"From the beginning of this book to the end, it has been Professor Hochmuth's intent to address and educate with a complete synopsis of what he calls '...the wealth of research addressing the challenges' in sustainable growth of vegetables... I believe he has succeeded." (Plant Science Bulletin - Botanical Society of America) Sustainability involves meeting current needs without compromising the ability to meet future requirements. Like other crops, vegetable cultivation faces a number of challenges in ensuring sustainable production. These challenges include the need to improve yields and quality to meet rising demand and higher consumer expectations, the need to reduce the ongoing threats from pathogens and pests. Focussing on temperate cultivation, Achieving sustainable cultivation of vegetables summarises the wealth of research addressing these challenges, from breeding improved varieties to better techniques for cultivation and crop protection. Part 1 reviews advances in physiology and breeding. Parts 2-3 summarise advances in cultivation and pest management. The final part includes case studies on the breeding and cultivation of key vegetables such as carrot, lettuce and cabbage. With its distinguished editor and range of expert authors, this will be a standard reference for horticultural scientists in universities, government and other research centres involved in supporting vegetable cultivation, as well as companies supporting the vegetable sector.

This collection features six peer-reviewed reviews on optimising rootstock health. The first chapter considers recent advances in irrigation techniques used in sustainable vegetable cultivation and reviews the performance and efficiency of these systems. The second chapter details the need to optimise precision in orchard irrigation management, focussing on matching water supply to plant demand as a means of achieving this. The third chapter assesses irrigation management systems for tomato production and how these can be optimised alongside nutrient management to ensure the production of safe and nutritious tomatoes. The fourth chapter summarises the common types of irrigation systems found in soilless culture production, as well as the emergence of new systems, including plant-based sensing and monitoring systems. The fifth chapter highlights the need for more sustainable water use in ornamental production systems and the methods which can be used to achieve this, such as reducing runoff volume. The final chapter considers recent advances in irrigation management in greenhouse cultivation, focussing on water balance, crop evapotranspiration techniques and irrigation scheduling.