eChapters

Definition, Significance and Importance

Landscape design and gardening is the technique of design application to beautify our surroundings, our homes, office buildings and everywhere in open space with plants and garden features to give the soothing effect on the body, mind and soul. Rapid urbanization, industrialization with population explosion has been constantly depleting our natural resources through deforestation, ripping of hills and exposing them to erosion, pollution of rivers, streams and lakes with little understanding of the natural environment which supports human life. It is the application of the art and techniques of Landscape Gardening that can spell magic to our surroundings enhancing aesthetic beauty besides, improving and conserving environment. Besides, landscape beautification and ecological balance provision, other beneficial influence of gardens in human life have been researched and studied. Psychologists have found that access to plants and green spaces provides a sense of rest and allows workers to be more productive. Flowers convey our inner feelings sympathy, romance or celebration (pride and joy) or contrition in the most beautiful and delicate manner. Flowers are also used to express religious feelings. Interaction with gardens and natural spaces offers a variety of mental, physical and social beneficial influence for humans, ranging from stress reduction, quicker healing and mitigation of Attention Deficit Disorder in children to decreasing crime and air pollution. Studies throughout the world have proven the power of green spaces to improve human health. Recent studies in the Netherlands and Japan show that people with easy access to green space showed better health and lower mortality rates.

India is blessed with wide range of diverse agro climatic conditions, making it an appropriate place for vegetable cultivation, resulting in increasing vegetable production from has increased from 63.8 MT in 1993 to 168.5 million tonnes in 2015-16 and productivity from 12.6 MT/ha to 17.8 MT/ha (www.indiastat.com). Although the production has increased but still the technology used and practices followed is predominantly traditional resulting in low productivity and inconsistent quality and quantity of produce supplies to various markets in the country. The per capita consumption of vegetables in India is very low against WHO standards and FAO recommendation (135 g/day <180 g/day (WHO standards) < 300 g/ day capita (FAO recommendation).

1. Introduction

Antioxidants are defined as molecules which can be safely interact with free radicals and terminate the chain reaction before vital molecules are damaged (Nidhi and Gaurav, 2012). Naturally occurring antioxidants to replace synthetic antioxidants which are being restricted due to their carcinogenicity (Abdel Hameed, 2009). The antioxidant phytochemicals such as polyphenols, flavanoids and related compounds found in medicinal plants have received increasing attention for their potential role in prevention of human diseases (Upadhyay et al., 2010).
 
The genus Ophiorrhiza belongs to the family Rubiaceae and consists of about 150 species and distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia. Species of Ophiorrhiza are economically important and many of these species contain a high value anticancerous compound, a cytotoxic alkaloid camptothecin and other valuable alkaloids. Ophiorrhiza pectinata Arn. is a herbaceous plant and is distributed over peninsular India and Srilanka. A preliminary study conducted in O. pectinata also contains this important alkaloid (0.0040mg/g dry wt). Leaves and stem contain traces of hydrocyanic acid. The main objective of the present study is to evaluate the antioxidant and radical scavenging property of the chloroform methanol and water extract of whole plant of O. pectinata. 

In spite of late introduction, different forms of chilli (Capsicum spp.) did spread throughout the length and breadth of India. Diverse soil and climatic conditions prevailing in different parts of Kerala have contributed to the development of different ecotypes in chilli. Warm humid climate in the coastal belts, dry and arid climate in the central eastern parts and mild subtropical to temperate climate in the high ranges provide ideal condition for development, maintenance and spread of different ecotypes in the crop. Plethora of chilli varieties capturing the markets of Kerala comprise of different species.

Capsicum chinense commonly known as Ney Mulaku, Karanampotti Mulaku is gaining popularity in the state due to increasing demand from Maldives during Ramzan period. Hence the crop is also known in yet another name Mali Mulaku. This species is characterized by perennial and spreading nature with medium sized oblong to round, fleshy and highly pungent fruits. It  yields substantially higher under shaded condition and there is less incidence of diseases like bacterial wilt and collar rot. Hence the species is ideal for homestead cultivation. Due to its tolerance to shade, the species can be successfully grown as an inter crop in coconut, rubber, pepper and banana plantations.

