Food crops
There’s no doubt, your cooking method can change the composition of nutrients in fruits and vegetables but it’s not always a bad thing. In cooked vegetables and fruits, you can have some more nutrients than fresh in some rare cases. Several scientific studies have shown that cooking can reduce the content of some nutrients but … Read more Effects of Heat on Nutrients in Vegetables and Fruits
Many vegetable crops were domesticated several centuries ago. The great ancient civilization in Mesopotamia grew vegetables such as turnips, onions, beans, lettuce and cucumbers. While the early Egyptians cultivated a wide variety of vegetable crops such as asparagus, cabbage, cucumber, pea, watermelon and lettuce. Laborers eating onions were depicted in Egyptian tombs from about 3200-2780 … Read more Classification of Vegetables, their Uses and Nutrient Facts
Cowpeas grown for their dry seeds are also known as black-eyed peas and black-eyed beans. They are most important in the semi-arid tropics where they are grown mainly for their mature seeds. They withstand heat better than most other legumes and are very drought resistant. Origin of Cowpea Cowpea is probably originated in central … Read more Cowpea Plant Cultural Practice for Improved Yield
Sorghum is also known as guinea corn and it is a staple food in the drier parts of tropical Africa. It is able to adapt to dry regions with more unreliable rainfall because of its drought resistance. Its cultivation is being threatened by competition from maize cultivation and the problem of the parasitic weed, Striga … Read more Sorghum Cultivation for High Yield
TOMATO, scientific name Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. (Family: Solanaceae) is one of the most important vegetables in many regions of the world. It is used in almost all food preparations in the tropics. it is grown under rainfed conditions and under irrigation. Origin of Tomato It’s native of central and south America, most likely Peru and … Read more Tomato Plant Cultivation: A Full guide
Graviola (Scientific name: Annona muricata) is one the plants that is exact origin is not proven but it has become widely spread today and can grow in almost every area with average temperature and high humidity. Graviola is commonly called Custard apple, Cherimoya, Guanabana, Soursop, Guyabano and Guanavana, toge-banreisi, nangka blanda, durian benggala, durian belanda … Read more Nature of Graviola Tree Fruits and Cultivation
Chillies (Capsicum spp. Family: Solanaceae), also called peppers are widely grown across the globe, from America to Asia and even in Africa, with China being the leading country growing chillies. There are a wide variety of peppers which vary in pungency, size and color of the fruits. Two main species are recognized, these are Capsicum … Read more Cultivation of Chillies, Uses and Nutrition Facts
As technology is shaping up every industry, agriculture and food production is not left out. With the growing world population, food insecurity is becoming a daily issue to address, old farming practices can not help with the increasing food demand. Therefore, technology is now employed in growing foods, improving nutrients and making it more available. … Read more Advantages of Food Biotechnology to Farmers, Consumers and the Environment
Food fortification or enrichment is the umbrella term which means the addition of nutrients to food in order to increase its nutritional value. This is practised in order to fortify foods with rich nutrients so as to fight nutrient deficiency among people. Types of Food Fortification There are two types or methods of fortification, … Read more Crop Bio-fortification: Objectives, Processes, Benefits and Limitations
Sweet potato is one of the root crops with a relatively high nutritive value and yet only about 5% of world production comes Africa. It is mostly grown with other arable crops. Asia produces over 90% of the crop with China alone accounting for over 85% of world production. Origin It originated from central and … Read more Sweet Potato Plant
Jute is perhaps the most important of all bast fibres. The fibre is obtained from the stems of two cultivated species of Corchorus, namely, C. Capsularis L. and C. olitorius L. It is mostly produced in Asian countries especially China, India and Bangladesh. Origin The primary centre of origin of C. olitorius is Africa … Read more JUTE (Corchorus spp.) Family: Tiliaceae
Kenaf is an important bast fibre crop. It is however grown largely in small backyard gardens in most parts of Nigeria especially in the north. India is the major producer. Origin It originated from the tropical and subtropical Africa where it is commonly wild plant. It has now been taken to most tropical and subtropical … Read more KENAF (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) Family: Malvaceae
Origin Cucumber probably originated in northern India and was introduced to the Mediterranean. It is now widespread throughout the world. Ecology Cucumbers are well adapted to warm climates but will grow well at lower temperatures than melons. The optimum range of day-night temperatures is 21-28°C. Water requirement is high but a very humidity encourages the … Read more CUCUMBER (Cucumis sativus L.)
Origin Carrot (D. carota L. sub so. sativus (Hoffm.) Thell.) is derived from the wide carrot (D. carota L. sub sp. carota) which occurs naturally in Europe, Asia and Africa. It is of ancient cultivation in the Mediterranean region and has now spread throughout the tropical world. Ecology Soils which are well drained with a … Read more CARROT (Daucus carota L.)
Okra is a common vegetable crop grown in many part of the tropics for its mucilaginous fruits. It is a dicotyledonous annual herbaceous plant that’s widely grown in all ecological zones of Nigeria but is not of much economic importance compared with tomatoes. Origin The okra plant originated in central Africa but is now cultivated … Read more OKRA (Abelmoshus esculentus (L.) Moench).
Lettuce is a seasonal herb which is considered the world’s most important salad crop. Origin and distribution The centre of origin of L. sativa appears to be the middle east. The first records of lettuce as a vegetable is a long leaved from depicted on Egyptian tombs dated 4500 B.C. Lettuce was grown by the … Read more LETTUCE (Latuca sativa L.)
Bitter leaf plants are shrubs and their leaves are used as a vegetable. Vernonia amygdalina, V. colorata and V. calvoana are the three species usually grown. Ecology Vernonia grows in all types of soils. It is fairly drought resistant except the species V. calvoana, which is more sensitive. Vernonia plants thrive in full sunlight. Botany … Read more BITTER LEAF (Vernonia spp.)
The term cocoyams is used to refer collectively to members of the genus Colocasia and the genus Xanthosoma which are grown for food in many parts of Africa, especially the wetter parts. They are grown in small plots, often inter cropped with food food or cash crops. They are volunteer crops in many places and … Read more COCOYAMS (Colocasia esculenta (L.), Schott (Taro) (Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.), Schott (Tannia)
Potato is a temperature crop which is being increasingly cultivated in the tropics in areas with high elevations and cool temperatures. It is referred to as Irish potato to differentiate it from the sweet potato though it did not originate from Ireland. It is regarded as a valuable vegetable and generally highly priced compared with … Read more IRISH POTATO (Solanum tuberosum L.)
Yams are grown throughout the wetter parts of the tropics. They are climbing monocotyledonous plants with opposite or alternate leaves and they produce large storage tubers. Yams are obtained from several species of the genus Dioscorea, a very large genus with about 600 tropical or subtropical species of which only a few are grown for … Read more YAMS (Dioscorea spp.) Family: Dioscoreaceae