Carrot

Abstract

Carrot is among the top-ten most economically important vegetable crops in the world, in terms of both area of production and market value (http://faostat.fao.org/faostat/; Rubatzky et al., 1999; Simon, 2000; Fontes and Vilela, 2003; Vilela, 2004). In 2005, world production approached 24 Mt on 1.1 million hectares. The total global market value of the more widely traded carrot seed crop has been estimated to be in the range of $100 million (Simon, 2000), but such estimates have little reliable data to confirm them and true value is likely much more. The development of cultivars adapted for cultivation in both summer and winter seasons on all continents has allowed a year-round availability of carrot products with relatively stable prices to consumers. Some production areas harvest crops year-round.