eChapters

Abstract
Better seed production technology is vital to furnish quality seed of improved varieties. Trees are generally propagated from seeds and the suitability and quality of the seeds have a big effect on the success of the plantations, afforestation and reforestation programmes raised from them. It must be stressed that good seed implies seed which is both of high viability and vigour and is genetically well suited to the site and to the purpose for which it is planted. The use of sound seed from stands of high inherent quality is widely recognized as the best means of ensuring fast-grown and healthy plantations capable of yielding high quality wood. Quantity, as well as quality, of seed production is important. Seed quality depends on factors like source, time and techniques of harvest, processing and storage practices. Unlike agriculture, the forestry seeds have great variation in size, shape, dormancy, viability, moisture content, etc.

Abstract

Although  people have harvested seeds and fruit from trees for centuries, only after World War II, the science and theories of forest genetics begin to be seriously applied to and practiced in operational forestry around the world. The genetic improvements, or gains, need to be captured, packaged, and mass produced so that these gains could be deployed in operational forestry systems. This can be accomplished through seed orchards which is a link between tree breeding and silvicultural activities. Seed orchards are by far the most frequently used sexually reproducing forestry production populations in the world. Apart from the genetic improvement, seed orchards are also used for the production of seed that is well adapted to specific environments. Seed orchards can be categorized according to the generation of breeding or the type of plant material used.

Abstract

The availability of the quality seed is the first and the most important requirement which is of great relevance in tree improvement programme. Unlike agriculture, the forestry seeds have great variation in size, shape, dormancy, viability, moisture content, etc. It needs special techniques for collection, handling, processing and storage of the seeds of the large number of forest species. A strong commitment to improving tree seed technology is required for full utilization of seed supplies with the help of recent advances in seed physiology. Substantial improvements have occurred as a result of seed technology research offering the potential for major advances in traditional seed production and distribution systems.

Abstract

The drive of planting trees is increasing because the values of trees and forest are being appreciated in all over the world. In most of the countries good quality tree seed is not readily available for a number of reasons especially in forestry sector. Though providing the best conditions for crop growth and health is the foundation of seed quality, the factors that can have the most important effect on seed viability and vigor are harvesting, extraction, cleaning, transportation, and storage because it is easy for seed to become damaged at any of these stages. Ex situ conservation through long-term storage of seed is possible for a significant proportion of higher plants. Long-term seed storage serves as a safe and relatively inexpensive method of plant genetic resources conservation.

Abstract

On average 13 million hectares of the world’s forests disappear every year due to different reasons. Among them forest diseases is one of the prominent factor. Seeds of soft wood and hardwood trees are attacked by fungi and other microbes.  Seed-borne pathogens of wood trees affect nursery seedlings and reduce seed germination and seedling vigor. The micro-organisms that are mostly associated with tree seeds are fungi, bacteria and to a lesser extent viruses. There are many mechanisms by which tree seeds acquire pathogens. Indeed, both the occurrence and severity of many seed-borne fungi, is often traced to the mishandling of fruits, cones or seeds. The majority of pathogens associated with forest tree seeds are fungi, producing only or predominantly the asexual (anamorph) stage (Deuteromycetes).

Abstract

Insect pests, fungi, bacteria and other injuries are found in all types of environment and affect the growth, production and survival of both plants and animal species in one way or other. Similarly a large number of insects belonging to different orders, families and genera feed on pods and seeds in natural/ during storage and cause injuries. Regeneration failure in several broad leaved and conifers in India and other countries by heavy insect attack in the natural stands at the time of inflorescence and seed formation and on the ground after seed shedding causes heavy loss to number of afforestation programmes. Several methods like chemical, cultural, natural and biological are available for reduction in loss caused to seeds by insects. Generally, earlier the control measure, the smaller the destruction. Forest seeds can be stored safely by taking some precautions before their final storage, viz. inspection of the seeds for their moisture content, visual examination of cleaning method, scanning through soft X-ray technique, thermotherapy or treatments with chemicals, etc. The present chapter has covered review regarding damage caused to seeds by different insect pests and their management options.

