, muskmelon, pepper, squash, sweet corn (maize), sweet potato, tomato, and watermelon.
Premature seeding, or bolting, is an undesirable condition that is sometimes seen in fields of cabbage, celery, lettuce, onion, and spinach. The condition occurs when the plant goes into the seeding stage before the edible portion reaches a marketable size. Bolting is attributed to either extremely low or high temperature conditions in combination with inherited traits. Specific vegetable strains or varieties may exhibit significant differences in their tendency to bolt.
Young cabbage or onion plants of relatively large size may bolt upon exposure to low temperatures near 50° to 55° F (10° to 13° C). At high temperatures of 70° to 80° F (21° to 27° C) lettuce plants do not form heads and will show premature seeding. The fruit sets of tomatoes are adversely affected by relatively low and relatively high temperatures. Tomato breeders, however, have developed several new varieties, some setting fruits at a temperature as low as 40° F (4° C) and others at a temperature as high as 90° F (32° C).
The amount and annual distribution of rainfall in a region, especially during certain periods of development, affects local crops. Irrigation may be required to compensate for insufficient rainfall. For optimum growth and development, plants require soil that supplies water as well as nutrients dissolved in water. Root growth determines the extent of a plant’s ability to absorb water and nutrients, and in dry soil root growth is greatly retarded. Extremely wet soil also retards root growth by restricting aeration. Atmospheric humidity, the moisture content of the air, also contributes moisture. Certain seacoast areas characterized by high humidity are considered especially adapted to the production of such crops as the artichoke and lima bean. High humidity, however, also creates conditions favourable for the development of certain plant diseases.
Light is the source of energy for plants. The response of plants to light is dependent upon light intensity, quality, and daily duration, or photoperiod. The seasonal variation in day length affects the growth and flowering of certain vegetable crops. Continuation of vegetative growth, rather than early flower formation, is desirable in such crops as spinach and lettuce. When planted very late in the spring, these crops tend to produce flowers and seeds during the long days of summer before they attain sufficient vegetative growth to produce maximum yields. The minimum photoperiod required for formation of bulbs in garlic and onion plants differs among varieties, and local day length is a determining factor in the selection of varieties.
Each of the climatic factors affects plant growth, and can be a limiting factor in plant development. Unless each factor is of optimum quantity or quality, plants do not achieve maximum growth. In addition to the importance of individual climatic factors, the interrelationship of all environmental factors affects growth.
Certain combinations may exert specific effects. Lettuce usually forms a seedstalk during the long days of summer, but the appearance of flowers may be delayed, or even prevented, by relatively low temperature. An unfavourable temperature combined with unfavourable moisture conditions may cause the dropping of the buds, flowers, and small fruits of the pepper, reducing the crop yield. Desirable areas for muskmelon production are characterized by low humidity combined with high temperature. In the production of seeds of many kinds of vegetables, absence of rain, or relatively light rainfall, and low humidity during ripening, harvesting, and curing of the seeds are very important.
The choice of a site involves such factors as soil and climatic region. In addition, with the continued trend toward specialization and mechanization, relatively large areas are required for commercial production, and adequate water supply and transportation facilities are essential. Topography—that is, the surface of the soil and its relation to other areas—influences efficiency of operation. In modern mechanized farming, large, relatively level fields allow for lower operating costs. Power equipment may be used to modify topography, but the cost of such land renovation may be prohibitive. The amount of slope influences the type of culture possible. Fields with a moderate slope should be contoured, a process that may involve added expense for the building of terraces and diversion ditches. The direction of a slope may influence the maturation time of a crop or may result in drought, winter injury, or wind damage. A level site is generally most desirable, although a slight slope may assist drainage. Exposed sites are not suitable for vegetable farming because of the risk of damage to plants by strong winds.
The soil stores mineral nutrients and water used by plants, as well as housing their roots. There are two general kinds of soils—mineral and the organic type called muck or peat. Mineral soils include sandy, loamy, and clayey types. Sandy and loamy soils are usually preferred for vegetable production. Soil reaction and degree of fertility can be determined by chemical analysis. The reaction of the soil determines to a great extent the availability of most plant nutrients. The degree of acid, alkaline, or neutral reaction of a soil is expressed as the pH, with a pH of 7 being neutral, points below 7 being acid, and those above 7 being alkaline. The optimum pH range for plant growth varies from one crop to another. A soil can be made more acid, or less alkaline, by applying an acid-producing chemical fertilizer such as ammonium sulfate.
