Jose Roby

Peppercorns are one of the most used Indian spices across the globe. Peppercorns are produced from pepper plants. Scientific name of pepper is Piper nigrum and this plant belongs to the family Piperaceae. It is an evergreen, tender, perennial climbing vine that prefers partial shade for its growth. The plant reaches up to a height of 400cm and spread of 400cm upon full growth. Dried fruits of pepper plants are known as "peppercorns". There are black, white, green and red peppercorns depending on the harvesting stage and processing of the mature fruits. Most popular peppercorns are black peppercorns and white peppercorns. Black pepper contains about 3% essential oil, and white pepper contains 1.5%. In addition to these, dried green peppercorns and red peppercorns are also available in the market.

Chinese Cabbages are a group of nutrient-dense Cruciferous vegetables. Some recent scientific researches conducted at the William Paterson University, New Jersey concluded that Cruciferous vegetables and dark leafy greens are the most nutrient-dense, plant-based foods available today. Among 47 nutritious foods studied, Chinese cabbages are the second-most nutrient-rich food, only after watercress. This small book of 100 pages explains in detail growing practices, health benefits, food preparations, and nutrient information of two varieties of Chinese Cabbages, i.e. bok choy/pak choi and napa cabbages.

Feeling young and healthy is the most important preoccupation of people of all ages and types. Making conscious decisions about what to eat and how to eat has a great impact on our health and appearance. Eating a healthy, balanced diet is the only way to achieve health and youthful appearance for everyone. It is an indisputable fact that a right diet having a high nutritional value benefits you irrespective of who you are and what age you are. This eBook explains in detail various nutrients found in 150 vegetables and the health benefits of each nutrient group.

The World Wide Web has huge potential to accelerate the growth of agribusiness sector of a nation, even more so when it comes to the economic performance of agricultural marketing systems. With the advent of the e-businesses and e-commercial transactions, the number of internet users who rely on internet for their buying and selling transactions has gone up considerably paving way for technological progress in agribusiness sector around the world. This book explores various e-business models and web strategies that enable small agribusinesses make a smooth transition from their traditional business models to modern day e-agribusiness models.

With the advent of e-businesses and e-commercial transactions, the number of internet users who rely on internet for their buying and selling transactions has gone up considerably. E-Commerce is the buzz word in this modern technology-empowered era and there are numerous entrepreneurial opportunities awaiting creative entrepreneurs of all sorts in the field of e-commerce.

The book ’21 Culinary Herbs’ explains in detail growing practices and nutritional information of following 21 herbs: Spinach, Malabar Spinach or Ceylon Spinach, Mustard Spinach Tendergreen, New Zealand Spinach, Ginger, Turmeric, Rhubarb, Parsley, Peppermint, Spearmint, Japanese Mint, Bergamot Orange Mint, Horse Mint, Field Mint or Corn Mint, Apple Mint, Asparagus, Chives, Onions, Garlic, Leek, and Celery.

Scientific name of spine gourd is Momordica dioica. Spine gourd is a cucurbitaceous vegetable which is closely related to bitter gourd. However, it is not bitter in taste as bitter gourd. As in case of other cucurbitaceous vegetables (cucurbits) which mainly include melons and gourds, spine gourd is also grown as a summer vegetable in tropical and subtropical countries.Zucchini is a type of summer squash grown as a summer vegetable for its tender, edible long fruits. It is the most popular, widely grown and economically important summer squash vegetable. Scientific name of zucchini is Cucurbita pepo.Gherkins are known as ‘small cucumbers’ as it belongs to the same family as cucumber. Scientific name of gherkin is same as that of cucumber i.e. Cucumis sativus, but cultivar is different. Gherkin is a cucurbitaceous plant grown for its small, prickly, cylindrical green fruits which are with thin green rinds and white flesh. Gherkin is a tropical gourd plant and is climbing in growth habit. Small immature fruits of gherkins are used for pickling and hence it is commonly called as pickling cucumber.

