eChapters

Introduction

Indigenous Technological Knowledge (ITKs) refers to the knowledge that acceptable to all as absolute hearing and developed about the meticulous altitude by the people irrespective of gender that is women and men ancient to an a specific geographical area. This ancient technological knowledge that humans in an accustomed association accept developed over time and abide to advance it, is predicated on animal kingdom adventures on accumulation scale, activating and changing, activated throughout a lot of cases over centuries of use. Highest accessible knowledge to bounded knowledge and ambiance and put greater weightage on abbreviate risks instead of maximizing profit. The traditional technological knowledge (ITKs) covers a complicated sphere of subjects, viz. crop production, livestock rearing, accustomed knowledge management, ailment preparation, healthcare, insect administration, and others. The utilization of non-chemical methods for protecting lives and crop aegis is already accepting in several countries including India. The administration strategies developed and answer by the Governments is now supported the utilization of plant extracts. If an accomplishment is fabricated arise the cultivation of Indigenous Technological Knowledge (ITK) based articles on the small scale, it is often an economically applicable advantage for the appropriate development of eco-friendly chemicals.

Indian agriculture has been started over 10,000 years old, over millennia, farmers developed innumerable practices to auspiciously abound crops and accession animals within the awful adapted agro ecological regions of the Indian subcontinent. About 170 years of acceptance brought in new techniques, some advantageous in addition to a few harmful event of ancient Technological knowledge (ITK) systems, including administration of accustomed environment, has been a bulk of adaptation to the humans who generated these systems continued aback. Million of ITKs were supported to avail knowledge of actual and living assets to construct sure basal livelihoods for bounded people.

Introduction

The literary meaning of voyage is a long journey by water or air to a distance place. The crop voyage means the introduction of different crops from outside and movement of the crops originated in India to abroad. India is one of the mega agro-biodiversity countries of the world. Many plant species have been domesticated here. The agro-biodiversity of the indigenously domesticated higher plant species was further enriched with introduction of exotic crops since ancient times, as reflected by the presence of American cereals such as maize and amaranths, African cereals such as pear millet and sorghum, West Asian legumes such as field pea, grass pea and chickpea, and Chinese proso millet and buckwheat in the archeological remains and/or in ancient Indian agriculture writings. Most of these crops have acclimatized and adapted to diverse ecological conditions offered by the Indian Sub-continent to such an extent that many appear natural to the land, and have thrown enormous genetic diversity, making India either a secondary center of diversity for crops such as pearl millet, sorghum, maize, amaranths, cowpea, niger, safflower, muskmelon, pumpkin, chilies and others or regional center of diversity for crops such as barley, grain amaranth, buckwheat, pearl millet, foxtail millet, chickpea, bottle gourd and others. All details of crop voyage has already been discussed in the relevant topic of discussion (Chapter 8) on “Journey of agriculture and its development from past to modern era.”

India is one among the top ten mega-diverse countries of the world in terms of fish diversity (Dudgeon 2003). FishBase (Froese & Pauly 2016) has listed around 917 freshwater fish species (out of 2465 total fish species) as occurring in India. According to National Fisheries Development Board, Hyderabad, inland and marine waters in India possess a rich diversity of ornamental fish, with over 195 indigenous varieties reported from North-East Region and Western Ghats, and nearly 400 fish species from marine ecosystems. There are several other fish species which qualify to be called as ornamental fish. Considering enormous and diverse indigenous fish resources of the country, there is immense scope for India to become a potential candidate and a strong competitor in the international ornamental fish trade. Government of India has recognized ornamental fish sector as one of the thrust areas for generating employment opportunities and augmenting our foreign exchange earnings. It is estimated that the sector is directly and indirectly supporting about 50,000 of house-holds mainly in rural India. Large number of freshwater ornamental fish species is recorded from Indian waters and the majority of the global trade is based on freshwater exotic ornamental fishes including both classified and non-classified types.

Ornamental Plants are a real attraction to the aquarium tank. While some plants are both ornamental and functional, people usually use the term “ornamental plants” to refer to plants which have no value beyond being attractive, although many people feel that the attractive value itself is quite enough. They provide optimal habitat for the fishes especially for the fry (baby fishes). It maintains the ecosystem of the aquarium tanks by providing good oxygen, food and also acts as a good hiding place for the baby fish. Mostly all aquatic plants are very easy to grow and care. They are always good for gold fish and other similar fishes. There is a huge variety of plants. Ornamental plants are grown for decoration, rather than food or raw materials. They are most often intentionally planted for aesthetic appeal. However, ornamental plants also serve some less obvious uses such as for the purpose of fragrance, for attracting wildlife and for cleaning the air. Ornamentals encompass a wide array of plants. Commonly, ornamental plants are grown for the display of aesthetic features including: flowers, leaves, scent, overall foliage texture, fruit, stem and bark, and aesthetic form. The concept of ornamental plants is used for decorative purposes in aquariums, gardens, home gardens, landscape design projects, squares, parks etc.

Aquatic plants predominantly grow in water. They vary greatly in type, with some being quite similar to common land plants while others are quite different. Aquatic plants can be commonly classified into four types: algae, floating plants, submerged plants and emerged plants. Aquatic plants live in water. This means that they require being submersed to survive or that they can only grow and thrive in water. Many aquatic plants can tolerate being emerged, meaning they’re out of the water for short periods of time, but require immersion in water for long-term survival.

There are some plants that simply can’t tolerate being emerged at all, but this is rare. These plants can only live when fully immersed in water. Most macro- algae require total submersion in water for the span of its entire life. Most aquatic plants, however, have roots underwater but can only grow or flower in a partially emerged state. All plants, aquatic and otherwise, require sunlight, soil, gases and water to survive. Plants make their own food via the process of photosynthesis; this means that they need a source of energy to drive this biochemical process, and the sun provides a perfect one. Plants can carry on for periods without sunlight, just as animals can live on stored fuel for a while in times of need. The soil offers a place for the plant’s roots to take hold.

Air contains large amounts of the carbon dioxide gas (CO2), plants need to power photosynthesis, but aquatic plants have evolved to draw in CO₂ that is dissolved in water in relatively small amounts. Finally, plants need water to combine with the CO2 to complete photosynthesis by generating oxygen and glucose.