Abstract

Seed is the most important input component for productive forestry. Large quantities of quality seed are needed every year to raise the nursery stock for propagating the desired plant species.  Commercially important species like Dalbergia sissoo, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Pinus roxburghii and Populus deltoides have become more important. Superior genetic qualities of seed have profound positive impact on growth rates and productivity of plantations and quality of the produce. To save and multiply the entire lot of valuable forest plants it is very essential to preserve and multiply those plants for which special type of nurseries are to be established. There is necessity to have special techniques and methods to meet the demand of seed and only hi-tech nurseries can satisfy this type of demand.

Abstract

In afforestation and reforestation programs, seed has become a valuable commodity and its collection, identification, handling, processing, testing, storage and certification requires prudent planning. The research and development in seed science and technology have made significant progress in recent years. The quality of seed has been the subject of increasing interest among Forest Managers and the Scientists. Not every seed is suitable for sowing. Sometimes, the seeds do not develop into normal plants or the plants produced do not produce the expected harvest. This manuscript reviews, the progress made to-date in the forest tree seed germination and highlights future line of action.

Abstract

The forest cover has declined at an estimated rate of 3-3.5% per annum due to huge deforestation in many countries during last decades. Being the prime necessity for forest regeneration, importance of quality seed management and its handling procedures have been genuinely recognized for greater interest of the environmental stability throughout the world. Growing of new trees and forests would play a major role to save the future world particularly under the present scenario of climatic change and this implies an increased demand of quality forest reproductive materials.

Abstract

People dealing with forest tree seeds are very much concern with the collection and supply of pure and quality seed. Assessing genetic purity of tree seed is always a challenge. Besides, studying tree diversity and tree improvement are also the key components of forestry. With the discovery of DNA based molecular markers these tasks have been made easier and authentic. So, the basic concepts behind different molecular markers were the principal concerns of this chapter. It has been focused here about the pros and cons of the markers along with their applicability. The application may be expanded towards hybrid seed testing and even to clonal forestry.

Abstract

Forests are the second largest land use after agriculture in India covers around 24% of the geographical area. The key tree species like Teak, Sal, Shisham etc are commonly used for timber purposes however the species like Eucalypts, Acacias, Poplar, Melia and Leucaena are mainly used under agroforestry system in India. The most of the genetic material (seed/planting stock material) used in forestry sector in India is obtained from unspecified sources, from stands, natural or planted, which are neither classified nor managed specifically for seed or planting stock material production.

Abstract

Intellectual property has increasingly assumed a vital role that we are witnessing today with the rapid pace of technological, scientific and medical innovation. Moreover, changes in the global economic environment have influenced the development of business models where intellectual property is a central element establishing value and potential growth. In India several new legislations for the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) have been passed to meet the international obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Forest seed of economic importance and the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) play a very important role in the country’s economy.

Abstract

Forestry in India is very important for its wood, fuel and many non-wood products which were being used from ancient times by our forefathers for different personal and commercial use. Farmers face lots of problem in forestry because of its long gestation period, dependence on nature, bulkiness of outputs, season oriented production, perishable in nature, lack of processing centres for value addition at farm and intermediate levels, price fluctuation of forestry products, forced sale/distress sale of tree growers, low wage rate to workers in forestry activities and farmers in sufficient knowledge on market information. Establishment of institutional setup to promote forestry is urgent in the recent times.

The Indian arid zone is characterized by high temperature, low and erratic rainfall which limits the scope for high crop productivity. However, these conditions greatly favour the development of improved quality in a number of fruits such as date palm, ber, aonla, bael, pomegranate, kinnow, lasoda and in vegetables such as cucurbits, legumes and solanaceous crops, spices, flowers, medicinal and aromatic plants. The existing low productivity could be increased by following improved new technologies and inputs. It is now realized that there is a limited scope for quantum jump in fruit and vegetable production in the traditional production areas.

