Vegetables are important sources of nutrition that are classified by plant part or family. There are various systems for vegetable production including organic farming, integrated crop management, backyard gardening, and commercial market or truck farming. Key components of vegetable production are land, capital, labor, and technology. Environmental factors like soil fertility, water, temperature, sunlight, and wind influence crop growth, as do biological factors such as weeds, pests, and microorganisms. Proper cultural management practices including site selection, land preparation, and care are needed to produce vegetables.

1. MODULE 1. INTRODUCTION TO
VEGETABLE PRODUCTION

2. TOPIC NO. 1 . Importance of Vegetable & its
Classification
Topic Contents:
Vegetable – is an edible, usually a
succulent plant or a portion of it
eaten cooked or in raw form which
gives nutrients or nourishment to the
body.
T1.1

3. Importance of Vegetables
1. Nutrition
* Food nourishes the body because it
contains nutrients essential for good health &
well functioning of the body.
Food are Classified into 3 Basic Groups (Plant source)
a. Go food - cereals (rice & corn),
sweet potato, irish potato
b. Grow food - legumes
c. Glow food - dark green leafy & yellow
vegetables; vitamin C rich
fruits and vegetables
T1.2

4. 2. Economic
* Vegetable production has the
potential of improving the lives of the
people. Vegetable growers tend to earn
higher income than most other farmers
because of the relatively higher yields
& value of the crop.
3. Industrial Uses
* Component in some industrial
products i.e. patola (sponge),
papaya (soap), cucumber (pickle)
T1.3

5.  Classification of Vegetables
According to its plant parts
1. Leafy vegetables- pechay,cabbage,
chinese cabbage,lettuce,
kangkong,malunggay,spinach, etc.
2. Fruit vegetables- eggplant, pepper, upo,
patola, ampalaya, squash, cucumber
3. Root vegetables- radish, carrots,
irish potato
4. Flower vegetables- cauliflower, brocolli
T1.4

6. According to Family
1. Brassica/Crucifers- cabbage, c. cabbage,
brocolli, cauliflower, lettuce, pechay,
radish
2. Cucurbits (crops w/ tendrils)
- upo,patola,
ampalaya,squash,cucumber,honeydew
melon,watermelon,muskmelon, chayote
3. Solanaceous- eggplant,pepper,irish
potato, tomato
4. Legumes (pod bearing crops)
– stringbeans, bushbeans, etc
T1.5

7. Topic NO. 2. TYPES OF VEGETABLE PRODUCTION
SYSTEM
Topic Contents:
1. Accdg. to Cultural Management Approach
a. Organic Farming – using organic
source of inputs
b. Integrated Crop Management –using
the combination of organic &
inorganic inputs
T2.1

8. 2. Accdg. to Purpose
a. Backyard/Homeyard Gardening- to
provide continues supply of nutritious
vegetables the whole year round to the
family. Farm inputs consist of local
materials & indigenous varieties of
seeds.
b. Community/School Gardening –
encouraged in elementary & secondary
schools in areas where malnutrition is a
problem
T2.2

9. c. Market Gardening – production of
vegetables near the population
centers. Land, labor & farm inputs are
expensive therefore intensive &
continuous care is required.
d. Truck Farming – production of
vegetables in large scale for distant
markets.
T2.3

10. e. Vegetable Seed Production – growing
vegetables solely to produce seeds for
planting. This is the most specialized
type bec. it requires skilled seed
man/plant breeder to ensure varietal
purity & quality. Eg. East-West Seed
Company, Known-You Seed, Ramgo
f. Processing – vegetables produced are
canned, pickled, frozen or dehydrated.
Vegetables are grown by the processing
company
T2.4

11. (eg. Del Monte, RAM, Purefoods) or by
farmers on contract by the processing
company. Crops commonly grown for
processing are cucumber, tomatoes,
sweet corn, beans, pepper, cauliflower
g. Vegetable Forcing – growing of
vegetables other than the normal period
of growing (off-season planting). This
system is very intensive & expensive
enterprise therefore only vegetables
which command high price should be
grown.
T2.5

12. TOPIC NO. 3. Components of Vegetable
Production
Topic Contents:
1. Land
2. Capital
3. Labor
4. Technology
T3.1

13. TOPIC NO. 4. Factors Affecting Vegetable Crop
Growth & Development
Topic Contents:
 Environmental Factors (Abiotic)
1. Soil & Fertility – crops perform well in fertile,
loamy, well drained soil w/ high organic matter
having a pH range of 5.8 to 6.8.
2. Water – lack of water is the greatest single
factor that lowers vegetable yield. Lack of
water will result in the closing of stomates thus
CO2 cannot get into the leaves & O2 cannot go
out consequently slowing photosynthesis.
T4.1

14. 3. Temperature – vegetable crops grow well
within temperature range. At 00C plants
are killed by frost & at 40 0C they are
killed by heat. When temp. is high or low
its photosynthetic, respiratory &
metabolic processes become abnormal.
4. Sunlight – is needed in the manufacture
of food in green plants in the process of
photosynthesis. It converts CO2 & water
into energy rich compound carbohydrates.
T4.2

15. 5. Wind – slight wind is necessary to
replenish CO2 near the plant
surface.When there no wind, the rate
of resupplying the leaf surface is
limited, so entry of CO2 is too slow to
maintain rapid photosynthesis.
 Biological Factors (Biotic)
1. Weeds
2. Insect pest and pathogenic micro-
organisms
3. Animal/man
T4.3

16.  Cultural Management and Practices
– Site Selection
– Land Preparation
– Seedling Production
– Care and Management
(Water mgt., weed mgt., fertilizer mgt.,
pest and diseases mgt.)
– Harvesting
T4.4