eChapters

10.1 INTRODUCTION

Most botanists identify trees by their leaves, f lowers and fruit. However, the plant architecture specialist is interested in trunks, branches and twigs. All types of fruit tree do not require pruning, e.g., mango, sapota, while some fruit trees can grow well naturally, e.g., pineapple, papaya as they do not require pruning. Most deciduous trees like apple, pear, almond etc. and grapes, ber, fig, citrus, pomegranate, guava etc. require pruning to train them for desired shape.

10.2 TRAINING

Training is an operation by which the plant is made to develop an orderly structure or frame work. This is done by staking, tying, supporting, propping, trailing or spreading on certain structure with or without pruning of plant. Training is usually done when plants are young. Bending, twisting, decapitations are done by using springs of hard wire, where it is required. It is a physical technique which controls the shape, size and direction of plant growth known as training or in other words, training in effect is orientation of plant in space through techniques like tying, fastening, staking, supporting over a trellis or pergola in a certain fashion or pruning of some parts.

9.1 INTRODUCTION

Establishment of an orchard incurs long term investment for which it needs a very critical planning. As it is a long-term investment, plants planted in the orchard should suit to the prevailing climatic condition of that area. The land remains occupied as long as 40 to 50 years. Any mistake committed during initial year is hard to rectify later on. Proper layout of the orchard ensures optimum utilisation of land and resources for successive economic production. It becomes easy for different inter-cultural operations, harvesting and transportation of the produces. Uniform distribution of plants in the selected land in various systems of planting is done after proper layout.

9.2 LAYOUT

The proper layout of orchard aims at accommodating maximum number of trees per unit land area, maintaining adequate space for proper development of the trees and convenient orchard management practices.

8.1 INTRODUCTION

Orchard is a place or a piece of land where different kinds of fruit plants are planted in orderly manner and managed efficiently for production of successive yield to get assured economic return. An orchard being capital-intensive and long-term venture careful planning, layout, selection of site, preliminary operations etc. are to be done. It is easy to establish an orchard considering its features critically but difficult to manage afterwards. It needs high managerial skills and technically skilled manpower to carry out different orchard operations. Any lapses in management can lead to incur heavy loss.

7.1 INTRODUCTION

Gardening is a practice of growing different kinds of horticultural crops in a particular land area as a part of horticulture either for consumption or sale, export, beautification etc. Basing on the crops grown, gardens are named accordingly, e.g., for raising vegetables, it is vegetable gardens; for fruit crops, it is orchard; for plantation crops, it is estate plantation; for ornamental plants, it is gardening and landscape etc. The history of gardening is not new. In ancient time kings, emperors, rulers, sages were establishing different types of gardens for different purposes.

6.1 INTRODUCTION

The Climate and soil play important role in growth and development of the plant. Growers in general and fruit growers in particular should have adequate knowledge of the effect of various soil and climatic conditions on raising horticultural crops. Horticultural crops cannot be grown in all types of soil and climate. Hence zone- wise cultivation is made. Climate includes a number of parameters like temperature, rainfall, atmospheric humidity, wind, hail and light whereas soil covers factors like moisture content, texture, soil reaction, nutrient content, chemical composition and soil temperature.

6.2 SOIL

Soil is a thin outer covering of the earth surface. It is the natural resource directly developed by different natural forces acting on natural materials. Soil serves as a base and support for plant growth. It is a basic medium for plant growth and supplies nutrients for growing plants. Soil is the home of the plant root and the reservoir for essential nutrients and water for growth and development of crop plants.

5.1 INTRODUCTION

The importance of the best quality planting material as an initial investment is a well-realized factor for persons engaged in horticulture field. So, nurseries have great demand for the production of plants, bulbs, rhizomes, suckers and grafts. But in general, good quality and assured planting material at reasonable price is not available many a times. Nursery is the basic need of horticulture. Plant propagation techniques and practices is the core of horticulture nurseries. The planting materials for horticultural plantations are raised from seeds and vegetative parts. The difficulty of procuring tree seeds and their rising cost makes it necessary to find means to increase seedling survival and growth.

Raising a nursery needs a great skill. Nursery business has become an agro- business for the unemployed youths. Generally, various commercial crop growers require a good quality saplings or grafts of genuine type. So, nursery raising is quite a remunerative enterprise.

Nursery is a special place where seeds are sown, plants are propagated, grown, nurtured to usable size for planting or for sale. Nurseries provide the necessary control of moisture, light, soil and predators and allow production of healthy and hardy seedlings.