Cleome gynandra is one of the most underutilised crops in the world. It is the best known by rural and urban communities of Africa. The plant is well distributed in parts of South Africa, C. gynandra is indigenous to the country and evenly spread throughout Africa. Many people use it in their daily diets but it is not yet found on formal commercial markets. It is still regarded as a weed by commercial farmers. The nutritional value of the leaves is totally underestimated. The plant is known for the treatment of various ailments originated from epilepsy to headaches. The crop is harvested mainly from the wild and only cultivated in certain areas. The germination of the seeds can be a problem especially if the seeds are harvested simultaneously. The seeds must be harvested as it gets matured not all at once. Most consumers harvest the plant as needed. The more the leaves are picked the more growth is stimulated. A general harvesting method is not worked out yet, as this will differ from area to area.

Exacum bicolor, Roxb. commonly known as country kreat is  endemic to Peninsular India. It is a herbaceous perennial with attractive flowers and posseses medicinal properties. Plant is endangered today due to large scale habitat destruction.  Non- lodging nature of plant, attractive bi-colored flower bunches with a long flowering period and good field life offer great future for this plant to be domesticated as an attractive garden flower. Its ornamental value and medicinal properties are yet to be fully exploited.

India is bestowed with a wide array of flowering plants. It represents two of the 18 hotspots of biodiversity in the world; one being the Western ghats and other the North Eastern Himalayas. Nature has also blessed our India with  uniqueness of endemism. Of the 17000 flowering herbs distributed in nine phyto geographical regions of the country, 5700 are endemic. Exacum  bicolor Roxb. is one of the endemic species to Peninsular India. Plant is popularly known as Bharachirata and Habshi chirata in Hindi, Kannamthali in Malayalam, Dodda  chirayuta in Kannada and ceti in Tamil.

Genetic resources for food and agriculture are the biological basis of world food and nutrition security and they directly support the livelihood of people. Horticultural genetic resources are a few of biological assets available to resource-poor farmers to ensure sustainable production to improve livelihood options. Genetic diversity gives resource-poor farmers a low cost option to manage the shocks and vulnerability of production systems by its ability to adopt to changing environments. It is the foundation upon which plant breeding depends for the creation of new varieties and is, therefore, of critical public value for global food security. The rapid loss of genetic diversity (genetic erosion) is a worldwide concern and is particularly severe among crop landraces. Farmer’s varieties or landraces may contain co-adapted gene complexes that have evolved over decades and are the most valued genetic resources as they provide options for a range of climatic and edaphic stresses. Therefore, agricultural biodiversity has a critical public value for global food security (FAO, 1978).

1. Introduction

Atalantia monophylla (L.) DC. is a small tree belonging to the family Rutaceae; resembles Citrus in general aspects and is considered a close wild relative of Citrus. The species is commonly called as wild lime, in Malayalam it is called as Kattunaragam and in Tamil Katuuelumichai. A. monophylla is used in Ayurveda, Folk and Siddha systems of medicine. It is used for the treatment of rheumatoid pain and glandular swelling (Sankaranarayan et al., 2010). The root is believed to be antispasmodic (Kiritikar and Basu, 1999), the leaves are often applied for itching and other skin complaints (Panda, 2004) and acridone alkaloids isolated from roots were reported to have anti-allergic activity (Chukaew et al., 2008). The chloroform extract of leaves has shown antiviral activity (Chansakaow et al., 1996). Besides its medicinal value A. monophylla leaves are used as flavoring agent, berries are used for making pickles, juice of berries are used for dyeing purpose and wood as timber. It is also useful as a rootstock for breeding new cultivars of Citrus Linn. (Guha Bakshi et al., 1999). This species has high medicinal value and the natural population is under threat due to habitat destruction, use of wood as firewood, collection of fruits for making pickles and harvesting of leaves, roots for medicinal purposes by the local communities. Hence there is a need for developing an appropriate conservation strategy for this species.

26.1 Introduction

We have already discussed the basics of tissue culture techniques in Chapter 2. Plant tissue culture techniques in combination with recombinant-DNA technology are essential requirements for development of transgenic plants (will be discussed in next chapter). However, tissue culture techniques like anther, pollen, ovule and meristem culture can themselves be used for improvement of different traits or as an aid to conventional breeding methods. In recent years, isolated microspore culture has been preferred as a breeding tool and an experiment system for various genetic manipulations. Besides, using protoplast fusion and hybrid embryo rescue, distant hybridization has been successfully achieved in many crops. Protoplast fusion technique can be used for the transfer of cytoplasmic male sterility from one species to another in very short duration. Somaclonal variation generated during tissue culture can also be utilized for recovery of variants showing disease resistance or other desirable characters.

