108-668: Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food . The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers , fruits , stems , leaves , roots , and seeds . An alternative definition of the term is applied somewhat arbitrarily, often by culinary and cultural tradition. It may exclude foods derived from some plants that are fruits, flowers , nuts , and cereal grains, but include savoury fruits such as tomatoes and courgettes , flowers such as broccoli , and seeds such as pulses . Originally, vegetables were collected from
216-565: A "plant grown for food" was not established until the 18th century. In 1767, the word was specifically used to mean a "plant cultivated for food, an edible herb or root". The year 1955 saw the first use of the shortened, slang term "veggie". As an adjective , the word vegetable is used in scientific and technical contexts with a different and much broader meaning, namely of "related to plants" in general, edible or not—as in vegetable matter , vegetable kingdom , vegetable origin , etc. The exact definition of "vegetable" may vary simply because of
324-486: A cheap version of marzipan , known as persipan . Peaches and nectarines are the same species, though they are regarded commercially as different fruits. The skin of nectarines lacks the fuzz (fruit-skin trichomes ) that peach skin has; a mutation in a single gene ( MYB25 ) is thought to be responsible for the difference between the two. In 2018, China produced 62% of the world total of peaches and nectarines. Spain , Italy , Turkey and Greece , all situated in
432-460: A cross between a peach and a nectarine, but as they are the same species cannot be a true cross (hybrid); they are marketed in Australia and New Zealand. The fruit is intermediate in appearance, though, between a peach and a nectarine, large and brightly colored like a red peach. The flesh of the fruit is usually yellow, but white varieties also exist. The Koanga Institute lists varieties that ripen in
540-615: A crossbreed between peaches and plums , or a "peach with a plum skin", nectarines belong to the same species as peaches. Several genetic studies have concluded nectarines are produced due to a recessive allele , whereas a fuzzy peach skin is dominant . Nectarines have arisen many times from peach trees, often as bud sports . As with peaches, nectarines can be white or yellow, and clingstone or freestone. On average, nectarines are slightly smaller and sweeter than peaches, but with much overlap. The lack of skin fuzz can make nectarine skins appear more reddish than those of peaches, contributing to
648-492: A day often being recommended. The word vegetable was first recorded in English in the early 15th century. It comes from Old French , and was originally applied to all plants; the word is still used in this sense in biological contexts. It derives from Medieval Latin vegetabilis "growing, flourishing" (i.e. of a plant), a semantic change from a Late Latin meaning "to be enlivening, quickening". The meaning of "vegetable" as
756-400: A precise botanical meaning, being a part that developed from the ovary of a flowering plant . This is considerably different from the word's culinary meaning. While peaches , plums , and oranges are "fruit" in both senses, many items commonly called "vegetables", such as eggplants , bell peppers , and tomatoes , are botanically fruits. The question of whether the tomato is a fruit or
864-545: A protective response. The first such plant receptors were identified in rice and in Arabidopsis thaliana . Plants have some of the largest genomes of all organisms. The largest plant genome (in terms of gene number) is that of wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), predicted to encode ≈94,000 genes and thus almost 5 times as many as the human genome . The first plant genome sequenced was that of Arabidopsis thaliana which encodes about 25,500 genes. In terms of sheer DNA sequence,
972-420: A range of physical and biotic stresses which cause DNA damage , but they can tolerate and repair much of this damage. Plants reproduce to generate offspring, whether sexually , involving gametes , or asexually , involving ordinary growth. Many plants use both mechanisms. When reproducing sexually, plants have complex lifecycles involving alternation of generations . One generation, the sporophyte , which
1080-403: A regular and reliable supply of water, with higher amounts just before harvest. Peaches need nitrogen -rich fertilizers more than other fruit trees. Without regular fertilizer supply, peach tree leaves start turning yellow or exhibit stunted growth. Blood meal , bone meal , and calcium ammonium nitrate are suitable fertilizers. The flowers on a peach tree are typically thinned out because if
1188-554: A short period, whereas a temperature of −18 °C (0 °F) is required for longer-term storage. The enzyme action will merely be inhibited, and blanching of suitably sized prepared vegetables before freezing mitigates this and prevents off-flavors developing. Not all micro-organisms will be killed at these temperatures and after thawing the vegetables should be used promptly because otherwise, any microbes present may proliferate. Traditionally, sun drying has been used for some products such as tomatoes, mushrooms, and beans, spreading
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#17328592690961296-413: A suitable rootstock . Common rootstocks are 'Lovell Peach', 'Nemaguard Peach', Prunus besseyi , and 'Citation'. The rootstock provides hardiness and budding is done to improve predictability of the fruit quality. Peach trees need full sun, and a layout that allows good natural air flow to assist the thermal environment for the tree. Peaches are planted in early winter. During the growth season, they need
1404-485: A thick porridge was made of emmer wheat or beans, accompanied by green vegetables but little meat, and fish was not esteemed. The Romans grew broad beans, peas, onions and turnips and ate the leaves of beets rather than their roots. Vegetables play an important role in human nutrition. Most are low in fat and calories but are bulky and filling. They supply dietary fiber and are important sources of essential vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. Particularly important are
