🌸 Vegetable classification

Understand how vegetables are classified by botany, hardiness, edible part, cultural requirement, and season of cultivation.

Vegetable classification helps avoid repetition and improves crop-wise planning for cultivation, seed production, and management. This lesson summarizes the major systems used in horticulture education and practice.

Quite a large number of vegetable crops are grown in the country either on a commercial scale or limited to backyards of homesteads. A few crops have similarity while others have dissimilarity in their climatic and soil requirements, parts, used, method of cultivation etc. While describing individual vegetables, there is possibility of repetition in many aspects. In order to avoid repetition, it is essential to classify or group into different classes/groups. Different methods of classification followed in vegetables are described below:

Botanical classification

Botanical classification is based on taxonomical relationship among different vegetables. Plant kingdom is divided into four viz. Thallophyta, Bryophyta, Pteriodophyta and Spermatophyte. All vegetables belong to division Angiospermae of Spermatophyta. It is further divided into two classes viz., Monocotyledoneae and dicotyledoneae. The family wise distribution of vegetables under the classes is as follows:

Monocotyledoneae

Family - Alliaceae Allium cepa Onion Allium cepa var. Aggregatum Multiplier onion Allium cepa var. Viviparum Top onion Allium porrum Leek Allium sativum Garlic Allium fistulosum Welsh onion Allium ascalonicum Shallot Allium schoenoprasum Chive Family - Liliaceae Asparagus officinalis Asparagus Family - Araceae Dioscorea alata Larger yam Dioscorea esculenta Lesser yam Colocasia esculenta Taro Family - Poaceae (Graminae) Zea mays Sweet corn

Dicotyledoneae

Family - Aizoaceae Tetragonia expansa New Zealand spinach Family - Chenopodiaceae Beta vulgaris Beetroot and Palak Beta vulgaris var. cicla Swiss chard Spinacia oleracea Spinach Artiplex hortensis Chakwat / orach Chenopodium album Bathua Family - Asteraceae (Compositae) Cichorium intybus Chicory Cichorium endivia Endive Lactuca sativa Lettuce Cynara scolimus Artichoke Family - Convolvulaceae Ipomoea batatas Sweet potato Family - Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) Brassica oleracea var. a cephala Kale Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera Brussels sprouts Brassica oleracea var. capitata Cabbage Brassica oleracea var. botrytis Cauliflower Brassica oleracea var. italica Sprouting broccoli Brassica caulorapa Kohlrabi or knol khol Brassica napus var. napobrassica Rutabaga Brassica campestris var. rapa Turnip Brassica juncea Leaf mustard Brassica chinensis, B. pekinensis Chinese cabbage Armoracia rusticana Horse-radish Raphanus sativus Radish Family - Cucurbitaceae Cucurbita peop Summer squash Cucurbita moschata Pumpkin Cucurbita maxima Winter squash Cucurbita lanatus Water melon Cucumis melo Musk melon Cucumis melo var. momordica Snap melon Cucumis melo var. utilissimus Long melon Cucumis melo var. conomon Oriental picking melon Cucumis sativus Cucumber Praecitrullus fistulosus Tinda Sechium edule Chow-Chow Luffa acutangula Ridge gourd Luffa cylindrica Sponge gourd Lagenaria siceraria Bottle gourd Trichosanthes dioica Pointed gourd / Parwal Trichosanthes anguina Snake gourd Momordica charantia Bitter gourd Benincasa hispida Ash gourd Family - Euphorbiaceae Manihot esculenta Tapioca Family - Fabaceae (Leguminosae) Pisum sativum Peas Phaseolus vulgaris French bean Phaseolus lunatus Lima bean Vicia faba Broad bean Vigna unguiculata Cowpea Cyamopsis tetragonoloba Cluster bean Vigna unguiculta var. sesquipedalis Asparagus bean Lablab purpureas Lablab bean Glycine max Soybean Psophocarpus tetragonolobus Winged bean Tigonella foenum graecum Methi / fenugreek Tigonella corniculata Kasuri methi Family - Malvaceae Abelmoschus esculentus Okra / Bhendi Family - Solanaceae Solanum tuberosum Potato Solanum melongena Brinjal Solanum lycopersicum Tomato Capsicum annuum Chilli Family - Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) Daucus carota Carrot Petroselinum crispum Parsley Apium graveolens Celery Pastinaca sativa Parsnip Cultural and climatic requirements of crops belonging to a family are not always similar. Cultural requirement of radish is entirely different from that of cabbage. Similarly climatic requirement of peas are different from that of cowpea.

