Here is a list of winter vegetables grown around the world: 1. Bulb Crops 2. Cole Crops 3. Leaf Crops 4. Legume Crops 5. Salad Crops 6. Root Crops.
1. Bulb Crops:
Alliums of the family Alliaceae are one of the important groups of vegetables, distributed widely through the temperate, warm temperate and boreal zones of the Northern Hemisphere. Presently more than 10 types of Alliums are cultivated in different regions of the world; most common ones are onion and garlic.
Onion is second only to tomato in their importance as a vegetable in the tropics. The demand for onions is world-wide. Irrespective of price, the demand for onion remains almost constant in the market as it is primarily used as seasoning for a wide variety of dishes in many homes almost daily.
India is the second largest producer and third largest exporter of onion. The UAE, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Singapore are the buyers of Indian onions. Other markets are Russia and West European countries. They prefer the taste and flavour of Indian onions. The export of onion can be further boosted by developing F1 hybrids/varieties having resistance to pests and diseases, high TSS, white onions for dehydration, and yellow onion hybrids.
Garlic is the second most widely cultivated Allium after onion. It is different from cepa in that the leaf bases do not store food but mature as dry scales enclosing cloves. The cloves themselves are well developed axillary buds with outer protective sheathing scales. In other words, instead of producing a single bulbous stem or large bulb, garlic produces a compound bulb consisting of groups of white or purplish scales.
Each group is referred to as a clove, and the bulb is enclosed in a purplish membranous covering. The narrow and flat leaves reach 12 inches in height. Since garlic does not produce seed, it is propagated by dividing the bulbs into cloves and planting each clove as a “set.”
It is recognized well all over the world as a valuable spice for foods and a popular remedy for various ailments and physiological disorders. Garlic is a rich source of carbohydrates (29%), proteins (6%) and phosphorous (0.3%). It is a carminative and gastric stimulant helping in digestion and absorption of food. It also reduces cholesterol concentration in human blood.
Inhalation of garlic oil or garlic juice is useful in cases of pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatism, sterility, impotency and cough. It has insecticidal and fungicidal properties too. Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra are the major garlic growing areas.
Mostly local cloves are used on the basis of colour. The varieties are classified into white and pink coloured ones. The distinct types namely Fawari and Rojalle Gaddi with slight bigger bulbs are grown in the Bellary district of Karnataka. Besides, Madrasi, Tabiti, Creole, Eknalia, T-56-4, Jamnagar etc. are local known cloves.
There are at least two odd forms of garlic. One is elephant garlic, and the other is rocambole. Other names for rocambole are Spanish, Serpent, Bavarian, Sand leek, and Top-setting garlic. It forms little bulbils (pea size) at the top of the seed stalk. Both the bulbils and the cloves are used for planting. ‘German Red’ produces very small bulbils.
The thick leaf bases and slightly developed bulb of leeks are eaten as a cooked vegetable or raw with or without attached leaves. The green leaves may be eaten and have a pungent odor and acrid taste. They are used more for flavoring in salads and cooked dishes. A favorite dish for many gardeners is “leek soup”. Leeks are tetraploid with chromosome number 32. In Himachal Pradesh, it is sown during August-October in mid hill zone, whereas in high hills sowing is done in the month of March-April.
Great headed garlic (Allium ampeloprasm) has the appearance of a very robust garlic plant. It is a Hexaploid. Its flavour 1 similar to garlic and is often confused with garlic.
Japanese bunching onion (Allium fistulosum) is mainly grown in China, Taiwan and Japan. It is quite adaptable to wide range of climates; it can be grown in extreme cold regions of Northern China and Japan as well as in warm regions of Southern China and South East Asia.
Unlike the common onion, the plant does not form a well-developed bulb but has the hollow tube like leaves of Allium cepa. Blanching of the sheath is achieved by mounting soil around the lower leaf base to a height of 10 cm. It is generally propagated by seed but the top set cultivars that are smaller in stature are propagated by bulbs.
Shallots are similar to common onion but smaller. A single plant produces a cluster of 2 to more than 15 distinct small bulbs at the base. Shallots are very popular in Southern U. S. and in some European countries.
Chives grow wild in Eurasia and America and being very cold hardy during its winter dormancy, it grows in arctic regions at latitudes as high as 70°N. In India, it is cultivated in mountainous regions like J&K and Himachal Pradesh. Plant of chives form dense clumps of low growing, narrow, hollow leaves. An axillary bud develops and form a side shoot after every 2 or 3 leaves have formed; thereby the plant develops into a cluster of shoots.
