The growing awareness about the bad and ill effects of the synthetic chemicals- pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, bactericides, herbicides etc. and fertilizers- nitrogenous, phosphatic and potassic ones in the chain which stand mentioned below in details paved the way for "Organic Agriculture" or Organic Farming. It is a holistic production management system that promotes and enhances health of agroecosystem, including biodiversity, biological cycle and biological activity. It is point to mention that in the developed countries, the fertilizer was used judiciously- application of the Nitrogenous(N), Phosphatic (P2 O5 ) and potassic (K2 O) fertilizers was made in right proportion by maintaining their proper proportion i.e.,4:2:1 ratio. However, in Indian conditions, this ratio (National Average) has been worked out to be 7:6:3:7: l taking into consideration of number of years. Thus, indiscriminate use of nitrogenous fertilizer without phosphate and potash has damaged the productivity of agricultural land in the long run and also created a number of health hazards both to the soils, human beings and animals. In the major rice-wheat growing regions of Punjab and Haryana the organic carbon content declined which exhausted the secondary (Ca, Mg, S) and micronutrients, (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn B, Mo). Their deficiency affected the yield of the crops and caused a number of disorders in plants and animals that feed on them and even the human beings. There was also a loss of micro-organisms in the soils which as a result inhibited their ability to absorb conventional fertilizers.

Although after independence, the use of hybrid and composite seeds of various crops, especially of rice and wheat resulted in an increase in the Indian agricultural output leading to “Green Revolution”. This Green Revolution came to fore during the late “Nineteen Hundred and Sixty”. In fact, during the era of “Green Revolution”, introduction of high yielding varieties of rice and wheat crops were grown which responded to more use of fertilizers, pesticides as well as water. There is no doubt that “Green Revolution” made the country-India, self- sufficient in food grains production, particularly of rice and wheat. As a matter of fact, the “Green Revolution” created a buffer stock at times exceeding to 60 million tonnes, which made the nation or the country very proud (Mahajan and Gupta, 2009). However, continuous use of chemical fertilizers as well as inorganic pesticides and totally neglect of organic manures and botanical pesticides prepared from various plant species like Neem (Azadirachta indica) and Drek (Melia azedarach) for controlling of insects came totally to stand still. So very soon, the deleterious or ill effects of the “Green Revolution” the so called the chemical-based farming or “Industrial agriculture,” came to fore, which briefly stand discussed below

History The history of organic farming is largely based upon the history of organic movement which came to fore as a reaction against the large-scale use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture. This movement can be traced back to England during 1920, when individuals started speaking against a variety of agricultural “innovation”. One of the earlier pioneers of Organic Farming, Sir Albert Howard, is often referred to as the father of the modern “Organic Farming”. He began to work as a British botanist and served as an agriculture advisor in India, where he observed traditional Indian farming practices and came to respect them as superior to his conventional agriculture science. He documented and developed these organic farming practices/methods. His writings and notably the 1940 book, An Agricultural Testament, have influenced many scientists and farmers of the day. In Germany Dr. Rudolf Steiner developed biodynamic agriculture which was probably the first comprehensive farming system. In America, the agronomist F.H. King had toured China, Korea and Japan in early 1990s, closely studied the fertilization, tillage and general farming practices being followed there. He published his findings in his book Farmers of Forty Centuries (1911). King probably did not impart any view himself as part of the movement, whether Organic Farming movement or by some other name. However, in the later years, some scientists within the organic farming movement thought, about what King had encountered in Asia as kindred approach.

Historical Perspective Organic Farming was initiated in about 10,000 years back when ancient farmers started cultivation depending on natural sources only. There is a brief mention of several organic inputs in our ancient literature like Rigveda, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Kautilya Arthashastra etc. In fact, organic agriculture has its roots in traditional agricultural practices that evolved in countless villages and farming communities over the millennium. Organic Movement The organic movement began in the 1930s and 1940s as a reaction to agriculture’s growing reliance on synthetic fertilizers. Artificial fertilizers had been created during the 18th century, initially with superphosphates and then ammonia derived fertilizers mass-produced using the Haber-Bosch process developed during World War I. These early fertilizers were cheap, powerful, and easy to transport in bulk. The 1940s has been referred to as the ‘pesticide era’. Sir Albert Howard is widely considered to be the father of organic farming. Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, made important strides in the earliest organic theory with his biodynamic agriculture. More work was done by J.I. Rodale in the United States, Lady Eve Balfour in the United Kingdom, and many others across the world. As a percentage of total agricultural output, organic farming has remained tiny since its beginning. As environmental awareness and concern increased, the originally supply-driven movement became demand driven. Standardized certification brought premium prices, and in some cases government subsidies attracted many farmers converting into organic farming. In the developing world, many farmers started organic farming according to traditional methods but are not certified. In other cases, farmers in the developing world have converted out of necessity. As a proportion of total global agricultural output, organic output remains small, but it has been growing rapidly in many countries, notably in Europe.

