Leafy salad vegetables are among the most universally used vegetable
crops grown today. Their prominence as important crops has been
heightened through the last several decades due to an awareness on the
part of consumers of the nutrient, and other obvious values they offer
to the diet as "fresh greens" which, at least in the United States, have
become a daily table staple. As a result, acreage planted to leafy salad
vegetable crops has expanded to a remarkable degree over the past few
decades, making these crops an important segment of the agricultural and
marketing industries. Published information on leafy salad vegetables
has been-and is- widespread and scattered. This book brings together all
up-to-date information and is amply referenced throughout for further
study and information. Similarities and differences among the species
are discussed and provide insight into the place these species hold in
the world cropping system and in the human diet. This approach in text
organiza- tion was made in an effort to be helpful to the widest type of
readership: professional researchers and teachers, graduate and
undergraduate stu- dents, extension workers, farmers and other members
of the horticultural community, and, perhaps, even lay readers who are
the ultimate consumers.