Urban horticulture also includes the production of vegetables, mostly leafy vegetables, in high tech protected areas with or without daylight. Vegetable crop growing is a scientific discipline that studies biology and technology in growing vegetable crops in either the open-field and greenhouse environment. The objective is to gain high-yield agricultural crops, good quality edible parts that are safe for human consumption and a minimal environmental pollution. Vegetables are annual, biannual or perennial herbaceous plants that rarely develop a woody stem during its vegetative period, mostly in the lower section of the stem. The vegetable edible parts are rich in water and are used either fresh and raw or processed. Once picked, the edible parts may be stored for a short period of time (several weeks, up to 9 months at the most). The vegetable edible parts are: roots and tubers, stems and stalks, sprouts, bulbs, leaves (cruciferous or headed vegetables), leaf stems, immature flower heads, fruits (mature or immature), and seed (mature or immature). Vegetables could be grown in urban areas, in protected areas with or without daylight. LED lightning represent one of the most important modernizations and implementation of vegetable production in urban areas.
Part of the book: Sustainable Crop Production