The purpose of managing a fishery is to maintain the resource so that it is renewable and therefore sustainable. Responsible aquaculture practices rely on sustainable production systems, to minimize impacts on the natural environment, and support resource conservation. In other words, the harvest of fish from the wild or their domestic culture, if performed with sound foundations of ecological and economic principles, can be sustainable and self-reliant commercial industry. In traditional subsistence fisheries, fishermen use primitive and inefficient gear to capture most ornamental fish. However, the supply of aquarium fish is not inexhaustible, and signs of over-fishing are becoming apparent in localized areas. With high demand and pricing of many beautiful species, ornamental fish are being harvested at greater volumes and higher rates, threatening the viability or sustainability of the fishery. Most endemic and sensitive species are restricted to very narrow specific habitats. Their survival, affected by physical over-exploitation for the aquarium trade, may be further hit by habitat alteration. No comprehensive studies have been carried out on the requirements of these endemic or sensitive exported species. In the absence of suitable impact studies, it is not possible to predict the impact of habitat alteration on these species. Exporters target more colorful varieties and since their ecological significance has not been studied, what long-term effect such selective exploitation will have on genetic diversity cannot yet be defined.

Apart from legislation that can be effectively implemented, eco-physiological and population studies of a quantitative nature are urgently needed to advise on the collection, maintenance and transport conditions that need to be followed by exporters to safeguard collected stocks from unnecessary mortality. Exporters are eager to learn and would be receptive to receiving appropriate, scientifically formulated, well-meaning practical advice. Studies should be targeted towards this end since it seems unlikely that the export trade can at present be voluntarily modulated on the basis of conservation requirements. Such a strategy could only become feasible after an adequately robust ecological database has been compiled, which would necessarily require time.

An effective management strategy needs to address not only aquarium-trade related matters but also policy and other matters in an integrated approach if we are to be hopeful of sustaining the ornamental fish industry in the long-term.

Introduction

Over the past decades, agriculture sector played a crucial role in enhancing the economic growth of India, and will continue so in future. It employs 55% of the workforce, thereby contributing to 17.1% of the country’s Gross Value Added (GVA) for the year 2017-18 (MoA & FW, 2019). Agricultural production in India grew at an average of 3.6% annually since 2011, thanks to the policy decisions on inputs including improved fertilizer delivery systems and high yielding varieties. Release of improved varieties in cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables and ornamental flowers as well as high-yielding breeds in the livestock and fisheries sectors has increased the diversification. Availability of a range of nutrition rich food commodities played crucial role in reducing undernourished population from 24% in 1990-92 to 15% in 2014-16 (OECD, 2018, FAO statistics). India is currently the largest product export economy of the world. India is leading exporter of rice globally, amounting to 8.34 Mt in 2019, and currently holds >85% of global basmati rice exports. The country has shown massive resilience to very recent global outbreak of COVID-19, and managed to tackle the social and economic challenges with a spirit of self-reliance. The ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ by Government of India with a special economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore to enable the resurgence of the economy through three mantras, ‘innovation, integrity and inclusion’ as suggested by none other than the Hon’ble Prime Minister of the country. It is therefore imperative that the agricultural sector too needs new initiatives to continue with the success, and realize the potential of self-reliance.

Introduction

It is known and well documented that ‘biological diversity’ (i.e. diversity within species, between species and within ecosystems) has been declining at a much faster rate than earlier time in human history. The current rate of extinction is tens to hundred times higher than the average over the past 10 million years and it is accelerating (IPBES, 2019). The estimates of the number of species getting extinct every year vary from low (200 to 2,000) to high (10,000 and 100,000) (Bar-On et al., 2018). The delicate balance of clean air, water and biodiversity in nature which helps in survival on earth, is rapidly being destroyed due to humans’ activity like growing of food, producing energy, dispose of waste and consume resources (IPBES, 2019). The current human population of the world (7.6 billion) represents only 0.01% of all living creatures and attributed to be instrumental in causing loss of 83% of all wild mammals and half of plants (IPBES, 2019). These unprecedented changes in important components of biodiversity are likely to continue or increase in the foreseeable future, unless we take active corrective measures (IPBES, 2019).

Whilst all biodiversity has intrinsic economic or social value, it is the ‘agricultural biodiversity’ (‘agrobiodiversity’ in short) that has the greatest importance for food nutrition and health security of humans. The FAO has recently defined biodiversity for food and agriculture (BFA) as a subset of biodiversity that contributes primarily to agriculture and food production (FAO, 2019). It includes the domesticated plants and animals raised in crop, livestock, forest and aquaculture systems, harvested forest and aquatic species, the wild relatives of domesticated species, other wild species harvested for food and other products. It also encompasses “associated biodiversity”

Introduction

More than 380 million urban population living in town and cities generates 62 million tones of municipal waste every year out of which 75% is recyclable but only 30% is recycled and reused whereas less than 15% of municipal solid waste is treated. Generally municipal authorities of the country dump the waste outside the city to keep the urban area clean. According to World Bank report, by the year 2025, waste generation will reach 377,000 tonnes per day in India (CPCB 2020). The waste generated in industrial and urban area of the country is tangible and concerning. This is the high time to address this issue with a great sensitivity and planning. Ragpickers works as the informal waste collection and recycling sector which plays an important role in waste management and leads to lesser waste to the landfills (Gupta et al., 1998).

Waste management is the process of treatment and disposal of solid, organic and hazardous waste. It can be categorized based on the source sector i) urban waste; ii) electrical waste iii) medical waste; iv) waste produced by disasters; v) agricultural waste vi) industrial waste etc. The type of waste has variable potential harms for human health, social implications, policies and the environment (FICCI, 2011). Agriculture itself is a big source of waste generated at different paths of food supply chain that occurs as follows:

Introduction

India is transforming from the phase of revolution to commercial mode of agriculture, a step ahead of self-sufficiency. It further evolves to reach a goal of self-reliant on agriculture and allied sector. The present phase demands several technological innovations, their application and implementation in the market. Meanwhile this phase needs due attention for handling the issues on conservation of natural resources, especially germplasm resource, biodiversity conservation, socio-cultural-economic values of our country, etc. The whole process requires good investment on research and development, various economic measures and implementation. It is only possible with vibrant governance and policy implementation of a Government. Already Government of India has taken several measures to transform agriculture. Recent analysis showed that Indian agriculture is the silent ever green revolution. Food production is kept pace with the growing population since independence. Further, it needs several innovations on technologies coupled with policy support to fill the demand. India is placed 49^th position in the world on innovations. Analysis suggested the huge potential for innovation due to its huge human capital, which perhaps need for the country like India to meet the food demand of 333 million tonnes by the year 2050. These innovations must be focussed for growth to efficiency, employment generation, food security to nutrition and health, shortage management to surplus management, input intensive to knowledge intensive agriculture, climate change and sustainability, production and producers, policy interventions, regulations and reforms. The Government emphasize usage of e-trading platforms to sell the farmers’ produce of their choice rather using mandis. This will enable contract farming and inter-state trade. However, major innovations and investment must be implemented on transportation, logistics, and digital access and payments to enable widespread prosperity. Thus, focus must be on the complete agricultural value chain. In fact, focus needed on value addition, rural infrastructure, logistics, warehousing, and quality certification of agriculture produce. India has greatest challenges to face in the future for food and nutritional security, adaptation and mitigation to climate change and sustainable use of essential and scared resources like water, land and energy.

Introduction

The soil around plant roots that forms the rhizosphere is a dynamic, complex zone. All plant parasitic nematodes are obligate parasities and must enter this zone to reach their host and cause damage (Kerry, 2000). Nematodes in soil are subject to infections by bacteria and fungi. This creates the possibility of using soil microorganisms to control plant-parasitic nematodes. Bacteria are numerically the most abundant organisms in soil, and some of them, for example members of the genera Pasteuria, Pseudomonas and Bacillus have shown great potential for the biological control of nematodes. Nematophagous bacteria are distributed broadly, possess diverse modes of action, and have broad host ranges. A variety of nematophagous bacterial groups have been isolated from soil, host-plant tissues, and nematodes and their eggs and cysts (Siddiqui and Mahmood, 1999; Kerry, 2000; Meyer, 2003).

They affect nematodes by a variety of modes: for example parasitizing; producing toxins, antibiotics, or enzymes; interfering with nematode–plant-host recognition; competing for nutrients; inducing systemic resistance of plants; and promoting plant health (Siddiqui and Mahmood, 1999). They form a network with complex interactions among bacteria, nematodes, plants and the environment to control populations of plant-parasitic nematodes in natural conditions (Kerry, 2000).

5.1. Farm machinery implements

5.1.1. Tillage

3.1. Selection

To isolate desirable plant types from a population.

3.1.1 Progeny test

Evaluation of growth of plants on the basis of performance of their progenies

Real value of plant could be known by studying the progeny.

Cactaceae family comprises of perennial shrubs or trees characterized with the presence of spines which arise from specialized axillary meristems (areoles), which in some taxa may also bear fine barbed hairs called glochids. A large family consisting of about 124 genera and 1,427 species. It is native to North and South America and widely distributed from Canada to Chile. Nowadays they are found growing in many countries like Australia, South Africa, and Mediterranean countries. They are highly adaptable to drier regions because of their characteristic leaflessness nature. Since cacti are succulent in nature that’s the reason that all cacti are succulents but all succulents are not cacti. Cacti conserve water by two means, first presence of cuticle which prevents water loss and second it is CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) plant where stomata opens at night and close during day time therefore prevents water loss.

Bonsai is an astonishing art-form, combining horticultural approaches and Asian aesthetics in a distinct way, which reflects the nature’s beauty (Pietraszko and Sobota 2008). The art of bonsai is considered to be originated in Chinese empire (Doyle et al., 2019) and was later adapted by the Japanese, where it has become the integral part of their culture (Ching 1990, Roth 2014). The word ‘Bonsai’ is derived from two Japanese words ‘Bon’ (Shallow pan) and ‘Sai’(plant) which literally means “planted in a container”. The Chinese started creating miniature landscapes in the form of Bonsai during Han Dynasty over 2000 years ago. During the Kamakura period (700 years ago) the Japanese adopted the bonsai art-form and subsequently a different Japanese style form came into existence. This art of bonsai was further redeveloped under the influence of Japanese Zen Buddhism (Doyle et al. 2019).

A bonsai is a nature’s replication of plant in its miniature form, without depicting the human interference too clearly. Thus, they are normal trees and shrubs which are dwarfed by a specific system of pruning-training-wiring. Techniques such as pinching buds, pruning and wiring branches, and carefully restricting but not abandoning fertilizers are used to limit and redirect healthy growth in bonsai. They are different from the pot plants which are mainly grown for either their foliage or floral beauty, but in case of bonsai the whole artistic look of the plant in its miniature form is maintained for years. Bonsai can be grown both outdoors and indoors, especially they are ideal for display in living rooms, verandas, terraces and window-sills etc. The good bonsai specimens are usually hardy species that can be kept outdoors the year round wherever winters are mild. They can be brought into the house occasionally for appreciation and enjoyment. In Japan, they are customarily displayed in a recess area or on small tables in a living room and later returned to their outdoor bonsai stands.

Rose (Rosa x hybrida L.) is the most beautiful creations of nature and is commonly known as queen of flowers. It occupies first position in the international trade. Rose is known for its beauty and is used in worship, bouquets, cut and loose flowers, preserves, garlands, decorations, landscaping, etc. It has gained wide acceptability due to varied growth habits, beautiful shape, dissimilarity in size and form, attractive colour, pleasant fragrance and abundant varieties. These can fulfill the requirement of climbers, trees, hedges shrubs, and edges in the landscape gardening. Commercial products of rose such as rose water, rose attar, gulroghan, gulkand, rose dry petals, rose oil, etc play a vital role in international and national market. Rose hips are one of the imperative sources of Vitamin C and are used for preparation of rose tea. With the ever-increasing demand of novel varieties in the world trade, a large number of varieties are being bred every year with many novel traits. Its share is around 51 per cent of the whole of European markets. In India, 29.41 thousand ha area, producing 301.95 thousand MT is under rose cultivation in the states of West Bengal, Karnataka, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra (NHB database, 2017). Cultivation of rose such as Rosa damascena, R. bourboniana, R. centifolia is also done for essential oil extraction from rose petals.