Introduction

Agricultural research and development in the past 50 years has primarily focused on increasing productivity through intensification of input use to  maximize grower income and  minimize hunger and food shortage (Andow et al., 2009). The full environmental costs of this policy such as water and soil pollution, soil and resources impoverishment (Tegtmeier & Duffy, 2004), only recently became apparent, and this awareness has led to the beginning of a change in philosophy away from purely production-oriented practices towards those that are more environmentally sustainable (Alexanian, Metera, & Schuler, 2009). In addition, agriculture and its interactions with the natural environment have begun to emerge more strongly in political, economic and social agendas reflecting the increasing importance of sustainability to consumers. Consumers are now demanding food that are of high quality, locally produced, regionally specialized, organic, fairly traded, and are humanly and ethically produced. Achieving all or some of these goals with fewer resources is now the objective of modern sustainable agriculture (Mason, 2003).

A key question facing agricultural scientists in the 21^st century is how to produce sufficient amounts of food, feed and farm income while protecting and improving environmental quality (Robertson and Swinton, 2005). Intensive soil tillage, mismanagement of land, water and fertilizers had severe negative economic, environmental and social consequences (Foley et al., 2011; Godfray and Garnett, 2014; Tilman et al., 2011). Presently depletion and / or degradation of natural resources (land, water, and biodiversity), decreasing farm profitability, low input use efficiency (fertilizer, water, energy, pesticides, and labor), environmental pollution (soil, water, air), climate change and scarcity of farm labour are threatening the sustainability of crop production systems.

Introduction

The arid region of India, constituting 12 m ha area  which occurs dominantly in the northwestern part of the country. The state of Rajasthan accounts for highest area (61%) followed by Gujarat (19.6%) Punjab (5%) and Haryana (4%) of the total geographical area of hot arid ecosystem. These areas experience an annual rainfall between 100-500 mm with the coefficient of variation 40-70 per cent. The mean annual rainfall in the western Rajasthan varies from less than 100mm in extreme western part of the Jaisalmer district to more than 400 mm in eastern part of the region. The high temperature during summers as high as 48^ºC and low in winters up to –3^ºC. High wind velocity  (10-13 km /hr) and high annual  evapo- transpiration  (1527 mm /year)  again gives a great threatening to the arable cropping in this region. The vagaries of monsoon in terms of its occurrence and distribution during the season has a wide variability >48 per cent with 30-35 days of average rainy days per year.

The hot arid regions are spread over about 31.7 million ha area mainly in the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, which inhabit on an average 61 persons per square km making up a population of nearly 20 million people. The Indian arid zone is characterized by high temperature and low and variable precipitation which limit the scope for high horticultural productivity. However, these conditions greatly favour development of high quality production of fruits such as date palm, ber, pomegranate, citrus, aonla, bael, grapes, guava and in vegetables such as cucurbitaceous crops, spices and some medicinal plants. The optimized technologies and inputs could increase the existing low productivity. It is now realized that there is a limited scope for quantum jump in fruit and vegetable production in the traditional production areas. The amelioration of the extreme conditions is also considered vital for life support to the inhabitants of this area.

Land and water resources are central to agriculture and rural development, and are intrinsically linked to global challenges of food insecurity, land degradation , poverty, climate change adaptation and mitigation that affect the livelihoods of millions of rural people across the world. Current projections indicate that world population will increase from present figure of 6.9 billion to 9.1 billion in 2050. As a result, the world food demand will increase. Since, both land and water resources, the basis of our food production, are finite and already under heavy stress, so future agricultural production will need to be more productive and more sustainable at the same time. The largest contribution to increases in agricultural output will most likely come from intensification of production on existing agricultural land. This will require widespread adoption of sustainable land management practices, and more efficient use of irrigation water through enhanced flexibility, reliability and timing of irrigation water delivery. The prevailing patterns of agricultural production needs to be critically reviewed.

