Module I

Growers design and implement systems of culture which include crop and variety
selection, crop rotation, soil fertilization, land selection, tillage, integrated pest management
(insect, disease and weed control), transplant production and/or use, seedbed preparation,
seeding, irrigation, windbreak management
Cultural Practices
Sustainable vegetable farming is a relatively high risk, high cost per acre business requiring
intensive management. Successful vegetable growers manage capital, and marketing
competently. Growers design and implement systems of culture which include crop and variety
selection, crop rotation, soil fertilization, land selection, tillage, integrated pest management
(insect, disease and weed control), transplant production and/or use, seedbed preparation,
seeding, irrigation, windbreak management, pollination (bee management), harvesting,
handling and packaging and sales. Vegetable production differs from other crop production
enterprises. These crops are perishable in nature, must be free from blemishes, and, have
narrow market windows. Consequently, cultural operations must be accomplished in a more
precise and timely manner to deliver high quality products to markets on schedule.
Grower profit and loss are affected by uncontrollable factors including weather, market
fluctuations, pest infestations, and legislation. Therefore, growers must pay close attention to
variables which they can control. Timely implementation of effective cultural practices enables
careful growers to minimize or totally avoid pitfalls. Wise selection of cultural practices improves
production efficiency, lowers production cost and increases profitability. As with most
successful businesses, careful planning greatly enhances the incidences of success.
Crop Selection
Selection of vegetable kinds and varieties for production is the initial step in the development
of a successful vegetable farming operation. This decision is difficult because Texas producers
have many alternatives available to them. Over 40 different kinds of vegetables are grown
annually in Texas. Although vegetables are widely adaptable, successful production in a given
area will be influenced limiting factors: water, hail, wind, temperature, light, nutrition and
markets. Variable levels of limiting factors limit yields or reduce potential for profitability.
Therefore, base crop selection on the availability of these factors within a given location and
growing season.
Water
Sufficient quantities of high quality water must be available to sustain vegetable farming. As the
state’s population continues to increase, less water will be available for vegetable production.
Increasing water use efficiency should be one of the major goals of vegetable producers.
Vegetable crops require more total water and more frequent irrigation than most agronomic
crops.
Temperature
Growing season temperature influences crop selection. Vegetables are classified as warm or
cool season crops based on their ability to grow within given temperature ranges. Warm season
crops are those that produce higher yields under higher temperatures (tomato, pepper,
squash); while cool season crops, are those which produce the best under low temperatures
(carrot, spinach, cabbage).
Light
Sunlight intensity (foot candles), sunlight quality (wavelength) and day length (sunlight hours)
affect vegetable growth. Most field grown vegetables grow best under a high light intensity.
Nutrients
Excessive levels of trace elements can be toxic to plants. Little can be done to reduce excessive
trace nutrient levels. Avoid planting soil with excessive levels of these nutrients.
Over fertilization can cause problems in crops.
Markets
the major factor limiting profitable vegetable production is market availability. It matters little if
all of the physical factors are favorable in an area if market availability is not. Significant
increases in profitable vegetable acreage can only occur if additional markets are accessed or
developed. Therefore, crop selection should be based on ability to profitably market the
produce.
Variety Selection
 Once the decision which crops to grow is made, the variety selections must be made next.
Always select adapted varieties having the highest levels of disease and/or insect resistance,
good horticultural characteristics and market appeal
Site Selection
Three major points should be considered in selecting a field for growing vegetables: site
topography, soil type, and water availability (quantity and quality).
Topography refers to the physical layout or characteristic of the field area. Elevation, contour,
soil depth, water and air drainage patterns as well as the presence or proximity of rock out
cropping and trees can significantly influence production. An optimum topography for a
vegetable field is one that is nearly flat to slightly sloping, well drained and free of low spots,
rocks or trees. Fields of this type are desirable because cultural practices such as cultivation,
irrigation, pest management and harvesting are performed more efficiently on level
unobstructed land.
Land Preparation
Most vegetables have small to medium size seeds. Consequently, proper seed bed preparation
is important. Optimum seed beds have mellow soils comprised of fine sized particles, free of
clods, weeds and previous crop residue. Such seed beds enable good soil to seed surface
contact to soil which is required to allow uniform water absorption, germination, and seedling
emergence.
Markets
Regardless of the kind of market, buyers of fresh vegetables want continuous supplies of high
quality produce. To sustain long term profit, a grower must build a good reputation over many
years in succession for consistently high quality and reliable volume. Ideally buyers for
supermarket chains want to be assured of at least six to eight weeks of continuous supply of a
given volume of a vegetable from a grower or shipper before they will agree to buy from that
farming operation. In many instances it may be necessary for growers schedule plantings to
provide a continuous supply of a given volume of a commodity. For example, a given supply of
a given volume of sweet corn from mid-June through October can be achieved by suing a heat
unit (Growing Degree Days) system for scheduling planting.