Origin and Taxonomy

Rose belongs to the family Rosaceae. The genus is divided into four sub genera of which sub genus Rosa includes nearly all the species (Gudin, 2000). The sub genus Rosa is further divided into different sections of which the actual number is arguable. There are about 100 to 300 species in rose based on various reports. The rose genome is complex consisting of five haploid chromosome sets each made of seven chromosomes. (Nybom et al., 2005). The chromosome number of wild species varies from 2n = 2x=14 to 2n= 8x=56, with most of the species being diploid or tetraploid (Nybom et al, 2005). Rosa x hybrida L. is not a species in botanical terms, however, is a highly complex artificial species (Gudin, 2003) that may be used to describe the modern rose cultivars.

Flowers and various parts of the plant have been used for decoration and to commemorate various religious, festive, matrimonial and social gathering events in day to day life. The main drawback of fresh flowers and foliage is being highly perishable and delicate which cannot retain their beauty for longer durations. Moreover fresh flowers are not available round the year which can be overcome by the dehydration and drying techniques. Since ancient times, in Egyptian pyramids, fragrant dried flowers and herb garlands were encased along with mummified bodies. Japanese people created “Oshibana”, the “preserved flower art” of enduring designs to retain the exquisite beauty of the living plants centuries ago.

Later on, this craft making technique spread from Japanese to Victorian England because of their beautiful long lasting appearance. During middle ages monks dried flowers, foliage, and herbs for use in decorative motifs or for colouring their handprinted books.

Dried flower arrangements have been popular in Europe for centuries, and as early as 1700 AD, colonial Americans used dried flowers to brighten their homes, especially during the dark winter months.

Earlier botanists practiced dried flowers in the form of herbarium for the purpose of identification of various plant species. Though drying of flower was well known even in the past but for the first time the flowers were dried commercially in Germany (Sankari and Anand, 2014).

Indicator

A substance which indicates the end point on completion of the reaction.

Helps in the visual determination of the completion of titration.

Volumetry / Titrimetry

Process of determining the volume of solution of known concentration required to complete reaction with a solution of unknown concentration (test solution) by titration.

Introduction

Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) belonging to family Rosaceae is an important fruit crop in India and is commercially produced in temperate and sub- tropical areas of the country. In India, it is mainly cultivated in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. Nainital and Dehradun districts of Uttarakhand, Mahabaleshwar (Maharashtra), Kashmir valley, Kalimpong (West Bengal) are the core centers of strawberry cultivation in India. Sub-tropical areas in Jammu also possess tremendous potential to grow the crop in irrigated condition. Strawberry cultivation can boost the income potential of small scale and marginal farmers because its high value creates potential for significant profit. It yields quickest return in shortest time than any other profit. The leaves of strawberry are rich in essential oil. India exports strawberries to countries like Austria, Bangladesh, Germany and Jordan.

Strawberry also possess many health benefits such as flavonoids content lowers the risk of heart diseases. Potassium, Vitamin K and magnesium content of fruit are important for healthy and strong bone. Strawberries are rich in antioxidant ellagic acid, which protects the elastic fibres of skin to prevent sagging. Strawberries lowers blood levels of C- reactive proteins, a signal of inflammation in the body.

The optimum day and night temperature for better growth, development and fruiting of the plant is 22-25°C and 7-13°C respectively. Also, it thrives best on a well drained medium loam and slightly acidic soil with high organic matter content.

Although the strawberry crop is highly remunerative however, its management is intensive and encounters a number of setbacks in form of diseases and pests. A large number of fungal, bacterial and viral diseases are known to infect different parts of plant such as foliage, fruit and root.

Some major diseases of strawberry includes leaf spot, powdery mildew, anthracnose, grey mould, fusarium wilt, crown rot, rhizobus rot, red stele, nematode diseases etc. Few other diseases caused by abiotic factors includes sunburn, frogmouth, albinism.

Introduction

Pineapple is one of the most important commercial fruit crop in India. It occupied an importance in the horticultural wealth and economy of the country. India ranked seventh among the pineapple producing country in the world during 2013-14 (GoI, 2014). It grows well in practically all type of soils with slightly acidic in nature, both in plain and hills. It is affected by several different pathogens wherever it grown and result in substantial crop losses. Some important diseases cause complete loss of the fruit marketableimportance. The major problems faced by pineapple growers in India are discussed below.

Introduction

Ber (Zizyphus mauritiana L.) is one of the important fruit crops of arid and semi arid zones of the world. It is known by various other names such as ber, bor, bogori, boroior, kool and ruguin Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi, Assamese, Bengali and Telegu respectively. In America, it is called jujube or Chinese date. Ber is popularly called “poor man’s fruit crop” but now its status in tropical fruit culture has improved considerably. The fruit is palatable and delicious and is known for its high nutritive value. The crop is considered as minor fruit in this country on the basis of its production in restricted area; popularity and awareness but recently itbecame an important cash crop in some areas and its acreage and production have increased. The plant is usually a piny, evergreen shrub or small tree up to 15 m high, with trunk diameter around 40 cm or even more; spreading crown; stipular spines and many drooping branches. The ripe fruits are mostly consumed raw (Bal and Uppal, 1992). In India it is extensively grown in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Gujrat and Maharashtra. The fruits are quite nutritious, rich in vitamin C, second only to aonla and guava and much higher than citrus and apple. The ripe fruits have high nutritive value, having 13-24 per cent total soluble solids and up to 160 mg/100g vitamin C. The dehydrated fruits are kept for a long time and are consumed in the off season.

Due to rapid spread of commercial cultivation, the crop has become a target of different biotic and abiotic factors causing serious losses. So far, little attention to the diseases of ber has been given as the importance of the crop generally continues in a locality or a particular state. So, it overlooked the national importance particularly crop protection measures, leading to limited knowledge for management of different diseases both in pre-harvest as well as post-harvest stage. Ber is affected by many serious diseases like powdery mildew, leaf spots (Alternaria, Cercospora, Septoria, Cladosporium, Pestalotiopsis etc.), sooty mold, anthracnose, fruit rot etc.

Motives of joining SHG

Sensitization for joining SHG does not alone help to achieve immediate result. Motives when combined with inspiration, an individual is tempted to act so also the case with sample SHG who expressed motives for joining SHG as follows.

