eChapters

H erbs include non-woody or succulent-stemmed plants that are relatively shorter in stature when compared to shrubs. Based on their ornamental nature they can be broadly grouped as Flowering Herbs and Foliage Herbs. Flowering Herbs can be further classified based on their duration into Annual Flowering Herbs and Perennial Flowering Herbs. Foliage herbs of a perennial nature are further differentiated into monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous foliage herbs.

ANNUAL FLOWERING HERBS

Annual herbs are grown in gardens for their spectacular beauty when they are in flower. They are seasonal in habit and have duration of up to four months. Most of them have a short vegetative phase, which is followed by continuous flowering for several weeks. They are used in gardens for obtaining various colour effects. Varieties of annuals having analogous or similar flower colours can be grouped in flowerbeds and flower borders for monochromatic effects. For contrasting colour effects, varieties having complementary or contrasting colours like violet and yellow or blue and orange as well as green and red can be used. For colour blending effects, flowers having different shades of the same colour can be grown.

Pants that tend to climb vertically on to supports are called climbers. reepers are plants that tend to creep or ramble over the ground or other surfaces spreading horizontally. These have showy flowers or decorative foliage. Climbers are conventionally used in gardens to cover fences, bare walls and tree trunks. They are used to provide ornamentation in a vertical aspect. Creepers on the other hand are used as ground covers and function as decorative elements in a horizontal aspect.

CLASSIFICATION OF CLIMBERS AND CREEPERS

Depending upon their habit, vigour, duration, nature of flowering, adaptations for climbing and shade tolerance, they can be classified as follows:

Among garden plants, herbaceous perennials that produce perennating structures like bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes or fascicled tuberous roots are called bulbous plants. They belong to various plant families such as Amaryllidaceae, Cannaceae, Heliconiaceae, Iridaceae, Liliaeceae, Musaceae, Ranunculaeceae and Zingiberaceae. The possession of perennating structures that are modifications of plant parts- mostly stems- is common to these plants. These modifications aid in their vegetative propagation as the dormant buds associated with them regenerate when conditions are favourable to result in new plants. In both tropical and temperate climate zones, bulbous plants have evolved and naturalized in several ecological ‘niches’. Many of these have been domesticated centuries ago and are familiar garden plants. Generally, bulbous plats are adapted to grow vegetatively putting forth shoots carrying a limited number of leaves. When further vegetative growth has ceased these shoots produce terminal or basal inflorescences. Bulbous plants are grown and displayed in clumps.

Based on the requirement of relatively low or high temperatures for sprouting and flowering they are classified into warm- season bulbous plants and cool-season bulbous plants. These groupings are not exclusive and many plants have evolved varieties that thrive in both seasonal conditions.

These are a broad group of plants that have evolved in situations characterized by very high day temperatures and low night temperatures with very low available moisture in the growing medium. Their plant body is modified to conserve moisture with physiological adaptations that help to reduce moisture loss considerably and to survive in hot desert situations or drought conditions. Stems, leaves and roots of these plants are fleshy and rich in watery mucus. The unusual morphological features that these plants have developed to enable them to survive in their harsh native habitats, set them apart from other plants and have given them rarity value when grown as ornamentals. They are hence displayed individually or grown in a rockery where a landscape of rocks and stones highlight their features and at the same time provide desirable contrast with other garden plants. Many members of Cactaceae, Crassulaceae, Aizoaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asphodelaceae and Agavaceae belong to this group and are commonly referred to as rock garden plants.

Terrestrial or epiphytic members of the family Bromeliaceae that are grown in gardens for their unusually coloured and patterned leaves or showy inflorescences and fruits are referred to as ornamental ‘Bromeliads’. Being low growing, they are ideally displayed in containers or as epiphytes. They are sun loving, suckering in habit and have xerophytic adaptations. The leaves are tough and fibrous often with spiny margins and sheathing leaf bases that hold water. A grayish-white waxy or powdery coating often covers the lamina. Certain bromeliads have a water collecting depression at the center. Inflorescences are sunken, erect or reclining, with condensed or long and much branched stalks carrying colourful bracts and usually, less showy flowers. In many, the terminal leaves become brightly coloured at flowering. These and the floral bracts remain showy even after the flowers are shed.

Ornamental bromeliads popularly grown in gardens include the following:

Aechmea blanchetiana

Copper leaf bromeliad

Plants have strap like leaves that develop streaks of coppery red colour on the upper surface in bright sunlight.

Aechmea burle-marxii

Burle-Marx bromeliad

Pteridophytes such as ferns belonging to several families, selaginellas popularly called ‘club mosses’ belonging to Selaginellaceae and the Lycopods which resemble both these, belonging to Lycopodiaceae are shade loving plants adapted to cool and moist or hot and humid ecosystems of tropical to temperate climates. They are mostly epiphytic or lithophytic and are grown as foliage ornamentals in a fernery or in shaded areas in gardens. Many are favoured indoor plants.

Popularly grown ferns, lycopods and selaginellas of gardens are listed below:

Adiantum capillus-veneris

Adiantaceae

Common Maidenhair fern

Plants are shade loving bushy lithophytes and have delicate looking thin black stems carrying light green oblique-ovate fronds. They are pot grown as ornamental foliage plants.

Adiantum decorum

Syn. Adiantum raddianum

Adiantaceae

Maidenhair fern

Grasses, bamboos, sedges and rushes are plants that are being used increasingly in xeri-scaping and in marsh gardens for getting the benefits of their unusual foliage textures and colours. Their hardiness, stature and canopy frame make them more suited for specimen planting in gardens and landscapes.

GRASSES

Grasses are the most successful of monocots belonging to the family Poaceae that are found the world over. Low growing perennial grasses are used to make attractive lawns in gardens and to provide a desirable turf cover for various situations. A number of species belonging to various genera differing in leaf colour, shape and growth pattern are used for this purpose. Mixtures of different varieties of grasses are also used for making turf having desirable blends of textures and hardiness. Tall bushy grasses having a mound-like or fountain–like habit and fine to velvety surfaces are grown for their textural and architectural features in landscaping. Many are grown as specimen plants for their display value at flowering. In selecting grasses for gardens, their potentially invasive nature is to be taken into account and seed dispersal controlled by timely cutting.

Grass species that thrive in the hot and humid tropics are called warm-season grasses and include Bermuda grass, Carpet grass and St. Augustine grass. Cool season grasses that are adapted to temperate regions and thrive at temperatures of 10 to 20^oC include Blue grass, Fescues and Zoysia.

Ornamental plants that are adapted to an aquatic environment are commonly grown in water gardens and pools. They include those that are entirely submerged or floaters that are free living in the surface water or having roots anchored firmly in the ground beneath and marginal plants that thrive along the edges of water bodies and in shallow water. Spectacular flowering plants like the lotuses and water lilies to plants like the tape grass that are entirely submerged and grass like are grown in natural or structured fresh water habitats throughout the world. Many of these are also inhabitants of aquaria.

Some of the popularly grown water garden plants are listed below:

Acorus calamus

Araceae

Sweet Flag, Vayambu

Plants are rhizomatous herbs adapted to low lying and wet situations. The leaves are closely spaced, distichously arranged and resembling a fan, leathery, dark green, smooth and shiny. The inflorescence is a spadix that emerges from the middle of the terminal leaf. Plants are valued medicinally for their aromatic rhizomes and are also commonly grown as marginals of water gardens.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The share of agriculture in GDP is sharp declining. Its share which was 55.1 per cent in 1950-51 came down to 21.6 per cent in 2003-04 and it further reduced down standing barely at 14.6 per cent in 2009-10. Horticulture acconts for 29 per cent share in gross GDP obtained from agriculture sector from about 13.08 per cent area put forth under horticultural plantations (Anon., 2010). To achieve the targetted growth rate of 4 per cent in agriculture, horticulture has to grow at the accelerated growth rate above 7 per cent. As a result of R&D initiatives made, there has been considerable increase in horticultural produce which is acclaimed as golden revoution. Horticulture sector has emerged as the frontier area in dealing with the situation of livelihood security and the employment generation. However, looking to the pressure arising from rising population and erratic climatic variation, more attention is required towards the development of technology driven horticulture. Precision farming is being viewed as a promise in this regard.