The shoots remain attached to each other on a short rhizome, and the plants become dormant in short day lengths. The plants are propagated vegetatively or from seed, the latter being more important for commercial crop. Most seed is produced by open pollination of selected plants. The utilization of male sterility has enabled large level of F1 hybrids to be bred, which are high yielding as forced winter green-house crops, in Germany.
Chinese Chives are cultivated for its edible, garlic flavoured leaves and young inflorescences. In China, the shoots are often harvested after being blanched by excluding light. During dormancy it stores its reserves in rhizomes which are covered in brown, fibrous coating which is formed from the remains of old foliage leaf base. The leaves which arise are also grown as decorative for their attractive inflorescence.
Rakkyo is mainly grown in Japan and China to produce small edible bulbs which are mainly used in pickles in Japan. Cultivated types of Rakkyo are propagated by division of bulbs, since flowers do not set seed. Its chromosome number is 32 and the plants are thought to be autotetraploid. In Rakkyo, the leaves are slender and 30-60 cm long. The plant develops elongated bulbs, which are grey white or purple.
2. Cole Crops:
The family Brassicaceae (formerly known as Cruciferae) is comprised of nearly 300 genera including many important vegetable, field and oil crops. The word Cruciferae means cross in Latin, and was derived from the four opposed flower petals that form a square cross. The most popular and widely grown vegetables including several classes of cabbages (western, Chinese head, leafy, kales and mustards), cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprout and calabrese as well as root vegetables (radish and turnip) and stem tuber, kohl rabi come under this group.
The word “cole” seems to have come from the abbreviation of the word “caulis” meaning stem. These are a group of highly differentiated plants originated from a single wild Brassica oleracea var. sylvestris, commonly known as wild cabbage. The cole crops have spread all over the world, from the Mediterranean region, which is supposed to be the center of origin and are now among the most widely grown vegetables in the temperate zone.
After the Second World War, they have spread both to tropical and sub-tropical areas fast. The vegetables like Chinese cabbage, Chinese broccoli, kale and Asian mustard greens are widely grown in South East Asia and to lesser extent in other regions of the world. The cultural requirements for all the crops in the group are very similar and many of the same diseases and insects attack them all. Some plants in the genus Brassica contains high levels of glucosinolates which are broken down by the enzyme myrosinase to give bitter tasting and goitrogenic substances, i.e., isothiocyanates, thiocyanates, nitrites and goitrin.
Cole crops are the most popular vegetables grown during winter season in India. Among the cole crops cauliflower and cabbage are the important crops grown; cauliflower being more important. In India, nearly 10% area and 15% production of total vegetables are being contributed by cauliflower and cabbage only.
Cauliflower is grown both in hills and plains from 11° N to 35°N during July to March in northern plains and from March to November in hills in India. Most of the cauliflowers cultivated in Indian plains are marked by the name of the curd availability in the Hindi month.
These can be broadly classified into four groups viz., Kunwari (earliest maturity; September- October), Kataki (Early; October – November), Aghani (Mid-season; November – early December), Pusi (Mid late; Mid December—early January) and Maghi (Late; January – early February). Most of these varieties are highly heterozygous for maturity, plant growth and curd traits.
Stable and strong self-incompatible lines have been developed in cauliflower which can be commercially exploited in production of F1 hybrids for cultivation in September-October. The variety Pusa Early Synthetic can be sown in May-June when the maximum temperature is approximately 40°C. Pusa Deepali is another hot weather cauliflower. The development of Quisto and Nath 401 hybrids of cabbage led to grow cabbage in summer. Therefore cabbage is available almost round the year. However, extra care is needed to protect the seedlings from hot weather.
India commands the largest area and production under cauliflower in world today contributing nearly 35% (2.55 lakhs hectare and 46.91 lakh tones, respectively) of total area and production. The productivity is almost equal to the world average (18.4 tonnes) with 6th rank in the world. However, still there is ample scope to increase the productivity like Korea (50.8 t/ha), Japan (40.9 t/ha) and Poland (39.5 t/ha) by adopting the superior varieties and hybrids which grow fairly under high temperature/humidity conditions.
Brussels sprouts get their name from having been grown 400 years ago in the vicinity of Brussels, Belgium. In our country, it is grown for supply to the hotels in cosmopolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore, etc. The stem of this crop make normal longitudinal growth and in some cultivars, the growth reaches a length of over one meter. The buds in the axils of the leaves develop into miniature heads, a few centimeters in diameter and it is those buds which are of commercial importance.
In general, Brussels sprout needs more severe winter than broccoli. Harvesting should commence when the lower sprouts have reached a certain size and firmness. Grading, based on the size of the sprout is becoming more common (under 2 cm, 2-3 cm, 3-4 cm and 4 cm in diameter). Loose sprouts are sometimes marketed as “blowers”. The freezing industry requires a sprout of less than 3 cm in size. Japanese Long Island is the most widely grown cultivar.
