188 WORKSHOP 23 (Abstr. 443–445) Regional Status of Drip Irrigation Usage for Commercial Vegetable Production in the United States
Growers producing new crops often do not understand how to price individual items. The prices of common container nursery stock items may be listed in monthly trade publications. Prices for fruits and vegetables fluctuate on a daily basis. A production budget for containerized specialty vegetables was adapted from one developed for ornamental nurseries, using some specific costs for field-grown vegetables. This gave a realistic way to calculate prices for individual products. Once the crops had been sold, the authors were able to validate the model by comparing actual costs with projected costs.
The following should be considered when installing and maintaining a drip irrigation system for vegetable crops: water source (surface or ground water); water quality (salinity, particulate matter, contaminants); size of area to be irrigated; pump size; soil type; drip tape type; crop to be irrigated; management skill of the operator; automation needs; water meter and budget. Use a professional designer.
107 POSTER SESSION (Abstr. 599–611) Culture and Management–Vegetables
188 WORKSHOP 23 (Abstr. 443–445) Regional Status of Drip Irrigation Usage for Commercial Vegetable Production in the United States
This article is a review of the current status in planting and transplanting equipment and practices for vegetable crops. A review of horticultural and agricultural engineering literature is supplemented by information from an informal survey of members of American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) committee PM-48, Fruit and Vegetable Production Engineering, and other engineers and horticulturists working in this field. Areas covered include precision seed metering, seed placement, and high-speed transplanting with automated plant handling.
The Univ. of California's Vegetable Crops Research and Information Center (VRIC) has developed a new World Wide Web site that allows the rapid development and peer review of multi-discipline, research-based information. The VRIC website (http://vrichome.ucdavis.edu) disseminates peer-reviewed fact sheets, research results, updated publications, and multi-media educational resources relating to critical issues, best management practices, postharvest handling, and marketing of vegetable crops. The website disseminates multi-discipline information originating from the Univ. of California, the USDA, and cooperating agencies and universities. The VRIC website proactively sends peer-reviewed critical-issue fact sheets to selected news media, government, industry, and academic contacts. These fact sheets help personnel frequently contacted by the media during crises to answer questions effectively. The website directs visitors to additional agricultural information resources and contains information on careers and educational opportunities available in the field of vegetable crops.
We thank the vegetable producers who responded to our survey; and Tom Lyson, Steve Reiners, and Jerry Bond for reviewing the manuscript. The cost of publishing this paper was defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. Under postal
107 ORAL SESSION 26 (Abstr. 556–563) Nutrition–Vegetables
There is an amazing variety of Asian vegetables that, even today, are largely unknown in the United States. However, as Asian populations increase in numbers and diversity, local demand has increased and opened up opportunities to identify suitable crops for successful cultivation and possible export of these vegetables back to Asian countries. Production strategies for successful cultivation of Asian vegetable crops include the identification of suitable species; access to genetic material and germplasm collections; evaluation of imported genotypes; development of technologies, skills, and resources to collect production data; monitoring of the risks from pests and diseases; identification of new pests and pest management techniques; and organization of research on postharvest handling, packaging, and transport for a wide range of products to meet the consumer demands.