eChapters

Introduction

Horticultural crops comprising of fruits, vegetables, flowers, medicinal and aromatic plants, and mushrooms play an important role in meeting the livelihood, nutritional security and socio-economic development of farmers. India’s horticulture production (287 mt) surpassed food grain output (265 mt) fifth year in a row in 2016-17 (First Advance Estimates, 2016-17). Horticultural crops together contribute around 30.4% to the agricultural GDP from nearly 14% of the total cropped area, and contribute nearly 37% to the export of the agricultural commodity from the country (Anonymous, 2015). Fruits and vegetables are an important part of the human diet and a major source of biologically active substances such as vitamins and secondary metabolites. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, with a combined production of 260.7 million metric tons (91.7 million metric tons of fruits and 169 million metric tons of vegetables) during 2016-17.

Rapid growth in horticultural production has been accompanied by heavy use of pesticides thus causing major concern over health effects. Heavy pesticide use occurs, in part, because numerous pests attack horticultural crops, including the fruit itself, reducing market value and yield on high-value crops. Pesticide use raises safety concerns for agricultural workers who apply pesticides. Concern is particularly high in flower production because of heavy spraying in enclosed conditions. Potential food safety risks from pesticide residues are also a significant issue for importers of fresh fruits and vegetables and a market-risk factor for exporters who may have shipments detained or rejected if residues exceed allowable limits (George et al., 2003).

The increased use of chemical pesticides on horticultural crops has raised a number of economic, ecological and health concern. Economic concerns arise from the over reliance and use of chemical pesticides which increase the costs of production. Indiscriminate use of pesticides has resulted in ecological problems of common pests developing resistance, elimination of natural enemies and other beneficial arthropods, and environmental pollution. Human health concerns focus on risks from shortcomings in protective clothing, large deviations from recommended doses/situations, and excessive run-off into the soil and water sources. These concerns are exacerbated by poorly regulated internal markets for pesticides that have fostered usage of banned or outdated products; creating a situation that if not stopped will negatively impact on horticultural exports to countries with more stringent regulatory requirements for fresh crop produce. Meeting these food safety requirements has become a major challenge for the fresh produce export sector of many countries. To ensure and maintain export compliance, grower and consumer safety, and environmental integrity; farmers, government and development partners are developing programmes designed to improve pesticides usage, regulation and management on horticultural crops (Karungi et al., 2011). In this chapter, major important horticultural crops grown in India have been selected to illustrate trends in pesticide usage and regulation, and the development and application of alternative pest management practices through farmer participation and training.

Rivers are the most important system for water, for irrigation and human settlement. Historically, civilizations always nucleated near rivers, and latter also had social and religious significance. Rivers in India are considered holy and play the most important part in the lives of people, fauna & flora and the future environmental system.

The Ganga Basin is the largest river basin in India which includes the Ganga, the Yamuna, the Ghagra, the Gandak, the Kaveri basin etc. Compared to these, the Vishwamitri River, situated between Mahi River in North and Narmada River in South in Central Gujarat is a small seasonal river but it is very important for the city of Vadodara and Central Gujarat region. This seasonal river originates from Pavagadh hills and flows east to west. It is a typical small river with the kind of problems in most rivers in India and other countries – liquid and solid wastes, enouncements, blocking of water ways, floods in monsoon months and dry dumping basin during most other months etc.

