Fruit Crops Nursery Management: Principles and Practices is a comprehensive reference on the scientific principles and practical techniques involved in establishing, operating, and managing fruit crop nurseries. The book covers nursery planning and infrastructure, nursery bed preparation, growing media, rootstock production, protective structures, and sexual and vegetative propagation methods. It provides detailed insights into commercial propagation techniques for major tropical and subtropical fruit crops, including dragon fruit, mango, avocado, jackfruit, guava, papaya, citrus, litchi, rambutan, and Coorg mandarin.

The book also explores mother block establishment and maintenance, stock–scion relationships, micropropagation, macropropagation, virus indexing, budwood certification, plant nutrition, biofertilizers, and the management of pests, diseases, and weeds in nurseries. Dedicated coverage of the Clean Plant Programme, nursery recognition and regulatory requirements, and market analysis connects scientific knowledge with commercial applications. By integrating established horticultural practices with modern nursery technologies and quality assurance approaches, this book serves as a valuable resource for students, researchers, horticultural scientists, nursery professionals, extension personnel, and entrepreneurs involved in fruit production and quality planting material development.

Dr. G Karunakaran., is a distinguished horticultural scientist and alumnus of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, with over 26 years of experience in research, teaching and extension under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). He is currently serving as Principal Scientist in the Division of Fruit Crops, ICAR–Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (ICAR-IIHR), Bengaluru. His major contributions include the improvement, conservation and commercialization of tropical and underutilized fruit crops such as dragon fruit (Kamalam), jackfruit, jamun, avocado, tamarind, rambutan, mangosteen and Coorg mandarin. He has contributed to the development and release of important varieties including Arka Sindoor (dragon fruit), Arka Jamun Pride, Lakshmana (tamarind), and Shankara and Siddu jackfruit. He has led major research and development initiatives, including the Centre of Excellence for Kamalam Fruit, Clean Plant Centre under the ADB–NHB supported Clean Plant Programme, Integrated Modern Fruit Nursery supported by ICICI Foundation, and projects on climate-smart horticulture, germplasm characterization, clean planting material and DUS testing. His research focuses on fruit crop improvement, germplasm conservation, precision nutrient management, climate-resilient horticulture, clean planting systems and post-harvest technology, with significant contributions to promoting dragon fruit cultivation and quality planting material production in India. He received several honours, including the MASU–National Excellence Award (2026), Dr. Kalayya Krishnamurthy National Award (2024), PPV&FRA Plant Genome Saviour Recognition (2025), Jal Shakti Award (2022), and Best Horticultural Scientist Award (2021). He is also a Fellow of the Society for Promotion of Horticulture and the Indian Academy of Horticultural Sciences. He has published more than 180 research papers in national and international journals and has authored several book chapters and technical publications, contributing significantly to tropical fruit research and sustainable horticulture in India. He has guided 7 postgraduate students in fruit crop science, including 2 Ph.D. and 5 M.Sc. students.

Dr. Ruchitha T., is currently working as a Scientist at the ICAR– Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (ICAR-IIHR), Central Horticultural Experiment Station (CHES), Chettalli, Karnataka. She obtained her B.Sc. (Horticulture), M.Sc. in Fruit Science from the University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga, and Ph.D. in Fruit Science from the University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot, Karnataka. She is a recipient of Gold Medals for securing the highest merit in her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degree programmes. She was awarded the NTS-JRF, Graduate Assistantship, and DST INSPIRE Fellowship, and was selected as a Scientist through ASRB in 2025. She has published 4 book chapters, 15 research papers, 6 popular articles, and 6 conference abstracts. Her research area focuses on crop improvement and production of high value fruit crops.

Dr. B.M. Muralidhara is currently working as a Senior Scientist (Fruit Science) at the ICAR–Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (ICAR-IIHR), Central Horticultural Experiment Station (CHES), Chettalli, Karnataka. He obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Fruit Science from the University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot, Karnataka. His research focuses on the genetic improvement, germplasm conservation, and production technologies of high-value fruit crops. He has contributed to the development of seven improved hybrids/varieties, registration of eight germplasm lines with ICAR–NBPGR, development of the first draft genome of cashew and BBCH phenological scales for several fruit crops. He has more than 60 research publications in high NAAS rated International and National journals and holds six copyrights. He has received several awards, including three Young Scientist Awards, in recognition of his contributions to horticultural research.

Dr. M. Kavino is a distinguished horticultural scientist and alumnus of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, with over 20 years of experience in teaching, research and extension, particularly in fruit crops. His research contributions include the development and evaluation of elite varieties of Manila tamarind, wood apple, jamun, jackfruit and banana, along with pioneering work on biocontrol of banana Fusarium wilt. He has led and contributed to several major national and international research projects, including DST-SERB, Bioversity International, Government of Tamil Nadu and internationally funded IBIS initiatives. His accomplishments include the DST-Young Scientist Award, MASU Award for Excellence in Horticulture (2024), Best Scientist Award in Horticulture (2024) and TNAU Niche Area Award in Fruit Science (2022). He also completed post-doctoral training in Digital Agriculture at CIAT, Colombia. He has published over 180 research papers in national and international journals, with more than 2,300 Google Scholar citations, an h-index of 21 and an i10-index of 41.

Prof. Tridip Kumar Hazarika is Professor in the Department of Horticulture, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants, Mizoram University, and completed his post-doctoral research at Michigan State University, USA. He has served as Head of the Department for two terms (2016–2019 and 2020–2023) and has made significant contributions to the development of horticulture in North-East India. His research encompasses wild edible fruit diversity, organic nutrient management, plant growth regulators, planting density and post-harvest management of fruit crops, particularly banana, mandarin, Assam lemon, papaya, strawberry and grapes. He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Horticultural Sciences and recipient of the DBT Overseas Associateship. He has served on various expert committees of the Government of India and NEDFi. Prof. Hazarika has authored/edited three books and published 93 research papers, 22 book chapters, two seminar proceedings and four technical bulletins. He has guided five Ph.D. and 55 M.Sc. (Hort.) students.

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Establishment and Management of Nursery

Chapter 3. Protective Structures for Plant Propagation

Chapter 4. Plant Propagation Methods

Chapter 5. Mother Block/Progeny Orchard Maintenance for Quality Planting

Chapter 6. Stock–Scion Relationship

Chapter 7. Commercial Propagation Techniques in Major Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Crops

Chapter 8 .Z Micro and Macro-Propagation Techniques in Fruit Crops

Chapter 9. Virus Indexing and Budwood Certification

Chapter 10. Plant Nutrition Management in Nursery

Chapter 11. Plant Protection in Nursery

Chapter 12. A Concept of Clean Plant Programme (CPP)

Chapter 13. Legal and Regulatory Considerations and Market Analysis