Nutrition garden-A key to better health

摘要

Vegetables are an integral part of balanced diet as they provide essential vitamins and minerals to maintain good health. According to the recommendations of National Institute of Nutrition, per capita requirement of vegetables per day is 280 g, but is less than 200 g in the Punjab state. To produce insect-pest and disease free vegetables, commercial growers often resort to indiscriminate use of pesticides that might result in serious health hazards. The main purpose of nutrition garden is to providefamily with the fresh vegetables, which are rich in nutrients and free of pesticides. The Punjab Agricultural University has devised an improved model of nutrition garden for growing vegetables for family needs throughout the year. This model accommodates many annual and perennial crops which can be regularly harvested to meet the daily vegetable requirements of a nuclear family of two adults with two children. This model can produce three quintals of vegetables per year from 6 x 6 m piece of land.