The inherent fertility of soils affects production quantity, and a sound fertility program is required to maintain productivity. The ability of a soil to support plant life and produce abundant harvests is dependent on the immediately available nutrients in the soil and on the rate of release of additional nutrients that are present but not available to plants. The rate of release of these additional nutrients is affected by such factors as microbial action, soil temperature, soil moisture, and aeration. Depletion of soil fertility may occur as a result of crop removal, erosion, leaching, and volatilization, or evaporation, of nutrients.
Soil preparation and management
Soil preparation for vegetable growing involves many of the usual operations required for other crops. Good drainage is especially important for early vegetables because wet soil retards development. Sands are valuable in growing early vegetables because they are more readily drained than the heavier soils. Soil drainage accomplished by means of ditches or tiles is more desirable than the drainage obtained by planting crops on ridges because the former not only removes the excess water but also allows air to enter the soil. Air is essential to the growth of crop plants and to certain beneficial soil organisms making nutrients available to the plants.
When crops are grown in succession, soil rarely needs to be plowed more than once each year. Plowing incorporates sod, green-manure crops, and crop residues in the soil; destroys weeds and insects; and improves soil texture and aeration. Soils for vegetables should be fairly deep. A depth of six to eight inches (15 to 20 centimetres) is sufficient in most soils.
Soil management involves the exercise of human judgment in the application of available knowledge of crop production, soil conservation, and economics. Management should be directed toward producing the desired crops with a minimum of labour. Control of soil erosion, maintenance of soil organic matter, the adoption of crop rotation, and clean culture are considered important soil-management practices.
Soil erosion, caused by water and wind, is a problem in many vegetable-growing regions because the topsoil is usually the richest in fertility and organic matter. Soil erosion by water can be controlled by various methods. Terracing divides the land into separate drainage areas, with each area having its own waterway above the terrace. The terrace holds the water on the land, allowing it to soak into the soil and reducing or preventing gullying. In the contouring system, crops are planted in rows at the same level across the field. Cultivation proceeds along the rows rather than up and down the hill. Strip cropping consists of growing crops in narrow strips across a slope, usually on the contour. Soil erosion by wind can be controlled by the use of windbreaks of various kinds, by keeping the soil well supplied with humus, and by growing cover crops to hold the soil when the land is not occupied by other crops.
Maintenance of the organic-matter content of the soil is essential. Organic matter is a source of plant nutrients and is valuable for its effect on certain properties of the soil. Loss of organic matter is the result of the action of micro-organisms that gradually decompose it to carbon dioxide. The addition of manures and the growing of soil-improving crops are efficient means of supplying soil organic matter. Soil-improving crops are grown solely for the purpose of preparing the soil for the growth of succeeding crops. Green-manure crops, grown especially for soil improvement, are turned under while still green and usually are grown during the same season of the year as the vegetable crops. Cover crops, raised for both soil protection and improvement, are only grown during seasons when vegetable crops do not occupy the land. When a soil-improving crop is turned under, the various nutrients that have contributed to the growth of the crop are returned to the soil, adding a quantity of organic matter. Both legumes, those plants such as peas and beans having fruits and seeds formed in pods, and nonlegumes are effective soil-improving crops. The legumes, however, are more valuable, because they contribute nitrogen as well as humus. The rate of decomposition of plant material depends on the kind of crop, its stage of growth, and soil temperature and moisture. The more succulent the material is at the time it is turned under, the more quickly it decomposes. Because dry material decomposes more slowly than green material, it is desirable to turn under soil-improving crops before they are mature, unless considerable time is to elapse between the plowing and the planting of the succeeding crop. Plant material decomposes most rapidly when the soil is warm and well supplied with moisture. If soil is dry when a soil-improving crop is turned under, little or no decomposition will occur until rain or irrigation supplies the necessary moisture.
The chief benefits derived from crop rotation are the control of disease and insects and the better use of the resources of the soil. Rotation is a systematic arrangement for the growing of different crops in a more or less regular sequence on the same land. It differs from succession cropping in that rotation cropping covers a period of two, three, or more years, while in succession cropping two or more crops are grown on the same land in one year. In many regions vegetable crops are grown in rotation with other farm crops. Most vegetables grown as annual crops fit into a four-or five-year rotation plan. The system of intercropping, or companion cropping, involves the growing of two or more kinds of vegetables on the same land in the same growing season. One of the vegetables must be a small-growing and quick-maturing crop; the other must be larger and late maturing.
In the practice of clean culture, commonly followed in vegetable growing, the soil is kept free of all competing plants through frequent cultivation and the use of protective coverings, or mulches, and weed killers. In a clean vegetable field the possibility of attack by insects and disease-incitant organisms, for which plant weeds serve as hosts, is reduced.