Organic farming in India started receiving focused attention from the year 2004-2005 when National Project on Organic farming (NPOF) was launched during 2004, the area under organic farming was 42,000 hectares (Srimathi and Jency, 2014). By March, 2010, it was reached to 1.08 million hectares. In addition to these, 3.40 million hectares was wild forest harvest collection area. Thus, total area under organic certification process by March,2010 was 4.48 million hectares which was increased by 25 folds during last 6 years. In cultivated organic land 7.56 lakh hectares was certified while 3.2 lakh hectares was under conversion. In India, States such as Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal), Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have been categorized as low or negligible fertilizers consuming states of the country.

India is the second largest producer of vegetables after China. The diverse agro climatic conditions of India offer an immense scope for production of organic vegetables throughout the year. The increase in area, production and productivity associated with nutrition and health security awareness demands lot of promotion of organic vegetables cultivation in the region since these products sell at the premium prices in the domestic and overseas market (Sandhu and Khera, 2008). It is because the major contribution of vegetables to human health is the large amount of Vitamin C and A as well as folic acid and good number of dietary fibres and minerals (Sanwal, 2008). Apart from this, the phytochemicals in vegetables protect the human body from cancers and cardiovascular diseases. Under organic mode of cultivation one can get an average yield of 25-30 tonnes of good quality potato vegetable crop per hectare (Sachan et al. 2008). It is worthwhile to mention that the potato is a key world food vegetable crop which is produced in 130 nations. It is grown from sea level to 3900 m elevation and its edible dry matter accounts for a higher volume of the food consumed in the world than fish and meat combined together (Sachan et al. 2008). More potatoes are consumed by the world’s population than any other vegetables.

Medicinal and aromatic plants constitute a precious resource for mankind. Since time immemorial these plants have been put to medicinal use by Hakims, Vaidas, Ayurvedic practioners and of course the common man (Gupta et al. 2016). It is because these plants possess a lot of qualities for curing the most common or dreaded diseases without any side effects (Gupta et al. 2016). Unfortunately, with the onslaught of human population explosion, industrialization, fertilization and deforestation, the rich medicinal plants wealth has suffered a massive damage. A large number of medicinal plants are now at the verge of extinction which requires their preservation. India which stands blessed well vast medicinal plants diversity is estimated to have about 30,000 different plant species world over having accepted medicinal value in Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathy, Allopathy, Tibetan etc. In fact, out of the 18 hot spots in the world with regard to occurrence of medicinal plants two are confined to India. These two hot spots are represented by the Eastern and the North western Himalayas, and the western Ghats with very high degree of endemism. These are indeed the treasure house of about 30,000 or around 45,000 medicinal and aromatic plant species pertaining to medicinal culture (Gupta et al. 2016). Out of these nearly 6000-7500 plant species have been very much exploited for the last 5,000 years traditional system to medicines and are likely to extinct.

In India, Mahatma Gandhi known as father of the Nation, deserves for imparting credit as pioneer for organic agriculture by way of promoting farmyard manure, compost and advocating use of night soil to enhance the soil fertility and thereby, crop productivity. Organic agriculture possesses lot of advantages over conventional agriculture, especially in areas having low rainfall and showing low soil fertility (Yadav, 2010). Although APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) as an apex body which is working to promote the export of organic food commodities. However, lack of adequate certification facilities and the trainings organized, markets for organic foods inadequate, political and scientific will power are some of the hindrances for operating organic agriculture in India. As human and natural resources are readily available in our country, so there is good scope for organic agriculture farming including organic animal husbandry by adopting proper organic agriculture policies.

Agriculture is the main stay of Indian economy as more than 70 per cent of the people of India are dependent upon this avocation and allied disciplines for their livelihood. Even today, at the dawn of 21st century, the Indian agriculture has continued to be the backbone of our national economy, representing country’s one third of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Thus, farming families consisting of men, women, boys and girls known as the pillars of our agriculture, constitute backbone of the nation. The support and contributions made by the rural women in agriculture, constituting 55-66 percent of farm work force (Singh et al., 2012) are, however, not less than those performed by the men, and therefore they become spine of the rural economy. In fact, women’s role in the economy has been underestimated and their work in agriculture has long been invisible and unappreciated, if we compare the women’s work participation rate of some of the selected countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh, China. Pakistan and Sri Lanka, we find that India ranks second in position (22.7 %) after Indonesia (33.4%).

Rose (Rosa centifolia Linn) belongs to the family Rosaceae is known as flower of love which is cultivated throughout the world. The traditionally grown rose f lowers are fragile wild, bloom only for a limited period. They are found in a few colours of red, pink, deep crimson vis-a-vis white colour. However, with the development of the clonal technology, tissue culture and hybridization, a wide variety of roses can be grown having different colours, fragrances, blooms and shapes. It is point to mention that from the 200 species of roses originally found there are more than 30,000 varieties available these days. The cultivation of rose is believed to have started about 5.000 years ago in China. Initially, Romans started to cultivate the rose flower using organic manures for medicinal purposes and then tor aesthetic values. Briefly their medicinal values have been mentioned separately as reported by Gupta et al 2016. It is not until late 8th century that cultivation of roses was introduced into Europe. Unlike Europe and America where rosses have limited flowering period during the summer.

