Knott's Handbook for Vegetable Growers (6th Ed.)

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Language: English

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Knott?s Handbook for Vegetable Growers

Authoritative and comprehensive go-to reference work for commercial vegetable growers around the world

For more than 65 years, Knott?s Handbook for Vegetable Growers has provided generations of commercial growers with the most timely, accessible, and useful information available on the subject, containing key guidance on transplant production, planting rates and spacing, irrigation, fertilization, methods for controlling diseases, and insect pest identification, plus important information on topics such as composting, post-harvest storage and processing, genetically-engineered crops, organic growing, federal regulations and best management practices, environmentally friendly pest management, and food safety.

To allow for convenient and efficient access to the enormous amount of data contained within, most of the information is presented in the form of tables and charts. The work goes above and beyond to provide everything a reader needs to know on the subject, even including a multilanguage vegetable dictionary.

Now in its 6th edition, the work has been significantly expanded and modernized to cover key modern advancements in the industry, such as:

  • Computer-based crop monitoring technologies, robotic disease control and harvesting systems, and new protected-ag production systems (including vertical systems and indoor production)
  • New production systems pertaining to protected organic agriculture, soil moisture sensing, environmental monitoring, soil health, and soil conservation
  • New technologies, including satellite-based decision-making, robotics, and UAVs for increasing production efficiency
  • The various advances that have been made in food safety regulations, plus coverage of new invasive pests

Part Farmer?s Almanac, part encyclopedia, and part dictionary, Knott?s Handbook for Vegetable Growers serves as an invaluable asset for growers, students, and other industry professionals seeking an all-in-one reference for all of the questions they have on both holistic and specific facets of the commercial vegetable industry.

Preface to the Sixth Edition xi

About the Companion Website xvi

Part 1—Vegetables and the Vegetable Industry 1

01 Botanical Names of Vegetables and Common Names of Vegetables in Nine Languages 3

02 Edible Flowers 29

03 U.S. Vegetable Production 35

04 Consumption of Vegetables in The United States 42

05 World Vegetable Production 44

06 Nutritional Composition of Vegetables 46

Part 2—Vegetable Seeds 55

01 Seed Labels 57

02 Seed Germination Tests 58

03 Seed Germination Standards 66

04 Seed Production 67

05 Organic Seed Production 71

06 Seed Yields 72

07 Seed Storage 76

08 Seed Priming 78

09 Seedborne Pathogens and Hot Water Seed Treatment 81

10 Vegetable Varieties 84

11 Genetically-Engineered Vegetable Varieties 88

12 Vegetable Seed Sources 90

Part 3—Seedling and Transplant Production 99

01 Transplant Production 101

02 Plant Growing Containers 102

03 Seeds and Seeding 104

04 Temperature and Time Requirements 107

05 Plant Growing Mixes 108

06 Soil Sterilization 110

07 Fertilizing and Irrigating Transplants 111

08 Plant Growing Problems 115

09 Conditioning Transplants 120

10 Shipping and Transportation of Transplants 122

11 Grafted Transplants 123

12 Organic Transplant Production 124

13 Additional Transplant Production Resources 126

Part 4—Greenhouse and Protected Agriculture Production 127

01 Structures 129

02 Cultural Management 131

03 Co2 Enrichment 136

04 Soilless Culture 138

05 Nutrient Solutions 146

06 Tissue Composition 153

Part 5—Field Planting 155

01 Temperatures for Vegetables 157

02 Scheduling Successive Plantings 162

03 Time Required for Seedling Emergence 165

04 Seed Requirements 167

05 Planting Rates for Large Seeds 169

06 Spacing Of Vegetables 172

07 Precision Seeding 178

08 Conservation Tillage and No-Till Systems 181

09 Vegetative Propagation 183

10 Polyethylene and Degradable Mulches 186

11 Row Covers 191

12 Windbreaks 193

13 Environmental Monitoring: Soil, Water, and Air 195

Part 6—Soils and Fertilizers 199

01 Nutrient Best Management Practices (Bmps) 203

02 Organic Matter 206

03 Soil Health and Soil-Improving Crops 208

04 Manures and Other Organic Soil Ammendents 212

05 Organic Production Systems 216

06 Composting 218

07 Soil Texture 219

08 Soil Reaction 221

09 Salinity 229

10 Fertilizers 233

11 Fertigation 240

12 Fertilizer Conversion Factors 241

13 Nutrient Absorption 244

14 Plant Analysis 247

15 Soil Tests 276

16 Nutrient Deficiencies 292

17 Micronutrients 294

18 Fertilizer Spreaders 301

Part 7—Water and Irrigation 303

01 Suggestions for Supplying Water to Vegetables 307

02 Rooting of Vegetables 310

03 Soil Moisture and is Monitoring 311

04 Surface Irrigation 319

05 Overhead Irrigation 329

06 Drip or Trickle Irrigation 343

07 Irrigation Water Quality 360

Part 8—Vegetable Pests and Problems 365

01 Integrated Pest Management 367

02 Pest Management in Organic Production Systems 370

03 Soil Solarization 372

04 Pesticide-Use Precautions 375

05 Pesticide Application And Equipment 383

06 Vegetable Seed Treatments 399

07 Nematodes 402

08 Diseases 407

09 Insects 425

10 Abiotic Disorders 436

11 Air Pollution 446

12 Wildlife Control 450

Part 9—Weed Management 453

01 Weed Management Strategies 454

02 Weed Identification 457

03 Noxious Weeds 458

04 Weed Control an Organic Farming 459

05 Cover Crops and Rotation in Weed Management 461

06 Herbicides 462

07 Weed Control Recommendations 466

Part 10— Computer-Based Crop Management Technologies 467

Part 11— Harvesting, Handling, and Storage 475

01 Food Safety 478

02 General Postharvest Handling Procedures 484

03 Predicting Harvest Dates and Yields 489

04 Cooling Vegetables 496

05 Vegetable Storage 502

06 Chilling and Ethylene Injury 517

07 Postharvest Diseases 529

08 Vegetable Quality 535

09 U.S. Standards for Grade of Vegetables 538

10 Minimally Processed Vegetables 551

11 Packaging of Fresh Vegetables 554

12 Vegetable Marketing 560

Part 12—Appendix 565

01 Sources of Information on Vegetable Production 566

02 Some Periodicals for Vegetable Growers 567

03 U.S. Units of Measurement 569

04 Conversion Factors for U.S. Units 570

05 Metric Units of Measurement 573

06 Conversion Factors for Si and Non-Si Units 574

07 Conversions for Rates of Application 579

08 Water and Soil Solution Conversion Factors 580

09 Heat and Energy Equivalents and Definitions 584

10 Useful Websites for Units and Conversions 585

Index 587

George J. Hochmuth, Professor Emeritus at the Soil and Water Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA, and Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science. Throughout his career, his areas of specialization included fertilization of commercial vegetables, row crops, and specialty crops.

Rebecca G. Sideman is an Extension Professor in the Department of Agriculture, Nutrition & Food Systems, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA. Her research interests include horticultural crop production, season extension, sustainable agriculture, and plant breeding and genetics.