Propagation of crop plants, involving the formation and development of new individuals in the establishment of new plantings, is usually accomplished by the use of either seeds or the vegetative parts of plants. The first type, known as sexual propagation, is used for asparagus, bean, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, leek, lettuce, lima bean, okra, onion, muskmelon, parsley, pea, pepper, pumpkin, radish, spinach, sweet corn (maize), squash, tomato, turnip, and watermelon. The second type, asexual propagation, is used for the artichoke, garlic, girasole, potato, rhubarb, and sweet potato.
Although seed cost is a small portion of the total cost of crop production, seed quality strongly affects crop success or failure. Good seed should be accurately labelled, clean, graded to size, viable, and free of diseases and insects. The reliability of the seed house is an important factor in obtaining good-quality seed. Viability, or ability to grow, and longevity, the period of viability, are characteristics of seeds of any vegetable kind. In cool, dry storage conditions, those vegetable seeds having comparatively short longevity of one to two years are okra, onion, parsley, and sweet corn. Seeds having three-year longevity are those of the asparagus, bean, carrot, leek, and pea; four-year longevity is characteristic of the beet, chard, pepper, pumpkin, and tomato seeds; longevity of five years characterizes the seeds of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, muskmelon, radish, spinach, squash, turnip, and watermelon. The dry seeds of all vegetables, when packed under vacuum in hermetically sealed cans, should remain viable for a longer period than seeds stored under less protective conditions.
Crops grown from hybrid seeds (the offspring of two or more selected parental varieties and known as F1) yield vegetables of high quantity and quality. The hybrid-seed industry is based on the production of new seed each year from the controlled pollination of selected parents found to produce the desired combination of characters in the progeny. In the early 1980s the number of F1 hybrids was increasing in Japan, the United States, and other technically advanced countries. The number of F1 hybrids varied with the kind of vegetable, but none had yet been introduced for the bean, celery, lettuce, okra, parsley, or pea.
Most vegetable crops are planted in the field where they are to grow to maturity. A few kinds are commonly started in a seedbed, established in the greenhouse or in the open, and transplanted as seedlings. Asparagus seeds are planted in a seedbed to produce crowns used for field setting. Some vegetables can be either directly seeded in the field or grown from transplants. These include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, leek, lettuce, onion, pepper, and tomato. The time and method of planting seeds and plants of a particular vegetable influence the success or failure of the crop. Important factors include the depth of planting, the rate of planting, and the spacing both between rows and between plants within a row.
Factors to be considered in determining the time of planting include soil and weather conditions, kind of crop, and desired harvest time. When more than one planting of a crop is made, the second and later plantings should be timed to provide a continuous harvest for the period desired. The soil temperature required for germination of the planted seed varies markedly with the various kinds of vegetables. Vegetables that will not germinate at a temperature below 60° F (16° C) include the bean, cucumber, eggplant, lima bean, muskmelon, okra, pepper, pumpkin, squash, and watermelon. Temperatures higher than 90° F (32° C) are not favourable for the germination of seeds of celery, lettuce, lima bean, parsley, pea, and spinach.
The quantity of seeds planted, or rate of planting, is mainly determined by the characteristics of the vegetable plant. The size of seeds affects the number of plants raised in a given area. Watermelon varieties, for example, differ in seed size expressed as weight. The Sugar Baby variety has an average weight of 1.4 ounces (41 grams) for 1,000 seeds; those of Blackstone variety average 4.4 ounces (125 grams). If the two are grown on two separate plots of the same area and 4.4 ounces of seeds of each cultivar are planted, the result would be three times as many of the Sugar Baby plants as the Blackstone type. Seed size and plant-growth pattern of a vegetable are major factors that govern the number of plants raised in a given area. The trend in the early 1980s was to increase plant population for many crops to achieve the greatest yield possible without impairing quality. As plant population increases per unit area, a point is reached at which each plant begins to compete for certain essential growth factors—e.g., nutrients, moisture, and light. When the population is below the level in which competition between plants occurs, increased population will have no effect on individual plant performance, and the yield per unit area will increase in direct proportion to the increment of population. When competition for essential growth factors occurs, however, yield per plant decreases.
Early harvest and economical use of space are the principal objectives of growing vegetable crops from transplants produced in a greenhouse or outdoor seedbed. It is easier to care for young plants of the cabbage, cauliflower, celery, onion, and tomato in small seedbeds than to sow the seeds in the place where the crop is to grow and mature. Land is free longer for another crop, and weeds, insects, diseases, and irrigation are more readily and economically controlled. The production of transplants is often a specialty of growers who sell their produce to other vegetable growers. The seeds may be planted at a rate three to six times that commonly used for a direct-seeded field. The young plants are removed for use as transplants when they reach the desired size and age, approximately 40 to 60 days after seeding.