We present in this paper the data about the popular uses of elder (Sambucus nigra) obtained in ethnobotanical studies carried out in the districts (“comarques”) of Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà, Cerdanya, Conflent, Capcir, Ripollès and Alt Empordà (Pyrenees) and in the Montseny massif (Catalan Prelittoral Range), complemented with others from different Catalan regions (also investigated by our group), and compared with those from other Iberian and Mediterranean territories. This bush or small tree is one of the most reported and used plants (for medicinal and other purposes), not only in the regions studied, but in all Catalonia and in many other areas as well. It is one of the most versatile plants, since its uses embrace many different fields like medicinal, food, ornamental, craft industry and games among others. It is, in addition, aremarkable fact that almost every part of the plant (bark, root, leaves, flowers, fruits) has some uses.

The genus Sambucus L. is widely distributed in temperate and subtropical zones (Mabberley 1990). According to a few authors, it constitutes about 20-25 species (Mabberley 1990, Bolòs and Vigo 1995), whereas a more synthetic treatment (Bolli 1994) considers only nine species with 10 subspecies. The only three European species of this genus (Ferguson 1976) are S. ebulus L.

Mature seed samples of Vigna dalzelliana (O.Kuntze) Verdc. were analysed for proximate composition, total (true) seed protein fractions, amino acid composition, fatty acids profiles, mineral and antinutritional factors. The investigated seed samples contained higher amount of crude protein, crude fat, ash and nitrogen free extractives and constitute 27.33,7.48,6.71 and 50.12g/100g. seed powder respectively. The calorific value of seed material was 377.12  K.cal / 100 g Dm. The essential amino acids, isoleucine, tyrosine and phenylalanine, were present in relatively large quantities. The fatty acid profiles revealed that the seed lipids contained higher concentrations of palmitic and linoleic acids. The seeds are rich in sodium, phosphorous, calcium, zinc, manganese and iron. Anti-nutritional factors, such as total free phenols (8.26%), tannins (6.1875 %), L-DOPA (0.96%), hydrogen cyanide (1.94 %) and phytic acid (7.32%) are present in variable quantities. This paper presents the analytical data on the chemical composition and nutritional potential of Vigna dalzelliana seeds with regard to its suitability as a regular component in human diet.

1.    Groups of Apomixis
    
2.    Recurrent Apomixis
    
3.    Non-recurrent Apomixis
    
4.    Vegetative Apomixis
    
5.    Genetic Control of Apomixis
    
6.    Mechanism of Apomixis
    
7.    Ovule, Seed and Fruit Development in Sexual Plants
    
8.    Double Fertilization and Control of Embryo Initiation
    
9.    Sequential Events in Apomictic Pathway
    
10.    Gametophytic Apomixis
    
11.    Significance and Scope of Apomixis in Crop Plants
        
References

Abstract

The term nano technology, buzzword of present day science owes its origin from the Greek word ‘nano’ literally meaning dwarf. It is expressed in terms of dimension one nanometer equals to one billionth of a meter (1nm=10-9m), work on the principle of particle movement, smallest particle accelerate fast in the system. The nano technology deals with manufacturing, study and manipulation of matter at nano-scale (or atomic scale) in the size range of  1-100 nm, called as nanoparticles (Rajan, 2004). Nano technology is one of the most fascinating and rapidly possessing potential to revolutionize in science and technology of medicine and agriculture. In plant pathology, nano technology has potential scope to detection, diagnosis and management of plant diseases. Micromechanical cantilever arrays for selective immobilization and fast quantitative detection of vital fungal spores (Nugaeva et al., 2005). Micro-fabricated chambers designed to mimic some of the features of xylem vessels and discovered that Xylella fastidiosa migrates via type IV pilus-mediated twitching motility (Meg et al., 2005). Antifungal properties of chitosan, chitosan-saponin and Cu-chitosan nanoparticle reveal against phytopatogenic fungi namely Alternaria alternate, Macrophomina phaseolina and Rhizoctonia solani (Sharan et al. 2013). 

