THE VEGETABLES have good value in human food and nutrients since time immemorial. The world countries of low economy and people with low living status and poverty especially South Asian states have vegetable dietary habits hence grow and consume much more such green stuff for their food.


Pakistan has greater opportunities, being a center for vegetable production and can export fresh and canned vegetables in most of the Asian countries to earn foreign exchange. At present, mostly the growers depends on imported seeds, but it is true that many jobs farm of laborers, could be created by growing vegetables for seed production, seed trade and export business may also increase, which reduce annual import costs on vegetable seeds.


Farmers grow vegetables preferably due to short duration and as low delta crop, which could lower the cost of production. The vegetables have great role in boosting the economy of the country, due to that reason vegetables have potential to earn more income. Growing vegetables around big cities is very profitable job due to local consumption, ease of marketing and export for earning hot income. However, profession of home and kitchen gardening increases in Pakistan. It is time that farmers produce their own seed to discourage import of vegetable seed from other countries and overcome the risk of diseases and quarantine. Pakistan has majority of urban and rural population surviving on vegetables, which is relishing food due to nutritive value such as vitamins, proteins, Calcium, phosphorous, iron, water and mineral salts etc. In its varying climatic conditions, the vegetables grown may vary from leafy to Cole crops, root vegetables to bulb or tuber crops, flower vegetables to immature fruit vegetables etc, grown in different parts of the country.


The area under vegetable cultivation excluding potato and sweet potato but including onion, garlic, chilies was 0.381 mha (about 1.67% of the total cropped area), producing about 4.06 m ton of vegetables. There is increasing demand of vegetables from rural to urban areas due to domestic consumption directly in food either in raw or cooked form. But, vegetables have variety of uses in the preparation of pickles, chutney ketchup, soups, sauces, salads etc. except their edible usage for cooking purposes. The vegetable cultivation in Pakistan is most probably done in different parts of the country.


There is great variety of vegetables along with their edible parts such as roots, tubers, bulbs, Rhizomes, leaves, flowers and immature pods, fruits and seeds. The low quality seed is one of the major yield constraints in vegetables grown in Pakistan. The seed producing agencies and growers both suffer a lot due to timely production and availability of vegetable seed in the market during season. In vegetables, it is noted that the viability of seed is low, which depends upon kind of vegetables grown. Some vegetables are directly sown by seed, bulb or tuber and others are planted through their nurseries. Vegetables seed production needs still attention to famer as source of earning. So it should highly recommendations for seed community and grower to improve this sector.

By Web Team

Technology Times Web team handles all matters relevant to website posting and management.