1512-403: A tropical jungle clearing is thought to be the first example of agriculture; useful plant species were identified and encouraged to grow while undesirable species were removed. Plant breeding through the selection of strains with desirable traits such as large fruit and vigorous growth soon followed. While the first evidence for the domestication of grasses such as wheat and barley has been found in
1620-700: A vegetable found its way into the United States Supreme Court in 1893. The court ruled unanimously in Nix v. Hedden that a tomato is correctly identified as, and thus taxed as, a vegetable, for the purposes of the Tariff of 1883 on imported produce. The court did acknowledge, however, that, botanically speaking, a tomato is a fruit. Before the advent of agriculture , humans were hunter-gatherers . They foraged for edible fruit, nuts, stems, leaves, corms , and tubers and hunted animals for food. Forest gardening in
1728-458: A vegetable is harvested, it is cut off from its source of water and nourishment. It continues to transpire and loses moisture as it does so, a process most noticeable in the wilting of green leafy crops. Harvesting root vegetables when they are fully mature improves their storage life, but alternatively, these root crops can be left in the ground and harvested over an extended period. The harvesting process should seek to minimise damage and bruising to
1836-404: Is diploid (with 2 sets of chromosomes ), gives rise to the next generation, the gametophyte , which is haploid (with one set of chromosomes). Some plants also reproduce asexually via spores . In some non-flowering plants such as mosses, the sexual gametophyte forms most of the visible plant. In seed plants (gymnosperms and flowering plants), the sporophyte forms most of the visible plant, and
1944-500: Is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China . It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties), nectarines . The specific name persica refers to its widespread cultivation in Persia (modern-day Iran), from where it was transplanted to Europe and in
2052-547: Is a similar process. Structures such as runners enable plants to grow to cover an area, forming a clone . Many plants grow food storage structures such as tubers or bulbs which may each develop into a new plant. Some non-flowering plants, such as many liverworts, mosses and some clubmosses, along with a few flowering plants, grow small clumps of cells called gemmae which can detach and grow. Plants use pattern-recognition receptors to recognize pathogens such as bacteria that cause plant diseases. This recognition triggers
2160-469: Is another method of preserving vegetables for later use. Sauerkraut is made from chopped cabbage and relies on lactic acid bacteria which produce compounds that are inhibitory to the growth of other micro-organisms. In 2010, China was the largest vegetable producing nation, with over half the world's production. India, the United States, Turkey, Iran, and Egypt were the next largest producers. China had
2268-551: Is built over these gardens and peach orchards. In April 2010, an international consortium, the International Peach Genome Initiative , which includes researchers from the United States, Italy, Chile, Spain, and France, announced they had sequenced the peach tree genome (doubled haploid Lovell). Recently, it published the peach genome sequence and related analyses. The sequence is composed of 227 million nucleotides arranged in eight pseudomolecules representing
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#17328592690962376-470: Is determined based upon the standard portion sizes typically consumed, as well as general nutritional content. Potatoes are not included in the count as they are mainly providers of starch. For most vegetables and vegetable juices, one serving is half of a cup and can be eaten raw or cooked. For leafy greens, such as lettuce and spinach , a single serving is typically a full cup. A variety of products should be chosen as no single fruit or vegetable provides all
2484-473: Is distinct from that of caterpillars later in the year, as earwigs characteristically remove semicircles of petal and leaf tissue from the tips, rather than internally. Greasebands applied just before blossom are effective. The larvae of such moth species as the peachtree borer ( Synanthedon exitiosa ), the yellow peach moth ( Conogethes punctiferalis ), the well-marked cutworm ( Abagrotis orbis ), Lyonetia prunifoliella , Phyllonorycter hostis ,
2592-496: Is known as botany , a branch of biology . All living things were traditionally placed into one of two groups, plants and animals . This classification dates from Aristotle (384–322 BC), who distinguished different levels of beings in his biology , based on whether living things had a "sensitive soul" or like plants only a "vegetative soul". Theophrastus , Aristotle's student, continued his work in plant taxonomy and classification. Much later, Linnaeus (1707–1778) created
2700-424: Is not a fruit or seed, but including mature fruits that are eaten as part of a main meal". Falling outside these definitions are edible fungi (such as edible mushrooms ) and edible seaweed which, although not parts of plants , are often treated as vegetables. In the latter-mentioned definition of "vegetable", which is used in everyday language, the words "fruit" and "vegetable" are mutually exclusive. "Fruit" has
2808-452: Is red-brown, oval shaped, around 1.3–2 cm long, and surrounded by a wood-like husk. Peaches, along with cherries, plums, and apricots, are stone fruits ( drupes ). The various heirloom varieties including the 'Indian Peach', or 'Indian Blood Peach', which ripens in the latter part of the summer, and can have color ranging from red and white, to purple. Cultivated peaches are divided into clingstones and freestones , depending on whether
2916-610: Is required to mature the crop, with mean temperatures of the hottest month between 20 and 30 °C (68 and 86 °F). Typical peach cultivars begin bearing fruit in their third year. Their lifespan in the U.S. varies by region; the University of California at Davis gives a lifespan of about 15 years while the University of Maine gives a lifespan of 7 years there. Hundreds of peach and nectarine cultivars are known. These are classified into two categories—freestones and clingstones. Freestones are those whose flesh separates readily from
3024-522: Is supposed to have taken place in China about 4,000–5,000 years ago, the second is related to the western germplasm and is due to the early dissemination of the peach in Europe from China and the more recent breeding activities in the United States and Europe. These bottlenecks highlighted the substantial reduction of genetic diversity associated with domestication and breeding activities. Peaches were introduced into