Precision farming is the process by which exact or accurate results of farming can be obtained. It is a management strategy that relies upon detailed, site specific information to precisely manage production inputs.

Maximisation of quality yield by managing site variable specific management practices is the basic of precision farming. More emphasis needs to be given to make the farming sustainable. In order to make precision farming a reality the following area needs due consideration.

2.1 INTRODUCTION

With increasing population, urbanization and continuous depletion of natural resources, there has to be a paradigm shift in farmer’s perception from production to productivity and to profitability. In the present scenario, the major challenges arising are shrinking land and depleting water and other related resources in agriculture. There is need for promoting farmer friendly location specific production system management technologies in a concerted manner to achieve a vertical growth in horticulture production duly ensuring quality of produce and better remuneration per unit of area with judicious use of natural resources. In this endeavour, precision farming aims to have efficient utilization of resources per unit of time and area for achieving targeted production of horticultural produce. With the revolution in information technology, now it has become possible to focus on the positioning of agricultural tools with high degree of accuracy and sophistication for maximizing returns. The combination of information technology and use of hi-tech equipments made it possible for the introduction of precision farming. It is a comprehensive system designed to optimize agriculture production through the application of crop information, advanced technology and management practices. With recent advances in geographic information systems, it has become possible to focus on site specific crop production technologies so as to harness the potential of horticulture through innovative technologies in a sustainable manner.

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Today’s technological advancement has reached a level where a farmer can have access to information and tools to manage mechanized field operations. They can now measure, evaluate and deal variability within field (e.g. soil fertility, water availability and yield) that was known to exist previously but was not manageable, to his advantage. The ability to handle the variation in productivity in the field and maximize financial return, reduce waste and minimize impact on environment has always been objective of an enterprising farmer in horticultural sector, especially those who advocate sound horticultural practices. Since precision farming proposes to prescribe strategic farm management decision in the field operations to help to serve this purpose through mechanization, sensing and communication technology, automate data collection, documentation and utilization of this information. Such an approach in horticultural production management gives rise to what is now termed as precision horticulture, soil specific crop management (SSCM), spatially variable crop production (SVCP), smart farming (SF) etc.

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Ever since the man appeared on the earth, he has been harnessing the natural resources to meet his basic requirements. Reference to soil, water and air as basic resources, their management and means to keep them pure are mentioned in the Vedas, Upanishads and in ancient Hindu literature. Agriculture began sometime during 10000 BC and during 1930 AD use of chemical came into vogue (Sarswat et al., 2003). The phenomenal increase in population of both man and animal in the last century and fast growing industrialization and urbanization in last few decades have overstrained the natural resource base, which are getting degraded much faster than ever before. Thus, the attention of whole world is focused on how to increase production to feed the burgeoning population and the question uppermost in every ones mind is “how can we produce enough food without damage to the natural resource base, in a sustainable manner?” Precision farming is a promise in this regard. It appears to reduce risk of crop failure (De Boer, 1997).

5.1 INTRODUCTION

Drought and rampant poverty, the double plague of arid region, present a scenario of misery and insecurity across the region where agriculture is the main livelihood and chief source for subsistence of the rural people. The conditions of low and erratic rainfall, extreme temperature conditions, high evapo-transpiration, scarce water resources, infertile and saline soils with ill-defined profile development threaten sustainable agriculture. Sustainable productivity is difficult to achieve by monoculture of either seasonal or forage crops. Thus cropping system approach for agricultural production is of far greater significance in these regions. Traditionally efforts have been made by the native people, obviously to achieve sustainable production ensuring ecological stability, to grow several species together, e.g. pearl millet, moth bean, cluster bean and gram between the natural stands of khejri (Prosopis cineraria), bordi (Zizyphus rotundifolia), lasoda (Cordia myxa), pilu (Salvadora oleoides), and ker (Capparis decidua). The perennial species also provide fodder for sheep and goats during scarcity periods.

Fruit based cropping system is now considered to be the most ideal strategy to provide food, nutrition and income security to the people (Chundawat, 1993, Chadha, 2002, Awasthi and Pareek, 2008). Integration of annual crops with fruit trees yields multiple outputs that ensure production and income generation (Randhawa, 1990 and Osman, 2003) in a sustainable manner. Natural resources (land, solar radiation, water, soil etc.) as well as socio-economic inputs (labour, credit, power, and market infrastructure) are efficiently utilized. Crop productivity under tree canopy is enhanced due to improved soil fertility (Young, 1989) and ameliorative influence of shade by reducing understorey temperature and evapotranspiration (Bunderson et al., 1990). Incorporation of fruit trees into the cropping system is more remunerative. It increases the resilience of the system over time. It enables to i) maximize system productivity on annual basis, ii) utilize resources with high efficiency through due consideration of various interactions and direct, residual and cumulative effects occurring in soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, iii) intensify input use vis-à-vis quality of environment, and iv) impart sustainability of farm resources and environment in long term perspective. The type of horticulture based cropping system in arid region has been discussed in this paper considering these issues.

6.1 INTRODUCTION

Presently, pressure on productive land is greater than ever before and will be further more in years ahead. Per capita arable land is projected to decline from about 0.23 ha in 2000 to about 0.15 ha by 2050 (Lal, 1991). The global demand for food is projected to increase by 1.5 to 2 times due to ever increasing population and also due to demand for richer diets. On the other hand, volatility in the cost of agricultural inputs and the income generated from farm products leads to instability in the farm economy. Moreover, in conventional system, agriculture is practised for uniform application of fertilizer, herbicide, insecticides, fungicides, and irrigation, without considering spatial variability. In some cases, there is excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizer and pesticides, owing to air and water pollution but there are certain cases, where farmers hardly use any chemicals. Hence, to alleviate the ill effects of over and under usage of inputs, the scenario calls for the introduction of modern technologies to improve crop yield, provide information to enable better in-field management decisions, reduce chemical and fertilizer costs through efficient application, permit more accurate farm records, increase profit margin and reduce pollution.

Precision agriculture is a production system that promotes variable management practices within a field, according to site conditions. This system is based on new tools and sources of information provided by modern technologies. These include the global positioning system (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), yield monitoring devices, soil, plant and pest sensors, remote sensing, and variable-rate technologies for applicators of inputs. Precision farming is concerned with the management of variability in the dimensions of both space and time. Aspects of precision farming, therefore, encompass a broad array of topics, including variability of soil resource base, weather, plant types, crop diversity, machinery performance and most of the physical, chemical and biological inputs used in production of a crop. These are closely linked to the socio-economic aspects of production system. Success in precision framing is directly related to how well it can be applied to manage the space-time continuum in production system. Thus precision farming is technology enabled, information based, and decision focused. It is the integration of these technologies that has enabled farmers and their service providers to do things not previously possible, at level of detail never before obtainable, and, when done correctly, at level of quality never achieved before. In our country, vast data on various aspects like soil characteristics, climatic parameters, topographic features, crop requirement in terms of consumptive use and nutritional requirements have been generated and instruments needed for recording these parameters are also available. However, applications of precision farming as a package in the farmer’s field have received little attention, although some aspects of precision farming have been prasticed. This has been primarily due to lack of awareness about the potential for increasing productivity and improving the quality of produce with minimum use of inputs.

7.1 INTRODUCTION

Production of temperate-zone fruits in subtropics may seem fanciful to be initiated, but it is a practice that has existed in localized regions for generations. Seedling peaches are grown in Venezuela, Northern Thailand, and Southern Mexico. No one knows precisely when these species were introduced, but local selection has produced cultivars adapted to areas with little or no chilling temperatures. Rest either does not occur or is sufficiently shallow to be broken by stress induced by defoliation or drought. Commercial cultivations of temperate-zone fruits are well-established in subtropical areas, where winter temperatures allow partial breaking of the rest period. In areas of Northern Mexico, Southern Africa, and Israel, for example, chemical treatments are regularly applied to supplement the effects of limited chilling. Because temperature declines with increasing elevations, many microclimates exist in the subtropics where temperate-zone fruits are not currently grown, but could be. Subtropical regions where temperate fruits are grown include the southern past of California (Mediterranean type), the low deserts of the Southwest USA (hot arid type), the Gulf Coast and most of Florida (humid type), the Southern Mediterranean and Northern Sahara, Northern India, Southeast China, the middle part of South America, and much of Australia. Similar potential climatic conditions are also available in subtropics of India.