Apple is a king of temperate fruit, symbol of health and premier fruit of the world. It is a deciduous temperate fruit tree and most widely grown in the world from time immemorial. In India, a large number of apple varieties were introduced in 1887 by Mr. Alexander Coutts, and his orchard is called Hillock Head in Mashobra near to Shimla. It was also introduced in Nilgoris and Bangalore, but it was destroyed by wooly aphid in 1887. At present a small cultivation is done in Nilgiris. Among the fruits, apple is having longest storage life. Apples are mostly consumed as fresh but a small part of the production is processed into juices, jellies, canned slices, wine and other products.

Origin and Distribution

An apple is originated in the Middle East/Central Asia more than 4000 years ago where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found today. It is spreading across Europe to France; the fruit arrived in England during the time of Norman Conquest in 1066. The pioneer apple orchard in the North American continent was planted in Boston by Reverend William Blaxton in 1625. The Only North America native apples are called crab apples or common apples.

Captain R C Scot of the British army had introduced apples like Newton Pippin, King of Pippin and the Cox Orange Pippin to the Kullu valley in 1870. These apples were not popular because of their sour taste. The sweet apples were still being imported from Japan to meet the demand of Indian market. It was during a visit to America in 1915 that Samuel Stokes bought a few saplings and planted them at his Barobagh orchard in Thanedar and in the year 1926 the first apple trees bear fruit and the apples was sold and imports from Japan is stopped. The first few saplings from its, Golden Delicious of Kinnaur and Sweet Delicious of Shimla were became popular and Himachal Pradesh grew to become one of the largest producers of the fruit today. Therefore, the Himachal Pradesh is known as apple bowl of India.

Pear (Pyrus communis) is one of the most important fruit crops of temperate regions of the world. It is the second temperate fruit tree crop in terms of importance, area, production after apple in India. Pear belongs to the Rosaceae family which have been cultivated in Europe and in Asia for more than 3000 years. Their fruit are tasty with pleasant flavor and commonly eaten fresh or is canned. It is used to produce perry, an alcoholic beverage. Pears are grown under temperate and subtropical climatic conditions of India because of its wider climatic and soil adaptability. It is primarily grown in hills at 1700–2400 m above mean sea-level in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Low-chilling pears have adapted very well in the subtropical regions of our country. Improved pear cultivars were introduced in 19^th century and cultivation started due the success of Barlett and Gola in hills and patharnakh in Punjab of our country. European/common/soft pear (Pyrus communis) and Oriental/Japanese pear (P. pyrifolia) are commercially pear species grown in India.

Origin and Distribution

The common pear is originated from Europe and Asia where it has been cultivated since ancient times. The pear was introduced into the New World by European settlers. Early Spanish missionaries carried the fruit to Mexico and California. In most pear-growing countries of the world outside Asia, by far the most widely grown pear variety is Williams’ Bon Chrétien, known in the United States as Bartlett (Verma at el., 2010). A highly popular variety in England and the Netherlands is Conference. Common Italian varieties include Curato, Coscia, and Passe Crassane, the latter also being popular in France. In Asian countries the pear crop comprises primarily local varieties of native species, such as the Asian, or Chinese, pear (P. pyrifolia). Some species, especially the Callery pear and its cultivars, are invasive species and easily escape cultivation in areas outside their natural range. The poet Homer wrote that pears were “Gifts from the Gods”. Today, pears are a favourite fruit of Americans, second only to the apple.

Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is commonly known as ‘Akhrot’ in India. Internationally, walnut is known as English walnut or Persian walnut. It is an important nut grown in temperate regions of the world. It is cultivated for nut and wood in the northern hemisphere (Europe, Asia, and North America) and the Southern hemisphere (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America). Walnut kernel is rich source of proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and polyphenols. Inclusion of walnuts in human diet has positive effect on heart, skin and circulatory system. Wood of walnut is used for making quality furniture, interior joinery constructions,music instruments, carving, sport items, gun stocks and fore-end, and producing highly figured veneers, usually from burrs, which are used for cabinet-making and decorative panels

Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi outside Australia and New Zealand), or Chinese gooseberry, is the edible berry of several species of woody vines in the genus Actinidia (Lucas, 2003 and Stirk, 2005). The most common cultivar group of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa ‘Hayward’) is oval, about the size of a large hen’s egg: 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in) in length and 4.5–5.5 cm (1.8–2.2 in) in diameter. In 2017, China produced 50% of the world total of kiwifruit.

Kiwi is among the very few recent introductions which have surpassed in popularity due to its tremendous commercial potential in the Sub Himalayan region of India. In fact, no other fruit has attracted so much attention in such a short period in history of commercial fruit production since 1960s. In India, Kiwi was first planted in the Lal Bagh Garden (1960) at Bangalore as an ornamental tree where bud bursting didn’t take place. Later on for cultivation purpose it was planted at IARI, Regional Station, Shimla (H.P.)

Cruciferous vegetables are important Kharif vegetable crops, which are grown both for table and seed purposes. This vegetable group constitutes crops like cauliflower, cabbage, radish, turnip and knol-khol. These crops are grown throughout the country and are attacked by number of diseases which not only reduce the quantity but also quality of the produce. Important diseases of Knol Khol are described below:

Major Fungal Diseases of Knol-Khol

Alternaria leaf spot

Economic Importance

It is of concern in north and central India where appreciable seed losses in terms of size, colour and germinability are reported

Value addition is the most talked about word in food processing industry, particularly in export oriented fish processing industry because of the increased realization of valuable foreign exchange. Value can be added to fish and fishery products according to the requirements of different markets. These products range from live fish and shellfish to ready to serve convenience products. As far as fish processing industry is concerned value addition is one of the possible approaches to raise profitability since this industry is becoming highly competitive and increasingly expensive.

There is great demand for seafood/seafood based products in ready to eat “convenience” form. A number of such diverse products have already invaded the western markets. One factor responsible for such a situation is more and more women getting educated and taking up employment. Reasonably good expendable income, education, awareness and consciousness towards hygiene and health, increased emphasis on leisure pursuits etc. are some of the other reasons.