Some freshly harvested leafy vegetables may be consumed as such in its raw form just after washing them. They may also be consumed after minimal processing such as chopping and adding in salads and in other raw food preparations. Such leafy vegetables which may be consumed in its uncooked state such as salads are called leafy salad vegetables. Their leaves and leaf stalks are used for consumption and therefore they are termed as leafy greens or leafy vegetables. They may be consumed as salads and therefore these vegetables are also known as salad vegetables.

Generally cultivated crops are grouped into any of the three categories based on their growing cycle. These categories are annuals, biennials and perennials. Annuals complete both their vegetative and reproductive life cycles within a season or a year. Biennials complete their vegetative growth phase during first growing season or first year and produce seeds during the second season or second year. That is, biennials complete their life cycles within two seasons or within two years. While perennials are those crops which may take one or more years to complete their vegetative phase before embarking on a continuum of reproductive cycles, yielding economically significant crop produce. That is, perennials grow for several years without compromising on their economic value. Similarly, perennial vegetables are those crops that produce edible portion that can be used as a vegetable continuously for several years.

This small book on "Bell Peppers" explains in detail ideal growing practices and nutritional information of various types of bell peppers such as green bell peppers, red bell peppers, orange bell peppers, white bell peppers, and purple bell peppers. Bell peppers are also known as sweet peppers because they are non-pungent unlike other chili peppers. In some parts of the world, bell peppers are known as capsicums and/or capsicum vegetables.

Among all the garden crops, bulbous crops play an important role in magnifying the view of the home garden as these have other good qualities besides beautifying the place where these are grown. One of the main advantages of growing bulbous crops in a home garden is that due to perennial nature, a gardener does not have to worry about next season planting. All the bulbous plants have storage parts underground the soil which can be corms, true bulbs, pseudo-bulbs, stolons, rhizomes, tubers etc. While corms are similar to bulbs with the differentiation of hardness and no stems, the bulbils or bulblets are small bulbs, a rhizome is a modified stem that extends underground horizontally and arises from lateral stem of main stem of the plant. Stolons can be produced either underground or above the ground depending plant to plant.

This is a small book, which mainly deals with SIX bulb vegetables namely onion, garlic, shallots, leek, chives, and scallions and spring onions. All bulb vegetables are known for their characteristic pungent flavor due to the presence of a group of sulfur compounds in them. Growing practices, food uses and nutritional information of these bulb vegetables are explained in detail in this book.

This small book explains in detail about various domesticated and wild species of Chile pepper plants. Though there are about 30 species of Chile pepper plants have been recognized so far, only FIVE species such as Capsicum annum, Capsicum chinense, Capsicum frutescens, Capsicum baccatum and Capsicum pubescens have been commercially exploited till date. This book gives some basic insights into various Chile pepper plants, their specific features, and their growing practices.

This booklet is intended for providing information about cilantro (coriander leaves or coriander greens); fresh stems and tender leaves of which are used as a culinary herb for garnishing and flavoring various food preparations.Cilantro is a term used for the fresh stems and tender young leaves of the coriander plant. Scientific name of Coriander is Coriandrum sativum. It is an umbelliferous annual herbaceous plant belonging to the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae). Cilantro is a plant of temperate climate; however it may be grown in tropical and subtropical climates as well. Cilantro is a short-lived herb. Coriander plants are mainly grown for coriander seeds which is an important condiment used for various food preparations. Coriander seeds are also used for preparing coriander powder which is an essential ingredient of various curry powders. Common names of coriander greens are Coriander leaves, Cilantro, Chinese parsley, Cilantrillo, Culantro, Mexican parsley, and Yuen sai.

Botanical name of curry leaf plant is Murraya koenigii. It belongs to the family Rutaceace, the citrus family. Curry leaf plant is tropical to subtropical in growth habit. It is grown as a perennial plant which when grown in an open space, grows into a small tree of up to 5 meters in height; while growing in containers and greenhouses, it grows into a small bushy shrub of up to 2.5 meters in height.

Some flowers are eaten as vegetables in many parts of the world. Most popular among them are pumpkin flowers, Sesbania flowers, calabash gourd flowers and broccoli flower clusters. Nutritional information and food significance of these 4 popular flowers are briefed in this small book for informational purposes only.