4.1 INTRODUCTION

India enjoys a wide range of climates and agro-meteorological zones which are suitable for growing various kinds of horticultural crops like fruits, vegetables, f lowers, spices and condiments, plantation crops, and medicinal and aromatic plants.

India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices in the world. India stands second both in production of fruits and vegetables next to China. China contributes 21.2% in the world fruit production whereas India produces 12.6%. When we think of vegetables, China produces 49.5% and India produces 14.09%. India is the largest producer of Mango, Banana, Papaya, Coconut, Arecanut, and Cashewnut in the world. In the country, Andhra Pradesh (13.0%) is the leading state in fruit production followed by Maharashtra (11.2%). In case of vegetables, Uttar Pradesh stands first occupying 15.1% share followed by West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh in the range of 14.6% and 10% respectively. In cut flower production West Bengal ranks first.

Total horticultural production for the year 2017–18 was 311.71 million tonnes from cropping area of 25.43 million hectares of land and an estimated production for the crop year 2018-19 is 314.87 million tonnes from an area of 25.6 million hectares.

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Life cannot be sustained without adequate nourishment. Human beings need adequate food for growth, development and to lead an active and healthy life. Animals satisfy basic food requirement mainly through natural selection. But human beings have access to a wide range of foods to choose to make up their diet. Since all foods are not of same quality from nutritional point of view, man’s ability to meet his nutritional need and maintenance of good health depend upon type and quantity of foods he is able to include in his diet to satisfy hunger. Human beings need a wide range of nutrients to perform various functions in the body and to lead a healthy life. Several reports have shown that adequate intake of fruits and vegetables forms an important part of a healthy diet and low fruit and vegetable intake constitutes a risk factor for chronic diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and cataract formation. The nutrients include proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. The foods containing these nutrients which we consume daily are classified as cereals, legumes, nuts and oil seeds, fruits, vegetables, milk and milk products and f lesh foods like fish, meat and poultry. Some foods provide only a single nutrient and some multiples. Scientific evidence indicates that frequent consumption of fruits and vegetables can prevent oesophageal, stomach, pancreatic, bladder and cervical cancers and that a diet high in fruits and vegetables could prevent 20% of most types of cancers. Reports indicate that increasing individual fruit and vegetable consumption by 600 g per day could reduce the global burden of stroke by 19% and decrease the risk of coronary heart diseases by 31% respectively. Realizing the food value of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommends per capita use of 120g fruits and 280g vegetables per day.

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Owing to a varied agro-ecological and eco- edaphic condition prevalent in one or other part of the country, quite a large number of crops are grown in different parts of India. India is rich in bio-diversity with four hotspots out of twenty-five in the world. About 356 domesticated plant species having economic and botanical importance and 326 species with their wild relatives are found in Indian sub-continent. Besides the above, 9500 other plant species are also available. More than 50 different types of fruits, 50 different types of vegetables, 95 types of spices and condiments, medicinal and aromatic plants, plantation crops and ornamental crop plants have been recorded. To avoid confusion and identity, the horticultural plants are grouped into different categories based on similarity or dissimilarities. Grouping of the crop plants with similar characteristics is referred as classification.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

India is the seventh largest country in the world in total geographical area and has second largest population next to China. Around 55 to 60 per cent of its population depend on agriculture and allied activities. Horticultural crops constitute a significant component of total agricultural production in the country. They require very intensive care in planting, carrying out different cultural operations, manipulating growth, harvesting, packing, transportation, marketing, storage and processing.

1.2 AGRICULTURE

The term agriculture broadly refers to the technology of raising plants and animals. Agriculture is the science, art or practice of cultivating soil, producing crops and raising livestock in varying degree of proportion followed by marketing. In other words, it is the activity of man to produce three basic needs of human being, i.e., food, fuel and fibre (3F) by using terrestrial resources optimally. The term agriculture is derived from two Latin words ager meaning field or land and cultura meaning cultivation or growing.

