Vegetable production has made rapid progress in recent decades.
1. Both production area and total production of vegetables increased markedly.In 1988, the total production reached 157.5 million tons with a total planted area of 3 million ha. The average consumption per capita was 134.2 kg (total including watermelon).
2. Different types of production under protected cultivation have developed fast since 1978-1988, and the total area increased from 16,000 ha to 112,700 ha, hence the improvement of the vegetable supply to the northern cities.
3. Considerable changes have taken place in the raising of seedlings. Traditional backward instruments and methods used by farmers for small scale production have been gradually replaced by large scale and automated methods using electric heating cables for increasing the soil temperature.
4. In addition to the improvement of production conditions in suburbs of large cities, there are five commercial vegetable production centers in different parts of China. The products are transported to the cities with a shortage of vegetables in different seasons to improve the supply situation of vegetables. At the same time, the conditions of transportation and storage of vegetables have also improved to some extent. 5. For the development and stability of vegetable production, research on vegetables is being promoted. In addition to progress on production under protected cultivation, the methods for raising, vegetable transportation and storage have also been improved. Major achievements have been obtained in the breeding of new cultivars, disease resistance breeding, pest and disease biological control, soilless culture, etc. Although a great deal of progress has been made, compared with developed countries, both equipment, techniques and research lag behind and there are still many problems that remain to be solved, mainly :
a. Continue to stabilize and increase production of vegetables per ha.
b. Enhance IPM for pest and disease control.
c. Accelerate post-harvest handling and improve vegetable supply in the cities all the year round.