3132-732: Is the largest producer of vegetables, and global trade in agricultural products allows consumers to purchase vegetables grown in faraway countries. The scale of production varies from subsistence farmers supplying the needs of their family for food, to agribusinesses with vast acreages of single-product crops. Depending on the type of vegetable concerned, harvesting the crop is followed by grading, storing, processing, and marketing. Vegetables can be eaten either raw or cooked and play an important role in human nutrition, being mostly low in fat and carbohydrates, but high in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber . Many nutritionists encourage people to consume plenty of fruit and vegetables, five or more portions
3240-607: The Antarctic flora , consisting of algae, mosses, liverworts, lichens, and just two flowering plants, have adapted to the prevailing conditions on that southern continent. Plants are often the dominant physical and structural component of the habitats where they occur. Many of the Earth's biomes are named for the type of vegetation because plants are the dominant organisms in those biomes, such as grassland , savanna , and tropical rainforest . Peach The peach ( Prunus persica )
3348-679: The Cretaceous so rapid that Darwin called it an " abominable mystery ". Conifers diversified from the Late Triassic onwards, and became a dominant part of floras in the Jurassic . In 2019, a phylogeny based on genomes and transcriptomes from 1,153 plant species was proposed. The placing of algal groups is supported by phylogenies based on genomes from the Mesostigmatophyceae and Chlorokybophyceae that have since been sequenced. Both
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3456-596: The Fertile Crescent in the Middle East, it is likely that various peoples around the world started growing crops in the period 10,000 BC to 7,000 BC. Subsistence agriculture continues to this day, with many rural farmers in Africa, Asia, South America, and elsewhere using their plots of land to produce enough food for their families, while any surplus produce is used for exchange for other goods. Throughout recorded history,
3564-504: The Incas subsisted on maize in the lowlands and potatoes at higher altitudes. They also used seeds from quinoa , supplementing their diet with peppers, tomatoes, and avocados. In Ancient China , rice was the staple crop in the south and wheat in the north, the latter made into dumplings , noodles , and pancakes . Vegetables used to accompany these included yams , soybeans , broad beans , turnips , spring onions , and garlic . The diet of
3672-696: The Kuahuqiao site near Hangzhou . Archaeologists point to the Yangtze River Valley as the place where the early selection for favorable peach varieties probably took place. Peaches were mentioned in Chinese writings and literature beginning from the early first millennium BC. A domesticated peach appeared very early in Japan, in 4700–4400 BC, during the Jōmon period . It was already similar to modern cultivated forms, where
3780-502: The Mediterranean region , are prominent producers of peaches. Prunus persica trees grow up to 7 m (23 ft) tall and wide, but when pruned properly, they are usually 3–4 m (10–13 ft) tall and wide. The leaves are lanceolate , 7–16 cm (3– 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) long, 2–3 cm ( 3 ⁄ 4 – 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 in) broad, and pinnately veined. The flowers are produced in early spring before
3888-577: The Royal Horticultural Society 's Award of Garden Merit : For China specifically see Peach production in China § Cultivars . The variety P. persica var. nucipersica (or var. nectarina ) – these are commonly called nectarines – has a smooth skin. It is on occasion referred to as a "shaved peach" or "fuzzless peach", due to its lack of fuzz or short hairs. Though fuzzy peaches and nectarines are regarded commercially as different fruits, with nectarines often erroneously believed to be
3996-514: The Southern Hemisphere in February and March. In 1909, Pacific Monthly mentioned peacherines in a news bulletin for California. Louise Pound, in 1920, claimed the term peacherine is an example of language stunt. Flat peaches, or pan-tao , have a flattened shape, in contrast to ordinary near-spherical peaches. Most peach trees sold by nurseries are cultivars budded or grafted onto
4104-457: The carpels or ovaries , which develop into fruits that contain seeds . Fruits may be dispersed whole, or they may split open and the seeds dispersed individually. Plants reproduce asexually by growing any of a wide variety of structures capable of growing into new plants. At the simplest, plants such as mosses or liverworts may be broken into pieces, each of which may regrow into whole plants. The propagation of flowering plants by cuttings
4212-751: The glaucophytes , in the clade Archaeplastida . There are about 380,000 known species of plants, of which the majority, some 260,000, produce seeds . They range in size from single cells to the tallest trees . Green plants provide a substantial proportion of the world's molecular oxygen; the sugars they create supply the energy for most of Earth's ecosystems and other organisms , including animals, either eat plants directly or rely on organisms which do so. Grain , fruit , and vegetables are basic human foods and have been domesticated for millennia. People use plants for many purposes , such as building materials , ornaments, writing materials , and, in great variety, for medicines . The scientific study of plants
4320-401: The vitamin C in them degrades rapidly. A few products such as potatoes and onions have better keeping qualities and can be sold when higher prices may be available, and by extending the marketing season, a greater total volume of crop can be sold. If refrigerated storage is not available, the priority for most crops is to store high-quality produce, to maintain a high humidity level, and to keep
