Asian vegetable – EDIS Update

Florida Cultivation Guide for Malabar Spinach

Malabar spinach (Basella spp.) is a nutritious vegetable in the family Basellaceae. Malabar spinach goes by many names, including Indian spinach, Ceylon spinach, vine spinach, and climbing spinach. Malabar spinach has long been established in cultivation in China and India. This spinach is a novel crop to Florida and is currently grown only for niche markets. However, Florida’s suitable climate coupled with Malabar spinach’s great taste and nutritional quality suggest that this crop has great potential for commercial cultivation. This new 8-page publication of the UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department describes in brief how to grow Malabar spinach, manage pests, harvest, and market it. Written by Yuheng Qiu and Guodong Liu.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1371

Bok Choy, an Asian Leafy Green Vegetable Emerging in Florida

Asian vegetable crops are rapidly expanding in Florida in the last decade due to their health benefits combined with their high profitability. These crops can help increase vegetable growers’ income and diversify Florida’s crop production, and they are new to most Floridians. This new 5-page article provides a general overview of bok choy for vegetable growers, crop consultants, certified crop advisors, Extension agents, and graduate students. Written by Hai Liu and Guodong Liu and published by the UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1337

Bitter Melon: An Asian Vegetable Emerging in Florida

Bitter melon is a tropical and subtropical vegetable crop with long climbing vines which is widely cultivated in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. The unripe fruit is used as a vegetable with a pleasantly bitter taste. This 7-page fact sheet provides an overview of this plant as well as recommendations for individuals in Florida who are interested in growing it. Written by Guodong Liu, Qingren Wang, Yuncong Li, David Dinkins, Bonnie Wells, and Yuqi Cui, and published by the UF Department of Horticultural Sciences, December 2015.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1271

Long Squash: An Asian Vegetable Emerging in Florida

Long squash is an annual, vigorous, and herbaceous crop that was brought to the Americas by Paleoindian populations from Asia before the arrival of Columbus. This 4-page fact sheet provides an overview of this plant as well as recommendations for individuals in Florida who are interested in growing it. Written by Guodong Liu, Yuncong Li, David Dinkins, Bonnie Wells, Qingren Wang, and Yuqi Cui, and published by the UF Department of Horticultural Sciences, December 2015.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1272

Long Bean: An Asian Vegetable Emerging in Florida

Food diversity, nutritional food supply, and profitability are the priorities of agricultural and horticultural industries. To diversify vegetable products and increase the Florida vegetable industry's competitiveness, a number of new vegetable crops are rapidly emerging in the state. Due to Florida's favorable climate, these vegetable crops grow well and have high market potential. The objective of this 6-page fact sheet is to provide a general overview of long bean, one of the Asian vegetable crops grown in Florida. Written by Kshitij Khatri, Guodong Liu, Qingren Wang, Yuncong Li, David Dinkins, and Bonnie Wells, and published by the UF Department of Horticultural Sciences, October 2015.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1268