8.1 INTRODUCTION

In developing countries like India, sustainable development of horticulture is a biggest challenge. There is need to formulate strategies for their management through “state of art” technologies for harnessing the naturally available resources in a sustainable manner to meet the ever growing demands of fruits. Canopy architecture has its role in influencing the productivity of fruits. It has been well highlighted by Halle and Olderman, (1970) and Halle et al. (1978). The emerging concerns in the area of canopy architecture and its management are the existence of large number of old senile orchards among the fruits crops and the development of a rejuvenation technology to restructure their canopy and enhance productive and remunerative plant life. Actually, canopy management “designing the plant as per need, using inherent plant characteristics in accordance with given set of conditions and resources to make the plant to perform maximum. As a result of canopy management, the trees acquire their natural shape which very often is not ideal for quality production. A majority of the trees attain tall, upright and curved growth structure and the canopy is marked with criss-cross branches leading to a highly dense vegetative mass with very poor penetration of active solar radiation. Such conditions not only affect the photosynthetic rate but also facilitate proliferation of pests as they prefer shady conditions. Consequently with pressure of pest abundance and poor photosynthetic efficiency over the years in want of due care of tree canopy architecture, the trees turn senile and unproductive and uneconomical.

Existence of such unproductive senile orchards has a telling impact on the socioeconomic as well as livelihood status of the farmers and consumers are equally affected with low poor production and poor quality of produce is the biggest problem with old orchard. Uprooting such orchards and undertaking new plantation may not be a wise option considering the long gestation period of orchard establishment and resulting impact on livelihood of farm families, environment health as well as the investment cost. Mass scale uprooting of trees for replacement of the orchard will also have very adverse impact on production scenario at the regional and national level.

9.1 INTRODUCTION

India is the second largest producer of fruit crops with annual production of 68.4 million metric tonnes from an area of 6.1million ha (Anon 2010). The national horticulture mission commenced in 2005 had fixed a target to double the horticultural production by 2011-12. According to the available production data of horticultural crops, it seems that we are very close to achieve our target. But, if the loss caused by biotic and abiotic stresses is accounted, a sound conclusion can be drawn that still there is a huge scope for productivity improvement in fruit crops.

Among biotic factors bacteria, fungi, nematodes, viruses and insect pests, diseases and other pests are widely recognized as the biggest threat to the sustainable production of fruit crops. Every fruit crop is infected with one or other pathogen/pest, which causes a significant reduction in yield. The disease alone both in field and storage accounts for 25-30 per cent losses (Rangaswami and Mahadevan 2002). Along with diseases, insect-pests also cause reduction in the yield. About 600 insect and mite pests have been reported in temperate fruits alone in India (Sharma and Singh 2006).

Beside biotic factors, abiotic factors (salt, drought, low and high temperature) also limit the potential yield of fruit crops. It is estimated that nearly 10 million ha is affected by salinity/alkalinity in India (Singh 2006). Moreover, fruit cultivars are also to be modified for yield and traits of consumers preference e.g. seedlessness in grapes and citrus.

Genetic improvement can be achieved by following the conventional breeding approaches, when the gene of interest is present in related cultivars/species and the crop is sexually crossable. But due to long juvenility and genetically prevalent problems like incompatibility, sterility in most of the fruit crops and apomixis in citrus, mango and apple, conventional techniques seem to have limited role in the improvement of fruit crops.

Various biotechnological approaches either alone or in combination with conventional breeding approaches can provide a direct solution for the genetic improvement of fruit crops.

10.1 INTRODUCTION

Agriculture is a very important sector for the sustained growth of the Indian economy. About 70 per cent of the rural households and 8 per cent of urban households are still dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Though, industrialization of the Indian economy has adversely affected the share of agriculture in the GDP, the fact can not be ignored that India has undergone a series of successful agricultural revolutions-starting with the ‘green’ revolution in wheat and rice in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the ‘white’ revolution in milk to the ‘yellow’ revolution in oilseeds in 1980’s. As a result, India has achieved self-sufficiency in agriculture. Applications of agricultural inputs at uniform rates across the field without due regard to in-field variations in soil fertility and crop conditions does not yield desirable results in terms of crop yield. The management of in-field variability in soil fertility and crop conditions for improving the crop production and minimizing the environmental impact is the crux of precision farming. Geographically, India is widely distributed into several agro-climatic zones, and the information needs for the farming systems in these areas are entirely different. Integrating the application of available technologies to realize farmers’ goals requires a systems approach to farming.

11.1 INTRODUCTION

Citrus as a perennial crop occupies globally a place of prime importance amongst major fruit crops including India. The cultivation of citrus in India is dominated by three major cultivars viz., mandarin, sweet orange, limes and lemons occupying collectively an area of 9.23 lakh ha with a production of 86.08 lakh tonnes and productivity of 9.3 tonnes/ha. Nagpur mandarin in India is grown in 0.97 lakh ha area with total production of 8.81 lakh tonnes and productivity of 9.l tonnes/ha, respectively. The productivity of mandarins within the country is highly variable in space and time, the major constraint is inadequate and unbalanced fertilizer use. The commercial cultivation of Nagpur mandarin is extensively confined along the Satpuda foothills of central India comprising Chindwara region of Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. The nutrient demand is highly variable in space (due to heterogenous soils) and time (due to varying weather conditions). Therefore, determination of crop nutrient requirement is a subject of great complexity. Experiments have shown that soils initially rich in fertility developed a variety of nutrient constraints following the non-synchronisation in demand and supply of nutrients with the orchard age (Srivastava et al., 1998). For example when exchangeable K is not rapidly replenished, crops start drawing on the non-exchangeable K, resulting in soil mining and depletion in soil K reserve. A nutrient level sufficient for one particular productivity level may not hold sufficient for other higher productivity levels. An extensive survey of 18,000 ha area of Nagpur mandarin orchards of central India showed large scale deficiency of three nutrients viz., N, P and Zn, with most of the sites expressing multiple nutrient deficiencies (Srivastava and Singh 2002; 2005). Reduced longevity of commercial citrus orchards due to varying nutritional constraints is one of the major production related constraints highly responsible for poor orchard efficiency (Srivastava and Singh, 2008a; 2008b).

12.1 INTRODUCTION

Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is a heavy feeder and needs a balanced and adequate supply of nutrients for growth and yield. Fertilizer is one of the most costly inputs, which accounts for greater part of production costs in the cultivation of oil palm. Large amount of nutrients are removed by the fruit bunches harvested from the mature palms. It is estimated that 25 tonnes fresh fruit bunches per hectare per year removes 93.5 Kg Nitrogen, 11.0 Kg Phosphorous, 92.7 Kg Potassium, 19.3 Kg Magnesium and 20.3 Kg Calcium.

Economic yields of oil palm are achieved when the supply of nutrients from the soil, palm residues and fertilizers are properly integrated in required quantities. Leaf analysis is an analytical tool for detecting the nutrient requirements in oil palm and other perennial crops, which are slow growing and can provide easily, defined standard leaf material for analysis due to leaf phyllotaxis. Nutrient deficiency symptoms are also an important means for determining the nutritional problems in oil palm, since the crop presents easily identifiable N, K and Mg deficiency symptoms. However, by the time symptoms are evident, nutrient deficiency might have already affected growth and yield.

Also the nutrient supply may be insufficient before the appearance of leaf symptoms. So there is a need for a thorough inspection of the leaf canopy to corroborate the results of leaf analysis and identify the areas with severe nutrient deficiencies. The research on oil palm nutrition was carried out under rainfed conditions at Palode, Kerala and irrigated conditions at Pedavegi, Andhra Pradesh.

In India, a great variety of soils ranging from red sandy loams/sandy clay loams (Alfisols), alluvial silt loams (Inceptisols / Entisols), heavy black soils (Vertisols) and acidic red laterite soils (Oxisols) are put to oil palm cultivation. In Andhra Pradesh, it is grown in red sandy, red loamy, red loam with clay base, deltaic alluvium pH - 6.5 to 9.0. In Karnataka, it is grown in red and brown sandy loams and black clayey soils, with pH - 6.5 to 9.0. Red soils, red loamy soils and clay loam soils are used for growing oil palm in Tamil Nadu. Laterite soils are used for oil palm cultivation in Kerala.

