Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
In the case of semi-wild vegetables such as Solanum torvum , bird pepper
( Capsicum anuum ), cocoyam ( Xanthosoma saggitifolium ), wild lettuce ( Talinum
triangulare ), and a number of leafy vegetables, volunteer plants feature prominently
(77 per cent) as a source of planting material. Other minor sources of vegetable seeds
include agricultural shops, research stations, and farmers' association farms.
The diversity of vegetables that are cultivated is in a constant flux. Nearly
60 per cent of the farmers introduce some commercial varieties into their farm.
About 50 per cent of them drop some vegetables permanently or during some
planting seasons for several reasons, including ease of incorporation into mixed
cropping systems, resistance to drought and excessive rains, and market demand.
New vegetable species/varieties are also added.
Maintenance of vegetables
Some vegetables grown in the home gardens are strictly annuals while others are
maintained in the field for over a year. Almost all farmers maintain, in the field
for almost a year, some vegetables, notably aubergines (S olanum melongena ),
okra ( Ablemoschus esculenta ), bush okra ( Corchorus olitorius ), agushie
( Cucumeropsis edulis ), and the perennial leafy vegetables such as the chaya ,
cocoyam, and bitter leaf ( Vernonia amygdalina ) as well as trees with edible
leaves such as silk cotton and baobab.
Special strategies are adopted to ensure the survival of these vegetables in the
field during the dry season. They include the following:
weeding around the crop during the dry season
watering where water is available
weeding around the plants before the onset of the dry season
leaving plants in the bush during the dry season
planting cassava around the plants to provide shade
planting in the home garden where it can be watered during the dry season
mulching
setting traps to ward off animals.
A few (one to three) plants of élite or perennial varieties of vegetables that are
intensively used, such as okra, peppers, Solanum torvum , eggplant, tomato, and taro
are often grown very close to the kitchen for intensive care and ease of accessibility
(Plate 12).
Maintenance of vegetable seeds
Maintenance of vegetable seeds is one of the most important ways of ensuring the
continuous propagation of non-recalcitrant vegetables for food security.
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