UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 OFFICE OF PREVENTION, PESTICIDES AND TOXIC SUBSTANCES Ju ly 30 , 2008
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Crop Grouping

– Part V I : Analy sis of the USDA IR
- 4 Petition to Amend

the Crop Group Regulation 40 CFR § 180.41 (c ) ( 8 ) and Commodity Definitions [ 40 CFR 180.1 ( g )] Related to the Crop Group 8 Fruiting Vegetable. MRID 46 7898
- 01
. FROM: Bernard A. Schneider, Ph.D., Senior Plant Physiologist

Chemistry

and Exposure Branch Health Effects Division (7509P) THRU: William Donovan, Ph.D. and Michael Doherty, Ph.D., Chairpersons

HED Chemistry

Science Advisory

Council (ChemSAC) Health Effects Division (7509P) TO: Barbara Madden, Minor Use Officer

Risk Integration, Minor Use, and Emergency Response Branch (RIMUERB) Registration Division (7505P)
cc: IR
- 4 Project, Bill Barney, Jerry Baron, Dan Kunkel , Van Starner Dr Hong Chen, Crop Grouping Project Coordinator, USDA Interregional Research Project No. 4 (IR
- 4), State Agri cultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University has submitted a petition ( December 22, 200 5) on behalf of the IR
- 4 Project, and the Fruiting Vegetable Workgroup of the International Crop Grouping Consulting Committee (I CGCC) to amend the Crop Group Regulation 40 CFR § 180.41 (c) ( 8 ) Crop Group 8 , Fruiting Vegetables, Except Cucurbits Group, and Commodity Definitions 40 CFR 180.1 ( g ) for peppers and tomatoes
.2

2 The above mentioned Fruiting vegetable crop group petition requested the following five amendments: 1. Amend the name of the crop group in 40 CFR 180.41 (c) ( 8 ) from “Crop Group 8 , Fruiting Vegetables (Except Cucurbits) to “Crop Group 8 , Fruiting Vegetable Group”. 2. Amend the existing crop group in 40 CFR 180.41 (c) ( 8 ) that consists of the follow ing six commodity

entries: 1). Eggplant Solanum melongena 2). Groundcherry Physalis spp 3). Pepino Solanum muricatum 4). Pepper Ca

psicum spp ., includes bell pepper, chili pepper, cooking pepper, pimento, sweet pepper 5). Tomatillo Physalis ixocarpo 6). To mato Lycopersicon esculentum To an expanded crop group that consists of the following 19 commodity entries with updated scientific names : 1. African e ggplant, Solanum macrocarpon L. 2. Bush tomato, Solanum centrale J.M. Black 3. Cocona, Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal 4. Currant tomato , Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium (L.) Mill. 5. Eggplant ( including cultivars and/or hybrids of this), Solanum melongena L. 6. G arden huckleberry , Solanum scabrum 7. Groundcherry , Physalis spp. 8. Marty nia, Proboscidea louisianica (Mill.) Thell. 9. Naranjil la , Solanum quitoense Lam. 10. Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus (L .) Moench 11. Pea e ggplant, Solanum torvum 12. Pepino, Solanum muricatum Aiton 13. Pepper s (including all peppers i.e. bell , non - bell, hot, sweet, etc., and cultivars and/or hy brids of these ), Ca

psicum spp. 14. Ros elle, Hibiscus sabdariffa L. 15. Scarlet e ggplant, Solanum aethiopicum 16. Sunberry , Solanum retroflexum 17. Tomatillo, Physalis philadelphica Lam. 18. Tomato ( including cultivars and/or hybrids of this) Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. esculentum 19. Tree t omato, Cyphoman dra betacea (Cav.) Sendtn. And varieties and/or h yb rid s of these commodities3

3 3. Amend the representative commodities from the Fruiting Vegetables (Except Cucurbits) Group in 40 CFR 180.41 (c) (8) (i) from “Tomato; bell pepper; one cultivar of nonbell pepper”, to “Tomato; bell pepper; one cultivar of nonbell pepper or one cultivar of small variety eggplant (i.e. Epic, Vernal, Nadia, or Ichiban)”. 4. Establish the following three new subgroups under the Fruiting vegetable group as follows: S ubgroup 8 A: T omato S ubgroup 8 A (rep crop: Tomato) 1. Bush tomato, Solanum centrale J.M. Black 2. Cocona, Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal 3. Currant tomato , Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium (L.) Mill 4. G arden huckleberry , Solanum scabrum 5. Groundcherry , Physalis spp. 6. Naranjilla , Solanum q uito ense Lam. 7. Sunberry , Solanum retroflexum 8. Tomatillo, Physalis philadelphica Lam. 9. Tomato ( including cultivars and/or hybrids of this) Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. esculentum 10. Tree t omato, Cyphomandra betacea (Cav.) Sendtn. And varieties and/or h yb rid s of these commodities
S ubgroup 8 B: Pepper S ubgroup 8 B (rep crop s : Bell pepper and one cultivar of nonbell pepper) 1) Marty nia, Proboscidea louisianica (Mill.) Thell
. 2) Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus (L .) Moench 3) Pepino, Solanum muricatum Aiton 4) Pepper s (includi ng all peppers i.e. bell , non - bell, hot, sweet, etc., and cultivars and/or hybrids of these ), Ca psicum spp . 5) Roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa L
. And varieties and/or h yb rid s of these commodities
S ubgroup 8C : Eggplant S ubgroup 8C (rep crop s : O ne cultivar of nonbell pepper or one cultivar of small variety eggplant (i.e. Epic, Vernal, Nadia, or Ichiban). 1) African Eggplant, Solanum macrocarpon 2) Eggplant ( including cultivars and/or hybrids of this), Solanum melongena L. 3) Pea Eggplant, Solanum torvum 4) Scarlet Eggplant, Solanum aethiopicum And varieties and/or h yb rid s of these commodities4

4 5. Revise the Pepper and Tomato Commodity Definitions in 40 CFR 180.1 (g) as described below: 5a. Peppers Definition: Tolerances and exemptions established for pesticide chemicals in or on Peppers apply to the following commodities: from “ All cultivars, varieties and h ybrids of peppers including pimentos and bell, hot, and sweet peppers .” To: 5a. Pepper Definition: Tolerances and exemptions established for pesticide chemicals in or on Pepper appl y to the following commodities: “ Okra ; Pepino ; Pepper s (including all peppers i.e. bell , nonbell, hot, sweet, etc., and cultivars and/or hy brids of these ) , and Roselle .” 5b. Tomatoes Definition: from Tolerances and exemptions established f or pesticide chemicals in or on “Tomatoes, tomatillos.” To: 5b. Tomato Definition: Tolerances and exemptions established for pesticide chemicals in or on “ Bush Tomato ; Cocona ; Currant tomato; G arden huckleberry ; Groundcherry ; Naranjilla ; Sunberry ; Tomatillo ; Tomato (including cultivars and/or hy brids of this ) ; and T ree t omato .” Each of these proposals will be reviewed in the following anal ys is:
BACKGROUND : The current Crop Group 8, Fruiting Vegetables Group, includes 6 Solanaceae commodity

entries. This group was established in 1983 and updated in 1995, and it has been successful in establishing tolerances for the 6 fruiting vegetables included. Table 3 1 list tolerances established on Fruiting Vegetables Group in the U
. S
. , EU and Codex. There are m any more Solanaceae vegetable “orphan crops” grown commercially or in small scales, and sold and consumed in the U.S. or other regions or countries. Especiall y since 1983 there has been an explosion of ethnic fruiting vegetable crops. Many of these crops are of economic importance or have a great potential to be grown in larger scale in the future due to their nutritional value, or the increased market demand driven by both the growing ethnic populations and greater awareness of these crops by the non
- ethnic population as a whole. Being excluded from the crop groups, tolerances requested for these commodities would have to be established based on separate residue studies. Without a doubt the inclusion of these commodities in crop groups will benefit grow ers, consumers, save time and tax payer’s money on residue studies, save government5

5 agencies time in review residue data, as well as facilitating the establishment of import tolerances. Of the 19 commodity

entries proposed in the new crop group, 16 are f rom the same botanical family , Solanaceae , and six of these are in the existing crop group (Eggplant, Groundcherry , Pepino , Pepper , Tomatillo , and Tomato ). The eleven new Solanaceae commodities (African e ggplant , Bush t omato , Cocona , Currant tomato, G arden huckleberry , Naranjilla , Pea Eggplant , Scarlet e ggplant , Sunberry , and Tree t omato ) are all related and culturally similar to one of the existing commodities, tomato, pepper or eggplant. The three other commodities are from botanical families of Marty ni aceae (Martynia) and Malvaceae (Okra and Roselle ). In the US EPA Memorandum dated September 20, 2002 from Dr. B.A. Schneider to the HED ChemSAC proposed to amend the Crop Group Regulation (40 CFR § 180.41) by a dding Okra to the Fruiting Vegetable Group
. Since 2002 tolerances for Fruiting vegetable group 8 have included a separate tolerance for okra at the same level. Okra and Roselle have already been included in the Codex fruiting vegetable group. Marty nia is similar to Roselle in cultural aspects
. The 19 commodities in the proposed crop group are warm season annual or perennial plants grown for fruits, and some also for leaves. They are used similarly

to tomatoes, peppers and eggplant and consumed cooked or raw in vegetable dishes, soups or salads , and they

can be used fresh or in a dehydrated form. Some of these fruiting vegetables also have medicinal properties. The fact that most of these vegetables are in the same famil y with similar biological and cultural aspects suggests they should also enc ounter similar pest problems and hence have similar needs for pest control products in similar use patterns. Among the 19 commodities proposed, tomato, peppers (both bell and nonbell), and eggplant are most widely grown fruiting vegetables (non
- Cucurbit) in the world with largest acreages. Tomato and peppers are representative commodities for the current fruiting vegetables group. Eggplant is not a representative commodity in the current group since it has been the only eggplant commodity in the group. The proposed new group includes four eggplant commodity entries with many varieties, cultivar and/or hy brids of these. The increased economic value of eggplant commodities resulting from the different ty

pes such as Thai pepper desired for ethnic cooking increased consumption demand thus commercial production and markets has made it necessary to establish an eggplant subgroup and therefore select a small variety eggplant as an alternative representative commodity to nonbell pepper for this third subgroup
. Table 4 provides information on major fruiting vegetable production in different regions or countries. Based on the FAO agriculture statistics, the total hectares for tomatoes are 4,421,734 ha, chili pepper (nonbell pepper) is 1,655,616 ha, eggplant is 1,700,655 ha, and okra is 777,040 ha (Table 4). The total tonnage for these four commodities was over 179,000,000 MT. Some “minor” fruiting vegetable commodities have also become more popular today

than they were 10 ye ars ago. There are several “orphan fruiting vegetable6

6 crops ” grown commercially , cultivated in small scale or harvested wild, and are sold and consumed in the U.S. and/or other regions or countries. Many of these are economicall y important, or have great potential to be grown in larger sc ale in the future due to their nutritional value and increased market demand. It is important to update this crop group to include commodities that recognized by growers, researchers and market experts that have both desired nutritional and economic benef its. Without doubt the inclusion of these commodities in crop groups will benefit growers and consumers, save time and tax payer’s money on residue studies, save time and money for government agencies to review residue data, and facilitate the establishme nt of import tolerances. During the USDA/IR
- 4 Crop Grouping S ymposium in Washington, DC, October 2002 , the Fruiting Vegetable Workgroup , Chaired by IR
- 4 Jerry

Baron and Co
- Chaired by Robin Bellinder, Department of Horticulture, Cornell University, Chri stine Smith, Rick Griffin, and Bill Wassell, US EPA recommended adding over 1 1 fruiting vegetable commodities to the Fruiting vegetable group and two subgroups. The recommendations from the Sy

mposium was further discussed and developed within the Fruiting Vegetable Workgroup of the International Crop Grouping Consulting Committee (I CGCC), which consists of more than 200 U.S. and international crop or regulatory experts from agriculture commodity

groups, universities, agrichemical industry , IR
- 4 Project, an d regulatory agencies representing over 40 countries. Another important aspect of crop grouping is the harmonization effort with the Codex C lassification of F oo d s and Animal F eeds . The current EPA crop group for fruiting vegetables, Fruiting Vegetables , except Cucurbits Group 8, is similar to the corresponding Codex crop group (Crop Group 012). The Codex Group 012, Fruiting Vegetables o ther than cucurbits, consists of 36 commodities including all six commodities in the current EPA crop group 8. Of the other 30 commodities 23 are multiple entries, or varieties of cultivar of other commodities listed. Of the seven commodities, two are sweet corns that should be removed and placed in the cereal grain group, two are edible fungi that are now members of th e edible fungi group in US system and three are being proposed to the expanded US group in this petition (n aranjilla , okra, and roselle )
. Table 3 1 compares the existing U
. S
. F ruiting vegetable crop group with the EU and Codex sy stems. Note that the current Codex crop group does not have representative commodities. A revision of the Codex Classification is underway with c onsideration to include adding new commodities, creating subgroups, and selecting representative commodities. The IR
- 4/EPA Crop Groupin g Working Group and the International Crop Grouping Consulting Committee (ICGCC) are making every effort to cooperate with the Codex revision effort. The proposed new Fruiting Vegetable Group was discussed within the ICGCC workgroup which includes representatives from the Codex Revision workgroup. The expanded Fruiting vegetable Group and the representative commodities proposed in this petition would facilitate the harmonization of the U
. S
. and the Codex crop classification sy stems.7

7 RECOMMENDATIONS: Each of the five proposals and recommendations will be discussed below, followed by a series of other recommendations on terminology , database development, and harmonization with CODEX. The EPA would like to commend the valuable and high quality input o f the ICGCC, all its members, and the previous Workgroup Chairperson Dr Hong Chen and the current Chairperson Bill Barney , as well as Dr. Yuen
- Shaung, Biologist and Jessie Cordova, Information Technical Specialist, EPA for their input and development of various databases in this report and Dr. Paul Schwartz, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Office of Minor Use Pesticides for his advice , mentoring, and peer review.
IR- 4 Proposal 1: 1. “ Amend the name of the crop group in 40 CFR 180.41 (c) ( 8 ) from “Cro p Group 8 , Fruiting Vegetables (Except Cucurbits) to “Crop Group 8 , Fruiting Vegetable Group”. HED Recommendation for Proposal 1: I recommend that the ChemSAC concur to amend the Crop Group Regulation [40 CFR 180.41 (c) ( 8 )] to revise the name of the F ruiting vegetables (Except Cucurbits) to Crop Group 8 , Fruiting Vegetable Group , and the tolerance expression term will be “Vegetable, fruiting, group 8”
. The term e xcept cucurbits is not necessary in the group name and ha s not been used for establishing tolerances for this fruiting vegetable group since 2002 . Th ere is also a distinct Cucurbit vegetable group 9 that will be updated in a future petition.
IR- 4 Proposal 2 : 2. Amend the existing crop group in 40 CFR 180.41 (c) ( 8 ) that consists of the foll owing six commodity

entries: 1). Eggplant Solanum melongena 2). Groundcherry Physalis spp 3). Pepino Solanum muricatum 4). Pepper Ca

psicum spp ., includes bell pepper, chili pepper, cooking pepper, pimento, sweet pepper 5). Tomatillo Physalis ixocarpo 6). Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum8

8 To an expanded crop group that consists of the following 19 commodity entries with updated scientific names : 1. African e ggplant, Solanum macrocarpon L. 2. Bush tomato, Solanum centrale J.M. Black 3. Cocona, Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal 4. Currant tomato , Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium (L.) Mill. 5. Eggplant ( including varieties, cultivars , and/or h yb rids of this), Solanum melongena L. 6. G arden huckleberry , Solanum scabrum Mill. 7. Groundcherry , Physalis spp. 8. Marty nia, Proboscidea louisianica ( Mill.) Thell. 9. Naranjilla , Solanum quitoense Lam. 10. Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus (L .) Moench 11. Pea e ggplant, Solanum torvum Sw. 12. Pepino, Solanum muricatum Aiton 13. Pepper s (including all peppers i.e. bell , nonbell, hot, sweet, and cultivars , varie ties, and/or h yb ri ds of these ), Ca psicum spp. 14. Roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa L. 15. Scarlet e ggplant, Solanum aethiopicum L. 16. Sunberry , Solanum retroflexum Dunal 17. Tomatillo, Physalis philadelphica Lam. 18. Tomato ( including cultivars and/or hybrids of this) Lycopersicon esculentum Mill
. var. esculentum 19. Tree t omato, Cyphomandra betacea (Cav.) Sendtn. And varieties and/or h yb rid s of these commodities HED Recommendation for Proposal 2:
Based on similarities and characteristics of the Solanaceae or Nightshade plant family which include s most of the fruiting vegetable group, cultural practices, edible food and lack of animal feed portions, residue levels, geographical location, pest problems, established tolerances, and for international harmonization purposes, Irecommend that ChemSAC c oncur to amend the expansion of the Fruiting vegetable c rop group 8 from six commodities to twenty- one c ommodities
. Goji berry another Solanaceae family member was also assessed and I recommend it to be add e d to this group. Peppers in the original crop group was a single commodity entry and should be changed to pepper, bell and pepper, nonbell to the group to better reflect how EPA regulates peppers. The tw enty- one members are listed below:9

9 1. African e ggplant, Solanum macrocarpon L. 2. Bush tomato, Solanu m centrale J.M. Black 3. Cocona, Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal 4. Currant tomato , Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium (L.) Mill. 5. Eggplant ( including eggplant cultivars, varieties, or hy brids of th ese ), Solanum melongena L. 6. G arden huckleberry , Solanum scabrum Mill. 7. Goji berry , Lycium barbarum L 8. Groundcherry , ( including groundcherry cultivars, varieties, or hy brids of th ese ), Physalis alkekengi L ., P. grisea (Waterf.) M. Martinez, P. peruvian L ., P. pubescent L. 9. Marty nia, Proboscidea louisianica (Mill.) Thell. 10. Naranjilla , Solanum quitoense Lam. 11. Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus (L .) Moench 12. Pea e ggplant, Solanum torvum Sw. 13. Pepino, Solanum muricatum Aiton 14. Pepper , bell (including pepper cultivars , varieties and/or hy brids of these ), Ca psicum annuum var. annuum L. , Capsicum spp. 15. Pep per, nonbell (including pepper cultivars , varieties and/or h ybrids of these Ca psicum chinese, C. annuum var. annuum , C. frutescens C. baccatum, C. pubescens., Capsicum spp. 16. Roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa L. 17. Scarlet e ggplant, Solanum aethiopicum L. 18. Sunberry , Solanum retroflexum Dunal 19. Tomatillo, Physalis philadelphica Lam. 20. Tomato ( including tomato cultivars , varieties, and/or hy brids of th ese ) Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. esculentum 21. Tree t omato, S

o lanum betace um Cav. In cluding cultivars, varieties and/ or hy brid s of these commodities A comparison of established tolerances on fruiting vegetable commodities also supports that residue levels will be similar between members of the crop group and subgroups (See Tables 36, 37, and 3 8 ). The commodity pepper s as stated in the current regulation will be divided into two separate commodities with one being the bell peppers and the other nonbell peppers. This change will avoid confusion as to what ty pes of peppers are in the crop group. Also, varieties and/or hy brids of these should be changed to, “ cultivars, varieties, and hy brids, of these commodities” to avoid all confusion with terminology

regarding whether they

are varieties cultivars or hy brids of the fruiting vegetables. All scientific names are updated with current taxonomic information from USDA Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN, 2008) , for example, tree tomato was originally

named Solanum betaceum , then was transferred to the genus Cyphomandra , and recently has been returned to the genus S olanum
.10

10 IR- 4 Proposal 3: 3. “ Amend the representative commodities from the Fruiting Vegetables (Except Cucurbits) Group in 40 CFR 180.41 (c) (8) (i) from “Tomato; bell pepper; one cultivar of non - bell pepper”, to “Tomato; bell pepper; one cultivar of non - bell pepper or one cultivar of small variety eggplant (i.e. Epic, Vernal, Nadia, or Ichiban)”. HED Recommendation for Proposal 3: I recommend ChemSAC concur to adopt “Tomato; bell pepper; one cultivar of nonbell pepper” as the representative commodities for the amended Fruiting vegetable Crop Group 8
. These three representative commodities account for > 99 % of the harvested acres for the members of the amended Fruiting vegetable group . The representative commodities are based on similarities in f ruit and cultural practices and geographical locations , as well as their high production (both acres and yield) and consumption. One cultivar of small variety eggplant (i.e. Epic, Vernal, Nadia, or Ichiban) is not required to obtain a crop group tolerance but it will be an alternative representative commodity

for Crop subgroup 8C. Eggplant will be covered b y a nonbell pepper, which will also be the representative commodity for Crop subgroups 8B and 8C. However, a cultivar of small variety eggplant (i. e. Epic, Vernal, Nadia, or Ichiban) may also be used to obtain the Eggplant subgroup 8C. HED recommends not including specific small variety or cultivar of eggplants in the representative commodity list such as “Epic, Vernal, Nadia, or Ichiban” because cu ltivars can change and not be available from commercial seed companies. Also, some of the cultivars that were recommended such as ‘Nadia’ are not trul y small eggplant varieties. There are some eggplant varieties that are sm all baseball size and some as s mall as cherry tomatoes that would be preferred representative commodities. The representative commodities for Crop subgroup 8C should be “ O ne cultivar of nonbell pepper or one cultivar of small variety eggplant.”
IR- 4 Proposal 4 : 4. Establish the foll owing three new subgroups under the Fruiting vegetable group as follows: S ubgroup 8 A: Tomato S ubgroup 8 A (rep resentative commodity : Tomato) 1. Bush tomato, Solanum centrale J.M. Black 2. Cocona, Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal11

11 3. Currant tomato , Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium (L.) Mill 4. G arden huckleberry , Solanum scabrum Mill. 5. Goji berry , Lycium barb arum L. 6. Groundcherry , Physalis spp. 7. Naranjilla , Solanum quitoense Lam. 8. Sunberry , Solanum retroflexum Dunal 9. Tomatillo, Physalis philadelphica Lam. 10. Tomato ( including cultivars , varieties, and/or h ybrids of this) Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. esculentum 11. Tree t omato, S

o lanum betace um Cav And varieties and/or h yb rid s of these commodities
S ubgroup 8 B: Pepper S ubgroup 8 B ( rep resentative commodities: Bell pepper and one cultivar of nonbell pepper) 1) Marty nia, Proboscidea louisianica (Mill.) Thell
. 2) Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus (L .) Moench 3) Pepino, Solanum muricatum Aiton 4) Pepper s (including all peppers i.e. bell , nonbell, hot, sweet, etc., and cultivars and/or hy brids of these ), Ca

psicum spp . 5) Roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa L
. And cultivars, varieties and/or hy brid s of these commodities
S ubgroup 8C : Eggplant S ubgroup 8C (rep resentative commodities : O ne cultivar of nonbell pepper or one cultivar of small variety eggplant (i.e. Epic , Vernal, Nadia, or Ichiban). 1) African e ggplant, Solanum macrocarpon 2) Eggplant ( including cultivars and/or hybrids of this), Solanum melongena L. 3) Pea e ggplant, Solanum torvum Sw. 4) Scarlet e ggplant, Solanum aethiopicum And cultivars, varieties and/or hy brid s of these commodities HED Recommendation for Proposal 4A

– Tomato subgroup 8 A: I recommend that ChemSAC concur to establish three new subgroups, and the first subgroup will be the Tomato subgroup 8 A with tomato being the representative commodity
. Thi s subgroup is based on the major commodity tomato which combines the fruit that vary from the small cherry

tomato varieties to the standard size oblong tomato. The tomatoes have varying shape from pear shaped to softball shaped. Tomatoes are the most commonly

grown fruiting vegetable in the world and are in creasing in popularity because12

12 they are completel y edible and used in most ethnic cuisines. They are all likely

to have similar pest problems. The eleven members of this Tomato subgroup will include: Bush tomato ; Cocona ; Currant tomato ; G arden huckleberry ; Goji berry ; Groundcherry ; Naranjilla ; Sunberry ; Tomatillo ; Tomato ; Tree t omato ; and includes cultivars, varieti es , and/or hy brid s of these c ommodities
. HED Recommendation for Proposal 4 B

– Pepper S ubgroup 10B : I recommend that ChemSAC concur to establish the second new subgroup , which will be the Pepper subgroup 8 B, with bell pepper and one cultivar of nonbell pepper being the representative commodities
. This second Crop subgroup is based on the wide variation in peppers in size, shape, and use a s well as its similar cultural practices. Peppers are a very popular worldwide and total production is second to tomatoes with increase use in various ethnic cuisines , and in per capita consumption . The commodity pepper should be listed as bell pepper and nonbell pepper to avoid confusion in terminology as well as distinguish their use and in dietary risk assessment models. The six commodities of this Pepper subgroup will include: Marty nia ; O kra ; P epino ; Bell pepper; Nonbell pepper; and Roselle as well as cultivars , hy brids and/or varieties of these commodities HED Recommendation for Proposal 4 C

– Eggplant S ubgroup 8C : I recommend that ChemSAC concur to establish the third new subgroup, which wi ll be the Eggplant subgroup 8C, with eggplant or nonbell pepper being the representative commodity

for this subgroup. This third Crop subgroup is based on the wide variation in eggplants from pea shaped to large football shaped varieties and all have similar cultural practices. Eggplants are the third most widely

grown fruiting vegetable in this group. Nonbell peppers can substitute for eggplant as the representative commodity because the variation in size of the pepper and eggplant varieties are very similar. Eggplants can now be found in sizes as small as large peas (pea eggplant). If eggplants are to be used as the representative commodity a small cultivar of eggplant is needed. The USDA IR
- 4 petition suggested having small cultivars of eggplants such as Epic, Vernal, Nadia, or Ichiban . HED does not recommend placing these specific cultivars in the as part of the representative commodity in the Federal Register. Instead HED recommend the representative commodities for Crop subgroup 8C to be “o ne cultivar of nonbell pepper or one cultivar of small variety eggplant. The commodities of this Eggplant subgroup will include the following four:13

13 African eggplant; Eggplant; Pea eggplant; Scarlet eggplant as well as cultivars, hy brids and/or varieties of these commodities. IR- 4 Proposal 5 for Commodity Definitions 5. In 40 CFR 180.1 (g) revise the Commodity Definition s for Tomato 5a, and Pepper 5b as described below: Revise the Pepper and Tomato Commodity Definitions in 40 CFR 180.1 (g) as describe d below: 5a. Peppers Definition: Tolerances and exemptions established for pesticide chemicals in or on Peppers apply to the following commodities : from “ All varieties of peppers including pimentos and bell, hot, and sweet peppers .” To: 5a. Pepper Def

inition: Tolerances and exemptions established for pesticide chemicals in or on Pepper appl y to the following commodities: “ Okra ; Pepino ; Pepper s (including all peppers i.e. bell , nonbell, hot, sweet, etc., and cultivars and/or hy brids of these ) , and Rosel le .” 5b. Tomatoes Definition: from Tolerances and exemptions established for pesticide chemicals in or on “Tomatoes, tomatillos.” To: 5b. Tomato Definition: Tolerances and exemptions established for pesticide chemicals in or on “ Bush Tomato ; Cocona ; Currant tomato; G arden huckleberry ; Groundcherry ; Naranjilla ; Sunberry ; Tomatillo ; Tomato (including cultivars and/or hy brids of this ) ; and T ree t omato .” HED Recommendation for Proposal 5a

– Pepper Commodity Definition :
I recommend ChemSAC reject the proposal to add additional commodities to the IR
- 4 pepper s commodity definition [ 40 CFR Part 180.1(g)] because we are recommending instead to establish a new Pepper crop subgroup 8B. However, we have recommended in a recent Federal Register Notice [ Pe sticide Tolerance Nomenclature Changes; Proposed Technical Amendments, Federal Register:14

14 June 18, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 118. Pages 34678
- 34686)] to t o change the term peppers to singular a s follows:

“ Pepper All varieties of pepper including pimento and bell, hot, and sweet pepper. ” Based on the HED anal ysis Irecommend adding nonbell pepper to the definition to help avoid any confusion with amending the whole Fruiting vegetable group and the use of bell and nonbell pepper as specific commodities. A lso, Ihave added the peppers such as tabasco that registrants sometimes request a separate tolerance. Now with the proposed revision to the Fruiting vegetable crop group I recommend amending the 180.1(g) pepper definition to: The proposed pepper commodity definition [ 40 CFR Part 180.1(g)] should be as follows: “Pepper...... All The proposed pepper commodity definition [ 40 CFR Part 180.1(g)] should be as follows: “Pepper...... All cultivars, varieties and/or hyb rids of pepper including pimento bell, nonbell, chi li, hot, tabasco , paprika, and sweet pepper.” HED Recommendation for Proposal 5b

– Tomato Commodity Definition:
I recommend ChemSAC reject the proposal to add additional commodities to the IR
- 4 tomatoes commodity definition [ 40 CFR Part 180.1(g)] beca use we are recommending instead to establish a new Tomato crop subgroup 8A and the additional commodities will be part of this subgroup
. However, we have recommended in a recent Federal Register Notice [ Pesticide Tolerance Nomenclature Changes; Proposed Technical Amendments, Federal Register: June 18, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 118. Pages 34678
- 34686)] to t o change the term tomato from plural to singular a s follows:

“ Tomato
...................... Tomato, tomatillo.” I recommend C h emSAC agree to the “ T omato .....T omato, tomatillo commodity definition ” because it still helps clarify that tolerances established on tomatoes also applies to tomatillos. Making the se commodity terms standardizes them with the EPA Food and Feed Commodity Vocabulary
.15

15 Additional HED Recom mendations/Conclusions:
Recommendation 6 : Guidance for HED SOP 99.6
- “Classification of Food Forms with Respect to Level of Blending” issued August 20, 1999, and HED SOP 2000.1

– “ Guidance for Translation of Field Trial Data from Representative Commodities in the Crop Group Regulation to Other Commodities in Each Crop Group/Subgroup” issued September 12, 2000 can be updated to reflect the amendment to the Fruiting vegetable group 8.
Recommendation 7 : Guidance on expressing tolerance terminology for the Fruiting vegetable crop group 8 and the three proposed subgroups ( Tomato subgroup 8 A; Pepper subgroup 8 B; and the Eggplant subgroup 8 C are discussed under the “Tolerance expression guidance section of this an al ys is.
Recommendation 8 : The Health Effects Division Dry Matter and Seeding Rate Database prepared by Dr’s. Yuen
- Shaung NG and B. A. Schneider, was updated on June 2006 and June, 200 8 in Table 5 6 for the Fruiting Vegetable Group
. Recommendation 9 : New lookup and preferred EPA terms for the members of the Fruiting Vegetable Crop Group are listed in the EPA Food and Feed Commodity Vocabulary

section of this report (Table 5 8 ) and these terms will be added to the updated EPA Food and Feed Commodity

V ocabulary

website.16

16 ANALYSIS OF THE USDA IR- 4 PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH AN AMENDED FRUITING VEGETABLE GROUP 8
BOTANICAL AND HORTICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PROPOSED COMMODITIES: The plant famil y Solanaceae is one of the most interesting plant fam ilies in the world. Not only

because it is one of the largest families in plant kingdom with more than 75 genera and 2 ,000 species, but because it also includes species which have become essential for life. There are important edible species in this fami ly such as the potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), eggplant (Solanum melongena L. ) , and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum (L.) Karsten ex Farwell, pepper ( Capsicum species) , and the tomatillo ( Physalis philadelphica Lam. ). The plant family also includes species that are grown as ornamentals such as those belonging to the genera Browallia, Brunfelsia, Cestrum, Datura, Nicotiana, Petunia, Salpiglossis, Solanum, Solandra as well as tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum L. ) and some extremely dangerously poisonous plants
. Well kn own are the trumpet
- like flowers of Datura species which are popular as ornamental plants and which can produce flowers of up to 30 cm. in a variety of colors. Plants of this family also have uses as a medicine or narcotic e.g. , Atropa belladonna L. with atropine as an active ingredient used in ophthalmology , as dilatators of the pupil of the eye, thorn
apple leaves (

Datura species) used in cigarettes as bronchi
- dilatators for asthmatic patients. The plant family is associated with a lot of images in my th ology ; extracts have been used to stimulate hallucinations , as well as poisonous alkaloid plants such as Jimsonweed (

Datura stramonium ) , deadl y nightshade (Solanum dulcamara L. ) , and the mandrake (

Mandragora officinarum L .)
. The tomato was domesticated from a wild species that occurred in the Andean region of South America (Peru, Ecuador , and Bolivia) . It was brought to Central America and Mexico, and became a prominent part of the Aztec diet. Spanish tourists brought the tomato to Europe in the 1500' s. For more than a century most Europeans, aware that the tomato was a member of the nightshade famil y, believed that it was deadly poisonous and they

cultivated it only

as a garden oddity
. Tomatoes are grown for their edible fruit. The fruit is usually red to red
- orange, but it can also be pink, yellow, purple, green, white, or striped with various combinations. They vary in size from about one inch to the size of a softball. Most tomato fruits are round with an indentation at the top where the stem attached but the fruit shape can vary from round, to oblong, pointed,17

17 plum, pear shaped , flattened, heart
- shaped, elongated or deepl y ribbed. They all have smooth, shiny

skin and are easil y bruised. Tomatoes vary in acidity , with the white and ye llow ones being the least acidic. Sizes range from cherry tomatoes less than an inch across to giants that can weigh more than two pounds and exceed 6 in (15 cm) in diameter. There are hundreds of varieties of tomatoes available to the gardener; more than any other vegetable. Tomato varieties can be either determinate or indeterminate. Determinate tomato plants are smaller and generally have just one fruiting event. The indeterminate types continue to grow and produce fruit as long as conditions are favorable. They

require staking, trellising or caging, and their fruits usually are higher in sugar than determinate types. Technically , the tomato is a berry , defined as a fruit that does not split open and is fleshy except for the multiple seeds within and the dry skin on the outside. Legall y, however, the U
. S
. Supreme Court has decreed that the tomato is a vegetable for purposes of commerce and government regulations. By the time Columbus arrived in the New World , Amerindians had been using chile pepper s for more than 9000 years and growing their own for more than 5000 years. They are thought to originate in southern Mexico and Central America. Unknown to Europeans and Asians until Columbus "discovered" them , the chile pepper soon replaced black pepper (

Pipe r nigrum L.
- a totall y unrelated plant from India and the East Indies) as the world's most important and most used condiment. In fact 16th century Spanish merchants advocated use of the name "pimiento" for this new, cheaper spice, over the objections of D utch traders who were importing the more expensive real thing. The natives that Columbus met on the Caribbean Islands called them aji
. On the mainland, the Aztecs called them chilli , and most of the world still does today
. In Mexico, though, they are no w called chile , and in the U.S. they are called chile or chili or pepper , and for EPA residue guidelines and tolerance nomenclature they are considered nonbell peppers. In the Far East, the English word for hot peppers is chilli or chilly and the peppers that aren't hot are called capsicums
. Inthe 1500's visiting Spanish tourists "discovered" these crops in the New World and brought them back to Europe. From there, chiles quickly expanded to Africa and Asia where it has become an important component of the local diet. Today

peppers are part of the cuisine of just about every culture in the world. Ithas been estimated that there are between 2000 and 3000 different kinds of peppers cultivated around the world. Although there are about 23 species in the genus Capsicum , all the domesticated peppers have been selected from just five species Thousands of years of selection have resulted in peppers with similar characteristics and those species can be difficult to differentiate. For example Capsicum bacca tum is the only pepper species with distinct spots on the flower petals and with prominent looking teeth on the cal yx . This pepper in South America is also known as ‘aji’ and varies in pungency form mild to hot. Most of the peppers grown and eaten in tro pical and subtropical South America belong to this species and have purple flowers instead of off
white flowers. Peppers ( Capsicum baccatum ) probably originated in northern Argentina and Bolivia. It is cultivated throughout much of South America
. C. pub escens is the18

18 only pepper species with black seeds (all the others are straw colored). The stems and leaves are slightl y fuzzy. This is the most distinctive of all the cultivated peppers. The fruits look like small apples and have very thick fleshy

wall s. They

are extremel y hot
. They are called rocoto in South America and manzano , peron, or caballo in Mexico. Rocotos do not flower until the day s shorten to 12 hours of daylight, and the se are rarel y seen in the U.S., Europe or Asia. C. pubescens origin ated in the high elevations of the Andes in Equator and Bolivia. It is cultivated there as well as in the mountainous regions of Mexico and Central America. C. frutescens (including C. chinense ) probably originated in the Amazon basin of South America. Various cultivars are cultivated in the Caribbean region, Central and South America, Asia and Africa. Tabasco peppers are an important cash crop in southern Louisiana. C. annuum probabl y originated in Central America and Mexico. Peppers belonging to thi s species are cultivated in every country in the world. Today

India is the world's largest producer of chile peppers. Capsicum frutescen s includes some of the hottest of the peppers, but there also are some totally mild varieties
. Capsicum annuum is b y far the most important pepper species every where except South America. The flowers are usuall y solitary and usually cream y white. There are more than a thousand named cultivars. All of the bell peppers and most of the chil i peppers familiar to Americans belong to this species. P opular varieties of C. annuum are jalapeno , poblano , ancho , pasilla , chilaca , chiltepin , tepin , bird pepper, chile piquen , 'Big Jim', cherry

pepper, Thai pepper, Hungarian wax, peperoncini, New Mexican chile, Anaheim, banana pepper, cascabella , cascabel , serrano , paprika, mirasol , guajillo , pimento, chile de arbol , cayenne and cubanelle. O rnamental peppers like 'Fiesta', 'Trifetti' and 'Rooster' also belong to this species. Peppers are very

eas y to grow in the home garden. Mos t Americans describe peppers as either "hot" or "sweet." But these terms are not opposites; many of the fieriest chile pepper s can actually have sweet cultivars as well. Green (unripe) bell peppers are not hot, and they

aren't sweet either , compared to the sweetness of the red ripe bell peppers. Nonbell peppers are expected to keep increasing due to popularity of hot spicy foods in North America (U.S. and Canada), Europe, and Asia
.
There are many varieties of peppers varying in shape, color, and flavor
. Peppers have been classified b y their horticultural similar characteristics such as fruit size, shape, color, texture, flavor, and pungency as well as its uses ( Bosland , 1990, Salunkhe, 1998). The following groups of peppers were proposed and consist o f bell, paprika, pimiento, squash or cheese, cherry , cayenne, New Mexico, Jalapeno, Ancho, Pasilla, Serrano, and Piquin. The two main categories of peppers are sweet or bell peppers and hot Chil i or nonbell peppers. Most sweet peppers are bell shaped, thus the name bell pepper is common , and with 'California Wonder' being one of many varieties of mild, blocky19

19 shaped peppers that are usually 4

– 5 inches long and 3

– 4 inches in diameter. S weet peppers come in a range of shapes from round to oblong or ta pered . The pepper skin is smooth and shiny

and can be a range of colors. Most peppers are green when immature, and red if allowed to completely ripe. New cultivars offer both mature and immature peppers in red, yellow, orange, purple, or brown. Bells are eaten in the unripe green stage or allowed to ripen to red, orange or yellow, depending on the cultivar. Ripe peppers have a very

different flavor than green ones.

