Crop Production

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Crop

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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For other uses, see Crop (disambiguation).

Domesticated plants
A crop is a plant or animal product that can be grown and harvested extensively for
profit or subsistence.[1] Crops may refer either to the harvested parts or to the harvest in
a more refined state. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or aquaculture. A crop may
include macroscopic fungus (e.g. mushrooms), or alga.
Most crops are harvested as food for humans or fodder for livestock. Some crops are
gathered from the wild (including intensive gathering, e.g. ginseng).
Important non-food crops include horticulture, floriculture and industrial
crops. Horticulture crops include plants used for other crops (e.g. fruit
trees). Floriculture crops include bedding plants, houseplants, flowering garden and pot
plants, cut cultivated greens, and cut flowers. Industrial crops are produced
for clothing (fiber crops), biofuel (energy crops, algae fuel), or medicine (medicinal
plants).

Contents

 1Important food crops


 2See also
 3References
 4Further reading

Important food crops[edit]


Crops drying in a home in Punjab, India.
The importance of a crop varies greatly by region. Globally, the following crops
contribute most to human food supply (values of kcal/person/day for 2013 given in
parentheses): rice (541 kcal), wheat (527 kcal), sugarcane and other sugar crops (200
kcal), maize (corn) (147 kcal), soybean oil (82 kcal), other vegetables (74
kcal), potatoes (64 kcal), palm oil (52 kcal), cassava (37 kcal), legume pulses (37
kcal), sunflowerseed oil (35 kcal), rape and mustard oil (34 kcal), other fruits, (31
kcal), sorghum (28 kcal), millet (27 kcal), groundnuts (25 kcal), beans (23 kcal), sweet
potatoes (22 kcal), bananas (21 kcal), various nuts (16 kcal), soybeans (14
kcal), cottonseed oil (13 kcal), groundnut oil (13 kcal), yams (13 kcal).[2] Note that many
of the globally apparently minor crops are regionally very important. For example, in
Africa, roots & tubers dominate with 421 kcal/person/day, and sorghum and millet
contribute 135 kcal and 90 kcal, respectively. [2]
In terms of produced weight, the following crops are the most important ones (global
production in thousand metric tonnes): [3]

Crop 2000 2013

Sugarcan
1,256,380 1,877,110
e

Maize 592,479 1,016,740

Rice 599,355 745,710

Wheat 585,691 713,183

Potato 327,600 368,096


See also[edit]
 General topics and economics
o List of most valuable crops and livestock products
o Cash crop
o Catch crop
o Intercropping
o Multiple cropping
o Permanent crop
o Crop yield
o Neglected and underutilized crop
o Sharecropping
o Staple food
o Nursery plants
o Fruit trees
 Floriculture crops
 Guerrilla gardening
 Management practices
o Cover crop
o Crop destruction
o Crop residue
o Crop rotation
o Crop weed
o Kharif crops (crops specific to South Asia)
o Nurse crop
o Rabi crops (crops specific to South Asia)
 Genetic diversity
o Crop diversity
o Crop wild relative (CWR)
o Seed bank
 Origin
o Neolithic founder crops

Agricultural technology
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Agriculture

History[show]

On land[show]

Hydroculture[show]

Related[show]

Lists[show]

Categories[show]

 Agriculture portal

 v
 t
 e

Agricultural technology or agrotechnology (abbreviated agritech, AgriTech,
or agrotech) is the use of technology in agriculture, horticulture, and aquaculture with
the aim of improving yield, efficiency, and profitability. Agricultural technology can be
products, services or applications derived from agriculture that improve various
input/output processes.
Advances in agricultural science, agronomy, and agricultural engineering have lead to
applied developments in agricultural technology.

Contents

 1History
 2Types of agricultural technology
o 2.1Agricultural drones
 3Hydroponics technology
 4See also
 5References

History[edit]
This section needs expansion. You
can help by adding to it. (November
2020)

The history of agriculture has historically been shaped by technology advances.


