Vegetables are a very important nutrient-rich part of the daily diet. Vegetables especially contain essential nutrients like Vitamin-A, Vitamin-C, Vitamin-B-6, Vitamin-E, Folic Acid, Iron and Magnesium in addition to these secondary nutrients. Carbohydrates and proteins are also present. About 70 to 80 percent of people in our country are vegetarians. For a well-balanced diet, vegetables require 300 grams per capita per day. India produces almost every type of vegetable due to its diverse climate and soil. Our country grows approximately 14 percent of the world's vegetables.
In the world, India ranks second after China in the production of vegetables. The state of Gujarat has a prominent place in the cultivation of vegetable crops. For the profitable cultivation of vegetables, two important things must be kept in mind.
(1) To increase production per unit area of vegetable crops
(r) Efficient use of adequate equipment and materials.
If modern and improved cultivation techniques of vegetable crops are adopted, more production from unit area with high quality can be obtained in a short period of time. In our state, mainly chilli, tomato, brinjal, okra, milkweed, bitter gourd, cabbage, cauliflower, cabbage, potato, saffron, tindola, water melon. , Turiya, Galka, Cucumber, Java crops are planted. Among these, brinjal, chilli, tomato, onion, cabbage, cauliflower and cabbage crops are grown and replanted. A household means a nursery.
The crops whose seeds cannot be sown directly in the field are raised systematically by sowing the seeds together in a small area on one side of the field is called dharuvadi. For Dharuvadia, the soil should be selected with good fertility, good drainage, waterlogged, and weed-free land that is not shaded by fences or trees. Generally, for the planting of vegetable crops like brinjal, chilli, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, chickpea, whose seeds are very small and light, dharuchod is prepared and replanted.
Eggplant, chilli, cabbage/flowers are ready for planting in 30 to 35 days and tomato in 10 to 25 days. Generally, one hectare area of vegetable crops other than onion should be cultivated in one hectare area, while for onion crops four to five hectare area should be prepared. By raising trees in dharuvadi, pests and diseases can be effectively controlled on early growing plants or young plants and if healthy trees are prepared, the amount of pests and diseases in them is reduced after replanting. For soil solarization use transparent thin plastic of 100 gauge (R5 micron) thickness. Plow with 5 rains and cover with plastic for 10 to 20 days according to the season. Cover the edge of the plastic with soil so that the moisture in the soil and the heat generated by the heat of the sun will be stored inside the plastic, thus destroying the fungi, bacteria, insect larvae, worms and weed seeds in the soil. Do two to three horizontal and vertical plowings as per requirement, level the soil by running Dhefa.
Selection of varieties for vegetable cultivation keeping in mind the type of soil, climate and irrigation system, more production can be obtained from a unit area. So that the cost of pesticides and fungicides can be reduced.
Planting of vegetable crops at the right time can prevent disease and pest infestation and also ensure variety wise production. Information about cultivation techniques of different vegetable crops is given in Ketha. Irrigation is very important for the growth and development of vegetable crops because the maintenance and regulation of cell temperature regulation, biological process and reactions are water intensive. The basis of irrigation requirement of vegetable crops depends on the type of vegetable, type of soil and season etc. Irrigate at intervals of 10 to 12 days during monsoons and at intervals of 12 to 15 days in winter and at intervals of 8 to 10 days in summer. A total of 10 to 14 irrigations are required during the life cycle of a vegetable crop. By adopting micro irrigation system in vegetable crops with drip and flower irrigation, the crop quality and production can be significantly increased. In addition to this, chemical fertilizers can also be given along with irrigation in drip irrigation system. So that fertilizers and water can be used efficiently.
Besides this, the water requirement can be reduced by using mulching. Two to three times of hand weeding and three to four times of intercropping are essential in the early stages of growth and development of vegetable crops. But in times of labor shortage, judicious use of recommended chemical herbicides and mulching can also control weeds. Adding value to vegetable crops includes cleaning and sorting the produce and packing the fruits according to their shape as needed and sending them for sale keeping in view the local and distant market prices, preservation of green, drying, pickling and other products of vegetable crops. Since vegetable crops are cash crops, awareness of dietary requirements and maturity in less time compared to other crops, development of precision farming and organic farming techniques in these crops is required.
