ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the origin and distribution, nutritional composition, medicinal values, climatic requirement, soil requirement, cultivated varieties and post-harvest management of parsley. Parsley is cultivated in Germany, France, Holland, United Kingdom and other European countries. It is well adapted to a wide range of climatic regions from tropical to cold temperate areas. Parsley is one of the popular garnishes for salads, sandwiches and cooked dishes, and flavouring for soup and pasta. It cleans the blood, maintains elasticity of blood vessels and speeds up oxygen metabolism. Based on morphological traits, parsley varieties are classified into five groups, that is, (1) plain-leaved, (2) curl-leaved, (3) fern-leaved, (4) celery-leaved and (5) turnip-rooted. Green peach aphid, carrot weevil, aster leafhopper, western black flea beetle and potato leafhopper are insect pests that attack parsley during growing season. Cercospora blight, sartorial blight and bacterial leaf spot are the diseases that attack parsley during its lifetime.