4428-1003: The "chlorophyte algae" and the "streptophyte algae" are treated as paraphyletic (vertical bars beside phylogenetic tree diagram) in this analysis, as the land plants arose from within those groups. The classification of Bryophyta is supported both by Puttick et al. 2018, and by phylogenies involving the hornwort genomes that have also since been sequenced. Rhodophyta [REDACTED] Glaucophyta [REDACTED] Chlorophyta [REDACTED] Prasinococcales Mesostigmatophyceae Chlorokybophyceae Spirotaenia [REDACTED] Klebsormidiales [REDACTED] Chara [REDACTED] Coleochaetales [REDACTED] Hornworts [REDACTED] Liverworts [REDACTED] Mosses [REDACTED] Lycophytes [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Gymnosperms [REDACTED] Angiosperms [REDACTED] Plant cells have distinctive features that other eukaryotic cells (such as those of animals) lack. These include
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4536-517: The 16th century to the Americas. It belongs to the genus Prunus , which includes the cherry , apricot , almond , and plum , and which is part of the rose family . The peach is classified with the almond in the subgenus Amygdalus , distinguished from the other subgenera by the corrugated seed shell ( endocarp ). Due to their close relatedness, the kernel of a peach stone tastes remarkably similar to almond, and peach stones are often used to make
4644-557: The 19th century in Maryland, Delaware, Georgia, South Carolina, and finally Virginia. The Shanghai honey nectar peach was a key component of both the food culture and agrarian economy the area where the modern megacity of Shanghai stands. Peaches were the cornerstone of early Shanghai's garden culture. As modernization and westernization swept through the city the Shanghai honey nectar peach nearly disappeared completely. Much of modern Shanghai
4752-769: The Americas in the 16th century by the Spanish . By 1580, peaches were being grown in Latin America and were cultivated by the remnants of the Inca Empire in Argentina. In the United States the peach was soon adopted as a crop by American Indians . The peach also became naturalized and abundant as a wild species in the eastern U.S.. Peaches were being grown in Virginia as early as 1629. Peaches grown by Indians in Virginia were said to have been "of greater variety and finer sorts" than those of
4860-609: The English colonists. Also in 1629, peaches were listed as a crop in New Mexico . William Penn noted the existence of wild peaches in Pennsylvania in 1683. In fact, peaches may have already spread to the American Southeast by the early to mid 16th century, actively cultivated by Indigenous communities before permanent Spanish settlement of the region. Peach plantations became an objective of American military campaigns against
4968-633: The Great is sometimes said to have introduced them into Greece after conquering Persia, but no historical evidence for this claim has been found. Peaches were, however, well known to the Romans in the first century AD; the oldest known artistic representations of the fruit are in two fragments of wall paintings, dated to the first century AD, in Herculaneum , preserved due to the Vesuvius eruption of 79 AD, and now held in
5076-635: The Indians. In 1779, the Sullivan Expedition destroyed the livelihood of many of the Iroquois people of New York . Among the crops destroyed were plantations of peach trees. In 1864, Kit Carson led a successful U.S. army expedition to Canyon de Chelly , Arizona to destroy the livelihood of the Navajo . Carson destroyed thousands of peach trees. A soldier said they were the "best peach trees I have ever seen in
5184-774: The National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Archaeological finds show that peaches were cultivated widely in Roman northwestern Continental Europe, but production collapsed around the sixth century; some revival of production followed with the Carolingian Renaissance of the ninth century. An article on peach tree cultivation in Spain is brought down in Ibn al-'Awwam 's 12th-century agricultural work, Book on Agriculture . The peach
5292-630: The United States by David Fairchild of the Department of Agriculture in 1906, a number of colonial-era newspaper articles make reference to nectarines being grown in the United States prior to the Revolutionary War. The 28 March 1768 edition of the New York Gazette (p. 3), for example, mentions a farm in Jamaica, Long Island, New York, where nectarines were grown. Peacherines are claimed to be
5400-471: The United States. These foods are commonly eaten raw and may become contaminated during their preparation by an infected food handler. Hygiene is important when handling foods to be eaten raw, and such products need to be properly cleaned, handled, and stored to limit contamination. The USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming five to nine servings of fruit and vegetables daily. The total amount consumed will vary according to age and gender, and
5508-684: The absence of evidence that the plants were in other ways identical to the modern peach, the name Prunus kunmingensis has been assigned to these fossils. Although its botanical name Prunus persica refers to Persia, genetic studies suggest peaches originated in China, where they have been cultivated since the Neolithic period . Until recently, cultivation was believed to have started around 2000 BC. More recent evidence indicates that domestication occurred as early as 6000 BC in Zhejiang Province of China. The oldest archaeological peach stones are from
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#17328592690965616-573: The acidic, yellow-fleshed cultivars . Peach trees are relatively short-lived as compared with some other fruit trees. In some regions orchards are replanted after 8 to 10 years, while in others trees may produce satisfactorily for 20 to 25 years or more, depending upon their resistance to diseases, pests, and winter damage. The scientific name persica , along with the word "peach" itself – and its cognates in many European languages – derives from an early European belief that peaches were native to Persia (modern-day Iran). The Ancient Romans referred to
5724-425: The actions of naturally-occurring enzymes and the spoilage caused by micro-organisms . Canning and freezing are the most commonly used techniques, and vegetables preserved by these methods are generally similar in nutritional value to comparable fresh products with regards to carotenoids , vitamin E , minerals . and dietary fiber . Canning is a process during which the enzymes in vegetables are deactivated and
