VEGETABLE PRODUCTION
Vegetable - is the edible portion of a plant.
- grouped according to the portion of the plant that is
eaten: leaves (lettuce), stem (celery), roots (carrot),
tubers (potato), bulbs (onion) and flowers
(broccoli).
Fruit is the mature ovary of a plant.
Root or the tuber becomes a storage vehicle that are
edible; Tubers (e.g. potatoes and sweet potatoes) are from
a modified stem of the plant. Root vegetables (e.g. carrots
and turnip) are enlarged taproots.
Bulbs renew themselves for the plant's entire life cycle,
with outer layers being replaced by the ones beneath them.
A. VEGETABLE ACCORDING TO PLANT FAMILIES
1. Umbelliferae or Apiaceae Family
- aromatic plants with hollow stems, condiments or
vegetables with some of them having medicinal
propertiesm (celery, carrot, parsley, fennel, parsnip,
and cumin).
2. Solanaceae Family
- known as nightshade plants - describes how these
plants prefer to grow and flower in the night and
shade.
- herbs, shrubs (plant that has several stems and
shorter than a tree), small trees, and climbers.
- eaten is the fruit (the potato is an exception – here
the underground tuber is eaten- tomatoes,
capsicum, chilies, and eggplant)
3. Asteraceae Family
- composite flower heads - composed of only ray
flowers & achene fruits - one-seeded fruit
containing a single seed ( sunflower, daisy, lettuce,
chicory, and chamomile)
4. Brassicaceae Family
- Cabbage family (includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts,
cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, mustard,
radish)
- All above ground parts of cruciferous plants are
edible.
5. Liliaceae Family
- plants with leaves that are usually vertical and very
long. ( garlic, asparagus, chives, shallots, onions,
and leeks)
6. Chenopodiaceae Family
- plants without petals that often grow in soil rich in
salts or nitrates.
- Leafy plants that grow from the base. ( Swiss chard,
beets, and spinach).
7. Fabaceae Family
- is dominated by legumes, peas, beans, and lentils.
(Bataw and patani are indigenous legumes).
8. Poaceae Family
- major cereals and minor grains (corn, barley, oats,
rice and millet).
B. Stages of Application
1. Different Stages of Plant Growth
Stage 0: Germination, Sprouting, Bud Development
- plant’s development, seed sprouted and
produced “seed leaves,” - mature leaves.
- the right temperature and oxygen levels for
germination and budding stage of plant growth
- The crop constantly requires water to kickstart
a healthy metabolism
- Watering - removing a germination inhibitor
from the seed
Stage 1: Leaf Development
- leaf’s photosynthetic power - the foundation
upon which the entire plant builds.
- fertilization is essential - nutrients to next
phases of its development
- plant produces “genuine” leaves - miniature
copies of the fully developed leaves.
- Leaves develop into flat structures of varying
sizes and shapes, beginning on the shoot’s
apical meristem
Stage 2: Side Shoots Formation or Tillering
- Tillering - plant growth stage during which new
aerial shoots form.
- “Daughter plants” - the new shoots that
develop from the “parent plant.”
- Tillering - also mean the development of side
shoots. Each new shoot comprises a central
growth point, into jointed stem defined by
nodes and internodes like in a bamboo pole.
Stage 3: Stem Elongation or Rosette Growth and
Shoot Development
- Some parts of the plant, like stems and roots,
keep growing throughout the plant’s life: this
process is called indeterminate growth.
- New cells - produced at the tips of growing
shoots.
- Growth in stems occurs at many different sites,
unlike just a few in the root system (duration
and intensity of these changes vary between
species)
- Global warming significantly impacts the plant
of its growth due to the direct correlation
between temperature and stem elongation.
Stage 4: Development of Vegetative Plant Parts or
Booting
- The development of strong stems and plenty of
green leaves characterizes the vegetative
stage of plant growth.