Marketing of value added products is completely different from the traditional seafood trade. It is dynamic, sensitive, complex and very expensive. Market surveys, packaging and advertising are a few of the very important areas, which ultimately determine the successful movement of a new product. Most of the market channels currently used is not suitable to trade value added products. A new appropriate channel would be the super market chains which want to procure directly from the source of supply. Appearance, packaging and display are all important factors leading to successful marketing of any new value added product. The retail pack must be clean, crisp and clear and make the contents appear attractive to the consumer. The consumer must be given confidence to experiment with a new product launched in the market. Packaging requirements change with product form, target group, market area, species used and so on. The latest packaging must also keep abreast with the latest technology.

Fishery resources get depleted due to over fishing and one of the important management measure is to assess the fish stock, get update on the status of fishing and devise measures to mitigate fishery resource depletion. Recent examples of such management regulations in Indian fisheries are implementation of minimum legal size for fish catch, regulations brought out to control length and size of fishing fleet etc. With multi-dimensional expansion of fishing activities in India, it is necessary to analyse stock data critically bringing out suitable recommendations for fishery management. Stock assessment models play a vital role in management of fisheries.

Fish stock assessment is an evaluation of the state of the stock as relating to changes in the abundance or composition of the stock to changes in the amount of fishing. It involves the use of theories, laws, models and methods propagated by various scientists. There are two general approaches - population model (Schaefer, 1954, 1957) in which the stock is treated as a single entity subject to simple laws of population growth and the analytic approach (Ricker, 1958, 1975) which considers the abundance of the population as determined by the net effect of the growth, reproduction and mortality of individual members of the stock.

Stock assessment gives us the maximum sustainable yield (MSY), fish mortality, the input and output into the fisheries. The various environmental changes as they affect biological and physical features of a fish species, family or the group need to be assessed by using a model for its stock assessment and the basic data is got from research and commercial surveys.

Research survey is a detailed investigation of the fish based on the objectives. It involves taking the data on biological parameters of the fish (length, weight, sex etc), the food of the fish including the percentage composition. Other factors include the environmental features such as time, weather, position of catch, physicochemical parameters of the water body. Commercial survey involves taking note of basic and important information of commercial usefulness e.g length-weight frequencies, percentage composition etc which are strictly for economic purpose.

India is facing with the issue of food production, especially the production of protein resources. The food production rate in India is insufficient to cope up with an alarmingly growing population. Protein deficiency is currently the most serious human malnutritional problem, with protein deficiency affecting about 30% of the world’s population. To cope up with the current situation, there is therefore a need for an all-out effort to increase food production especially the production of animal protein. Pisciculture has acquired primary importance in this context, and the culture of Indian major carps and their allies is now a common practice. For a long time, the culture of air-breathing fishes in the derelict water has remained neglected. Many such fishes, however, have become popular in the recent past, being rich in their food value.

The demand for fish as nutritious food is increasing day by day, as it is a good source of high quality-protein and lipid and is more palatable than vegetables. It is relished for its characteristic flavour due to high myofibrillar and low stroma protein, rich in essential amino acids particularly lysine and arginine (Kinsella, 1986). Fish proteins play a beneficial role in lipid and cholesterol metabolism by reducing triacylglycerol (=triglyceride) and phospholipid levels in plasma (Tsukuda and Arai, 1986). These proteins occupy an important place in human nutrition due to their high digestibility and growth-promoting value. Fish lipid has a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUSFAS), which reduce plasma cholesterol, and this helps in ischemic heart disease and arteriosclerosis (Kinsella, 1986).

Introduction

In fish culture, anesthetic agents are commonly used in vaccination, labeling, and various measurements (Gomes et al, 2006; Collymore et al, 2014). But no agents have been able to obtain long-duration anesthesia in fishes. The use of conventional anesthetic agents in fisheries is not beneficial in terms of environmental safety as the discarded solutions directly reach oceans and rivers. The use of anesthetic agents presenting a risk of staying in the tissues of cultivated fish has been warned against. For example, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries caution against the use of anesthetic agents within 7 days before fishes and shellfishes are caught.

The use of anaesthetics has gained considerable importance in Fishery Science particularly during spawning (Colesante, 1977; Kidd and Banks, 1990) and transportation of live fishes or their early developmental stages (Maheshwari 1990; Jhingran, 1991; Pandit and Ghosh, 2012). This is because handling causes stress and physical damage to the fish, loss of mucilaginous covering, which in turn makes the fish susceptible to attack by bacteria and fungi (Brown, 1987). The anaesthetics are soothing medicines that reduce the metabolism and control the excitability as well as stress in a fish. Recently, Kugino et al, (2016) investigated whether the addition of nano oxygen-carrying bubbles to water at the same time as dissolved carbon-dioxide could result in safe, long-duration fish anesthesia.

2.1. Biotechnology institutes

Regional office of ICGEB (International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology) at New Delhi (Headquarters at Trieste, Italy established in 1983).

Lal Bahadhur Shastri Centre for Advanced Research in Biotechnology at IARI, New Delhi

National Institute of Animal Biotechnology, Hyderabad

5.1. Cultural methods

5.1.1. Eradication

Elimination of pathogen after it has become established in the area where host is growing.

9.1. Groundnut

9.1.1. Early leaf spot: Cercospora arachidicola

1. Symptoms

3.1. Reserve Bank of India

Established in April 1, 1935 as per RBI Act, 1934.

Agricultural Credit Department (ACD) organized in 1935 coordinated Bank’s operations with State Co-operative Banks and other banks and organization dealing with agricultural credit

Financing agriculture by commercial banks is looked after by Department of Banking Operations and Development (DBOD)

While, ACD continued to take care of co-operative credit

Packaging : Packaging of fruits, vegetables, flowers or any other commodity is chiefly done to assemble the produce in convenient units of different sizes, shapes & types for storage, transportation, marketing and distribution. The size of units may vary depending on the requirement e.g for retail marketing smaller units are preferred and for bulk transportation and storage, large units would be more convenient.

Why do we Require Packaging?

Imagine there is no packaging material and technology available. How we are going to transport apple, mango etc. to distant markets? Definitely as loose. Then how can we weigh or count the fruits being transported or marketed? This would be very difficult. Had there been no packaging the commodity would have suffered great physical, chemical and microbiological losses. It would have been very difficult to handle, manage, transport and market the produce as loose and unpacked. Therefore, the packaging of fresh as well as processed commodities was needed to contain, unitize and protect the produce.