5832-801: The amount of cytoplasm stays the same. Most plants are multicellular . Plant cells differentiate into multiple cell types, forming tissues such as the vascular tissue with specialized xylem and phloem of leaf veins and stems , and organs with different physiological functions such as roots to absorb water and minerals, stems for support and to transport water and synthesized molecules, leaves for photosynthesis, and flowers for reproduction. Plants photosynthesize , manufacturing food molecules ( sugars ) using energy obtained from light . Plant cells contain chlorophylls inside their chloroplasts, which are green pigments that are used to capture light energy. The end-to-end chemical equation for photosynthesis is: This causes plants to release oxygen into
5940-575: The ancient Egyptians was based on bread , often contaminated with sand which wore away their teeth. Meat was a luxury but fish was more plentiful. These were accompanied by a range of vegetables including marrows, broad beans, lentils, onions, leeks, garlic, radishes, and lettuces. The mainstay of the Ancient Greek diet was bread, and this was accompanied by goat's cheese, olives, figs, fish, and occasionally meat. The vegetables grown included onions, garlic, cabbages, melons, and lentils. In Ancient Rome ,
6048-855: The antioxidant vitamins A , C , and E . When vegetables are included in the diet, there is found to be a reduction in the incidence of cancer, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic ailments. Research has shown that, compared with individuals who eat less than three servings of fruits and vegetables each day, those that eat more than five servings have an approximately twenty percent lower risk of developing coronary heart disease or stroke. The nutritional content of vegetables varies considerably; some contain useful amounts of protein though generally they contain little fat , and varying proportions of vitamins such as vitamin A , vitamin K , and vitamin B 6 ; provitamins ; dietary minerals ; and carbohydrates . The consumption of crunchy and hard to chew foods, such as raw vegetables, during youth, while
6156-431: The atmosphere. Green plants provide a substantial proportion of the world's molecular oxygen, alongside the contributions from photosynthetic algae and cyanobacteria. Plants that have secondarily adopted a parasitic lifestyle may lose the genes involved in photosynthesis and the production of chlorophyll. Growth is determined by the interaction of a plant's genome with its physical and biotic environment. Factors of
6264-461: The basis of the modern system of scientific classification , but retained the animal and plant kingdoms , naming the plant kingdom the Vegetabilia. When the name Plantae or plant is applied to a specific group of organisms or taxa , it usually refers to one of four concepts. From least to most inclusive, these four groupings are: There are about 382,000 accepted species of plants, of which
6372-590: The blossom is damaged or killed if temperatures drop below about −4 °C (25 °F). If the flowers are not fully open, though, they can tolerate a few degrees colder. Climates with significant winter rainfall at temperatures below 16 °C (61 °F) are also unsuitable for peach cultivation, as the rain promotes peach leaf curl , which is the most serious fungal disease for peaches. In practice, fungicides are extensively used for peach cultivation in such climates, with more than 1% of European peaches exceeding legal pesticide limits in 2013. Finally, summer heat
6480-638: The bones are still growing, is needed for the human's, and other animals', jaws' proper development, and without their consumption, the jaws do not grow to their full size, thus not leaving enough room for the teeth to grow in correctly, causing crooked and impacted teeth. However, vegetables often also contain toxins and antinutrients which interfere with the absorption of nutrients. These include α-solanine , α-chaconine , enzyme inhibitors (of cholinesterase , protease , amylase , etc.), cyanide and cyanide precursors , oxalic acid , tannins and others. These toxins are natural defenses, used to ward off
6588-562: The botanical names of sixty-one species of plants used as vegetables along with the common names of the vegetables in English, French, and Russian. ISO 67.080.20 covers the storage and transport of vegetables and their derived products. Plant See text Plants are the eukaryotes that form the kingdom Plantae ; they are predominantly photosynthetic . This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight , using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria to produce sugars from carbon dioxide and water, using
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#17328592690966696-411: The chilling period, key chemical reactions occur, but the plant appears dormant. Once the chilling period is fulfilled, the plant enters a second type of dormancy, the quiescence period. During quiescence, buds break and grow when sufficient warm weather favorable to growth is accumulated. The trees themselves can usually tolerate temperatures to around −26 to −30 °C (−15 to −22 °F), although
6804-446: The country, every one of them bearing fruit.” Peaches grow in a fairly limited range in dry, continental or temperate climates, since the trees have a chilling requirement that tropical or subtropical areas generally do not satisfy except at high altitudes (for example in certain areas of Ecuador , Colombia , Ethiopia , India, and Nepal ). Most cultivars require 500 hours of chilling around 0 to 10 °C (32 to 50 °F). During
6912-673: The crop yield by partially defoliating the tree. Several fungicides can be used to combat the disease, including Bordeaux mixture and other copper-based products (the University of California considers these organic treatments), ziram , chlorothalonil , and dodine . The fruit is susceptible to brown rot or a dark reddish spot. Peaches and nectarines are best stored at temperatures of 0 °C (32 °F) and in high humidity. They are highly perishable, so are typically consumed or canned within two weeks of harvest. Peaches are climacteric fruits and continue to ripen after being picked from
7020-526: The crop. Onions and garlic can be dried for a few days in the field and root crops such as potatoes benefit from a short maturation period in warm, moist surroundings, during which time wounds heal and the skin thickens up and hardens. Before marketing or storage, grading needs to be done to remove damaged goods and select produce according to its quality, size, ripeness, and color. All vegetables benefit from proper post harvest care. A large proportion of vegetables and perishable foods are lost after harvest during