Abstract

Women empowerment is a buzz word of every platform starting from household issues to national politics. The best way to empower women is to make them economically self-reliant through entrepreneurial activities. In India agriculture is mainstay of the country and 70 percent women are farmers, so the best measure to empower them is through entrepreneurship in agriculture and allied sectors particularly organic agriculture as India currently holds a prominent position among 172 countries that actively practice it. At present, the country is home to more than 8, 50,000 organic producers, 699 processors, 669 exporters, and 7, 20,000 hectares under cultivation. Merely with 0.4 per cent of total agricultural land area under organic cultivation, India has attained global standing which infers that this industry still has a long way to go in terms of growth and opportunities for socio-economic development. Organic Food industry has been experiencing steadfast growth in past few years in India in spite of several challenges at producer, processor and consumer levels. With its annual turnover of Rs 4000 crore and annual growth rate of 25%, the country’s budding organic food market is transforming into world’s fastest growing organic food market with expected turnover of 10,000 crore by 2020. There is drastic change in consumer behavior and spending patterns in the country which has opened avenues for organic food industry at the national level besides export. This highscale opportunity is driven by the fact that organic food consumption is not even 0.1 percent of India’s $300 billion annual food consumption. Likewise, India’s share in the $100 billion global organic food market is less than 0.2 percent. Further, the scope of the opportunity is also driven by the increasing variety of organic foods hitting the market and the emergence of e-commerce as a channel in which to sell the product. India today is on the threshold of organic revolution where women participation will act as booster but need to be supported by Govts and technical institutions. Barriers to improving women’s agency include widespread deficiencies in policy support to women, and in fact to the organic farming sector as a whole. It is necessary to increase women’s research presence in organic research institutions (including at the higher levels). To enable women to conduct research in the field, it is important to allow women to set research agendas, and to work with their research needs and priorities. Food security as a priority for organic agriculture involves women’s empowerment since they hold a central role in providing nutrition for the household.

Abstract

The future food grain demand in India is projected to increase beyond 300 million tons by 2025. There are only two ways to meet the increasing food and other agricultural demands of the country’s rising population either expanding the net area under cultivation or intensifying cropping over the existing area. The net sown area of the country has risen by about 20 per cent since independence and has reached a point where it is not possible to make any appreciable increase. The option left is go for high cropping intensity for ahead of present of 137%. A major share of this increase is likely to come from increasing the number of crops produced per year on a given land using improved crop cultivars. Research indicates that maximum intensity of 400-500% is possible provided situation fulfills the requisite factors such as irrigation facilities, short duration varieties, mechanization and agrochemicals are available. The objective of increasing the cropping intensity will be achieved only by the inclusion of short duration varieties of cereals, identification of pulses and oilseed crops that can fit well in the cropping systems of different agro-ecologies that will ultimately improve crop productivity per unit of land making the efficient utilization of resources and will meet the objectives of crop diversification leading to food and economic security of the nation.

Abstract

Climate models predict a global average increase of air temperatures in the range of 14^°C by 2100 (IPCC 2014) - a pace exceeding that of past climatic modifications. Change in temperature is expected to influence species occurrence and distribution with up to 37% of all extant species “committed to extinction” due to climate change. These predictions, however, do not include species interactions and evolutionary change which will significantly alter the fate of species. It is therefore important to improve our understanding of host-parasite interactions and subsequent evolution in response to environmental changes in general and temperature changes in particular. Globally livestock production systems are estimated to account for around 18% of emissions. The need of hour is to draw on recent advances in climatology and epidemiology of various parasitic diseases to consider how environmental changes linked with urbanization and climate change can alter the biology of hosts, pathogens and vectors. Climate change is leading to unusual flare-up of diseases, outbreak recurrences, range expansions, or invasion into novel territories and ecosystems, concomitantly with vector or host range shifts. Higher temperatures increase the invertebrate metabolic rate, egg production amount, and feeding frequency, reducing the duration of the development periods and impacting on the number of generations per year and population abundance effecting livestock and human health and socio-economic transformation

Abstract

India with population of 1.30 billion in which 47 per cent is engaged in agriculture earnestly needs efficiently use of biotechnology and genetic engineering for transforming agriculture sector. Biotechnological tools offer great opportunities for increasing agricultural production and can play an important role towards the attainment of production sustainability of crops. Biotechnological tools have the potential to release burgeoning pressure on agriculture and allied sectors; ecology and environment; plant, animal and microbial biodiversity; and allied resources such as land and water with improved and sustainable agricultural productivity which enhances food security. Agricultural biotechnology, including tissue culture, DNA-marker-assisted breeding and genetic engineering (GE) technology have potential to increase stress tolerant, selection efficiency, crop adaptation, crop productivity and food security in more efficiently manner through the development of improved varieties with increased yields, nutritional content and storage characteristics. Genetic engineering tools should continue to build capacity in this technology, giving priority to traits and crops that are of economic importance such as drought tolerance in maize, rice, beans; cold tolerance in rice; increased nutritional value and improved shelf life in fruits and vegetables. Crop varieties and livestock with improved characteristics have been developed using tools such as marker-assisted breeding and genetic engineering. Molecular pharming is one of the applications of genetically modified crops and livestock for the production of pharmaceutical proteins. Reproductive technologies are alternative ways for genetic improvement of livestock. The development of molecular diagnostics and vaccine technology as a tool improved the ability to detect and treat several diseases of livestock. The advancements in biotechnological tools such as protein engineering and metabolic engineering play a significant role in production of a large number of valuable and high quality industrial products.

