The vegetable crops research programme covers a wide range of commodities which include chilli, tomato, long bean, cucumber, okra, brinjal, french bean, kalian, and a number of temperate vegetable types such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, chinese cabbage, lettuce and bell pepper. The present hectarage of vegetables in Malaysia is around 44,000 hectares and it is mostly under smallholdings. Research & Development (R&D) is vital to sustain these crops and to develop efficient and cost-effective large scale production systems. R&D activities are focused on the following thrust areas:

• Development of new varieties of vegetables through conventional and modern techniques, comprising introduction, evaluation and selection of characters with economic value suitable for highly efficient and modern cropping systems; and heterosis breeding with the ultimate objective of developing hybrid varieties.
• Production of planting materials with assurance of quality (disease-free and good vigour) through seed certification, inspection of mother plants and utilization of appropriate methods for propagation to produce foundation seeds and planting materials.
• Development of efficient and cost-effective crop production systems with optimum input utilization for increased yield and quality.
• Development of pest and disease management technologies which are environment friendly and sustainable.
• Development of packaged technologies on postharvest handling of vegetables for domestic and export markets.
• Technologies developed will be disseminated to the local industry through advisory services, consultancy, exhibitions, seminars, training & extension services, contract research, networking and collaboration with agricultural agencies, which are expected to support the needs and accelerate the growth of the vegetable industry.