N onbell peppers can be classified by their shapes and hotness or heat caused by vari ous levels of Capsicum Bosland, 1990) . Hot peppers, including jalapeno, chili, and cayenne, are usuall y smaller than sweet peppers and come in many different shapes, colors, and heat strengths. Hot peppers also ripen from green to brighter colors (red, yellow, orange, and purple), and the heat intensifies as they ripen. They

range from elongated and pod shaped to crinkle and round, but all also have smooth and shiny skin. There are about 23 species of chi1i peppers (genus Capsicum), but nearl y all of th e cultivated varieties belong to one of just four or five species. In1912, pharmacist Wilbur Scoville invented a test to measure the hotness of peppers b y diluting the pepper until the heat was just perceptible on the tongue. The measurement became the Scoville rating or units which are measured in multiples of 100; and a bell pepper rated a 0 on this scale , while the African Birdseye pepper came in at over 100,000 on the Scoville scal e. Pepper Scoville units vary from 0
- 5,000 are considered mild; 5,000
- 15,000 medium; 15,000

– 30,000 medium hot, and > 50,000 extremely hot (Table 1)
. Techniques like HPL C chromatograph y actuall y measure the amount of capsaicin in the peppers. There are more than thirteen common categories of nonbell or c hil i peppers, classified b y their fruit shape and their heat in Scoville Units ( See Table 1 , and Bosland, 1990 )
. These are: (1 ) Paprika/Pimiento/Squash or Cheese peppers

– Pimiento peppers are a s weet heart
- shaped pepper type that is grebe when immature and turns red at maturity. Fruits are 3 inches long and 2 inches wide at the shoulders and are used in processed cheeses, meats, stuffed peppers or eaten fresh. The squash or cheese peppers differ from bells and pimientos by

being flat shaped and 1

– 2 inches long and 2
- 4 inches wide and are green or yellow when immature and turn red at maturity. These peppers are usually pickled or eaten fresh in salads. The Paprika peppers have deep rich flavo rs; allow to ripen fully , then dry and grind up and add to stews and soups and use as a garnish
. Paprika is a spice made from ground up red pepper pods. Paprika pepper in Europe is a pepper ty pe while in the U.S. it is a ground red sweet pepper ( C. annum ) product. 'Hungarian Spice' is one of many cultivars used to make the tangy powder. The mildest paprikas are made from mild peppers with the seeds and internal parts removed. More spicy paprika is ground from hotter peppers, and the placenta and some o r all of the seeds are often included. 'Hungarian Spice' is intermediate in spiciness. Paprika originated in Hungary but the20

20 peppers came originall y from the Americas
. It is used extensively in Hungarian cooking in almost every

meal! Paprika also is important in the cuisines of Bulgaria, Serbia, Spain and Morocco. Spanish paprika is usually a paler color and milder than Hungarian paprika. ( 2 ) Asian/Thai pepper

– which are small slender, thin
- walled fruits; (4 cm) green ripening to red; no distinct pepper flavor; high to extreme heat ( 50 ,000 to 100 ,000 Scoville Units). Thai peppers are small, seldom growing larger than 1 to 3 inches (2.5

– 7.6cm) long. They

are usually

less than 1/2 inch (1.2cm) wide, but provide plenty of heat. These slightl y curv y, potent peppers are typically bright red or deep green, and end in a sharp point. Us es include red ripe, fresh, or dried, to add hot spice or heat to curries , marinades, soups, and stir fry dishes ; ( 3 ) Cayenne/Tabasco

– Cayenne peppers are l ong, curved peppers 5

– 10 inches long b y 0.5

– 2.5 inch wide (12
- 25 cm x 1.5

– 6 cm) with two cells and thin wrinkled skin; generall y green but can be yellow or purple; medium to high heat ( 30 ,000 to <60,000 Scoville Units). Harvest red ripe; use fresh or dried to add heat to marinades, pizza, stews, soups, stir
- fries, and curries
. Tabasco peppers are the onl y types of Capsicum frutescens that are well known in North America. These small (4 cm) fiery peppers are the primary ingredient in tabasco sauce, the famous hot sauce that has been produced in southern Louisiana since 1848 when the peppers were first imported from the State of Tabasco in Mexico. ( 4 ) Chile or Chili/Anaheim/New Mexico/Pasilla pepper
- which are long and tapered ( 12
- 15 cm) and 5

– 7 cm wide with thin walls and two cells; ripen from green to red; mild to medium heat (1,000 to <8,000 Scoville Units). These include many varieties, some of which grow well in short northern climates and at high altitudes. They have mild pepper flavors; best roa sted and stuffed, or chopped and added to ethnic dishes; good for drying when red ripe. Anaheim peppers are often dried and processed into powder for use in canning and preparing sauces. The New Mexico or Mexican ty pe chili peppers range from 4 to 12 inc hes and are green when immature but most turn red at maturity , though orange, yellow, and brown types are common. When harvested green they are used fresh, canned or frozen and when red stage dried for chili powder used in sauces, salsa, or chile rellenos
. The p asilla pepper is one of the most distinctive of all the peppers. Its rich brown color portends it earth y chocolaty flavor. Pasilla pods can be 6
- 12 inches in length and 1

– 2 inches wide and usually deh ydrated before use in salsas. They're cal led chilaca when fresh and pasilla when smoked or dried. Pasilla is one of the three peppers used in ‘ mole (MOH
- lay) ’ sauce, which is the famous Mexican sauce that can take day s to prepare. D ifferent regions of Mexico all have their own ‘ mole ’ recipes, b ut the ‘ moles ’ from Oaxaca are the most well known. Most include rais i ns, onions,21

21 garlic, tomatoes, cinnamon, cloves, various nuts and seeds, tortillas, pasilla, guajillo and poblano chiles, and chocolate
. ( 5 ) Habañero

– which are s mall lantern shape (5 cm), thin
- walls; fruity taste and extreme heat ( 100,000 to 350 ,000 Scoville Units). Fruiting may be erratic in northern gardens. The habaneros are said to be the hottest of all the peppers
- up to 40 times hotter than a jalapeño! There are many different forms of habaneros: ty pical habaneros are orange when ripe, but some ripen to red, some to brown, some to white, and some to purple. In Jamaica, their home grown habaneros are known as "Scotch bonnets. They are usuall y used fresh in salsas. Mince ripe habaneros with onions, tomatoes and lime juice for a Caribbean hot sauce. It is used sparingly when fresh in fruit salsas, ceviche, jerk sauces, and Caribbean curries; ( 6 ) Hot Cherry
- which are t omato - shaped (2.5 cm) , thick
- walled green peppers; ripen to red; medium heat ( 1 ,000 to 16,000 Scoville Units). They have a rich, sweet flavor; use for pickles or poach them and stuff with meat or cheese; ( 7 ) Hungarian Wax/Banana pepper

– which are l ong and conical, tapering to a point; medium thick walls 2 to 6 inches long (5

– 15 cm) and 2 inches wide (5 cm) ; ripen ye llow to red; mild heat (1,000 to <5,000 Scoville Units). The peppers are also called ‘Caribe’, Guerito’, and ‘Guero’ in Mexico. The peppers are ad a ptable to many

climates. The mid
- hot Hun garian wax pepper is so named because it was developed in Hungary and it has a wax y color that resembles bees' wax. Strains that are totally mild are usuall y called banana peppers. Actually , wax peppers are orange red when ripe, but most people pick them while still yellow, before they ripen. Hungarian wax peppers have thin walls and usually

are used fresh in salads, but they also are pickled. This is a popular garden pepper and a reliable producer in cooler climates . Us e yellow or red ripe for pickles and chutney , or add them to salsas and fried dishes;
( 8 ) Jalapeño

– which are s hort ( 5
- 9 cm) and stubby (2

– 5 cm) with thick meaty walls; deep green; medium to high heat (5,000 to 8 ,000 Scoville Units). Numerous varieties include Jalapeños for short northern climates, selections with yellow and orange stages of ripeness, and others that are highl y productive. The jalapeño is one of the best known peppers in Mexico and the U.S. Although it's named after the city of Jalapa in Veracruz, jalapeños are grown and used throughout Mexico, and they go by different names in different regions. Jalapeños are onl y mildly hot , and they have thick, juicy flesh. They

are usuall y eaten in the green stage, fresh or pickled, but when allowed to ripen, jalapeños are s till hot but very sweet. S moke dry either green or red ripe to make22

22 chipotles
. Ripe jalapeños are often dried in mesquite or other hardwood smoke, and called chipotles
. Smoked jalapeños have a rich, chocolaty flavor that is used in sauces. There are do zens of jalapeño cultivars and breeders in the U.S. have even developed totally mild jalapeños;
( 9 ) Ornamental/hot edible pepper

– which are u pright, small, round or tapered, and thin walled; medium to high heat (5,000 to <60,000 Scoville Units). These peppers are bred in a variety of colors and with different shaped peppers. Taste these peppers cautiously

first, as some are bitter, some are exceptionally hot; pickle to add heat to salsas, marinades, and soups; ( 10 ) Poblano are called Ancho when dried

– which are f lat and round, slightly tapered (13 cm) with a blunt end; thin walls with three cells; dark green; mild heat (1,000 to <5,000 Scoville Units). Harvest green for roasting and stuffing; dry when red ripe and grind up for basic salsas and m oles; (1 1 ) Santa Fe Grande pepper

– which are m edium
- sized, tapered and conical; medium thick walls; yellow
- to - red; medium to high heat (5,000 to <60,000 Scoville Units). Use fresh when ripe; pickle or roast and add to quesadillas and tacos; and ( 1 2 ) Serrano pepper

– which are s lim, (5 cm) slightly club
- shaped with medium thick walls; green; about 2 in long and half inch wide , rich flavor; medium to high heat ( 10 ,000 to 28 ,000 Scoville Units). Serrano peppers are hotter than jalapeños, but not as hot as habaneros. They

have thick walls and a cavity that is filled with seeds. Itis used fresh in the green stage or fry or grill and use as a garnish or add to salsas, tacos, guacamole, and other traditional Mexican dishes. Serranos are popular in Mex ico where they are used fresh and pickled. Green serrano are used in salsa verde and serrano are the preferred pepper for pico de gallo , a hot relish popular in the southwestern U.S. (13) Piquin/Bird pepper

– these are small round to oval red peppers ( less than 0.5 inch wide and one inch long) are grown throughout Guatemala, Mexico, southern Arizona, and Texas. This pepper is also called chilepquin, and chiletepin. The green fruits are pickled while the red fruits are dried and ground and also used to treat stomach aches b y local Indians.23

23 Table 1. Nonbell/Chili Peppers Rated by Scoville Scale Units. Scoville scale Scoville rating Type of pepper
15,000,000

– 16,000,000 Pure caps aicin 2,000,000

– 5,300,000 Standard U.S. Grade pepper spray 855,000

– 1,041,427 Bhut jolokia 350,000

– 580,000 Red Savina Habanero 100,000

–350,000 Habanero chili , Scotch Bonnet , Thai pepper , Chocolate habanero 100,000

–350,000 Datil pepper , St Agustine Hot Pepper 100,000

–200,000 Roco to , Jamaican Hot Pepper, African Birdseye 50,000

– 100,000 Thai Pepper , Malagueta Pepper , Chiltepin Pepper , Pequin Pepper 30,000

– 50,000 Cayenne Pepper , Ají pepper , Tabasco pepper , some Chipotle peppers 10,000

–2 3,000 Serrano Pepper , Hildago, some Chipotle peppers, Yellow Wax 4,500

– 5,000 New

Mexican varieties of Anaheim pepper , Hungarian Wax Pepper 2,500

– 8,000 Jalapeño Pepper, Mirasol pepper 1,500

–2,500 Rocotillo Pepper 1,000

– 1,500 Poblano Pepper, C herry pepper 500

–2,500 Anaheim pepper , Ancho pepper, Pasilla pepper 100

– 500 Pimento , Pepperoncini , 0 No heat, Bell pepper , Paprika pepper , Sweet Banana24

24 In the wild, pepper seeds are dispersed by birds which ate the fruits. Unlike mammals, birds are immune to the effects of capsaicin; the ingredient that gives peppers their characteristic bite. Most of the capsaicin is located in the interior tissue (including the placenta area) of the pepper, where the see ds are attached (Figure 1) . Peppers can be rendered considerabl y less hot by slicing in half and scraping out the seeds and associated membranes with a spoon. The amount of capsaicin varies among chile pepper ty pes, with the growing conditions (hotter, dryer weather makes for hotter peppers) and even between fruits on the same plant. Ripe peppers are sweeter and often hotter than green peppers. 

## Figure 1. Anatomy of a Chili Pepper

The active principle that causes the heat in chile peppers is a cry stalline alkaloid generically

called capsaicin . It is produced by glands at the junction of the placenta and the pod wall. The capsaicin spreads unevenly throughout the inside of the pod and is concentrated mostly

in the placental tissue. Capsaicin is an incredibl y powerful and stable alkaloid seemingly unaffected b y cold or heat, which retains its original potency despite time, cooking, or freezing. Beca use it has no flavor, color, or odor, the precise amount of capsaicin present in chiles can onl y be measured b y high performance liquid chromatograph y (HPL C). Although it has no odor or flavor, it is one of the most pungent compounds known, detectable to the palate in dilutions of one to seventeen million. It is slightly soluble in water, but very soluble in alcohols, fats, and oils. The word capsaicin actuall y describes a complex of related components named capsaicinoids by Japanese25

25 chemists S. Kosuge an d Y. Inagaki in 1964. Capsaicinoids are the chemical compounds that give chile peppers their bite. The capsaicin in chile peppers can burn the skin and irritate the eyes , so w earing rubber gloves or rins ing your hands in rubbing alcohol after handling is recommended. Water won't help cool the mouth either but milk, yo gurt, rice and bread offer some relief. Capsaicin causes the brain to release endorphins, natural pain killers that promote a sense of well being. Ithas the effect of deadening pain recep tors. Topical applications of capsaicin are prescribed for arthritis, tendonitis, sore muscles and shingles. Capsaicin mouth washes and nasal spray s are prescribed for toothache, bronchitis, asthma, and migraine headaches. The nasal spray s stop chronic runny noses and sneezing and reduce congestion. Capsaicin aids digestion and appetite, seems to lower blood sugar and cholesterol and reduces blood clotting. Capsaicin creams for topical application as pain relievers are available as over
- the
- counter dru gs. Concentrated pepper spray s are used as defensive repellents b y mail carriers and police. Organic gardeners use pepper spray s to protect crops from insect, rabbit and deer damage: Blend habaneros with some water and liquid dishwashing soap. Hot pepp er powder keeps dogs, cats and squirrels away : Dry habaneros are then ground into powder. Eggplant is also grown for its fruit which usually has a glossy , dark purple skin. The fruit is botanicall y cl assified as a berry , and contains numerous small, soft seeds , which are edible, but are bitter because they contain ni cotinoid alkaloids
. The most common cultivars have a distinctive elongated broad oval shape, gently curving to a wider bottom. Other typ es of eggplant can be long and narrow or small an d egg
- shaped, and may be white, green, yellow, or striped , while the fruit can be any size from small to large and pendulous, depending on cultivar, and might be many colors, especiall y purple, green, or white. The e ggplant is native to In dia . It has been cultivated in southern and eastern Asia appears to have become known t o the Western world no earlier than ca. 1500 CE . The first known written record of the eggplant is found in ancient Chinese agricultural treatise completed in 544 CE. The numerous Arabic and North African names for it, along with the lack of ancient Greek and Roman names, indicate that it was introduced throughout the Mediterranean area b y the Arabs in the earl y Middle Ages
. The scientific name Solanum melongena is derived from a 16th century Arabic term for one kind of eggplant
. The name eggplant became popular in the United States , Australia , New Zealand , and Canada because the fruits of some 18th century Europe an cultivars were yellow or white and resembled goose or hen's eggs. They came in several colors and were grown as ornamentals, not for food. Some people claim to be able to identify the "sex" of an eggplant by

the size and sha

p e of the cut stem. Eggpl ants are called "aubergines" in Europe, "eggfruit" in Australia, "garden egg" in West Africa, and "brown jolly' in the West In dies , and in Trinidad , it also goes b y the Latin derivative "m elongen".26

26 Because of the eggplant's being a member of the Solanaceae (nightshade) family , it was at one time believed to be poisonous. While it is true that eggplant can generall y be eaten without ill effect b y most people, for some, the eating of eggplant as well as other edible nightshade plants (tomato, potato, and capsicum/peppers) can indeed be harmful. Some eggplants can be rather bitter, which can irritate the stomach lining and cause gastritis.
Okra is native to the Old World tropic al areas (probably West Africa) and has become established in the wild in some New World tropical areas. It is generall y believed that okra first reached the New World from slaves . Okra is a po pular and important food in Third World tropical countries. It is widel y used in India, Africa and the Middle East, but almost unknown in Europe and northern North America. Okra is a member of the hibiscus family and is grown as an annual that gets 3

– 8 feet tall (depending on the cultivar) and bears yellow flowers that give rise to the familiar okra pods so valued in Cajun gumbos. The plant is a rather coarse annual with large lobed, slightly spiny leaves and a thick, semi woody stem with few branches. The flowers are showy : hibiscus
- like with pale yellow or cream colored petals and purplish hearts. Okra blooms and produces over an extended season, usually until first frost. The pods come in green, pale lime, purple and red colors. Okra has an elong ated and tapered seed pod with a short stem cap and a hairy , ridged surface. Varieties used for commercial production have spineless fruit. Some varieties are adapted especiall y for northern climates, even performing well in southern Canada. Some are dw arf varieties, suited for small gardens; some are spineless and some are velvety until cooked. The standard American okra is 'Clemson Spineless" and accounts for 90 % of commercial production. Many people can get an itch y reaction from the little spines on the leaves and stems of okra, and should therefore be careful when working in the field and should wear gloves and a long
- sleeved shirt to avoid a reaction. However, even highl y sensitive individuals will not get the reaction from eating okra.

Rosell e is a robust many
- branched shrub
- like annual that grows 4
- 7 ft (1.2
- 2.1 m) tall and almost as broad and was originally native to tropical Africa, roselle is grown in the subtropics and tropics worldwide and ha d escaped cultivation and become naturaliz ed in tropical America and Asia. Fifty years ago it was widel y grown in Florida as a summertime hedge and for its edible cal yx es. The dark green leaves contrast with the red stems and petioles, and has the yellow flowers in October and November. The edible cal yx es are used to make juices, sauces, jellies, wines and pies.27

27 The tomatillo is a close relative of the tomato. The tomatillo is native to Mexico and Central America and is cultivated throughout the region. They also are cultivated in India, Aus tralia and South Africa as well as in the southern US. Tomatillos, especiall y the wild tomatillo ( P. philadelphica ), have naturalized in some areas outside their native range, including southern California. The plant is an annual with a much
branched, sp reading form, and a rank, weedy looking appearance. It grows 3
- 6 ft (0.9
- 1.8 m) tall and falls over and sprawls on the ground if not given support. The flowers are ye llow with purple markings and yield to the tomatillo fruit is technically a berry , a s is the tomato fruit. The fruit develops inside a green and purple bladder
- like caly x that looks like a small Chinese lantern hanging from the stem. Extracted from its papery husk, an unripe tomatillo is slightly sticky on the surface, and looks much li ke a small green tomato, 1
- 3 in (2.5
- 7.6 cm) in diameter; but the tomatillo has a drier texture and a distinctive flavor. Most tomatillos are slightly sour and sweet at the same time. They have a sharp, mildly

tart, but altogether pleasant flavor. When the fruit is fully ripe, it is lime
- green, yellow, or purple, and completel y fills the papery husk, which withers and dries, turns brown, and splits open. Ripe fruits are considerably sweeter than unripe ones. Physalis philadelphica is a closel y related species sometimes called wild tomatillo or miltomate, which is preferred b y some cooks and favored south of Mexico in Central America. The cultivar 'Purple de Milpa' has a sweet and sharp flavor and is considered by many to be the best flavored tomati llo. There can be excellent eaten out of hand, right off the vine, and store better than the other tomatillos. The related groundcherry or Chinese lantern (

P. alkekengi) is also grown for the attractive husks that are used in dried arrangements.
The naranjilla is a tall plant (ca. 2 m), bears globose berries of about 5 cm in diameter, orange and covered with short stiff hairs which have usually rubbed off b y the time the fruits have reached the market place. The pulp is green and gives a green juice, the form in which it is usually used. The taste is unique, but has been described by some as like that of a mixture of pineapples and strawberries. The plant was found by the Spanish in Ecuador and Colombia where most of it is still grown. It was introduce d to Panama and Costa Rica in the middle of this century where it is also grown today . In Colombia and Central America the plants usuall y have prickles on the stems and leaves whereas in Ecuador plants do not have prickles. Pest problems have limit ed its production in all of the countries where it is presently grown. Although the naranjilla is a perennial and should yi eld for several years, because of nematodes it is often grown as an annual in many places. The pepino shows some similarities to the tre e tomato in that it is also native to the Andes where it is an important fruit and it has also recently been grown in New Zealand where it is exported to the United States, Europe and Japan. There are many differences between the pepino and the tree tomat o, in which the pepino is eaten raw and it was probabl y domesticated much earlier than the tree tomato; in addition, its origin is more complex and the two plants are very different in appearance. Pepino is the Spanish28

28 word for cucumber and the plant was so named by the Spanish because of a slight resemblance to some cucumbers. The tree tomato was originally named Solanum betaceum , then was transferred to the genus Cyphomandra , and recently has been returned to the genus Solanum . The tree tomato has lo ng been popular in the Andes, where it is native, and in many other parts of the tropics. It has been grown successfull y in New Zealand and has been exported to the north temperature zone for around two decades. The fruit is eaten raw, as juice, preserves , jellies, and as vegetable, either cooked or raw in salads. Several wild species of the tree tomato in South America also have edible fruits. Various parts of the tree tomato, particularl y the leaves have been used in folk medicine in Latin America. A wild ancestor of the tree tomato has not yet been identified but recent studies indicate that it most likely

had its origin in the southern Andes, perhaps Bolivia, and that the cultivated tree tomato was derived from a wild form of the same species.
GROW TH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE F RUIT ING VEGETABLE CROPS Understanding how the fruiting vegetable crops grow and develop is a key part of developing a pest control strategy for optimum fruit yield and quality and a helpful reference for anal ys is of residue fie ld trials by EPA scientists. Proper timing of pesticide applications, based on crop growth stage and pest growth cycle can improve a product’s efficacy and prevent crop injury

and yi eld losses. Pesticide labels often use crop growth stages and codes to i dentify when to appl y a pesticide. Some of the recognized growth stages for the fruiting vegetables are discussed in the below Table 2 as well as selected growth stages for pesticide scouts to use in Florida for recording pest problems (Table 3)
. Table 2. Selected Growth Stages of Fruiting vegetables Including T omato, Eggplant, and Peppers. BBCH Identification Codes (Adapted from Feller et al., 1995). BBCH Code Principal Growth Stage General Description 00 Dry

seeds Planting seeds. 09 Sprouting/Bud development Emergence, cotyl edons break soil surface. 10 Leaf development Cotyledons completel y unfolded. 11 Leaf development First true leaves. 19 Leaf development Nine or more leaves on main shoot unfolded. 21 Formation of Side Shoots First apical side shoots visible. 29 Formation of Side Shoots Nine or more apical primary shoots visible. 30 Stem elongation29

29 BBCH Code Principal Growth Stage General Description 51 In florescence emergence First inflorescence visible First flower bud.. 53 In florescence emergence Third flower bud visible. 61 Flowering First inflorescence, first flower open. 63 Flowering Third inflorescence, first flower open. 69 Flowering Nine or more inflorescences, with open flowers. 71 Development of Fruit First fruit cluster: first fruit reaches typical size
. 79 Dev elopment of Fruit Ninth fruit cluster: cluste r s of fruit have reached typical size. 81 Ripening of fruit and seed 10% of fruit show typical ripe color. 85 Ripening of fruit and seed 50% of fruit show typical ripe color. 89 Ripening of fruit and seed Fu lly ripe: fruits have ty

pical fully ripe color. 97 Senescence Plants dead
... 99 Senescence Fruits are harvested.
Table 3 . Tomato Growth Stages f or Use by Florida Pest Scouting . (http://ftsg.ifas.ufl.edu/APP4.htm). Tomato Grow

th Stage Grow

th Stage C ode Cotyledons 1 First true two leaves 2 Three
- eight true leaves 3 First bloom 4 Second bloom 5 First fruit set 6 Secon d fruit set 7 First harvest 8 Second harvest 930

30 Climate and Soils Affect Fruiting Vegetable Adaptation to Certain Regions:
All of the fruiting vegetables are warm season annual or perennial herbaceous plants that require a frost free growing season
. Tomatoes are a warm season crop that grow s in many

soils varying from sand to heavy clay s. For best growing conditions a well drained loam soil is best. The tomatoes prefer a soil pH ranging from 6.0

– 7.0. Peppers need a well drained soil with a pH of 5.0

– 7.5. Optimum soil pH for bell peppers is between 6.0

– 6.5. Bell peppers prefer slightly lower temperature growing condi tions than do chili peppers. Chili or nonbell peppers can also be grown in subtropical and tropical areas with rainfall amounts of 25

– 30 inches. Eggplant requires a long growing season and can be grown on a wide variety of soils, including well drained loams and clay

loam soils with a pH of 5.5

– 6.0. Okra can be grown in any typ e of soil ranging from sandy to clay as long as it is rich in organic matter and well drained. Optimum soil pH is 7.0. U.S./NAFTA AND WORLD PRODUCTION AND GEOGRAPHICAL DIS TRIBUTION OF THE CITRUS FRUIT COMMODITIES: Proposed members of the Fruiting vegetable crop group 8 find widespread distribution throughout the world. Based on FAO agriculture statistics the most widely produced crop in hectares and in total metric tons is the tomato ( Table 4 ). The United States has 3. 9 % of the total tomato hectares , 2.1 % of the total chili pepper hectares, 0.2% of the total okra hectares, and 0.1 %. In total production (Mt) the U.S. produces 4.1% of the chili peppers, and 0.2 % or l ess o f world production of the other fruiting vegeta ble s . Asia is the predominant fruiting vegetable producing region with over 50% of the fruiting vegetable production. According to the USDA, production of eggplant is highl y concentrated, with 93 percent of output coming from seven countries. China is the top producer(55% of world output) and India is second (28%); Egy pt, Turkey, and Japan round out the top producing nations. United States is the 20th largest producer. More than 4 million acres (16,00 0 m2) are devoted to the cultivation of eggplant in the world31

31 Table 4 . M ajor Fruiting Vegetable Production in 200 4 (FAO STATISTICS; NORDEN 2005c) Countries/ regions Chili pepper Eggplant Okra Tomato Africa 277,229 ha

2,104,239 Mt 63,586 ha

1,124, 343 Mt 344,600 ha

1,059,015 Mt 682,297 ha

13,748,021 Mt C
. America 146,164 ha

1,891,420 Mt 2,760 ha

61,700 Mt 7,430 ha

41,250 Mt 82,002 ha

2,494,366 Mt NAFTA 36,160 ha

1,014,537 Mt 2100 ha

61,000 Mt 1,200 ha

8,100 Mt 181,123 ha

13,572,838 Mt S. Ameri ca 30,498 ha

398,069 Mt 870 ha

9,300 Mt 600 ha

4,200 Mt 145,869 ha

6,499,690 Mt Asia 1,002,261 ha

15,577,848 Mt 1,597,871 ha

27,800,766 Mt 423,800 ha

3,871,298 Mt 2,585,292 ha

59,662,771 Australia 2,485 ha

40,810 Mt – – 7,300 ha 364,400 Mt Europe 142,64 4 ha

2,886,996 Mt 30,713 ha

767,774 Mt – 679,718 ha 23,096,037 Mt New Zealand 160 ha

5,000 Mt – – 630 ha 87,000 U.S. 34,400 ha

977,760 Mt 2,100 ha

61,000 Mt 1,200 ha

8,100 Mt 172,810 ha

12,766,000 Mt World Total 1,655,616 ha

24,026,852 Mt 1,700,655 ha

29,840,793 Mt 777,940 ha

4,986,413 Mt 4,421,734 ha

120,384,017 Mt In the U.S fruiting vegetables are widely consumed with the per capita consumption in 200 7 for the following fresh fruiting vegetables are reported as tomatoes at 20. 4 lb , peppers at 14.3 lb (bell peppers at 7.8 lb and nonbell peppers at 6.5 lb), and eggplants at 0.9 lb (Table s 5 , 1 4, 1 6, and 1 7 ). Canned tomatoes also accounted for 70.4 lb/capita (Tables 5 and 17) . Canada fruiting vegetable per capita consumption also shows tomatoes are the most highl y consumed fruiting vegetable (Table 6)
. Table 5 . Fruiting Vegetable lb/person/year, F arm W eight for 2004

– 2007 (USDA ERS, 2007, VGS - 324). Fruiting Vegetable 2004

(lb/person ) 2005

(lb/person ) 2006

(lb/person ) 2007

(lb/person ) Pepper, all ty pes 13.1 13.1 14.1 14.3 Chil i pepper, all 6.1 6.0 6.4 6.5 Bell pepper, all 7.0 7.1 7.7 7.8 Tomato, all ty pes: 90.4 93.7 84.3 90.9 Fresh tomato 20.0 20.2 19.9 20.4 Canning tomato 70.4 73.5 64.4 70.5 Eggplant 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.932

32 Table 6 . Canadian Fruiting Vegetable kg/per capita U se for F resh M arket U tilization for 2004

– 2006 (USDA ERS, 2007, VGS - 324). Fruiting Vegetable 2004 2005 2006 Eggplant 0.42 0.42 0.45 Pepper, fresh 3.55 3.93 3.90 Tomato, all 15.34 14.9 3 14.93 Tomato, fresh 7.61 7.23 7.19 Tomato, canning 3.73 3.71 3.77 Tomato, juice ( liters ) 1.30 1.40 1.36 Tomato, paste, pulp, puree 2.62 2.59 2.61

Based on the USDA CSFII 1994

– 1996, 1998 survey , using two day individ ual consumption for determined fruiting vegetable consumption (g/day) is listed in Table 7
. Tomato has the highest consumption (13.7 g/day) of all the fruiting vegetables followed by bell pepper (3.08 g/day), nonbell pepper (0.9 g/day), eggplant (0.454 g/ day), and okr a (0.445 g/day).
Table 7 . Consumption of the Fruiting Vegetables Based on USDA CSFII 1994