Broccoli forms a kind of head consisting of green buds and thick fleshy flower stalks. The terminal head is rather loose, green in colour and the flower stalks are larger than cauliflower. The sprouts in the axils of leaves develop strongly, especially after the removal of the terminal head. Both terminal head and sprouts with bud clusters are consumed.
In northern India, it can be successfully grown in winter season. Its soil requirement, nursery raising technique and method of transplanting are very much similar to midseason cauliflower. It is very important that broccoli is harvested at the correct time i.e., it is picked up before the buds open and when the bud clusters are compact. The heads are cut off with about 15 cm of the stem attached. After cutting, part of the foliage is removed from the harvested shoots. Cultivation of broccoli is gaining momentum in some areas of the country due to high medicinal value.
Knol – Khol cultivation in India is not very popular except in Kashmir, West Bengal, NEH Regions and some parts of the South India.
3. Leaf Crops:
Pot herbs or greens are grown for their foliage. They are grown during cooler months since most of them can withstand freezing temperatures. The need for green food is being greatly emphasized owing to the increase in knowledge of the value of essential minerals and vitamins especially vitamin A found in green plants.
It is very easy to raise a crop of leaf vegetables and even commercial cultivation based on organic resources alone can be successfully taken up. All are seed propagated and can be directly sown in the main field. Leaves should be used immediately after they are harvested. After washing, cook them in a covered pan using only the water clinging to the leaves.
Palak has long leaves with entire margin and spinach has lobed leaf margins. Palak is monoecious whereas spinach is dioecious. Spinach may be prepared in a souffle, creamed soup, or used raw in salads. Swiss chard is a type of beet that is grown for its large leaf stalks and leaves. It produces no enlarged fleshy roots.
It is low in calories and minerals and is a good source of vitamins A and C. Chard leaves are best prepared like spinach or beet greens. A bit of garlic or nutmeg and butter enhances the flavor of chard leaves. Chard stems have a delicate flavor much like asparagus and are prepared in a similar way and are very good with salad dressing or mayonnaise.
In fenugreek (methi) two types are present. Common methi is quick growing produces upright shoots, giving 2-3 cuttings; pinkish white bigger flowers borne in axils of leaves; 6-7 cm long straight pods; leaves simple, palmate; seed and flower size bigger than that of Kasuri type. In contrast, Kasuri methi is slow growing, remaining in a rosette condition during most of its growth period, gives 5-6 cuttings; flowers bright orange yellow borne on long stalks; pods 2-3 cm, sickle shaped; leaf bilobed; seeds scented.
Chinese cabbage can be classified as heading and non-heading types. Heading types are classified as- (1) open, erect, long, slender or cylindrical (known as Michele) and (2) hearted, ovoid (known as Barrel). The cylindrical type is longer and more erect with a looser heart and grows to 38-45 cm. It tends to be darker green in colour. The typical barrel type Chinese cabbage has a compact head of light green, closely wrapped leaves of about 20-25 cm, and is either a stout or elongated barrel type.
The variety ‘China Flash, is a typical barrel-shaped one. Non-heading type of Chinese cabbage known as Pak choi or bok choy (which literally means white vegetable), is also called celery cabbage because large petioles are the primary feature of the crop. Chinese cabbage leaves have a very prominent white midrib and prominent veining on the leaves. Mild and refreshing in flavour, they are excellent in salads and stir fried.
4. Legume Crops:
Legumes are primarily herbaceous plants in temperate climates but can exist as trees and shrubs in tropical climates. The fruit of members of the Fabaceae is a flattened dehiscent pod called a legume.
Many members of the family can assimilate their own source of nitrogen as a result of a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixing Rhizobium bacteria in nodules in their roots. Members of this group include the common bean, garden (or English) pea, broad bean and lima bean.
Garden pea is the choicest vegetable grown for its shelled green seeds. It has acquired a place of prominence not only in sumptuous banquets but in diets of the ordinary and poor class people also. In India, Uttar Pradesh ranks first in area and production of peas followed by Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Pea is a very common crop during winter throughout the plains in India. It is a rich source of protein, carbohydrates, vitamin A and C, calcium and phosphorous.
On dry weight basis, garden pea (wrinkled seeded) contains 10-13% total sugar, 33% starch and 24-28% protein while field pea (smooth seeded) contains 6-7% total sugar, 46% starch and 23-25% protein. Lower protein in smooth seeded cultivars may be due to higher starch content and greater proportion of amylopectin than wrinkle seeded ones. Flavour of the seed depends upon the sugar content.