Historians have described a number of agricultural revolutions, which identify major
shifts in agricultural practice and productivity. These revolutions have been closely
connected to technological improvements.
A major turning point for agricultural technology is the Industrial Revolution, which
introduced agricultural machinery to mechanise the labour of agriculture, greatly
increasing farm worker productivity. In modern mechanised agriculture powered
machinery has replaced many farm jobs formerly carried out by manual labour or by
working animals such as oxen, horses and mules.
Advances in the 19th Century included the development of modern weather forecasting.
Improvement to portable engines and threshing machines lead to their widespread
adoption.
The 20th century saw major advances in agricultural technologies, including the
development of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and new agricultural machinery
including mass produced tractors and agricultural aircraft for aerial application of
pesticides. More recent advances have included agricultural plastics, genetically
modified crops, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics,
and aeroponics.
In the first decades of the 21st century, Information Age technologies have been
increasingly applied to agriculture. Agricultural robots, agricultural drones and driverless
tractors have found regular use on farms, while digital agriculture and precision
agriculture make use of extensive data collection and computation to improve farm
efficiency.
Types of agricultural technology[edit]
Technologies and applications in agricultural technology include:

 Agricultural drone
 Satellite photography and sensors
 IoT-based sensor networks
 Phase tracking
 Weather forecasts
 Automated irrigation
 Light and heat control
 Intelligent software analysis for pest and disease prediction, soil management and other
involved analytical tasks
 Biotech
Agricultural drones[edit]
Drones can be used for scanning crop fields with compact multispectral imaging
sensors, GPS map creation, heavy payload transportation, and livestock monitoring with
thermal-imaging cameras.
High-income countries have seen recent improvements in their agricultural
management systems through modern remote sensing technology such as satellites
and aircraft and the information they collect. The vast amount of data collected through
this technology can provide useful for farmers and fishers. This has led to better crop
yields, higher quality produce and more sustainable agricultural practices. Big data also
informs high-level decision-makers on how to better manage food supply at national and
regional levels.
The use of small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), better known as 'drones' for
agricultural purposes, is a new emerging technology which could revolutionise the way
agricultural entrepreneurs interact with their land, water, crops and infrastructure. UAVs
can be made specifically for business use and farming; in particular, they can capture
geo-referenced, overlapping, high-resolution images (2–5 cm) of 400 hectares in a
single flight; can seamlessly upload data and produce agricultural analytics from their
data management systems and can fly autonomously from take-off to landing.

Hydroponics technology[edit]
This section needs expansion. You
can help by adding to it. (December
2020)

Hydroponics is a soilless farming technology that is used to grow vegetables and


tomatoes.
It guarantees an all-year-round production for farmers and insulates these crops from
the effects of climate change.
Vegetable
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Veggie" and "Veg" redirect here. For the diet that abstains from animal products and
consists mostly of plants, see Veganism. For a vegetarian diet, see Vegetarianism. For
other uses of "vegetable", see Vegetable (disambiguation). For other uses of "veggie",
see Veggie (disambiguation). For other uses of "veg", see VEG.

Vegetables in a market in the Philippines


Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food.
The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer
to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, leaves, roots, and seeds.
The alternate definition of the term is applied somewhat arbitrarily, often by culinary and
cultural tradition. It may exclude foods derived from some plants that
are fruits, flowers, nuts, and cereal grains, but include savoury fruits such
as tomatoes and courgettes, flowers such as broccoli, and seeds such as pulses.
Originally, vegetables were collected from the wild by hunter-gatherers and entered
cultivation in several parts of the world, probably during the period 10,000 BC to 7,000
BC, when a new agricultural way of life developed. At first, plants which grew locally
would have been cultivated, but as time went on, trade brought exotic crops from
elsewhere to add to domestic types. Nowadays, most vegetables are grown all over the
world as climate permits, and crops may be cultivated in protected environments in less
suitable locations. China is the largest producer of vegetables, and global trade in
agricultural products allows consumers to purchase vegetables grown in faraway
countries. The scale of production varies from subsistence farmers supplying the needs
of their family for food, to agribusinesses with vast acreages of single-product crops.
Depending on the type of vegetable concerned, harvesting the crop is followed by
grading, storing, processing, and marketing.
Vegetables can be eaten either raw or cooked and play an important role in human
nutrition, being mostly low in fat and carbohydrates, but high in vitamins, minerals
and dietary fiber. Many nutritionists encourage people to consume plenty of fruit and
vegetables, five or more portions a day often being recommended.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2Terminology
 3History
 4Some common vegetables
 5Nutrition and health
o 5.1Recommendations
 6Production
o 6.1Cultivation
o 6.2Harvesting
o 6.3Storage
o 6.4Preservation
o 6.5Top producers
 7Standards
 8See also
 9References
 10External links