Abstract

A Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) is synonymous to farm science center with responsibilities of on- farm technological assessment, front line demonstrations, capacity building, advisory services and mulit-sector support to various private and public initiatives. The KVKs work under the ambit of ICAR, New Delhi with administrative support from local institutions or State Agricultural Universities. There were about 695 KVKs operational in India till October 2018. All KVKs fall under the jurisdiction of one of the 11 Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes (ATARIs) spread throughout India. 21 KVKs are functioning in Jammu and Kashmir with seven of them in Jammu province namely KVK Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Reasi, Rajouri, Doda and Poonchh. The major thrust areas of hilly district Jammu and Kashmir are as integrated nutrient/pest/weed management in different crops, water management, promoting organic farming, protected cultivation of high value and low volume crops, promotion of aromatic and medicinal plants, increase in the productivity of livestock, drudgery reduction for farm women, promotion of loose flower cultivation, promotion of new single cross hybrids in maize, value addition of agricultural products and promotion of farming system approach. KVK Reasi has been able to motivate farmers of the district to adopt and practice organic farming, floriculture, backyard poultry farming and mushroom production at the commercial level.

Abstract

Remote sensing has wider applications in agriculture right from landscape mapping, soil moisture, planting dates, cropping systems to climate change effects. Growing uncertainties of weather and climate change pose a major threat to food security of the country and thus warrant for farmers empowerment of informed decision in agricultural risk management. The technology is competent to monitor crop growth, predict crop yield in terms of quantity and quality, assists in estimating crop acreage, its condition, disease and pest status. Over the last two decades, the development of space technology has led to a substantial increase in satellite earth observation systems. Simultaneously, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution has rendered increasingly effective the processing of data for specific uses and their instantaneous distribution on the World Wide Web (WWW). Satellite data provide better coverage in time and in area extent than any other alternative. It is important to make maximum use of this information to monitor our environment. Access to these Satellite data and products is only the beginning. In addition, the ability to interpret, combine, and make maximum use of this information is an integral part of weather and climate management at the national level. Production estimates, post harvest and quantity available for market enable the farmers and policy makers to chalk out sustainable strategy to match supply with market demand.

Abstract

Agriculture is at a cross-road in J&K wherein the small holdings, profitability, livelihood security and sustainability issues are the factors adding to the existing agrarian crisis in the state in particular and the country in general. This requires a decisive direction shift at the policy level towards adoption of integrated farming system. There is a need of fundamental change from the unilateral, top-down, prescriptive “knowledge generation and transmission” models of agriculture development adopted in the country so far, which have in fact resulted in an ecological, economic and social crisis in the farming sector of the state during 40 years of adoption and that climate change is one more imperative for drastic change to address the situation. Climate change is already a reality for farming community and that conventional models of agricultural research and extension have failed to address the need of the hour unless some fundamental recasting in the form of diversified farming system is adopted. The immediate need for interventional action precludes traditional models of research and support systems and requires alternative but urgent programmatic interventions, led by farmers’ institutions and their local resources, knowledge and innovations. Existing mainstream models of farming are GHG-inducing and are not conducive to adoption either given their high external-input dependency-models which increases the risk of vulnerable farmers. Integrated farming system a key to sustainable agriculture, on the other hand, holds immense mitigation and adaptation potential, specifically in the context of climate change even as it improves rural livelihoods and addresses the ecological crisis in farming of today under various climatic regions of Jammu in particular and state in general. Jammu region of the J&K state is bestowed with varying climate zones i.e. subtropical, intermediate and temperate zones, which is best suited for diversified farming,as the promotion of single enterprise is neither beneficial from economy point of view nor is sustainable under the given climate change crisis. The integration of Crops, Horticulture, Animal ,Fish cum Poultry, Mushroom, Vermicompost, Apairy, Biogas and Boundary plantation enterprises in Jammu region under integrating farming system is having the potential to improve the farm income to three folds besides will address the sustainability issues in the long run.