Classification based on hardiness

This classification is based on ability to withstand frost and low temperature and it will be useful to know season of cultivation of a crop. Here the vegetable crops are classified into hardy, semi hardy and tender. Hardy vegetables tolerate frost and low temperature and are basically winter or cool season or temperate vegetables. Warm season or subtropical or tropical vegetables are considered as tender since they cannot withstand frost. Temperate vegetables, in general, can be stored for long periods under low temperature. Tropical vegetables are bulky and more perishable compared to temperate vegetables.

Hardy | Semi hardy | Tender

---|---|--- Asparagus | Carrot | Amaranth Crucifers | Celery | Okra Garlic | Beet root | Brinjal Leek | Globe artichoke | Chilli Onion | Lettuce | Cluster bean Parsley | Palak | Cucurbits Peas | Parsnip | Tomato Radish | Potato | Colocasia Rhubarb | | Amorphophallus Spinach | | Yams | | Sweet potato

Classification based on parts used

In this system, crops are classified based on their parts used for vegetable purpose. Tender stem and leaves : Cabbage, Chinese cabbage, knolkhol. Amaranth, palak etc. Fruits : Tomato, brinjal, chilli, cowpea etc. Flower parts : Sprouting broccoli Under ground portion : Carrot, radish, beet root, potato etc. The cultural requirements of crops in each group may not be same. For eg., cultural requirement of cowpea is different for that of tomato. Same is that of cabbage and palak.

Classification based on cultural requirement

This is the most convenient and widely used system of classification of vegetables. Vegetables having similar cultural requirements are grouped together and placed in one group. For eg., crops belonging to group Cucurbits are seed propagated, direct sown, trailing and vigorous growing, cross pollinated and the cultural practice are almost same.

Solanaceous fruit vegetables
Cucurbits
Peas and beans
Cole crops
Bulb crops
Root crops
Potato
Tuber crops
Okra
Pot herbs / greens
Salad crops
Perennial vegetables

Classification based on season of cultivation

This is one of the most important classifications from the grower’s point of view since majority of vegetables are season bound and specific to particular seasons. Vegetables are classified into summer season crops, rainy season crops and winter season crops based on growth and production during particular seasons. Spring / summer season prevails from February to June / July under North Indian plains and from January to May / June in South Indian plains. October to January is winter season, experiencing chilling temperature, in most parts of the country. However, in high rain warm humid climatic condition of Kerala, a distinct winter season is lacking and rainy season starts from June and extents up to September. Here vegetable crops can be grouped as rainy season, mild winter season, and summer season crops. A few typical vegetables suited to each group are : Winter season crops - Cruciferous vegetables, carrot, radish, beetroot, onion, garlic, peas etc. Mild winter - Hyacinth bean, winged bean, tomato Summer season - All gourds, amaranth Rainy season crops - Bhendi, chilli, brinjal, cluster been, cowpea etc. However, depending on receipts of rain, slight variation is noticed in different parts of country. Usually early rains are received in Kerala where monsoon starts during last week of May or first week of June. Vegetable crops can also be classified based on duration of crop growth and flowering (annual / biennial / perennial), ability to grow and set seeds under a particular climate (temperate / tropical / sub tropical), mode of pollination (Self pollinated (<5% cross pollination) / cross pollinated (>12% cross pollination) / often pollinated (5-12% cross pollination). pH requirement of soil etc. None of above classifications, except botanical classification, is hard and fast since one and the same crop fall in different groups or can be accommodated in more than one class. For example, crops like brinjal and chilli are treated as rainy season crops and bitter gourd, snake gourd and cucumber as summer season crops. These vegetables can be successfully cultivated in other seasons as well, by taking adequate care. Varieties within a crop also exhibit variations in their response to season of cultivation, temperature requirement etc. In crops like cowpea, there are specific varieties suited to rainy season, summer season and winter season. Each method of classification has its own relevance under specific situations and will be helpful to know the crop requirements by professionals, farmers and students.

Quick Self-Check

1. Scientific method of classification 2. Hardy vegetables can tolerate a. low temperature b. high temperature c. drought d. high rainfall 3. Flowers as economical part in a. sprouting broccoli b. cabbage c. palak d. knol khol 4. Vegetables classification based on cultural requirement 5. Taro is a. Colocasia b. Dioscorea c. Amarphophallus d. Xanthosoma

Summary Cheat Sheet

Basis	What It Groups	Example
Botanical	Taxonomic relation	Solanaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Brassicaceae
Hardiness	Frost tolerance	Hardy, semi-hardy, tender crops
Part used	Edible plant part	Root, leaf, fruit, flower vegetables
Cultural requirement	Similar agronomy	Cucurbits, cole crops, bulb crops
Season	Time of cultivation	Winter, summer, rainy season crops

References

2 sources • [1] [2]

[1]

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

Official

[2]

National Horticulture Board (NHB)