Etymology

Domestic vegetable garden in London
The word vegetable was first recorded in English in the early 15th century. It comes
from Old French,[1] and was originally applied to all plants; the word is still used in this
sense in biological contexts.[2] It derives from Medieval Latin vegetabilis "growing,
flourishing" (i.e. of a plant), a semantic change from a Late Latin meaning "to be
enlivening, quickening".[1]
The meaning of "vegetable" as a "plant grown for food" was not established until the
18th century.[3] In 1767, the word was specifically used to mean a "plant cultivated for
food, an edible herb or root". The year 1955 saw the first use of the shortened, slang
term "veggie".[4]
As an adjective, the word vegetable is used in scientific and technical contexts with a
different and much broader meaning, namely of "related to plants" in general, edible or
not—as in vegetable matter, vegetable kingdom, vegetable origin, etc.[2]

Terminology

A Venn diagram shows the overlap in the terminology of "vegetables" in a


culinary sense and "fruits" in the botanical sense.
The exact definition of "vegetable" may vary simply because of the many parts of a
plant consumed as food worldwide—roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds.
The broadest definition is the word's use adjectivally to mean "matter of plant origin".
More specifically, a vegetable may be defined as "any plant, part of which is used for
food",[5] a secondary meaning then being "the edible part of such a plant". [5] A more
precise definition is "any plant part consumed for food that is not a fruit or seed, but
including mature fruits that are eaten as part of a main meal". [6][7] Falling outside these
definitions are edible fungi (such as edible mushrooms) and edible seaweed which,
although not parts of plants, are often treated as vegetables.[8]
In the latter-mentioned definition of "vegetable", which is used in everyday language,
the words "fruit" and "vegetable" are mutually exclusive. "Fruit" has a
precise botanical meaning, being a part that developed from the ovary of a flowering
plant. This is considerably different from the word's culinary meaning.
While peaches, plums, and oranges are "fruit" in both senses, many items commonly
called "vegetables", such as eggplants, bell peppers, and tomatoes, are botanically
fruits. The question of whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable found its way into
the United States Supreme Court in 1893. The court ruled unanimously in Nix v.
Hedden that a tomato is correctly identified as, and thus taxed as, a vegetable, for the
purposes of the Tariff of 1883 on imported produce. The court did acknowledge,
however, that, botanically speaking, a tomato is a fruit. [9]

History
Before the advent of agriculture, humans were hunter-gatherers. They foraged for
edible fruit, nuts, stems, leaves, corms, and tubers, scavenged for dead animals
and hunted living ones for food.[10] Forest gardening in a tropical jungle clearing is
thought to be the first example of agriculture; useful plant species were identified and
encouraged to grow while undesirable species were removed. Plant breeding through
the selection of strains with desirable traits such as large fruit and vigorous growth soon
followed.[11] While the first evidence for the domestication of grasses such as wheat and
barley has been found in the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East, it is likely that various
peoples around the world started growing crops in the period 10,000 BC to 7,000 BC.
[12]
 Subsistence agriculture continues to this day, with many rural farmers in Africa, Asia,
South America, and elsewhere using their plots of land to produce enough food for their
families, while any surplus produce is used for exchange for other goods. [13]
Throughout recorded history, the rich have been able to afford a varied diet including
meat, vegetables and fruit, but for poor people, meat was a luxury and the food they ate
was very dull, typically comprising mainly some staple product made from rice, rye,
barley, wheat, millet or maize. The addition of vegetable matter provided some variety
to the diet. The staple diet of the Aztecs in Central America was maize and they
cultivated tomatoes, avocados, beans, peppers, pumpkins, squashes, peanuts,
and amaranth seeds to supplement their tortillas and porridge. In Peru,
the Incas subsisted on maize in the lowlands and potatoes at higher altitudes. They also
used seeds from quinoa, supplementing their diet with peppers, tomatoes, and
avocados.[14]
In Ancient China, rice was the staple crop in the south and wheat in the north, the latter
made into dumplings, noodles, and pancakes. Vegetables used to accompany these
included yams, soybeans, broad beans, turnips, spring onions, and garlic. The diet of
the ancient Egyptians was based on bread, often contaminated with sand which wore
away their teeth. Meat was a luxury but fish was more plentiful. These were
accompanied by a range of vegetables including marrows, broad beans, lentils, onions,
leeks, garlic, radishes, and lettuces.[14]
The mainstay of the Ancient Greek diet was bread, and this was accompanied by goat's
cheese, olives, figs, fish, and occasionally meat. The vegetables grown included onions,
garlic, cabbages, melons, and lentils.[15] In Ancient Rome, a thick porridge was made
of emmer wheat or beans, accompanied by green vegetables but little meat, and fish
was not esteemed. The Romans grew broad beans, peas, onions and turnips and ate
the leaves of beets rather than their roots.[16]