1.    Biological Control of Insect Pests
    
2.    Biocontrol Agents in Vegetables
    
3.    Mass Multiplication of Predators and Parasites
    
4.    Microbial Control
    
5.    Transgenic Plants
    
6.    Biological Control of Diseases
    
7.    Conclusion
        
References

Introduction

Agriculture is one of the promising sectors which offers marvelous potential for sustainable growth and play a key role in the economy of the country. Many of the foods that are already common in our diet are obtained from plant varieties that were developed using conventional genetic techniques of breeding and selection. Increase in the world population and limited food supply strained researchers to introduce and advance agriculture management and modern technologies along with conventional practices to attain highest possible crop productivity. Agricultural technology is based on the domestication of wild plants to create the crops that we have come to depend upon. Humans invented agriculture approximately 10,000 years ago when they began to harvest and cultivate specific plants to produce food. The improved plant traits selected by early agriculturalists were transmitted genetically to succeeding generations of plants. Both public institutions and private companies are now involved in crop genetic improvement.

Abstract

Abiotic stresses have been a serious challenge for sustainable agriculture particularly vegetable cultivation characterized by decreased endurance against stresses like drought, temperature fluctuation and salinity. In India, drought and salinity being major abiotic stresses affect an area of 16% and 4.28%, respectively. Plant Breeders have to face many impediments while developing stress tolerant varieties. Developing tolerant varieties is quite difficult as tolerance varies with the developmental stages and has complex inheritance. This can be understood well by studying ontogeny of plants. Drought varies in time of occurrence, severity and duration. Field screening for tolerance is very difficult because of various interactions like drought × high temperature, high temperature × salinity interactions etc. Artificial screening in different stresses could be an alternative approach. The varieties developed with higher inputs at research stations fail to perform at farmers’ fields due to high genotype × environment interactions. Cultivated species have less genetic variability for abiotic stress tolerance but tolerance can be enhanced by using diverse and heterogeneous population. Though wild species possess genes for tolerance but these genes are closely linked with the undesirable gene(s) e.g. in tomato where S. cheesmanii, S. peruvianum, S. pimpinellifolium and S. sitiens have undesirable traits which affect yield and quality adversely.

Abstract

Modern agriculture has disturbed the age-old balance of host-pathogen system resulting diseases occur at regular interval leading to enormous loss to the agricultural production, which is estimated to be 10-25% or less during normal years but may extend up to 100 % during epidemic. Broadly, there are two breeding approaches adopted for disease resistance which includes conventional and molecular one. Conventional approach includes pureline, pedigree, backcross, recurrent selection and interspecific hybrids through which various resistant varieties has been developed. However, after sometime there is sudden outbreak of diseases due to continuous sowing of these varieties which results in the advancement in molecular biology and with the discovery of trait linked markers it paved a new pathway to look a new corner to develop varieties which are disease resistant. Molecular approach consists of gene pyramiding through which two or more genes providing resistance to different types of diseases is introgressed in a particular variety, gene deployment and multiline varieties which consists of heterogeneous population formed by mixing the cultivars to differ in the ability of disease resistance and reduces the rate of epidemic development. With the help of makers in marker assisted breeding using foreground, recombinant and background selection several linked markers are identified which provides resistance against disease like in wheat stem rust, leaf rust etc.

Introduction

High density planting in fruit trees was first introduced in case of apple in Europe during the nineteen sixties, with the development of Malling and Malling - Merton rootstocks. Subsequently, this was experimented in other temperate fruit crops like peach, plum, pear and sweet cherry. Today, majority of new orchards of apple and to some extent that of other fruit crops in Europe, New Zealand, USA and Australia use this intensive system of fruit production profitably Iyer and Kurian (2006). The successful management of trees in any high-density planting system depends on maintaining a balance between vegetative growth and fruiting.

Canopy management is the manipulation of tree canopies to optimize the production of quality and quantity fruits. The canopy management, particularly its components like tree training and pruning, affects the quantity of sunlight intercepted by trees, as tree shape determines incoming radiation. Light is critical for growth and development of trees and their fruits. The green leaves harvest the sunlight to produce carbohydrates and sugars which are transported to the sites where they are needed – buds, flowers and fruits. Better light penetration into the tree canopy improves tree growth, productivity, yield and fruit quality. The density and orientation of planting also impact light penetration in an orchard (Proietti et al., 2000). Generally, in close planting, quicker shading becomes a problem. An east-west row orientation results in more shading as compared to the western and southern orientation of trees. The problem of a fruit grower is initially to build up a strong and balanced framework of the trees, then equips them with appropriate fruiting.