Introduction

Water is the driver of life/ liquid of lift or elixir of life for flora and fauna. It plays an important role in plant as it constitutes about 35-95% part of plant. Water is a mode of transportation of nutrients from roots to shoots and vice-versa, a thermal regulator of temperature inside the plants, source of hydrogen for the reaction of CO₂ for photosynthesis and is essential for maintaining turgidity and servility of plants. Water is required for agriculture as well as for other sectors (domestic, industries, etc) and the demand of water is increasing alarmingly.  Presently agriculture consumes over 80 per cent of total water consumption in India. The country is endowed with many perennial and seasonal rivers. The river, low ever 71 per cent of water resources is concentrated in 36 % of the geographical at area. Water resource of India, population in per capita water ability and estimates of water needs are given below.

Introduction

Origin of Water Bodies and Hot Arid Regions (Thar Desert) 

The origin of the hot arid regions (Thar Desert) is a controversial subject. Some consider it to be 4000 to 10,000 years old, whereas others state that aridity started in this region much earlier. Another theory states that area turned to hot arid zones (desert) relatively recently: perhaps around 2000 - 1500 BC. Around this time the Ghaggar-Hakra ceased to be a major river. It now terminates in the desert but at one time was a water source for the Indus Valley Civilization centre of Mohenjodaro. It has been observed through remote sensing techniques that Late Quaternary climatic changes and neotectonics have played a significant role in modifying the drainage courses in this part and a large number of palaeochannels exist.

Introduction

The climatic elements such as solar radiation, temperature, precipitation, humidity, evaporation, evapotranspiration and wind velocity affect growth and development of saplings. These climatic factors are not favourable for successful propagation of various horticultural crops in arid region. The main climatic features of Indian hot arid agro-ecosystem is high wind speed, sand storm and high temperature during summers up to 48-50oC  and during winter season temperature falls to the 2-3^°C, low atmospheric humidity i.e. 20-30% during maximum period of the year. Moreover the relative humidity goes down to below 10 per cent during summer months.

Introduction

Soil test-based fertility management is an effective tool for increasing productivity of agricultural soils that have a high degree of spatial variability. However, major constraints impede wide scale adoption of soil testing in most developing countries. In India, these include the prevalence of small holding systems of farming as well as lack of infrastructural facilities for extensive soil testing (Sen et al., 2008). Under this context, GIS-based soil fertility mapping has appeared as a promising alternative.

Land, a non-renewable resource, is central to all primary production systems. Over the years, the country’s landmass has suffered from different types of degradations. Land degradation can be defined as lowering of land productivity due to the deterioration of land’s physical, chemical and biological condition. Physical land degradation is due to water erosion, wind erosion, compaction, crusting and water logging and chemical degradation is due to the processes of salinization, alkalization, acidification and nutrient depletion. Biological degradation is due to the reduction of soil biota and organic matter, degradation of vegetation and impairment of activities of microflora and fauna. Land degradation is steadily increasing due to the growing pressure on land and unsustainable land use. Land degradation and the associated loss of soil productivity and quality is of great concern both from food production and environmental conservation point of view. An ever-increasing population created enormous pressure on land resources.

Introduction

The term cropping system refers to cropping patterns used on a farm and their interactions with farm resources, other farm enterprises, and available technology over a fixed period. The fruit based cropping system includes different fruit crops as major component on particular field for a fixed period through intercropping or multistory cropping. Intercropping is growing of two or more crops together on same piece of land simultaneously with definite row arrangements to utilize farm resources efficiently. Multistory/Multitier cropping refers to growing together of  crops of different heights at the same time on the same piece of land and thereby using land, water and space in an efficient and economic manner.

Introduction

Today, increasing attention is focused upon the impact farming practices, are having on the environment and there is an increasing emphasis on more sustainable methods of crop production. Systems need to be adopted that are more sensitive to environmental issues, genetic diversity, wildlife and their habitats and in some cases the social structures of rural communities. Furthermore, consumers around the world are more sophisticated and critical than in the past, demanding to know how and what has been used to produce their agriculturally derived products. These issues can be taken up as three main challenges: 1) to improve food security, rural livelihoods and income; 2) to satisfy the increasing and diversified demands for safe food and other products; and, 3) to conserve and protect natural resources. Several scientific advancements have been made in the field of agriculture to address these challenges.

