Abstract
A 13.9 m2(150 ft2) vegetable garden grown in Columbus, Ohio, in 1975 yielded 95.5 kg of produce or 6.85 kg per m2. The produce had a retail value of $90.45 or $6.50 per m2. The mean economic savings from all vegetables disregarding any labor and transportation expenses was $3.01 per m2 or $42 for the garden.
Fresh-market vegetable production in the midwestern U.S. has been declining due to diminished returns received by farmers, competition from vegetables produced in other regions, older farmers retiring and not being replaced, and urban sprawl. To reverse this trend, midwestern-U.S. vegetable farmers must find ways to enhance the value of their production. One way might be the production of vegetable cultivars that have enhanced attributes desired by consumers. Our objective was to assess how Illinois farmers' current perceptions may affect acceptance and production of vegetable cultivars with enhanced health benefits. About 20% of Illinois fresh-market vegetable growers were surveyed. We found that the current media attention on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) infl uenced grower response. Farmers who were concerned about GMOs were 5 times more likely to reject growing new vegetable cultivars with enhanced health benefits even those developed with conventional breeding methods. However, farmers who were not concerned or who were undecided in their opinions concerning GMOs were 11 times more likely to adopt new cultivars. Education and research programs must be developed to supply information about vegetable cultivars with enhanced health benefits and to address farmers' concerns about GMOs.
Poster Session 35—Vegetable Crops Management–Cropping Systems 2 20 July 2005, 12:00–12:45 p.m. Poster Hall–Ballroom E/F
Abstract
Dietitians and nutritionists have included vegetables among 4 of the 7 basic food groups used in planning meals. Because of the variety and quantity of vegetables we are able to furnish in this country, either fresh or processed, it is an easy task to prepare a well-balanced diet without too much concern for the differences in composition among vegetable types. It is no wonder, then that until very recently little attention has been directed to the differences which exist within vegetable types.
Abstract
Two levels of phosphorus (20 and 80 kg P/ha) and two levels of aluminum (0 and 85 kg Al/ha) were applied to Enders soils of pH 4.4, 6.6, or 7.3. Sixteen-day-old vegetable amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.) plants (Rodale Research Center Accession 241) were transplanted 24 July 1986 and harvested 27 days later. Increasing soil pH from 4.4 to 7.3 decreased plant height, fresh weight, leaf area, leaf blade chlorophyll, N, K, Mn, and Zn, but increased Ca, Mg, Al, and Na (dry-weight basis). Supplemental P increased plant height, leaf area, plant dry weight, leaf blade P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, and chlorophyll; decreased Fe, B, Zn, and Al; but had no effect on leaf blade protein. Adding Al to the soil decreased plant height, leaf blade chlorophyll, N, P, and Na, but increased Mn. At the termination of the experiment, exchangeable soil Al was found only in soil at pH 4.4 (1.1 cmol·kg-1). The highest leaf blade Al concentration (2473 mg·kg-1) was found in soil at pH 6.6 that received the low rate of supplemental P. Regardless of soil pH, leaf blade Al was negatively correlated with plant height (r = -0.78), plant dry weight (r = -0.78), available soil P (r = -0.51), and leaf blade P (r = -0.53), but it was positively correlated with Fe (r = 0.98).
The utility of presidedress soil nitrate testing (PSNT) in irrigated lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and celery (Apium graveolens L.) production was evaluated in 15 commercial fields in California from 1996 to 1997. Fields were selected in which soil NO3-N (5- to 30-cm depth) was >20 mg·kg–1 at the time the cooperating grower made the first sidedress N application. The grower's N regime was compared with reduced N treatments established by reducing or eliminating one or more sidedress applications. All fields were sprinkler and/or furrow irrigated, with minimal in-season precipitation. Reductions in seasonal N application averaging 143 and 209 kg·ha–1 N in lettuce and celery trials, respectively, had no effect on marketable yield in any field. Crop biomass N at harvest in the lowest N treatment in each field averaged 94% (lettuce) and 88% (celery) of that in plots receiving the full grower N program. Based on controlled-environment aerobic incubation of soil from 30 fields in long-term vegetable rotations, in-season N mineralization averaged 1% to 2% of soil organic N. A soil NO3-N “quick test” procedure utilizing a volumetric extraction of field-moist soil and measurement by nitrate-sensitive colorimetric test strips was evaluated and proved to be a practical on-farm method to estimate soil NO3-N concentration. Lettuce midrib NO3-N concentration at cupping stage was poorly correlated with current soil NO3-N level. We conclude that PSNT can reliably identify fields in which sidedress N application can be delayed or eliminated without affecting crop performance.
Abstract
Two home vegetable gardens (77.4 and 58.3 m2) in Tucson, Ariz., yielded an average of 1.24 and 2.31 kg/m2 of produce per year over 3 and 2.5 years, respectively. Average net returns were $109 and $123 per year, $0.72 and $1.11 per hour, or $8.80 and $7.75 per dollar of water used. Thus, in the southwest desert, a weekly investment of 2-to-3 hours in a home garden can provide savings.
Foods from plants can provide enough energy and essential nutrients for maintaining human health as well as for prevention of many serious diseases. Many exotic vegetables are known for their special nutritional and medicinal properties. Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia L.), an annual vegetable of Cucurbitaceae family, is found to be one of the important vegetables of special nutritional and medicinal qualities. Germplasm lines and land races of Bitter Melon were evaluated in 2000 and 2001 for their adaptability in Southeast Arkansas. Seven adaptable lines/varieties were tested in replicated field trials for productivity at the Univ. of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Agricultural Research Center in 2002 and 2003. Melons were harvested at their marketable stages beginning in June and ending in September for yield estimation. Nutritional qualities of Bitter Melons were examined by chemical analyses conducted at the Univ. of Arkansas, Fayetteville (UAF) Food Science Laboratory. Analyses for antioxidants and other compounds as well as cooking qualities are currently underway. Several recipes have been tasted for consumer acceptance. The popular belief of bitter melon to improve glucose tolerance in Type II diabetes and lower blood cholesterol are being investigated. It is still to be determined if the chemical constituents such as certain alkaloids and polypeptides found in bitter melons are effective individually or in combination.
papers), Canada (two), and one each from Belgium, Brazil, China, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands ( Table 2 ). According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the greatest vegetable production value by state is California; Florida is ranked third
,000 harvested acres in the United States. For perspective, consider the so-called “Salad Bowl of America” in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County, CA, which is one of the most intensive agricultural areas in the world for high-value vegetable production. About