Care of crops during growth
Practices required for a vegetable crop growing in the field include cultivation; irrigation; application of fertilizers; control of weeds, diseases, and insects; protection against frost; and the application of growth regulators if necessary.
Cultivation refers to stirring the soil between rows of vegetable plants. Because weed control is the most important function of cultivation, this work should be performed at the most favourable time for weed killing, when the weeds are breaking through the soil surface. When the plants are grown on ridges, it is necessary to cover the basal plant portion with soil in the case of such vegetables as asparagus, carrot, garlic, leek, onion, potato, sweet corn, and sweet potato.
Vegetable production requires irrigation in arid and semi-arid regions, and irrigation is frequently used as insurance against drought in more humid regions. In areas having intermittent rain for five or six months, with little or none during the remainder of the year, irrigation is essential throughout the dry season and may also be needed between rainfalls in the rainy season. The two types of land irrigation generally suited to vegetables are surface irrigation and sprinkler irrigation. A level site is required for surface irrigation, in which the water is conveyed directly over the field in open ditches at a slow, nonerosive velocity. Where water is scarce, pipelines may be used, eliminating losses caused by seepage and evaporation. The distribution of water is accomplished by various control structures, and the furrow method of surface irrigation is frequently employed because most vegetable crops are grown in rows. Sprinkler irrigation conveys water through pipes for distribution under pressure as simulated rain.
Irrigation requirements are determined by both soil and plant factors. Soil factors include texture, structure, water-holding capacity, fertility, salinity, aeration, drainage, and temperature. Plant factors include type of vegetable, density and depth of the root system, stage of growth, drought tolerance, and plant population.
Soil fertility is the capacity of the soil to supply the nutrients necessary for good crop production, and fertilizing is the addition of nutrients to the soil. Chemical fertilizers may be used to supply the needed nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Chemical tests of soil, plant, or both are used to determine fertilizer needs, and the rate of application is usually based on the fertility of the soil, the cropping system employed, the kind of vegetable to be grown, and the financial return that might be expected from the crop. Methods of fertilizer application include scattering and mixing with the soil before planting; application with a drill below the surface of the soil at the time of planting; row application before or at planting time; and row application during plant growth, also called side-dressing. Plowed down broadcast fertilizers have recently been used in combination with high analysis liquid fertilizers applied at planting or as a side-dressed band. Mechanical planting devices may employ fertilizer attachments to plant the fertilizer in the form of bands near the seed. For most vegetables, the bands are placed from two to three inches (five to 7.5 centimetres) from the seed, either at the same depth or slightly below the seed.
Weeds (plants growing where they are not wanted) reduce crop yield, increase production cost, and may harbour insects and diseases that attack crop plants. Methods employed to control weeds include hand weeding, mechanical cultivation, application of chemicals acting as herbicides, and a combination of mechanical and chemical means. Herbicides, selective chemical weed killers, are absorbed by the plant and induce a toxic reaction. The amount and type of herbicide that can be safely used to protect vegetable crops depends on the tolerance of the specific crops to the chemical. Most herbicides are applied as a spray, and the appropriate time for application is determined by the composition of the herbicide and the kind of vegetable crop to be treated. Preplanting treatments are applied before the crop is planted; preemergence treatments are applied after the crop is planted but before its seedlings emerge from the soil; and postemergence treatments are applied to the growing crop at a definite stage of growth.
Disease and insect control
The production of satisfactory crops requires rigorous disease- and insect-control measures. Crop yield may be lowered by disease or insect attack, and when plants are attacked at an early stage of growth the entire crop may be lost. Reduction in the quality of vegetable crops may also be caused by diseases and insects. Grades and standards for market vegetables usually specify strict limits on the amount of disease and insect injury that may be present on vegetables in a designated grade. Vegetables remain vulnerable to insect and disease damage after harvesting, during the marketing and handling processes. When a particular plant pest is identified, the grower can select and apply appropriate control measures. Application of insect control at the times specific insects usually appear or when the first insects are noticed is usually most effective. Effective disease control usually requires preventive procedures.
Diseases are incited by such living organisms as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Harmful material enters the plant, develops during an incubation period, and finally causes infection, the reaction of the plant to the pathogen, or disease-producing organism. Control is possible during the inoculation and incubation phases, but when the plant reaches the infection stage it is already damaged. Typical plant diseases include mildew, leaf spots, rust, and wilt. Chemical fungicides may be used to control disease, but the use of disease-resistant plant varieties is the most effective means of control.
