Description

Vegetables

Vegetables are a complex group of a wide variety of different types of plants. Some species grow from year to year; others grow and die within one or two years. They have diverse forms of propagation: by seeds or vegetative parts. They may be herbaceous, viny, shrubby, or tree in growth habit.

They differ in growth requirements. Many vegetables can be grown under a wide ranged of conditions; while other have more exacting requirements for water, temperture and light. thus, in one place several species can be grown throughout the year, but there are other than can be grown only during certain time of the year. Irrigation is an absolute necessity for many species, but a few can be grown under rainfed conditions, perishable, particularly the leafy ones.

Vegetables can grown in the wild or have to be cultivated. Distribution of Species that are used as vegetables may be worldwide or limited to specific areas of certain regions. They can be produced in fields of specialized production areas, outskirts or urban areas, villages, or in gardens around the home.

Different parts of a plant may be used as a vegetable, depending on localities and culture. In general, developing countries utilize more parts of a particular plant as a vegetable than developed countries. Most vegetables are high in water which makes them bulky and highly.

Legumes

Legumes have spurred from the commodity's beneficial role in human and animal health but more so now for its growing potential in agricultural sustainability as part of the cropping systems. In cropping systems, legumes are beneficial in controlling weed population, suppressing pest build-up, preventing residual toxic effect, sustaining soil productivity, and intensifying land use. It is also ideal for multiple cropping, green manuring, cover cropping, and as forage crop.

Rootcrops

Root crops have long been understimated by the public because of their traditional image as a poor man's crop. However, their capacity to withstand marginal cultural and environmental conditionsl has made them indispensable to upland farming systems. Most root crops respond well to recommend cultural practices and offer a broad variety of end-products and ways of utilization. They are therfore, an important component of the agricultural and agro-industrial sectors of tropical countries, such as the Philippines.

Advances in root crops research and development (R&D, especially for sweet potato and cassava, have transformed these crops from a lowly subsistence staple food to an important commercial crop with multiple uses as processed snack foods, ingredients for feed formulation, and industrial starch of varied uses.

Considering tht positive industry developments continue to happen, root crops have great potentials and opportunities to capture a good share of the world market, not to mention the broad domestic market opportunities.