Some common vegetables


Some common vegetables

Worl
d
prod
Parts uctio
Image Species Origin Cultivars n
used
(×106 
tons,
2018)
[17]

leaves,  cabbage, Brussels
Brassic axillary sprouts, cauliflower, broccol
a buds, i, kale, kohlrabi,
Europe
olerace stems, red cabbage, Savoy
a flower cabbage, Chinese
heads broccoli, collard greens
69.4

turnip, Chinese
Brassic root,
Asia cabbage, napa cabbage, bok
a rapa leaves
choy

root,
leaves,
seed
Rapha Southe
pods, radish, daikon, seedpod
nus astern
seed varieties
sativus Asia
oil,
sprouti
ng
Some common vegetables

Worl
d
prod
Parts uctio
Image Species Origin Cultivars n
used
(×106 
tons,
2018)
[17]

root,
Daucus
leaves, Persia carrot 40.0[n 1]
carota
stems

Pastina
ca root Eurasia parsnip
sativa

Europe
Beta
root, and beetroot, sea beet, Swiss
vulgari
leaves Near chard, sugar beet
s
East
Some common vegetables

Worl
d
prod
Parts uctio
Image Species Origin Cultivars n
used
(×106 
tons,
2018)
[17]

Lactuc leaves,
a stems, Egypt lettuce, celtuce 27.2
sativa seed oil

Phaseo
lus
vulgari
s Central
Phaseo and green bean, French
pods,
lus South bean, runner bean, haricot 55.1[n 2]
seeds
coccine Americ bean, Lima bean
us a
Phaseo
lus
lunatus
Some common vegetables

Worl
d
prod
Parts uctio
Image Species Origin Cultivars n
used
(×106 
tons,
2018)
[17]

Medite
rranean
Vicia pods,
and broad bean 4.9
faba seeds
Middle
East

Medite
Pisum pods, rranean
pea, snap pea, snow
sativu seeds, and 34.7[n 2]
pea, split pea
m sprouts Middle
East

Solanu
South
m
tubers Americ potato 368.1
tuberos
a
um
Some common vegetables

Worl
d
prod
Parts uctio
Image Species Origin Cultivars n
used
(×106 
tons,
2018)
[17]

Solanu South
m and
fruits eggplant (aubergine) 54.0
melong East
ena Asia

Solanu
South
m tomato, see list of tomato
fruits Americ 182.2
lycoper cultivars
a
sicum

Cucum
Southe cucumber, see list of
is fruits 75.2
rn Asia cucumber varieties
sativus
Some common vegetables

Worl
d
prod
Parts uctio
Image Species Origin Cultivars n
used
(×106 
tons,
2018)
[17]

Cucurb fruits, Mesoa pumpkin, squash, marrow, z


27.6
ita spp. flowers merica ucchini (courgette), gourd

onion, spring
Allium bulbs,
Asia onion, scallion, shallot, 102.2[n 2]
cepa leaves
see list of onion cultivars

Allium
sativu bulbs Asia garlic 28.5
m
Some common vegetables

Worl
d
prod
Parts uctio
Image Species Origin Cultivars n
used
(×106 
tons,
2018)
[17]