13.1 INTRODUCTION

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 home for 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 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. The recent awareness regarding the potential of these ecologically fragile lands for production of quality horticultural produce has not only opened up scope for providing economic sustenance for the people of this region, but also for bringing new areas to increase production through horticulture.

The arid horticultural crops have developed and/or modified to perform certain vital physiological functions even under stress. Strong deep root system (ber, bael, aonla, wood apple, jamun, etc.), moisture synchronous flowering and fruit development (ker, lasora, aonla, pilu, etc.) and other xerophytic characters i.e. leaf shedding in summer (ber), scanty foliage (ker), spiny cladode (cactus pear), mucilaginous sap in plant part (ker, gonda, pilu, bael, etc.), sunken stomata and fur/ hairiness and waxy coating on the leaf surface (phalsa, ber, gonda, fig, etc.) thorny nature, and selective or reduced absorption of cation (Na⁺) and anions (Cl^-, SO4^—) for survival under adverse arid conditions are peculiar adaptations. Therefore, cultivation of suitable species of fruit and vegetables in the arid areas will increase the sustenance of the inhabitants and provide the alternate sources of income through development of nurseries, small scale industries and exports.

14.1 INTRODUCTION

The efforts for harnessing the natural resources for sustainining the human race have been ‘on’ since the beginning of the civilization. The basic needs of food, fuel and fodder are obtained from the land resources with the combination of water and sunlight. The combination of information technology and use of hi-tech equipments paved the way for the introduction of precision horticulture. Precision horticulture may be defined as application of a holistic management strategy that uses information technology to bring data from multiple sources to bear decision associated with agriculture production, marketing, finance and personnel. Enhanced input efficiency is an important component of horticultural production under precision horticulture site specific management. Enhanced input efficiency in crop management can be obtained only when suitable varieties, desired amount of nutrients and water based on calculations, at right time and by proper method are used.

With recent advances in geographic positioning system, remote sensing, data processing, harvesting equipment, fertilizer and pesticide applicators, the approach can be used from a more practical stand point to identify variability and to use the variable rate of inputs over an entire field.

In recent years, there is considerable awareness about the nutritional security and food safety. More emphasis is given to underutilized fruits due to their high nutritive and medicinal value in addition to being resistant/tolerant to many biotic / abiotic stresses. The demand of these fruits are gradually increasing owing to tremendous potential for commercial exploitation aimed at improving the economic status of the poor and marginal farmers. An area, which needs immediate attention, is the collection, documentation, conservation and utilization for their sustained production and popularization.

15.1 INTRODUCTION

Vegetables are rich sources of many essential micronutrients, including vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, thiamine, carotenes, minerals, and dietary fibre. In addition, vegetables are rich in health related phytochemicals, such as antioxidants. Such phytochemicals play an important role in reducing the risk of many chronic diseases. Therefore, it is essential to produce more vegetables to feed our ever growing population. In this context, use of genetically improved, disease resistant and high yielding varieties in precision farming may play a significant role in increasing vegetable productivity and production.

15.2 EXPLOITATION OF GENETIC RESOURCES

The genetic resources of a crop may be defined as the sum total of hereditary material, i.e., all the alleles of various genes present in a crop species and its wild relatives. Genetic resources are broadly grouped into two major types (i) cultivated germplasm, and (ii) wild germplasm. Alternatively, they may be termed as (i) indigenous (from the country in question), or (ii) exotic (from another country) based on their place of origin. Genetic resources consist the following five types of materials: (1) land races, (2) obsolete varieties, (3) modern varieties or varieties in cultivation, (4) breeding lines, and (5) wild forms and wild relatives.

16.1 INTRODUCTION

The world floriculture business has reached to almost over a $ 40 billion mark. It is continuously going through the rapid transitional changes to have more unique and competitive products of wide choice to the consumers. Netherland is ahead in floriculture trade. Throughout the year, a large number of ornamental commodities are imported in Holland and exported back to the countries for its retail and consumption mostly to the countries in the Gulf, Middle-East Asia and America. According to the statistical estimates worldwide, a large quantity is consumed in US and the other countries. For an example, the US alone consumes 100 lacs of cut flowers a day and approximately 4000 lacs every year, though it ranks only 17^th in per capita cut-flower consumption. The average Swiss spends Rs 4500 a year on flowers, nearly four times than that spent by the average American besides the fact that the consumption of fresh cut flower and foliage plant is on manifold increase every year resulting in the competition worldwide for growing of exportable eco-friendly products. At the same time there is great environmental consciousness towards transforming floriculture with “natural and unspoiled” system of having the exportable produce into a mass and its ease to transport to any distant market. The system relies greatly on the industry with extensive network of breeders, greenhouse managers, field workers, auction houses, sales representatives, shippers, and florists to offer consumers a variety of choices matching their taste. This is the fact that in the recent times, the commercial growers don’t rely on the nature to introduce the genetic mutation that will make them millionaires but depends on the art and scientific knowhow to create a novelty in its own. This has resulted in the seriousness and painstaking effort of the growers to produce the plants in new forms and shape to put forward a new plant with extra-ordinary marketable characteristics every year, e.g. compact chrysanthemum, kalanchoe, bromeliads, orchids, etc (Plate1) are some of the common products with an unusual and eye-catching hue in the European markets. Similarly, the consumers can purchase gerberas with blooms as wide as salad plates and roses with yard-long stems perfectly suited for valentine-day gifts which mainly they get produced under the specific and artificial environment created for a specific growth stages of the plant.

17.1 INTRODUCTION

Flower consumption is growing at an alarming rate of 20 per cent per annum at global level and India is, today, one of the world’s largest consumer base and fastest growing retail destinations. Commercial floriculture is today a potential money-spinner and an economically viable agri-business.

Cut flower trade in terms of export oriented units dealing with rose and gerbera is flourishing. Other cut flowers like gladiolus, tuberose, lilum, chrysanthemum, etc. are also being cultivated along with traditional loose flowers like jasmine, rose, crossendra, marigold on a higher scale. However, growing awareness of Indian consumers and popularity for cut flowers is creating demand for diversified flower crops. Further, trade of some flowers in the market is responsible for gluts. Thus, there is an urgent need to diversify the floriculture industry by introducing and adoption of anthurium as a cut flower with unique shape and high longevity.

Precision farming is an advanced approach for the flower growers to enhance their income. It mainly includes information and technology of farm management system to identify, analyze and manage variability within fields for optimum profitability, sustainability and protection of the land resource. Precision farming is applied for increasing efficiencies that can be realized by understanding and dealing with the natural variability found within a field.

Anthurium is taking a good place in market with high value. Farmers are undertaking anthurium cultivation and in this direction, precise farming technology will help the farmers to grow the crop with good quality and higher production per unit area.

18.1 INTRODUCTION

Organic farming systems have attracted increasing attention over the last one decade because they are perceived to offer some solutions to the problems currently besetting the agricultural sector. In the western world, organic farming is catching fast (Malik, 2000). Indiscrimpte use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides have resulted in environmental and health hazards along with socio-economic problems (Padmadevi, et al., 2008). India is bestowed with lot of potential to produce all varieties of organic products due to its diverse agro-climatic regions. In several parts of the country, the inherited tradition of organic farming is an added advantage. Organic farming is necessary to attain the goal of sustainable development. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), sustainable agriculture “is the successful management of resources for agriculture to satisfy changing human needs while maintaining or enhancing the quality of environment and conserving natural resources”. All definitions of sustainable agriculture lay great emphasis on maintaining an agriculture growth rate, which can meet the demand for food of all living things without draining the basic resources. Organic farming is one of the several approaches found to meet the objectives of sustainable agriculture. Many techniques used in organic farming like intercropping, mulching and integration of crops and livestock are not alien to various agriculture systems including the traditional agriculture practised in countries like India. However, organic farming is based on various laws and certification programmes, which prohibit the use of almost all synthetic inputs, treated seeds and health of the soil is recognized as the central theme of the method. Adverse effects of modern agricultural practices on the farm resources and health and over all survival of living being have been well documented all over the world. Application of technology, particularly in terms of the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has been serious concern. Their negative effects on the environment are manifested through soil erosion, water shortages, salination, soil contamination, genetic erosion, etc. Organic farming has the potential to provide benefits in terms of environmental protection, conservation of non-renewable resources and improved food quality. It is very important to maintain long term soil biological activity, ensure effective peak management, recycle wastes to return nutrients to the land, provide attentive care for farm animals and handle the agricultural products without the use of extraneous synthetic additives or processing in accordance with largely acceptable standard and applicable standards of destination country/ countries. Organic farming has several advantages over the conventional one apart, from the protection of both the environment and human health. Improved soil fertility, better water quality, prevention of soil erosion, generation of rural employment, etc. are some of them.

