Low-cost safe storage structures for small and interme-diate scale farmers need to be promoted

Plant breeders have been successful in selecting carrot, sweet potato, and tomato cultivars with comparably high carotenoid levels and vitamin A content; onion and tomato cultivars with longer shelf-lives, sweet corn cultivars that maintain their sweetness longer after harvest; cantaloupe and watermelon cultivars with higher sugar content and firmer flesh, etc.. These are just a few examples of how genetic manipulation has contributed to improving the quality of vegetables and post-harvest po- tential. Breeders have also developed vegetable cultivars with improved storage characteristics, including resistance to storage fungi and pests, as well as physiological disorders. More adequate and sustained funding for this work is required, as well as improved linkages among breeders, nutritionists, health sector experts, and policymakers.Many opportunities exist for applying biotechnology to improve the post-harvest quality and safety of fresh vegetables. The year-round provision of safe, nutritious vegetable crops to consumers has, over the past 50 years, primarily been through a combination of locally-produced and imported vegetable crops that have been handled through various transport and storage regimes, and shipped to both local consumers and to opposite hemispheres using such methods.

The high costs of energy for transport and for storage, changes in consumer consumption preferences, grow lights and changes in consumer concerns , increasingly mean that these options may no longer be viable for some markets that want vegetables produced under a reduced carbon footprints. Many vegetables particularly in tropical and sub- tropical countries have now a gross over-supply during a very concentrated production season. The aim is to ex-tend the production season, and consequently the period available for marketing. The use of different vegetable cultivars in different seasons, and photoperiodic and vernalization sensitive cultivars for changing the flowering and therefore the production season, together with the use of special fertiliser and water regimes for shifting the flowering and vernalization time are effective and proven approaches that can be used for year-round sup- ply of vegetable markets. Temperate vegetable crops can also be developed for extended production seasons as evidenced by the change in day length dependency in strawberry. Improved production using improved landrace vegetables and production under greenhouses should be also considered. The production and marketing of vegetables crops is undergoing continuous change globally. This is mainly due to the growing demands of consumers for safe and healthy vegetables, increased urbanisation of societies, and the growth in scale and influence of supermarkets chains. The changes outlined above are merely some of the factors that are impacting on current production practices for vegetable crops. They also provide a plethora of opportunities for vegetable breeding and horticultural science to solve many of the current problems facing producers and to offer solutions to those issues that are concerning consumers.

Horticultural science can respond to many of these challenges through research, breeding and innovation that can seek to gain more efficient methods of crop production, refined post-harvest storage and handling methods, newer and higher value vegetable cultivars and demonstration of their health benefits. Horticulturists will need to develop cultural practices and vegetable breeders to breed vegetables for a multi-functional horticulture  and to cope with harsher climate conditions and lower inputs than they have come to expect. Improved production systems that can cope with climate extremes must allow vegetables to produce under high temperatures, greater drought stress, increased soil salinity, and periodic flooding. This will involve a combination of improved vegetable cultivars and modified production systems. The continued globalisation of the vegetable industry will see a rapid transfer and adoption of knowledge. This will include the transfer from developed to developing countries as major enterprises move to year-round production and in response to securing lower-cost land and labour. Many of these activities will, however, be carried out by the private sector where the protection of intellectual property, the development of unique and proprietary vegetable cultivars and the advocacy of brands will, undoubtedly, see a markedly diminished involvement of the public sector. Modern trends indicate that consumers are seeking increased variety, novelty, and healthy options in their eating choices. Creation of vegetable hybrids is a key means towards the development of cultivars for modern vegetable production. Hybrid seed production is high technology and a cost intensive venture.

Only well organized seed companies with good scientific manpower and well equipped research facilities can afford seed production. Due to globalization most vegetable breeding research and cultivar development in the world are presently conducted and funded in the private sector, mainly by huge multinational seed companies. Public vegetable breeders and cultivar development activities and research are disappearing worldwide. This means in general that there are fewer decision-making centers for vegetable breeding and cultivar development. This has also resulted in the focus on relatively few major vegetables produced world-wide, to the detriment of all the other cultivated vegetables. It is imperative that national governments and policymakers, led grow lights as part of a social duty, invest in breeding re-search and cultivar development of traditional open-pollinated cultivars and in the minor and so-called ‘‘forgot-ten’’ vegetables. Developing vegetable cultivars that are more tolerant of environmental extremes should not be limited to only those of global importance. Many landrace vegetables from the tropics already are well adapted to the climatic conditions likely to be more wide-spread in the future. Many are highly nutritious and familiar to smallholder farmers, and can provide excel-lent opportunities to help farmers cope with climate change. Smaller seed companies, which are usually specialize in few vegetable crops, must be supported, possibly through autonomous affiliation with the larger companies. More investments in this area will mean less expensive seed for growers to choose from, and an increased preservation of vegetable biodiversity. The accomplishment of this goal may require new approaches to vegetable breeding research and development by both the public and private sector. Public plant breeding remains a key component of vegetable research systems worldwide, especially in developing countries. However, the increasing presence of private sector breeding and a decrease in national and international support make it difficult for the public sec-tor to continue operating in the traditional manner. Declining funding for public vegetable breeding coupled with the rapid increase of vegetable production and consumption and an urbanizing population, has created a difficult situation. Public sector breeding must be strenghened. More public sector vegetable breeders are needed worldwide to select and to produce non-hybrid cultivars of the minor and ‘‘forgotten’’ vegetables. Breeding of vegetables and other minor crops must continue as a viable endeavor. Improving landrace vegetables is particularly important for the poorest. This will benefit small farmers, and will safeguard biodiversity and food security in developing countries. Currently there are too few vegetable breeders to satisfy global demands and opportunities in the public and private sectors of developing and developed countries. In order to meet future needs, it is important that educational programs incorporate rapidly changing new technologies along with classical content and methods in order to meet professional needs for vegetable cultivar developers, researchers, teachers and support scientists. Vegetable crop improvement powered through plant breeding is critical for sustainable production of vegetable crops that contribute to healthful diets and enhance quality of life for people around the world.