Europe
Allium
leaf and
ampelo leek, elephant garlic 2.2
sheaths Middle
prasum
East

North
Capsic
and
um pepper, bell pepper, sweet
fruits South 40.9[n 2]
annuu pepper
Americ
m
a

Central
Spinaci
and
a
leaves southw spinach 26.3
olerace
estern
a
Asia
Some common vegetables

Worl
d
prod
Parts uctio
Image Species Origin Cultivars n
used
(×106 
tons,
2018)
[17]

Diosco Tropic
rea tubers al yam 72.6
spp. Africa

Central
Ipomoe tubers, and
sweet potato, see list of
a leaves, South 91.9
sweet potato cultivars
batatas shoots Americ
a

Manih
South
ot
tubers Americ cassava 277.8
esculen
a
ta

1. ^ Includes both carrots and turnips.


2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Sum of production of dry and green vegetables.

Nutrition and health


Southeast Asian-style stir-fried Ipomoea aquatica in chili and sambal

Vegetables (and some fruit) for sale on a street in Guntur, India


Vegetables play an important role in human nutrition. Most are low in fat and calories
but are bulky and filling.[18] They supply dietary fiber and are important sources of
essential vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. Particularly important are the
antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E. When vegetables are included in the diet, there is
found to be a reduction in the incidence of cancer, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and
other chronic ailments.[19][20][21] Research has shown that, compared with individuals who
eat less than three servings of fruits and vegetables each day, those that eat more than
five servings have an approximately twenty percent lower risk of developing coronary
heart disease or stroke.[22] The nutritional content of vegetables varies considerably;
some contain useful amounts of protein though generally they contain little fat,[23] and
varying proportions of vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin K, and vitamin
B6; provitamins; dietary minerals; and carbohydrates.

However, vegetables often also contain toxins and antinutrients which interfere with the


absorption of nutrients. These include α-solanine, α-chaconine,[24] enzyme
inhibitors (of cholinesterase, protease, amylase, etc.), cyanide and cyanide
precursors, oxalic acid, tannins and others.[citation needed] These toxins are natural defenses,
used to ward off the insects, predators and fungi that might attack the plant. Some
beans contain phytohaemagglutinin, and cassava roots contain cyanogenic
glycoside as do bamboo shoots. These toxins can be deactivated by adequate cooking.
Green potatoes contain glycoalkaloids and should be avoided.[25]
Fruit and vegetables, particularly leafy vegetables, have been implicated in nearly half
the gastrointestinal infections caused by norovirus in the United States. These foods are
commonly eaten raw and may become contaminated during their preparation by an
infected food handler. Hygiene is important when handling foods to be eaten raw, and
such products need to be properly cleaned, handled, and stored to limit contamination.
[26]

Recommendations

Vegetable consumption per capita in 2013.[27]


The USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming five to nine
servings of fruit and vegetables daily.[28] The total amount consumed will vary according
to age and gender, and is determined based upon the standard portion sizes typically
consumed, as well as general nutritional content. Potatoes are not included in the count
as they are mainly providers of starch. For most vegetables and vegetable juices, one
serving is half of a cup and can be eaten raw or cooked. For leafy greens, such
as lettuce and spinach, a single serving is typically a full cup.[29] A variety of products
should be chosen as no single fruit or vegetable provides all the nutrients needed for
health.[22]
International dietary guidelines are similar to the ones established by the USDA. Japan,
for example, recommends the consumption of five to six servings of vegetables daily.
[30]
 French recommendations provide similar guidelines and set the daily goal at five
servings.[31] In India, the daily recommendation for adults is 275 grams (9.7 oz) of
vegetables per day.[19]

Production
Cultivation
Further information: Kitchen garden and Vegetable farming
Growing vegetables in South Africa