Major importers of Indian peas are USA, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Sri Lanka and Russia. Highly preferred ones are those with high sugar and low starch, dark green colour, bright green colour when blanched, uniform size, tough seed coat, firm pulp, and tender. In general, the pods should be deep green, plump, smooth and turgid, and seeds should be grass green and well rounded. Whole podded edible pea is in demand in European markets.
In French bean, the green tender pods without strings are used as vegetable. When dried seeds are used as pulse/vegetable, it is named as Rajmash. In India, it is grown in hills during summer months and in plains during winter season. It is cultivated mainly in Himachal Pradesh, North Eastern states, Bihar, UP., Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Lima bean is commonly grown for home use, for fresh markets and for canning and freezing in countries like USA, Canada and Latin America. Broad bean is the only bean, which is sown in the autumn and is grown as a winter crop. Some people are allergic to the pollen of this plant and also to the green pods. All the beans except the broad beans are warm season plants, while the pea is relatively hardy and grows best under cool conditions.
5. Salad Crops:
Salads are easy to grow in home gardens and are important sources of vitamins A and C, folic acid and minerals especially iron and calcium. Salad is also valuable for the ash constituents and for supplying bulk. To be of the highest quality, their growth must be fairly rapid and continuous. Salads are eaten without cooking.
Lettuce has been an important part of human diet since ancient times. It was customary for the Romans to precede their gargantuan banquets with refreshing lettuce salads in the belief that lettuce enhanced the appetite and relaxed the alimentary canal.
Dried lettuce juice was used to aid sleep in Elizabethan times and through World War II lactucarium, a sedative made from wild lettuce extracts, was used in hospitals. Today, lettuce is used as the main ingredient in most salads and it is joined by a variety of other salad greens. Iceberg lettuce is the most popular salad green.
Lettuce comes in many forms-iceberg or crisphead, bibb or butterhead, romaine or cos, leaf lettuce, and stem lettuce or celtuce. Outer leaves of head lettuce are more nutritious than the blanched inner leaves. There are also red lettuces in every type. Crisp head lettuce with dense, firm heads and crunchy leaves is the most important commercial type lettuce. Butter head lettuce produces a loose, soft head. The inner leaves have an oily or buttery feel.
Butter head cultivars produce high-quality lettuce that matures slightly earlier than crisphead cultivars but are less tolerant of warm weather. The cos type of lettuce produces an elongated head of stiff, upright leaves ready about 60 days from planting.
Leaf lettuce matures quickly, is easy to grow, and is a good type of lettuce for home gardens. Stem lettuce is grown for its fleshy, elongated stem. Many other greens are also good sources of vitamins and minerals. A few grow so easily that most people consider them as weeds.
A. Celery:
There are 4 known horticultural types of celery.
i. Celery:
Apium graveolens var. dulce whose stalks are consumed as salad. Only the centre parts of the plant are used and the tough, outer stalks are trimmed off.
ii. Celeriac (Root Celery):
A.g. var. rapaceum is cultivated for root tubers which are cooked and eaten. This is a cultivar of celery. The edible swollen root grows 5-10 cm across. It is not as popular as celery, but is used in stews and soups.
iii. Leaf Celery:
A.g. var. secalinum, and
iv. French Celery or Chinese Celery:
A.g. var. smallage. Both (Leaf celery and French celery) are grown for their pretty fragrant leaves and are cultivated as long season annuals.
Grouped as golden (yellow) and green.
i. Curled or fringed leaved cultivars are called Endive. Leaves are deeply cut and lacy with creamy white inner leaves.
ii. Broad leaved cultivars are called Escarole. The coarse, crumpled leaves blanch the inner leaves so they are crunchy yet tender.
The same plant is used in many different ways:
i. Commercially Chicory is grown for dried roots which after drying and roasting is substituted for or mixed with coffee.
ii. The green leafy vegetable that resembles Dandelion is called Foliage Chicory. It is having bitter flavour.
iii. Cultivars that produce a small red to green coloured head are called Radicchio. It resembles a small head of cabbage but with white leaf veins, used to add colour and flavour to salads, very intolerant to warm temperature.
iv. The cultivars that are forced to produce narrow leafy heads, called Chicon are called Witloof, Witloof Chicory, French Endive or Belgium Endive. Plants are grown outdoors, roots are dug and then “forced” to produce small upright heads called chicons in the dark. Pack the roots upright in light soil and put in a dark place at a temperature of 13-16°C. The shoots take about 4 weeks to grow. Chicons may be an additive to salads or cooked with meat or other vegetables to add a slightly bitter flavor.
