Learn to Grow Root Crops
Root crops like potatoes, turnips, and carrots are global staples that pack
high nutritional value with low water consumption.
Growing these
water-wise, climate-resilient vegetables is a win for farm profitability
and environmental sustainability.
Course Duration: 100 hours
Course Structure
- Scope and Nature of Root Cropping and the Botany of Roots
- What are root vegetables?
- Human nutrition and root vegetables
- Botany of roots
- Cultural Practices A: Soil Management, Crop Scheduling and Soil Water
- General guide to growing root vegetables
- Improving soils
- Sampling soils
- Cover crops
- Cultivation techniques
- Soil fertility and plant growth
- Plant nutrition
- Fertiliser
- Soil and water
- Cultural Practices B: Weed control, Pest Management
- Weed and weed management
- Methods of weed control
- Pest and disease management
- Toxicity
- Diseases
- Common environmental problems
- Potatoes
- Growing conditions
- Nutrient requirements
- Planting
- Care
- Watering
- Problems
- Harvest and post-harvest
- Carrots and their Relatives
- Carrots
- Parsnips
- Bulb fennel
- Turnip rooted chervil
- Skirret
- Celeriac
- Turnips and their Relatives
- Turnips
- Rutabaga (swede)
- Radish
- Horseradish
- Daikon
- Kohlrabi
- Beets
- Growing conditions
- Nutrient requirements
- Planting
- Care
- Watering
- Problems
- Harvest and post-harvest
- Taro, Yams and Sweet Potato
- Growing conditions
- Nutrient requirements
- Planting
- Care
- Watering
- Problems
- Harvest and post-harvest
- Other Root Crops
- Salsify
- Scoronera
- Scolymus
- Mashua
- Jerusalem artichoke
- Potato bean
- Arrowroot
- Oca
- Dandelion
- Chinese artichoke
- Water chestnuts
- Yacon or jicama
- Root chicory
- Ullico
- American groundnut
- Harvest and Post-Harvest Management
- Harvesting root vegetables
- Cooling methods
- Storage
Vegetables Commonly Known as Root Vegetables
A lot of vegetables commonly described as ‘root vegetables’ are actually not ‘true roots’, but for the purposes of this text we will include them as ‘root vegetables’. These include:
- Corms: taro, Chinese water chestnut, Elephant root yam, Konjac
- Rhizome: some ginger, lotus root
- Swollen basal stems (above ground): Kohlrabi
- Tubers (modified stems): potatoes, yams, Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), oca (also known as the New Zealand yam)
- Tuberous roots (modified lateral roots): cassava, sweet potatoes, jicama.
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Reputation: well-known and respected.
Industry focus: courses designed to suit industry needs and expectations.
Different focus: develop problem solving skills that make you stand out from others.
Hands-on: develop practical as well as theoretical skills.
Lots of help: dedicated and knowledgeable tutors.
Efficient: prompt responses to your questions.
A long track record: established in 1979 with a solid history.
Up to date: courses under constant review.
Resources: huge wealth of constantly developing intellectual property.
Value: courses compare very favourably on a cost per study hour basis.
Student amenities: online student room, bookshop, ebooks.
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