Vegetable breeders have developed plant varieties resistant to one or more diseases; such varieties are available for the bean, cabbage, cucumber, lettuce, muskmelon, onion, pea, pepper, potato, spinach, tomato, and watermelon.
Insects are usually controlled by the use of chemical insecticides that kill through toxic action. Many insecticides are toxic to harmful insects but do not affect bees, which are valuable for their role in pollination.
Frost protection may be accomplished by increasing the amount of heat radiated from the soil when frost is likely to occur. Irrigation on the day before a predicted frost provides additional moisture in the soil to increase the amount of heat given off as infrared rays. This extra heat protects the plants from frost injury. A continuous supply of water provided by sprinkler irrigation may also protect plants from frost. As the water freezes on the plant leaves, it loses heat that is absorbed by the plant leaves, maintaining leaf temperature at 32° F (0° C). Because of the sugars and other substances in plant cells, the freezing point of cell sap is somewhat lower than 32° F.
It is sometimes desirable to retard or accelerate maturity in vegetable crops. A chemical compound may be applied to prevent sprouting in onion crops. It is applied in the field sufficiently early for absorption by the still-green foliage but late enough to avoid suppressing the bulb yield. Another substance may be used to end the dormancy, or rest period, of newly harvested potato tubers intended for planting. The treated seed potatoes have uniform sprout emergence. The same substance is applied to celery from two to three weeks before harvest to elongate the stalks and increase the yield and is also used to accelerate maturity in artichokes. A chemical compound, applied when adverse weather conditions prevail during the period of fruit setting, has been used to encourage fruit set.
The stage of development of vegetables when harvested affects the quality of the product reaching the consumer. In some vegetables, such as the bean and pea, optimum quality is reached well in advance of full maturity and then deteriorates, although yield continues to increase. Factors determining the harvest date include the genetic constitution of the vegetable variety, the planting date, and environmental conditions during the growing season. Successive harvest dates may be obtained either by planting varieties having different maturity dates or by changing the sequence of planting dates of one particular variety. The successive method is applicable to such crops as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, muskmelon, onion, pea, sweet corn (maize), tomato, and watermelon. Certain varieties of the carrot, celery, cucumber, lettuce, parsley, radish, spinach, or summer squash can be sown in succession throughout most of the year in some climates, thus prolonging the harvest period. The length of time required for various vegetables to reach the harvest stage and the age of their fruit at that point is shown in the Table.
Market maturity of vegetables
|bean ||50–60 ||7–10 |
|beet ||60–70 ||— |
|broccoli* ||50–80 ||— |
|brussels sprouts* ||90–100 ||— |
|cabbage* ||70–100 ||— |
|carrot ||70–80 ||— |
|cauliflower* ||60–120 ||— |
|celery* ||90–120 ||— |
|chard ||50–60 ||— |
|chicory* ||60–70 ||— |
|cucumber ||50–70 ||5–20 |
|eggplant* ||75–90 ||20–40 |
|garlic ||180 ||— |
|kohlrabi* ||60 ||— |
|leek* ||150 ||— |
|lettuce* ||60–80 ||— |
|lima bean ||65–80 ||15 |
|muskmelon ||80–120 ||30–45 |
|okra ||60 ||4–7 |
|onion* ||100–150 ||— |
|parsley ||70–85 ||— |
|pea ||60–75 ||10–15 |
|pepper* ||70–80 ||45–60 |
|potato ||90–120 ||— |
|pumpkin ||100–120 ||80–100 |
|radish ||25–50 ||— |
|spinach ||40–50 ||— |
|summer squash ||45–60 ||3–7 |
|sweet corn ||75–100 ||20–27 |
|sweet potato ||120–150 ||— |
|tomato* ||70–90 ||45–60 |
|turnip ||45–60 ||— |
|watermelon ||85–100 ||40–50 |
Hand harvesting is employed along with various mechanical aids for broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, muskmelon, and pepper crops. Many vegetables grown for processing and some vegetables destined for the fresh market are mechanically harvested. Harvesting operations may be performed by a single machine in a single step for such vegetable crops as the bean, beet, carrot, lima bean, onion, pea, potato, radish, spinach, sweet corn, sweet potato, and tomato. Designers of harvesting machinery have been working to develop a multiple-picking harvester capable of adjustment for use with more than one crop. Vegetable breeders have been able to produce vegetables with characteristics suitable for machine harvesting, including compact plant growth, uniform development, and concentrated maturity.