ABSTRACT
Vegetable production continues to be a significant compo-
nent of the agricultural crop sector in several areas of the
United States. In 2001, the USDA reported that 6.4 million
acres of vegetables were harvested with a farm value of
14.8 billion dollars.[1] Fresh market production exceeded 2
million acres with a value of 9 billion dollars, and vegeta-
bles for processing were grown on 1.3 million acres with a
value of 1.3 billion dollars. The importance of these com-
modities to the U.S. population has grown as per capita
consumption of fruits and vegetables increased 12% in the
1990s to 454 lbs annually.