Introduction

Canopy management is the manipulation of tree canopies to optimize the production of quality fruits. The canopy management, particularly its components like tree training and pruning, affects the quantity of sunlight intercepted by trees, as tree shape determines the presentation of leaf area to incoming radiation. An ideal training strategy centers around the arrangement of plant parts, especially, to develop a better plant architecture that optimizes the utilization of sunlight and promotes productivity. Light is critical to growth and development of trees and their fruits.

Introduction

High population pressure has forced us to plough 46% of our country area for food production. The present productivity of 12.36 tones/ha of fruits needs to be raised to 40.0 tones/ha by using N, P₂O₅, K₂O with other inputs, since recommended ratio is 0.75:0.50:1.00. To achieve this target, the present day requirement of 0.67 million tones N, 0.46 million tones P₂O₅ and 0.91 million tones K₂O has been raised to 1.07, 0.58 and 1.14 million tones, respectively in order to supply the recommended ratio of fertilizers to an area of 3.65 million ha growing fruits (Yadav, 1999). Similarly in vegetables, the present production level of 13.41 tones/ha to be raised to 40 tones/ha requires 1.25 million tones of N, P₂O₅ and K₂O combined at the ratio of 1.33: 0.88 and 1.00.

Introduction

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L., Family: Palmaceae) also known as Khajoor, Kharek is an ancient important fruit tree of semi-arid and arid regions of the world. It grows well under poor desertic soils due to its hardy plant characteristics and deep root system. It is also one of the most suitable fruit trees to grow under saline irrigation conditions. It is well known fact that date palm has its feet in the water and its head in sun. It requires dry hot climate for growth, development and maturity of fruits. In arid region, crop production is a risky preposition where date palm cultivation contributes in achieving food security, high nutritive value food, crop diversification, desertification control, income generation and foreign exchange earnings. It can be grown at such places where adequate irrigation facility is available besides dry hot climatic conditions (Chandra et al., 1992; Singh and Dhandar, 2007).

Rajasthan is the largest state covering about 34.2 million hectare geographical area of the country, of which 27.1 million ha (79 %) is under arid and semi-arid sub-tropic hot climate and spread over 21 districts. The land-scape of Aravali range provides boundary for arid western, semi-arid eastern and sub-humid to humid areas of the state. In-spite of several environmental restrictions and bio-physical constraints in most of the parts, the state can be classified into three distinct agro-climatic region i.e. hot arid, semi-arid and sum-humid from horticultural perspective. On the basis of research experiences and SWOT analysis over last two decades for R&D road-map of Rajasthan Horticulture, the classified zones have excellent vegetable development potential with wide and varied opportunities of crops and utilization of resources.

Introduction

In-spite of environmental, bio-physical and resource constraints in most parts of Rajasthan, the state can be classified into three distinct agro-climatic zones namely hot arid, semi-arid and sub-humid  from horticultural perspective. These diverse zones have excellent vegetable production potential with wide range of crops, varied opportunities and resource utilization. The extremes of high (March–October) and low (December–January) temperature conditions together with associated abiotic stresses in the hot arid and semi-arid regions limit the choice of crops and their genotypes, quality of produce and productivity. Vegetable exploitation with adaptive and native crop-plant species is generally found to be potential and stable under arid to semi-arid agro-climatic conditions of the state that receive 150–650 mm of rainfall and having abiotic stresses due to climatic variations, drought, frost, hot and cold winds, soil and water quality.

Continuous vegetable cultivation year round in the limited available land, without adopting crop rotation practices induces stress, which leads to low vegetable crop productivity. These conditions apart from building up soil-borne pathogens will also lead to other deleterious factors such as temperature extremes, flooding, drought, salinity, heavy metal contamination, insufficient nutrient uptake, soil pH stress, etc. causing severe crop loss. To overcome these abiotic stress conditions, grafting is an environmentally friendly technique for reducing losses in production in solanaceous and cucurbitaceous vegetable crops. The cultivated area of grafted Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae has increased tremendously in recent years because the objective of grafting has been greatly expanded (Lee et al., 2010) to reduce infections by soil-borne pathogens and to enhance the tolerance against abiotic stresses.