Pulses are an important source of proteins. One hundred grams of pulses contain about 25-32 grams of proteins and several amino acids which are not made by the human body (Sidhu, 2015). These are the staple food both for vegetarians and non-vegetarians of the country. India is not only the largest consumer of the pulses in the world but it is also the largest producer and importer. The global production of pulses is about 70 million tonnes, of which India’s share is around 25 percent. The consumption of pulses is historically part and parcel of Indian culture. However, over a period of time, the availability of pulses has declined from69 gram per capita per day in 1961 to 51 gram in 1971 and 38grams in 1981. Marginally it arose to 42 gram in 1991 which already declined to 30 gram in 2001. The National Food Security Mission (NFSM) was started by the union Government for pulses during 2007. It did not result in a significant increase in the output because pulses are grown only in 16 per cent area which is irrigated. The area under cultivation for pulses varied from 23 million hectare in 2009- 2010 and 26 million hectares 2021-2022 and production was14.6 mt. to 28.9 mt. At present the availability of pulses is about 42 g per capita per day.

Introduction The Indian literature viz; Vedas and other related books show that ancient Indians used to impart great significance to the gardens and parks. Indian rulers especially, the kings, the princess vis-a-vis affluent people took special interest in making vegetable gardens in the houses and fruit tree gardens in open areas. In those days, it was considered to be the foremost duty of a king to maintain the beautiful gardens in the city and around his palace. It is even said that only he should be revered as an ideal king whose abode is provided with spacious gardens having full of fruit bearing trees (Krishna murthy 2012). As a matter of fact, the gardens also contained pools and tanks adorned with beautiful lotus blossoms, having a number of plants and bushes laden with large number of fragrant flowers etc. Kautilya has included gardens and fields under the term of “Vastu”. So Vastu Sastra or the science of habitation may be taken to stand for laying out of gardens etc; including both horticulture and agriculture.

Introduction Since 2001, India’s human beings population has crossed 1000 million, which is presently 1361 million and will became more than 1462 million during 2025. Such a large population of human beings can be fed and clothed only if we make the best use of the country’s land and water resources. While water is replenishable natural resource. Contrary to this, the land is a non-renewable and irreplaceable resource. It, therefore, becomes an imperative to think of about the main problems of protecting/preserving and managing the land resources f irst of all and thereafter managing the water resources. Such an approach will, infant, prove a solution of both of these resources. It is because if the land of the country is looked after properly, the problem of water management would be automatically tackled (Singh, 2007) Out of the total land area of India, about 329 million hectares (m ha) as many as175 m ha suffer from degradation, caused for the most part by the soil erosion, water logging, soil salinity and sodicity as well as acidity. This denotes that on an average at least two out of every 3 acres (1.2 ha) of land is in poor condition. It is also known that at least half of the sick land i.e., one third of the total is almost completely unproductive. Another one third is partially productive and it is only the remaining one third is in good health.

Introduction A number of experts have recognised three different stages in the march of man on the earth. These consist of: (i) When the civilization is dominated by the forests, (ii) When the civilization is overcoming the forest and (iii) When the civilization is dominating obstacles caused by forests. Now a days, Indian Himalayas including that of Jammu and Kashmir is passing through the third stage i.e., to the point of destroying itself in the process. Deforestation’s relentless march is stripping the Jammu and Kashmir Himalayas bare of its forest cover. From the majestic coniferous forests of Pir Panjal Himalayas to the deciduous and mixed canopy of subtropical forests the story is tragically the same i.e.. the indiscriminate destruction of forests that could turn the state into vast and inhospitable waste land. Hence to sustain and prosper the civilization, the forests must be saved from being further destroyed. To reduce or to minimize the deforestation, the Social Forestry Project and Agroforestry System came to fore. The primary objective of Social Forestry is to increase supplies of fuel wood and fodder in rural area through plantation on community waste lands, degraded forest lands and on private lands through farm forestry (Patnaik, 1995-96). The latter i.e., Agroforestry is now much more widely used subject than the mere production of wood and food. In the changing scenario of the environmental degradation and ecological imbalance as a result of degradation of the forest resources of the country, agroforestry consists of inviting the prime attention of forests for upliftment of both environment and ecology vis-a-vis to enhance agricultural/horticultural and livestock production. In fact, agroforestry came as a new’ name during the year 1978. Since then, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, has developed a vast network of agroforestry in all 36 centres of Agroclimatic Zones (Tejwani, 2008). However, Dr Tejwani started working with agroforestry during 1957 on fodder fuel plantations and trees on farm boundaries. Hence, agroforestry must be included in the agriculture.