7128-483: The development of forests in swampy environments dominated by clubmosses and horsetails, including some as large as trees, and the appearance of early gymnosperms , the first seed plants . The Permo-Triassic extinction event radically changed the structures of communities. This may have set the scene for the evolution of flowering plants in the Triassic (~ 200 million years ago ), with an adaptive radiation in
7236-417: The eight peach chromosomes (2n = 16). In addition, 27,852 protein-coding genes and 28,689 protein-coding transcripts were predicted. Particular emphasis in this study is reserved for the analysis of the genetic diversity in peach germplasm and how it was shaped by human activities such as domestication and breeding. Major historical bottlenecks were found, one related to the putative original domestication that
7344-493: The flesh sticks to the stone or not; both can have either white or yellow flesh. Peaches with white flesh typically are very sweet with little acidity , while yellow-fleshed peaches typically have an acidic tang coupled with sweetness, though this also varies greatly. Both colors often have some red on their skins. Low-acid, white-fleshed peaches are the most popular kinds in China, Japan, and neighbouring Asian countries, while Europeans and North Americans have historically favoured
7452-522: The following season's flower buds are usually killed at these temperatures, preventing a crop that summer. Flower bud death begins to occur between −15 and −25 °C (5 and −13 °F), depending on the cultivar and on the timing of the cold, with the buds becoming less cold tolerant in late winter. Another climate constraint is spring frost. The trees flower fairly early (in March in Western Europe), and
7560-486: The fruit surface. These characteristics ease shipping and supermarket sales by improving eye appeal. This selection process has not necessarily led to increased flavor, though. Peaches have a short shelf life, so commercial growers typically plant a mix of different cultivars to have fruit to ship all season long. Different countries have different cultivars. In the United Kingdom, for example, these cultivars have gained
7668-433: The fruit tree borer ( Maroga melanostigma ), Parornix anguliferella , Parornix finitimella , Caloptilia zachrysa , Phyllonorycter crataegella , Trifurcula sinica , Suzuki's promolactis moth ( Promalactis suzukiella ), the white-spotted tussock moth ( Orgyia thyellina ), the apple leafroller ( Archips termias ), the catapult moth ( Serrodes partita ), the wood groundling ( Parachronistis albiceps ) or
7776-401: The fruit's plum-like appearance. The lack of down on nectarines' skin also means their skin is more easily bruised than peaches. The history of the nectarine is unclear; the first recorded mention in English is from 1616, but they had probably been grown much earlier within the native range of the peach in central and eastern Asia. Although one source states that nectarines were introduced into
7884-560: The full number of peaches mature on a branch, they are undersized and lack flavor. Fruits are thinned midway in the season by commercial growers. Fresh peaches are easily bruised, so do not store well. They are most flavorful when they ripen on the tree and are eaten the day of harvest. The peach tree can be grown in an espalier shape. The Baldassari palmette is a design created around 1950 used primarily for training peaches. In walled gardens constructed from stone or brick, which absorb and retain solar heat and then slowly release it, raising
7992-471: The fungi and some of the algae. By the definition used in this article, plants form the clade Viridiplantae (green plants), which consists of the green algae and the embryophytes or land plants ( hornworts , liverworts , mosses , lycophytes , ferns , conifers and other gymnosperms , and flowering plants ). A definition based on genomes includes the Viridiplantae, along with the red algae and
8100-409: The gametophyte is very small. Flowering plants reproduce sexually using flowers, which contain male and female parts: these may be within the same ( hermaphrodite ) flower, on different flowers on the same plant , or on different plants . The stamens create pollen , which produces male gametes that enter the ovule to fertilize the egg cell of the female gametophyte. Fertilization takes place within
8208-575: The great majority, some 283,000, produce seeds . The table below shows some species count estimates of different green plant (Viridiplantae) divisions . About 85–90% of all plants are flowering plants. Several projects are currently attempting to collect records on all plant species in online databases, e.g. the World Flora Online . Plants range in scale from single-celled organisms such as desmids (from 10 micrometres (μm) across) and picozoa (less than 3 μm across), to
8316-510: The green pigment chlorophyll . Exceptions are parasitic plants that have lost the genes for chlorophyll and photosynthesis, and obtain their energy from other plants or fungi. Most plants are multicellular , except for some green algae. Historically, as in Aristotle's biology , the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals , and included algae and fungi . Definitions have narrowed since then; current definitions exclude
8424-451: The highest area of land devoted to vegetable production, while the highest average yields were obtained in Spain and the Republic of Korea. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) sets international standards to ensure that products and services are safe, reliable, and of good quality. There are a number of ISO standards regarding fruits and vegetables. ISO 1991-1:1982 lists
8532-431: The human diet from time immemorial . Some are staple foods but most are accessory foodstuffs, adding variety to meals with their unique flavors and at the same time, adding nutrients necessary for health. Some vegetables are perennials but most are annuals and biennials , usually harvested within a year of sowing or planting. Whatever system is used for growing crops, cultivation follows a similar pattern; preparation of
8640-441: The insects, predators and fungi that might attack the plant. Some beans contain phytohaemagglutinin , and cassava roots contain cyanogenic glycoside as do bamboo shoots . These toxins can be deactivated by adequate cooking. Green potatoes contain glycoalkaloids and should be avoided. Fruit and vegetables, particularly leafy vegetables, have been implicated in nearly half the gastrointestinal infections caused by norovirus in
