eChapters

Introduction

In the midst of the rapid speed of global change and in a highly competitive and risky business situation, the knowledgeable consumer gains power, and the market shift towards quick product creation. Innovation has emerged as a crucial component of success, particularly for new businesses, involving the development of economic productivity and operational and working producers (Baron and Tang, 2011). The systematic and planned transformation of a person into an entrepreneur is known as entrepreneurial development. The process of making an entrepreneur involves teaching everyday people how to be business owners, as well as imparting the necessary information, management, technical, financial, and marketing abilities. The definition of the entrepreneurial developmentprograme is a course created to assist a person in enhancing their entrepreneurial drive and obtaining the knowledge and talents required to carry out their position as an entrepreneur successfully (Kumari, 2014).

Introduction

The floriculture industry is changing quickly around the world. Due of globalization’s impact on revenue generation in various regions of the world, flowers are consumed per person in the majority of nations. Floriculture has a long history in India. Ancient Sanskrit classics like the Rig Veda (C 3000-2000 BC), Ramayana (C 1200-1300 BC), Mahabharata (before the 4th Century BC), Shudraka (C 100 BC), Ashvagodha (C 100 AD), Kalidasa (C 400 AD), and Sarangdhara (C. 400 AD) all make mention of flowers and gardens (C 1200 AD)(Dadlani, 2021).In many nations around the world, growing flowers is one of the industries’ tactics. India began producing flowers a few years ago, and the industry is now one of the nation’s major areas for expansion and change. Both socially and economically, floriculture is very advantageous. The trade in cut flowers has grown dramatically recently, both domestically and internationally. The freshness of the flowers for a longer period of time without losing their aesthetic value is what gives a flower its attractiveness. There is a massive loss in the value of cut flowers along the marketing channel, which may be 50% of the farm’s worth (Bhattacharjee, 1999).

Introduction

The word entrepreneur is derived from French word “Entreprendre” which means “To undertake”. Entrepreneur represents an individual or a group of individuals, who conceive, initiate and maintain for a sufficiently long period of time, a social institution which produces economic goods (Cole, 1949).

Mushrooms have always been viewed as high medicinal and nutritional food around the world as they are consumed as medicine in Asian countries; also their medical aspects are being researched upon (Halpern and Miller, 2002). The mushroom cultivation market is estimated to account for a value of USD 16.7 billion in 2020. World production increased to 43 MT in 2018-19 (Singh et al., 2020). China is the world’s leader in production, consumption and export of mushroom followed by USA, Netherlands and Poland. Mushroom market is expected to reach USD 69.3 bn by 2024 since the market is expected to record a healthy growth of 8.2 per cent (Harsh and Joshi, 2008).

India is one of the top producers of food for the entire world. In 2019–20, the nation produced a record 308.65 million tonnes (MT) of food grains. India is the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables, producing 99.07 million metric tonnes of fruits and 191.77 million metric tonnes of vegetables in 2019–20. Horticulture production in India reached 320.47 million tonnes. India is also the world’s top producer of coconuts, the second-biggest producer of sugar, and the world’s largest producer of milk. In FY20, it was calculated that agriculture, forestry, and fishery contributed a total of Rs. 19.48 lakh crore (USD 276.37 billion).In FY20, India’s gross value added (GVA) at current prices included 17.8% from agricultural and related industries. In India, the expansion of the agricultural industry and related industries has greatly improved.

Introduction

Information and communications technologies (ICT) is defined as a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to transmit, store, create, share or exchange information. These technological tools and resources include mobile phones, computers, the internet (website, blogs, emails), live broadcasting technologies (radio, television and webcasting), recorded broadcasting technologies (podcasting, audio and video players, and storage devices) and telephony.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in agriculture can act as a driving force in the development process. It facilitates marketing decisions, directs the competitive process and simplifies marketing mechanisms. Accuracy, Availability, Applicability and Analysis are the four ‘A’’s of marketing information; a farmer may decide how much to produce, when and where to sell and a trader may expand trade (Behera, 2015).

Organic farming is getting more and more popular as a farm practice. Although most agricultural land is still processed through conventional farming, the demand for organic agriculture and organic crops is constantly increasing. Organic farming is defined in a variety of ways. The majority of them argue that synthetically manufactured fertilisers and pesticides are not allowed in organic farming. This is right; yet, organic farming encompasses much more. Organic farming is founded on unique qualities as a wholly natural and sustainable farm management technique. To put it another way, organic farming is both an agricultural practise and a philosophy of cooperating with nature.

Introduction

Nursery is a place where seedlings, cuttings and grafts are raised with care before transplanting.

Advantage of Raising Seedlings in Nursery

1. It is very convenient to look after the tender seedlings
2. It is easy to protect the seedlings from pests and diseases
3. Economy of land usage (duration in the main field is reduced)
4. Valuable and very small seeds can be raised effectively without any wastage
5. Uniform crop stand in the main field can be maintained by selecting healthy, uniform and vigorous seedlings in the nursery itself.