– 1996, 1998 S urvey . COMMODITY CONSUMPTION (g/day) Eggplant 0.454 Okra 0.445 Pepper, bell 3.08 Pepper, bell, dried 0.0152 Pepper, bell, dried
- babyfood 0.000148 Pepper, nonbell 0.912 Pepper, nonbell, dried 0.137 Pepper, nonbell
- bab yf

ood 0.0000444 Tomatillo 0.16 Tomato 23.7 Tomato
- bab yfood 0.000136 Tomato, dried 0.0476 Tomato, dried
- bab yf

ood 0.0000013 Tomato, juice 2.55 Tomato, paste 3.4233

33 COMMODITY CONSUMPTION (g/day) Tomato, paste
- bab yf

ood 0.00778 Tomato, puree 0.149 Tomato, puree
- babyfood 0.00361
IMPORTS/EXPORTS OF THE CITRUS FRUITS : Despite the U.S. being a major producer of fruiting vegetables (Table 4 ) s ignificant amounts of some of the fruiting vegetables are still imported. The amount of a commodity

can vary widely from year to year based on differences in U.S. production, weather effects, and consumer demand. Tomatoes are also the most widel y importe d fruiting vegetable to the U.S. (Table 8). The predominant ty pe of tomato imported (Table 9) is the greenhouse/hothouse tomato (40%) and the plum or Roma ty pes (34%). Imports of canned tomatoes included paste, sauce, and whole tomatoes (Table 10). The USDA Foreign Agriculture Trade Statistics (FATUS) reported that in 200 6 over 7,379 MT of greenhouse chili peppers were imported from other countries with Mexico accounting for 88 % , C anada for 5 % , and the Dominican Republic for 4%. Greenhouse bell peppers had over 1 , 312,494 MT imported from Mexico (45%), Canada (36%), Netherlands (11%) and Is rael (2%). Field grown Chili peppers over 22 3 , 32 4 MT with over 99% imported from Mexico. Over 31 , 000 MT of eggplants were imported with Mexico accounting for 90% and Honduras for 9%. Over 38,107 MT of fresh okra was imported from Mexico (83%), Honduras (10%) and El Salvador (4%). Bell peppers field grown were over 193,342 MT imported with 90% from Mexico, 8% from Canada, and 2% from the Netherlands. Greenhouse tomat oes had over 196,966 MT with 50% from Mexico, 48% from Canada and 2% from the Netherlands. Cherry tomatoes approximately 10,274 MT were imported from Mexico (96%) and Israel (2.6%). Other tomatoes had over 115,727 MT imported with 99% from Mexico. Accordin g to the USDA, ERS in 2006 approximately 2,250,000,000 lb of fresh market tomatoes were imported.
Table 8 . Vegetable, F resh M arket and Okra Frozen U.S. Imports (1,000 lb) for 2005 - 200 7 . (USDA ERS, 2007, VGS - 324 , USDA ERS, 2008, VGS - 2008). Fruiting V egetable 2005 (1,000 lb) 2006 (1,000 lb) 200 7 (1,000 lb) Eggplant 119,263 108,181 110,991 Pepper, bell 652,574 716,124 726,410 Pepper, nonbell 425,381 508,622 563,350 Tomato, all ty

pes 2,098,114 2,187,731 2,360,726 Okra 21 ,240 21,742 NA34

34 Table 9 . United States Tomatoes Imports by Types for Fresh Market (1,000 lb) for 200 6 - 2007. ( USDA ERS, 2008, VGS - 2008). Commodity 200 6 (1,000 lb) 200 7 (1,000 lb) Tomato, Roma (plum ty

pe ) 822,656 936,104 Tomato, Hothous e ( Greenhouse) 708,716 813,182 Tomato, Grape/cherry 147,341 157,323 Tomato, Round/other 509,169 454,115 Tomato, All ty

pes 2,187,731 2,360,726
Table 10 . Canned Tomatoes ( P aste, S auce, and W hole) Imports (1,000 lb) to the U.S. for 200 5 - 2006. (USDA ERS, 2007, VGS - 324). Commodity 2005 (1,000 lb) 2006 (1,000 lb) Tomato, paste 2 22,930 258,345 Tomato, sauce 258,345 275,749 Tomato, whole 35,915 36,160 The U.S. is also a major exporter of fruiting vegetable commodities (Table 1 1 )
. In 200 7 (USDA FATUS) approximately 117,172 MT of fresh tomatoes was exported to Canada and account ed for 84 %, Mexico for 13 %, and Hong Kong at 3 %. Approximately 99% of the 9.626 MT of eggplants were exported to Canada. Over 96% of the fresh peppers were exported to Canada and 1.7% to Mexico. Of the 7,159 MT cherry tomatoes that are exported 47% went to Mexico and 50% to Canada
. Over 96% of the fresh peppers were exported to Canada and 1.7% to Mexico. Of the 11, 579 MT of plum tomatoes that are export ed went to Canada at 77% and Mexico at 23%. According to the USDA, ERS in 2006 approximately 330,000,000 lb of fresh market tomatoes were exported with 85% going to Canada and 11% to Mexico and 3% to Japan. Most of the ty pes of tomatoes exported are the standard round tomatoes (Table 12). Canned tomato products exported from the U.S includes t omato, pulp, puree, paste, sauce, juice, catsup and chili (Table 1 3 ). Utilization of U.S. grown fresh tomatoes and processed tomatoes are presented in Tables 14 an d 15 respectivel y. Utilization of fresh bell peppers and eggplant are presented in Tables 16 and 17. The total U.S. supply produced is fairly stable from 2005 to 2007.35

35 Table 1 1 . Vegetable, F resh M arket U.S. Exports, (1,000 lb) for 2005 - 2006. (US DA ERS, 2007, VGS - 324 , ERS, 200 8 , VGS - 2008 ). Fruiting Vegetable 2005 (1,000 lb) 2006 (1,000 lb) 2007(1,000 lb) Eggplant 21,298 21,279 21,496 Pepper, bell and nonbell 156,374 140,193 152,512 Tomato 326,507 317,870 354,453
Table 1 2 . United Stat es Tomatoes all Fresh Market Exports (1,000 lb) for 200 6 - 2007. ( USDA ERS, 2008, VGS - 2008). Commodity 200 6 (1,000 lb) 200 7 (1,000 lb) Tomato, Roma (plum) 25,528 28,461 Tomato, Grape/cherry 15,783 22,600 Tomato, Round/other 276,439 303,392 T omato, All ty

pes 317,750 354,453
Table 1 3 . Canned Tomatoes ( P ulp and P uree, P aste, S auce, J uice, C atsup and C hili, and O thers), U.S. Exports (1,000 lb) for 2005 - 2006. (USDA ERS, 2007, VGS - 324). Commodity 2005 (1,000 lb) 2006 (1,000 lb) Tomato, pulp an d puree 32,970 33,192 Tomato, paste 274,189 263,888 Tomato, sauce 318,033 352,240 Tomato, juice 3,233 7,975 Tomato, catsup and chili 77,580 74,076 Tomato, other 104,084 104,99036

36 Table 1 4 . United States Fresh Tomato (Field and Greenhouse) Supply (Production, Imports, Total) and Utilization (Exports, Domestic Use, Per Capita Use) for 2005 - 2007. (USDA ERS, 2007, VGS - 324). Year Production (million lb) Imports

(million lb) Total Supply

Production (million lb) Utilization

Exports ( million lb) Utilization

Domestic (million lb) Per

Capit a Use (lb) 2005 4,220 2,098 6,236.0 327 5,993 20.2 2006 229,242 46,000 24.5 318 5,967 19.9 2007 680,327 140,000 74.4 335 6,175 20.4
Table 1 5 . United States Tomatoes for Proc essing Supply (Production, Imports, Total) and Utilization (Exports, Domestic Use, Per Capita Use) for 2005 - 2007. (USDA ERS, 2007, VGS - 324). Year Production

(million lb) Imports

(million lb) Total

Supply Production (million lb) Utilization

Exports (millio n lb) Utilization

Domestic (million lb) Per

Capita Use (lb) 2005 20,386 1,308 38,808 2,971 21,831 73.5 2006 21,224 1,698 36,928 3,042 19,300 64.4 2007 24,600 1,780 40,965 3,000 21,345 70.5
Table 1 6 . United States Fresh Bell Peppers (Field and Greenh ouse) Supply (Production, Imports, Total) and Utilization (Exports, Domestic Use, Per Capita Use) for 2005 - 2007. (USDA ERS, 2007, VGS - 324 ). Year Production

(million lb) Imports

(million lb) Total

Supply Production (million lb) Utilization

Exports (million lb) Utilization

Domestic (million lb) Per

Capita Use (lb) 2005 1,604 653 2.257 156 2,100 7.1 2006 1,723 716 2,439 140 2,299 7.7 2007 1,775 725 2,500 160 2,340 7.837

37 Table 1 7 . United States Eggplants Supply (Production, Imports, Total) and Utiliza tion (Exports, Domestic Use, Per Capita Use) for 2005 - 2007. (USDA ERS, 2007, VGS - 324). Year Production

(million lb) Imports

(million lb) Total

Supply Production (million lb) Utilization

Exports (million lb) Utilization

Domestic (million lb) Per

Capita Use (lb) 2005 174 119 293 21.2 272 0.9 2006 185 108 293 21.3 272 0.9 2007 1,775 725 280 21.0 259 0.9 U.S. FRUITING VEGETABLE PRODUCTION AND GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION : Production in the U.S. is based on the USDA 200 6 Agricultural Statistics, FAO Stati stics, 2005, USDA ERS 200 7 Vegetables and Melons 200 6 Summary , USDA NASS Crop Production, 2006, and the U.S. Agricultural Census, 2002: According to the 2002 AGCensus tomato is the highest produced fruiting vegetables with > 80% available acres followed b y peppers (bell, nonbell, pimento) at 17.9%, and 1.1 % eggplant. Greater than 98% of the fruiting vegetable crop group is planted to either t omato or pepper (Table 18). The production for the fruiting vegetables for 2005

– 2007 shows acres for tomatoes are constant with a decrease of 6,000 planted acres in 2007 and nonbell pepper decline for the same period of 8,000 planted acres (Table 19). Table 18. U.S. Fruiting Vegetable Crops Planted Acres in 2002 (AGCensus , 2002) and Domestic Production for 2006 (USDA NASS, 200 7) . FRUIT ING VEGETABLE HARVESTED ACRES (A) PERCENT OF

TOTAL FRUTING VEGETABLE ACREAGE DOMESTIC

FRUTING VEGETABLE PRODUCTION (1.000 cwt) 2006 Eggplant 6,401 1.1 %
- Okra 3,069 0.6 % 409 Pepper, Bell 56,998 10.2 % 17,233 Pepper, Chili (all peppers except bell) 42,666 7.7 % 4,192 Pimento pepper 16 < 0.1 %
- Tomato 448,500 80.4 % 36,844** TOTAL U.S. 557,650 100.0 % * Based on Food and Feed Crops of the United States and the USDA Agricultural Statistics, USDA NASS, 200 7, and USDA AGCENSUS, 2002
. ** Also, tomatoes for processing produced 10,611,820 tons. Tomato data does not include cherry and grape tomatoes and greenhouse tomatoes.38

38 Table 19 . Vegetable, F resh M arket H arvested A cres for 2005 - 200 7 . (USDA ERS, 2007, VGS - 324 and USDA ERS, 2008, VGS - 2008). Fruiting Vegetable 2005

Acres Production

2005 (1,000 cwt) 2006

Acres Production

2006 (1,000 cwt) 200 7

Acres Production

200 7 (1 ,000 cwt) Pepper, bell 56,800 16,577 60,600 17,643 54,300 14,677 Pepper, nonbell 32,700 4,009 28,400 4,783 24,700 4,192 Tomato (greenhouse and fresh) 125,700 48,486 122,800 49,702 119,200 37,832 Cherry tomato includes grape tomato varieties - 4,227
- 4,182
- -

Twenty states produce fresh
- market tomatoes on a commercial scale with California and Florida comprising 64 % of the producing acres and California has over 94 % of the processed tomato acres (Tables 20, 21). T omat oes are produced in every state in the nation , however, onl y 20 states on a commercial scale. There were 300, 700 A planted for processing tomatoes in 2006 (Table 21). Over 99% of the tomatoes processed for canning and juice are under a grower contract. A m ap showing the harvested acres of t omatoes is found in Appendix I I
. There were 60,600 A planted for bell peppers in 2006 (Table 2 2).
Table 2 0 . Bell Pepper and Tomato Fresh Market Harvested By State and Total Spring Season 2006 - 2007 and Forecasted 2 008. (USDA NASS, 2008, VEG 1 - 1). Commodity/State Usual

Harvested Period Acres

Harvested 2006 Acres

Harvested 2007 Predicted

Harvested Acres 2008 Bell pepper (includes fresh market and processed) April
- July

Florida 7,600 7,400 7100 Texas 100* Tomato California April

– June 8,000 8,000 7,00039

39 Commodity/State Usual

Harvested Period Acres

Harvested 2006 Acres

Harvested 2007 Predicted

Harvested Acres 2008 Florida April
- July 17,500 17,200 15,000 South Carolina May
-

August 3,000 2,700 2,000 Total* 28,500 27,900 29,500 * Texas acres discontinued in 2006. Tab le 2 1 . State Distribution and Percent of Tomato Acres Harvested and Production for Fresh Market (1,000 cwt) and Processing (tons) in 2006 and 2007. (USDA AgStatistics, 2007 ). State Planted Acres

2006 (%) for Fresh market Production

Tons 2006 (1,000 cwt) for Fresh Market Planted

Acres 2006 (%) for Processing Production

Tons 2006` (1,000 cwt) for Processing CA 41,000 (33%) 11,480 (32%) 282,000 (94%) 11,965,000

(95%) FL 38,500 (31%) 15,475 (11%)
- - GA 6,000 (5%) 2,160 (2%)
- - IN 1,500 ( <1%) 165 (<1%) 7,800 (3%) 225,500 (2%) OH 6,600 (5%) 2,145 (6%) 6,300 (2%) 171,690 (1%) VA 5,800 (5%) 2,233 (6%)
- MI 2,000 (2%) 460 (<1%) 3,300 (1%) 112,200 (1%) TN 3,900 (3%) 1,190 (3%)
- - T otal U.S. 122,800 36,844 299,400 10,611,820
Table 2 2 . State Distribution and Percent of Bell Peppers Acres Harvested and Production for Fresh Market (1,000 cwt) and Processing (tons) in 2006 and 2007. (USDA AgStatistics, 2007 ). State Planted Acres 20 06 (%) Production 2006 (1,000 cwt) CA 28,000 (46 %) 9,250 (54 %) FL 16,500 (27 %) 4,056 (24 %) GA 4,200 (7%) 1,134 (6 %) NJ 3,200 (5 %) 944 (5 %) OH 2,400 (4 %) 912 (5 %) NC 4,800 (8 %) 576 (3 %) MI 1,300 (2 %) 351 (2 %) Total U.S. 60,600 17,23340

40 The percent of the total produce sales for the fruiting vegetables sold in grocery store for the ye ars 200 5

– 200 7 is shown in Table 2 3 (The Packer, Fairchild, 200 7 , 2008 ). Tomatoes account for 7.6 % of the total produce sales foll owed b y bell pepper, nonbell pepper, eggplant and okra. In appears that chili peppers are increasing in popularity from 2006 to 2008 by

0.4 %. The fruiting vegetable group accounts for > 11 % of the produce sold in the U.S.
Table 2 3 . The Packer (Fairc hild, 200 7, 2008 ) list the percent of the total grocery store produce sales for the fruiting vegetables fr uits sold for the years 200 5

– 200 7 . Commodity Percent of

Total Produce Sales

– 2005 and Pounds Sold in 2005 Percent of

Total Produce Sales

– 2006 a nd Pounds Sold in 2006 Percent of

Total Produce Sales

– 200 7 and Pounds Sold in 200 7 Notes

Eggplant 0.2% and

45,887,852 lb 0.2% and

47,458,298 lb 0.2% and

46,285,165 lb In cludes regular,

baby , baby

white, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and white varieties. Okra > 0.1 % and

4,243,390 lb > 0.1 % and

4,164,225 lb > 0.1 % and

3,849,062 lb Pods come in

various lengths and colors including white, red, green, and purple. Pepper, bell 2.5 % and

408,027,163 lb 2.4 % and

418,372,925 lb 2.4 % and

430,814,149 lb Pepper, nonbell 0.3 % and

94,188,932 lb 0.6% and

97,030,703 lb 0.7% and

101,009,832 lb The nonbell

peppers include hot and sweet varieties such as Anaheim, banana, cubanelle, Fresno chili, habanero, jalapeno, pasilla, pimiento, poblano , and serrano. Tomato 8.2 % and

1,147,898,622 lb 8.2 % and

1,153,828,125 lb 7.6 % and

1,137,659,701 lb In cludes cherry ,

grape, green, roma/plum, vine
ripened, and ye llow tomatoes.41

41 Specific Fruiting Vegetable Crop Production: African Eggplant African eggplant is a small tropical , perennial, originally from Africa but is now cultivated on a large scale in Suriname. Temperatures below 40°F will damage the fruit. The fruit is round, bright green cal yxand pale creamy
- white skin. The crop grows in warm, non - humid conditions found throughout the savannah belt of West and East Africa. The optimal temperature for the crop is 23

– 35°C during day s and 18

–25°C during nights. It can grow on a wide range of well
- drained soils. Itis adapted to USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 9

– 11.
Bush Tomato : The bush tomato or bush raisin is known locally as “kampurarpa”, is a small clonally spreading under shrub with yellow fruit that dry on the plant to resemble a raisin. The fruit provides excellent nourishment and is recognized as possibl y the most important of all Central Australian native plant foods, and is one of the key commerciall y significant “bush food ” species. One of the main obstacles to the horticultural cultivation of S. centrale is the low germination rate of the seed. Itis nati ve to Central Australia (S outh Australia , W estern Australian and N orthern T erritory) in areas with 150 to 300 mm rainfall. Itis a s mall shrub to 30 cm that produces underground suckers from the mother plant , and has s pines on its branches. In Australia it is grown or wild harvested a bout 20 ha annuall y . Cocona : The cocona plant is a much
- branched, herbaceous shrub 6 1/2 ft (2 m) high, with downy stem, densel y white
- hairy twigs, and ovate leaves 18 in (45 cm) long and 15 in (38 cm) wide. New shoots are rusty- hairy on the underside. The wild variety georgicum has spines on stem, branches and leaves. The spineless cocona is apparently unknown in the wild, having been observed b y botanists only in cultivation from Peru and Colombia to Venezuela and bo rdering regions of Brazil. The fruits are consumed b y the native Indians and commonl y marketed throughout the producing areas of Latin America. In Colombia and Brazil, the cocona is a domestic product, while in Peru it is the basis of an industry
. The w ild variety , S . topiro var. georgicum Heiser, of the lowlands of eastern Ecuador and Colombia, is a smaller plant with smaller fruits and with spines on the stem, branches and leaves. In Florida and Trinidad, the cocona is grown at near sea level. In Col ombia, it is grown from sea
- level to an elevation of 2,000 ft (610 m), while elsewhere in South America it thrives at altitudes up to 3,000 or 4,000 ft (910
- 1,200 m). Unlike the naranjilla, the plant needs full sun.42

42 Currant tomato : The currant tomat o is not grown commercially , although occasionall y seen in gardens. Because of its resistance to several diseases it has been used in breeding more disease resistant tomato varieties. It is n ative to Andean areas of South America
. The plant is more slen der in growth than tomato. Itis not yet produced in the U.S. commerciall y but it is grown as a novelty in some home gardens. Eggplant: Eggplant originated in Southeast Asia, probabl y India. Eggplant is cultivated as a food crop in all warm areas of the world, and many different varieties have become associated with different regions, for example Italian eggplants, Japanese eggplants or Middle Eastern eggplants. The plant, as grown commercially , is a warm season annual, much branched, 2 to 4 feet tall, with large ovate or oblong leaves, densely pubescent on the lower surface. Fruits are normally large, 3 to as much as 10 inches long, and smooth
skinned, with caly

x retained at base when marketed. They are near globular to py

riform, or elongated in sh ape. The Japanese eggplant is small, slender and purple in color. Marketable eggplant fruit can range in size from thumb or grape size to almost football size and are purple, ye llow, striped, purple
- black, white or green color. The long, slender, Japane se aubergines have a thinner skin and more delicate flavor. Eggplants are cold
- sensitive and require a long warm season for best results. Bab y J apanese and Japanese eggplants (variety ‘ Millionare ’ ) are available from February to October from California and Mexico. Canada also grows eggplant. Japan grow s over 11,700 h a producing 390,700 T in 2004 (NAGASAWA 2005c). Canada grew 455 acres in zones 5, 5B, 11, and 12 in 2003 (HYNES 2005b). USDA plant hardiness zones for eggplant are zones 4
- 10. EPA Crop P roduction Regions include 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 and 13
. In2002 there were 6,401 harvested acres of eggplants in the U.S. and the top eggplant producing States were California ( 1,475 ), Florida ( 1,174 acres), Georgia ( 1,120 ) , New Jersey ( 821 ), Michigan (400) , North Carolina (170), Hawaii (163), New York (136), South Carolina (123), and Texas (105).
Goji berry : Goji berry

is the common name for the plant Lycium barbarum L. that is often mistaken with the wolfberry (L. chinense Mill.). Its original habitat is obscure probabl y probably southeastern Europe to southwest Asia , the wolfberry species currently

grow in43

43 m any world regions. However, only in China is there significant commercial cultivation. The Ningxia region of China is the main source of goji berry
. Wolfberry species are deciduous woody perennial plants , growing 1
- 3 m high ( L. chinense ) is grown in the south of China and tends to be somewhat s horter, while Goji berry ( L. barbarum ) is grown in the north, primaril y in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region , and tends to be somewhat taller. To the west of Ningxia is the province of Gansu , notable for i ts expansive mineral rich desert, the Loess Plateau . As the Yellow River passes through Gansu downstream toward Ningxia, loess is wind
- eroded into the river water where it is carried as silt in its downstream course. The Yellow River is renowned as the most silt laden body of water in the world, as this is where the river's name is derived. Finer than sand, yellow Gansu loess was formed 2 million years ago after glaciation left behind dust rich in a host of minerals unlike any where el se on Earth. Gansu erosion into the Yellow River is so dense that silt content in the Yellow River in Ningxia weighs 37 kg for every cubic meter of water the highest silt density measured. The majority of commercially produced goji berries come from the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of north
- central China and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China , where they are grown on plantations
. Goji berries are celebrated each August in Ningxia with an annual festival coinciding with the berry harvest (it was first held in Ningxia's capital, Yinchuan, but is now held in Zhongning County , an important center of goji berry cultivation f

or the region). In Zhongning County , Ningxia, golji berry plantations typicall y range between 100 and 1000 acres in area.. Annual golgi berry production are based on yields from Ningxia, the region recognized with: the largest annual harvest in China, ac counting for 42% (13 million kg, 2001) of the nation's total yield of wolfberries, estimated at approximately

33 million kg (72 million lb) in 2001. In addition, commercial volumes of wolfberries grow in the Chinese regions of Inner Mongolia , Qinghai , Gansu , Shaanxi , Shanxi and Hebei
. In China, the main supplier of go j i berry products in the world, had total exports generating US $120 million in 2004. This production derived from 82,000 hectares farmed nationwide, yielding 95,000 tons. InAmerica goji berries are not yet commercialized but plants are available from a nursery in Utah and appear to be adapted to mo st states (USDA Plants ). The Ningxia region in China has similar agrcultural characteristics to the Northern hemisphere latitude 42 nd parallal nor th) such as Oregon to Ontario or southern France. The Rocky Mountain area would also be similar to the growi ng areas in China. Groundcherry: Groundcherry

p lants are annuals in the north; while some forms are perennial in the tropics. Both upright and trailing forms occur. Fruits are generall y globose, red or ye llow in color, an inch to 3 or less in diameter , and have many small, inconspicuous seeds. The f

ruits are smooth
- skinned and are completely enclosed in a thin papery husk, which is free and easily

removed. Groundcherries are widel y grown in home gardens in many parts of the world, including the U.S., but enter commerce onl y to a very limited extent. In California , groun d cherries are grown for commercial sales the ye ar round
.44

44 Poha is grown in Hawaii on less than 10 acres , and is also grown on limited acres in Florida. In Washington, it is also grown for local use. Other ty pes of groundcherries are commerciall y available from New Zealand from April to June
. Canada gr ew 104 acres of P. peruviana and P. pruinosa in Ontario and Quebec , and 100 acres in Zones 1, 5, and 5B in 2004 (HYNES 2005b). EPA Cro p Production Regions for groundcherries include Regions 3, 10, 11, and 13. Huckleberry, Garden : This is an native North American herbaceous annual that grows up to 2 or more feet in height, having simple, ovate leaves about 6 inches long, pointed at b oth ends. Fruits are globular, smooth skinned, black, and borne in small clusters. The plant is widely distributed in the wild, and leaves are sometimes gathered and used as pot herbs. Fruits are also used for preserves and pies. A garden form, with fr uits about l/2 inch in diameter, is occasionally

cultivated in home gardens. The garden huckleberry is a close relative to the poisonous nightshade weed s . Currently garden huckleberry

is not commerciall y produced in the U.S., however, it is grown in some home gardens and EPA Crop Production Region s include many regions including 3 and region 4. This crop is widely distributed in temperate to tropical regions
. Martynia: This is an annual plant, native to the Southwestern U.S., that grows up to 2 to 3 feet in height, with entire leaves, round to cordate, 4 to 12 inches wide. The fruit is hairy , about 1 inch thick and 4 to 6 inches long at maturity , about half the length consisting of a slender curved beak. Marty nia is popularl y called "unicorn plant," is grown for its seed pods which are picked while young and tender and used for pickles, like cucumbers , and is grown culturally

similar to okra. Both the generic name Proboscidea (nose
- like) and the popular name "unicorn plant" refer to the configuratio n of the pods. These fruits are hairy , about 1
- inch thick and 4
- 6 inches long at maturity , about half the length consisting of a slender, curved beak. The pods become very hard when dried. The small, immature pods are made into pickles, like cucumbers
. Due to the unusual shape of the pods, and the pretty, orchid
- like, lavender flowers, the plants are grown as ornamentals and for floral arrangements, as well as for pickling. Marty nia is also occasionally

grown in home gardens throughout the country
. Other production regions include Mexico. Naranjilla: A spreading herbaceous shrub to 8 ft (2.5 m) high with thick stems that become somewhat woody with age, naranjilla is an intriguing member of the nightshade (Solanaceae ) famil y. It is spiny in the wild but s pineless in cultivated plants. The fruit,45

45 crowned with 5
- pointed cal yx , is round or round
- ovate, to 2 1/2 in (6.25 cm) across and contains 4 compartments separated b y membranous partitions and filled with green or yellowish, very

juicy , pineappl e - and
- lemon flavored pulp. It is grown in EPA Region 13 (South Florida and Hawaii).
Okra: Okra is native to the Old World tropics (probably West Africa) and has become established in the wild in some New World tropical areas. It is generally believed that okra first reached the New World during the day s of slave trafficking. Okra is a popular and important food in Third World tropical countries. Itis widel y used in India, Africa and the Middle East, but almost unknown in Europe and northern North America. Okra is an annual plant requiring warm growing conditions, and grows to 3 feet in dwarf varieties and to 7 or 10 feet in others. The fruit is a long pod, generally ribbed and spineless in cultivated varieties. Pods, the edible portion, are harve sted while still tender and immature. They

reach 4 to 10 inches in lengths and up to 1 inch or more in diameter. Okra is adapted to USDA Plant Hardiness: Zones 5
- 11. The EPA residue field trial regions are 2, 3, 4, 6, and 11 which accounts for 97% of the production. The 2002 USDA AGCensus reported okra grown on 3,069 A with the following St ate acreages: Texas (714 A), Florida (548 A), Georgia (306 A), Louisiana (201 A), South Carolina (176 A), California (172 A), Oklahoma (162 A), North Carolina (118 A ) , and Tennessee (80 A). In 2004 Florida estimates 1,500 A planted to okra. Okra is also grown in Canada . Japan produced 10,858 T in 2004 on 579 h a (NAGASAWA 2005).
Pea Eggplant : Pea eggplant is n ative to the West In dies; the erect, much
- branching perennial shrub is up to 4 m in height. This plant is originally from Africa and was brought to Brazil with the slave trade. It is still grown in West Africa where in some countries it is known as "garden eggs". There are two basic types of jiló found in Brazil. One is called comprido verde claro (translating to long, light green in English). The second ty pe, called morro redondo (round in English), is more bitter than comprido verde claro
. The majority of Brazilians living in Massachusetts are from the state of Minas Gerias, where the comprido verde claro ty pe is most popular. Fruit is a many
- seeded, green or yellow, globose berry

10
- 15 mm in diameter. The pea eggplant fruit grows in clusters similar to cherry tomatoes. The species is distributed i n Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands
.46

46 Pepino: Th is plant is an erect, spineless, bushy herb resembling a tomato vine that can reach 2 to 3 feet in height , and is native to Ecuador and Peru. The edible fruit is ovoid to oval, up to 6 inches long, borne on a long stem. Itis cultivated in the tropics and subtropics including Australia and New Zealand , and can be grown in most parts of the U.S., but is thus far little grown except in California Ingeneral culture it re sembles eggplant, and the fruit is somewhat similar to eggplant, but more melon
- like. The fruit is smooth round or oval with light ye llow colored skin with purple lines throughout the surface and can vary

from 5

– 20 cm in length. Immature fruits are eat en cooked while mature fruits are eaten as a dessert food. It is grown in EPA Crop Production Regions 10, 12 and 13. Production in U.S includes 10 acres in Washington with smaller acreages in Cal ifornia and Hawaii
. Pepper: Pepper plants are native to the Americas and are warm season annuals that are frost sensitive , ranging in various ty pes from 1 to 6 feet in height, much branched with l eaves being elliptical to lanceolate. Fruits vary greatl y in size, color, shape and degree of pungency

or "hotness ". Most peppers are thought to have originated in Mexico and Central America , and the Amazon basin . Columbus took back peppers to southern Europe and they

were reintroduced to North America by colonists. The plants have large leaves and can get more than 8 feet tall. For regulatory food safety purposes, EPA divided peppers into bell and nonbell ty pes based on their shape. C odex divide s peppers into s weet and Chili. There are two major typ es of peppers : (1) sweet or mild, and (2) hot or pungent. Both ty

pes are grown in Florida but the sweet type is b y far the most extensively

grown. Handling requirements are similar for both ty pes. The technology for production and handling peppers intended for distant markets does not differ from those techniques re quired for handling when this vegetable is intended for home use or will be distributed through local markets, except peppers for distant markets should be more carefull y graded. Canada harvested 428 acres from greenhouses in 2003, and 4350 acres from fi e ld grown peppers in zones 1, 1A, 5, 5A, 5B, 7, 7A, 11, 12, and 14 in 2004 (HYNES 2005b). Pepper, Bell : Bell peppers are the peppers generall y marketed as "green" peppers or sweet peppers, although many kinds become red when ripe. Peppers require more he at and are more sensitive to cold than most vegetables; they fail to thrive during cool periods where temperatures are in the range of 40 to 60°F. This group comprises most of the peppers sold fresh in the U.S. Sweet peppers can be green, yellow, orange, red, brown or purple in color. Sweet bell peppers will mature to various colors depending on the cultivar,47

47 however, most are sold at an immature, green stage and as peppers mature their sugar content increases. In the U.S. there is a trend toward mercha ndising more colored, or mature, peppers. The pepper is ty pically a warm season crop but is successfully grown in Florida during our winter months. The production season extends from October though June with peak production from November though May . Cal iforn ia produces 46% and Florida produces about 27 % of the commerciall y grown bell peppers in the U. S. (see Table 22 ). In 2002 AGCensus there were 56,998 A harvested for bell peppers and there were 16 A of pimento peppers
. The EPA Crop Production Region s for bell peppers are 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 10 and for piment o peppers R egions 2 and 9. In 1995, Canada reported 4,722 acres of peppers and 62 acres of greenhouse peppers (ROTHWELL 1996a). Pepper, Nonbell: All the hot peppers are nonbell peppers and include Chil i peppers but not all nonbell peppers are hot. In Spanish, the name chili refers to any kind of pepper, but in the U.S. the term is limited to mildly pungent varieties that are mainl y dried and used for flavoring other foods and for pickling. Various cultivars are cultivated in the Caribbean region, Central and South America, Asia and Africa. Tabasco peppers are an important cash crop in southern Louisiana. Habañero pepper is one of the main agriculture commodities grown in the Yucatan Peninsula. Usually , its pods are sold fresh; however, demand for high quality habanero dried pods, powder, and mash exceeds the supply , and this has resulted in a rush to grow more habaneros in the U.S., Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Pod qual ity in terms of color, aroma, flavor and pungency is very important for this crop. Capsicum annuum probably originated in Central America and Mexico. Peppers belonging to this species are cultivated in every country in the world. Today

India is the worl d's largest producer of chile peppers. In the 2002 AGCensus there were 42,666 A harvested for chili peppers. The EPA Crop Production Regions for nonbell peppers 2, 3, 5, 8, and 9. Other production regions include tropical and subtropical America. Rose lle: The plant is a strong annual, 5 to 7 feet in height. Originall y native to tropical Africa, roselle is grown in the subtropics and tropics worldwide and has escaped cultivation and become naturalized in tropical America and Asia. The culture of Rose lle is similar to eggplant or peppers. Roselle is grown rather extensively in the tropics, and to some extent in warmer sections of the U.S. It will not bloom until days begin to shorten in October. Roselle will not bloom until days begin to shorten in October. Exposure of edible parts is similar t o that of small fruited tomatoes. Culture is similar to eggplants and okra. Production in U.S. none reported but the crop is grown in Florida
. It is adapted to USDA plant hardiness zones 8, 9, 10, and 11. The dark green leaves are about 6 in (15 cm) across and deepl y dissected into 5 narrow lobes. The stems, branches, leaf veins, and petioles (leaf stems) are reddish48

48 purple. The hibiscus
- like flowers, appearing in October, are yellow and about 3 in (7.6 c m) across. At the bottom of each flower, enclosing the bases of the five petals is a fleshy bright red cup
- like structure called a cal yx , and the cal yxis about 1 in (2.5 cm) in diameter. This is a large annual, so plants are thinned to about 3 ft (0.9 m) apart. In Florida, roselle is often planted in rows where it forms a dense hedge by late summer
. Roselle juice is similar to cranberry juice, but not as bitter. The calyces are harvested while they

are still tender and juicy , about 10 day s after the f lowers appear. The plants will continue to flower and produce if kept picked. Remove and discard the seed pods from the cal yx . The cal yx es of roselle are used to make juices, sauces, jellies, wines and pies. Itis also used as an ornamental for its yello w flowers in October and November. Roselle is cultivated much like tomatoes , peppers or eggplants , i f grown just for juice production
. Scarlet Eggplant: This is an annual vegetable shrub grows up to 36
- 48 in. (90
- 120 cm) in height. The plant has spines or sharp edges. The names of m ock tomato, Ethiopian eggplant and scarlet eggplant are a result of its varied morphology , with ripe fruit often looking like a cross between an eggplant and a tomato. Itgrows all year long and can produce high fruit yields. It is also used as an ornamental in Asia. Itis cultivated for its edible fruit in Asia and northern and central Africa. It is not cold hardy in Britain though it can be grown as an annual. Sunberry: Sunberry is thought a grafted annual version of the “garden huckleberry and the wonderberry .” The flowers are hermap hrodite (have both male and female organs). The plant prefers light sandy, medium loam and clay soil or s and. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. Itcannot grow in the shade and it requires moist soil.
Tomatillo : The tomatill o plant is an annual warm season crop that grows 3 to 4 feet high, with thin ovate or elongated notched leaves , and is native to Mexico and Central America and is cultivated throughout the region. They also are cultivated in India, Australia and South Africa as well as in the southern US. Tomatillos, especially the wild tomatillo (

P. philadelphica ), have naturalized in some areas outside their native range, including southern California
. The fruit is smooth, sticky , purplish or green in color, and entirel y enclosed in a thin husk. In California , groundcherries are grown for commercial sales the ye ar round
. In Washington, it is grown for local use. Tomatillos were introduced from Mexico and are available all year from Mexico. Mexico produces over 27,000 A of49

49 tomatillos, California crops are along the central and south coasts as well as the low deserts of and the Central valley
. The EPA Crop Production Region for tomatillos is Region 10.
Tomato: Tomatoes are among the most important food crops in all parts of the world except areas of cool, short growing seasons. The plant is an annual, grown from seed. They are usually

started in beds and moved to the field at 6 to 8 weeks, but may be seeded in place. When grown without support the plant of most varieties is much branched and sprawling. Tomatoes originated in the western Coastal Plain of South America extending from Ecuador to Chile. Tomato was first thought to be poisonous as other members of the nightshade famil y can be. Domestication took plac e in Mexico. It was first introduced into Europe in 1500’s. Two main ty pes of tomatoes are grown the U.S. Fresh market cultivars are both determinate and indeterminate. The determinate or bush tomato is used for processing and is the most important ty pe in the US. Acreage of U.S. greenhouse vegetables is about 550 to 650 acres with predictions that larger greenhouse facilities will be in the S outhwest U.S. and Mexico. Currently , Leamington (Ontario, Canada) has the biggest concentration of greenhouse v egetables in America. In 2006 , commercial U.S. acreage reported as 122,800 for fresh market and 299,400 for processed tomatoes with total acreage of 4 22,200 . In 2002 , the top producing states for fresh market are California ( 41,000 A ), Florida ( 38,500 A ) , Ohio (6,600 A), Georgia ( 6 ,000), New Jersey (4,800), Virginia (5,800 A), Tennessee ( 3,900 A) , and Michigan (2,000 A) for 8 5 % of U.S. acreage. The top producing states for processed tomatoes are California ( 282,000 A ), Indiana (7,800 A), Ohio ( 6,300 A ) , and Michigan (3,300 A) for 99% of U.S. acreage
. Canada reported 27,528 acres of field tomatoes and 353 acres of greenhouse tomatoes in 1995
. Japan grown 13,100 h a producing 754,300 T in 2004 (NAGASAWA 2005c). Australia grew 478 h a yi elding 424,950 T in 2002 (NORDEN 2005c )
. The EPA Crop Production Regions for tomatoes include R egion 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 for 97% of the acreage. Tomato, Tree: The tree tomato is a perennial shrub 6 to 10 feet high and it can be grown in the open only in frost free locatio ns. Itis native to the Andes Mountains of Peru. Itis cultivated in California and available October to January and also grown in Florida and Puerto Rico. Itis widel y grown in South America , Central America , Puerto Rico , as well as New Zealand. Itis grown in EPA Crop Production Regions 10 and 13.50

50 COMPARISON OF FRUIT ING VEGETABLE CULTURAL PRACTICES: A comparison of the fruiting vegetable planting depth, seeds/lb, seeds/100 ft row, and row spacings are shown in Table 2 4 , and a listing of day s to germinate, time planting to harvest, yi eld/plant and range of yi elds for each crop are shown in Table 2 5 , respectivel y. Specific cultural practices for each fruiting vegetable will be discussed in the next section. Table 2 4 . Fruiting Vegetable P lanting D epth, Seeds/lb, S eeds/100 ft, and Row

Spacings ( Splittstoesser, W.E. 1990 , Carolina Seed Co, 2006, Harris Seeds, 2007, Simonne, 2007, Territorial Seed Co., 2008) . Commodity Planting

Depth (inches) Seeds/lb Seeding Rate (lb/A) Number of

plants/100 ft) Spa cings

between row and between plants in the row (inches ) Eggplant 0.25

–

0.75 96 ,000

–

104,000 1
- 2 lb/A

direct seeded or use Transplants
4

– 8 oz/A 1/8 oz/seed (50

– 60 plants) 9,680 plants/A 24
- 72

(18
- 4 0 )

Groundcherry 0.5
- - 1⁄4 oz 36 (24) Okra 0.5
- 1 .5 7,000

– 8,000 6

– 10 lb/A

direct seeded or Transplants 2 lb/A 2 oz (15,000

–

88,000 plants/A) 2 4

– 60

( 1 2
- 24)
Pepper, bell 0.25

–

0.5 72,000
-

73,000 0.5

– 3 lb

seed/A direct seeded or Transplants 4

– 6 oz/A 1/8 oz seed or

67 transplanted plants 24
- 36

(1 2
- 24)

Pepper, nonbell 0.25 73,000 Transplants 50
- 60 plants transplanted 36

– 42

(16

– 24) Tomato 0.25

–

0.5 120,000

–

190,000 1

– 2 lb/A

direct seeded or Transplants 2
- 3 oz/A 1/8 oz seed or

50
- 67 transplanted plants 24
- 72 (18
-

36)

To matillo 0.5 280,000 Transplants
- 30
- 48 (12
- 36)51

51 Table 2 5 . Fruiting Vegetable Days to Germinate, Time Planting to Harvest, Yield/plant and Range of Yields (Hessayon, 1997 , Cranberry, 1999, Carolina Seed Co, 2006, Harris Seeds, 2007, Simonne, 2007, Territorial Seed Co., 2008). Commodity Days from

Seeding to Germination (days) Planting

to Harvest Yield/plant Yield/A Range of Yields Eggplant 5
- 21 10

– 20 weeks 4

– 5 lb

( standard size 3

– 5 fruits/plant and miniature cultivars and 20

– 40 fr uits/plant) 3 00 bushels

(33 lb/bu) (7,000

– 55,000 lb/A) 300

– 5 00 bu

Groundcherry 6
- 14 10

– 11 weeks Similar to

tomatillos - - Okra 7
- 1 5 4
- 8 weeks 2/3 lb 5 tons (42,857 pods) FL

– 18,000

– 30,000 lb/A For CA

– 7.9

– 11.5 t/A Pepper 8
- 25 13
- 18 weeks 6
- 10 fruits / 2

lb/plant 10,870
-

20,000 lb - Pepper, bell 8
- 25 15

– 20 weeks 4

– 12 fruits 245 bu (25 lb/bu) 400
- 500 bu

For CA 14.3

– 15 t/A Tomato, greenhouse 6
- 1 4 16 weeks 8

– 12 lb 3 lb/sq/ft - - Tomato, outdoor 6
- 1 4 16
- 20 weeks 2

– 4 lb /plant 150 bu (56 lb/bu) 300 bu ( 82

– 385 cwt/A Tomatillo 7
- 10 6

– 12 weeks - 13,450 kg/ha 1.92

– 3.35

t/A in California52

52 Specific Individual Fruiting Vegetable Cultural Practices:
A frican Eggplant : The African eggplant is a small tropical perennial plant. The fruit has a round, bright green cal yxand pale creamy
- white skin. The optimal temperature for the crop is 23

– 35 °C during day s and 18

– 25 °C during the night. It can grow in full sun on a wide range of well
- drained soils with the optimum soil pH ranging from 5.5 and 6.8. It requires a long, warm growing season, so it the fruit is most plentiful in late summer to fall, and the fruit will need protection from the frost. Seeds are sown in a nursery beds along lines spaced 20 cm apart and cover with a thin layer of soil. Seedlings should be thinned to 2 cm apart to avoid spindly plants. After about five weeks when the plants are 15 cm high, they

are ready for transplanting. Seedlings should be watered well before uprooting and again immediatel y after transplanting. The spacing is usuall y 75 x 75 cm or 60 x 90 cm
. Bush tomato:
Bush tomatoes are a small spreading under shrub with small thorns on the stems and with yellow fruit that dry on the plant to resemble a raisin. The fruit provides excellent nourishment and is recognized as possibly the most important of all Central Australian Aboriginal native plant foods, and is one of the key commercially

significant “bush food ” species. One of the main obstacles to its horticultural cultivation is its low seed germination rate. It is native to Central Australia in areas of 150 to 300 mm rainfall. It is a small shrub (30 cm) that produces underground suckers from the mother plant. Flowering occurs in March, July , and September. The fruit are 1
- 3 cm in diameter, globose, color changes with drying from green to yellow to brown upon drying
. Bush tomato will produce fruits prolifically the ye ar after a fire or heavy rains
. The green fruit is toxic and must not be eaten at this st age. The fruit has an intense earthy tomato caramel taste. The fruit after harvest must be air or oven dried as soon as possible, and it is traded as whole, dried, or dried and ground. .

Cocona The cocona plant is a much
- branched, herbaceous shrub 6 1/2 ft (2 m) high, with downy stem, densel y white
- hairy twigs, and ovate leaves 18 in (45 cm) long and 15 in (38 cm) wide. The wild variety georgicum has spines on stem, branches and leaves. The fruit may be round, oblate, oblong or conical
- oval, with bluntly rounded apex; 1 in (2.5 cm) to 4 in (10 cm) long, and up to 2 1/3 in (6 cm) wide at the base. The thin, tough skin53

53 is coated with a slightl y prickly , peach
- like fuzz until the fruit is fully ripe, then it is smooth, golden
- to orange - yellow, burnt
- o range, red, red
- brown or deep purple
- red, and has a bitter taste. The cut
- open fruit has a faint, tomato
- like aroma. The flesh has a mild flavor faintl y suggestive of tomato, while the pulp has a pleasant, lime
- like acidity
. Abundant throughout the central pulp are 800 to 2,000 thin, flat, oval, cream
- colored seeds, 3/32 to 3/16 in (2
- 4 mm) in length and unnoticeable in eating. Unlike the naranjilla, the plant needs full sun. F lowering commences 2 to 3 months after transplanting , and the p lants usual ly begin fruiting in 6 to 7 months from seed and will continue fruiting for several months. Good soil drainage is essential for growth . For planting, seeds extracted from the ripe fruits are placed in the shade for 2 day s to ferment a little and break do wn the mucilage. The seeds are planted 3/8 in (1 cm) deep in nursery beds in rows 8 in (20 cm) apart. Germination time varies from 15 to 40 days. Seedlings are transplanted to the field when 8 to 12 in (20
- 30 cm) high and they are spaced 5 to 7 ft (1. 5
- 2.5 m) apart each way
. Average annual yi elds in Colombia are 22 to 44 lb (10
- 20 kg) per plant and 40 to 60 lb (18
- 27 kg) in Costa Rica. Processing studies have shown that 22 lbs (10 kg) of fruit will yield about 6 1/2 pints (3 liters) of preserve d flesh and 3 1/4 lbs (1 1/2 liters) of jelly , or 2 gallons (7 1/2 liters) of juice.
Currant T om ato:
The currant tomato is not yet grown commerciall y in the U.S. but it is grown as a novelty in some home gardens. The fruit is borne in rather long, l oose rac e mes. Individual fruits are small, generall y not more than 1/3 inch in diameter, with a smooth skin. Ittakes 3 to 4 months from seeding until first ripe fruit are produced. The plant is more slender in growth than tomato. The currant tomato, L . pimpinellifolium , produces small (half

- inch in diameter) fire engine red fruits in profuse grapelike clusters on long, trailing vines. They

have a distinctive, less acidic flavor and a more watery texture, but are nonetheless quite delicious as well as v ery showy
. Eggplant: Eggplant is a warm season annual, much branched, 2 to 4 feet tall, with large ovate or oblong leaves, densely pubescent on the lower surface. Fruits are normally large, 3 to as much as 10 inches long, and smooth skinned, with caly x retained at base when marketed. They

are near globular to py

riform, or elongated in shape. Itis a delicate perennial cultivated as an annual and can grow 40 to 150 cm (16 to 57 in) tall, with large coarsel y lobed leaves that are 10 to 20 cm (4
- 8 in) long and 5 to 10 cm (2
- 4 in) broad. Semi
- wild types can grow much larger, to 225 cm (7 ft) with large leaves over 30 cm (12 in) long and 15 cm (6 in) broad. The stem is often spiny
. The flowers are54

54 white to purple, with a five
- lobed corolla and yellow stamens
. The fruit is fleshy , less than 3 cm in diameter on wild plants, but much larger in cultivated forms. In tropical and subtropical climates, the eggplant can be sown directly into the garden. Eggplant grown in temperate climates fares better when transplanted into the garden after all danger of fro st is past. Seeds are typically started eight to ten weeks prior to the anticipated frost
free date. Spacing should be 45 cm (18 in) to 60 cm (24 in) between plants, depending on cultivar, and 60 cm to 90 cm (24 to 36 in) between rows, depending on the ty pe of cultivation equipment being used. Ittakes 70 day s or more after setting out the seedlings before fruits are ready to harvest. Fruits are typically cut from the vine just above the cal yxowing to the semi
- woody stems. Eggplants can be picked at any stage of development, but are at their best while the skin is gloss y before it becomes dull, and before the seeds start to harden and turn brown. Over mature eggplants tend to be bitter, especiall y the seeds. Eggplants onl y keep fresh for a couple days after picking. The most widely

grown cultivated varieties ( cultivars ) in Europe and North America today

are elongated ovoid, 12 to 25 cm long (4 1/2 to 9 in) and 6 to 9 cm broad (2 to 4 in) with a dark purple skin. The old standard American ty pes (e.g., 'Black Beauty', 'Florida Market', and ‘D usky ’) are shiny purplish black and usuall y oval or shaped like a big pear. They tend to be a little bitter, have thick tough skins and fibrous flesh. In the home garden they are less productive than the more flavorful Oriental ty pes such as 'Machiaw', 'A gora' and 'Ichiban'
. The elongate Oriental types have a mild flavor and sweet, tender skins. A much wider range of shapes, sizes and colors is grown in India and elsewhere in Asia. Larger varieties weighing up to a kilogram (2 pounds) grow in the region between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, while smaller varieties are found elsewhere. Colors vary

from white to yellow or green as well as reddish
- purple and dark purple. Some cultivars have a color gradient, from white at the stem to bright pink to deep p urple or even black. Green or purple cultivars with white striping also exist. Chinese eggplants are commonly shaped like a narrower, slightl y pendulous cucumber , and sometimes were call ed Japanese eggplants in North America. The eggplants with white skins tend to be firmer and drier than other kinds, and they are mild tasting and less bitter; but their skins are usually thick and need to be peeled. Oval or elongated oval
shaped and b lack
- skinned cultivars include: 'Harris Special Hibush', 'Burpee Hy brid', 'Black Magic', 'Classic', 'Dusky', and 'Black Beauty'. Long, slim cultivars with purple
black skin include: 'Little Fingers', 'Ichiban', 'Pingtung Long', and 'Tycoon'; with green skin: 'Louisiana Long Green' and 'Thai (Long) Green'; with white skin: 'Dourga'. traditional, white
- skinned, oval
- shaped cultivars include 'Casper' and 'Easter Egg'. Bicolored cultivars with color gradient include: 'Rosa Bianca', and 'Violetta di Firenze' , and those with striping include: 'Listada de Gandia' and 'Udumalapet'. In some parts of India, miniature varieties of eggplants are very popular.55

55 Goji berry: Goji berry

crop is grown as a perennial crop and it takes from seedling to mature palnt four

– five ye ars to first fruiting. The goji berry leaves form on the shoot either in an alternating arrangement or in bundles of up to three, each having a shape that is either lanceolate (shaped like a spearhead) or ovate (egg
- like) similar to a miniature Roma tomato
. Le af dimensions are 7 cm long b y 3.5 cm wide with blunted or round tips. One to three flowers occur on stems 1
- 2 cm in length. The cal yx (eventuall y ruptured by the growing berry) is comprised of bell
- shaped or tubular sepals forming short, triangular lobes. The flower are lavender or light purple, 9
- 14 cm long with five or six lobes shorter than the tube. These species produce a bright orange
- red, ellipsoid berry 1
- 2 cm long. The number of seeds in each berry varies widely

based on cultivar and fruit size, containing anywhere between 10
- 60 tiny yellow seeds that are compressed with a curved embryo. Planting of the crop may be direct seeded in rows or by tran splants. It produces stiff arching canes that grow about 1.5 to 2 meters tall in commercial fields. Left to grow wild for many years, they

could probably

grow to 3 meters in height. Goji plants should be spaced 6

– 8 inches apart for a hedge growth or 10 ft apart for single plants (Timpanogos nursery , 2008). The bushes flower in May and the first berries are picked in earl y June. They are everbearing, that is, from June to October there are alway s flowers, green berries and ripe berries growing on the bush. They are harvested at regular intervals until the first freeze which usually comes in earl y October. In the northern hemisphere, flowering occurs from June through September and berry ripening occurs from July

to October, depending on latitude, al titude, and climate. That berries are hand picked throughout the June
- October harvest season. The crop is harvested on a continual basis during the June
- October harvest season. In commercial production, a bush will yield for about 5 years before being replanted. Cultivating and harvesting goji is extremely

labor intensive as the delicate berry must be hand
- picked. The skilled Ningxia farmers must carefully hand
- pick over 5000 berries to produce one kilogram of dried goji berries. The fresh goji berry is oblong in shape and has about the same mass as a blueberry . It has a skin like a cherry tomato and the color is reddish
- orange. The yields of the fruit will vary

immensely

with the summer of 2007 being a bad harvest at about one metric ton per 6 acres
. The oblong, red berries are very tender and must be picked carefully or shaken from the vine into tray s to avoid spoiling. The fruits are preserved by slowly drying them in the shade on air exchange tables or by mechanical dehydration employing a progre ssively increasing series of heat exposure over 48 hours
. The size of the dried fruit varies greatly . They are graded b y s ize with 350 grains/50 grams being the most common size this past harvest (Barnes, 2008). The size ranges from 700
- 180 grains/50 grams. The dried berries are about 13 % moisture. The berries taste sweet like a combination of nut, tomato, and cranberry
. Goji juice made from onl y fresh goji berries that are 93.8 % water content. As it includes all the fresh fruit except the skin and seeds, the fresh fruit is about 90 % water. According to Denny Barnes, President Ruby Goji International stated that: “I have never seen or heard of fresh goji berries being sold in commerce. They

are too perishable . We must process them within six hours of being56

56 picked. I have frequently asked the dried goji vendors in Ningxia where one can buy fresh goji and they

always tell me they

are unavailable. Some 4
- 5 star hotels in Ningxia will garnish expensive Chinese dishes with a few fresh goji berries . You can also get goji greens in some restaurants. There was one company from neighboring Shaanxi Province that explored producing IQF (Individuall y Quick Frozen) goji berries to be shipped to Xi'an for processing into fresh goji juice. This project wa s abandoned. Presumably , it was not yet seen as economically viable.” T ypical of many exotic fruits being introduced into western food and beverage commerce, wolfberry is best known as a juice marketed over the Internet since 2002 with an increasing presence in health food stores and grocery markets in many countries. While juice prepared entirely from fresh goji berries is rare, blends containing several other berry and fruit juices are used f or nearl y all "wolfberry " juice products, many of which are nevertheless labeled as "goji juice". The percentage of goji berry contained in these juices is generally not stated on such products' labels. Since 2005, goji b erry

has been increasingl y mention ed in reports on the emerging functional food industry

as one of the "exotic superfruits ". Superfruit is meant to imply nutrient richness with medical research results indicating potential health benefits, combined with uncommon but appealing taste, pigmentation , and antioxidant strength. During 2006
- 200 7, the market for wolfberries included 89 new product introductions in eight retail segments (not including the larger commercial area of network marketing ) having an estimated sales total of $9 million, growing rapidly
. An executive of one network marketing company was quoted as saying the juice market alone for goji berries would be valued at more than $1 billion by 2013. Groundcherry and Tomatillo: Plants are annuals in the north; some forms are perennial in the tropics. Both upright and trailing forms occur. Fruits are generally globose, red or yellow in colo r, an inch or less in diameter, with many small, inconspicuous seeds. Fruits are smooth skinned and completel y enclosed in a thin papery husk, which is free and easily removed. Groundcherries are widely grown in home gardens in many parts of the world, in cluding the U.S., but enter commerce onl y to a very limited extent. Groundcherry fruit Is the size of a grape and are smooth skinned and juicy with edible seeds, and is enclosed in a thin papery

husk. It’s available April to June from New Zealand. The tomatillo plant is an annual, 3 to 4 feet high, with thin ovate or elongated notched leaves , and is grown similar to tomatoes
. The fruit is smooth, sticky , purplish or green in color, and entirely enclosed in a thin husk. Fruit is 3 inches in diameter, n ear globose in size
. Bloom to maturity is usually 2 to 3 months. Seeding to first harvest is a bout 3 to 4 months , and the h arvest can proceed for 2 months. The tomatillo culture is very similar to tomatoes and peppers. They

are usually

started indoors, like tomatoes, 6
- 8 weeks before the last expected frost. Tomatillos are grown from seed. Row spacings of 40 inches are common with the in row spacings varying from 12 to 36 inches. They take 50
- 70 day s to produce green fruits, and ripe tomatillos can be harvested a couple weeks later
. In Canada, groundcherry i s seeded in the greenhouse beginning of April and transplanted to57

57 the field by

the end of May
. The time between transplant and the first harvest is about 75 day s. The first harvest occurs n ormall y the first week of August. Huckleberry, Garden: This is an herbaceous annual, up to 2 or more feet in height, having simple, ovate leaves about 6 inches long, pointed at both ends. Fruits are globular, smooth skinned, black, and borne in small clusters. The plant is widely distributed in the wild, and leaves are sometimes gathered and used as pot herbs. Fruits are also used for preserves and pies. A garden form, with fruits about l/2 inch in diameter, is occasionally cultivated in home garden s. The wonderberry is a close relative to the poisonous nightshades. The ripe fruits don't have much taste, but when cooked with sugar they have a pleasant berry flavor that is usually

used as a flavoring for pies and desserts
. Seeding to harvest: for the leaves 2 to 3 months and for fruit, about 3 months. Martynia: This is an annual plant, up to 2 to 3 feet in height, with entire leaves, round to cordate, 4 to 12 inches wide. The fruit is hairy , about 1 inch thick and 4 to 6 inches long at maturity , about half the length consisting of a slender curved beak. The small, immature pods are made into pickles, like cucumbers. The plant is grown as an ornamental, and sparingly as a pickling vegetable. Itis c ulturally similar to okra. The plant is an annu al, up to 2
- 3 feet in height, with large, 4 to 12 inch wide, round, slightly pointed leaves. Due to the unusual shape of the pods, and the pretty, orchid
- like, lavender flowers, the plants are grown as ornamentals and for floral arrangements, as well as for pickling. Martynia is native to the southwestern United States and occasionally is grown in home gardens throughout the country
. Martyni a is popularly called "unicorn plant," is grown for its seed pods which are picked while young and tender and used for pickles, like cucumbers. Both the generic name Proboscidea (nose
- like) and the popular name "unicorn plant" refer to the configuration of the pods. These fruits are hairy, about 1
- inch thick and 4
- 6 inches long at maturity, about half the length c onsisting of a slender, curved beak. The pods become very hard when dried. Except in South Florida, plants are started outdoors in the spring as soon as frost danger is past. In South Florida, wintertime planting is possible. Seeding to first harvest varies from 3 to 4 months. The cultural requirements for marty nia are about the same as for okra. Like okra, it does best in a warm sunny location, for it is a hot weather plant. It may be started in the garden either b y direct seeding or by setting out transplants. For transplants, plant seeds in individual transplant containers, or in an outdoor seed bed. In the garden, space plants 3 feet between rows and 18
- 24 inches between plants. Plant the seeds 1⁄2 to 1 inch deep and thin young seedlings to the d esired distance. Continue picking pods as they develop, to encourage more pod set.58

58 Naranjilla: A spreading herbaceous shrub to 8 ft (2.5 m) high with thick stems that become somewhat woody with age, naranjilla is an intriguing and highl y appealing member of the nightshade (Solanaceae) family
. It is spiny in the wild and spineless in cultivated plants. The alternate leaves are oblong
- ovate, to 2 ft (60 cm) long and 18 in (45 cm) wide, soft and woolly
. The fragrant flowers are borne in short auxiliary clusters of as many as 10. A brown, hairy

coat protects the fruit until it is fully ripe, when the hairs can be easil y rubbed off, showing the bright
- orange, leathery peel. The fruit, crowned with 5
- pointed cal yx , is round or round
- ovate, to 2 1/2 in (6 .25 cm) across and contains 4 compartments separated b y membranous partitions and filled with green or ye llowish, very juicy , pineapple
- and
- lemon flavored pulp. There are numerous pale
- buff seeds, thin, flat, hard and 1/8 in (3 mm) in diameter. Seedlings flower 4 to 5 months after transplanting. Fruiting begins 10 to 12 months from seed and is continuous for 3 years. The plant does best in a rich, organic soil; also grows well on poor, stony ground. Good drainage is needed. The naranjilla can be propa gated b y ai r - layering or by cuttings of mature wood. There are about 140,000 seeds to the pound ( 0 .5 kg); 9,000 seeds to the ounce (28 g). Seedlings are raised in nurseries b y the same methods appropriate for tomato seedlings, and are ready for transplanting in 2 to 3 months. Naranjilla should be planted at 6 to 8 ft (1.8
- 2.4 m) plant spacing and row spacing at about 1,250 plants per acre (3,000/ha). A healthy plant bears 100 to 150 fruits a year, which is about 25,000 lbs (10,417 kg) per acre or 60,0 00 lb (27,273 kg) per hectare.
Okra : Okra is an annual plant requiring warm growing conditions and full sun. O kra grows to 3 feet in dwarf varieties and to 7 or 10 feet in others. The fruit is a long pod, generall y ribbed and spineless in cultivated varieties. Pods, the edible portion, are harvested while still tender and immature. They reach 4 to 10 inches in lengths and up to 1 inch or more in diameter. Okra is generally similar in culture and exposure to summer squash, except the plants are tall and upright, with many short branches , and is also similar in culture and pesticide exposure of the fruits to eggplants. Pod size will vary with variety , but length will generall y be 4 to 6 inches. Sow seeds about a half inch deep in one long row or in rows 3 feet apart, and thin to 12 or 18 inches between plants. Planting to first harvest takes up to 2 months
. The okra will produce large flowers about 2 months after planting, and the pods will be ready to pick 3
- 4 day s later. But plants continue t o bloom and set if all pods are harvested at the proper earl y stage. Cultural practices and exposure of edible parts are s imilar in culture and exposure to summer squash and eggplant. O kra requires frequent harvesting. Okra is a self
- pollinated crop and seed can be saved from one year's garden for the next. For peak quality, it must be harvested before the pods become tough
. Okra matures rapidl y, especiall y in hot59

59 weather. Okra does best in warm weather and will die with frost. For this reason okra p lantings must be picked almost every other day
. Plant populations range from 7,000 plants per acre to 15,000, depending on the variety. Flowering will occur as soon as 45 day s after seeding, depending on the variety. As pod size increases, tenderness de creases. Approximately 4 to 5 day s are required from flowering to harvest maturity
. Okra should be harvested every other day
. Harvest the pods when they are 3
- 4 inches long. If the okra gets too large, it will be tough and stringy , so the okra should be picked e very 1
- 2 day s or yi elds will be decreased. This usually means before the pods exceed 5" in length, although size doesn't really matter: it's the age of the pods rather th an their length that determines if they are too woody

and stringy

to eat. Cut the pods off on the stem with shears or a knife; don't cut off the caps as this will cause them to "bleed" and become slimy
. Okra yields range from < 18,000 lb/A to over 30,000 lb/A. One bushel of okra weighs 30 lb. Okra has a high respiration rate and is very sensitive to bruising and rapid desiccation, making wholesale marketing difficult. Okra should be cooled to 50 degrees Fahrenheit after harvest to maintain quality
Pea Eggplant: Native to the West In dies, the erect, much
- branching perennial shrub is up to 4 m in height. Lea f blade s are ovate to elliptic in shape and mostl y 5
- 20 cm long. Flowers are borne at intervals on the stems. The f ruit is a many- seeded, green or yellow, globose berry 1 0
- 15 mm in diameter. The species is distributed in Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands
. The Thai p ea eggplants are tiny round green eggplants that grow in clusters similar to cherry tomato clusters. The eggplants are harvested at green color and have a slight bitter taste and crisp texture. They b ecome very b itter and tough when they are overripe. It is mature in l ate spring to early s ummer, approximately

150 day s after planting. The crop favors f ull sun/light or shade, moist soil in a frost free location. It can grow as an annual in plant hardiness zones 7 and 8
. Pepino: The plant is an erect, spineless, bushy herb, reaching 2 to 3 feet in height, with oblong to lanceolate, entire leaves. The edible fruit is ovoid to oval, up to 6 inches long, borne on a l ong stem. It is yellow or light green to white fleshed and generall y s eedless, tender, highl y aromatic and juicy. It is cultivated in the tropics and subtropics, and can be grown in most parts of the U.S., but so far is little grown except in the subtrop ical climates of California. It can be co mmonly propagated b y cutting. In general culture it resembles eggplant, and the fruit is somewhat similar to eggplant, but more melon
- like. Immature fruits are eaten cooked while mature fruits are eaten as a dess ert food. Planting t o first harvest ranges from 4 to 5 months
. They re available late fall to mid spring.60

60 Peppe r : Pepper plants are warm season annuals, ranging in various types from 1 to 6 feet in height, much branched. Le aves are elliptical to lanceolate. Plants are usually started in beds, and moved to fields after 6 to 8 weeks. Fruits vary greatl y in size, color, shape and degree of pungency

or "hotness". Peppers will produce best when supplied with adequate water. They

are not particularl y drought tolerant, and prefer a well drained soil and full sun. Although they are perennial, peppers (except for rocotos) are usually grown as annuals, even in tropical climates. Mature plants can tolerate a touch of frost. See statements for main types below. Plants continue to flower and set fruits from midsummer until frost, so fruits in all stages of development are on plants at the same time. For regulatory

food safety purposes, EPA divided peppers into bell and nonbell. C odex divided peppers into Sweet and Chili. In Puerto Rico, plants usually start to bloom 35 day s after transplanting. From blooming to fruit set, there are about 10 to 12 day s, and 20 day s from fruit set to harvest. Peppers are grown much like tomatoes
. Peppers are grown from seed. In temperate climates, seeds are usuall y started indoors 6
- 8 weeks before the last expected frost. Seedlings are set out 2
- 4 ft (0.6
- 1.2 m) apart after all danger of frost has past. Most ty pes require caging or staking. Peppers are self
pollinating, but honey

bees, sweat bees and other insects often cause cross
- pollination between pepper plants growing near one another. Transplanting to first harvest for nonbell peppers (usually

Cubanelle ty

pe) is 60 to 70 day s, and for b ell peppers 70 day s. The number of pickings for nonbell peppers is about 6 to 8, and bell peppers about 3 to 5. There are 4,500 seeds per ounce
. Setting the plants in the field to harvest will range fro m 2 to 3 months.
Pepper, Bell : Bell peppers are the peppers generall y marketed as "green" peppers, although many kinds become red when ripe. Fruits are large, thick walled and nonpungent. Largest varieties have fruits up to 4 inches long b y 3 to 3 1 /2 inches broad, but more generall y a little smaller. Skin is smooth, but fruits are lobed and depressed at both stem and styl ar ends. Shape varies from conic to near rectangular. This group comprises most of the peppers sold fresh in the U.S. Sweet peppers can be green, yellow, orange, red, brown or purple in color. The LaRouge Royale ® is a sweet red pepper 10 inches long b y 4 inches wide and is grown in California. Pimento peppers are generally similar to the "bell" pepper ty

pe, but have distinctive shape and flavor. The f ruit is up to 3 inches long and 2 to 2 1/2 inches at the shoulder, generall y heart
- shaped. This ty pe is used for canning, harvested when deep red in color. For canning, the peel, seeds and placenta are removed, so onl y the interi or flesh y walls are utilized. Ají dulce ( Capsicum chinense ) is a small, light green pepper that turns red if left long enough on the plant. In Puerto Rico,61

61 it is known as ají dulce or ajicito (sweet pepper and small pepper, respectively , in Spanish). In the Dominican Republic, it is also known as ají gustoso or ají cachucha (tasty pepper, and cap
- shaped pepper, respectively, in Spanish). It has the shape and size of a habanero pepper without the intense heat. Unlike many other countries in L atin Americ a, hot peppers are not commonly used in the cuisine of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, or Cuba. However, there can be some ají dulce fruit that is pungent, probabl y due to out
- crossing. Pimentos are also called Squash peppers and Cheese peppers. Paprika peppers, especially the Hungarian type have some strains that are more pungent than others, but most are mild. The Spanish paprika has larger fruits. In the past, paprika peppers were mostl y grown commerciall y in South Carolina and Louisiana. Field setting to first harvest takes 2 1/2 months for bells; and 2 2 to 3 months for pimentos. They are usually harvested every

7
- 10 day s for the fresh market. They of the peppers are perennial semi
- woody sub
- shrubs, although they usually are cultivated as annu als. are mainly glabrous (without pubescence), much branched, 2
- 4 ft (0.6
- 1.2 m) tall, with alternate leaves and modest little flowers which give rise to colorful fruits that are botanically

reall y b erries
. Pepper, Nonbell : All hot peppers are non
- bell peppers which include Chile peppers but not all nonbell peppers are hot. Peppers on sandy soils are highl y susceptible to sand scarring and, therefore, suitable windbreaks should be provided. InSpanish, the name chili refers to any kind of pepper, but in the U.S. the term is limited to mildly pungent varieties that are mainl y dried and used for flavoring other foods and for pickling. Fruits are smooth skinned, up to 8 inches long and 1 1/2 inches broad at the top in largest
- fruited kinds. Various ty

pes of relatively

small
- fruited hot peppers are grown for drying and grinding to produce the cayenne, and "red pepper" condiments. The very small Tabasco and Tonka ty pes are crushed without drying in preparing very hot sauces. Some ty

pes are also pickle d. Fruits are generally small, 1 inch or less in width. Len gth varies in different ty pes from under 2 inches up to 6 inches or more. The fresh hot peppers include Anaheim, Fresno chile, Habanero, Jalapeno, Pepperoni , Poblano, Serrano, Scotch bonnet, and Yellow chile (Yellow wax, Caribe, Banana pepper, Hungarian wax). The dried hot peppers include Anaheim red chile, Ancho chile (Pasilla), and Chile de arbol. Cayenne fruits are slender, rounder and more wrinkled then Anaheim chiles. Jalapenos are small cylindrical shape and smooth. Tabasco peppers are small and tapered to a point. Hot peppers can be mechanically harvested since they

do not bruise as easil y as other nonbells. The pepper varieties with the hottest Scoville Heat Units are the Habanero and Scotch bonnet peppers with about 200,000 to 400,000 Scoville units. In comparison, the Jalapenos have 3,500 to 4,500 units with Tabasco 30,000 to 50,000 units. The Ancho pepper is one of the most popular peppers grown in Mexico, where about 37,000 acre s of it are under cultivation. Chile de arbol is a mid to quite hot pepper popular in western Mexico, where they

are sometimes called pico de pajaro (bird beak) or cola de rata (rat tail). Chile de arbol is apparentl y related to the cayenne peppers. The p ods are 2
- 3 inches62

62 long and a quarter
- inch wide with thick walls. The bush gets 2
- 4 ft tall and is very prolific. Chile de arbols become translucent when dried. The dried peppers are usuall y ground and used in red salsas. They're sometimes strung and mad e into decorative wreaths. Chile piquin is s ometimes called bird pepper, chiltecpin or chiltepin , the little chile piquin is much favored in Mexico for salsa picante
. Chile piquins grow wild in parts of Mexico, Guatemala and southern Arizona and Texas, where birds eat them and spread the seeds. People gather the wilds ones, too, and they also grow them in their gardens. Unlike like most of the modern pepper types, chile piquins fall off the plant when ripe. The usual growing period is 100 to 120 day s and the yi eld is about fifteen pods per plant, although there are reports of up to thirty pods per plant. It is multiple
stemmed and compact to semi
- erect, semi
- woody, and about 25 inches high. The leaves are dark green and shiny, approximately 4 inches long and 2
- 1/2 inches wide, and the corollas are off

- white and appear at every node. The flowering period begins 50 day s after sowing and continues until the first frost. The pods are pendant, vary between 3 to 6 inches long, and 2 to 3 inches wide, are coni cal or truncated and have indented shoulders. Immature pods are dark green, maturing to either red or brown, and the dried pods are a very dark reddish
- brown, nearl y black. They are fairly mild, ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 Scoville Units. Most of the sp ecies listed have white flowers however the Rocoto Pepper of C
. pubescens has purple flowers. P lant setting to first harvest is about 2 2 to 3 months , while c hili peppers usually are direct
- seeded
. Habaneros yield per plant averages five kilograms (11 pounds) per plant. This yield equals to 80 to 100 ton per hectare.
Roselle: The plant is a strong annual, 5 to 7 feet in height. The leaves are lobed and the calices of the flowers are red and thick or fleshy , and are the principal edible portion
. The cu lture of Roselle is similar to eggplant or peppers and okra. Plants are started in beds, and then transplanted to the field
. The dark green leaves are about 6 in (15 cm) across and deepl y dissected into 5 narrow lobes. The stems, branches, leaf veins, an d petioles (leaf stems) are reddish purple. The hibiscus
- like flowers, appearing in October, are yellow and about 3 in (7.6 cm) across. At the bottom of each flower, enclosing the bases of the five petals is a flesh y bright red cup
- like structure called a cal yx . The calyx is about 1 in (2.5 cm) in diameter. The cal yc es of roselle are used to make juices, sauces, jellies, wines and pies. While the bolls are still green they are picked and the fleshy calices removed. Roselle is grown rather extensively i n the tropics, and to some extent in warmer sections of the U.S. Exposure of edible parts is similar to that of small fruited tomatoes. Ros elle is native from India to Malay sia, and has been widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics of both hemisp heres, and in many areas of the West Indies and Central America has become naturalized. Flowers, borne singl y in the leaf axils, are up to 5 in (12.5 cm) wide, yellow or buff with a rose or maroon eye, and turn pink at the end of the day
. Planting to f ir st harvest is a

bout 3 to 5 months. The ideal planting time in southern Florida is mid
- May
. Blooming will occur in September and October and cal y

x es will be ready to harvest in November and December. Harvesting63

63 causes latent buds to develop and extends the flowering life of the plant to late February
. When the fruit is not gathered but left to mature, the plants will die in January
. Seedlings may

be raised in nursery

beds and transplanted when 3 to 4 in (7.5
- 10 cm) high, but seeds are usually set directly in the field, 4 to 6 to a hill, the hills 3 to 6 ft (0.9
- 1.8 m) apart in rows. When 2 or 3 leaves have developed, the seedlings are thinned out by 50%. If grown mainly for forage , the seed can be sown as earl y as March, and no earl y thinning is done
. Roselle is a short
- day plant and photoperiodic. For herbage purposes, the plants may

be cut off 6 weeks after transplanting, leaving only 3 to 4 in (7.5

- 10 cm) of stem in the field. A second cutting is made 4 weeks later and a third after another 4 w eeks. Then the shorn plants are thinned out and the remaining plants left to grow and develop fruit as a second product. The fruits are harvested when full
- grown but still tender and, at this stage, are easil y snapped off by hand. The fruits of roselle ripen progressivel y from the lowest to the highest. Harvesting of seeds takes place when the lower and middle tiers of the last of the fruits are allowed to mature, at which time the plants are cut down, stacked for a few day s, then threshed between canva s sheets. Fifty ye ars ago it was widel y grown in Florida as a summertime hedge and for its edible cal y x es. The dark green leaves contrast nicely with the red stems and petioles, and the ye llow flowers are a rare treat in October and November. This is a large annual, so the plants are thinned to about 3 ft (0.9 m) apart. In Florida, roselle is often planted in rows where it forms a dense hedge b y late summer. If grown just for juice production, roselle is cultivated just like tomatoes , peppers or eggplants
. Itis a d apted to USDA plant hardiness Z ones 8
- 11. Seeds can be planted outdoors in USDA zones 8
- 11. Farther north (to zone 6), start seeds indoors and transplant outside after all danger of frost. Roselle can be a short
- lived perennial in zones 10 and 11. Roselle juice is similar to cranberry juice, but not as bitter. The cal y x es are harvested while they are still tender and juicy , about 10 days after the flowers appear. The plants will continue to flower and produce if kept picked. Remove and discard the seed pods from the cal yc es. When cooked, they

make a sauce or jell y somewhat like cranberry. The juice is also used as an acid drink , and use the juice with sugar to make a cranberry
- like drink, or make jelly or wine as you would with any fruit juice. The strained pulp can be used for jam or pie.
Scarlet Eggpla nt : This is an annual vegetable shrub grows up to 36
- 60 in. (90
- 1 50 cm) in height. The plant has spines or sharp edges , and it has the names m ock tomato, Ethiopian eggplant and scarlet eggplant are a result of its varied morphology , with ripe fruit often looking like a cross between an eggplant and a tomato , but resembles mostly an eggplant in plant growth
. It grows all year long and can produce high fruit yields and is sensitive to frost
. Reported temperature range for growth is 10
- 40°C with the optimum between 20
- 30°C. It requires a well
- drained but moist soil, will grow in most soil ty pes and thrives in soil with a content of peat and well broken down compost. These fruits are usually harvested while still green, before the skin becomes thi ck. The bitterness64

64 depends on the levels of s aponin it contains, some with a sweet flavor and others very bitter. When the fruits mature, they turn bright red because of high carotene content. It is also used as an ornamental in Asia. Itwill bloom in mid
- summer or late summer to earl y fall
. Cultural practices include planting it with 24
- 3 6 in. (60
- 90 cm) plant spacing and 36
- 48 in. (90
- 120 cm) row spacing under sun and with partial shade. Sunberry: It was thought to be an annual grafted v ersion of the “garden huckleberry and the garden huckleberry
. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loam y) and heav y (clay) soils with a pH that can be acidic , neutral and basic (alkali ne). Seedlings are usuall y grown in the greenhouse and then transplanted to the field. The plant grows mostly 1

– 2 ft tall with the tiny

white flowers borne in clusters. The berry is dull green when immature and black when ripe. It cannot grow in the shade , and requires a moist soil. The fruit ripens within 60 days from planting the seed , and the s eed is sow in the spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts. Tomatil l o (see Groundcherry): Tomato: Tomatoes are among the most important food crops in all parts of the world except areas of cool, short growing seasons. They prefer full sun. The plant is an annual, grown from seed. Tomatoes are actuall y perennials in tropical climates, but gardeners in temperate climates grow them as warm season, frost
- tender annuals. Tomato foliage is damaged b y frost and freezing temperatures will kill the plant. Most varieties will not set fruit if nighttime temperatures fall below 50o F (10o C) or if day time temperature stay above 90o F (32 oC). Tomatoes are grown from seed and usuall y germinated indoors under controlled conditions, then grown for 5
- 8 weeks before setting out in the garden. Tomato seeds have a gelatinous coating which contains chemicals to prevent them from germinating within the ripening tomato. They are usually

started in beds and moved to the field at 6 to 8 weeks, but may be seeded in place. When grown without support the plant of m ost varieties is much branched and sprawling. If supported on stakes or trellis it attains heights up to 6 to 8 feet. Leaves are compound and pinnate, a foot or more in length. Fruits have a smooth peel. They vary in size from an inch up to 4 inches in diameter. In shape they

are generally

oblate, but some varieties are globose or py riform or conic. Tomato plant ty pes are determinate (bush), indeterminate and semideterminate
. Chief cultivar groups are for home use, fresh market, greenhouse, and proce ssing. Some specialty tomatoes, pear tomatoes are red or yellow, 1 to 2 inches across and a favorite for preserves. Plum and cherry tomatoes are about 1 inch across. Roma tomatoes are65

65 mainly used for paste and canning. Tomato varieties that are heirloo m must have been grown for generations from 1940 and from the same variety. Dried tomatoes are called pumate. Small
- fruited tomatoes are ideal for serving whole in salads, termed salad tomatoes. Greenhouse vegetables include tomato and cucumber, mesclun mix (fresh greens), melon, pepper, eggplant and strawberry
. Greenhouse tomatoes are only used for the fresh market. There are 10,000 seeds per ounce. Seed planting to first ripe fruit is about 4 months. Transplanting to harvest takes about 2
- 3 month s. Ripening u suall y occurs 5
- 8 weeks after fruit set. Processing tomatoes are mechanically harvested.
Commercial tomatoes have to be very productive; they

must be uniform in size, shape and color; they

must all develop at the same rate so the picker s don't have to keep coming back into the fields; they must be resistant to various diseases, and immune to the many chemicals that are used to kill fungi, insects, nematodes, bacteria, viruses and weeds; they

must be very hard so that they can be picked green and packed in field boxes 4 ft (1.2 m) deep without crushing; they must respond properly

to "gassing", the process of treating the green tomatoes with ethylene so that they all turn red at exactly

the same time, just as they

reach the market; and they must be able to retain their shiny red appearance for several weeks of transport, storage and marketing. Today's commercial tomatoes are meal y, insipid, odorless and fairl y tasteless.
Tomato, Tree: The tree tomato is a perennial shrub 6 to 10 feet high, with large, soft pubescent heart
- shaped leaves , and i t can be grown in frost free location , but prefers a subtropical climate
. The fruit is 2 to 3 inches long, oval in shape, smooth and many seeded, borne on a long stem. Fruit resembles a tomato in appearance, use and flavor. The fruit comes in three varieties as red is tart with a reddish
- golden flesh, while the gold and amber varieties with mildly

tart golden flesh . The flesh is bitter and tastes like tomatoes. Itis planted directl y b y seed. The growing season from b loom to mature fruit varies from 3
- 6 months. It begins blooming 2 years after seeding and can continue for 10 years but usually replaced after 5
- 6 years of production. In the West Indies, the fruit ripens from October to January
.66

66 Worker Activities (Adapted from USDA Tomato Crop Timelines) The crop timelines and worker activities are presented for fresh market tomatoes in north Florida (Table 26), for fresh market tomatoes in south Florida (Table 27), for greenhouse h ydro ponically grown tomatoes in Table 28 and for California grown bush ty pe tomatoes in Table 29. The north and south Florida grown field tomatoes have similar cultural and worker practices but vary when they are done. Tomato production is generall y two phas es the first for transplant production followed b y field production. One month after transplanting the crop may be pruned by

removing by hand the auxiliary branches from the bottom of the plant. The plants then receive support by

staking and tying the br anches on larger varieties
. The fruits are harvested by hand for fresh market and for processing tomatoes they can be mechanically harvested. Harvesting crews may make up as few as 12 to as much as 100 workers depending on the grower’s needs. Table 2 6 . For Fresh Market Tomato Crop Timelines and Worker Activities in North Florida include the following USDA Crop Timelines) ; Activity Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Field Preparation Disking X X X X Leveling X X X X Fumigation, bedding X X Field Production Transplanting X X X X Pruning X X X First tie X X X X Second tie X X X Third tie X X X Fourth tie X X X Harvesting X X X Pesticide Applicatio n X X X X X X X Remove mulch X X X Burndown X X X Remove storage stakes X X X67

67 Table 2 7 . For Fresh Market Tomato Crop Timelines and Worker Activities in South Florida include the following; Activity Jan Feb March April May Ju ne July Aug Sept Oct Field Preparation Disking X X X Leveling X X X Fumigation, bedding X X Transplant Production Seeding X X X Irrigation X X X Pesticide Application X X X Shipping X X Field Production Transplanting X X Pruning X X First tie X X X Second tie X X Third tie X X Fourth tie X X X Harvesting X X X X Pesticide Application X X X X X X Remove mulch X X X Burndown X X X Remove storage stakes X X X X

Various activates for greenhouse tomato growers include propagation of the seedlings (Table 28). The plants are mostl y bought from specialists propagators. Planting include s placing the 8

– 16 inch plants in the growing media at a rate of 8,000

– 11,000 plants/A. Indeterminate varieties are used and support strings are placed on each plant on the stems as part of crop training. Tomato plants can grow 8

– 12 inches/week. T omatoes have first flowers at 6

– 8 weeks old and continue to have clusters ripen every 6

– 12 day s. Clipping and leaf removal is done weekl y for the new growth of the plant. Harvest will be done 2

– 4 times a week at maturity. Growers that harvest once a ye ar68

68 will harvest 20

– 35 weeks from one plant. Year round plantings will harvest 13

– 30 day s from one plant. Clean out is done to remove the old crop and remove the growing media. Preparation is done after clean out when a new plastic floor is re
- l aid, growing media is replaced and irrigation hoses rearranged. Tomatoes are delivered to a packinghouse where there are sorted for size and quality and washed in a chlorinated water flume. Workers must wear gloves, aprons, and hairnets. Larger greenhou se operations have 2

– 3 people working/Acre. Most greenhouse workers are required to wear long
- sleeved shirts, hat, gloves, and shoes. Heirloom varieties are usually greenhouse grown.
Table 2 8 . Greenhouse /Hothouse Hydroponic Tomato Crop Timelines an d Worker Activities for Winter Cycle for Southern Growers Less than One Acre (Selina and Bledsoe, 2002). Activity Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Propagation X X X Planting X X X Crop training X X X X X X X X X X X Leaf removal X X X X X X X X X X X Harvest X X X X X X X X X X Clean out X X X X Preparation X X X X X In California the fresh market tomato production timeline is in Table 29. Most bush tomatoes in California are planted o n raised beds. Tomato beds are mostl y at 60 inch width with average plant spacing of 18

– 20 inches between plants. Planting methods show about 98 % of the fresh tomatoes is transplanted . There are usually 6
- 8 people on a transplanting machine that co vers 3 rows. Average field size is 50
- 60 acres. T tranplanting operations can cover 10

– 15 acres/day
. Plantings are staggered to avoid the tomatoes ripening at the same time. Tomatoes can also be direct seeded in one row per bed. Alter tomato seed em ergence hand labor crew will thin the stand around the third leaf stage. Pruning/tying/staking are only used for pole tomatoes while bush ty pe tomatoes need no pruning. Pole tomatoes may need 4

– 6 tyi ngs/season since the plant may reach 6

– 8 feet in he ight. A work day of 6

– 8 hours would cover one
- two acres/day . Cultivation of the tomato beds occurs two

– three times/crop. Hand weeding will occur two

– three times per crop b y a weed crew working ten acres/day
. In California, all acres are irrigate d. Scouting for pest pressures is conducted for both bush and pole ty

pe tomatoes during the entire season twice per week. Scouts can cover 40

– 50 acres per hour.69

69 Harvest of bush tomatoes is by hand crews that pick the tomatoes and place in a bucket, then emptied into bins and taken to a packinghouse. The fields are picked once at the 10 % red fruit stage . A second pick can be done. At the packinghouse the fruit is rinsed, sorted, and graded into 25 lb cartons. Pole tomatoes are harvested by hand crews that pick the fruit into lug boxes between the breaker and pink color stage with ty pical harvests from one to three times per week across a 70
- 90 day for early plantings and 90
- 120 day s for the fall crop. There are no mechanical harvesters for fresh market tomatoes in California

Table 2 9 . Bush Tomato Type Tomato Crop Timelines and Worker Activities for California (LeBoeuf, 2000). Activity Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Transplant/Seedling emergence X X X X X X X Flowering/fruit set X X X X X X X Harvest X X X X X X Worker Activities Bed preparation X X X Transplanting/Planting X X X X X X X Cultivating X X X X X X X Weeding/thinning X X X X X Fertilization X X X X X Scouting X X X X X X X Irrigation X X X X X X X X X Hand Harvest X X X X X X Insecticide Application X X X X X X X X X X Fungicide application X X X X X X X X X Herbicide application X X X X X X X X Nematicides X X X X X X X X X X Vertebrate pests X X X X X X X X X X The postharvest activities for tomatoes are washing them with chlorine added water. After packing most bush ty pe tomatoes are held in a storage area for ethyle ne treatment (100 ppm) for 24

– 72 hours
. Eggplants are harvested by hand when their desired size is reached for their targeted market and b y cutting above the cal yxby the stem to leave the caly x intact. They

are70

70 picked twice weekl y during the harvest period lasting July

– August. The crop can be harvested five to six times a season at seven to 10 day intervals. Labor needs for eggplant production are approximately 25 hours for production, 120 hours for harvest, and 800 hours for washing and packing Strang, 2006). Plasticulture add 10 more hours/A. In Florida okra is considered a secondary crop and minimal worker activities are needed. Okra is mostly

direct seeded or when transplants are used they are set by workers b y hand and they wear gloves. It takes approximately three days to transplant a 40 acre farm according to USDA Crop Profile for Okra in Florida (2005). The only other time hand labor is used for okra is at harvest. It can be picked every other day during the fruiting season. Fresh marketed tomatillo fields harv ested five to seven times at 7

– 14 day intervals. All of the tomatillos are harvested b y hand usually into buckets which are dumped into bulk bins and taken to the packinghouse. The standard unit for sale is a crate or carton that can hold 40 lb and may b e later repacked into 10 lb cartons. Fruits are not sized for packing and cartons contain mixed sizes. COMPARISON OF HARVESTING, PROCESSING, POSTHARVEST HANDLING, RAW AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY (RAC), EDIBLE PORTIONS, AND PROCESSED FOOD ITEMS FOR THE FRUI T ING VEGETABLES :
H arvest Method: Eggplant : Eggplants are harvested by hand with a sharp cutting knife or pruning shears when they are one - third to two
- thirds mature. The fruits are clipped from the plant with the cal yxor cap and part of the stem is attached. Large cultivars are 6 to 8 inches long, while the long slender Japanese ty pes are harvested fro finger to hot dog size. Before packing the eggplants are sorted by size and washed. Most are packed in the field. Transit and storage life is abo ut less than two weeks. Pepper : The maturity

of peppers for harvest is judged by fruit size, color, and firmness; immature peppers have thin walls and soft texture. Peppers that are mature, but still green, have thicker walls, shiny dark
- green color , and firm texture. Green peppers on the71

71 plant may continue to increase in size and wall thickness as color develops, but this increase is minimal. There is usually a strong market for red ripe peppers, but there is little demand for chocolate or partial ly colored peppers. Red ripe peppers have obtained maximum size and wall thickness and in addition, they contain 50% more sugars and 10 times more vitamin A than green peppers. Workers are hired for harvesting Habañero peppers. Peppers in Florida have multiple harvests all done by hand (Adapted from Steve Sargent, Univ FL., 2000) . Pickers should remove the fruit from the plant with stems attached to the fruit. Peppers with intact stems are more resistant to bacterial soft rot than those with torn or partial stems. Harvested peppers can be collected into pallet bins for transport to the packinghouse, or in the case of harvesting aids, fruits are placed on conveyors which deposit them into the transport container. Peppers are easily damaged and therefore should be handled carefull y as every puncture, abrasion or bruise is a potential site for decay

to develop. Any fruits with decay should not be put in the picking container or onto the conveyor of the harvesting aid because these fruits serve as a sourc e of inoculums to infect otherwise healthy fruit. Cleaning and disinfecting harvest containers dail y will help minimize the spread of decay. In California the fields can be harvested two to four times at 10

– 15 day intervals. Peppers can be field or s hed
- packed. Field packing offers some advantages over a packinghouse operation such as (1) less capital investment is involved, (2) culled fruits are left in the field, (3) the product is handled less, thus minimizing damage and maximizing packout, and (4 ) harvesting and packing can be more closel y coordinated. Harvested peppers arriving at the packinghouse should be stacked in the shade to prevent heating of the fruit. Overfilled containers will result in pepper crushing and bruising when they

are stacked. Peppers should be graded and packed the day they are harvested to prevent overheating and the possibility of inoculating fruit with bacterial soft rot. Peppers can be spray washed but they

should not be placed in a dump tank because contaminated wat er may

enter the fruit through the blossom end. Water used for cleaning fruit should be chlorinated at a concentration of 75 to 100 ppm of free chlorine. Following washing, excess water can be removed by sponge rollers or air blowers. Peppers can be size d and then jumble
- packed into cartons. Closing the carton with straps or glue rather than staples can reduce fruit damage. The predominant container for peppers is a waxed fiberboard or a wire bound with a capacity

of 1 1 \9 bushels. These containers have an average net content of 28 pounds. A one bushel container with a net content of, 25 pounds is also used. To facilitate marketing, a size classification has been established by the pepper industry
. Although specific pepper dimensions have not been es tablished, the following sizes with72

72 corresponding count per 1 1/9 bushel containers are in common use: Jumbo container (50 or less), Extra Large (55
- 65), Large (70
- 80), Medium (85
- 95), Small (100
- 110), and Very Small (111 or more). Processing of Peppers and Red Bell Peppers for Production of Paprika. The conventional pepper cultivars are not yet suited for mechanical harvest because of several plant growth characteristics such as non
- uniform ripening, plant height, and orientation of the fruit a nd being able to harvest without uprooting the plant. The ripe peppers for fresh eating are rinsed and disinfected after harvest by dipping the fruit for 3
- 5 minutes in hot water (50C). For canning the fruits are peeled by roasting or by using chemicals to remove the skin, seeds and stalks. The fruits are canned in brine. Processing nonpungent peppers for paprika is based on dehydration and milling. Deh ydration at 60

– 80C for 4

– 6 hours is necessary to extend the shelf life of fruits from day s to m onths (Hui, 2006). The moisture content is reduced to 4
- 7 %. They are then milled by grinding with hammer and ball mills to reduce the pepper into easier shipment sizes as a solid dry

material. About 30

– 40 % of the fruit seeds are added to the dry f ruits before milling to intensify the color. Also, 60

– 70 % of the milled product is used to make oleoresins for use as highl y concentrated carotenoid oils for use as a coloring agent. Standards for paprika specify that it shall contain no more than 8.5 % total ash and 10.0 % moisture and the ground products shall pass through a U.S. Standard No. 30 sieve Farrell, 1985). Chili peppers are also used as a spice mixture as ground chili powder, cumin, oregano, and garlic powder at 7.8 % moisture and Scovill e units not more than 2000 or less than 900 units. Tomato : Tomatoes have several distinct ripening stages as immature, mature green, breaker, pink, and red. Ripening stages in the tomato fruit are described as immature, mature green, breaker, pink, and red. Mature greens have a white to yellow 'star' on the blossom end. In practice fruit are picked b y size and location on the plant as described below. The breaker stage occurs within 24 hours of the mature green stage and is easily distinguished becau se the blossom end is pink. 'Breakers' ripen naturally without gassing and are labeled in supermarkets as 'vine
- ripe'. For fresh market tomatoes are harvested at the mature green stage make up the bulk of the commercial fresh market tomato crop since they tolerate rough handling better than the riper stages and hold the longest in storage, shipping, and on the supermarket shelf. In the industry , this is referred to as having a low shrinkage rate. North Carolina recommendations are to harvest green mat ures when about 10 percent of the fruit on the first hand is at the breaker stage of maturity. All fruit on the first two fruit hands are generall y removed at this harvest. The second harvest normally takes place from 10 to 14 day s after the first. Frui t that are two inches in diameter or larger are removed from the73

73 middle of the plant. The third harvest is 10 to 14 day s later; fruit are removed from the upper portion of the plant. Vines and fruit should be completely dry when mature green fruit are harvested. Otherwise, fruit shoulders may develop sunken, blackened areas during ripening. Cherry , grape, and Roma tomatoes are harvested between the breaker stage and the red ripe stage. Heirloom varieties are usually harvested after the breaker stage. Vine
- ripe must be hand harvested t thoroughly and as frequently as every other day . Fruit which turn pink or red
- ripe on the vine are unmarketable through commercial channels. The flavor of supermarket tomatoes is frequentl y criticized b y consumers. Und er controlled experimental conditions, properly handled mature green tomatoes develop flavor to the same extent as fruit left on the vine another 24 hours, until color appears, the 'breaker' stage. To the extent immature greens are picked, however, eating quality is reduced even though these tomatoes can be gassed to redness with ethylene. The problem is determining when the tomato reaches the mature green stage in the field. More vine
- ripe have been appearing in stores because of consumer demand for better tasting tomatoes. In Florida the tomatoes are hand picked and placed in plastic bins holding up to 1000 lb, before moving to the packinghouse
. For the processed tomato juice market tomatoes can be mechanically harvested.
. Tomatoes used for proces sing for canned tomatoes are harvested red
- ripe. They retain quality

on the vine for several day s after ripening and harvest is timed to maximize red
- ripe
. The fruit are sturdy enough to withstand mechanical harvest even when red
- ripe and 80 to 90 percent of all processing tomatoes are mechanically harvested. One mechanical harvester can cover 5 to 8 acres in 8 hours.
Postharvest: Commercial crops of fresh market tomatoes picked at the mature green stage are ripened artificially

with ethylene gas in special rooms. Relative humidity in the gassing rooms is 90 to 95 % but the ripening temperatures used depend on how soon the f fruit is needed. Mature green tomatoes should start to develop red color in 5 to 7 day s at 65 to 68 degrees F. The speed of the process can be changed b y raising or lowering the temperature or slowed down by lowering temperatures. Tomatoes will not ripen at temperatures above 85 degrees F or below 50 degrees F. Extended exposure of green tomatoes to temperatures of 40 degrees F or lower causes rotting of fruit before they ripen. In a 42 degrees F refrigerator, enzy mes necessary

for ripening are deactivate teed and the tomato won't ripen even after you take it out. Thus, tomatoes should not be kept in the refrigerator unless they are already

fully ripe. Unripe fruit should be taken off the vine in the fall before temperatures get too low. Fruit can be kept up to 57 day s in controlled environment storage at 54 ° F, 5 % CO2 and 5 % O2 but this is rarel y done in practice because fresh tomatoes are alway s available somewhere.74

74 Processing of the Tomatoes for Their Juice . (Adapted from United States Department of Agriculture Extension Service, 200 5 , University of Florida : http://edis.ifas.uf

l.edu and Neil Ewing, National Food Processors Association, 1992 The required processing studies for tomato are in a series of processing study protocol from the National Food Processors Association submitted to Dr. Debra Edwards US EPA, OPP, CBTS (Ewin g, 1992). The procedure discusses the processing of tomato samples starting with raw unwashed tomato and then processed into paste, puree, pomace, and juice. Some commercial guidance on tomato juice includes an average of 23 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts, or an average of 14 pounds per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel of tomatoes weighs 53 pounds and yi elds 15 to 18 quarts of juice
-- an average of 3
- 1/4 pounds per quart. Procedure: Wash, remove stems, and trim off bruised or discolored p ortions. To prevent juice from separating, quickly cut about 1 pound of fruit into quarters and put directly into saucepan. Heat the juice immediately to boiling while crushing the fruit
. Continue to slowly add and crush freshly

cut tomato quarters to the boiling mixture. Make sure the mixture boils constantly

and vigorously
. Simmer 5 minutes after you add all pieces. Press both ty

pes of heated juice through a sieve or food mill to remove skins and seeds. Add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to jars
. P rocessing G oji Be rries. Harvesting the tender oblong, red goji berries must be picked carefully or shaken from the vine into tray s to avoid spoiling. The fruits are preserved by slowly drying them in the shade on air exchange tables or b y mechan ical dehydration employing a progressivel y increasing series of heat exposure over 48 hours. The berries are hand picked throughout the June
- October harvest season. As previously stated, the crop is harvested on a continual basis during the June
- October harvest season. In commercial production, a bush will yield for about 5 ye ars before being replanted. For processing the fresh berries slowl y pass through a two stage thorough washing process which removes all leaves and dirt. When the fresh berries are juiced, some customers prefer the clear juice and ask us to include the skin and the seeds which are also a rich source of nutrients. The juice is pasteuriz ed using a process that is computer controlled to carefull y regulate the temperature to preserve the juice without damaging the delicate poly saccharides or destroyingany other nutrients. Brix 10
- 40% fresh goji juice made within six hours of the berries being picked. Go ji berries are dried using indoor driers in highl y sanitary conditions without u sing any sulfides. Traditional sun
- dried goji rel y on the heav y use of sulfides to preserve the berry in unsanitary

outdoor conditions, but they still may have high bacterial counts. They are often dried on or near roads which may also expose them to contamination. For these reasons, none of our products are dried outdoors in the traditional way and its main use is as a s nack food, Chinese cooking,75

75 traditional Chinese Medicine, or use d like raisins in Western baking and cooking. Fresh goji juice is spray dried to eliminate all the water weight for transportation and create a convenient all natural powdered juice drink. The berries are dried in sub 0 degree temperatures to extract all the water and then make into powder. This process preserves all the n atural nutrients which may be damaged in heat drying processes. Using high temperatures and a sudden reduction of pressure, the goji berries are puffed and packaged in small snack bags with 22 berries per bag, 1000 snack bags per standard carton
. This process uses no chemical additives and produces a naturall y crispy and especiall y tasty for snacking. Okra: Okra pods are harvested when it is still tender and normally done b y hand. It is harvested every

two

– three day s and is ready to harvest after o nl y four to six days after flowering stages when the pods reach 3

– 5 inches long. Okra that is 3 inches long or smaller is marketed as Extra fancy and longer than 3 inches is Fancy . It is packed in 20 lb containers. Harvest workers wear gloves to prote ct their hands. It is washed in a large water tank for cleaning. Comparison of the Raw Agricultural Commodities (RAC) and Processed Commodities for the Fruiting Vegetables ( S ee Table 30 ).
Table 30. Fruiting Vegetable Portion Analyzed for the Raw Agri cultural Commodity (RAC) and the Processed Commodity [ 40 CFR Vol. 58, No. 187, 9/29, 1993, pp. 50888

– 50893. Portion of Food Commodities Analy zed Pesticide Residues: Proposed Rule, and Table 1 Raw Agricultural and Processed Commodities Derived from Crops (EPA Residue Chemistry Guidelines OPPTS 860.1000) ]
. Commodity Portion Analyzed (RAC), Use as a

Feedstuff (F) Processed Commodity and Use as a Feedstuff (F) Eggplant Analyze the whole fruit. Groundcherry Analyze the whole fruit after outer

husk is removed. Pepper, bell and nonbell Analyze the whole fruit. Tomato Analyze the whole fruit. Paste* Puree* Tomatillo Analyze the whole fruit after outer

husk is removed. *Residue data on tomato paste covers tomato processed products (e.g., sauce, juice, and catsup), except tomato puree which only covers canned tomatoes.76

76 Other uses for the specific fruiting vegetable commodities are discussed under the p reparation, cooking methods, uses, and marketing standards for members of the citrus and cookin g methods for members for members of the fruiting vegetable crop group:
LIVESTOCK FEED ITEMS: There are no significant animal feed items associated with any member of the proposed the Fruiting vegetable crop group 8.
CROP ROTATIONS FOR THE FRUITING VEGETABLES : The members of the Fruiting vegetable crop group are rotated as part of a pest management program. They should not be rotated to any member of the Solanaceae family such as potatoes and tobacco to avoid buildup of pest problems. For tomatoe s a three ye ar crop rotation is recommended b y rotating tomatoes to corn and soy bean or wheat. Four year crop rotations should separate successive crops of eggplants. Fruiting vegetables can be rotated to many other vegetable crops such as the Brassica and non
Brassica leafy

greens, legumes such as peas and beans or clover, other root crops except potatoes, and cereal grains such as sweet corn or wheat.
PEST PROBLEMS FOR THE FRUITING VEGETABLE CROPS: (Developed from USDA Crop Profiles from AZ, CA, DE, FL, GA, IN, LA, KY, LA, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NM, OH, PA, TN, TX WV, and VA , Extension Bulletins, and Research Literature). The members of the Fruiting Vegetable Crop Group share many of the same pest problems since many are members of the same botanical f amil y the Solanaceae . Because of the similarity

in the botany , cultivars and cultural practices among these crops, they have similar pest problem. Availability of a similar set of pest control options for the Fruiting vegetable crop group would be useful in promoting integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. Some of the pests affect the external appearance of the fruit some from damage b y feeding on the leaves or buds, and some by reducing postharvest keeping qualities. Many pests and diseases which afflict other solanaceous vegetables, such as tomato, pepper ( capsicum ), and potato, are also troublesome to eggplants. For this reason, they should not be planted in areas previously occupied by

its close relatives. Four ye ars should separate successive crops of eggplants. Common North American77

77 pests include the potato beetle , flea beetl e , aphids and spider mites
. Many of these can be controlled using Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a bacterium that attacks the soft
- bodied larvae. Good sanitation and crop
- rotation practices are e xtremely important for controlling fungal disease, the most serious of which is Verticillium
. There are several common pest problems among the fruiting vegetables, especiall y the more closely related commodities within a given subgroup . The most important pest problems associated with this group of commodities are plant diseases including postharvest diseases, as well as some insects and mites. This group has several greenhouse and field pest problems. The following are the list of important insects, mite, and diseases of the fruiting vegetables (USDA Crop profiles 2006, Howard, Garland, and Seaman, 1994): 1. Insects and molluscs

– Aphids, Colorado p otato bettle, cutworms, European corn borer, hornworms, flea be e tles , crickets, Western flower thrips, and slugs. Gre enhouse also includes the pepper weevil, Western flower thrips , plant bugs, whitefly , and two
- spotted spider mites. 2. Diseases: bacterial canker, bacterial soft rot, b acterial speck, bacterial spot, and bacterial wilt. Fungal

– anthracnose, damping off, early and late blight, Fusarium crown and root rot, verticillum wilt, and white mold. Viral

– aster yellows, cucumber mosaic, potoat virus. Greenhouse also includes Fu sarium stem rot, Fusarium wilt , gray mold, tobacco mosaic, bacterial stem rot, white mold, Septoria leaf blight, and tomato spotted wilt. 3. Nematodes

– Northern root knot, root lesion and stubby root nematodes. 4. Weeds
- Over 100 weeds found in that are problems in growing fruiting vegetables such as a combination of annual and perennial grasses and broadleaf weeds
. Fruiting vegetables field and greenhouse plantings have many weed control problems that must be controlled to ensure adequate yi elds and harvesting efficiencies 5. V ertebrate pests: meadow voles, rabbit, deer, and squirrels
. This fruiting vegetable group shares a multiplude of insect, disease, viral, and nematode. Some of the pests common to specific members are listed below: E ggplant pest s : 1. Insects: Colorado potato beetle, potato flea beetle, eggplant flea beetle, green peach aphid, European corn borer, corn earworm, eggplant lacebug, and leafminers.78

78 2. Diseases: d amping off, Phy tophthora blight, verticillium wilt, bacterial soft rot and Pho mopsis blight. 3. Weeds: annual broadleaf weeds (common cocklebur, common lambsquarter , common purslane, common ragweed, hairy galinsoga, Iv y leaf morningglory , Jimsonweed, smooth pigweed, velvetleaf), annual grass weeds (b arnyardgrass , g iant foxtail, green f

oxtail, yellow foxtail, fall panicum, large crabgrass, goosegrass ), perennial weeds (yellow nutsedge)
. 4. Nematodes: root knot and lesion. O kra pests : Diseases are the primary

pest concern in okra production due to the quality discount on blemished pods; but viruses are not generall y observed in this crop. Insects, mites, nematodes and weeds also reduce okra yi elds over the season. 1. Insects: b eet arm yworm, southern arm yworm, fall armyworm, corn earworm, cabbage looper, aphids, melon thrips, silverleaf whitef ly , southern green stinkbug, mites, cucumber beetles. 2. Diseases: damping off, leaf spot, southern blight, white mold, powdery mildew and blossom blight/wet rot. 3. Nematodes: root
- knot and sting nematodes, as well as reniform nematode. 4. Weeds: amaranth, nutsedg e, goosegrass, Florida pusley and purslane. Pe pper pest s : 1. Insects: beet arm yworm, European corn borer, yellowstriped arm yworm, thrips and brown stink bug 2. Weeds: b roadleaf signalgrass, large crabgrass, giant foxtail, Johnsongrass, fall panicum, Italian rye grass, shattercane, burcucumber, common cocklebur, honey vine milkweed, bigroot m orningglory , ivyleaf morningglory , smooth pigweed, common pokeweed, giant ragweed and trumpetcreeper 3. Diseases: Alternaria fruit rot, anthracnose, bacterial leaf spot, bacteri al soft rot, blossom end rot, cercospora leaf spot, pepper virus complex (alfalfa mosaic, cucumber mosaic, potato X and Y and tobacco etch viruses), phy tophthora blight, southern stem blight, tomato spotted wilt [TSWV] and impatiens necrotic spot viruses [ IN SV] 4. Nematodes: root knot nematodes. T omato pest s : 1. Insects: t omato fruitworm, stink bugs, thrips, spider mites, aphids, flea beetles, whiteflies, arm yworms, cutworms, tomato pinworm, vegetable leafminer, hornworms, cabbage looper, Colorado potato beetle and mole crickets. 2. Weeds: annual grasses (broadleaf signalgrass , large crabgrass, goosegrass , and fall panicum), perennial grasses ( Johnsongrass ), and broadleaf weeds (common cocklebur, groundcherry , hairy galinsoga , jimsonweed, common lambsquarters ,79

79 morn ingglory , nightshade, pigweed, common ragweed, Penns yl vania smartweed, sicklepod and velvetleaf). 3. Diseases: e arl y blight, Septoria leaf spot, late blight, gray mold, bacterial canker, bacterial spot, bacterial speck, verticillium wilt, bacterial wilt, southern blight, fusarium wilt, pith necrosis, tomato spotted wilt, target spot, Fusarium crown rot, white mold, and viruses. 4. Nematodes: root
- knot and s ting nematode. The fruiting vegetables also share many postharvest marketing decay problems such as: A lte rnaria rot
. Inmost instances this disease follows blossom
- end rot a phy siological problem, but it also follows injuries, chilling, and other decay s. On the fruit, large greenish
- brown to brown lesions covered, with grayish
- brown mold are produced. Simi lar lesions on the lower
- part of the fruit are characteristic of Alternaria rot following blossom
- end rot. The larger lesions may show alternating light and dark
- brown concentric zones; bacterial soft rot
. The decay may occur at injuries any

where over th e surface of the fruit. Bacterial soft rot is easil y recognized b y the soft, mushy consistency of the affected tissues which generally is associated with a bad odor; bacterial spot
. The spots are small, brown to black, scab
- like lesions that constitute b lemishes of serious consequence onl y when they are present in large numbers on the fruit. Pepper cultivars show considerable variation in susceptibility . Peppers should not be planted after tomatoes. Care should be exercised to grade out all peppers sho wing spots that would reduce their marketability
. Blossom end rot is a disorder that frequentl y occurs. It is a serious market factor, because it disfigures the fruit and opens the way for secondary bacterial and fungal invaders that cause extensive dec ay . Small, water
- soaked spots on the lower half of the fruit near the blossom end are the first sy mptoms of this disease. As the spots enlarge they

become light brown to brownish black and dry , so that the affected tissues are more or less leathery in te xture. Phy tophthora rot - The causal fungus migrates from the blighted plant through the fruit pedicel and invades the fruit at the stem end. The first s ymptom is the presence of small, green, water
- soaked spots that elongate down the sides of the fruit. The rot found on the market develops from infections that are not observed when the fruit is packed. The usual refrigeration temperatures in transit retard the development of the decay
. (R hizopus rots ). This disease is distinguished from bacterial soft rot and gray mold rot by

the presence of coarse mold that can be seen b y gentl y pulling apart the diseased tissue. Under humid conditions the mold may grow out over the lesion. V irus mottlin g which s tunt s, distorts, and causes ye llow and green mottling, and definite rings or loops on the fruit are the usual characteristics of this disease.80

80 COMPARISON OF POTENTIAL RESIDUE LEVELS IN THE F RU ITING VEGETABLE S: Magness, Markle, and Compton in 1971 classified food and feed crops based on predicting the potential for pesticide residues based on exposure of the edible parts to applied pesticides, which led to the development of the crop groups. The majority of the fruiting vegetables citrus fruits were classified in the Fruit Crops Category V
. Category V includes the vegetable crops with edible parts consisting of rapidl y growing fruits, peel of which is generally

consumed. These include eggplant, okra, peppers, tomatoes, currant tomato, and tree tomatoes. Category V vegetable crops have the edible portions fully exposed to pesticide spray s. The skins of these fruits are generally smooth. The tomatillo and groundcherry are placed in Vegetable Crops Category IV since the edible parts are fully

exposed to pesticide application, but their edible parts are enclosed in husks that are removed before marketing or consumption. We expect that all proposed members of the fruiting vegetable crop group will have similar residue levels based on similarities of the raw agricultural commodities (RAC’s), cultural p ractices, and pest problems. One would expect pesticide residues to be similar in most of the members of the Fruiting vegetables, except in the cases of groun d cherry and tomatillo which have an inedible husk that is discarded p rior to cooking
. The repres entative commodities are the same as those in the Fruiting vegetable group 8 established in 1995. The proposed representative commodities cover over 99% of the total fruiting vegetable production in the U.S. A li sting of the established tolerances estab lished by U.S., EU, Australia, and Codex for the Fruiting Vegetable Group is contained in ( Table 3 1 ). These are based on existing tolerances in 40 CFR and the USDA FAS mrldatabase, while comparisons of the individual commodities such as tomatoes in Table 3 2 , peppers in Table 3 3 , eggplants in Table 3 4 , and okra in Table 3 5 . Comparisons of the tolerances for the representative commodities are listed in Table 3 6 , and tolerance comparison for the pepper subgroup 10B are in Table 3 7 , and for the eggplant subgroup 10C are in Table 3 8 . Comparative field and greenhouse residue data for field and greenhouse tomato for bifenazate are presented in Table 3 9
. In s ome cases the U.S. tolerances are higher than those established in the EU for the fruiting vegetable groups (Table 31). There are 51 tolerances in the US established for the fruiting vegetable group. C omparison of established tolerances on tomatoes peppers and eggplants between US and other sy stems were more consistent (Tables 32, 33 and 34). Okra had on tolerance different from Canad a on malathion because of use pattern differences. Tolerances established for the representative commodities for tomato bell and nonbell pepper and eggplants are remarkably similar (Table 36) and help support81

81 that residue levels will be similar between other members of the crop groups. Tolerance comparisons between the pepper and eggplant subgroups are also consistent (Table 37 and 38
. Comparison of tolerances for bell and nonbell peppers show nonbell to be higher than be ll peppers in the case of oxamyl, quioxyfen, and s
- metolachlor (Table 37 ). Table 38 shows tolerances for peppers also tends to be higher than eggplant. In addition, USDA IR
- 4 (Dorschner, 2006) submitted comparative field and greenhouse residue data fo r bell and nonbell pepper and tomatoes (standard and small variety) for bifenazate at the same use pattern and PHI ’s that showed residues for nonbell peppers grown in the field (1.1 ppm) are higher than bell peppers (0.35 ppm) and residues in cherry tomato es grown in the field (0.46 ppm) are higher than the standard s i ze tomatoes (0.1 ppm) as well as greenhouse grown cherry tomato (0.46 ppm) are higher than the standard size greenhouse grown tomatoes (0.19 ppm) which is what Magness and Markle predicted (Table 3 9 ) . This data also supports the choice of representative commodities for the crop group and subgroups.

Table 3 1 . Tolerances E stablished on Fruiting Vegetables Group ( FASONLINE; NORDEN 2005d, 40CFR Part 180) ( Compound CGF

Citation US EU Au strali a Codex 2,4 - D 180.142 0.1 0.05 Abam ectin 180.449 0.02 {0.01} Acetamiprid 180.579 0.2 Acibenzolar- S
- Methyl 180.561 1 Am itraz 180.287 - 0.05 Azinphos - Methy l 180.504 - 0.5 Azoxystrobin 180.507 - 2 Benom yl 180.294 - 0.1 2 Bensulide 18 0.241 0.1 Bentazon 180.355 - 0.1 Bifenazate 180.572 2 Bifenthrin 180.442 - 0.2 Boscalid 180.589 1.2 Carfentrazone
- Ethy l 180.515 0.1 {0.05} Chlorfenapyr 180.513 1 Chlorothalonil 180.275 - 2 Chlorpyrifos 180.342 - 0.5 Clethodim 180.458 1 Clofentezine 180.466 - 0.02 Cy fl uthrin 180.436 0.5 {0.02} Cy mo xanil 180.503 0.2 Cy permethrin 180.418 0.2 0.5 Cy romazine 180.414 - 0.05 Deltamethrin 180.435 0.3 {0.1} 0.2 Diazinon 180.153 - 0.5 0.7 Dicofol 180.163 - 0.02 5 Dim ethoate 180.204 - 0.02 2 Dim ethomorph 180.493 1.582

82 Compound CGF

Citation US EU Au strali a Codex Dinotefuran 180.603 0.7 Diphenylamine 180.190 - 0.05 Diquat 180.226 0. 0 2 Disulfoton 180.183 - 0.02 0.5 0.5 Em am ectin 180.505 0.02 Endosulfan 180.182 - 0.05 2 2 EPTC 180.117 0.1 0.04 Esfenvalerate 180.553 - 0.02 Ethephon 180.300 - 0.05 Eth yl ene Oxide 180.151 - 0.1 Famoxadone 180.587 4 Fenamiphos 180.399 - 0.02 Fenarimol 180.421 - 0.02 Fenhexamid 180.553 2 Fenpropathrin 180.466 1 Fentin H ydroxide - - 0 .05 Fenvalerate - - 0.02 Flonicamid 180.613 0.4 Fludioxonil 180.516 0.01 Fluoxastrobin 180.609 1 Fluridone 180.420 0.1 Glyphosate 180.364 0.1 0.1 0.1 Halosulfuron
- me thyl 180.479 0.05 Imaz alil 180.413 - 0.02 Imidacloprid 180.4 72 1 0.5 Indoxacarb 180.564 0.5 Iprodione 180.399 - 5 Kasugam yc in 180.614 0.04 Kresoxim - Methyl 180.554 - 0.05 Lactofen 180.432 0.2 Lam bda Cyhalothrin 180.438 0.2 {0.02} Maleic H ydrazide 180.175 - 1 Mancozeb 180.176 - 2* 3 Maneb 180.110 - 2* Metalaxyl 180.408 1 {0.05} 0.1 Methamidophos 180.315 0.01 Methidathion 180.298 - 0.02 0.1 Methom yl 180.253 0.2 {0.05} 1 Methoxy fenozide 180.544 2 Metiram - - 2* 3 Metsulfuron
- Methyl 180.428 - 0.05 Myclobutanil 180.443 0. 2 0.02 Napropamide 180.328 0.1 Paraquat Dichloride 180.205 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 Permethrin 180.378 - 0.05 Phorate 180.206 - 0.05 0.5 Pirim iphos - Methy l 180.409 - 0.05 Prohexadione Calcium 180547 - 0.05 Propamocarb 180.499 283

83 Compound CGF

Citation US EU Au strali a Codex Hydrochloride Propiconazole 180.434 - 0.05 Propyzamide 180.317 - 0.02 Py me trozine 180.556 0.2 {0.02} Py raclostrobin 180.582 1.4 Py ridate 180.462 - 0.05 Py riproxy

fe n 180.510 0.2 1 Sethoxydim 180.487 0.05 S
- me tolachlor 180.368 0.1 Spinosad 18 0.49 5 0.4 0.2 Spiromesifen 180.607 0. 3 Sulfosate 180. 412 0.05 Tebufenozide 180.482 1 Thiabendazole 180.242 - 0.05 Thiamethoxam 180.565 0.25 Thiodicarb 180.407 - 0.05 Thiophanate - Methyl 180.371 0.5 0.1 2 Triadimefon
- - 0.1 0.2 0. 1 Tridemorph - - 0.05 Tri floxystrobin 180.555 0.5 Tri fluralin 180.20 7 0.05 0.05 Zeta - Cy permethrin 180.418 0.2 Table 3 2. T olerances Established on Tomato ( FASONLINE , 40CFR Part 180 , and EPA OPPIN 12/4/2007) .

Compound CGF Citation US Codex EU CAN Abam ectin 180.449
- 0.02 0.02 {0.01} Acetamiprid 180.578 0.2 {0.1} * Azinphos - Methy l 180.154 2 {1} {1} Azoxystrobin 180.507 0.2 0.2 Benom yl 180.294 5 {0.5} * {0.5} * {2.5} Bifenazate 180.572
- {0.5} {0.5} Bifenthrin 180.442 0.15 Buprofenzin 180.511 0.4 Captan 180.103 25 Chlorothalonil 180.275 5 5 5 Chlorpyrifos 180.342 0.5 0.5 0.5 {0.01} Cryolite 180.145 7 Cy fl uthrin 180.436 0. 2 0.5 {0.05} Cy romazine 180.414 0.5 0.5 1 DCPA 180.185 1 Deltamethrin 180.435 0.2 0.3 0.3 * Diazinon 180.153 0.75 {0.5} 0.75 Dichloran 180.200 5 Dicofol 180.163 5 {1} {1} 3 Dim ethoate 180.204 2 {0.02} {0.5}84

84 Compound CGF Citation US Codex EU CAN Disulfoton 180.183 0.75 {0.02} {0.5} Endosulfan 180.182 0.2 {0.5} {0.5} 1 Esfenvalerate 180.379 1 Ethephon 180.300 2 2 {1} 2.0 Etridazole 180.370 0.15 Famoxadone 180.587 1 2 1 Fenamidone 180.579 1 Fenhexamid 180.553 2 {1} * Fenpropathrin 180.466
- Ferbam 180.114 7 1 Fludioxonil 180.516
- 0.5 Folpet 180.191 25 Fosetyl - Al 180.415 3 3 Imidaclopr id 180.472
- {0.5} 1 Lambda Cyhalothrin 180.438 0. 1 Maneb 180.101 4 Malathion 180.111 8 {0.5} {3} {3} Mepanipyrim 180.604 0.5 Mancozeb 180.176 4 Metalaxyl 180.408
- {0.5} {0.2} * 1 Methom yl 180.253 1 1 {0.2} * Methamidopho s 180.315 1 Metribuzin 180.332 0.1 Mevinphos 180.157 0.2 Myclobutanil 180.443 0.3 Naled 180.215 0.5 0.5 Nicotine 180.167 2 O
- phenylphenol 180.129 10 10 Oxam yl 180.303 2 2 {0.02} * Pebulate 180.238 0.1 Permethrin 180.378 2 Phosphine 18 0.225 0.01 Py raclostrobin 180.582
- {0.3} {0.2} * Py ridaben 180.494 0.15 0.15 Py rimethanil 180.518 0.5 1 Rim sulfuron 180.478 .05 Spinosad 180.495
- {0.3} Tebufenozide 180.482 1 1 2 Toly lfuralin 180.584 2 Tri floxystrobin 180.555 - 0 .7 0.5 * Ziram 180.116 7 Zoxamide 180.567 285

85 Table 3 3 . Tolerances E stablished on Pepper , Nonbell Pepper, and Bell Pepper
. (FASONLINE; NORDEN 2005d , 40CFR Part 180 , and EPA OPPIN 12/4/2007). Compound CGF

Citation U.S.

Tolerance Establis hed on US EU Au stralia Codex
Acephate 180.108 Pepper 4.0 Azinphos - Methy l 180.154 Pepper 0.3 Azoxystrobin 180.507 Pepper 2 2 Benom yl 180.294 Pepper 0.2 Benoxacor 180.460 Pepper, bell; Pepper, chili; Pepper, cubanelle; Pepper, tabasco 0.1

Bensulide 180.241 Pepper, nonbell 0.5 Bentazon 180.355 Pepper, nonbell 0.05 0.1 Bifenthrin 180.442 Pepper, b ell and Pepper, non bell 0.5 Captan 180.103 Pepper 25 Carbaryl 180.169 Pepper 10 Carbofuran 180.254 Pepper 1 Chlorothalonil 180.275 Pepper, nonbell 2 Chlorpyrifos 180.342 Pepper 0.5 Cryolite 180145 Pepper 7 Cy fl uthrin 180.436 Pepper 0.5 {0.02} Cy romazine 180.414 Pepper 1 DCPA 180.185 Pepper and Pepper, pi me nto 2
Deltamethrin - - {0.1} {0.2} Diazinon 180.153 Pepper 0.5 0.5 0.7 Dicofol 180.162 Pepper and Pepper, pim ento 5
Dichlorvos 180.215 Pepper 0.5 Difllubenzuron 180.377 Pepper 1 Dim ethapin 180.183 Pepper 0.1 Dim ethoate 180.204 Pe pper 2 Diflubenzuron 180.377 Pepper 1 Disulfoton 180.183 Pepper 0.1 Endosulfan 180.182 Pepper 2 Esfenvalerate 180.379 Pepper 0.286

86 Compound CGF

Citation U.S.

Tolerance Establis hed on US EU Au stralia Codex
Ethephon 180.300 Pepper 30 Fenhexamid 180.553 Pepper, nonbell 2 Flu azifop 180.411 Pepper, tabasco 1 Lindane 180.133 Pepper 1 Malathion 180.111 Pepper 8 Maneb 180.110 Pepper 7 2* Methamidophos 180.315 Pepper 1 Methom yl 180.253 Pepper 2 Mevinphos 180.157 Pepper 0.25 Myclobutanil 180.443 Pepper; Pepper, bell; and Pepper, nonbell 1

Naled 180.215 Pepper 0.5 O
- ort h ophenol 180.129 Pepper, bell 10 Oxam yl 180.303 Pepper, bell 3 Oxam yl 180.303 Pepper, nonbell 5 Oxydem eton - Methyl 180.330 Pepper 0.75 0.02 Pentachloronitrobenzene 180.319 Pepper 0.1 Permethrin 180 .378 Pepper, bell 1 Phosphine 180.225 Pepper; Pepper, pim ento; and Pepper, red 0.01

Quinox yfen 180.598 Pepper, bell 0.35 Quinox yfen 180.598 Pepper, nonbell 1.7 S
- me tolachlor 180.368 Pepper, bell 0.1 S
- me tolachlor 180.368 Pepper, chili 0 .5 S
- me tolachlor 180.368 Pepper, cubanelle 0.1 S
- me tolachlor 180.368 Pepper, bell 0.1 Stretom yc in 180.245 Pepper 0.25 Ziram 180.116 Pepper 787

87 Table 3 4 . Tolerances E stablished on Eggplant . ( FASONLINE, 40CFR Part 180 , and EPA OPPIN 12/4/2007). : Compound CGF Citation US Codex EU CAN ADA Zippos - Methy l 180.154 0.3 Azoxystrobin 180.507 2 Binomial 180.294 0.2 0.5 * Bifenazate 180.572 2 {0.5} Bifenthrin 180.442 0.05 Captan 180.103 25 Carbaryl 180.169 10 Cryo lite 180.145 7 DCPA 180.185 1 Deltamethrin 180.435
- 0.3 * Dicofol 180.163 5 {0.02} 3 Dichlorvos 180.215 0.5 Endosulfan 180.182 2 {0.1} 1 Esfenvalerate 180.379 1 Fenamiphos 180.349 1 {0.05} Fenbutatin - Oxide 180.362 6 Fenhexamid 180.553
- 2 {1} * Fenpropathrin 180.466
- {0.2} Fludioxonil 180.516
- 0.3 Imidacloprid 180.472 1 {0.2} {0.08} Malathion 180.111 8 {3} {0.5} Maneb 180110 7 Methamidaphos 180.315 1 Methom yl 180.253 0.2 0.2 * Methyl parathion 180.123 20 Naled 180.215 0.5 0.5 Oxam yl 180.303 2 {0.02} * Oxydem eton - me thyl 180.330 1 Permethrin 180.378 1 Phosphine 180.225 0.01 Ziram 180.116 7 Table 3 5 . Tolerances E stablished on Okra. (FASONLINE , 40CFR Part 180 : and EPA OPPIN 12/4/2007 ).

Compound CGF Citation US Codex EU CAN ADA Azoxystrobin 180.507 2 Bifenzate 180.572 2 Carbfe ntrazuron 180.515 0.1 Fenamiphos 180.349 0.3 Glyphosate 180.364 0.5 Imidacloprid 180.472 1 Malathion 180.111 8 {3} Methoxy fenozide 180.544 2 Phosphine 180.225 0.01 Spinosad 180.495 0.488

88 Table 3 6 . Tolerances Established in U.S. on Representative Fruiting Vegetable Crops (Based on 40 CFR Part 180, and EPA OPPIN 12/4/2007). Compound CFR Citation Tom ato Pepper, bell Pepper, nonbell Eggplant

Aldicarb 180.269 0.3
- 0.3 0.3 Azoxystrobin 180.507 0.2 2.0* 2.0 Dicofol 180.163 1 0 10 10 10 Dimethoate 180.204 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 Fenamiphos 180.349 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 Formetanate hydrochloride 180.276 4.0
- 4.0 4.0 Malathion 180.111 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 Methomyl 180.253 2.0 2.0 2.0
- Naled 180.215 3.0 3.0 3.0
- O
-phenylphenol 180.129 10 1 0 10 10 Oxydemeton
- methyl 180.330 1.0 0.75* * 1.0 Parathion 180.123 30 30 30 30 Phosphine 180.225 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 Propargite 180.259 5.0
- 5.0
- Simazine 180.213 0.25
- 0.25
- Thiazopyr 180.496 0.05
- - - Ziram 180.116 7.0 7.0* 7.0 * Tolerance is for pepper.

Table 3 7 . Tolerance Comparison between Representative Commodities of the Pepper Subgroup 10 B . (Based on 40 CFR Part 180, and EPA OPPIN 12 /4/2007). Compound CFR Citation Pepper, bell Pepper, nonbell
Benoxacor 180. 460 0.1 0. 1 Bifenthrin 180.442 0.5 0.5 Myclobutanil 180.443 1 1 Oxamyl 180.303 3 5 Quinoxyfen 180.598 0.35 1.7 S
- metolachlor 180.368 0.1 0.589

89 Table 3 8 . Tolerance Comparison between the Representative Commodities (Nonbell pepper or eggplant) of the Eggplant Subgrou p 1 0 C . (Based on 40 CFR Part 180, and EPA OPPIN 12 /4/2007). Compound CGF

Citation Eggplant Nonbell pepper Pepper Azinphos - Methy l 180.154 0.3
- 4.0 Azoxystrobin 180.507 2 .0
- 2.0 Benom yl 180.294 0.2
- 0.2 Bifenthrin 180.442 0.05 0.5 0.5 Captan 180.10 3 25 .0
- 25 .0 Carbaryl 180.169 10 .0
- 10 .0 Cryolite 180.145 7 .0
- 7 .0 DCPA 180.185 1 .0
- 2.0 Dicofol 180.163 5 .0
- 5.0 Dichlorvos 180.215 0.5 - 0.5 Endosulfan 180.182 2 .0 - 2 .0 Esfenvalerate 180.379 1 .0
- 0.2 Malathion 180.111 8 .0
- 8.0 Maneb 1801 10 7 .0
- 7.0 Methamidaphos 180.315 1 .0
- 1.0 Methom yl 180.253 0.2
- 2.0 Naled 180.215 0.5
- 0.5 Oxydem eton - me thyl 180.330 1 .0
- 0.75 Phosphine 180.225 0.01
- 0.01 Ziram 180.116 7
- 7.0 Table 3 9 . Comparative Field and Greenhouse Residue Data for Bi fenazate (use pattern one application at 0.5 lb ai/A) between Peppers (bell and nonbell) and Tomatoes (standard and cherry) (Dorschner, 2006). Crop Field/Greenhouse

(Field PHI = 3, GH PHI = 1) Range of Residues

(Average Residue) ppm Locations Bell peppe r Field 0.13

– 1.1 ppm (0.35 ppm) CA, FL, GA, MD,

OH, ON, TX), Nonbell Pepper Field 0.54

– 1.1 (0.54 ppm) FL, NM, TX Tomato (standard size) Field 0.03

– 0.29 (0.10 ppm) CA, FL, GA, OH,

ON Tomato (cherry) Field 0.33
- 0.59 (0.46 ppm) CA, NY Tomato (stan dard) Greenhouse 0.23

– 0.99 (0.19 ppm) TN, TX Tomato (cherry) Greenhouse 0.15

– 0.99 (0.46 ppm) CO, NJ, TX90

90 REQUIRED NUMBER OF CROP FIELD TRIALS FOR CROP GROUP 8 AND COMPARISON OF EPA CROP PRODUCTION REGIONS WITH THE NAFTA CROP PRODUCTION REGIONS :
A preliminary reevaluation of crop production data fro the 2002 USDA Agricultural Census shows that the amended Fruiting vegetable crop group 8 will not require additional field trials because the acreage for tomatoes and peppers has not significantl y chang ed from the 199 2 data used in the current field trial guidelines (EPA OPPTS 860.1500). The proposed number of crop field trials for Crop group 8 Fruiting vegetable , as well as the required number of crop field trials for Crop subgroups 8 A, 8 B, and 8 C is l isted in Tables 40 and 41 , respectivel y as well as suggested EPA regional distribution of the fruiting vegetables is in Table 42
. The current NAFTA Field Production Regions for the f ruiting v egetable c rop group 8 is shown in Table 44. This Table will be updated in a joint effort to update the regional data based on more recent Agricultural Census form the U.S. and Canada.
Table 40 . Draft Required Number of Field Trials for Fruiting Vegetable Commodities to Establish a Fruiting Vegetable Crop Group 8 . (40 CFR 180.41) [OPPTS 860.1500, Table 2). Representative Commodity Current Number

of Field Trials for Commodities if Not Part of the Crop Group Current Number of

Field Trials for Commodities if Part of the Crop Group Number of Field Trials for Commodities as Part of the Crop Group Based Only on 2002 USDA AGCensus Acres Without Consideration of Dietary Consumption Tomato 16 in current

guidelines 12 8 Pepper, bell 8 in current

guidelines 9 for all peppers

– 6

are for bell pepper and 3 are for n onbell peppers . 5 for all peppers
- 3

are for bell pepper and 2 are for nonbell peppers . Pepper, nonbell 3 in current

guidelines 3 are for nonbell

peppers . See bell peppers.91

91 Representative Commodity Current Number

of Field Trials for Commodities if Not Part of the Crop Group Current Number of

Field Trials for Commodities if Part of the Crop Group Number of Field Trials for Commodities as Part of the Crop Group Based Only on 2002 USDA AGCensus Acres Without Consideration of Dietary Consumption Eggplant 3 in current

guidelines Not required for the

current crop group Not required for the

crop group, may

be used in place of nonbell peppers for the Eggplant crop subgroup 8C. Number of field trials is 3. Total 30 (27 without

eggplant)* 2 1 1 6 * Attachment 7. Methodology for Determining Number of Field Trials, in Appendix A of the EPA OPPTS 860.1500 Crop Field Trials. Current guidelines have tomato and pepper (bell and nonbell) as the representative commodities. The number of projected field trials for the proposed crop subgroups 8A, 8B, and 8C are listed in Tabl e 41. Based on the current guidelines the Tomato subgroup 8A would need 12 residue field trials, Pepper subgroup 8B would need 9 field trials divided into 6 for bell peppers and 3 for nonbell peppers, and the Eggplant subgroup 8C would need 3 residue fiel d trials.
Table 41 . Proposed Number of Field Trials for Crop Subgroup 8 A - 0 8 , 8 B - 0 8 , and 8 C - 0 8 . (40 CFR 180.41) [OPPTS 860.1500, Table 3). Crop Subgroup Representative

Commodity Production

Harvested Acres 2002 Number of Field

Trials to be Determined 8 A Tomato 448,500 12 in current guidelines.* 8 B Pepper, bell and nonbell 56,998
- Pepper, bell 42,666

– Pepper, nonbell 9 for all peppers

– 6

are for bell pepper and 3 are for nonbell peppers .92

92 Crop Subgroup Representative

Commodity Production

Harvested Acres 2002 Number of Field

Trials to be Determined 8 C Pepper , nonbell or

Eggplant 42,666

– Pepper, nonbe ll 6,401
- Eggplant 3 same as for

nonbell pepper * Attachment 7. Methodology for Determining Number of Field Trials, in Appendix A of the EPA OPPTS 860.1500 Crop Field Trials. The fruiting vegetables are commonly produced in EPA Crop Production Regions 2, 3, 5, 10, and 13 (Table 42). Table 4 2 . EPA Crop Production Regions for the Fruiting Vegetable Crops. [Representative Commodities (*) for the Crop Group]. Commodity** 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 African Eggplant X X X X X X X X Bush Tomato X X X X X X X Cocona X X X Currant tomato X X X X Eggplant X X X X G arden huckleberry X X Goji berry X Groundcherry X X X X Martynia X X X X X Naranjilla X Okra X X X X Pea Eggplant X X X Pepino X X X Pepper , bell * X X X X X Pepper, nonbell * X X X X X Roselle X X X X Scarlet Eggplant X X X X X Sunberry X Tomatillo X Tomato * X X X X T ree t omato X X ** Commodities that are not representative commodities have field trial regions generall y based on the USDA Plants Database, 2006.93

93 While the number of field trials based on the 2002 AGCensus did n ot change the number of field trials for the fruiting vegetables from the Residue Chemistry Guidelines , the Regions have shifted slightly (Table 43). For example for tomatoes there has been a shift from R egion 1 currently have one trial to having no field trials with the new data, and the addition of one trial to Region 10. Bell pepper trails have shift e d to one in Region 1 (before zero ), from two to one in Region 2, and the same for Regions 3, 5, and 10. The current guidelines did not provide separate regions for nonbell peppers , but the acreage of nonbell peppers is increasing. Table 4 3 . EPA Crop Production Regions Current Guideline Distribution of the Fruiting Vegetable Crop Field Trials > 3 for the Representative Commodities for the Crop Group base d on 2002 AGCensus Data and Includes Dietary Consumption as a Consideration . Commodity # Field

Trials 1 2 3 5 6 8 10 Tomato 16 0 1 2 1 0 0 12 Pepper, bell 8 1 1 2 1 0 0 3 Pepper, nonbell 8 0 1 0 1 1 2 3 Eggplant 3 1 1 1
When NAFTA regions analyzed using more recent AGCensus data Table 44 will be updated. Efforts to update the NAFTA R egions began in late 2007 and hopefully will be completed in 2009
. The NAFTA Regions will include Canada, U.S., and Mexico. Any future conflict in te sting between regions can generall y be resolved b y having the ChemSAC review the test protocol regions before residue trials are initiated and any differences can also be resolved by input from the International Crop Grouping Consulting Committee (ICGCC ) , and Canada PMRA representatives. Currently the field grown tomato and pepper is produced in Region 5 and 5b. Table 4 4 . Current NAFTA Field Production Regions for the Fruit ing Vegetable Crop Group 8 . Commodity 1 2 3 4 5 5b 7 8 9 1 0 11 12 13 14 Tomato * X X Peppers * X X Tomato, greenhouse X X X X Pepper, greenhouse X X * Representative Commodities for the Crop Group.94

94 CODEX CLASSIFICATION OF PROPOSED COMMODITIES AND EPA FOOD AND FEED COMMODITY VOCA BULARY: See Table 45 Comparison of the Fruiting Vegetable Crop Group s between Codex (001) and EPA (10). (Data prepared b y Dr’s. Yuen
- Shaung NG, Hong Chen, and Dr. Bernard A. Schneider, US EPA and USDA IR
- 4, 2004, 2007). Another important aspect of cro p grouping is the harmonization effort with the Codex C lassification of foods and animal feeds. The current EPA crop group for fruiting vegetables, Fruiting Vegetables , except Cucurbits Group 8, is similar to the corresponding Codex Fruiting Vegetables o ther than cucurbits crop group 012. The Codex Group 012, Fruiting Vegetables o ther than cucurbits, consists of 36 commodities including all six commodities in the current EPA crop group 8. Of the other 30 commodities 23 are multiple entries, or varieties of cultivar of other commodities listed. Of the seven commodities, two are sweet corns that should be removed and placed in the cereal grain group, two are edible fungi that are now members of the edible fungi group in US system and three are being propos ed to the expanded US group in this petition (n aranjilla , okra, and roselle)
. EPA is proposing 21 commodities for the Fruiting Crop Group and twelve are not in the Codex group. Note that the current Codex crop group does not yet have representative commo dities. The comparison between members of the two sy stems is listed in Table 45. A revision of the Codex Classification is underway with c onsideration to include adding new commodities, creating subgroups, and selecting representative commodities. The IR
- 4/EPA Crop Grouping Working Group and the International Crop Grouping Consulting Committee (ICGCC) are making every effort to cooperate with the Codex revision effort. The proposed new Fruiting Vegetable Group was discussed within the ICGCC workgroup which includes representatives from the Codex Revision workgroup. In the next proposed revision to the C odex Classification of Foods and Animal Feeds we would expect these changes to be considered as additions to their Fruiting vegetables, except cucurbits group in the harmonization effort that Bill Barney , USDA IR
- 4 is coordinating with the Codex delegation. Therefore, this proposal will not only increase harmonization with the NAFTA crop grouping sy stem, but it is compatible with the international sy stem of C odex
.95

95 Table 4 5 . EP A/Codex Fruiting Vegetable Group C omparison ( B ased on Ng and Schneider, 2007 )
. Codex Group # Codex Commodity Name EPA Group # EPA Commodity Name 012 ALKEKENGI, SEE GROUND

CHERRIES 8 GROUNDCHERRY 012 AUBERGINE, SEE EG G PLANT 08 EGGPLANT 012 BELL PEPPER, SEE PEPPERS,

SWEET 08 PEPPER, BELL 012 CAPE GOOSEBERRY, SEE

GROUND CHERRIES 08 GROUNDCHERRY 012 CHERRY PEPPER, SEE PEPPERS,

CHILI 08 PEPPER, NONBELL 012 CHERRY TOMATO, SEE

GROUND CHERRIES 08 GROUNDCHERRY 012 CHILI PEPPERS, SEE PEPPERS,

CHILI 08 PEPPER, NONBELL 012 CHINESE LANTERN PLANT, SEE

GROUND CHERRIES 08 GROUNDCHERRY 012 CLUSTER PEPPER, SEE

PEPPERS, CHILI 08 PEPPER, NONBELL 012 CONE PEPPER, SEE PEPPERS,

CHILI 08 PEPPER, NONBELL 012 EGG PLANT 08 EGGPLANT 01 2 GOLDEN BERRY, SEE GROUND

CHERRIES 08 GROUNDCHERRY 012 GROUND CHERRIES 08 GROUNDCHERRY 012 HUSK TOMATO, SEE GROUND

CHERRIES 08 TOMATILLO 012 MELON PEAR, SEE PEPINO 08 PEPINO 012 PAPRIKA, SEE PEPPERS, SWEET 08 PEPPER, BELL 012 PEPINO 08 PEPINO 028 PE PPER, LONG 08 PEPPER, NONBELL 012 PEPPERS 08 PEPPER, BELL 012 PEPPERS, CHILI 08 PEPPER, NONBELL 012 PEPPERS, LONG, SEE PEPPERS,

SWEET 08 PEPPER, BELL 012 PEPPERS, SWEET (INCLUDING

PIMENTO OR PIMIENTO) 08 PEPPER, BELL 012 PIMENTO OR PIMIENTO, SEE

PEPPE RS, SWEET 08 PEPPER, NONBELL 028 PIMENTO, FRUIT 08 PEPPER, NONBELL 012 STRAWBERRY TOMATO, SEE

GROUND CHERRIES 08 GROUNDCHERRY 012 TOMATILLO, SEE GROUND

CHERRIES 08 TOMATILLO96

96 Codex Group # Codex Commodity Name EPA Group # EPA Commodity Name 012 TOMATO 08 TOMATO 070 TOMATO JUICE 08 TOMATO, PASTE 012 TREE MELON, SEE P EPINO 08 PEPINO
PREPARATION, FOOD FORMS, COOKING METHODS, FOOD FORMS, SPECIFIC USES, MEDICINAL USES, FRUIT YIELDS, AND MARKETING STANDARDS FOR MEMBERS OF THE FRUIT ING VEGETABLE CROP GROUP: Preparation and Cooking Methods for Fruiting Vegetables:
The 2 1 commodities in the proposed amended Fruiting vegetable crop group are all grown as annual angiosperms (flowering plants) that are herbaceous plants that produce an edible berry fruit. Most fruiting vegetables are eaten as fresh or used cooked in many ethnic cuisines . The cooking methods and food forms used to prepare fruiting vegetables are listed in Table 5 5
. Specific uses for some of the fruiting vegetables will be discussed below. Specific Edible Uses of Fruiting Vegetables : African Eggplant
In Indonesia and Suriname the bitter fruits are eaten cooked with rice, while the leaves can be either cooked or steamed
. Itis also e xcellent when stuffed with a variety of ingredients, sautéed, broiled, baked, grilled, or slowly cooked in meat, rice , or cheese dishes and stews. The African e ggplant can also be substituted for pasta in lasagna dishes. InIndia and Malay sia the mature acidic fruits are also u sed as a sour relish. This variety of eggplant is generall y bitter, and is often served in so ups and stews, complimenting the flavors of other ingredients
. It is available in the marketplace in the l ate s ummer to fall.97

97 Bush Tomato: Preparation for cooking for the bush tomato is boiled , roasted, dried ground used in soups, chilies, and sals a. In Australia it is used as a s avory spice
. Besides use as a savory spice, it is also used as a dried spice, dipping sauces, bead mixes, cheese dishes, chutneys and relishes, seasoning for white and red meats
. Ithas the pungent taste of a tree tomato and caramel which makes it popular for use in sauces and condiments.
Cocona:
The ripe fruit is peeled and eaten fresh b y South American Indians. Fruit is used in salads, cooked with fish and in meat stews. Sweetened, it is used to make sauce and p ie
filling. It is prized for making jam, marmalade, paste, and jell y, and is sometimes pickled or candied , and it is often processed as nectar or juice. In Brazil, the leaves are cooked and eaten as well. Processing studies have shown that 22 lbs (10 kg ) of fruit will yield about 6 1/2 pints (3 liters) of preserved flesh and 3 1/4 lbs (1 1/2 liters) of jelly , or 2 gallons (7 1/2 liters) of juice. Eggplant: Eggplant is used for t empura or for pickling, stir
- frying or for boiling, or stuffing and baking. There are two ty pes of eggplant, purple and white. White eggplant has a tougher skin than the purple ty pe. However, both can be prepared in the same manner . The l ong p urple o riental e ggplants are very sweet and delicious and are typ ically cooked w ithout peeling
. Eggplant is mainly used as a cooked vegetable that de velops a rich, complex flavor. Salting and then rinsing the sliced eggplant (known as "degorging") can soften and remove much of the bitterness. Some modern varieties do not need this treatment, as they

are less bitter. The eggplant is capable of absorbing large amounts of cooking fats and sauces, allowing for very rich dishes, but the salting process will reduce the amount of oil absorbed. The fruit flesh is smooth; as in tomato , the numerous seeds are soft and edible along with the rest of the fruit. The thin skin is also edible, so that the eggplant does not need peeling
. The eggplant is used in cuisines from Japan to Spain
. It is often stewed, as in the French ratatouille , the It alian melanzane alla parmigiana , the Greek moussaka , and in Middle
- Eas tern and South Asian dishes. It may also be roasted in its skin until charred, so that the pulp can be removed and blended with other ingredients such as lemon, tahi ni, and garlic, as in the Middle Eastern dish baba ghanoush and the similar Greek dish melitzanosalata or the Indian dishes of Baigan Bhartha or Gojju. It can be sliced, battered , and deep
- fried , then served with various sauces which may be based on yo gurt , tahini, or tamarind. Grilled and mashed eggplant mixed with onions ,98

98 tomatoes , and spices makes the Indian dish baingan ka bhartha . The eggplant can also be stuffed with meat , rice , or other fillings and then baked. In the Caucasus , for example, it is fried and stuffed with walnut paste to make nigvziani badrijani
. As a native plant, it is widely used in Indian cuisine , for example in sambhar , chutney , curries , and achaar
. Owing to its versatile nature and wide use in both everyday and festive Indian food, it is often described under the name brinjal. In one dish, Brinjal is stuffed with ground coconut , peanuts , and masala and then cooked in oil
. Many recipes call for salting eggplant before it is used. This is supposed to reduce bitterness, draw out excess moisture, and reduce o il absorption during cooking. We have found that salting does nothing to improve cooked eggplant. It just adds time and mess to the process, and makes the eggplant too salty
. May be salting would be useful for excessively bitter eggplants, but for fresh, yo ung eggplants, especially the Oriental ty

pes, it is unnecessary
. It is true that eggplants, due to their spongy texture, soak up a lot of oil when they are beginning to fry , but after a few minutes in the frying pan, the structure collapses and most of the oil is expelled. Our baking and freezing process also collapses the structure and reduces oil absorption. If the eggplant has a thick skin, peel it before cooking. If the eggplant is a standard American super market ty pe, shiny purplish and shaped l ike a big pear, discard it. We use thick slices of Ichiban eggplant in spaghetti sauce. In the rich tomato sauce the eggplant chunks satisfy like meat. We also like to sauté slices of eggplant in olive oil, adding minced fresh garlic in the last couple minutes of cooking. (Regular olive oil, as opposed to extra virgin, has a higher smoking point and is therefore better for cooking; save the extra virgin for salads and marinades.) We also use eggplant in lasagna and eggplant parmesan , and sliced as a pizza topping
. Eggplant can also be baked, stuffed, and broiled, and is especiall y good when grilled. Greek moussaka , French ratatouille , and Middle Eastern Imam bayildi are world famous vegetable stew dishes that feature eggplant. Eggplant is not eaten raw. For cooking the eggplant’s skin should be washed thoroughl y before preparing and the flesh can be rinsed in salted water to remove acidity
. Eggplant can be cut in half and stuffed with meat, fish or vegetables. Itcan be scalloped, fried, marinated or s autéed and topped with cheese. Eggplant can also be topped with mushrooms, sour cream, yogurt or tomatoes. For baking e ggplant can be prepared in place of meats, such as eggplant parmesan dishes. It can be stuffed and baked or made into soufflés. Eggpl ants can also be dehydrated and powdered or sundried. For freezing , e ggplant should be washed and peeled and cut into smaller pieces. Steam the eggplant for 2
- 5 minutes to blanch it. Cool it in a lemon water solution before placing in freezer
- safe containers. A 1⁄2 cup of cooked eggplant equals one serving. An average sized eggplant will serve about three people and equals one pound. One pound equals three to four cups of chopped eggplant.99

99 Goji berry : Ty pical of many exotic fruits being introd uced into western food and beverage commerce, goji is best known as a juice marketed over the Internet since 2002 with an increasing presence in health food stores and grocery m arkets in many

c o untries. While juice prepared entirel y from fresh goji b erries is rare, blends containing several other berry and fruit juices are used for nearly all goji or "wolfberry " juice products, many of which are labeled as "goji juice". Since 2005, goji berry/wolfberry h as been increasingl y mentioned in reports on the emerging functional food industry a s one of the "exotic superfruits ". S uperfruit is meant to imply nutrient richness with medical research results indicating potential health benefits, combined with uncommon but appealing taste, pigmentation , and antioxidant strength. However, its medicinal benefits have ye t to be proven. During 2006
- 7, the market for goji berries included 89 new product introd uctions in eight retail segments
. Commercial suppliers have processed wolfberry as an additive for manufacturing, such as juice concentrate , whole fruit purée , powders from juice or juice concentrate made from spray

drying , pulp powders, whole or ground seeds, seed oils (as done for grape seed oil ), and essential oils derived from seeds. F resh goji berries are not yet sold in commerce because they are too perishable
. They must be processed within six hours of being picked. S ome 4
- 5 star hotels in Ningxia will garnish expensive Chinese dishes w ith a few fresh goji berries. G oji greens are also available in some restaurants. The fresh goji berry

is oblong in shape and has about the same mass as a blueberry . It has a skin like a cherry

tomato and the color is reddish
- orange. The size of the dried goji berry varies greatly . They

are graded b y size with 350 grains/50 grams being the most common size this past 2007 harvest , and the size ranges from 700
- 180 grains/50 grams. The Ruby Goji Company claims to use the variety "Ning Qi No.1". G oji ber ries are puffed for a sna c k food in bags with 22 berries per bag, 1000 snack bags per standard carton. Goji products include juice and shipped in plastic/aluminum bags placed inside 25 kg or 220 kg steel drums. Dried berries are s old in the following siz es 220 grains/50g, 280 grains/50g, 350 grains/50g, 500 grains/50g and pa ckaged 12.5 kg per bag with two bags per cardboard box for 25 kg per carton. Spray dried goji powder and freeze dried powder are also available for industrial use.100

100 Groundche rry and Tomatillo : Groundcherries and tomatillos have similar uses with t omatillos used mainly as seasoning, in chili sauce, salsas, and meats. The other groundcherries which are yellow in color are mainly

used for preserves, some culinary . Preparation is by removing the husk; wash ing the fruit and remov ing stem s . It is also used in making chili sauce and salsas and for flavoring meat by Mexicans and Latin Americans. The unripe fruits are a principal component of salsa verde, a mildly hot sauce served w ith tacos, enchiladas and chile rellenos. Tomatillos also are stewed, fried and baked. The ripe fruits are sweet and eaten out of hand and used in salads, preserves, and guacamole. Tomatillos are sometimes strung in garlands, like chili pepper ristras. Tomatillos are the key ingredient in green salsas. They

are a husk tomato that is green or green
- purple. The fruit matures and fills the outside covering or husk, which can cause the husk to split before it is harvested. For use in salas remove the hus ks and rinse the tomatillo. Tomatillos are generall y eaten with its seeds. Tomatillos may be added to a sauce or sauté that is then poured over chicken or other meats and baked. Tomatillos add flavor to sauces for Mexican dishes. They

can be sliced and cooked with other ingredients to make a green sauce. They

can also be added to chili and relishes. If freezing, remove the husks, clean and place in a freezer
- safe container. When ready to use thaw and slice. One pound will equal 12
- 16 medium tomatillos
. T omatillos can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks
. Huckleberry, Garden : Its main use is for its l eaves as potherbs and fruits as culinary for preserves, pies, or cooked dishes. Fruits are usually boiled until tender before cooking. Martynia : Marty nia pods must be picked while still tender or they will be unfit for consumption. Continue picking pods as they develop, to encourage more pods to set. Pickle or use s are similar to okra. Naranjilla: The ripe naranjillas can be eaten fresh b y cutting in half and squeezing the contents into the mouth , and then the empty shells are discarded. The flesh, complete with seeds, may

be squeezed out and added to ice cream mix, made into sauce for native dishes, or used for pie and various other desserts. The shells may be stuffed with a mixture of banana and other ingredients and baked. The most popular use of the naranjilla is for juice.101

101 Okra:
Okra has many uses as f resh, canned, frozen, dried, for use in culinary
- mainly soups, stews, or as cooked vegetable. It should be rinse d and cut off the cap but do not expose the seeds during preparation. Fuzzy varieties need to be rubbed with a towel prior to washing and trimming , however, newer varieties have no spines and minimal fuzz. Beside the immature pods the okra leaves and shoots can be eaten like spinach. O kra fresh pods can be lightly

sauté (including the caps and a short length of the stem) in olive oil, then eat en whole except for the cap and stem. This way they are n ot slimy
. It is often cooked b y cutting the pods (without the caps) and cooked in a pot with sliced tomatoes and onions. Okra for gumbo is cut into sections (the caps discarded), and the slimin ess acts as a thickener. Okra is also dried and powdered to use as a thickener. Many southerners like their okra dipped in batter and deep fried. This also eliminates the sliminess. Okra is also pickled like cucumbers. Okra seeds removed from pods too mature and woody to eat can be boiled, baked, ground into meal for bread or tofu, or used as a coffee substitute. In India, the pods are dried, sliced into sections, and then fried for a crunch y, almost bread like snack. Whole okra can be frozen with th e caps and a short length of stem, to use later in gumbos, soups and stir fry. Okra is an important part of Cajun cooking in Louisiana. The mucilage in okra acts as a thickening agent in soups, such as gumbo, and condiments such as ketchup. The Hibiscus like flowers and upright plant give okra an ornamental value.
Pea Eggplant: The se pea eggplants are used whole in stir fries and most delicious seasoned with curries and spices used in Thai cooking. They are also pickled for use in soups. For cooking they

may be stir fry , boil, fried, stew, soups, or roasted
. Pepino: Pepinos are m ainl y used as a fresh dessert like a melon. Pepinos are often peeled because the edible skin of some varieties has a disagreeable flavor. The seeds are edible and locate d in a center cavity . The seeds can easily be removed as a honeydew melon , and it can be used as a garnish for meats, fish or soup. The fruit s can range in size and shape from plum to a small football.102

102 Peppers: Peppers are c ooked, eaten raw, dried, or pickled. Pepper, B ell : This bell pepper ty

pe is used for the fresh market and in salads, canned and harvested when deep red in color. For canning, the peel, seeds and placenta are removed, so only the interior fleshy

walls are utilized. Pimento p eppers are also called Squash peppers and Cheese peppers. Paprika peppers, especiall y the Hungarian typ e have some strains that are more pungent than others, but most are mild. The Spanish paprika has larger fruits. In the past, paprika peppers were gro wn commerciall y in South Carolina and L ouisiana
. Paprika is a spice made from ground up red pepper pods. 'Hungarian Spice' is one of many cultivars used to make the tangy powder. The mildest paprika is made from mild peppers with the seeds and internal parts removed. More spicy paprikas are ground from hotter peppers, and the placenta and some or all of the seeds are often included. Paprika originated in Hungary and is important in the cuisines of Bulgaria, Serbia, Spain and Morocco. Spanish paprika i s usually a paler color and milder than Hungarian paprika. Pimento pepper s are mostl y canned or used to stuff olives. Paprika can be made at home b y starting with any kind of ripe red pepper, cut the pods in half and scrape out the placentas and seeds wi th a spoon; dry quickl y in a food deh ydrator or oven at about 125 degrees F; grind the dried pods in a coffee or spice grinder
. B ell peppers are a popular addition to vegetable tray s. They can be chopped and added to salads. Create decorative rings on p latter salads by using sliced bell peppers with sliced red onions, cucumbers and tomatoes. Peppers can also be used for taco fillings. They are c ook ed b y using in stir
- fry ’s , casseroles and omelets. They are not generally

served by

themselves except on a vegetable tray. Bell peppers are a popular item for stuffing. S maller stuffed bell peppers are used to create tasty appetizers. Peppers can be stuffed with rice, meat or other fillings. Peppers can be frozen either blanched or raw. Cut out the stem and seeds and slice. Blanch for 2
- 3 minutes, if desired. Place in freezer safe containers. 1 small bell pepper = 1⁄2 cup chopped
Pepper, N onbell : Fresh poblano peppers are roasted and peeled, then preserved by canning or freezing. They

are often stuffed to make chiles rellenos. The dried pods can be stored in airtight containers for months, or they can be ground into a powder. Anchos are commonly

used in sauces called moles. Mainly dried, used for flavoring foods, some pickled, fresh, processed into s auces and canned. Chili peppers are used raw and in103

103 cooking. They

are ground into powders, made into sauces, stuffed with meats and other vegetables, stuffed into olives, roasted over hot coals, fried in oil, pickled, dried and fermented, extracts are us ed in production of ginger beer, and used to flavor almost any dish imaginable. The "chile powder" of American supermarkets is a mixture of ground red peppers, cumin, clove and garlic. In most of the world peppers are eaten when ripe. In the U.S. it is common to eat some kinds of peppers in the green stage as well, despite the fact that they

have a somewhat bitter taste. Whether they are hot or not, all peppers are sweeter when they

are ripe, and ripe peppers have a distinctly different flavor than green peppers. The jalapeño is one of the best known peppers in Mexico and the U.S. Jalapeños are onl y mildly hot, and they have thick, juicy flesh and they are usually eaten in the green stage, fresh or pickled, but when allowed to ripen, jalapeños are amaz ingl y sweet - still hot, but also very sweet. Ripe jalapeños are often dried in mesquite or other hardwood smoke, and called chipotles . Smoked jalapeños have a rich, chocolaty flavor that is used in sauces. The habaneros are said to be the hottest of al l the peppers
- up to 40 times hotter than a jalapeño! There are many different forms of habaneros: ty pical habaneros are orange when ripe, but some ripen to red, some to brown, some to white, and some to purple. Habaneros are usuall y used fresh in salsa s, and minced ripe habaneros with onions, tomatoes and lime juice are used for a Caribbean hot sauce. Tabasco peppers are the primary ingredient in tabasco sauce, the famous hot sauce that has been produced in southern Louisiana since 1848 when the peppers were first imported from the State of Tabasco in Mexico. The majority of ají dulce found in L atino markets in the Northeast is imported from Latin America. In the tropics, this plant can grow as a perennial, although most of the commercial production i s with annual sy stems. Serrano peppers are hotter than jalapeños, but not as hot as habaneros. They have thick walls and a cavity

that is filled with seeds. Serrano’s are popular in Mexico where they are used fresh and pickled. Green serrano are used in salsa verde and serrano are the preferred pepper for pico de gallo ("rooster beak"), a hot relish popular in the southwestern U.S. Pasilla is one of the three peppers used in mole (MOH
- lay) sauce, the famous Mexican sauce that can take day s to prepare. The different regions of Mexico all have their own mole recipes, but the moles from Oaxaca are the most well known. Most include raisins , onions, garlic, tomatoes, cinnamon, cloves, various nuts and seeds, tortillas, pasilla, guajillo and poblano chiles, and chocolate. Hungarian wax peppers have thin walls and usually

are used fresh in salads, but they also are pickled. Chili peppers are most often eaten cooked, but they can be eaten raw in salsas or dips. To prepare chili peppers, wash the pepper and rem ove the seeds and stems. When chopping hot peppers, like habanero hand washing after chopping them is recommended . Chili peppers add a kick to all sorts of meals, including Mexican, Italian or American cuisine. Anaheim peppers are best when stuffed or u sed in stews and sauces. Fresno peppers are good for salsas, stuffing and breads, or pickled. Habanero peppers are the hottest peppers available while jalapenos are the most versatile. Pasilla peppers are mild to medium heat and the best for making chil i relents . Chili peppers can be stuffed like bell peppers and cooked in the oven. They can also be used in stuffing. For freezing chili peppers, wash and remove stems. Freeze in a freezer safe container. To avoid the burning sensation on yo ur skin or e yes, you can wear gloves when handling them. Always rinse utensils.104

104 Fresh chili peppers should be used within 14 to 21 day s, whereas dried chili peppers can be stored up to two years. To eliminate some of the heat of chili peppers, remove the ribs and se eds and soak in cold water with a little salt or vinegar for no longer than 30 seconds. Soaking longer will cause them to lose flavor.

Roselle: Roselle fruits are best prepared for use b y washing, then making an incision around the tough base of the cal yxbelow the bracts to free and remove it with the seed capsule attached. The calyces are then ready for immediate use. They may be chopped and added to fruit salads. In Africa, they are frequently

cooked as a side dish eaten with pulverized peanuts. For stewing as sauce or filling for tarts or pies, they may be left intact, if tender, and cooked with sugar. The product will be almost indistinguishable from cranberry

sauce in taste and appearance. For making a finer
- textured sauce or juice, sy rup , j am, marmalade, relish, chutney or jell y, the cal yc es may be first chopped in a wooden bowl or passed through a meat grinder, or the cal yc es, after cooking, may be pressed through a sieve. Some cooks steam the roselle with a little water until soft before adding the sugar, then boil for 15 minutes. The residue remaining after extraction of oil by parching, soaking in water containing ashes for 3 or 4 day s, and then pounding the seeds, or b y crushing and boiling them, is eaten in soup or blended with bean m eal in patties. Uses include jellies, jams, culinary , acid drink, wines, and pot herb. The seeds are somewhat bitter but have been ground to a meal for human food in Africa and have also been roasted as a substitute for coffee. Dried flowers are used for tea and leaves as greens. Roselle juice is similar to cranberry juice, but not as bitter. The cal yxes are harvested while they

are still tender and juicy , about 10 day s after the flowers appear. The plants will continue to flower and produce if kept pic ked. Seed pods should be discarded from the caly

xe s . Bring two quarts (1.9 l) of cal y x es and 1 quart (1 l) of water to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes, then strain and use the juice with sugar to make a refreshing cranberry
- like drink, or make jell y or wine as you would with any fruit juice. The strained pulp can be used for jam or pie. Scarlet Eggplant:
The leaves of scarlet eggplant are eaten like spinach and are more nutritious than the fruit. The highly

variable fruit of the plant is eaten both raw and cooked and is becoming more popular as a cultivated crop.105

105 Tomato: Tomatoes are used fresh in salads and sandwiches and cooked and for juice. They are c ommerciall y canned and canned juice, unripped fruits in relishes. Tomato fruit can be baked, stewed, fried, dried, pickled, juiced, pureed, and processed into catsup and sauces. Tomato
- based sauces are popular in Italian cooking. Cooking tomatoes release the micronutrient lycopene, which is thought to help prevent certain types of cancer. Tomatoes can also be stewed or crushed for use in casseroles and chili. To quickly remove the skin from tomatoes, boil for 15
- 30 seconds. Rinse under cold water and peel. Tomatoes can be stuffed and baked. Tomatoes that are frozen can onl y be used in cooked dishes. The tomatoes will not be firm enough for raw usage when they are thawed. Boil in boiling water for 30 seconds. Then remove skins and core. Tomatoes can be frozen whole or chopped into pieces. Place in freezer
- safe containers and freeze. 1 lb tomatoes = about 3 to 4 medium tomatoes 1 lb. = about 1 to one and a half cups tomato pulp Tomato, Currant The currant tomato is used fresh and s ometimes used as food novelty, either fresh or cooked. Tomato, Tree: Tree tomato cooking uses an d taste are very similar to tomatoes. The fruit must be peeled before eating, raw or cooked with sugar or boiled to prepare a puree to flavor drinks
. Ithas a pungent taste and is useful as a spice.
Medicinal Uses and Dietary Value of the Fruiting Ve getables ( S ee also Appendix I): Fruiting vegetables are low in calories, non fat, and cholesterol free, low in sodium and generally good sources of Vitamins A and C. There are several medicinal claims and uses of the fruiting vegetables
. African Eg gplant Root is used against bronchitis, itches and for body aches; also for asthma and to cure wounds while the seeds are used to treat toothache
.106

106 Bush Tomato “Deadl y Nightshade” reflects a cautionary note about the toxic nature of this plant. It contains a potent narcotic extract called Atropine used by the natives as a sedative and eye dilating drug. Cocona The cocona is utilized by Indians of eastern Peru to rid the head of lice. Goji berry As a food, dried goji b erries are traditionall y cooked before consumption. Dried wolfberries are often added to rice congee , as well as used in Chinese tonic soups, in combination with chicken or pork, vegetables, and other her bs . The berries are also boiled as an herbal tea , often along with chry santhemum flowers, and/or red jujubes , and packaged teas are also available. Various wines containing goji berries are also produced, including some that are with grape wine. At least one Chinese company also produces wolfberry

beer. Since the earl y 21st century , an instant coffee product containing wolfberry

extract has been produced in China. Young goji berries shoots and leaves are also grown commercially as a leaf vegetable . In the West, dried goji berries are also eaten hand
- to - mouth as a snack, in the manner of raisins or other dried fruit
. Their taste has an accent of tomato and is similar to that of dates, dried cranberries or raisins , though drier, more tart, less sweet and with an herbal scent. Dried berries are also used frequently

in raw food diets
. Cultivated for a variety of food and beverage applications within China, but increasingl y today for export as dried berries, juice and powders of pulp or juice, wolfberries are prized for their versatility of color and nut
- like taste in common meals, snacks, beverages and medicinal applications. Goji b erries have long played important roles in traditional Chinese medicine where they are believed to enhance immune sy stem function, improve eyesight , protect the liver , boost sperm production and improve circulation , among other effects. The berries are also used in traditional Korean me dicine , traditional Japanese medicine and traditional Tibetan medicine
. The leaves m ay be used to make tea and Lycium root bark (called dìgǔpí ; in Chinese) for tr eatment of inflammatory and some ty pes of skin diseases
. A glucop yr anoside and phenolic amides isolated from wolfberry root bark have inhibitory activity in vitro against human pathogenic bacteria and fungi
. Several published studies, mostly from China, have also reported possible medicinal benefits due to its antioxidant properties, including potential benefits against cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, vision
- related diseases , such as age
- related macular degeneration and glaucoma , having neuroprotective properties or as an anticancer agent. How ever, in the west, none of this research has ye t been scientifically verified, confirmed in clinical studies, or accepted by regulatory

authorities.10 7

107 OkraIn Turkey , the leaves are used in preparing a medicament to soothe or reduce inflammation
. Roselle In India, Africa and Mexico, all above
- groun d parts of the roselle plant are valued in native medicine. Infusions of the leaves or cal yc es are regarded as diuretic, cholerectic, febrifugal and h ypotensive, decreasing the viscosity of the blood and stimulating intestinal peristalsis. Roselle juice, with salt, pepper, asafetida and molasses, is taken as a remedy for biliousness. The heated leaves are applied to cracks in the feet and on boils and ulcers to speed maturation. A lotion made from leaves is used on sores and wounds. The seeds are said to be diuretic and tonic in action and the brownish
- yellow seed oil is claimed to heal sores on camels. Tomato : Tomato extracts are used to treat various diseases in different countries for treatment of ulcers, wounds, hemorrhoids, and burns. They may protect against prostrate cancer due to their high levels of l ycopene. The role of lycopene in prevention of preventing antioxidant damage to the skin is being studied. USDA Marketing Standards for Fruiting Vegetables and Various Tomato and Pepper Variety Characteristics : The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS) has established standards for marketing many of the fruiting vegetables
. Tomato marketing standards are base on size (Table s 46, 4 7 ) , color (green, pink, light red, and red) and lack of pest problems. Greenhouse tomato standards are based on similar varietals characteristics; shape, free from pest, sunscald, and freezing damage. The tomato varieties are based mostly on their shapes or how they

are ripened such as cherry , plum or vine ripened (Table 47).
Table 46 . Size Classification of Tomatoes Size Diameter (inches) Designation Minimum* Maximum** Extra small 1
- 28/32 2

- 4/32 Small 2
- 4/32 2

- 9/32 M edium 2
- 9/32 2

- 17/32 Large 2
- 17/32 2

- 28/32 Extra large 2
- 28/32 3

- 15/32 Maximum large 3
- 15/32

---

_________________________________________________108

108 * Will not pass through a round opening of the designated diameter when the tomato is place with the greatest transverse diameter across the opening. ** Will pass through a round opening of the designated diameter at any pos ition.
Table 4 7 . Tomato Varieties and Characteristic s (The Packer, 2007). Tomato Variety Characteristic s Cherry Small red, yellow, or orange
. Cherry tomatoes are small round tomatoes for use in salads Grape Tiny , small, oval shaped and red
. Grape tomatoes are smaller than

cherry tomatoes and have a te ardrop or egg shape and a sweet taste. Green Classic tomato shaped, green Greenhouse Greenhouse tomatoes are grown in greenhouses or hothouses where

they are not exposed to the outdoor elements. Roma/plum Oval
- shaped, deep red
. Roma tomatoes are smaller than large, round

tomatoes and are more oval in shape. They are often used for making salsa. Vine
- ripened Deep red
. Vine
- ripe tomatoes are tomatoes that are grown under

conventional conditions in an open field. They are ripened on the vine. Yellow Cl assic tomato shaped, yellow For sweet peppers they

are based on size (diameter} , shape, and lack of diseases or insect damage. Pepper variety characteristics are listed in Table 48 . Sweet Peppers are graded U. S. Fancy , U. S. No. 1, and U. S. No. 2. U. S. Fancy consists of mature green sweet peppers of similar varietal characteristics which are firm, well shaped, and free from sun scald, freezing injury , and decay and from injury

caused b y s cars, hail, sunburn, disease, insects, mechanical or other m eans. The minimum diameter of each pepper shall be 3 inches and the length shall be not less than 3 1 \2 inches. U. S. No. 1 peppers consist of mature green sweet peppers of similar varietal characteristics which are firm, fairl y well shaped, and free from sun scald and decay , and free from damage, which is caused b y freezing injury , hail, scars, sunburn, disease, insects, mechanical or other means. The diameter and, length of each pepper shall be not less than 2 1 \2 inches. U. S. No. 2. consists of mature green sweet peppers of similar varietal characteristics, which are firm, not seriously misshapen, free from sun scald and decay , and free from serious damage caused by freezing injury , hail, scars, sunburn, disease, insects, mechanical or other means; th ere are no size limitations. Also, if at least 90% of the peppers show any amount of a shade of red they may be designated as U. S. Fancy Red, U. S. No. 1 Red, and U. S. No. 2 Red, provided they meet the other requirements of the grade. Lots that fall in between in terms of color may be designated U. S. Fancy Mixed Color, U. S. No. 1 Mixed Color, and U. S. No. 2 Mixed Color, provided they meet the other requirements of the grade. A tolerance of 10% is allowed for variations incident to109

109 proper grading and handling provided that not more than 5% constitutes serious damage, including not more than 2% for decay
.
Table 4 8 . Pepper Varieties and Characteristics (The Packer, 2007). Pepper Variety Characteristics Anaheim Anaheim’s are mild to hot and are l ight to dark green or red. They are slender, tapering at the bottom Banana Banana peppers are sweet to hot and can be yellow, orange or red and

they are banana
- shaped. Cubanelle Cubanelle peppers are sweet to mild and are ye llow
- green to green or

red. They look like a stretched
- out pepper. Fresno chili These chili peppers are hot and range in color from green to orange to

red. They are cone - shaped. Habañero Habañero peppers are among the hottest chili peppers available. They

can be green, orange or re d. They are round and squat. Jalapeno These are medium to hot chili peppers and can be red or green. They

are cone - shaped. Pasilla Pasilla chili peppers are mild to medium and are green and thin. Pimiento Pimiento peppers are sweet, red and heart
- shape d. Poblano These chili peppers are mild to medium and are green or brown and are

large enough for stuffing. Serrano Serrano peppers are hot and can be green, red or purple. They are oval and slender.

For eggplants the grades are U. S. Fancy , U. S. N o. 1, and U. S. No. 2 (Table 49)
. The most frequentl y shipped grade is U.S
. No. 1 that are similar varieties, well colored, firm, clean and well shapes, and free from Sizes range form small with fruit length 12 to 14 cm (4.75 to 5.5 inches) to extra larg e with the fruit length 24

– 26 cm long (0.5 to 10.35 cm (9.5 to 10.25 inches).110

110 Table 4 9 . Eggplant Types and Characteristics (The Packer, 2007). Eggplant Types Characteristics Standard or Regular or Italian Standard American types have an eg g shaped globe appearance.

Almost purple to black in color with a green stem and cal yxthat looks like a cap. Many commercial varieties such as Black beauty, Florida market, and New York purpl e . May weigh up to 2 lb (1 kg). Italian eggplant may

be a sm aller variety of the eggplant, Chinese eggplant Chinese e ggplant can be distinguished from other popular oriental

eggplant varieties b y its color and size. Chinese Eggplant is usuall y lavender or white and is even longer than the darker purple Japanese E ggplant. Although Chinese e ggplant is botanically a fruit, it’s more commonly

used as a vegetable and resembles a small zucchini. It is sweeter and more tender than regular eggplant, and has fewer seeds Japanese eggplant Japanese eggplant is one distinguishable b y its long, narrow shape and

deep purple color (the white variety is Chinese). The cal yxmay be purple instead of green. The Japanese Eggplant has thinner skin, smoother flesh, and fewer seeds than the common eggplant
. Primary variety is called ‘Millionaire’. Thai eggplant Thai eggplants are small and round and may be green
- streaked, purple, or white. White or baby white eggplants These are white softball to size and can be 6 to 8 inches. They are firm, heav y and dense with thick skin. Whit e e ggplant is distinguishable by its white color which changes to a beige or gray color when cooked. Bab y eggplant Mixed b aby e ggplant offers a variety of colors and shapes, from cream

to a shiny raven - purple and from striped violet to antique ivory . Th ese varieties of eggplant offer more taste, color and texture.
STORAGE LIFE AND AVAILABILITY OF THE FRUIT ING VEGETABLE CROP GROUP MEMBERS IN THE MARKETPLACE: Fruiting vegetables are widely available in the marketplace both from domestic production and imports. The available and peak production periods for eggplant, okra, bell pepper, chili pepper, and tomato in the marketplace are shown in Tables 50, 51, 52, 53, and 5 4 , respectivel y. Specific food uses for fruiting vegetables are discussed under th e Comparison of harvesting, raw agricultural commodity (RAC), edible portions, and processed food item section of this report. In most cases based on U.S. production and imports fruiting vegetables are now available all year around.111

111 Eggplant is avail able ye ar - round from California, Florida and Georgia with limited production from North Carolina (Table 49 )
. A large portion of the commodity i s also imported from Mexico. The peak season is from August through September
. Table 50 . Availability of Eggp lant in the U.S. Marketplace (A = Available, P = Peak).

Okra is available year round based on imports from Chile and Mex ico in January

– April (Table 5 1 ).112

112 Table 5 1 . Availability of Okra in the U.S. Marketplace (A = Available, P = Peak).

Bell peppers are also available on a yearly basis with Florida and California providing bulk of this commodity

(Table 5 2
. Table 5 2 . Availability of Bell Pepper in the U.S. Marketplace (A = Available, P = Peak).113

113 Chili peppers are available ye ar - round, with the highest quantity available in June and July
. California, New Mexico and North Carolina are the largest prod ucers of chili peppers, while imports are steady from Mexico (Table 5 3 )
. Table 5 3 . Availability of Nonbell Pepper (Chili Pepper) in the U.S. Marketplace (A = Available, P = Peak).