8748-517: The land 1,200 million years ago , but it was not until the Ordovician , around 450 million years ago , that the first land plants appeared, with a level of organisation like that of bryophytes. However, fossils of organisms with a flattened thallus in Precambrian rocks suggest that multicellular freshwater eukaryotes existed over 1000 mya. Primitive land plants began to diversify in
8856-412: The large water-filled central vacuole , chloroplasts , and the strong flexible cell wall , which is outside the cell membrane . Chloroplasts are derived from what was once a symbiosis of a non-photosynthetic cell and photosynthetic cyanobacteria . The cell wall, made mostly of cellulose , allows plant cells to swell up with water without bursting. The vacuole allows the cell to change in size while
8964-507: The largest trees ( megaflora ) such as the conifer Sequoia sempervirens (up to 120 metres (380 ft) tall) and the angiosperm Eucalyptus regnans (up to 100 m (325 ft) tall). The naming of plants is governed by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants and the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants . The ancestors of land plants evolved in water. An algal scum formed on
9072-656: The late Silurian , around 420 million years ago . Bryophytes, club mosses, and ferns then appear in the fossil record. Early plant anatomy is preserved in cellular detail in an early Devonian fossil assemblage from the Rhynie chert . These early plants were preserved by being petrified in chert formed in silica-rich volcanic hot springs. By the end of the Devonian, most of the basic features of plants today were present, including roots, leaves and secondary wood in trees such as Archaeopteris . The Carboniferous period saw
9180-400: The leaves; they are solitary or paired, 2.5–3 cm diameter, pink, with five petals. The fruit has yellow or whitish flesh, a delicate aroma, and a skin that is either velvety (peaches) or smooth (nectarines) in different cultivars . The flesh is very delicate and easily bruised in some cultivars, but is fairly firm in some commercial varieties, especially when green. The single, large seed
9288-421: The many parts of a plant consumed as food worldwide—roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits , and seeds. The broadest definition is the word's use adjectivally to mean "matter of plant origin". More specifically, a vegetable may be defined as "any plant, part of which is used for food", a secondary meaning then being "the edible part of such a plant". A more precise definition is "any plant part consumed for food that
9396-505: The micro-organisms present killed by heat. The sealed can excludes air from the foodstuff to prevent subsequent deterioration. The lowest necessary heat and the minimum processing time are used in order to prevent the mechanical breakdown of the product and to preserve the flavor as far as is possible. The can is then able to be stored at ambient temperatures for a long period. Freezing vegetables and maintaining their temperature at below −10 °C (14 °F) will prevent their spoilage for
9504-475: The nutrients needed for health. International dietary guidelines are similar to the ones established by the USDA. Japan , for example, recommends the consumption of five to six servings of vegetables daily. French recommendations provide similar guidelines and set the daily goal at five servings. In India, the daily recommendation for adults is 275 grams (9.7 oz) of vegetables per day. Vegetables have been part of
9612-476: The omnivorous leafroller ( Platynota stultana ) are reported to feed on P. persica . The flatid planthopper ( Metcalfa pruinosa ) causes damage to fruit trees. The tree is also a host plant for such species as the Japanese beetle ( Popillia japonica ), the unmonsuzume ( Callambulyx tatarinovii ), the promethea silkmoth ( Callosamia promethea ), the orange oakleaf ( Kallima inachus ), Langia zenzeroides ,
9720-463: The peach as malum persicum ("Persian apple"), later becoming French pêche , whence the English "peach". The scientific name, Prunus persica , literally means "Persian plum", as it is closely related to the plum . Fossil endocarps with characteristics indistinguishable from those of modern peaches have been recovered from late Pliocene deposits in Kunming , dating to 2.6 million years ago. In
9828-566: The peach stones are significantly larger and more compressed than earlier stones. This domesticated type of peach was brought into Japan from China. Nevertheless, in China itself, this variety is currently attested only at a later date around 3300 to 2300 BC. In India, the peach first appeared by about 1700 BC, during the Harappan period . It is also found elsewhere in West Asia in ancient times. Peach cultivation reached Greece by 300 BC. Alexander
9936-501: The physical or abiotic environment include temperature , water , light, carbon dioxide , and nutrients in the soil. Biotic factors that affect plant growth include crowding, grazing, beneficial symbiotic bacteria and fungi, and attacks by insects or plant diseases . Frost and dehydration can damage or kill plants. Some plants have antifreeze proteins , heat-shock proteins and sugars in their cytoplasm that enable them to tolerate these stresses . Plants are continuously exposed to
10044-454: The pit. Clingstones are those whose flesh clings tightly to the pit. Some cultivars are partially freestone and clingstone, so are called semifree. Freestone types are preferred for eating fresh, while clingstone types are for canning . The fruit flesh may be creamy white to deep yellow, to dark red; the hue and shade of the color depend on the cultivar. Peach breeding has favored cultivars with more firmness, more red color, and shorter fuzz on
10152-418: The pods with salt, but this method of preservation is unsuited to most vegetables. Marrows, beetroot, carrot, and some other vegetables can be boiled with sugar to create jams. Vinegar is widely used in food preservation ; a sufficient concentration of acetic acid prevents the development of destructive micro-organisms, a fact made use of in the preparation of pickles , chutneys and relishes. Fermentation