1. Introduction
Water is the most crucial input for agricultural production. Globally, more than 80% of all freshwater used by humans are consumed in agriculture and most of it are for crop production (Morison et al., 2008). Currently about 60% of production in developing countries is derived from rainfall. Though irrigation provides only 10% of agricultural water use and covers just around 20% of the cropland, it can contribute about 40% of total food production since productivity of irrigated land is almost three times higher than that of rainfed land. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has predicted a net expansion of irrigated land of about 45 million is hectares in 93 developing countries (for a total of 242 million hectares in 2030). It projected that water withdrawals by the agriculture sector will increase by about 14% during 2000 – 2030 to meet the growing food demands (FAO, 2006). It is estimated that by 2050 in India, about 22 % of the geographic area and 17 % of the population will be under absolute water scarcity. The per capita availability of water which was about 1704 cubic meter in 2010 is projected to be 1235 cubic meter in 2050 (Anonymous, 2011). Infrastructure to increase the command area and minimize the gap of irrigation potential created and utilized is the dominant component of overall investment in agriculture (Anonymous, 2011). Besides this, judicious agricultural water management assists in ensuring good returns through efficient use of fertilizers and high yielding crop varieties. Above all, water will remain as a critical input for attaining sustainability in agricultural production. India’s current water supply is approximately 740 billion m3, which necessitates implementation of judicious water management technologies to enhance crop water productivity. In recent decades the world’s population has shown tremendous growth from an estimated 2.5 billion in the 1950’s to approximately 6.7 billion till date. It is expected that reduction in the average size of land holding, declining per capita water availability, deterioration of water quality etc. will seriously affect the sustainable use of water resources and will make it difficult to accomplish the target of producing 345 Mt of food grain in 2030 and 494 Mt in 2050 AD. To achieve the targeted food production, increase in the crop productivity from the present 2.3 to 4.0 t ha-1 under irrigated conditions and from 1.0 t ha-1 to 1.5 t ha-1 in rainfed area, productivity need to be increased at individual field level. This demands efficient use of water in agriculture, which can be achieved by reducing the losses of water and increasing the water uptake by the crops and it requires quantification of different water budgeting parameters like evapotranspiration and deep percolation.

Abiotic Stress Tolerance: The ability of plants to withstand and adapt to nonliving environmental stressors, such as drought, salinity, or extreme temperatures. Afforestation and Reforestation: Afforestation involves planting new forests in previously non-forested areas, while reforestation involves restoring degraded or deforested lands with trees to sequester carbon. Agrarian Society: A society characterized by agriculture as the primary means of subsistence and economic activity. Agrarian: Pertaining to the cultivation of land, agriculture, or rural life. Agribusiness: The commercial activities, including production, processing, and distribution, related to agriculture and farming. Agricultural Chemistry: A branch of chemistry that focuses on chemical processes and substances related to agriculture, including soil chemistry, fertilizer composition, and pesticide development. Agricultural Diversification: The strategy of expanding the range of crops, livestock, or other agricultural activities in a rural area to increase income and food security. Agricultural Economics: A branch of economics that focuses on the production, distribution, and consumption of agricultural goods and services, as well as the economic factors and policies that influence agricultural markets. Agricultural Extension: The application of scientific research and new technologies to agricultural practices through education and advisory services. Agricultural Innovation: The process of developing and adopting new ideas, practices, and technologies in agriculture. Agricultural Machinery: Various mechanical devices and equipment designed for use in farming, such as tractors, plows, and harvesters. Agricultural Subsidies: Financial incentives provided by governments to farmers or agricultural producers to support their production, stabilize prices, or achieve other economic or social objectives. Agriculture: The science and practice of cultivating crops, raising livestock, and managing resources for food production and other agricultural products. Agroecology: The scientific discipline that applies ecological principles to the design and management of sustainable agricultural systems, focusing on biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and reduced environmental impact.

Introduction

In view of the accepted importance of analysis, the workload on soil, plant and water testing laboratories has increased considerably in recent years. Therefore, analytical methods have needed to be accelerated through the automation of instruments. Almost all instruments either contain inbuilt computers or can interface directly with micro processors, thereby simplifying instrument operation and providing versatility for the analyst. Most operations can be performed through keyboard commands. This type of instrument automation enables:

9.1. Molecular breeding and marker assisted selection

Using conventional breeding, developing new varieties takes atleast 15-20 years.

Molecular breeding shortened the time to 7-10 years.

One of the tools for faster variety development is Marker Assisted Selection (MAS).

MAS-refers to use of DNA markers to assist phenotypic screening.