The name Petroselinum is derived from the Greek word ‘petros’ which means “stone”, referring to the plants habit of growing in rocky places.
Botanically there are three cultivated varieties of Parsley namely; var. latifolium (broad leaved), var. crispum (curly leaved) both grown for their leaves and var. tuberosum grown for its root. For the variety crispum, there are no less than thirty seven variations. The most valuable are those of a compact habit with close, perfectly curled leaves.
The ham burg, or turnip-rooted Parsley is grown only for the sake of its enlarged fleshy tap root. This cultivar called the large rooted Parsley develops both a parsnip – like as well as a turnip – shaped form. Neapolitan or celery leaved Parsley is grown for the use of its leaf stalks, which are blanched and eaten like those of celery. The plain leaved Parsley is not much cultivated, the leaves being less attractive than those of the curled.
Varieties of Parsley:
i. Plain Leaved – Plain, Dark Green, Italian, Banquet, Deep Green, Forest Green.
ii. Celery Leaved -Neapolitan.
iii. Curled – Double curled, Moss curled, Evergreen, Triple Curved, Extra Triple Curled, Paramount
iv. Fern leaved
v. Turnip rooted – Hamburg
Cress comes in four types:
i. Common cress.
ii. Moss curled.
iii. Broad leaved.
iv. Golden.
6. Root Crops:
The major root vegetables grown in our country are radish, carrot, turnip and beet root. Besides these, a number of minor root crops like parsnip, horseradish, chervil, celeriac and skirret which can be grown successfully in temperate zones and during winter are also cultivated.
Almost all root crops are hardy and have similar cultural requirements though they belong to different families. Due to their short duration and high productivity, root crops can be grown well in sequential cropping, intercropping and relay cropping which enables maximum use of arable land. They produce best in a deep friable soil during cooler months.
Radish roots are effective in curing liver, gall bladder and urinary disorders. The leafy tops are very rich in Vitamin A, B, C and minerals, particularly Calcium and Iron. The pungent component of radish is 4 methyl thio – 3 butenyl iso-thiocyanate. Now it has been made possible to grow them round the year with the release of a number of varieties. The variety Pusa Chetki can be grown during summer months (April to August) and the variety Pusa Himani during winter months (December-February) successfully.
Carrot is the most common root crop grown all over the world in spring, summer and autumn in temperate countries and during winter in tropical and sub-tropical climates. It is valued as food mainly because it is a rich source of α and β carotene. Superior quality is associated with high β-carotene, high sugar levels, mild taste and orange colour. Yellow and orange coloured cultivars (temperate) are rich in provitamin A (70-80% β-carotene and 20-30% carotene).
The cortical region contains more carotene than core. In India, mostly Asiatic carrots are grown probably due to consumer’s preference for red coloured roots. It is used as salad, cooked and sweetmeats. Black carrots are used for the preparation of a soft beverage called Kanji, which is supposed to be a good appetizer. Red type is good for preparing various types of sweets in India.
Carrot increases the quantity of urine and helps in the elimination of uric acid. It is cultivated in France for its seed, which is a source of an essential oil constituting antibacterial property. The carrot seed oil is used for flavouring liquors and all kinds of food substitutes. Carrot seeds are aromatic, stimulant and carminative.
Carrot variety Pusa Meghali, a tropical type possessing all the characters of temperate type can be grown successfully during months of August- September. Moreover, it can also produce seeds under tropical conditions.
Turnip is one of the most popular root vegetables grown in Northern India. It is primarily used as vegetable and to a limited extent it forms an ingredient of salad preparations. It is very popular especially in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Western Uttar Pradesh. European types of turnip are relatively sweet and more palatable and may be eaten sometimes raw. The Asiatic turnips prepare good pickles also.
Based on the edible part beet roots are generally classified into two major groups. The beets grown mainly for their fleshy roots belong to the Crassa, or garden group and include yellow beets and the common table or red beets. Others, grown as leafy vegetables belong to the Cicla group and include leafy beets and Swiss chard. Sugar beets belong to the same species as the garden beets.
The tender leaves of the young beet plants are used as greens (pot herbs). The large sized beets are used for canning. The red colour of table beets is due to betacyanin, a nitrogen containing compound, with chemical properties similar to anthocyanins. Beets also contain a yellow pigment betaxanthin. The ratio of these two pigments varies with cultivation and changes during growth and with environmental conditions.
Parsnips are a valuable winter root vegetable, combining hardiness with a distinct flavour. Horse radish is grown in North India and hill stations of South India. Swedes are one of the hardiest of root crops, and often succeed when turnip fail.