QUARTER 1

Produce Vegetable Crops

Module 1. Basic Concepts in Vegetable Production

1. Concepts in producing major lowland and semi-temperate vegetables
2. Opportunities in vegetable crop productionBAR Digest Men
3. Types of vegetable gardening

Content Standard Performance Standard

The learner demonstrates The learner independently discusses

understanding on the basic concepts in the basic concepts in vegetable
vegetable production production

Introduction
Courtesy to
This module deals with the basic concepts in vegetable production. It includes
the knowledge, skills and attitudes in producing lowland and semi-temperate
vegetables, opportunities in vegetable crop production, and types of vegetable
gardening.

Learning Competencies/Objectives

This module has the following learning competencies/objectives:

1. Concepts in producing major lowland and semi-temperate vegetables

2. Opportunities in vegetable crop production

 Types of vegetable gardening

Pre-/Diagnostic Assessment: Direction: Read the questions carefully and choose the
correct answer. Write the answer in your notebook.

A. Selection Type. Direction: Choose the best answer by writing the LETTER only of your choice in
your test notebook.
1. Vegetable home gardens help the families in many ways. Which of the following is
NOT true about vegetable home gardens?
a. Provides additional income for the family
b. Source of a variety of vegetables throughout the year.
c. Bonding with family members through gardening is not possible.
d. The value of manual labor, industry, and cooperation is developed.
2. Market gardening is located near centers of population to have a ready market of
vegetable produce. In order to meet the consumers demand, some requirements are
needed EXCEPT one.
a. Frequent use of toxic pesticides
b. Intensive and continuous cropping
c. Wise use of fertilizer and irrigation
d. Efficient protection against crop pest
3. This type of vegetable growing is practiced in wide tract of land with the purpose of
producing vegetables for distant markets.
a. Home gardens
b. Market gardens
c. Truck gardening
d. Vegetable growing for processing
4. Vegetables grown out from their normal or regular growing seasons are called off-
season vegetables. Which of the following statements is NOT true about vegetable
forcing?
a. Off-season vegetables are best grown in greenhouses
b. Off-season vegetables need intensive and expensive care
c. Off-season vegetables are marketed at a lower price than vegetables grown in
regular growing period
d. Off-season vegetables require scientific procedures and the use of special
environmental facilities.
5. Which of the following hinders a farmer to engage in vegetable production?
a. Negative attitude of the farmer
b. Erratic supply and low quality produce
c. Poor farm-to-market roads and inadequate storage facilities
d. Limited entrepreneurial skills and reliable market information
Reading Resources and Instructional Activities

What to Know

Activity 1. Brainstorming

Divide the class into four groups and appoint your rapporteur to take down notes.
Discuss among yourselves and agree on how you are going to present your output.
Draw your lot and talk about the topic you picked.

Group 1 – Discuss what vegetables are

Group 2 – Why grow vegetables
Group3 –Discuss why there are less farmers engaged in vegetable production as
compared to the production of other crops.
Group 4 – Differentiate the types of gardening
Note: Present your output to class in any manner you feel best for you. You are given 3
minutes for presentation.
Concepts in producing major lowland and semi-temperate vegetables

Food is a necessity. Vegetables in particular, are cheap and rich sources of

healthy foods containing a lot of food nutrients having a great impact on the nutritional
condition of the Filipinos.

It has been an observation in the past years and at present that vegetable
products mostly come from commercial vegetable growers in the country. The manner
on how they were raised is unknown by the consumers. Safety of the products is one of
the concerns because of the wide use of pesticides to be able to produce quality and
quantity vegetable products. Besides, when these vegetables reach the local market
these become somewhat expensive. Relative to this, the production of vegetable in the
schools and at the backyards helps augment the supply of vegetables for the family and
even the neighborhood. These vegetables are preferred by the people in the school and
in the poblacion because of freshness, safe from chemicals, sold at reasonable prices
or even lower than the prevailing market price, and delivered free at the right place and
at the right time.
Opportunities in vegetable crop production

Thea Kristina M. Pabuayon (2001) states that vegetables as part of Filipino subsistence, be it as food or as
source of livelihood cannot be undermined. All 43 kinds and 250 lesser-known species of Philippine vegetables are
important sources of minerals, vitamins, fiber, and proteins. In the crop category, vegetable ranks second to
ornamentals in terms of income generated per unit area and time. Moreover, it is widely used as an intercrop for
coconut and fruit trees, and as a component of the other cropping systems. Ironically, per capita consumption is quite
low at 39 kilograms considering that the recommended intake is 69 kilograms.