19.1 INTRODUCTION

Indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals over the last five decades has adversely affected soil fertility, crop productivity, produce quality and particularly the environment. These degenerative effects of intensive agriculture have compelled to think for alternative and sustainable system of agriculture. As a result, number of alternative systems viz Biodynamic, Rishi Krishi, Panchagavya Krishi, Natueco Organic Farming, Homa Organic Farming, Natural Farming and Jaivik Krishi have emerged in different parts of the country. In organic farming production is achieved without use of chemical input (Singh, 2011 and Malik, 2000). In these systems, maximum reliance is placed on self-regulatory agro systems and locally available or farm derived renewable resources. Since the soil, water and environment have been contaminated, hence even organic production techniques once effective are now are not capable of mitigating these issues. This has created number of myths in the mind of policy makers and even large number of farmers.

20.1 INTRODUCTION

With rapid increase in area under micro irrigation, now fertigation is getting momentum in many states in the country. At present, most of the soluble fertilizers are imported in the country. Hence, these are very expensive and beyond the reach of common farmers. It is interesting to record that for number of nutrients, which are becoming constraints in most of the Indian soils, soluble formulations have yet to be developed. This calls for some alternative options. As an alternatives liquid manures like cow urine, biogas slurry, or fermented manures etc can be sprinkled on the soil, applied with irrigation water or diluted and sprayed as foliar fertilizers (Frank et al; 2005).To our understanding, organic fertilizers /organic liquid manures referred now as bio-enhancers are essential to maintain the activity of microorganisms and other life forms in the soil. These are prepared locally, can resolve number of apprehensions and will be helpful in boosting production and mitigating number of nutritional disorders in most of soils and crops. It is interesting to record that these can be prepared at the farm with some infrastructure facilities and hands on training. Most of these formulations are used through irrigation. These organisms (bacteria and moulds) improve the soil health by solubilzing the complex organic substrates into simple forms and make it available to the plant, resulting in increased productivity. If these are integrated with micro irrigation techniques after proper filtration their efficacy can further be improved.

Cow dung and urine are important component in organic farming. Cow dung is rich source of microbial consortia Actinomycetes, which are helpful in control of many plant diseases. A potential species Streptosporangium psedovulgare of Actinomycetes and four strains of Bacillus subtalis have been identified at CISH, Lucknow (Pathak et.al., 2009).These showed anti pathogenic potential against anthracnose gummosis, stem end rot and dieback pathogens. These were observed to attack mycelia cell wall and finally the host cell degenerates completely. Organic liquid manures play a key role in promoting growth and providing immunity to plant system ( Sreenivasa et al., 2010).

21.1 INTRODUCTION

High population pressure has forced us to plough 46 per cent of our country area for food production. The present productivity is 12.36 tonnes/ha of fruits needs to be raised to 40.0 tonnes/ha by using N : P₂O₅: K₂O with other inputs, since recommended ratio is 0.75:0.50:1.00 only.

Since cost of the inputs like fertilizers and manures are very high, hence, efficient nutrient management is essential for sustainable fruit production and protection of the environment from different types of hazards occurring due to misuse of costly fertilizers.

The soils of India and especially of arid and semi-arid regions are impoverished to plant nutrients. Considering economy, energy and environment, it is imperative to use nutrients effectively by adopting the appropriate doses proper, placement and correct timings of application and to sustain the available nutrients in soil at the optimum level.

22.1 INTRODUCTION

The life-styles, economic conditions and food habits have a great effect on food marketing. There is an increasing demand for fresh fruits and vegetables and their processed products. Fruits and vegetables are processed into a variety of products and it is required to be picked at its right stage. For making juice, fruits should be picked at ripe and soft stage, for canning purpose it should be picked at fully mature but firm just before ripe stage. Fruits and vegetables are passed through a long channel before their consumption; which may lead to a number of undesirable changes in their composition. Thus effective post harvest management of fruits and vegetables is essential to provide their acceptable quantity and quality worth consumption. In this regard handling, processing and preservation and value additions form important loci.

23.1 INTRODUCTION

Mandarin oranges are the most popular among the citrus fruits and alone occupy more than 50% share under widely divergent citrus crops grown across the globe. In India, oranges have a place of prominence among fruit kind after mango and banana. It’s delicious, relishing, nutritious and handy fruits offer best mouth feel especially during summer when other fruits fail to quench thirst of throat. There is a need of scientific handling so as to accentuate trade and to exploit market potential of mandarin fruit.

Country wide, orange covers an area of 5.02 lakh hectares and the production is of the order of 43.96 lakh tonnes accounting for 12.03% and 6.40 % share under total acreage and production respectively in the fruits (Anon., 2010). Orange’s production in developed countries is projected to grow at an annualized rate of 0.6 per cent and that in developing country at 0.8 per cent.

In Rajasthan, ‘Nagpur’ mandarin and ‘Kinnow’ fruits occupy a place of prominence among various citrus crops grown. Cultivation of ‘Nagpur’ mandarin is mainly concentrated to Jhalawar district where it covers about 6040 ha area producing 87586 tons fruits, annually. After the implementation of National Horticulture Mission the area is further increasing steadily in the district.

24.1 INTRODUCTION

Citrus fruits occupy third position after mango and banana in the country and ranks 6^th in the world citrus production. The productivity, however, is only about 40 percent of that in Spain, Brazil, USA or Japan (8.4 t/ha) only. Of the total production, mandarin contributes more than that of sweet orange in which major chunk of 57.72 per cent was shared by Maharashtra, followed by 19.81 per cent by Madhya Pradesh state. At present, the Brazil is the largest producer of citrus, followed by USA. There are number of issues which need to be addressed to make fruit quality comparable to the international standards. Post harvest losses of fruits are also enormous mainly due to unscientific method of harvesting, lack of utilization of post-harvest handling techniques due to which 25 - 30 per cent losses occur in developing countries in comparison to 5 - 10 per cent in developed countries. Synergistic effect of pre-harvest practices and post harvest handling is the key to get the fruit of high quality and enhanced shelf life.

Recent trends are emerging as use of less chemicals and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) during cultivation. Maintenance of quality standards and regulations up to retail market level is of utmost importance. Whereas, in marketing sector, now-a-days participation of private players on large scale in retail marketing of produce is noticed.

Value chains have become the centre of considerable academic and practical interests. Part of the reason for the rapidly growing interest in value chains in the citrus sector has been the result of changes in global retailing. In a large number of countries, supermarkets chains now dominate food retailing. Supermarkets have increasingly integrated their operations involving many aspects of the post farm gate operations. Value chain management is one of these. Some identified issues relates to supply chain bottlenecks resulting in farmers experiencing gluts of commodities, processors not being able to procure sufficient raw materials for their plants, retailers not getting sufficient products to meet the demand of consumers, and exporters are unable to meet foreign consumer requirements. Lack of innovation that affects the entire chain, an example being the introduction of plastic crates for a fruit processor involves a vast number of actors in the chain to coordinate their efforts.

25.1 INTRODUCTION

With the natures gift, consciously or unconsciously human select the best among the lot based on sensual judgment. Warnings about the dangers of the excessive use of the chemicals for the human health and biodiversity have been well reported over the years. The world health organization estimates the occurrence of some more than 25 million cases of excessive chemical use slow poisoning globally each year (Anon, 2010). In developing countries, sulphur and chlorine based formulations are often used for post-harvest treatments of horticultural produce. Recently, some bio-based and other safe post-harvest treatment materials have been formulated for loss reduction and shelf-life extension of fresh fruits. In this article, the recent and safe materials/agents for postharvest treatments are discussed.

