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After reading this article you will learn about the advantages and reproduction of vegetable crops.
Vegetable crops are important sources of carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and proteins. India is credited as the second largest producer of vegetables in the world next only to China.
Because of varied agro-climatic conditions in India, a large number of vegetable crops are grown here and a great deal of research work has been conducted in the disciplines of vegetable breeding, production technology, plant protection, seed production and post-harvest technology. Vegetables occupy 2.8% of total cultivated area in India.
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Vegetables are usually an ancillary ingredient of dietary intake, but constitute the main part of the diet in a number of countries. These are excellent sources of vitamins, particularly niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, and vitamins A and C. They also supply minerals such as calcium and iron, although in some instances these are not completely available to the animal organism.
Advantages of Vegetable Crops:
i. Nutritional security
ii. Production of more biomass
iii. Reduction in malnutrition
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iv. Digestible protein
v. Economical to grow
vi. Well fitting in farming systems
vii. Suitable for mixed, companion and intercropping
viii. Maximum output and more income per unit area
ix. Suitable for small fanners
x. Source of supplementary income
xi. Intensive year round employment
xii. Higher income
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xiii. Export potential
Major Vegetable Crops and Mode of Reproduction:
Out of hundreds of thousands of plant species, less than 300 have been commercially cultivated worldwide as food crops. Of these, about half are classified as vegetables.
Detailed information on mode of reproduction, botanical name and diploid chromosome number about major vegetables is given in Table 2.1:
