Irrigation is required for crop production, but high quality ground water is abundant. Vegetable and fruit production predominate on a mixture of corporate and small farms. This region has become important for supplying tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and onions for the winter export market, as well as for domestic consumption. Pineapples are grown in the oxisols of the north central coast near Manati. The varieties 'Red Spanish' and 'Smooth Cayenne' are used for both juice and fresh market respectively.
Citrus is grown predominantly in the uplands and used mostly for juices.
There are many small plantings of minor fruit crops such as acerola, sour sop, avocado, sapodilla, guava, and passion fruit. Considerable opportunities exist for the development of specialty tropical fruits for both the juice and fresh export markets. Starchy vegetable crops are an important part of the Puerto Rican diet. Yams, sweet potatoes, taniers, starchy bananas, plantains, and yucca are all important and are grown throughout the island. Bananas are often intercropped with coffee.