Nature has made such a beautiful system that a fruit does not spoil unless its outer covering is removed and till it is there on the plant. For example banana will not spoil for long time if we do not remove its peel. Similar is the case with apple, guava, mango and many other fruits and vegetables. But as soon as the outer covering is removed the damage begins and the commodity is spoilt very soon.

Preservation is extending shelf life of fresh or processed food by using various methods and prevention or reduction of spoilage. Better the preservation, lesser the spoilage, more the spoilage poorer and inefficient is the preservation.

Therefore, in order to prevent or reduce the spoilage, we have to first identify and understand the causes of spoilage. There are chiefly 3 agencies that cause spoilage in fruits and vegetables i.e. (i) microorganisms, (ii) enzymes & chemical changes and (iii) man, animals, rodents, insects, etc. For effective preservation we have to check the growth and activity of these spoilage causing agencies. So, in order to prevent spoilage and preserve a perishable commodity for long time the following principles and methods are to be followed.

Matrix is a rectangular array of numbers arranged in rows and columns. The order of a matrix is written as r x c, where r is the no. of rows and c is the no. of columns. The numbers included in a matrix are called elements of the matrix. The name of the matrix is denoted by an uppercase English alphabet.

Soil is a bioorganic - mineral complex of the loose surface layer of the earth’s crust. Soil microbiology is the science that deals with the millions of microscopic forms of life found in the soil. It is stated that one hectare - foot (one hectare to a depth of 30cm) contains 2 to 10 metric tons of living microorganisms. Soil microorganisms are in a constant struggle for existence and are believed to be in a state of dynamic equilibrium. Without microorganisms, the soil would be an inactive geological mass incapable of supporting plant life and without plant life, animal life would not be possible. This soil population consists mainly of bacteria, fungi, actinobacteria, algae, and protozoa. The soil ecosystem includes these microbial groups as well as the inorganic and organic constituents of a given site. The collections of cells represented in the community are considered as distinct populations. All the inhabitants of the particular locality make up the community.

Types of Microorganisms in Soil

Living organisms both plants and animals, constitute an important component of soil. The pioneering investigations of several early microbiologists showed for the first time that the soil was not an inert static material but a medium pulsating with life. The soil is now believed to be a dynamic or rather a living system, containing a dynamic population of organisms/microorganisms. Cultivated soil has relatively more population of microorganisms than the fallow land, and the soils rich in organic matter contain much more population than sandy and eroded soils. Microbes in the soil are important to us in maintaining soil fertility and productivity, cycling of nutrient elements in the biosphere, and sources of industrial products such as enzymes, antibiotics, vitamins, hormones, organic acids, etc. At the same time certain soil microbes are the causal agents of human and plant diseases.

Rhizosphere

The term Rhizosphere was introduced by the German scientist, Hiltner in 1904. It is region of the soil, which is subjected to the influence of plant roots. It is the unique environment under the influence of plant roots. The roots of plants are not only involved in the uptake of mineral nutrients and water for plant growth, but they also release a wide range of organic compounds in the surrounding soil.

Introduction

Biofertilizers are microbial preparations containing living or latent cells of efficient strains of nitrogen fixing, phosphate solubilizing and cellulose decomposing microorganisms intended for seed or soil application and designed to improve soil fertility and plant growth by increasing the number and biological activity of beneficial microorganisms in the soil.

The objects behind the application of biofertilizers /microbial inoculants to seed, soil is to increase the number and biological / metabolic activity of useful microorganisms that accelerate certain microbial processes to augment the extent of availability of nutrients in the available forms which can be easily assimilated by plants. The need for the use of biofertilizers has arisen primarily due to two reasons i.e. though chemical fertilizers increase soil fertility, crop productivity and production, but increased / intensive use of chemical fertilizers has caused serious concern of soil texture, soil fertility and other environmental problems.Use of biofertilizers is both economical as well as environment friendly. Therefore, an integrated approach of applying both chemical fertilizers and biofertilizers is the best way of integrated nutrient supply in agriculture.

Biofertilizers, thus include i) Symbiotic nitrogen fixers- Rhizobium sp. ii) Non-symbiotic, free living nitrogen fixers- Azotobacter, Azospirillum etc. iii) Blue Green Algae (BGA) inoculants- Azolla-Anabaena, iv) Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms (PSM)- Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Penicillium, Aspergillus etc. v) Mycorrhiza vi) Cellulolytic microorganisms

Mass Production of Bacterial Inoculants

Strain Selection and Improvement

In biofertilizer technology, strain selection occupies the foremost criteria, so as to explore its biological potentialities for the beneficiary crop. The selected strain used in biofertilizer production must be efficient to grow fast besides retain desirable potentialities of biological activities, which should be present in desired high numbers and must be stable. The strain must be improved periodically so as to sustain the productivity.

India has a population of one hundred twenty four crore plus and feeding this large a population calls for a strong FPI. The industry also assumes importance in the national economy due to the immense employment generation opportunities it offers and the export revenue it earns. Food Processing Industry (FPI) in India is a sunrise sector that has gained prominence in the recent years. Easy availability of raw materials, changing lifestyles and favourable fiscal policies has given a considerable push to the industry’s growth. FPI serves as a vital link between the agriculture and manufacturing sectors of the economy. Strengthening this link is critical to reduce wastage of agricultural raw materials, improve the value of agricultural produce by increasing shelf-life as well as by fortifying the nutritive value of the food products and ensure remunerative prices to farmers as well as affordable prices to consumers. The industry has very low processing level i.e., 2.2% for fruits and vegetables, around 35% in milk, 21% in meat and 6% in poultry products, which is significantly lower by international standards. For e.g., processing of agriculture produce is around 40% in China, 30% in Thailand, 70% in Brazil, 78% in the Philippines and 80% in Malaysia. Value addition to agriculture produce in India is just 20% with wastage estimated to be valued at around US $13 billion.