ABSTRACT

Losses and benefits in agricultural production are associated with various weather parameters. So prediction of weather systems in different spatial and temporal scale over the Indian region therefore assumes considerable socio-economic importance. Meteorological information also plays an important role in the following operations in agriculture. The meteorological services can help the farmers & the planners exploit the potential of good weather and minimize the impact of bad weather as there exist tremendous opportunities for applications of meteorology in both day to day and long term planning in agriculture and such applications could contribute substantially to promote sustainable agriculture and poverty alleviation and the management of agrometeorological data is the key to these applications. Therefore, the area and input intensive agriculture is leading us into an era of unsustainable agricultural growth as the crucial components of sustainable agricultural production and distribution system such as integration of natural biological cycles and controls; protection and renewal of soil fertility and the natural resource base; optimization of the use of nonrenewable resources and of on-farm & off- farm inputs; ensuring dependable farm income. Hence, the meteorological information may help the farmer make the most efficient use of natural resources, with the aim of improving agricultural production both in quantity and quality. It becomes more and more important to supply meteorological information blended with weather sensitive management operations before the start of cropping season in order to adapt the agricultural system to increased weather variability. Subsequent to this, weather forecast based Agro-meteorological advisories become vital to stabilize their yields through management of agro-climatic resources as well as other inputs such as irrigation, fertilizer and pesticides. The main emphasis of the existing AAS system is to collect and organize climate/weather, soil and crop information, and to amalgamate them with weather forecast to assist farmers in taking management decisions. This has helped to develop and apply operational tools to manage weather related uncertainties through agro-meteorological applications for efficient agriculture in rapidly changing environments. Hence, weather information and advisories have assumed greater significance under the increased variability in the changing climate. Thus, Weather forecasting and advisory has become an indispensable aid for sustainable agro-transformation

Abstract

Over the years, India has emerged as one of the world’s biggest producers of milk, with the total milk production rising from 122 Million Metric Tons in 2010 to 171 Million Metric Tons in 2017 with dairy market in India touching a value of INR 7,916 Billion. An average livestock contributes about 12 % of farmer’s income and the same for small and marginal farmers and landless laborers’ is 36 %. While farmer’s income in agriculture is growing at 3.5 % annually, income from livestock is growing at about 14.5 %. Despite this, the majority of the dairy industry in India is still highly unorganized and dominated by small and marginal dairy farmers. Of all the major rural enterprises, dairy is an important profession of economic and social transformation to supplement the income and employment to the rural sector in general and rural women in particular. The process of dairy development would be incomplete and lop sided, unless farm women are fully involved in it. Indian dairy industry also offers good opportunities to both domestic and foreign investors for entry and expansion. Low yielding breeds, costly animal feeds, inadequate market linkage and predominance of handling dairy through indigenous technologies mar the Indian dairy industry. It is imperative to develop proper production, processing and marketing infrastructure if India has to emerge as an exporting country which is capable of meeting international quality requirements. It is anticipated that milk production in India will further grow at a CAGR of around 15% between 2018 and 2023. A comprehensive plan for producing quality and safe dairy products should be formulated with suitable legal backup. Dairy products’ consumption has been growing exponentially in the country owing to their rich nutritional qualities. Thus, it has enormous scope for women empowerment and socio-economic transformation of rural India and must rank top in our developmental agenda.

Abstract

Organic farming has proved to be effective technology for socio-economic empowerment of Indian farmers as it imposes positive changes in social factors in the local communities. There is tremendous scope of export, entrepreneurship and employment opportunities in organic farming in India. Local, regional, national and global markets are developing sinks for organic products. Organic crop production is sustainable and has positive impact on the ecology and socio-economic status of the peoples. Various socio-economic factors influence the farmers’ choice to adopt organic cultivation. Several threats and weaknesses exist. Hence, there is a need to address the weaknesses of the organic system by integrating it with innovative tools of marketing and ICTs so that there is alignment in demand- production-supply so concerted efforts are needed to establish production-consumption linkages through PPP mode. It will offset threats of organic farming thereby making it more remunerative and promising. The existing evidences suggest greater research efforts in this area are required. There is need to identify the gaps between the adoption of techniques of organic farming and remove them by strengthening production-consumption and marketing linkages. Moreover, it is important to assess and analyze the status of organic farming and feasibility to different sustainable practices in different production systems and farming situations across the country for promotion of this value added entrepreneurship.

Keywords: organic farming, status, constraints, entrepreneurship and socio-economic dynamics