Introduction

The hot arid zones of the country are spread over 32 million ha in the state of Rajasthan (61%), Gujarat (20%), Andhra Pradesh (7%), Punjab (5%), Haryana (4%), Karnataka (3%) and Maharashtra (0.4%), in addition to the cold deserts in the states of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh which are characterized by hostile agro-climate and fragile eco-system. In Rajasthan, the hot arid zone covers 12 district of whole western Rajasthan. It covers the 61 % area of the Rajasthan State and characterized by an annual rainfall between 100 – 500 mm with a coefficient of variation (CV) varying from 40 – 70 per cent; low and erratic rainfall combined with extremes of temperature (450-500 cal/cm2/day); low relative humidity; high potential evapo-transpiration value ranging from 1600 mm in eastern part and 1800 mm in western part of the region.

Introduction

The hot arid region of the country is spread over nearly 31.7 million hectare land area in different states. The major part of hot arid region of the country lies in western Rajasthan (19.62mha) followed by North-western Gujarat (2.16mha). The major natural constraints in arid vegetable production comprise of very low and variable rainfall (100-450mm), very high potential evapo-transpiration rate, intense solar radiation (320-619/cm²/day), high wind velocity (20km/hr), high infiltration (9cm/hr), extremes of temperature (0 to 48^ºC), low relative humidity, high soil salinity, very deep ground water, etc. These bio-physical constraints reduce the productivity of cucurbits many fold. Despite  several constraints, the hot arid areas of western Rajasthan offers very good opportunity for cultivation of cucurbits like, watermelon, muskmelon, longmelon, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, tinda, summer squash, cucumber, etc.

Introduction

Under arid and semi-arid regions of the world, major problems are salinity, alkalinity and calcareousness, which seems to further aggravate with changing climate scenario. Besides, most of the developing countries lies in this zone with flanging population resulting from shrinking of land resource and good quality of irrigation water. Globally area under saline/sodic soils is about 953mha covering 8% of the land surface. Resent estimates indicate that 6.7 mha area in India is affected by soil salinity and alkalinity and about 25% of ground water are sodic and/or saline in the country. There are two important approaches for utilizing saline alkali or calcareous environment. The first one is to modify the environment so as to suit the plant or modifying the plant and the second one is to substitute the plant species so as to suit the environment. However, second option is cost effective and most sustainable.

Introduction

According to FAO estimates, about 50% total geographical area in India is under various degraded hazards and about 2.1 million ha of land is getting degraded and deforested annually (Sehgal et al., 1998). Out of that underground water in arid and semi-arid areas is saline or sodic in nature. While spices, medicinal and aromatic plants may be a boon for these areas, which not only withstand under adverse conditions but also could be productive and helps in mitigating these problems. However, other crops are remain less or unproductive in these areas.