India has the second largest producer of food with arable land of 159.65 million hectares and has the highest acreage under irrigation. Next to China, India ranks second largest food producer in the world and has the potential to immerge the biggest with its food and agricultural sector. India accounts for less than 1.5% of international food trade despite being one of the world’s major food producers, which indicates huge potential for both investors and exporters. Food and food products are the biggest consumption category in India

In India, people are mostly vegetarian, depending largely on cereals and pulses, as their staple foods, which provide the main source of dietary proteins and calories. The proteins from pulses are known to be inferior quality, due to the deficiency of sulphur containing amino acids as well as due to other factors like digestibility, availability of amino acids, anti-nutritional factors, etc. The anti-nutritional factors present in this type of food, including their contents of enzyme inhibitors, lectins, flatulence factors, tannins, phytic acid and saponins. Anti-nutritional factors can cause detrimental effects to humans and animal growth and performance by impairing intake, uptake, or utilization of other food and feed components, or by causing discomfort and stress to humans and animals. The anti-nutritional factors mainly occur in pulses and grain legumes and foods and feed material prepared from grain legumes and pulses.

Substance which, from nutritional point of view, interferes with normal growth, reproduction or health when consumed regularly in amount existing in a normal component of diet should be considered as harmful and toxic. A significant part of human population relies on legumes as staple food for subsistence, particularly in combination with cereals. They are unique foods because their rich nutrient content including starch, protein, dietary fibre, oligosaccharides, phytochemicals (especially the isoflavones in soybean) and minerals. Their nutritional contents contribute to many health benefits to human.

The word ‘social forestry’ was coined by Westoby and used in the ninth Commonwealth Forestry Conference at New Delhi in 1968. In India the term was first used by the National Commission on Agriculture, Government of India in 1976, to denote tree raising programmes to supply firewood, small timber and minor forest products to rural population. Prasad (1985) defined social forestry as forestry outside the conventional forests which primarily aims at providing continuous flow of goods and services for the benefit of people. This implies that the production of forest goods for fulfilling the needs of the local people is social forestry. Thus, conceptually it deals with the people to produce goods such as fuel, fodder, small timber, etc. to meet the needs of local community particularly the underprivileged section (Shah, 1988).

Management approaches to soil, including problems of soil degradation and low soil fertility, have recently undergone major changes. The earlier concept was to concentrate on achieving high levels of production from the more fertile areas, leaving the marginal lands for extensive use only. Steeply sloping and highly drought-prone areas were mostly left without any cultivation as production from these areas was hardly cost effective. Soil constraints were to be overcome by inputs like improved crop varieties, fertilizers, chemical control of pests and diseases, and the use of irrigation.

The approach of use of newly developed high yielding crop varieties, improved agronomic management practices, use of chemical fertilizers, efficient water management and timely plant protection measures has been successful in achieving large increases in crop productivity in recent years. On the other hand, continuous application of fertilizers at higher rates leads to environmental problems. Yield responses to fertilizers have declined because of soil physical degradation and micronutrient deficiencies. Above all, large numbers of poor farmers simply can neither afford high levels of fertilizers and other purchased inputs, nor do they have the capital to take on the risk involved in their use. Increasing the area under irrigation has also run into severe constraints in the form of limits to available freshwater resources.

Farmers have been growing trees for different purposes for thousands of years. Tree species that are grown to provide more than one significant function are called multipurpose trees. These functions may be productive such as producing fuelwood, timber, fibre, fodder, food, medicine, etc. and/or protective such as soil conservation, shade, shelterbelt, microclimate amelioration, land sustainability, biodiversity preservation, etc. All trees are multipurpose; some, however, are more multipurpose than others. Tree species can be multipurpose in two ways.

Economic analysis provides a rational basis for making decisions in allocating scare resources among various options to achieve competing goals. If resources were not limiting, there would be no need for economic consideration. Some important basic principles of economic analysis are outlined below.

PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Optimization criteria

The additional return obtained from using one additional unit of an input should be considered to optimize net income from several possible production options. If option ‘x’ gives a higher return to land than other options, then additional units of land should be allocated to option ‘x’.

Introduction

The improvement of the quality of foods can be made by fortification of foods nutrients quality and quantity in food. It can be a very cost effective public health intervention. As a result of the high consumption pattern of dairy products viz. yogurt, the fortification process will effectively diminish or prevent diseases associated with nutritional deficiencies (Gahruie et al., 2015). However, due to nutrients deficiencies in human population especially in certain stages of life, holding, importing, and consumption of fortified foods is increasing (Preedy et al., 2013). As a general rule, addition of one or more essential nutrients to a food and increasing their concentration in that particular food to levels higher than normal is known as fortification. This is intended at preventing and correcting shortages in one or more micronutrients in the society or specific population groups (Bonner et al., 1999). The major ways of food fortification are (1) commercial and industrial fortification for wheat flour, corn meal, cooking oils, (2) bio-fortification of crops to augment their nutritional value, which can include conventional as well as selective breeding, and genetic engineering and (3) house hold fortification like vitamin D drops. Fermentation has twofold outcome on glycemic index though there are conflicting results after consumption. The reduced glycemic index of fermented food has been featured to the production of short?chain organic acids during fermentation.

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea, ssp. capitata, 2n = 2x = 18, family Brassicaceae = Cruciferae, cross-pollinated due to sporophytic incompatibility) comes under generic name cole crops. It is a rich source of calcium, and vitamins A and C. It is generally consumed as cooked vegetable, boiled or stewed, raw salad, soup and sauerkraut which is cabbage cut into fine slices that undergo lactic acid fermentation in a brine made of its own juice with salt. Sauerkraut was traditionally made at home in Germany and other European countries, but nowadays it is mainly an industrial product.

According to Indian Horticulture Database-2014 (NHB, 2015), global production of cabbage spread over more than 125 countries has been 70.64 million tons from 2.42 million ha area with a productivity of 29.2 tons/ha. Of this total global cabbage production, top ranking China (32.80 million tons from 0.98 million ha) and second ranking India (9.04 million tons from 0.40 million ha) jointly contributed about 59% of the production. Other countries in the descending order of the production were Russian Federation, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, Indonesia, Poland, Romania and USA. In terms of productivity (tons/ha), South Korea (71.2 t/ha) and Japan (67.6 t/ha) were far ahead than the rest of the countries which were in the range of 20.1 to 42.9 tons/ha.

During 2017-18, also Indian cabbage production was 9.04 million tons from 0.40 million ha (4 lakh ha) area giving a productivity of 22.6 t/ha. Thus in India, cabbage area seems to be stabilized at 4 lakh ha. The top ten cabbage producing states in India are West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, MP, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and UP (Horticulture Statistics at a Glance-2018, MAFW, 2018).