10260-411: The produce in the shade. Proper post-harvest storage aimed at extending and ensuring shelf life is best effected by efficient cold chain application. Cold storage is particularly useful for vegetables such as cauliflower, eggplant, lettuce, radish, spinach, potatoes, and tomatoes, the optimum temperature depending on the type of produce. There are temperature-controlling technologies that do not require
10368-550: The produce on racks and turning the crop at intervals. This method suffers from several disadvantages including lack of control over drying rates, spoilage when drying is slow, contamination by dirt, wetting by rain, and attack by rodents, birds, and insects. These disadvantages can be alleviated by using solar powered driers. The dried produce must be prevented from reabsorbing moisture during storage. High levels of both sugar and salt can preserve food by preventing micro-organisms from growing. Green beans can be salted by layering
10476-679: The rich have been able to afford a varied diet including meat, vegetables and fruit, but for poor people, meat was a luxury and the food they ate was very dull, typically comprising mainly some staple product made from rice, rye, barley, wheat, millet or maize. The addition of vegetable matter provided some variety to the diet. The staple diet of the Aztecs in Central America was maize and they cultivated tomatoes , avocados , beans , peppers , pumpkins , squashes , peanuts , and amaranth seeds to supplement their tortillas and porridge . In Peru,
10584-465: The smallest published genome is that of the carnivorous bladderwort ( Utricularia gibba) at 82 Mb (although it still encodes 28,500 genes) while the largest, from the Norway spruce ( Picea abies ), extends over 19.6 Gb (encoding about 28,300 genes). Plants are distributed almost worldwide. While they inhabit several biomes which can be divided into a multitude of ecoregions , only the hardy plants of
10692-485: The soil by loosening it, removing or burying weeds, and adding organic manures or fertilisers; sowing seeds or planting young plants; tending the crop while it grows to reduce weed competition, control pests, and provide sufficient water; harvesting the crop when it is ready; sorting, storing, and marketing the crop or eating it fresh from the ground. Different soil types suit different crops, but in general in temperate climates, sandy soils dry out fast but warm up quickly in
10800-411: The speckled emperor ( Gynanisa maja ) or the brown playboy ( Deudorix antalus ). The European red mite ( Panonychus ulmi ) or the yellow mite ( Lorryia formosa ) are also found on the peach tree. It is a good pollen source for honey bees and a honeydew source for aphids. Peach trees are prone to a disease called leaf curl , which usually does not directly affect the fruit, but does reduce
10908-415: The spring and are suitable for early crops, while heavy clays retain moisture better and are more suitable for late season crops. The growing season can be lengthened by the use of fleece , cloches , plastic mulch , polytunnels , and greenhouses . In hotter regions, the production of vegetables is constrained by the climate, especially the pattern of rainfall, while in temperate zones, it is constrained by
11016-399: The storage life of food without noticeably changing its properties. The objective of preserving vegetables is to extend their availability for consumption or marketing purposes. The aim is to harvest the food at its maximum state of palatability and nutritional value, and preserve these qualities for an extended period. The main causes of deterioration in vegetables after they are gathered are
11124-454: The storage period. These losses may be as high as thirty to fifty percent in developing countries where adequate cold storage facilities are not available. The main causes of loss include spoilage caused by moisture, moulds, micro-organisms, and vermin. Storage can be short-term or long-term. Most vegetables are perishable and short-term storage for a few days provides flexibility in marketing. During storage, leafy vegetables lose moisture , and
11232-410: The temperature against the wall, peaches can be grown as espaliers against south-facing walls as far north as southeast Great Britain and southern Ireland. The first pest to attack the tree early in the year when other food is scarce is the earwig ( Forficula auricularia ) which feeds on blossoms and young leaves at night, preventing fruiting and weakening newly planted trees. The pattern of damage
11340-530: The temperature and day length. On a domestic scale, the spade, fork, and hoe are the tools of choice while on commercial farms a range of mechanical equipment is available. Besides tractors, these include ploughs , harrows , drills , transplanters , cultivators , irrigation equipment, and harvesters . New techniques are changing the cultivation procedures involved in growing vegetables with computer monitoring systems, GPS locators, and self-steer programs for driverless machines giving economic benefits. When
11448-437: The use of electricity such as evaporative cooling. Storage of fruit and vegetables in controlled atmospheres with high levels of carbon dioxide or high oxygen levels can inhibit microbial growth and extend storage life. The irradiation of vegetables and other agricultural produce by ionizing radiation can be used to preserve it from both microbial infection and insect damage, as well as from physical deterioration. It can extend
11556-510: The wild by hunter-gatherers and entered cultivation in several parts of the world, probably during the period 10,000 BC to 7,000 BC, when a new agricultural way of life developed. At first, plants that grew locally were cultivated, but as time went on, trade brought common and exotic crops from elsewhere to add to domestic types. Nowadays, most vegetables are grown all over the world as climate permits, and crops may be cultivated in protected environments in less suitable locations. China
11664-488: Was brought to the Americas by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, and eventually made it to England and France in the 17th century, where it was a prized and expensive treat. Horticulturist George Minifie supposedly brought the first peaches from England to its North American colonies in the early 17th century, planting them at his estate of Buckland in Virginia. Although Thomas Jefferson had peach trees at Monticello, American farmers did not begin commercial production until
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