Fresh vegetables from garden in Croatia


Vegetables have been part of the human diet from time immemorial. Some are staple
foods but most are accessory foodstuffs, adding variety to meals with their unique
flavors and at the same time, adding nutrients necessary for health. Some vegetables
are perennials but most are annuals and biennials, usually harvested within a year of
sowing or planting. Whatever system is used for growing crops, cultivation follows a
similar pattern; preparation of the soil by loosening it, removing or burying weeds, and
adding organic manures or fertilisers; sowing seeds or planting young plants; tending
the crop while it grows to reduce weed competition, control pests, and provide sufficient
water; harvesting the crop when it is ready; sorting, storing, and marketing the crop or
eating it fresh from the ground.[32]
Different soil types suit different crops, but in general in temperate climates, sandy soils
dry out fast but warm up quickly in the spring and are suitable for early crops, while
heavy clays retain moisture better and are more suitable for late season crops. The
growing season can be lengthened by the use of fleece, cloches, plastic
mulch, polytunnels, and greenhouses.[32] In hotter regions, the production of vegetables
is constrained by the climate, especially the pattern of rainfall, while in temperate zones,
it is constrained by the temperature and day length. [33]

Weeding cabbages in Colorado, US


On a domestic scale, the spade, fork, and hoe are the tools of choice while on
commercial farms a range of mechanical equipment is available. Besides tractors, these
include ploughs, harrows, drills, transplanters, cultivators, irrigation equipment,
and harvesters. New techniques are changing the cultivation procedures involved in
growing vegetables with computer monitoring systems, GPS locators, and self-steer
programs for driverless machines giving economic benefits. [33]
Harvesting
Harvesting beetroot in the United Kingdom
When a vegetable is harvested, it is cut off from its source of water and nourishment. It
continues to transpire and loses moisture as it does so, a process most noticeable in
the wilting of green leafy crops. Harvesting root vegetables when they are fully mature
improves their storage life, but alternatively, these root crops can be left in the ground
and harvested over an extended period. The harvesting process should seek to
minimise damage and bruising to the crop. Onions and garlic can be dried for a few
days in the field and root crops such as potatoes benefit from a short maturation period
in warm, moist surroundings, during which time wounds heal and the skin thickens up
and hardens. Before marketing or storage, grading needs to be done to remove
damaged goods and select produce according to its quality, size, ripeness, and color. [34]
Storage
All vegetables benefit from proper post harvest care. A large proportion of vegetables
and perishable foods are lost after harvest during the storage period. These losses may
be as high as thirty to fifty percent in developing countries where adequate cold storage
facilities are not available. The main causes of loss include spoilage caused by
moisture, moulds, micro-organisms, and vermin. [35]

Temporary storage of potatoes in the Netherlands


Storage can be short-term or long-term. Most vegetables are perishable and short-term
storage for a few days provides flexibility in marketing. During storage, leafy vegetables
lose moisture, and the vitamin C in them degrades rapidly. A few products such as
potatoes and onions have better keeping qualities and can be sold when higher prices
may be available, and by extending the marketing season, a greater total volume of
crop can be sold. If refrigerated storage is not available, the priority for most crops is to
store high-quality produce, to maintain a high humidity level, and to keep the produce in
the shade.[34]
Proper post-harvest storage aimed at extending and ensuring shelf life is best effected
by efficient cold chain application.[36] Cold storage is particularly useful for vegetables
such as cauliflower, eggplant, lettuce, radish, spinach, potatoes, and tomatoes, the
optimum temperature depending on the type of produce. There are temperature-
controlling technologies that do not require the use of electricity such as evaporative
cooling.[6] Storage of fruit and vegetables in controlled atmospheres with high levels of
carbon dioxide or high oxygen levels can inhibit microbial growth and extend storage
life.[37]
The irradiation of vegetables and other agricultural produce by ionizing radiation can be
used to preserve it from both microbial infection and insect damage, as well as from
physical deterioration. It can extend the storage life of food without noticeably changing
its properties.[38]
Preservation
The objective of preserving vegetables is to extend their availability for consumption or
marketing purposes. The aim is to harvest the food at its maximum state of palatability
and nutritional value, and preserve these qualities for an extended period. The main
causes of deterioration in vegetables after they are gathered are the actions of
naturally-occurring enzymes and the spoilage caused by micro-organisms.[39] Canning
and freezing are the most commonly used techniques, and vegetables preserved by
these methods are generally similar in nutritional value to comparable fresh products
with regards to carotenoids, vitamin E, minerals. and dietary fiber.[40]