25.2 MATERIALS FOR POST–HARVEST TREATMENTS

25.2.1 Polyamines

Polyamines (PAs) are low molecular weight small aliphatic amines that are ubiquitous in living organisms and have been implicated in a wide range of biological processes, including plant growth, development and response to stress (Smith, 1985). In plants, they have been implicated in a wide range of biological processes, including growth, development and abiotic stress responses. The most common polyamines are Putrescine (PUT), Spermidine (SPD) and Spermine (SPM) found in every plant cell in titers ranging from approximately micromolar to millimolar, together with the enzymes regulating their metabolism and depend greatly on environmental conditions, especially stress.

26.1 INTRODUCTION

India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables and ranks next to Brazil and China, respectively. With the commensurate total production of 63.5 and 87.2 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables, the country shares about 11 per cent of total production under fruits and 13 per cent of total production under vegetables, respectively (Anon., 2008) in global scenario. Horticultural produce undergoes spoilage at the time of harvesting, handling, storage, marketing and processing resulting in huge wastage. Efficient management of this waste can help preserving essential nutrients of our food and feeds and bringing down the production cost of processed product, besides minimizing pollution hazards and purifying the environmental condition. Recycling of horticultural waste is one of the most important aspects of utilizing it in a number of new ways to yield new products and meeting the requirements of essential products required to mankind.

In advance countries like USA, Australia, Brazil and Israel, more than 50 per cent of fruits and vegetables productions are processed into different products, whereas, in India it is less than 2.0 per cent of total production. Generally, post harvest losses in fruits and vegetables range between 25-30 per cent of total production, valued at more than 57,000 crores annually due to lack of availability of appropriate post harvest infrastructure (Guleria and Verma, 2008). Horticultural crops are grown all over the country incurring wastes everywhere. There are different stages of waste from farm to fork.

27.1 INTRODUCTION

In India, the horticulture sector contributes around 29 per cent of the GDP and 37 per cent of the total exports of agricultural commodities from about 13.08% of area. India has been placed as the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables; largest producer and consumer of cashew nut, tea, spices; third largest producer of coconut; fourth largest producer and consumer of rubber and sixth largest producer of coffee in the world. Several new programmes area in operation and significant developments in area expansion, production, value-addition and exports have taken place. Today, as a result of better synergy between research agencies, technological and policy initiatives by the governmental agencies, proactive participation of private players and higher degree of diversification to horticulture, this sector has emerged as a sustainable and viable proposition for even the small and marginal farmers including different stakeholders in the commodity chain. In spite of the remarkable progress made in the horticulture Sector in India, there is lot of scope in improvement in safety and quality aspects of horticultural produce.

The concept of biosafety encompasses a range of measures, policies and procedures for minimizing potential risks likely to appear to the environment and human health. Such safeguards must be put in place now. Biosafety is currently being promoted in a variety of ways by industry, governments and civil society. Quality and safety become prime concern because most of the horticultural produce are consumed daily in fresh, cooked and processed form and contribute major share in our daily diet. To ensure biosafety and quality of horticultural produce we need to ensure: a)Supply of quality inputs, b)Adoption of good cultural practices, c) Handling and processing of horticultural produce in scientific /hygienic manner, d)Packing, storage, transportation and delivery etc. in such a way that it reaches at consumers’ table without deteriorating the quality.

To ensure such aspects various preventive and certification measures have been initiated by government and certification agencies all over the globe including India , such as prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954, Agricultural Produce Marketing Act, 1937, Food Safety Standards Association of India (FSSAI), Food Safety System Certification (FSSC:2200), International Food Certification (IFC), Food Chain Traceability, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), Food Product Orders (FPO), etc. The major emphasis under these certifications/regulations is to ensure quality and safety of the produce and minimize the risks by reducing the biological, chemical, physical hazards like microorganism contamination, level of heavy metal/chemicals/ drugs beyond the critical limits, residual effects of toxic substances etc. Brief of a few certification/regulations are listed below.

28.1 INTRODUCTION

Precision Farming has assumed great significance in the country for making the use of available resources more judiciously and efficiently. It is farm management strategy which utilizes precise information to increase profit and to reduce enviornmental impact. It takes into account in field variability in soil fertility and crop conditions. In nutshell, it may be defined as management of input variables such as application rates, cultivars selections, tillage practices, irrigation scheduling, optimization of soil and plant nutrient through nutrient management practices and management of pest and diseases by reducing the quantities of pesticides. Development of new technologies has become integral part of precision farming.

Precision farming was widely accepted firstly as a management practice in corn belt of mid west United States of America which helped in increasing the yield and significant reduction in production costs. Besides, crops like wheat and soybean have also been included in its purview. In south east parts of U.S.A., research is currently on in the crops of citrus, cotton, groundnut, vegetables and even livestock. Precision farming management practices have also integrated controlling and monitoring of field information using geographical information system (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS), sensors, Variable Rate Technology (VRT) and yield monitoring. These components are highly sophisticated. GIS software stores data pertaining to soil type, nutrient levels etc in layers and assign that information to the particular field location. It can also be used to analyze characteristics between layers to develop application maps or other management options. Global Positioning System is a referencing device capable of identifying sites within a field. Global positioning system (GPS) helps in storing information regarding field location in terms of latitude and longitude. Maps showing variability of nutrient levels soil types, topography, pest incidence and yield can be created by virtue of it. It is a set of 24 satellites in high altitude orbit above the earth for pin pointing objects on the surface of the earth. These satellites continuously transmit radio signals which are picked up and deciphered by special receivers. A GPS receiver requires at least four satellites to determine its position on earth. Receivers are mounted on tractors/top of cab or on some high point to get a clear view of the spy. Crop stress, soil properties, pest incidence etc. are determined by the help of sensors through traveling over the field by tractors or combine. These can be used for measurement of soil conductivity, fertility status, weeds etc. Another type of sensor viz Remote sensors (aerial/ satellite) can provide instead maps of field conditions. Computer control device and associated hardware are part of Variable Rate Technology (VRT) for application of fertilizers, pesticides etc on the basis of field characteristics of the specific location. In precision farming, information is needed about mean characteristics of small, relatively homogenous management zones. It is data acquisition of the farms to find the soil, vegetation and other parameters which are amenable to remote sensing. Remote sensing techniques are helpful in providing continuous acquired data of agricultural crops. Remote sensors image vegetation growing on different soil types with different water availability. The following applications can be made by relief sensors:

29.1 INTRODUCTION

Some historians believe that it was women who first domesticated crop plants and thereby initiated the art and science of farming. While men went out hunting in search of food, women started collecting seeds from the native flora and began cultivating those of interest from the point of view of food, feed, fodder, fibre and fuel. This view is strengthened by the fact that women have been traditionally seed selectors. Even today this tradition has continued in many parts of the developing world. Women have played and continue to play a pivotal role in the conservation of basic life support system such as land, water, flora and fauna. They have protected the health of the soil through organic recycling and promoted crop security through the maintenance of varietal diversity and genetic resistance. In many hill and remote areas of developing countries such as Himalyan region, agriculture is largely in hands of women. Men tend to go to towns and cities in search of salaried jobs for fulfilment of family income. Therefore, without total intellectual and physical participation of women, it will not be possible to popularize alternative systems of land management for shifting cultivation, arrest gene and soil erosion, and promote the care of the soil and the health of economic plants and farm animals. Women also tend to look at problems in their totality from the sowing of the crop to its ultimate utilization either as food, feed or raw material for industry. Since they are usually involved in of marketing, they generally possess a clear understanding of market preferences and prejudices. Therefore, for an economically and ecologically sustainable agriculture the involvement of women farmers and farm women (agriculture farmers with and without assets) in the process of modernization of farming practices and village industries is absolutely essential. Horticulture is a major part of Indian agriculture. Although belated, their importance has now been recognized in India not only to provide the much needed balanced nutrition and gainful occupation to our populace but also to develop viable internal and export trade. Fruits like banana and vegetables like potato being energy rich are considered prominent food crops e.g. banana can produce as high as 37 million calories per hectare. Unfortunately the component of fruits and vegetables in Indian diet is hardly six per cent which should be raised at least five times so that the per capita per day consumption mathches the recommended dose of 85g. fruits, 75 – 125g. leafy vegetables 85g. other vegetable and 85g. roots and tubers. To achieve this present production of fruits and vegetables would need to be pushed up considerably by increasing the production levels and the area both.