Introduction

Plants are often subjected to unfavorable environmental conditions – abiotic factors, causing abiotic stresses - that play a major role in determining productivity of crop yields but also the differential distribution of the plants species across different types of environment. Some examples of abiotic stresses that a plant may face include decreased water availability, extreme temperatures (heating or freezing), decreased availability of soil nutrients and/or excess of toxic ions, excess of light and increased hardiness of drying soil that hamper roots growth. The ability of plants to adapt and/or acclimate to different environments is directly or indirectly related with the plasticity and resilience of photosynthesis, in combination with other processes, determining plant growth and development, namely reproduction. A remarkable feature of plant adaptation to abiotic stresses is the activation of multiple responses involving complex gene interactions and crosstalk with many molecular pathways.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L. Family-Palmaceae) also known as Khajoor or Kharek is an ancient important fruit tree of semi-arid and arid regions of the world. It grows well under poor desertic soils due to its hardy plant characteristics and deep root system. It is also one of the most suitable fruit trees, which can be easily grown under saline conditions. Date palm grows as much as one feet per year, and as high as 80-100 feet under favorable environment. It is well known fact for date palm that its feet in the water and its head in sun. It requires dry hot climate for growth and development of fruits. In arid region, crop production is risky preposition, where date palm cultivation contributes in achieving food security, high nutritive value food, crop diversification, desertification control, income generation and foreign exchange earnings. It can be grown at such places, where adequate irrigation facility is available; besides, other climatic requirements (Chandra et al, 1992, Singh et al, 2007). The date tree has religious significance. The fruits are used during holy month of Ramzan by Muslim peoples. As Saudi Arabia is principal producer of date palm in the world, the palm tree is incorporated in the national emblem of Saudi Arabia to represent vitality and growth

Vegetable production in our country is significantly influenced by the seasonality and weather conditions. Extends of abundance and deficiency in production and availability cause considerable fluctuations in the prices and quality of vegetables. Vegetable production, at present, is also characterized by a strong dependence on chemical plant protection with its all inherent environment and health hazards, both for growers and the consumers. Strinking a balance between all-season availability of high quality vegetables with minimum environment impact, and still to remain economically competitive in this time of globalization, is a major challenge for the modern technology of crop production. The crop productivity is influenced by the genetic characteristics of the cultivar and the management practices including nutrients, water and microclimate. Under open field cultivation, while the other factors could be taken care of, it is not possible to effect control on the microclimate around the plant.

Introduction

Cultivation under house are framed or inflated structures covered with plastic material or glass in which crops can be grown under partially controlled environment.  This technology was well adapted in Europe and USA by the end of the nineteenth century. Presently, China, Netherland, Israel, Canada, Spain and Japan are the leading countries. Other countries where this technology is being widely used are India, Egypt and some Arab countries. Under protected structures are suitable for growing a variety of vegetables, fruits and flowers. Year-round cultivation even under extreme climatic conditions is possible.

Introduction

Abiotic stresses adversely affect growth, productivity and trigger a series of morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular changes in plants. Cold stress is a major environmental factor that limits the agricultural productivity of plants in hilly areas. Plants respond and adapt to this stress to survive under stress conditions at the molecular and cellular levels as well as at the physiological and biochemical levels. However, expression of a variety of genes is induced by different stresses in diverse plants.

Introduction

Food is the most basic necessity for man. Plants are primary producers of food. Plants are the very pivot of our existence on earth and without plants the earth would be without life. The success or failure of crop production relies on interaction among varieties/genotypes, inputs used, environment and management factors. Plant diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses, phytoplasmas and nematodes reduce crop yields (Khoury and Makkouk, 2010). Arid fruit crops like ber, aonla, date palm, pomegranate and vegetables like watermelon/mateera, kachri, snapmelon, muskmelon, ridge gourd and sponge gourd are mostly grown in Central and Western India. Horticultural crops can be infected by wilt, leaf spots (due to excessive moisture), mosaic and post harvest fruit rots. These diseases are major challenges in the cultivation of horticultural crops in India. Disease incidence in a crop is governed with the seed materials used and environment surrounding seed/plant.

Introduction

Remarkable increase in fruit and vegetable crops cultivation under arid region of western India lead to drastic changes in the pest population dynamics. The productivity is concern, it is low because of harsh environment (high temperature, low precipitation, high PET, high wind velocity), poor soil fertility and salinity. Beside these, the biotic pressure like pests and diseases also play a critical role, which cause significant loss and adds to the cost of production.