Introduction

Flowers provide opportunity to convert them into exquisite value added products directly from fresh flowers like garland, bouquet , flower arrangements or after drying the flowers making different dried flowers products like pot pourri, wreath, painted gourds or after processing like rose water, gulkand,gulroban,perfume, essential oil, insects repellants, cosmetics etc. Beside this a number of pigments like xanthophylls, carotenoids, luteins, anthocyanins etc. which have neutraceutical properties and pharmaceuticals compounds are also prepared from flowers. The value addition results in more acceptable quality products for the domestic and export market and hence ensure high premium to the producers.

Introduction

Main stay of Indian floriculture is to grow traditional loose flowers mostly for worship, personal adornment and traditional decorations. With the evolving culture of ‘saying it with flowers’ the cut flowers sector made significant inroads in recent times. Today the traditional flowers are grown in area of 2.48 lakh hectare producing 16.58 lakh tonnes of loose flower and 4.84 lakh cut flowers (NHB 2015). India also has significant proportion of trade in potted flowering plants, ornamentals foliage plants for landscaping, turf grasses, cut foliage, dry flowers, specialty flowers, annual flower seeds and fillers. India exported floricultural produce worth Rs. 450 core (APEDA 2016) that comprises fresh cut flowers (to Europe, Japan, Australia, and Middle East, USA), loose flowers (for expatriate Indians in the Gulf and Europe), cut foliage (to Europe), dry flowers (to USA, Europe, Japan, Russia, and Australia) and potted plants (Middle East) besides seeds and planting material. The major market for domestic flowers is in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad etc. With limited infrastructure the amount of trade that takes place in the major markets varies from season to season.

Introduction

According to the definition provided by Merriam-Webster, the potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a starchy, tuberous herbaceous annual that only lasts for one growing season and is a member of the Solanaceae family. The potato, also known as the king of vegetables, is grown for its edible tubers and is the fourth largest food crop in the world after maize, wheat, and rice. It is a staple food in many parts of the world and accounts for about 2% of the world’s dietary energy supply (“Potato Pro,” 2020). It was thought that the domestication of the potato began in southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia between 8000 and 5000 BC, which is roughly 7,500–10,000 years ago (Spooner et al. 2005). Potatoes range in size, shape, color, starch content and flavor.

What is Artificial Intelligence

‘Artificial’ is taken to mean a property of a human-made machine. ‘Intelligence’ will be that when something is able to perform a new action or change its state to achieve the optimal response it could perform given external inputs. This term is coined by- John McCarthy (American computer and cognitive scientist) during 1956 So, AI is basically a machine able to mimic human intelligence by having the ability to predict, classify, learn, plan, reason and perceive.

AI is an emerging technology in the field of agriculture. AI-based equipment and machines, has taken today’s agriculture system to a different level. This technology has enhanced crop production and improved real-time monitoring, harvesting, processing and marketing . The latest technologies of automated systems using agricultural robots and drones have made a tremendous contribution in the agro-based sector. Various hi-tech computer-based systems are designed to determine various important parameters like weed detection, yield detection and crop quality and many other techniques.

The dairy sector plays a key role in ending poverty, especially for rural communities. Nearly one billion people earn their livelihood from dairy. Dairy has an important role to end hunger, achieve food security and improve the nutritional value of diets in a sustainable manner. Dairy products contribute to good health and wellbeing at all stages of life. Its nutrient-rich pack ensures a nourished and healthy population. Dairy has been linked to protection against non- communicable diseases. The Indian context for Dairying is an economic symbiosis of crop and cattle population. Livestock plays a pivotal role in the economy; animal husbandry is the most important economic activity in rural areas. The dairy sector today provides eighty million farm households with the triple benefits of nutritive food, supplementary income and productive employment for family labour, mainly for women. 

Extended Summary

Kiwifruit is recent crop introduction tohorticulture practices in Mid-Himalayan statesin India such as, Himachal Pradesh and J&K in the North-West and Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland in the North-Eastern Himalayas.Over past few years this fruit has attainedimmense popularity and among consumers due to its nutritional value, while also it has gained appeal among small and marginal farmers owing to its high benefit-cost ratio,particularly through Hi-Tech cultivation techniques.

Kiwifruit,also known as Chinese gooseberry (Actinidia chinensis Patch) is believed to have originated in China,although it gained popularity in New Zealand. In India, Kiwi was first introduced in Lal Bagh at Bengaluru,however,it was soon observed that the fruit could be cultivated well only inthe semi-temperate climate of Himachal Pradesh, around1963.