Pabuayon reported further that beyond rice and corn production, the Philippine agricultural industry is
focused in meeting export commitments. This policy is supported by the government and is also the reason for the
increased production of vegetable crops such as eggplant, onion, tomato, garlic, squash, and cabbage. Among these
crops, eggplant leads in value of production with P1.8 M in 1999 from just P0.6M in 1990. The remaining four ranks in
this order: onion (P1.1M), tomato (P1.03M), garlic (P0.9M), cabbage (P0.6), and squash (P0.5M). In terms of volume,
eggplant still ranks first (28%), followed by tomato (22%), squash (18%), onion (15%), cabbage (14%) and garlic
(3%). Compared to Asian and world production, local vegetable production is relatively low. Eggplant averaged a
yield of 9.95 t/ha in 1997 which is only half of Asia's average yield of 15.91 t/ha and the world's 16.17 t/ha. However,
our local eggplant yield fared better than Thailand (6.19t/ha) Indonesia (3.48 t/ha), and North Korea (1.67 t/ha) The
same trend goes for tomato which registered an average yield of 9.73 t/ha in 1999, onion (7.18 t/ha), and garlic (2.6
t/ha).

Vegetables grown in the Philippines have also export opportunities. Fresh, chilled, dried and processed
forms of vegetables are exported. Pabuayon enumerates that onion was the number one export in terms of value at
$10.5 M followed by shallot at $ 7M. Another major export was asparagus at 5,660MT. Other exports included garlic,
beans, peas, tomato, and vegetable seeds. Aside from these a large amount of pepper, eggplant, melons, and water
melons are also exported. The country can capitalize on the export of squash, sword bean, white gourd, sitao, and
radish which are also gaining ground internationally, Pabuayon said.

Although vegetables have a high potential of contributing to our farmers' income, the government has given
little priority to this industry. This, coupled with existing problems such as the erratic supply and low quality of
produce, poor farm-to-market roads, inadequate storage facilities, limited access to reliable market information, and
lack of entrepreneurial skills among growers and cooperatives obstruct the industry's potential in the world market

According to Pabuayon through BAR, a network solely dedicated to improving the vegetable industry was
created. The vegetable network, which is composed of experts from UP Los Baños (UPLB), Benguet State University
(BSU), Visayas State College of Agriculture (ViSCA), and Central Luzon State University (CLSU), coordinates all
research, development, and extension efforts pertaining to vegetables. Likewise, a National Integrated RDE Agenda
and Program (NIRDEAP) was drafted to state specific projects for the network. www.bar.gov.ph/.../3364-apr-june01-
the-growing... BAR Digest Home Archives April-June 2001 Issue (Vol. 3 No.2)
Types of vegetable gardening

The types of vegetable gardening are generally based on the purpose for which
vegetables are grown. Aside from this, it is also classified according to some specialized
methods employed in producing, marketing or utilizing the crops.

According to Soriano and Villareal (1977) the types of vegetable gardening are:
home gardening, market gardening, truck gardening, growing for processing, vegetable
forcing, and Vegetable Seed Production.

Home/Backyard Gardening

Home gardening is an intensive way of growing various kinds of vegetables

which are adaptable in the locality. The number and kinds of vegetables the family raise
depends upon their desires.

The ultimate objective why raise vegetables in the backyard is to have ready
supply of fresh, safe, un-expensive variety of vegetables for the kitchen all year round.
Labor is shared among members of the family, in this case, children are taught to value
manual labor, industry and cooperation through this endeavor. The rest of the produce
from the garden will be for the market to provide additional.

Market Gardening

Market gardening as the name implies is a type of gardening located near centers of population
to have a ready market of their produce. Soriano and Villareal (1977) emphasized that land and labor is
expensive. Therefore, this type of gardening calls intensive and continuous cropping, wise use of fertilizer
and irrigation, and efficient protection against crop pests. These are required in order to produce quality
products that will command high price to meet the high production costs. Rapid growing vegetables are
planted continuously so that the turn-over from the land is fast.
Truck Gardening

Truck gardening is the opposite of market gardening since large tract of land is used to produce
vegetables for distant markets. According to Soriano and Villareal (1977) the unit cost of production is
lower than in market gardening. They further say that this type of gardening is a highly developed industry
in places where there are good roads and excellent transportation facilities. Places engaged in truck
gardening in the Philippines are the growing of onions, tomatoes, and eggplant in Nueva Ecija and
Pangasinan, and cabbage, beans and white potato in Benguet.