1.    Classification of Trees
    
2.    Flowering and Foliage Trees of Indian Gardens
    
3.    Palms and Cycads
    
4.    Coniferous Trees and Deciduous Trees for Temperate Climatic Situations
    
5.    Propagation and Planting of Trees
    
6.    After Care of Trees
        
    Further Reading

Abstract

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is the one of the most important fruit crop of tropics and subtropics. Mango belong to group of plant in which there is an antagonism between vegetative vigour and flowering intensity. Therefore, any factor that reduces vegetative vigour without altering the metabolic activity and favors flowering which can be possible by the use of growth regulator. Growth retardant that has been widely used in mango crop is paclobutrazol (PBZ) or cultar. Paclobutrazol is N-containing heterocyclic, trizole compound which stimulate flowering by inhibiting gibberellic acid pathway by inhibiting oxidation of ent-kaurene to ent-kaurenoic acid by blocking cytochrome P450 dependent monooxygenase enzyme. It is applied at the rate 2-5g/m of canopy diameter 3-4 months prior to desired date of flowering either by foliar spray, soil drench or trunk application. However, soil application is found more efficient on mango quality production than other. Paclobutrazol has pleiotropic response on mango cultivars. It has been found that application of paclobutrazol is effective in enhancing the protein mobilisation, starch, carotenoid, lycopene, phenol and cytokinin, abscisic acid and enzyme content in treated plant that induce flowering. It has been found that paclobutrazol is capable to reduce mango malformation and make plant tolerant in stress condition.

Introduction

Crop regulation is also known as flowering/ fruiting cycle management. It can also be termed as management of vegetative-reproductive balance. Some of the fruit crops bloom throughout the year without any resting period and produces two or three crops (bahar) in a year but yield and quality is not so good in all crop harvest. It is very essential to understand the flowering and fruiting behavior of crops and which bahar will give good crop with considering all the factors associated with a particular bahar. It is important for the available time to be partitioned to give an appropriate balance between the making of sources of resources which capture and utilized resources efficiently in generating harvestable yield and the filling of sinks for resources; and sink must mature in desired time for harvest. Apart from their importance in the determination of crop yield

Abstract

Brassica vegetables belonging to family Brassicaceae are one of the most important groups of cool season vegetables. Initially, these crops were confined to Europe and other temperate regions. But, after the Second World War, their cultivation has spread to tropics and sub tropics as well. All the members of this group have originated primarily from the common ancestor wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. oleracea) and are fully cross-compatible with each other. In general, these are highly cross pollinated crops and have shown preponderance of non-additive gene action for most of the economic traits thereby suggesting the relevance of heterosis breeding. In the absence of appropriate genetic mechanism for the production of hybrid seed with ease at relatively lower cost, heterosis in a crop is of no practical value. Fortunately, the presence of natural genetic phenomenon of sporophytic self incompatibility and male sterility (particularly CMS) in brassica vegetables has proved instrumental in commercialization of hybrid seed production.

1.    Entrance Gate
    
2.    Garden Walls
    
3.    Dry Wall
    
4.    Green Wall
    
5.    Fences
    
6.    Steps
    
7.    Garden Drives
    
8.    Garden Paths
    
9.    Hedge
    
10.    Edging
    
11.    Shrubbery
    
12.    Herbaceous Border
    
13.    Flower Beds
    
14.    Carpet Bedding
    
15.    Ground Covers
    
16.    Topiary
    
17.    Creating Shapes
    
18.    Lawn
    
19.    Arches
    
20.    Pergolas
    
21.    Bridges
    
22.    Gazebo
    
23.    Vertical Garden
    
24.    Roof Gardening
    
25.    Planning
    
26.    Plant Materials Suitable for Roof Gardening
    
27.    Terrace Gardening
    
28.    Planting
    
29.    Water Graden
    
30.    Plants for Water Garden
    
31.    Rock Garden
    
32.    Plants Suitable for a Rock Garden
    
33.    Healing Garden
    
34.    Clock Garden
    
35.    Greenhouse
    
36.    Garden Adornments
    
    
References

A. General
        
B. Bulbous Plants
        
C. Greenhouse Technology
        
D. Plant Breeding
        
E. Plant Physiology
        
F. Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology
        
G. Post Harvest Technology

1.    World Export/Import of Ornamental Plants
    
2.    Recent Trends
    
3.    Flower Auctions
    
4.    Domestic Trade of Flowers
    
5.    Marketing Channels and Price Spread in Traditional Flowers
    
6.    E-commerce in Floriculture
    
7.    On-line Information Systems Dealing with e-floriculture
    
8.    Flower Auctions
    
9.    Floriculture and WTO
    
10.    Documentation Indexing
        
    Further reading.