India is an agriculture based country where more than half of the population depends upon agriculture. Agriculture is a primary source of livelihood for about 58% of the population of the country. Indian agriculture sector contributes about 17% of Indian’s gross domestic product (GDP) and provide employment to 50% of the country workforce (DES, 2019). The diverse ecohabitat of the Himalayan region of the country hosts a wide range of plant diversity as well as crop diversity on which native people rely for their food and nutritional security. The hilly regions of the country are potential source of agriculture production having diversified weather conditions comprises of temperate and subtropical climatic conditions and covers about 35% of total geographical area of the country. As far as agriculture is concern, agriculture marketing has been an important aspect of rural population as it provides essential links between farm producers and consumers.

• Its constitution makes the tree one of the useful medicinal plants of India.
• Soils including degraded soils of the arid region and can tolerate salinity to a certain extent.
• It is mostly grown in dry portions of subtropical and tropical regions of the country.
• The mature plants can tolerate temperatures as low as 0-15°C and as high as 47.5°C.
• Commercial propagation of seed / In-situ budding.
• Ideal Planting distance required is of 8 to 10m
• Opening of flowers starts in the 2nd week of March.
• The flowers are mainly staminate and hermaphrodite.
• Ripe fruits are available from October-March.
• The tree can produce about 200 to 250 fruits per annum.

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• Tamarind is at the 6th position in terms of export value, fresh, dried, powder and paste.
• It is a good source of iron.
• The red variety of Tamarind fruit contains anthocyanin while leucoanthocyanidin is present in the brown.
• Leaves are very rich in anthoxanthin, while the fruits are poor in this pigment.
• Xanthophylls are responsible for the yellow colours of the flower.
• The pulp contains 1.27% pectin.
• T.K.P. – Tamarind kernal powder, the use of cattle freed also.
• Kernal

• Ripe phalsa fruits are sub-acidic and a good source of Vitamin A & C.
• Kernel contains 2.0 %and 23.7% oil respectively which is rich in linoleum acid.
• Colour phalsa fruit is anthocyanin pigment.
• The phalsa seed contains 7.17 per cent crude fat with a typical.
• The plants can tolerate temperatures as high as 44°C since high temperature favours ripening of the fruits.
• It is a subtropical crop.
• It is commercially propagated by seed.
• The viability of seeds can be retained for 6 months under cool storage.
• Seed germination of 15-20 day get ready for planting in the field.
• Seed germination per cent 76%.
• Shortest germination period shortest of only 16 days.
• It completes flowering and fruiting within 4-5 month.
• Planting is usually done 2.5-3.0m, 1100-1500 plant/ha.
• Phalsa plant is normally pruned at 0.9 to 1.2m above the ground level; time of pruning is during December—January when they are dormant annually.
• Application of N, P and K at 100, 40 and 25kg/ha.

• The most important use of mulberry leaf is rearing of silk worm for production of silk.
• The mulberry tree is used for landscaping in Asia, Europe & Southern U.S A.
• Morus alba (White mulberry)
• Morus rubra (Red mulberry) is native to America.
• Morus nigra (Black mulberry)
• Mulberry plants are monoecious in sex expression.
• Inflorescence of catkins.
• Major mulberry producing countries; China®India®brazil
• The most extensive area under mulberry cultivation in India is in Karnataka.

  Major mulberry growing Indian states are: TN.→Kerala → U.P.→ Bihar→ Madhya Pradesh→W.B.→Rajasthan.

• The wine prepared from ripe fruits contains about 14.5 to 15% alcohol.
• Flowers are white, produced in a terminal cyme.
• It is grown in countries viz., South Africa, Australia, India, Malaysia, S. Lanka and Barma.
• In India, it is grown in M.H., Rajasthan, U.P., Bihar, and South India.
• It is used as protective hedge in Gujarat and Punjab.
• It is not suited to the hills of Himalayas.
• Pant Sudarshan – White Pink
• Pant Suverna – Green, Purple
• Other varieties: PK.1, Pant Maohan
• Deep loamy or alluvial soils.
• It can tolerate saline-sodic soils with pH up to 8.5.
• Seeds usually lose their viability within 4-5 week.

• No other fruit has such a high content of Riboflavin.
• The Bael is a native of the Indo-Malayan region and has been known in India since prehistoric times.
• Narandra Bael 5– Size – 1.25 kg/fruit, very thin rind 2-5 mm, TSS-38%, Slight acidity-25 mg/100g, eight years old plant- 56 kg.
• Narendra Bael 9 - TSS-40%, Ascorbic acid – 28mg/100g.
• Pant Bael 12 – Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Mirzapur, Etawa, Kagzi Sewan Large, Deoria Large, NB1, NB5 and NB9.
• Bael is very hardy subtropical, deciduous tree and can thrive well even in swampy alkaline soils having pH range 5 to 10.
• Major bael growing states: U.P., Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa.
• Seeds, which are sown in June, usually propagate bael; Seedlings are transplanted a year later.
• Patch budding is the month of June or July gives the best results.
• Bael can be classified as a climacteric fruit.
• Bacterial shot-hale canker of Bael is caused by (Xanthomonas blue).