Khilendra Basnyat

Generally, vegetable carries two meanings: first it can be used to describe any kind of plant life, and second, it may be the fresh edible parts of some plants. At times, it is used to describe something, which botanically speaking, is fruit, such as tomatoes and cucumber. Nowadays, in many countries it has become customary to eat a variety of vegetables for both physical and mental development. In this context, sometimes we eat the leaves and sometimes the seeds, pods, steams, roots, flowers, fruits, tubers or bulbs. Also, we eat a few fungi, such as mushroom, which are beneficial to our health.
Eating vegetables is indispensable for us because they provide protein, carbohydrate, minerals, oils and fat, all of which are needed by our bodies to some amount. In repairing and building body tissue, protein for vegetables is of great importance. A research has discovered that leaf vegetables are a good source of protein and minerals. Potatoes and edible roots contain a high percentage of carbohydrate; while oils and fat, which provide energy to every individual, are found in vegetable such as soybean, root vegetables, which are grown from seeds, contain a high percentage of vitamins, which are essential for our physical development.

Animal protein
It is essential to eat protein-rich things such as meat, egg and curd for our physical and mental development. However, they increase acidity which is neutralised through vegetable consumption. This fact has not been realised by most people yet. A proper kitchen garden produces leafy greens for domestic consumption at a low price and if their productions are adequate may bring in some money from surpluses sold in the market. Even when they have to be bought there, they are a cheap source of nutrients. Calculating the prices for the cost of either protein or vitamin A, leafy vegetables are actually the cheapest products, demanding 10 to 30 percent of the outlay for equivalent quantities of animal foodstuff. May be the quality of animal protein is somewhat better, but the difference in price is usually so high that such vegetables should be considered a cheap source.
A portion of two hundred grams of leaf vegetables may supplement in diet with 6 to 14 grams of protein. Having quite a different function in the plant, the quality of leaf protein is different, and for humans usually lowers than that of animal protein. But this can be corrected either by consuming somewhat more leaf protein or by the usual simultaneous presence of, for example, cereal protein in the food. A liberal consumption of leaf vegetables is considered to be the best insurance against detrimental effects caused by insufficient iron foliates or ascorbic acid to nursing mothers. This is why there is a growing demand of such vegetables in many countries in recent times.
Most vegetables need to be cooked before being eaten, but uncooked vegetables have a high nutritional value. As discovered by a research, much of the nutritional value of vegetables is lost when they are peeled. This can be reduced to some extent if root crops are first thoroughly washed with proper care. In the case of most vegetables, special care should be taken over the time of harvesting since their food value also decreases in this interval. In some vegetables, the carbohydrate value decreases, and vitamins are lost quickly.
It has been found from research that in green leafy vegetables most vitamins disappear within three days of harvesting. Potatoes generally lose about 35 per cent of their vitamin value within five days and peas in pods about 24 per cent. However, these loses can be reduced to some extent if the vegetables are canned soon after harvesting. Canning has little effect on the food value of the vegetables because most of the protein carbohydrate and fat is preserved. But small amounts of some vitamins may be lost during heating or if oxygen is allowed to enter the cans.
In modern times, various techniques have been developed to help promote vegetable farming. The National Vegetable Research Station in Warwickshire, for instance, has developed a technique known as fluid sowing. By this method, pre-germinated seeds are mixed with a gel, such wall paper waste, which is encased in the essential for growth. Research has also been carried out produce such vegetables, which are healthier, uniform in shape and size and resistant to pest and diseases. In addition, rapidly growing varieties have been developed and this has enabled delicate vegetables to be grown in places where growing season is short.

Management
Although vegetable farming helps increase farmers income to some extent, most Nepali farmers favoured food grain cultivation in the past. However in recent years, they have been attracted towards vegetable farming. In Nepal, agriculture provides employment to the majority of people still now. In this perspective, vegetable farming assumes special importance because it provides both employment and additional income. To promote vegetable farming in the country, it is necessary to expand research as well as training activities. Moreover, since the vegetables grown on a large-scale cannot be consumed locally, proper management should be made to provide sufficient storing and marketing facilities.

(Basnyat is a freelance writer)