Crop Establishment
There are three basic methods of establishing vegetable crops in field situations: direct seeding
seeds; transplanting seedlings, and, planting vegetative plant parts. Choice of the crop
establishment method will depend upon the crop, the market windows, cost and availability of
seeds, plants and specialized equipment. Some crops can be established commercially only
by using a specific technique. For example, potatoes must be established with seed tuber
pieces. If an early market is the prime concern, use of transplants may result in harvest 1 to 2
weeks earlier. Seed cost may so high that direct seeding is prohibitive. Conversely, time
required, plant cost, labor and/or specialized equipment required for transplanting may render
this technique uneconomical for some crops.
Direct Seeding
Optimum planting depth for most vegetables is three times its width. For example, bean seeds
are generally ¼ inch in width. Therefore, bean seeds should be sown ¾ inch deep. Appendix
Table 4 presents the optimum suggested planting depths for the most common vegetables
grown in Texas. Vegetable size is significantly influenced by plant density. Exercise care in
accurate seed spacing. Optimum plant spacing for selected vegetables is presented in Table 3
of the Appendix.
Over or under planting causes problems. Nothing can be done for an under planted field,
whereas, over planted fields can be manually thinned to the desired stand. Thinning is, time
consuming and expensive. Additionally, high performing hybrid varieties with costly seed are
gaining in importance in the vegetable industry. Seed cost for hybrid varieties dictates that seed
germination and seedling emergence is maximized by precision planting.
Transplanting
There are five primary advantages to transplanting:
 Enhanced earlier harvest
 Reduced impact of adverse environmental conditions during the early seedling growth
 Reduced seed quantity needed for crop establishment
 Enhanced plant stands and faster maturity
 Eliminates thinning needs
Vegetative Propagation
Vegetative propagation entails the use of a plant part to regenerate new plants or to establish
a new crop. In Texas, only two of the major vegetable crops are established in this manner,
Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes. Irish potatoes grown for replanting are cut into 2 oz seed
pieces. Each seed piece must contain at least one vegetative bud (eye) to enable a new plant
to develop once the seed piece is planted. Cut tuber seed pieces are healed over by storing
them at high temperature (85 to 90F) and high relative humidity (85 to 90%) for one to two
weeks prior to planting. Whole, small potatoes (B size) can also be used to establish the crop.
Sweet potato mother roots are bedded in plant beds where they sprout new stems called slips.
Slips are pulled at 6 to 9 inches in height. These slips are then planted into the production field.
Crop Stress Reduction
Crop stress is a condition which results from the impact of any environmental factor causing
plants to deviate from their optimum growth and development rate. Dealing with the effects of
stress caused by unstable Texas weather conditions is the most difficult challenge facing
vegetable growers. Many cultural practices have been developed to alleviate or counteract the
influence of stressful conditions. Proper selection of cultural practices can help to ensure
development of a highly successful vegetable production operation.
Windbreaks
Growers often do not realize how wind hurts their vegetable crops.
Some producers utilize row covers, cages and/or trellises to overcome the effects of the wind
or species adapted to this type of culture.
Mulches (Mulch materials can be classified into organic or synthetic)

Mulch is any material applied to the soil surface of a plant bed to modifying the microclimate
just above or below the soil surface. mulches can successfully suppress weed growth, reduce
soil moisture loss, reduce fertilizer leaching, overcome unfavorable soil temperature,
manipulate insect populations and/or manage disease problems. Mulching increases yields,
induces earliness, and improves quality of most vegetable crops.
Crop Training
Crop training can alleviate crop stress of some crops. Vining vegetables such as bean, tomato,
and cucumber prostrate stems along the bed surface. When fruits of these plants that contact
the soil surface they are prone to attack from soil borne pathogens.. Tomato, pole bean and
cucumber are the most commonly trained vegetables.
Staking
Staking and pruning was the earliest method of training tomatoes. With this method, all suckers
(small shoots which grow out of the point of leaf attached to the stem) are removed with the
possible exception of one or two. Normally only one central vine is allowed to develop from
which 4 to 5 clusters of fruit are harvested.
Trellising
Training vines to grow up a trellis is another effective means of forcing vegetable plants to grow
vertically. The trellis can be of a permanent type similar to that used in grape culture or a
temporary type. Training to trellises is also appropriate for indeterminate growing beans and
cucumbers. In addition to reducing diseases and aiding cultivation, harvest efficiency is greatly
improved by crop training techniques.
Caging
Caging is another training technique well adapted to tomato cultures. As the name implies,
tomato plants are allowed to grow upward within wire cages.
.Use of Honeybees
Fruit formation and seed development in vegetable plants depends on a pollination and
fertilization. Inadequate pollination results in poorly developed, misshaped, unsalable fruit.
Weather extremes can cause flowers to drop and poor fruit set can in spite of good pollination.
In most cases, pollination involves the transfer of pollen from male structures (anthers) of the
flower to the female structures (pistils) of flowers. Pollen is also used as a food source by a
wide spectrum of insects