Policymakers and investors have to turn their attention to enhanced funding for the vegetable and horticultural sector, allowing farmers to compete with their products on a world market increasingly determined by market quality standards and phytosanitary concerns and regulations. Many current vegetable breeding efforts remain under-funded and disorganized. There is a great need for a more focused, coordinated approach to efficiently utilize funding, share expertise, and continue progress in horticultural technologies and breeding programs. Only then will the silent vegetable and horticultural revolution currently underway benefit a significant portion of the world’s poor nations, farmers, and landless laborers. Vegetables and fruits are grown worldwide and make up a major portion of the diet of humans in many parts of the world. They play a significant role in human nutrition, especially as sources of vitamins , minerals, dietary fiber and phytochemicals.Vegetables and fruits in the daily diet have been strongly associated with improvement of gastrointestinal health, good vision, and reduced risk of heart disease, stroke,chronic diseases such as diabetes, and some forms of cancer .Vegetable and fruit consumption worldwide is rising, reflecting the consumer’s increased income, desire of diversity, and awareness of nutritional benefits. A world vegetable survey showed that 402 vegetable crops are cultivated worldwide, representing 69 families and 230 genera. Leafy vegetables—of which the leaves or young leafy shoots are consumed—were the most often utilized , followed by vegetable fruits, and vegetables with below ground edible organs comprised 17%. Many vegetable crops have more than one part used. Most of the vegetables are marketed fresh with only a small proportion processed because most vegetables are perishable. Consumption shortly after harvest guarantees optimal vegetable quality.Vegetable and fruit production, due to their cultivation intensity, suffers from many biotic stresses caused bypathogens, pests, and weeds and requires high amounts of pesticides per hectare. Because of the high diversity of vegetable crops, pest loads vary and are complex vis-à-vis field crops. The main method for controlling pathogens,pests, and weeds has been the use of pesticides because vegetables and fruits are high-value commodities with high cosmetic standards. Synthetic pesticides have been applied to vegetable crops since the 1950s, and have been highly successful in reducing crop losses to some insects, other pathogens, and weeds. Vegetables account for a significant share of the global pesticide market. About 20% of the world’s annual pesticides expenditures are spent for growing vegetables . Only cotton used more insecticides than vegetables on an area basis. Insecticides are regularly applied to control a complex of insect pests that cause damage by feeding directly on the plant or by transmitting pathogens, particularly viruses. Despite pesticide use, insects, pathogens, and weeds continue to cause a heavy toll on world vegetable production. Preharvest losses are globally estimated as 15% for insect pests, 13% for damage by pathogens, and about 12% for weeds.

Pesticide residues can affect the health of growers and consumers and contaminate the environment. Vegetables are often consumed in fresh form, so pesticide residue and biological contamination is a serious issue.Consumers worldwide are increasingly concerned about the quality and safety of their food, as well as the social and the environmental conditions under which it is produced. Vegetable prices will therefore increase by enhancing their quality and safety .Transgenic crops, commonly referred to as genetically modified , crops enable breeders to bring favorable genes, often previously inaccessible, into already elite cultivars, improving their value considerably and offer unique opportunities for controlling insects and other pathogens. Many vegetable and fruit crops have been genetically modified to include resistance to insects, other pathogens , and herbicides and for improved features, such as slow ripening, higher nutritional status, seedless fruit, and increased sweetness. Recently,Dias and Ortiz  did a review  about the status of transgenic vegetables to improve their production. They analyzed the advances and potentials in transgenic research until 2010 on tomato,eggplant, potato, cucurbits, brassicas, lettuce, alliums, sweet corn, cowpea, cassava, sweet potato, and carrots.Some experimental transgenic vegetables show host plant resistance to insects, nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and viruses, extended shelf-life of the produce, herbicide tolerance, enhanced nutritional status, and seedless fruit and better flavor. Host plant resistance or product quality will increase the value of the vegetable throughout the chain, thereby benefiting farmers, traders and consumers. The most promising traits to reach vegetable and fruit growers seem to be host plant resistances to insects and other pathogens, especially for tomato, potato, eggplant,summer squash, sweet corn, papaya, plum and banana.Breeding transgenic pest resistant and herbicide tolerant vegetable cultivars can decrease management costs and release growers’ time for other economic activities, while also contributing to a less toxic production environment.Transgenic vegetables with tolerance to abiotic stresses or enhanced input efficiency could also provide various benefits to farmers and the environment, e.g. Bt cry genes could provide eggplants with host plant resistance to shoot borer while reducing today’s insecticide spraying during the crop season: 40 to 80 times in India or 50 times in the Philippines. Consumers could also benefit further from the use of more nutritioustransgenic vegetables, e.g. an increase of crop carotenoids by metabolic sink manipulation through a transgenic breeding approach appears feasible in some vegetable crops . Genetically engineering carrots containing increased calcium  levels may boost Ca uptake, thereby reducing the incidence of Ca deficiencies such as osteoporosis.Fortified transgenic lettuce with zinc will overcome its deficiency that severely impairs organ function.