Bean field and canning factory, New Jersey, US


Canning is a process during which the enzymes in vegetables are deactivated and the
micro-organisms present killed by heat. The sealed can excludes air from the foodstuff
to prevent subsequent deterioration. The lowest necessary heat and the minimum
processing time are used in order to prevent the mechanical breakdown of the product
and to preserve the flavor as far as is possible. The can is then able to be stored at
ambient temperatures for a long period.[39]
Freezing vegetables and maintaining their temperature at below −10 °C (14 °F) will
prevent their spoilage for a short period, whereas a temperature of −18 °C (0 °F) is
required for longer-term storage. The enzyme action will merely be inhibited,
and blanching of suitably sized prepared vegetables before freezing mitigates this and
prevents off-flavors developing. Not all micro-organisms will be killed at these
temperatures and after thawing the vegetables should be used promptly because
otherwise, any microbes present may proliferate. [41]

Sun-drying tomatoes in Greece


Traditionally, sun drying has been used for some products such as tomatoes,
mushrooms, and beans, spreading the produce on racks and turning the crop at
intervals. This method suffers from several disadvantages including lack of control over
drying rates, spoilage when drying is slow, contamination by dirt, wetting by rain, and
attack by rodents, birds, and insects. These disadvantages can be alleviated by
using solar powered driers.[35] The dried produce must be prevented from reabsorbing
moisture during storage.[39]
High levels of both sugar and salt can preserve food by preventing micro-organisms
from growing. Green beans can be salted by layering the pods with salt, but this method
of preservation is unsuited to most vegetables. Marrows, beetroot, carrot, and some
other vegetables can be boiled with sugar to create jams. [39] Vinegar is widely used
in food preservation; a sufficient concentration of acetic acid prevents the development
of destructive micro-organisms, a fact made use of in the preparation
of pickles, chutneys and relishes.[39] Fermentation is another method of preserving
vegetables for later use. Sauerkraut is made from chopped cabbage and relies on lactic
acid bacteria which produce compounds that are inhibitory to the growth of other micro-
organisms.[6]
Top producers

Farmers' market showing vegetables for sale near the Potala


Palace in Lhasa, Tibet
Vegetable shop in India

Vegetables in a supermarket in the United States


In 2010, China was the largest vegetable producing nation, with over half the world's
production. India, the United States, Turkey, Iran, and Egypt were the next largest
producers. China had the highest area of land devoted to vegetable production, while
the highest average yields were obtained in Spain and the Republic of Korea. [42]

Area cultivated Yield Production


thousand thousand thousand tonnes
Country
hectares kg/ha (1,100 short
(2,500 acres) (890 lb/acre) tons)

China 23,458 230 539,993

India 7,256 138 100,045

United
1,120 318 35,609
States

Turkey 1,090 238 25,901


Area cultivated Yield Production
thousand thousand thousand tonnes
Country
hectares kg/ha (1,100 short
(2,500 acres) (890 lb/acre) tons)

Iran 767 261 19,995

Egypt 755 251 19,487

Italy 537 265 14,201

Russia 759 175 13,283

Spain 348 364 12,679

Mexico 681 184 12,515

Nigeria 1844 64 11,830

Brazil 500 225 11,233

Japan 407 264 10,746

Indonesia 1082 90 9,780


Area cultivated Yield Production
thousand thousand thousand tonnes
Country
hectares kg/ha (1,100 short
(2,500 acres) (890 lb/acre) tons)

South Korea 268 364 9,757

Vietnam 818 110 8,976

Ukraine 551 162 8,911

Uzbekistan 220 342 7,529

Philippines 718 88 6,299

France 245 227 5,572

Total world 55,598 188 1,044,380

Standards
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) sets international standards to
ensure that products and services are safe, reliable, and of good quality. There are a
number of ISO standards regarding fruits and vegetables. [43] ISO 1991-1:1982 lists the
botanical names of sixty-one species of plants used as vegetables along with the
common names of the vegetables in English, French, and Russian. [44] ISO 67.080.20
covers the storage and transport of vegetables and their derived products. [45]

See also
 Food portal

 Food quality
 Food safety
 Herbivore
 Ketchup as a vegetable
 List of foods
 List of vegetable dishes

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