- Nitrogen fertilizers - beneficial at this stage of
plant growth, encouraging vigorous stem and
leaf growth during the vegetative stage.
Stage 5: Inflorescence Emergence or Heading
- Inflorescence emergence - process to cluster
flowers is arranged along a floral axis.
- Heading - the process by which a seed head
emerges from the sheath formed by the flag
leaf.
- plant’s primary focus shifts from vegetative
expansion to developing reproductive
structures (flowers and fruits).
- Phosphorus, which can be supplied via
fertilizers, is especially critical at this point in
the plant’s development.
Stage 6: Flowering
- Flowering plants create the reproductive
structures necessary for sexual reproduction.
- Annuals only live for one year, and their
flowering and subsequent demise coincide. In
biennials, the first year is spent in the
vegetative phase, and the second is devoted to
flowering and dying. Most perennials will
continue to bloom every year if the conditions
allow.
- Potassium is a vital nutrient for plants during
this phase of development, aiding flowering
and fruiting and improving overall crop health.
Also, flowering is among the critical stages of
crop growth for irrigation.
Stage 7: Development of Fruit
- fruit development occurs in the ovary after
fertilization. A mature ovary is called a “fruit”
because of its edible qualities. The fruit is a
safe haven for the growing embryo and its
seeds since it encloses them.
- plants can continue to develop without the
need for nitrogen. Now is the time to provide
your plants with phosphate and potassium to
promote ripening and increase crop yield
Fleshy fruit development is generally broken down
into four phases:
1. Floral development, the identity, number, and
shape of floral organs are established.
2. With fertilization comes the onset of the second
phase, cell division.
3. Cells undergo fast expansion and
endoreduplication until ripening begins.
4. The fruit’s flavor, texture, nutritional
components, and appearance are determined
during the ripening stage, the fourth phase that
begins after fruit growth stops
Stage 8: Ripening and Maturity of Fruit and Seed
- At the ripening stage of plant growth, fruits
typically respond to a ripening signal: a surge in
ethylene production.
- Infection with bacteria or fungi, as well as
harvesting the fruit, can stimulate the
synthesis of ethylene, signaling the ripening
process. As soon as the fruit gets this ethylene
signal, it goes through a series of changes that
lead to it ripening.
- To put it another way, new enzymes are
manufactured. Enzymes such as amylase and
pectinase aid in the digestion of starch and
pectin, respectively, and hydrolases assist in
breaking down compounds within the fruits.
The genes responsible for the transcription and
translation of these enzymes are turned on by
ethylene. Enzymes catalyze reactions that
modify the fruit’s properties: color, texture,
flavor, and scent.
Stage 9: Senescence and Beginning of Dormancy
- There are telltale signs of senescence:
degenerative alterations in the cells, commonly
linked to an increase in waste products and a
change in metabolism.
- Plant senescence is regulated by many
environmental factors, the most prominent of
which are photoperiod and temperature.
However, some hormonal treatments may
slow down the senescence stage of annual
plant growth.
- The green chlorophyll disappears, and the
yellow and orange carotenoid pigments
become more noticeable
Plant Propagation
- all plant production should be based on
organically-bred and organically-propagated
varieties.
- conventionally bred varieties are allowed,
except for varieties derived from genetic
engineering which are not allowed in organic
farming. However, the seeds of conventionally
bred varieties should be propagated under
certified organic systems.
- All the seeds and plant material used should be
free of pathogens and weeds, and obtained
from safe sources.
- Hot water treatment is an example use to
eliminate seed-borne diseases
Two General Types of Plant Propagation
1. generative propagation or sexual
reproduction (seeds) such as lettuce, curly
endive, pepper, eggplants, tomato, beans,
etc.;
2. vegetative propagated (asexual
reproduction) through another part of the
plant: potato tubers, sweet potato roots,
bulbs in onion and garlic, cuttings in artichoke,
stolons in strawberry, “spiders” or roots in
asparagus, etc