30 pesticide-free vegetables. How many can you identify?

In general, leafy vegetables (e.g. pechay) and fruit vegetables (e.g. tomato) receive more chemical spraying than do root (potato) and seed (mungo) vegetables. On the aspect of pesticide application, vegetables are classified into two: those that do not need spraying at all, and those which can not be raised economically without chemical protection.
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Himbaba-o or alukong Ilk; papait (Mollugo oppositifolia)

 Assorted native vegetables: patani, himbaba-o, eggplant

Talinum, alugbati

Dampalit, bagbagkong

Edible fern (pako'), saluyot

This lesson was aired in a series of radio broadcast on Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) on DZRB 738 KHZ and [www.pbs.gov.ph] This also serves as reference in Economic Botany, a three-unit subject offered at the UST Graduate School and De La Salle University,

The purpose of this lesson is to promote home gardening nationwide and worldwide in response to three crucial issues affecting our society today.

The first is to build natural body resistance against the current pandemic of A(H1N1) or swine flu through the consumption of more fruits and vegetables.

The second is to promote a bottom-up approach of providing alternative sources of food through people's initiative to produce food and reduce food cost and increase the level of nutrition to cushion the effects of the worsening global economic crisis.

The third is to reduce the incidence of slow poisoning as a result of the accumulation of pesticide residue in the body. Vegetables and fruits are the principal carriers of residual poison from chemical spraying which leads to the development of many ailments, such as cancer and impairment of the senses and loss of control of the nervous system.

In general, leafy vegetables (e.g. pechay) and fruit (tomato) vegetables receive more chemical spraying than do root (potato) and seed (mungo) vegetables. On the aspect pesticides, I would rather classify vegetables into two: those that do not need spraying at all, and those which can not be raised economically without the protection of chemicals.

For the first category here is a list of 30 common vegetables in their common and scientific names. Farmers simply find them resistant to insects, mites, nematodes, snails, fungi, including weeds, rodents and birds. These vegetables may also be found in the wild, or in the open spaces.

1. Malunggay (Morinda oleifera)
2. Saluyot (Corchorus olitorius)
3. Wild ampalaya (Momordica charantia)
4. Katuray (Sesbania grandiflora)
5. Batao (Dolichos lablab)
6. Patani (Phaseolus lunatus)
7. Sinkamas (Pachyrisus erosus)
8. Summer squash (Cucurbita maxima)
9. Native eggplant (round) - (Solanum melongena)
10. Native tomato (susong kalabaw) - (Lycopersicum esculentum)
11. Native sitao (short) – (Vigna sesquipedalis)
12.Seguidillas (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)
13.Alugbati (Basella rubra)
14.Talinum (Talinum triangulare)
15.Native spinach (Amaranthus sp.)
16.Gulasiman (Portulaca oleracea)
17.Sweet potato (tops and root) (Ipomea batatas)
18. Kangkong (Ipomea reptans)
19. Pepper or Sili (labuyo) (Capsicum frutescens)
20. Ginger (Zingiber officinale)
21. Rimas or breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)
22. Sayote (Sechium edule)
23. Taro or gabi (Colocasia esculenta)
24. Kamoteng kahoy or cassava (Manihot esculenta)
25. Ubi (Dioscorea alata)
26. Tugui’ (Dioscora esculenta)
27. Kadios (Cajanus cajan)
28. Banana (Saba) (Musa paradisiaca)
29. Sampaloc (Tamarindus indica)
30. Kamias (Averrhoa bilimbi)

There are many other vegetables classified under the same category. These include alukong or himababa-o, bagbagkong, papait, sampaloc (flowers, tips and young pods), flowers of madre de cacao or kakawate.

Reference: The Living with Nature Handbook by AV Rotor, UST Publishing House, Manila