Plants that possess particular genes or quantitative trait loci (QTL) may be identified based on their genotype rather than their phenotype.

Moisture plays by far the most important role in soils as regards vegetation. It is through the medium of water that the plants obtain their quota of mineral food vital for their growth. If water is gradually withheld from the soil, at a certain stage, the plant will begin to wilt and soon dry up. The soil may still contain some moisture but the plant is unable to make use of it. The minimum moisture in the soil below which wilting will take place is called the Wilting Coefficient and at one time great importance was attached to it. The determination of this Coefficient, however, is tedius. One must grow a number of plants and slowly watch them wilt and determine the moisture content at that point. Moisture content of the soil is determined by heating a weighed quantity of the sample in an oven kept at 100-110 ^oC. The moisture is expressed as percentage on the oven-dry soil.

Term moisture stress is generally applied to the stomata opening and transpiration increases with time until they close due to high temperature.

5.1. Causes of moisture stress in plants

Main reason is extent of transpiration which is affected by leaf size and composition, size and distribution of stomata on leaf, atmospheric humidity, temperature, wind velocity and day length.

High atmospheric temperature due to intense sun and increased transpiration causes closure of stomata and wilting of leaves even, if soil moisture content is not limiting.

This deficit is made up during night due to decreased transpiration.

In plants, moisture content decreases either due to increased transpiration or reduction in absorption or both.

Monitoring and evaluation constitute systematic processes of tracking, assessing, and learning from program implementation and outcomes to improve performance, demonstrate accountability, and inform decision-making. These complementary yet distinct functions serve as essential management tools that enable organizations and programs to understand whether they are achieving their intended objectives, efficiently using resources, and creating desired changes in target populations or systems. The integration of monitoring and evaluation creates powerful feedback loops that enhance program effectiveness while providing evidence for policy development, resource allocation, and strategic planning. Monitoring is defined as the systematic and continuous collection, analysis, and use of information about program implementation, progress toward objectives, and changes in context that may affect program performance. It represents an ongoing process that tracks inputs, activities,

It is estimated that the country needs about 245mt of food grains, 30mt of sugar and jaggery, 7 lakh of tea, 1.7 lakh t of coffee, 10mt of vegetable oil and 17m bales of cotton. For realizing this, irrigated agriculture has to play an important role. To achieve this water use efficiency (WUE) in the irrigation sector has to be improved considerably as bulk of the available water is used in agriculture. But, with the ever-increasing population and industrialization problems, the demand for water by these sectors is bound to increase manyfolds in future. The requirement of water by different sectors during 2025 is estimated to be 105 m ham, which is 30 m ha m more than the present one. The share of water utilization for agriculture is expected to get reduced from the present percentage of 8~ to a value of 73 by 2025. Further, the demand for water for agricultural purposes is estimated to increase from 470 krrr’ to 740 krrr’ in a period of four decades (Table 1). During the same period there will be four­fold increase in the water demand for non-agriculture purposes.

Motivation represents the psychological force that drives individuals toward specific goals and behaviors, serving as the catalyst between intention and action. At its core, motivation encompasses the internal processes that energize, direct, and sustain human behavior over time. The term derives from the Latin word “movere,” meaning to move, which aptly captures its fundamental purpose of propelling individuals from a state of rest to purposeful activity. Contemporary organizational psychology defines motivation as the willingness to exert high levels of effort toward organizational goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability to satisfy individual needs. The essential elements of motivation form an interconnected system that transforms latent potential into observable behavior. The first element involves needs, which represent deficiencies or imbalances that create tension within an individual. These needs can be physiological,

The way a chemical moves, persists, and behaves in its surroundings is known as its behaviour. A chemical’s behaviour will dictate both its residual properties and field efficacy. The behaviour of insecticides is determined by their chemical and physical characteristics as well as the interaction of environmental elements. Our capacity to comprehend and forecast how insecticides will behave in the environment will determine our ability to keep utilizing insecticides.