Vegetable Growing for Processing

According to Soriano and Villareal (1977) growing vegetables for processing is a type of
vegetable production where in vegetables produced are canned, pickled, frozen or dehydrated. The
advantage of processed vegetables is that the vegetable produce may be held in storage until needed by
the consumer. High quality as judged by acceptability of the product, large yields, and low cost of
production are the important features of growing vegetables for processing. The cost of production is
lower than that of the market and track gardening because of mechanization and generally lower land
value. Labor is remarkably reduced through mechanization of most of the farm operations.
Vegetables for processing are either grown by the processing company or by farmers on contact
basis with the processing company. The contract specifies price and other marketing arrangements even
before production has begun. It also states specific requirements to be fulfilled by the grower such as the
variety to be grown, size and schedules of delivery. Examples of vegetable processors in the Philippines
are the Del Monte in Mindanao, RAM in Laguna, Purefoods in Metro Manila.

Vegetable forcing is the growing of out of season vegetables which means the vegetables are
planted at any other time than their normal period of growing. This type of vegetable production requires
scientific procedures and the use of special environmental facilities.
In the Philippines, off-season tomatoes and highly value leafy vegetables are grown in plastic or
glass greenhouses. Recently during the cold months, specifically in Benguet and its neighboring towns,
vegetables, cut flowers, and strawberries were grown in greenhouses to protect their plants from frosting.
Another vegetable forcing commonly used in the Philippines is the use of rice straw beds to grow
mushrooms.
Vegetable forcing is a very intensive and expensive enterprise. This type of vegetable growing
should, therefore, only be resorted to when the supply is limited and the vegetables produced can be
guaranteed to be of highest quality so as to command high prices.
Vegetable Seed Production

Vegetable seed production is the growing of vegetables to produce seeds for planting. This is the
most specialized type of vegetable growing because it requires knowledgeable and skilled workers with a
good background of plant breeding to insure genetic purity and good quality of the seed crop. The
seedman should also possess technical know-how on seed preservation and methods of seed packaging
and storing to maintain good germination.
Successful production of good quality vegetable seeds calls for specific climatic and location
requirements.

What to Process

Activity 2.

You did a great job in Activity 1. Congratulations for a job well. This time you will
undergo a little bit exciting and challenging task in Activity 2.

Visit your local market. Make a list of vegetables being sold there. Interview the
vegetable vendor as to where the vegetables they sell come from. Compare prices of
vegetables locally grown versus those coming from the high lands.

Construct questions based on the tasks stated above.

Be respectful and friendly in dealing with the people you are to interview.

Write your output in short coupon bond and submit it to your teacher.
 What to Reflect and Understand

Activity 3.

With the same grouping as in Activity 1 and 2, make a poster of your assigned
topic. The poster should be done in one whole cartolene, white color. Use a maximum
of five colors to shade your poster. Imaginative posters will be given additional points.

What to Transfer

Activity 4.

Conduct an interview on experienced vegetable grower or farmer in your locality on the

opportunities in vegetable production. Construct questions based on the following:

1. Specific vegetable they raise

2. Why they choose that crop
3. Capital
4. Market demand
5. Others you think important to know
Submit your output to your teacher.

Summative Assessment

A. 1. Site situations from the lesson that there is a good future waiting in the
production of vegetables.
2. Enumerate some problems in the production of vegetables in the Philippines. .
Summary/Synthesis/Feedback

References

Bautista, O.K. and R.C. Mabesa: (1977) Vegetable Production. University of the Philippines Los Banos, College,
Laguna, Philippines.
Resource Manual on Integrated Production and Pest Management (IPPM) in Vegetables: World Education (INGO)
Philippines, Inc.; Laguna, Philippines: March 2005
Reyes, P. L.; “Lecture Notes on Field Crop Production” GAUF., Victoneta Park, Malabon, Metro Manila
Soriano, J.M. and R.L.Villareal: (1977), Types of Vegetable Production. In:Vegetable Production. University of the
Philippines Los Banos, College, Laguna Philippines.
www.bar.gov.ph/.../3364-apr-june01-the-growing... BAR Digest Home Archives April-June 2001 Issue (Vol. 3 No.2).
Retrieved March 3, 2014