Precision farming is also known as precision agriculture. A farmer is not only expected to produce more for the increasing population and his family but save and protect the fragile environment while practicing it. Advanced technologies with appropriate and exact inputs such as precision farming can take care better of environment. Precision farming is right farming operations at right time leading to maximize profit. Every farming activity performed with precision by doing the right thing, in the right place, in the right way, at the right time and with right technology leading to maximize profit is known as precision farming. It is an efficient, eco-friendly and accurate management of agriculture inputs such as water, seed, fertilizers, pesticides and harvesting tools and machinery to maximize profit and reduce waste. The basic concept of precision farming is to match agricultural inputs and operations as per crop (variety/hybrid/cultivar) and agroclimatic conditions with accuracy to their better use efficiency. Perfection (nothing requisite is wanting) in farming is the key to precision farming.

Precision farming is based on global positioning system (GPS). The unique character of GPS is precision in time and space. Its use is spreading to all farm operations. Precision farming is an integrated information and production based farming system that is designed to increase long term, site specific and whole farm production efficiency, productivity and profitability while minimizing, waste and unintended impacts on the environment. This concept of precision agriculture is based on observing, measuring and responding to inter and intra field variability in crops.

Farm management strategy is the key to precision agriculture that uses integrated smart technologies such as sensors, GIS, GPS, satellite radars, drones, IoT (Internet of things) and data analytics to develop informed crop production and management decisions. The field variations are precisely measured with the help of technologies to optimize applications of inputs such as manures, fertilizers, pesticides, bio-agents and water use to increase crop yield at minimum cost. The aim of precision farming is to increase productivity, decrease production costs and minimize the environmental impact of farming.

It is a common knowledge that most of the farmers apply irrigation water until all the points in the field are fully wetted and covered with a thin sheet of water. Studies have indicated that a significant (20-25%) amount of irrigation water is lost during its application at the farm due to poor farm designing and unevenness of the fields. This problem is more pronounced in the case of rice fields. Unevenness of fields leads to inefficient use of irrigation water and also delays tillage and crop establishment options. Fields that are not levelled have uneven crop stands, increased weed burdens and uneven maturing of crops. All these factors tend to contribute to reduced yield and produce quality which reduce the potential farm income. Effective land levelling is meant to optimize wateruse efficiency, improve crop establishment, reduce the irrigation time and effort required to manage crop.

Reasonably levelled agriculture fields has advantage over uneven and undulating crop fields as unevenness of the soil surface has a significant impact on the seed germination, crop stand and its yield. Traditionally land levelling was being done throughout India by bullock drawn plough or tractors and applying different devices for levelling the field by visual assessment e.g. on small plots with hoes, or with draft animals and equipment such as ploughs and bars or scrapers or grading. Equipment such as grading blades and hydraulically operated levellers mounted on wheels are used with tractors. More advanced and sophisticated levelling equipment is operated with a laser emitter, a laser sensor or receiver, and a scraper pulled by a tractor. After the desired level or slope of the field and/or the difference of the high and low spots have been surveyed, the emitter is set to send a rotating laser beam creating a plane of laser light above the field surface. The laser light is used as the levelling reference. It directs the hydraulic system of the moving tractor and scraper, and thereby controls the levelling. Hence, laser levelling or laser land levelling is levelling the crop field within certain degree of desired slope using a guided laser beam throughout the field.

Sowing of Seed: It is a process of planting seeds of crops in well prepared or no till field or nursery beds/pots for raising crops in following methods:

Methods of Sowing: The sowing method is determined by the crop to be sown and resources on the disposal of farmer. There are 6 sowing methods which differ in their merits, demerits and adoption. Those are:

1.Broad casting

2.Broad or Line sowing

3.Dibbling

4.Transplanting

5.Planting

6.Putting seeds behind the plough.

Seedling:A seedling is a very young plant that grows from a seed. When the moisture, light, and temperature conditions are correct, the seedling’s development begins with seed germination and the formation of three main parts:

1.Radicle - Embryonic root

2.Hypocotyl - Embryonic shoot

3.Cotyledons - Seed leaves.

In vegetables and annual ornamental crops where generally seed size is small they are germinated in nursery beds or in plug trays indoor (greenhouse) or outdoor(field), hardened before transplanting.

Sapling: A sapling is a young tree, say more than 1 year and less than 3 years’ old. In the life cycle of trees, a seedling converts into a sapling as the next stage of development. It is nearly one-meter tall and generally remains to be known as a sampling until its stem reaches 7 centimetre in diameter. The time period of this stage depends upon the particular species of a tree. In vegetable and annual ornamental crops seedlings generally are one month to 40 days old. Older than this, seedlings do not give better yields on transplanting. Very young seedlings exhibit larger mortality on transplanting.

Transplanting: Transplanting or replanting is the technique of moving a plant by uplifting from one location to another. From nursery beds seedlings or saplings are shifted and planted either in the field or greenhouses for commercial growing. Seedlings are uprooted if grown in soil medium. They are transplanted with growing medium. Uprooted seedlings take time to establish at a new place and face transplanting shock- time taken by roots to establish contact with the soil or growing medium.

In soil culture, also known as in-ground culture, crops are raised on level ground as well as in raised beds. Soil culture is more often used in growing vegetables (e.g., tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and peppers) rather than ornamental crops such as herbs, roses, freesia, and foliage plants as well as popular with smaller commercial and organic growers. The soil should be well drained, fertile, have a medium to light texture and be high in organic matter. The soil in a greenhouse should be worked as deeply as possible to break any existing hardpans or those that may have developed because of repeated traffic over the area. Fumigation or pasteurization of the soil is a must before each crop or at least once a year. This will help to destroy disease, nematodes and weeds. If soil is steamed, hold it at 180 degrees F (82°C) for 4 hours. Production techniques used in soil culture are similar to intensive crop production methods used in the field. Although soil is readily available at most places where a greenhouse is located most commercial growers, no longer rely on soil culture in the greenhouse as they did ealier. Some of the reasons include insect and disease pressures and costly fumigation.

Crops are grown in soil. There are different types of soil. The soil type helps farmers decide what crops will grow best because some crops do better with particular types of soil. Testing the soil helps determine what nutrients are available or unavailable for growing certain crops. Farmers usually have local agricultural experts test the soil on their land for information on how to proceed in growing crops. The best soil has a balance of nutrients, such as potassium, magnesium, and others. Certain crops may need more of one nutrient, so farmers put back those ingredients into the soil for better crops.

Six different types of soil are listed below along with the crops which do well in these soils.

1.Loam: This type of soil helps grow the best possible crops because it provides the necessary elements for plant growth and development. Loamy sand contains mostly sand plus clay and silt. Such soils are good for root vegetables, such as carrots, radish, turnip, beets, leafy vegetables, potatoes and tomatoes.

2.Clay: Cabbage and broccoli grow well in clay soil, but it is not good for root vegetables because of its dense texture which does not allow free flow of water.

3.Sand: Root vegetables, such as turnips, parsnips, and carrots, grow well in sandy soil.

4.Silt: Silty soil is fertile and offers nutrients for plant development. Lettuce, cabbage, carrots, turnips, and many other vegetables flourish in silt. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries do well.

5.Peat: Peaty soil provides plant growth when mixed with rich organic matter, lime, and compost that reduces its acidity. Legumes, root crops, cabbage, and spinach are easily grown in soil that’s well-drained.

6.Chalk: Sweet corn, beets, spinach, and cabbage are among the vegetables that benefit from chalkier soil. It is recommended that farmers use fertilizers and balance the pH levels to deal with the alkaline that can sometimes stunt growth.

Soil map is a map showing diversity of soil types and its properties such as pH, texture, organic matter and depth of horizons in the area of interest obtained as the end of soil survey. Generally, soil maps are used to simply identify soils and their properties, but are sometimes required for more specific purposes, such as the suitability of soils for a particular crop, suitability for irrigation, erosion risk and many other specific needs or environmental threats.