Important features of systemic insecticides

1. They are not susceptible to wash off by rain

2. By virtue of their movement inside plants, they can afford to protection to regions where they have not been sprayed

3. They are often been transported towards region of growth

4. Since they have very weak contact action, safe to beneficial organism.

15.1. Minimum Support Price (MSP)

MSP are announced by GOI at beginning of sowing season for certain crops on basis of recommendations of CACP.

MSP is price fixed by GOI to protect producer - farmers against excessive fall in price during bumper production years.

Guarantee price for their produce from the Government.

Objectives are to support farmers from distress sales and to procure food grains for PDS.

Introduction

The term multipurpose trees (MPT) refers to all woody perennials that are grown to provide more than one significant function (shelter shade, land sustainability) of the land use system they implement. More emphasis is given to trees which are indigenous in nature and have the capability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. All trees are said to be multipurpose. The term “multipurpose” as applied to trees for agroforestry refers to their use for more than one service or production function in an agroforestry system (Burley and Wood, 1991).

Multipurpose trees species (MPT) are grown to provide more than one significant crop of function or form. These may include fuel wood, fiber, fodder, flower, fruit, fertilizer (6F) timber, industrial purpose, nitrogen f ixing, soil conservation, soil protection and rehabilitation, shade and nurse trees, medicine, windbreak, shelterbelts, live fences, aesthetic or recreational purpose, shown in Table 16.1.

Trees are an integral and indispensable constituents of our natural surroundings. The trees keep the environment clean, make the soil healthy and provide food, fibre and shelter to mankind and wild animals. Trees help in stabilizing the soil, a vital natural resource, prevention of soil and water erosion, control run off water in the catchment areas, acts as a shelter belt against wind erosion in arid zone, act as a wind breaker to protect the coastal region during storm and cyclone besides contributing substantially to economic development. The National Commission on Agriculture stress the need for afforestation of about 40 million ha of land presently lying barren because of salinity, sodicity, waterloggings, ravines, coastal sandy areas, stony and gravelly lands, high altitude and slopping lands. Several agencies in various parts of the country are engaged in afforestation of these degraded lands.

1.1. Mushroom

Fruiting body of fungus appears above ground and contains spores.

Fungi are network of fine microscopic threads collectively known as mycelium.

Fungi are the part of the plant kingdom and don’t contain chlorophyll and root system.

Mushroom comes under sub division Basidiomycotina, order – Agaricales.

Refers to entire operation of the induction and isolation of mutants.

Term mutation was introduced by Hugo de vries in 1900 in connection with sudden heritable changes observed by him in Oenothera.

Mycorrhizal symbiosis is the most prevalent and important mutualistic association in plant kingdom. ‘Mycorrhiza’- the word means fungus - root, this association was reported by A.B.Frank in the year 1885. Nearly 95% of plant species form this mycorrhizal association. This serves as critical linkage between plant roots and soil and characterized by the movement of plant produced carbon to fungus and fungal acquired nutrients to plants. Through its hyphae this fungus absorbs the available P from soil and transports directly to root cortex. Mycorrhizal associations vary widely in structure and function. There are seven types of mycorrhizae (Table 1). These are endo (arbuscular), ecto, ectendo, arbutoid, monotropoid, ericoid, and orchidaceous mycorrhizae. Among them, endomycorrhizae and ectomycorrhizae are the most abundant and widespread

Mycorrhizae denote the symbiotic associations between plant roots and fungal mycelia. Literally it means fungal root. In 1840, Vittandini proposed that ‘tree rootlets are nourished by certain fungal mycelia which mantle them’. The first illustrations of mycorrhiza were published in the same year by Robert Hartig. However, in 1885 A.B. Frank coined the term “mykorrhizen” to the mutualistic symbiotic fungal association of roots (‘mykos’ fungus ‘rhizen’ roots). He characterized the sheath-forming fungi on tree as ‘ectotropisch’ (ectotrophic) and those without such compact sheath as ‘endotropisch’ (endotrophic). Fossil records reveal that mycorrhizae are as old as terrestrial plants.