Introduction

Adversities of climatic factors in arid and semi-arid regions accelerate soil moisture deficit and chance of crop failure throughout the world (Lawless et al., 2008). Increasing human population is placing unprecedented demand for food and natural resources. It has been estimated that an increasing population and changing dietary intake will lead to about 80–120% increase in global food requirement by 2050 (FAO 2006; Foley et al., 2012). This large amount of food production cannot be achieved by the agricultural sector alone, rather through a combination of technological innovations and involvement of other natural ecosystems (Licker et al., 2010).Traditional tree-integrated farming systems are adopted since time immemorial for security of food, fodder and fuel wood in drought-prone arid region (Harsh et al.,1992; FAO 2013), but are unable to meet the requirement of the ever increasing population.

Introduction

Fast and efficient dissemination of suitable technological information from the Agricultural Research System to the Farmers in the field and reporting of farmers’ feedback to the research system is one of the critical inputs in Transfer of Technology. Today India is at the verge of technology revolution with immense number of agriculture, home science and livestock technologies developed by the research institutes to enhance the agriculture and livestock production. These technologies have changed the total production of agricultural commodities in the country.

Introduction

Remote sensing is the science and art of obtaining information about an object, area or phenomenon through an analysis of the data acquired by a device which is not in contact with the object, area or phenomenon under investigation. The definition of remote sensing is restricted to mean the process of acquiring information about any object without physically contacting it in anyway regardless of whether the observer is immediately adjacent to the object or millions of miles away. It is further required that such sensing may be achieved in the absence of any matter in the intervening space between the object and the observer. Consequently, the information about the object, area or any phenomenon must be available in a form that can be impressed on a carrier vacuum.

Manipulation of matter at nanoscale for creating a myriad of new materials having unique optoelectronic and physiochemical attributes is called nanotechnology (Mohanpuria et al., 2008). The term nanotechnology was first coined by Drexler in 1986, in the book “Engines of creation: the coming era of nanotechnology”. In this book, he writes about the building of machines on the scale of molecules, a few nanometers size (motors, robot arm and even computers). Broadly nanotechnology refers to a field of applied science and technology whose unifying theme is the control of matter on the atomic and molecular scale, normally 1 to 100 nanometers, and the fabrication of devices within that size range. Nanotechnology is multi-disciplinary in nature often involving chemistry, biology, physics and material science. Nanotechnology is one of the budding and emerging fields of 21^st century. Nanoparticles have received increased attention in the recent past due to their unique distinct unusual physical, chemical and biological properties, which are completely different from their bulk materials and individual molecules (Li et al., 2001).

Green peach aphid/leaf curl aphid : Brachycaudus helichrysi : Aphididae

These are green aphids that suck the sap from growing buds. Leaf buds become weak and result in poor setting and premature fruit fall.

The pest has a worldwide distribution. In India it is seen in the hills of North India and in nilgiris.

It is a serious pest of peaches, plum, apricot, and almond. The aphids attack the tender portions like new buds, blossoms, petioles, tender fruits and leaves. When the new flushes are attacked, the leaves get curled and crinkled and fruit set is either reduced or  fruits fall off . The infestation starts with the commencement of bud swelling and continues until after flowering. The leaf curl may be confused with that due to the fungal leaf curl by Taphrina deformans.

This crop is gaining importance as a main ingredient in Indian diet due to its medicinal properties. Large areas are under its cultivation and the larger fruited varieties have become very popular. It is one of the prime constituents in ayurvedic preparations
Bark-eating caterpillars - Indarbela quadrinotata, I. tertraonis: Metarbelidae
The larvae of this species make zigzag galleries and feed on the bark under silken ribbon- shaped webs. They are stout and dirty brown in colour.
Fruit- borer : Deudorix Isocrates : Lycaenidae: The larvae of this beautiful butterfly cause considerable damage (up to 42%) to fruits.  They start feeding while the fruit is tender, and growing. During severe infestations, chemical control may be warranted. This can be done by spraying contact insecticides like malathion, or dichlorvos or  fenvalerate or other synthetic pyrethroids.

Apple codling moth: Cydia (Carpocapsa) pomonella: Tortricidae 

This is an international pest and is now seen in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. This is a fruit borer whose moth is silvery white with a dark band on the margin of the forewing and light brownish hind wings with a fringed margin. The moths hold their wings roof-like over the body while at rest.