Soils fulfil many functions important for agriculture, forestry and the management of soil resources and natural hazards. The functionality of soils depends on their properties; hence, accurate and spatially highly resolved maps of basic soil properties such as texture, organic carbon content and pH for specific soil depth are needed for the sustainable management of soils. The surface soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration is a useful soil property to map soils, interpret soil properties, and guide fertilizer and agricultural chemical applications.

Traditionally farmers apply fertilizers, chemicals and other crop production inputs to optimize the production of the field as a whole. This results in application of over application of inputs and low inputs in certain locations of the field because of variation in field characteristics including soil organic carbon, soil texture, soil nutrients, field topography, and other properties. In addition, uniform applications may increase the chances of pollution of the environment due to excess application in some field area. Precision farming technology has been shown to optimize application rates if the variation of field characteristics can be used to guide the application rate of crop-production inputs. The organic carbon concentrations of surface soil have been used to spatially vary the application rate of some crop-production inputs. The surface soil organic carbon concentration affects the activity of many herbicides, influences plant-available nitrogen and also affects the soil’s ability to adsorb plant nutrients. Knowing its concentration may therefore be useful, especially if its spatial distribution could be determined accurately and for low cost.

In crop production mostly basic inputs are seeds or seedlings/planting material, irrigation water, fertilizers, weedicides and pesticides. Site specific input application means providing plant input requirement at right time, in right amount and at right place. Site specific is a term that refers to treating the smallest possible area as a single unit. A site is simply the smallest unit the farmer can manage with the tools available. The treatment of each site is specific to the needs of each site as determined by soil test data and crop scouting reports. There are technology tools for using site-specific management more effectively. In precision agriculture site specific application tools and technologies are as under

In crop production mostly basic inputs are seeds or seedlings/planting material, irrigation water, fertilizers, weedicides and pesticides. Site specific input application means providing plant input requirement at right time, in right amount and at right place. Site specific is a term that refers to treating the smallest possible area as a single unit. A site is simply the smallest unit the farmer can manage with the tools available. The treatment of each site is specific to the needs of each site as determined by soil test data and crop scouting reports. There are technology tools for using site-specific management more effectively. In precision agriculture site specific application tools and technologies are as under:

A. Precision irrigation

The prevalent flood irrigation in crops would be the thing of past because of limited water resources, waste of water in leaching and evaporation and cumbersome management resulting in considerable loss of water. The micro irrigation (sprinkler and drip- irrigation) are preferred depending on the field topography. Undulated fields are better irrigated by sprinkler and laser levelled field by drip irrigation. There are precise tools to deliver only required amount of water at different stages of growth of crops with the help of sensors. Irrigation water volume release is mechanised and automated. Efforts of using microirrigation methods such as sprinkler and drip irrigation have been made in last three decades in many parts of the world. There is no ideal irrigation method available which may be suitable for all weather conditions, soil structure and variety of crops cultures.

Precision irrigation is worldwide accepted concept in irrigation. Precision irrigation involves the accurate and precise application of water to meet the specific requirements of individual plants or management units and minimize adverse environmental impact. Commonly accepted definition of precision irrigation is sustainable management of water resources which involves application of water to the crop at the right time, right amount, right place and right manner thereby helping to manage the field variability of water in turn increasing the crop productivity and water use efficiency along with reduction in energy cost on irrigation. It utilizes a systems approach to achieve ’differential irrigation’ treatment of field variation (spatial and temporal) as opposed to the ’uniform irrigation’ treatment that underlies traditional management systems. Precise and regulated application of irrigation water and plant nutrients at low pressure and frequent intervals through drippers/emitters directly into the root zone of plant with the help of close network of pipes is known as drip irrigation system.

Sensing of heterogeneities in the field is the prerequisite for timely and spatially adjusted insect pests and disease management. Recent developments in sensor technologies have led to a broadening of their capacity to detect pests and thereby improve application in crop protection practice. These sensors can be space-borne (satellite), air-borne (airplane, unmanned aerial vehicle) or groundbased (handheld, vehicle-mounted) and provide spatial information that has added value management. Insects are usually unevenly distributed throughout an area in nature. Despite this knowledge, analytical methods and technology have limited insect pest management to uniform management decisions in the field. The methods and technology to map and analyse insect spatial distribution have been developed to a level where the uneven nature of insect populations can be considered for application of insect-pest management practices. Site-specific pest management utilizes spatial information about pest distribution to apply control method only where pest density is economically high within a field. This results saving in pesticide and labour cost. In conventional farming pesticides are applied uniformly to the field resulting in heavy use of pesticide and labour beside polluting the environment. Site-specific application of pesticides in precision farming helps to overcome this problem

Near-range and remote sensing techniques have demonstrated a high potential in detecting diseases and in monitoring crop stands for sub-areas with infected plants. The occurrence of plant diseases depends on specific environmental and epidemiological factors; diseases, therefore, often have a patchy distribution in the field. The use of non-invasive optical sensors for the detection, identification and quantification of plant diseases on different scales is made of in precision farming. Most promising sensor types are thermography, chlorophyll fluorescence and hyperspectral sensors. For the detection and monitoring of plant disease, imaging systems are preferable to non-imaging systems. To utilise the full potential of these highly sophisticated, innovative technologies and high dimensional, complex data for precision crop protection, a multi-disciplinary approach—including plant pathology, engineering, and informatics—is required.

Yield mapping or yield monitoring is a technique in agriculture of using GPS data to analyse variables such as crop yield and moisture content in a given field. This data produces a yield map that can be used to compare yield distribution within the field from year to year. This allows farmers to determine areas of the field that, for example, may need to be more heavily irrigated or are not yielding any crop at all. It also allows farmers to show the effects of a change in field-management techniques, to develop nutrient strategies for their fields, and as a record of crop yield.

Yield is ultimate indicator of variation of different agronomic parameters in different parts within the field. So mapping of yield and interpretation and correlation of that map with the spatial and temporal variability of different agronomic parameters helps in development of next season’s crop management strategy. Yield monitors measure the volume or mass flow rate to generate time periodic record of quantity of harvested crop for that period. Time periodic yield data is then synchronized with location address obtained from on-board GPS system to create most common colour coded thematic map. Yield mapping can be carried out easily in mechanized crops. By using either loading cells that weighed the crop passing on a conveying belt or an array of sonic beam mounted over the grape discharge chute to estimate the volume, and the tonnage, of fruit harvested. Tree crops seem to have more stable yields. In handpicked fruits yield mapping is more difficult. Yield maps are one of the most valuable sources of spatial data for precision agriculture. In developing these maps, it is essential to remove the data points that do not accurately represent the yield at a corresponding location. Map averaging or smoothing is usually done to aid data interpretation. A long yield history is essential to avoid drawing conclusions that are affected by the weather or other unpredictable factors during a particular year. Processed yield maps can be used to investigate factors affecting the yield or to prescribe variable rate applications of agricultural inputs according to spatially variable yield goals (yield potential).

Precision farming involves the collection of data by observation and measurement, and the subsequent response. Sensing is key to the collection of data; whether this is remote from space by satellites, by aircraft or drones, or by proximal sensors used on the ground, mounted on vehicles or otherwise. Responses are increasingly automated and data are often integrated into wholefarm management systems. Early commercial applications were directed towards improving crop nutrition, however, utilising precision technologies to control weeds, pests and diseases is now a reality.

Precision crop protection requires detailed data on the occurrence and distribution of problems at the earliest possible stage of detection. An early detection is the key for successful management of pests in precision farming. Some of the key aspects are:

Identification: Identifications of crops, targets and beneficial; temporal and spatial distribution: presence of the target before, during and after the crop growth period;

Sampling techniques: statistically valid sampling regimes must be used to permit an accurate view of any problem

Thresholds: under particular circumstances, the point at which action to ensure levels of infestation or damage are kept to those deemed to be acceptable;

Prediction: the speed and pattern of development of a problem must be capable of being modelled, e.g. spread and severity of insect pests and fungal diseases; weed emergence according to species, dormancy and environmental conditions.