Preface

Throughout history, people have been interested in vegetables as food. The consumption of vegetables has increased remarkably due to the determination of their importance in human health as well as nutrition. Vegetables contain an optimal blend of antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, polyphenols, and carotenoids, as well as carbohydrate complexes and fibers. In particular, antioxidant vitamins (A, C, and E) and dietary fiber from vegetables play an important role in human health. When consumed by humans, antioxidants cause different effects by controlling substances that affect blood pressure or blood sugar or by acting as anticarcinogenic, immune-supporting, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, cholesterol-lowering, antithrombotic, and anti-inflammatory agents. Studies have shown that a healthy nutrition strategy in which there is adequate fruit and vegetable consumption plays an important role in the prevention of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, cataracts, and age-related decline.

This book addresses the health benefits of vegetable crops, organic vegetable growing, greenhouse management, and principles of irrigation management for vegetable crops. Furthermore, it combines comprehensive investigations with the latest technologies and challenges that affect vegetable growth to facilitate sustainable, economic, and environmental vegetable production.

The book includes fourteen chapters. Chapters 1–6 examine the effect of vegetables on human health and nutrition. Chapter 7 presents harnessing technologies for vegetable cultivation. Chapter 8 deals with hydroponic technology and the growth of moss. Chapters 9 and 10 discuss organic vegetable cultivation. Chapter 11 discusses the advantages of growing vegetable crops in modern greenhouses. Chapter 12 reviews the National Framework for the Management of Drought (NFMD) to enhance farmers' vulnerability to drought in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Chapter 13 presents principles of irrigation management for vegetable crops. Chapter 14 discusses a CRISPR/Cas9-based approach to enhancing agricultural crops.

> **Ertan Yildirim and Melek Ekinci** Faculty of Agriculture, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey

Section 1