Peak season for tomatoes in California is from June through October and in Florida in July and October. However, because of the favorable climates in both California and Florida, tomatoes are available ye ar - round. Mexico provide tomatoes most of the ye ar with peak being Jan

– July
. C anada also provides tomatoes during June

– October. The increased production of greenhouse/hothouse tomatoes has also extended the peak season in some regions.114

114 Table 5 4 . Availability of Tomato in the U.S. Marketplace (A = Available, P = Peak).

In Mexico, many

varieties o f tomatillos are sold as they grow wild in cultivated fields. However, there is very little distinguishable difference in the varieties grown for U.S. consumption. Tomatillos are available ye ar - round from California and Mexico.
Storage Life of Fruiting Vegetables : Most fruiting vegetables have a short storage fresh market period for as short as four day s or dried chili peppers as long as 6 months at temperatures ranging from 45
- 7 0° F (Table 5 5 ).115

115 Table 5 5 . Approximate Storage Life of Fruiting V egetables in Commercial Storage (Adapted Hardenburg, et al., 1986 and Gast, 1991. ). Commodity Approximate Storage Life With Proper Storage Temperatures Eggplant 1

– 2 weeks Okra 7

– 10 day s Pepper, bell 2

– 3 weeks Pepper, nonbell dried 6 months Pepper, nonbell
- fresh 2

– 3 weeks Pepino 4 weeks Tomatillo 3 weeks Tomato, mature

– green 2

– 5 weeks Tomato. firm
- ripe 1

– 3 weeks Tree tomato 10 weeks Peppers have a relatively low rate of respiration. This respiration rat e can be reduced to a minimum by lowering the product temperature. Maximum storage life is 2 to 3 weeks under the most favorable conditions. Symptoms of chilling injury are water soaked spots, pitting, or tissue collapse. Peppers are very susceptible to water loss. Shriveling s ymptoms may become evident with as little as 3% weight loss; pre
- cooling and storage in a high relative humidity (90
- 95%) will minimize weight loss. Peppers can be waxed, but only

a thin coating should be applied. Waxing provi des some surface lubrication which reduces chafing in transit. Water loss can also be limited by packing peppers into cartons with moisture
- retentive liners or into perforated pol yethylene bags. Green peppers, unlike green tomatoes, do not respond to pos t - harvest treatments with ethylene to "ripen" (color) the fruit; considerable research has been done but no commerciall y acceptable de
- greening treatment has been developed. Peppers have the same storage requirements as snap beans, okra, summer squash, to matoes (pink), and watermelons. Therefore, these products can be stored together without deleterious effects. Ice should never be placed in contact with these commodities. Peppers are not harmed b y exposure to ethylene.116

116 CHANGES TO EPA DATABAS ES NEEDED FROM REVISIONS TO THE FRUIT ING VEGETABLE CROP GROUP: The revisions to the amended Fruiting vegetable c rop group 8 will affect the need to update several Risk Assessment Models, Residue Chemistry Guidelines, OPP databases, and/or HED Standard Ope rating Procedures (SOP). The affected EPA databases may include the following: (1) Risk Assessment Models
- The terminology in the Food Exposure Modules of our current Risk assessment Models from DEEM
- FCID, Lifeline, and Cares will need to be updated to reflect new terminology and the new Crop Group terminology
. (2) EPA Residue Chemistry Test Guidelines (OPPTS 860.1000, Background) , Table 1 Raw Agricultural and Processed Commodities and Feedstuffs Derived from Crops and EPA Residue Chemistry Test Guidelines (OPPTS 860.1000, Background), EPA Residue Chemistry

Test Guidelines (OPPTS 860.1500, Crop Field Trials), Table 5 Suggested Distribution of Field Trials b y Region for Crops Requiring > 3 trials and Table 6 Regional Distribution of Crop Production. Any differences between the EPA and NAFTA Crop Production Regions after the NAFTA Regions are updated will be addressed b y the I CCGR Workgroup or by the EPA HED ChemSAC. The EPA Residue Chemistry Test Guidelines (OPPTS 860.1500, Crop Field Trials) Ta

ble 5 Suggested Distribution of Field Trials by Region for Crops Requiring >3 trials and Table 6 Regional Distribution of Crop Production will be updated to reflect more recent crop production information. There will be no conflict with Canada since they are partners with us on this revision
. (3) Health Effects Division Standard Operating Procedures: HED SOP 99.3 -– “Translation of Monitoring Data” issued March 26, 1999. This policy provides guidance on translating pesticide moni toring data from one commodity to other similar commodities. Most of the monitoring data is from the USDA Pesticide Data Program (PDP) or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The policy is based on the crop groupings in the 40 CFR 180.41. There is an entry

for tomato or bell pepper in which the residue data can be translated to all the members of the Fruiting Vegetable Group 10. The policy does n o t have to be updated at this time, since it will be applicable to the whole crop group.117

117 (4) HED SO P 99.6 - “Classification of Food Forms with Respect to Level of Blending” issued August 20, 1999. This SOP provides rationale and guidance to HED on revised criteria for inputting residue values and pesticide usage information into acute dietary exposure and risk assessments based on commodities. These revisions permit the Agency to more fully

utilize data generated by the USDA Pesticide Data Program. Some of the Fruiting v egetable c rop group members are included in the HED SOP 9 9.6 ( See Table 5 6 below) . Other members not in the original SOP will need to be added to the HED SOP 99.6. Members of this group as whole fruit are considered Blended, while canning, freezing, or curing forms are partially blended.

TABLE 5 6 . Classifi cation of Food Forms with Respect to Level of Blending for the Fruiting Vegetable Crop Group. (HED SOP 99.6, April 20, 1999). COMMODITY FOOD FORM CLASSIFICATION Eggplant 12

– Cooked: NFS NB

– Not blended Eggplant 13
-- Baked NB

– Not blended Eggplant 1 4

– Boiled NB

– Not blended Eggplant 15
- Fried NB

– Not blended Okra 12

– Cooked: NFS NB

– Not blended Okra 14

– Boiled NB

– Not blended Okra 15

– Fried NB

– Not blended Okra 32

– Canned: Cooked:NFS PB
- Partially blended Okra 42

– Frozen: Cooked PB
- Partially blended Okra 44

– Frozen: Boiled PB
- Partially blended Peppers
- chili incl jalapeno 11
- Uncooked NB

– Not blended Peppers
- chili incl jalapeno 12

– Cooked: NFS NB

– Not blended Peppers
- chili incl jalapeno 13
- Baked NB

– Not blended Pepp ers - chili incl jalapeno 14

– Boiled NB

– Not blended Peppers
- chili incl jalapeno 15
- Fried NB

– Not blended Peppers
- chili incl jalapeno 31

– Canned: NFS PB
- Partially blended Peppers
- chili incl jalapeno 32

– Canned: Cooked:NFS PB
- Partially blended Peppers
- chili incl jalapeno 33

– Canned: Baked PB
- Partially blended Peppers
- chili incl jalapeno 34

– Canned: Boiled PB
- Partially blended Peppers
- chili incl jalapeno 42

– Frozen: Cooked PB
- Partially blended Peppers
- chili incl jalapeno 51

– Cured:N FS (smoked/pickled) PB
- Partially blended Peppers
- chili incl jalapeno 52

– Cured:Cooked (smoked/pickled) PB
- Partially blended Peppers
- chili incl jalapeno 60

– Canned: Cured PB
- Partially blended Peppers
- other 11
- Uncooked NB

– Not blended Peppers
- sweet (garden) 11
- Uncooked NB

– Not blended Peppers
- sweet (garden) 12

– Cooked: NFS NB

– Not blended Peppers
- sweet (garden) 13
- Baked NB

– Not blended Peppers
- sweet (garden) 14

– Boiled NB

– Not blended Peppers
- sweet (garden) 31

– Canned: NFS PB
- P artially blended Peppers
- sweet (garden) 32

– Canned: Cooked:NFS PB
- Partially blended118

118 COMMODITY FOOD FORM CLASSIFICATION Peppers
- sweet (garden) 34

– Canned: Boiled PB
- Partially blended Peppers
- sweet (garden) 42

– Frozen: Cooked PB
- Partially blended Peppers
- sweet (garden) 51

– Cured :NFS (smoked/pickled) PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes - catsup 34

– Canned: Boiled PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes - dried 12

– Cooked: NFS PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes - dried 15
- Fried PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -

juice 31

– Canned: NFS PB
- Partial ly blended Tomatoes -

juice 32

– Canned: Cooked:NFS PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -

juice 34

– Canned: Boiled PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -

juice 42

– Frozen: Cooked PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -paste 14

– Boiled PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -pas te 31

– Canned: NFS PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -paste 32

– Canned: Cooked:NFS PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -paste 33

– Canned: Baked PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -paste 34

– Canned: Boiled PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -paste 42

– Frozen: Cooked PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -puree 12

– Cooked: NFS PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -puree 14

– Boiled PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -puree 31

– Canned: NFS PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -puree 32

– Canned: Cooked:NFS PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -puree 33

– Canned: Baked PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -puree 34

– Canned: Boiled PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes -puree 42

– Frozen: Cooked PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes - whole 11
- Uncooked NB

– Not blended Tomatoes - whole 12

– Cooked: NFS NB

– Not blended Tomatoes - whole 13
- Baked NB

– Not blended Tomatoes - whole 14

– Boiled NB

– Not blended Tomatoes - whole 15
- Fried NB

– Not blended Tomatoes - whole 31

– Canned: NFS PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes - whole 32

– Canned: Cooked:NFS PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes - whole 33

– Canned: Baked PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes - whole 34

– Canned: Boiled PB
- Partially blended Tomatoes - whole 42

– Frozen: Cooked PB
- Partially blended (5) HED SOP 2000.1

– “ Guidance for Translation of Field Trial Data from Representative Commodities in the Crop Group Regulation to Other Commodities in Each Crop Group/Subgroup” issued September 12, 2000. There is no guidance in the SOP for the new Fruit ing Vegetable Crop Subgroups 8A, 8B, and 8C , so the following guidance for translation of the representative commodities to other members of the group/subgroups will be provided below: Current Crop Group 8: Fruiting Vegetables (except cucurbits) Representative Commodities: Tomato, bell pepper, and one cultivar of nonbell pepper119

119 CROP GROUP COMMODITY REPRESENTATIVE COMMODITY Eggplant Bell pepper Groundcherry Tomato Pepino Tomato Bell pepper Bell pepper Chili pepper Nonbell pepper Cooking pepper Bell pepper Paprika Bell pepper Pimento Nonbell pepper Sweet pepper Bell pepper Tomatillo Tomato Tomato Tomato

________________________________________________________________________ Proposed Crop Group 8 - 08 : Fruiting Vegetable Group. Representative Commodities: Tomato, bell pepper, and one cultivar of nonbell pepper . CROP GROUP COMMODITY REPRESENTATIVE COMMODITY African eggplant Nonbell pepper Bell pepper Bell pepper Bush tomato Tomato Cocona Tomato Currant tomato Tomato Eggplant Bell pepper G arden huckleberry Tomato Goji berry Tomato Groundcherry Tomato Marty nia Nonbell pepper Naranjilla Tomato Nonbell pepper Nonbell pepper Okra Nonbell pepper Pea eggplant Nonb ell pepper Pepino Tomato Roselle Nonbell pepper Scarlet eggplant Nonbell pepper Sunberry Tomato Tomatillo Tomato To mato Tomato Tree tomato Tomato

________________________________________________________________________120

120 The proposed new translations of field trials from the representative commodities to other commodities in the Tomato subgroup 8
- 08A would be as fo llows: Proposed Crop Group 8 - 08A: Tomato Subgroup. Representative Commodities: Tomato. CROP SUBGROUP COMMODITY REPRESENTATIVE COMMODITY Bush tomato Tomato Cocona Tomato Currant tomato Tomato G arden huckleberry Tomato Goji berry Tomato Groundcherry Tomato Naranjilla Tomato Pepino Tomato Sunberry Tomato Tomatillo Tomato Tomato Tomato Tree tomato Tomato

________________________________________________________________________ The proposed new translations of field trials from the representative commodities to other commodities in the Pepper subgroup 8
- 08B would be as follows: Proposed Crop Group 8 - 08B: Pepper Subgroup. Representative Commodities: Bell pepper and one cultivar nonbell pepper. CROP SUBGROUP COMMODITY REPRESENTATIVE COMMODIT Y Bell pepper Bell pepper Eggplant Bell pepper Marty nia Nonbell pepper Nonbell pepper Nonbell pepper Okra Nonbell pepper Roselle Nonbell pepper

________________________________________________________________________121

121 The proposed new translations of field trials from the representative commodities to other commodities in the Eggplant subgroup 8
- 08C would be as follows: Proposed Crop Group 8 - 08C: Eggplant Subgroup. Representative Commodities: One cultivar nonbell pepper or onr cultivar small variety eggplant. CROP SUBGROUP COMMODITY REPRESENTATIVE COMMODITY African eggplant Nonbell pepper or Eggplant Eggplant Eggplant or nonbell pepper Pea eggplant Nonbell pepper or Eggplant Scarlet eggplant Nonbell pepper or Eggplant

____________________ ___________________________________________________ (6) HED Dry Matter Database will be updated to add the Table below : Table 5 7 . Health Effects Division Dry Matter and Seeding Rate Database for the Fruiting Vegetable Crop Group. Prepared by Dr’s. NG and B. A. Schneider , October 12, 2007. Commodity % Dry Matter Eggplant 7.3, 8
. 0, 8.2 Goji berry

fresh 16.2 Goji berry

dried 87.0 , 90.0 Groundcherry 15.0, 15.6 Okra 10.4 Pepino 7.0, 8.0 Pepper, bell 7.0, 7.8 Pepper, nonbell 12.0, 14.0 , 14.3 Pepper, nonbell, sweet 7.8 Tomatillo 8.2, 11.0 Tomato 5.8, 6.0, 6.2, 6.5 , 6.9 Tomato, catsup 31.0 Tomato, cherry 6.8 Tomato, dehydrated pomace 92.0 Tomato, juice 6.0 Tomato, paste 26.0, 33.0 Tomato, puree 8.5, 13.0122

122 Commodity % Dry Matter Tomato, sauce 11.0 Tomato, sundried 85.4 Tomato, tree 86.0 Tomato, wet pomace 25.0
COMMODITY DEFINITIONS [(40 CFR § 180.1( g )]: There are currently

two commodity

definitions for Peppers and Tomatoes that IR
- 4 has proposed to expand and these two definitions followed by HED conclusions are discussed below
. Current 40 CFR § 180.1( g): Tolerances and exemptions established for pesticide chemicals in or on the general category of raw agricultural commodities listed in column A apply to the corresponding specific raw agric ultural commodities listed in column B. However, a tolerance or exemption for a specific commodity in column B does not apply to the general category in column A. A B
-------------- ------------------------------------------------------ Current Pepper Commodity Definition: Peppers
.................................. All varieties of peppers including pimentos, and bell, hot, and sweet peppers.
IR
- 4 Proposed Pepper Commodity Definit ion: Pepper
..................... Okra ; Pepino ; Pepper s (including all peppers i.e. bell , nonbell, hot, sweet, etc., and cultivars and/or hybrids of these ) , and Roselle
. Current T omato Commodity Definition:
T omato
........................... T omatoes, tomatillos.
IR
- 4 Proposed Tomato Commodity Definition. Tomato.................. Bush Tomato ; Cocona ; Currant tomato; G arden huckleberry ; Groundcherry ; Naranjilla ; Sunberry ; Tomatillo ; Tomato (including cultivars and/or hy brids of this ) ; and T ree t omato.123

123 HED Recommendations on Co mmodity Definitions: Pepper Commodity Definition:
I recommend ChemSAC reject the proposed commodity definition for peppers because okra, pepino, and roselle will become members of the Fruiting vegetable crop group, so the expanded definition will not b e needed. Also, pepino will be a member of the Tomato subgroup 8A and okra and ro s elle will become a member of the Pepper subgroup 8B. The pepper tolerance term has recently been proposed to be updated in the Federal Register [ Federal Register June 18, 2 008. pages 34678
- 34686. Volume 73, Number 118, Proposed Rules] to correct to the commodity terminology as follows: Pepper........................ All varieties of pepper including pimento, and bell, hot, and sweet pepper. Based on the HED anal ysis Irecommend adding nonbell pepper to the commodity pepper definition to help avoid any confusion with amending the whole Fruiting vegetable group and the use of bell and nonbell pepper as specific commodities. Also, I have added the peppers such as tabasco that registrants som etimes request a separate tolerance. Now with the proposed revision to the Fruiting vegetable crop group I recommend amending the 180.1(g) pepper definition to: Pepper.................All cultivars, varieties, and hy brids of pepper including pimento, bell, nonbell , chili, hot, tabasco, paprika, and sweet pepper. Tomato Commodity Definition:
I recommend ChemSAC reject the proposed tomato definition to add additional commodities because Bush Tomato ; Cocona ; Currant tomato; G arden huckleberry ; Groundcherry ; Naran

jilla ; Sunberry ; Tomatillo ; Tomato (including cultivars and/or hy brids of th ese ) ; and T ree t omato are becoming members of the p roposed Tomato subgroup 8 A . This revised definition is not needed. I recommend we agree with the pro po sed FR [ Federal Regist er June 18, 2008. pages 34678
- 34686. Volume 73, Number 118, Proposed Rules] to correct the tomato commodity

terminology from plural to singular as follows: Tomato..................Tomato, tomatillo.124

124 This tomato commodity

definition is still useful since it helps c larify that tolerances established on tomatoes also applies to tomatillos. Making these commodity terms standardizes them with the EPA Food and Feed Commodity Vocabulary
. TOLERANCE EXPRESSION GUIDANCE : Until the Federal Register Notice is issued revi sing the Crop Group Regulation to establish the amended Fruiting Vegetable Crop Group 8 with three Crop subgroups the commodities approved for the crop group and subgroups will have to be listed as separate commodities at the same tolerance level. This al so applied to the new Crop subgroups, the individual commodities will have to be listed separately with each at the same tolerance level. When ChemSAC approves the Citrus fruit crop group 10, the Risk Integration, Minor Use, and Emergency Response Branch (RIMUERB) of the Registration Division can immediately implement the new Crop Group and Crop Subgroups with new tolerance expressions located in the Section F submissions. The seven tolerance expression examples will provide an expedited way to establish tolerances in or on citrus fruit crops, especiall y for new reduced risk pesticides, without requiring additional residue data for all the crops noted. This will create a practice in the United States which is already formalized in Canada and promote inter national harmonization. Several tolerance expression examples for guidance purposes for use b y RIMUERB and HED reviewers will be listed below:

Example 1. What is the tolerance expression for the amended Fruiting Vegetable Crop Group 8? Answer to Ex ample 1: The tolerance expression for the amended Fruiting Vegetable Crop Group 8 will be “Vegetable, fruiting, group 8
- 08 .” Example 2. What is the correct Section F tolerance expression for the two new Fruiting Vegetable Subgroups? Answer to Example 2: The tolerance expression for the three New Fruiting Vegetable Crop Subgroups is as follows:125

125 Name of Crop Subgroup Tolerance Expression for the Crop Subgroup Tomato subgroup 8 A Tomato subgroup 8
- 08 A Pepper subgroup 8B Pepper subgroup 8
- 08B Eggplant subgroup 8 C Eggplant subgroup 8
- 08 C Example 3 : How will the Crop group and subgroups appear in the Federal Register for the proposed crop group regulation [40CFR 180.41(c)]? This example is for the Field and External Affairs Division (FEAD) use in preparing the new Federal Register Regulation. The example follows the same format as the current Crop Grouping Regulation Federal Register Notice (FR 60, No.95, 5/17/95, 26626
- 26643 ) and the Proposed Expansion of the Crop Groups (FR 72, No. 99, 5/23/07, 28920
- 228930). Answer to Example 3 : “Crop Group 8
- 0 8 : Fruiting Vegetable Crop Group ”
. Representative commodities. Tomato ; bell pepper; and one cultivar of nonbell pepper. Commodities Related crop subgroups African e ggplant, Solanum macrocarpon L 8
- 0 8C Bush tomato, Solanum centrale J.M. Black 8
- 08A Cocona, Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal 8
- 08A Currant tomato , Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium (L.) Mill
. 8
- 08A Eggplant ( including eggplant cultivars, varieties, or hy brids of th ese ), Solanum melongena L
. 8
- 08C G arden huckleberry , Solanum scabrum Mill 8
- 08A Goji berry , Lycium barbarum L

. 8
- 08A Groundcherry , ( including groundcherry cultivars, varieties, or hy

brids of th ese ), Physalis alkekengi L ., P. grisea (Waterf.) M. Martinez, P. peruvian L ., P. pubescen s L
. 8
- 08A
Marty nia, Proboscidea louisianica (Mill.) Thell
. 8
- 08B Naranjilla , Solanum quitoense Lam 8
- 08A Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus (L .) Moench 8
- 08B Pea e ggplant, Solanum torvum Sw. 8
- 08C Pepino, Solanum muricatum Aito n 8
- 08B Pepper , bell (including pepper cultivars , varieties and/or hy brids of these ), Ca

psicum annuum var. annuum L. , Capsicum spp. 8
- 08B Pepper, nonbell (including pepper cultivars , varieties 8
- 08B126

126 and/or hy brids of these Ca

psicum chinese, C. annuum var. annuum , C. frutescens C. bacca tum, C. pubescens., Capsicum spp Roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa L
. 8
- 08B Scarlet e ggplant, Solanum aethiopicum L. 8
- 08C Sunberry , Solanum retroflexum Dunal 8
- 08A Tomatillo, Physalis philadelphica Lam
. 8
- 08A Tomato ( including tomato cultivars , vari eties, and/or hy brids of th ese ) Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. esculentum 8
- 08A
Tree t omato, Solan um betacea Cav. 8
- 08A In cludes cultivars, varieties and/or hy brid s of these above commodities (i) Table. The following Table 2 identifies the crop subgroups for Crop Group 8 , specifies the representative commodities for each subgroup and lists all the commodities included in each subgroup. TABLE 2
- Crop Group 8 : Subgroup Listing Representative commodities Commodities S ubgroup 8
- 0 8 A: Tomato subgroup. T omato. Bush tomato ; Cocona; Currant tomato; Garden huckleberry ; Goji berry ; Groundcherry ; Naranjilla; Sunberry ; Tomatillo; Tomato; Tree tomato; and cultivars, varieties, or hy

brids of th ese. Subgroup 8
- 0 8 B. Pepper subgroup. Bell pepper and one cultivar nonbell pepper. Bell pepper; Nonbell pepper; Martynia ; Okra; Pepino; Roselle, and cultivars, varieties, or hy

brids of th ese. Subgroup 8
- 0 8C
. Eggplant subgroup. One cultivar nonbell pepper or one cultivar of small variety eggplant. African e ggplant ; Eggpl ant ; Pea e ggplant ; Scarlet e ggplant , and cultivars, varieties, or hy brids of th ese. Example 4 : How will I express the tolerances on an interim basis until the Federal Register Notice is final for the Fruiting vegetable group 8
- 0 8 , for example at a tol erance level of 1.5 ppm? This example will be useful for the Registration Division (RD) and Health Effects Division (HED) to prepare tolerance tables. All the new proposed commodities will have to be listed separately from the crop group tolerance and at the same level as the crop group.127

127 Answer to Example 4 : Commodity Parts per million (ppm) Berry , Goji 1.5 Cocona 1.5 Eggplant 1.5 Eggplant, Afri can 1.5 Eggplant, pea 1.5 Egggplant. s carlet 1.5 Groundcherry , 1.5 Huckleberry , garden 1.5 Marty nia 1.5 Naranjilla 1.5 Okra 1.5 Pepino 1.5 Pepper , bell. 1.5 Pepper, nonbell 1.5 Roselle 1.5 Sunberry 1.5 Tomatillo 1.5 Tomato 1.5 Tomato, bush 1.5 Tomato, currant 1.5 Tomato, tree 1.5 Cultivars, varieties and/or hy brids of those above commodities Example 5: How will Iexpress the tolerances on an interim basis until the Federal Register Notice is final for the Tomato subgroup 8
- 0 8 A for example at a tolerance level of 1.5 ppm? This example will be useful for the Registration Division (RD) and Health Effects Division (HED) to prepare tolerance tables. Answer to Example 5 for the Tomato subgroup 8 - 0 8 A: Commodity Parts per million (ppm) Berry , Goji 1.5 Cocona 1.5 Huckleberry , garden 1.5 Naranjilla 1.5 Sunberry 1.5 Tomatillo 1.5 Tomat o 1.5128

128 Commodity Parts per million (ppm) Tomato, bush 1.5 Tomato, currant 1.5 Tomato, tree 1.5 Cultivars, varieties, and/or hy brids of those above commodities Example 6 : How will I express the tolerances on an interim basis until the Federal Register Notice is final for the Pepper s ubgroup 8
- 0 8 B, for example at a tolerance level of 1.5 ppm? This example will be useful for the Registration Division (RD) and Health Effects Division (HED) to prepare tolerance tables. Answer to Example 6 for the Pepper subgroup 8 - 0 8 B: Commodity Parts per million (ppm) Marty nia 1.5 Okra 1.5 Pepino 1.5 Pepper, bell 1.5 Pepper, nonbell 1.5 Roselle 1.5 Cultivars, varieties, and/or hy brids of those above commodities Example 7 : How will I express the tolerances on an interim basis until the Federal Register Notice is final for the Eggplant subgroup 8
- 0 8C , for example at a tolerance level of 1.5 ppm? This example will be useful for the Registration Division (RD) and Health Effects Division (HED) to prepare tolerance tables. Answer to Example 6 fo r the Pepper subgroup 8 - 0 8 B: Commodity Parts per million (ppm) Eggplant 1.5 Eggplant, African 1.5 Eggplant, pea 1.5 Eggplant, scarlet 1.5 Marty nia 1.5 Okra 1.5 Pepino 1.5 Pepper, bell 1.5 Pepper, nonbell 1.5 Roselle 1.5 Cultivars, varieties, and/or hy brids of those above commodities129

129 EPA FOOD AND FEED COMMODITY VOCABULARY FOR THE FRUIT ING CROP GROUP: The following terms for the oilseed commodities will be incorporated to the EPA Food and Feed Commodity Database (http://www.epa.govopp/foodfeed). The Table 58 below is identical to the current Food and Feed Commodity Vocabulary

format. A search of the lookup terms will link to the EPA preferred tolerance/commodity term, and the Base crop/Animal term is the specific crop animal terms associated with the preferred term. Until the Federal Register Notice for the Crop Group is final, the Crop Group designation on each term will be listed as no crop group or crop subgroup and given the crop group 99 for the present. Table 5 8 . EPA FOOD AND FEED COMMODITY VOCABULARY SEARCH OR LOOKUP TERM FOR FRUIT ING VEGETABLE COMMODITIES PREFERRED TOLERANCE TERM BASE CROP/ANIMAL TERM African eggplant; Eggplant, African; Garden
- egg; terong asam; terong iban; auber gine gboma; anthora; antrua; garden eggs; mock tomato; ngogwe or nyanyachungu; berenjena; trong asam ; Afrikaanse aubergine Eggplant, African Eggplant, African

Tomato, Bush; Bush tomato; desert raisin; desert tomato; Akatjera; Arrente;, Kampurarrpa; Kati Kati; Deadl y Night shade Tomato, bush Tomato, bush
Cocona; turkey

berry ; peach tomato; Orinoco apple Cocona Cocona Eggplant; Guinea squash; Berenjena; Boulanger; Aubergine; White eggplant; Japanese eggplant; Italian eggplant; American eggplant; Brinjal eggplant; Oriental eggplant; Grape eggplant; Asian Eggplant; Apple
- of
- love; Asiatic aubergine; Aubergine, Bab y eggplant; Brinjal; Garden eggplant ; Guinea squash; Gully

bean; Italian eggplant; Japanese eggplant; Melanzana; Melongene; Oriental Eggplant Eggplant130

130 SEARCH OR LOOKUP TERM FOR FRUIT ING VEGETABLE COMMODITIES PREFERRED TOLERANCE TERM BASE CROP/ANIMAL TERM eggplant ; Patlıcan; Pea apple; Pea aubergine; Poor
- man's
- caviar; Susumber; Terong; White eggplant; Nasu Goji berry ; Berry , goji; barbary matrimony

vine; matrimony

vine; wolfberry ; Bocksdorn ; Chinese wolfberry , B arbary

matrimony vine; Duke of Arg yl l' s tea tree; Tibetan goji; Himalayan goji; and Gouqi jiu
. Goji berry Goji berry

Groundcherry , Chinese lantern plant, Bladder cherry , Strawberry tomato, Ground cherry , Peruvian ground cherry , Poha, Goldenberry , Jamberry , Alkekengi, Miltomate, Uchuba, Winter cherry , Strawberry ground cherry , Japanese lantern, Strawberry

tomato Peruvian cherry , Peruvian groundcherry , Gooseberry

tomato, h airy groundcherry , Dwarf cape gooseberry , Downy

gro undcherry Groundcherry Groundcherry

Huckleberry , Garden , Petty morel, Solanberry , Quonderberry , Moralle, Houndsberry , Wonderberry , Black berried nightshade, Morella, Garden Huckleberry Huckleberry , garden Huckleberry , garden

Marty nia, Unicorn plant, Pro boscis flower, Rams ’ s horn, Devil ’ s claw, Purple flower devil ’ s claw Marty nia Marty nia
Naranjilla, naranjilla de Quito, nuqui; naranjita de Quito, lulum, lulun , lulo , toronja, lulo de castilla, lulo de perro, lulo morado Naranjilla Naranjilla

Okra, Bhindi, Gumbo, Okra Okra131

131 SEARCH OR LOOKUP TERM FOR FRUIT ING VEGETABLE COMMODITIES PREFERRED TOLERANCE TERM BASE CROP/ANIMAL TERM Quimgombo, Lady ’ s fingers, Okro, Ochro, Bamia, Quiabo, Gombo, Quinbombo, Bandakai, Gobbo, Bumbo, Bombo, Okura Pea e ggplant, turkey

berry , prickly solanum, devil's fig , fausse aubergine , kausoni, bhankatiya , Thai Bab y Eggplant, Thai Eggplant, Thai Green Eggplant, Thai Pea Eggplant, S i kwa, Badanjan, Nasubi, Terung, Talong, Wam batu, Ma khuea ya ao E ggplant , pea E ggplant , pea.

Pepino ; Melon pear, Pepino melon, Melon shrub, Pepino dulce, Apple of the Inca, Mellowfruit, Peruvian pepino, Manguena Pepino Pepino

Pepper, bell, sweet bell p epper, Long pepper, Pimento pepper, Chili dulce, Pepper, p imiento ; piiman, Green pepper, Mango pepper, Garden pepper, Common pepper , Pimento pepper ; Paprika pepper; Pepper, paprika Pepper, bell Pepper, bell

Pepper, nonbell, pepper, hot, Chile pepper, Aji picante, Chili pepper, Cayenne pepper, Peruvian pepper, Rocoto, Habanero pepper, Ajibravo, Chilli, cayenne, chili, hot pepper, tian jiao, poivre de Cayenne, piment de Cayenne, p.d’oiseau, Cayenne, Chilli, Vog el or Spanischer Pfeffer, Gewurzpaprika, pepe di Cayenna, peperone rabbioso, peperoncino piccante, nagami
- togarashi, chile, guidnilla, pimento picante, Tabasco pepper, Bird pepper, Red Chili, Cluster pepper, Spur Pepper, nonbell Pepper, nonbell132

132 SEARCH OR LOOKUP TERM FOR FRUIT ING VEGETABLE COMMODITIES PREFERRED TOLERANCE TERM BASE CROP/ANIMAL TERM pepper, Chilli, Chile, Bird chilli, Cone pepper, Pervium pepper, Aji amarillo, Uchu, Cusqueno, Piris, Rocoto pepper, Chile manzana, Chamburoto, Apple chili, L ocoto, Cuzco, Habanero pepper, Bohemian chili pepper, Bonnet pepper, Squash pepper, Rocotillo, Scotch bonnet, Piri
- Piri pepper, Datil pepper, Yellow squash pepper, Bird pepper, Chilipiquin, Chiltepine, Bird ’ s - eye pepper, American bird pepper, Chiltepe, Chili pepper, Chile, Cayenne pepper, Cherry

pepper, Jalapeno, Hungarian wax, Italian wax, Goat pepper, Ancho pepper, Poblano chile, Peruvian wil d pepper, Rio Mantaro pepper, Bolivian wild pepper , Pea pepper, Pasila, Small
leaved pepper , Xiao ye y e la jiao zhi ; (Cubanelle pepper, Bull = s horn pepper, Hungarian long pepper, Yellow banana pepper, Italian sweet pepper, Long John pepper, Red cherry

pepp er, Sweet cherry pepper, Paprika pepper, Pimento pepper, Squash pepper, Cheese pepper, Cooking pepper, Aji dulce, L ong pepper Roselle, Florida cranberry , Agrio de Guinea, Jamaica sorrel, Indian sorrel, Red sorrel, Vina, So rrel, Indian sorrel, Jamaican sorrel, Java jute, Red sorrel, Rozelle, Sorrel; L’oiselle, Karkade, Bissap ; vinagreira; oseille rouge; zuring Roselle Roselle

Scarlet Eggplan, Japanese Golden, Ethiopian nightshade , Eggplant , scarlet Eggplant , scarlet133

133 SEARCH OR LOOKUP TERM FOR FRUIT ING VEGETABLE COMMODITIES PREFERRED TOLERANCE TERM BASE CROP/ANIMAL TERM African bitter pea
- aubergine, wild pea - aub ergine, wild African aubergine, Tomato
- fruited eggplant, Aubergine amère, Petite bringelle maronne, Xiao gu qie, Xiao ku fan qie Sunberry Sunberry Sunberry Tomatillo , Husk tomato, Tomate de caserne , Miltomate, Jamberry, Tomatoverde, Fresadilla, Mexican green tomato, Tomatillo groundcherry , Tomatillo groundcherry , tomatillo ground
cherry , alkékenge du Mexique, coqueret, tomate fraise, mexikanische Blasenkirsche, miltomate, tomate, tomate de cáscara, tomate verde Tomatil lo Tomatillo

Tomato, Currant, Ohi ’ a - ma kanahele, Cocktail tomato, German raisin tomato Tomato, currant Tomato, currant Tomato, tree, Tree tomato, Palo de tomate, Tamarillo, Tomate de Arbo Tomato, tree Tomato, tre e134

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April 05.

APPENDIX I: Dietary Value of the Fruiting Vegetables : Fruiting vegetables are low in calories, non fat, and cholesterol free, low in sodium and generally good sources of Vitamins A and C. Bell Pepper:

Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1 medium pepper (148g)

Amount Per Serving Calories 25 Calories from Fat 0 % Daily Value* Total Fat 0g 0% Saturated Fat 0g 0% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 40mg 2% Total Carbohydrate 6g 2% Dietary Fiber 2g 8% Sugars 4g Protein 1g Vitamin A 4% * Vitamin C 190% Calcium 2% * Iron 4% *Percent Daily Values are based on a

2,000 calorie diet.142

142 Chili and Nonbell Pepper:

Nutrition Fac ts Serving Size 1 pepper (45g) Amount Per Serving Calories 20 Calories from Fat 0 % Daily Value* Total Fat 0g 0% Saturated Fat 0g 0% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 10mg 0% Total Carbohydrate 3g 1% Diet ary Fiber 0g 0% Sugars 2g Protein 1g Vitamin A 80% * Vitamin C 170% Calcium 0% * Iron 0% *Percent Daily Values are based on a

2,000 calorie diet. Cocona: Nutritional aspects p er 100 g of edible portion contains 0.6 g protein; 0.4 g Fiber; 5.7 g Carboh ydrates; 12 mg Calcium; 14 mg Phosphorus; 0.6 g iron , and this fruiting vegetable has a high level of citric acid, about 0.8%. Eggplant: Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1/5 average eggplant (84g)

Amount Per Serving Calories 25 Calories from Fat 0 % Daily Value* Total Fat 0g 0% Saturated Fat 0g 0% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 0mg 0% Total Carbohydrate 5g 2% Dietary Fiber 2g 8% Sugars 3g Protein 1g Vitamin A 0% * Vi tamin C 2% Calcium 0% * Iron 2% *Percent Daily Values are based on a

2,000 calorie diet.143

143 Goji berry: Goji berries contains significant percentages of a day's macronutrient needs

– carboh ydrates , protein , fat and dietary fiber . 68% of the mass of dried wolfberries exists as carboh ydrate, 12% as protein, and 10% each as fiber and fat, giving a total caloric value in a 100 gram serving of 370 (kilo) calories
. Select examples given below are for 100 grams of dried berries. Calcium
. Goji berries contain 112 mg per 100 gram serving, providing about 8
- 10% of the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) ; Potassium , contain 1,132 mg per 100 grams dried fruit, giving about 24% of the DRI
. Iron . have 9 mg iron per 100 grams (100% DRI) ; Zinc . 2 mg pe r 100 grams dried fruit (18% DRI) ; Selenium . 100 grams of dried wolfberries contain 50 micrograms (91% DRI) ; Riboflav in (vitamin B2). At 1.3 mg, 100 grams of dried wolfberries provide 100% of DRI and Vitamin C . Vitamin C content in dried wolfberries has a wide range (from different sources) from 29 mg per 100 grams to as high as 148 mg per 100 grams (respectively , 32% and 163% DRI).
Okra: Nutrition Facts Serving Size 6 pods (83g) Amount Per Serving Calories 30 Calories from Fat 0 % Daily Value* Total Fat 0g 0% Saturated Fat 0g 0% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 15mg 1% Total Carbohydrate 6g 2% Dietary Fiber 1g 4% Sugars 2g Protein 2g Vitamin A 10% * Vitamin C 20% Calcium 6% * Iron 4% *Percent Daily Values are based on a

2,0 00 calorie diet.144

144 Tomato:

APPENDIX II: Map of the Total Tomato Acres Harvested for Sale
- 2002.