Accent : It is created in the garden to avoid the monotonous view. Mostly unusual objects like tall fountain, tree, statue etc are used to create the effect.

Acre: A unit of measurement of land area equivalent to 4000 sq.met or 0.4047 hectare.

Acrylic: It is a glassy thermoplastic that is incorporated in rigid plastic to enhance wither ability.

Aging: Refers to the processes acquiring maturity with the passage of time or normally an increment of time, which may or may not be accompanied by physiological changes including senescence. Aging thus includes a much ‘wider span’ of physiological processes, which may either “weaken the organism or to be neutral”.

Agmark: It is Agriculture Produce, Grading & Marketing Act, 1937 & voluntary in nature.

Anaerobic respiration: An incomplete oxidation of food to release partial energy takes place in the absence of atmospheric oxygen and occurs in cytoplasm.

Analytical chemistry: Deals with detection and estimation of elements and compounds.

Abstract

The term “Horticulture” is a part of agriculture system which is concerned with the raising of so called garden crops. At present, fruits, vegetables, flowers etc., are grown not only within the backyards, but also in large areas in open fields on a commercial scale where better visualization can be viewed with GIS. It emerged by calculating the present context which allows us to produce a complex view about the land’s characteristics. Most of the GIS in use today have not been designed to support multimedia data and therefore have very limited capability due to the large data volumes, very rich semantics and very different modelling and processing requirements. Use of Remote Sensing (RS) and GIS in natural resource and environmental monitoring has been advocated strongly in present years. The present review gives an idea about the basic concepts of GIS, its components and applications in the agricultural sector particularly horticulture. GIS has been extensively and successfully exploited in various areas using various software’s which are available in current market.

Appendices
    
I.    Released Varieties/Hybrids in Aromatic Crops from KAU
     P. Skaria Baby, P.P. Joy, Samuel Mathew, Ancy Joseph and Ragina Joseph 
    
IIa.    Released Varieties of Fruit Crops in India
    T. Radha
    
IIb    Released Varieties of Arid Fruits
    S.K. Sharma
    
III.    Released Varieties of Ornamental Plants
    P.K .Valsala Kumari 
    
IVa.    Released Varieties of Coconut
    P. Maheswarappa
    
IVb.    Release Varieties of Cocoa
    P. Maheswarappa
    
IVc.    Released Varieties of Plantation Crops
    P. Maheswarappa
    
Va    Released Varieties of Spices from Kerala Agricultural University (KAU)
    Asha Sankar 
        
Released Varieties of Spice Crops Through All India Coordinated Research Project on Spices
    K. Nirmal Babu
    
Vb    Released Varieties of Spice Crops Through All India Coordinated Research Project on Spices
    K. Nirmal Babu
    
VI    Released Varieties of Vegetables from KAU
    T.R. Gopalakrishnan
    
VII.    Research and Educational Infrastructure in Horticulture in India
    P.G. Sadhan Kumar and S. Nirmala Devi
    
VIII.    Important Websites in Horticulture
    T. Pradeepkumar 
    
VIIIa.    Horticulture Institutes in India
    T. Pradeepkumar 
    
IX.    Vital Statistics on Horticultural Crops
    National Horticulture Board, Gurgaon, Haryana
    
X.    Nutritional Values of Horticultural Crops
        Indian Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad

1.    Greenhouse Effect
    
2.    Global Warming
    
3.    Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
    
4.    Aerosols and Global Cooling
    
5.    Clouds and Global Warming/Cooling
    
6.    Ozone Depletion and UV Radiation

7.    Climate and Horticulture
    
8.    Climate and Cashew
    
9.    Climate and Cardamom
    
10.    Climate and Coffee
    
11.    Climate and Tea
    
12.    Climate and Cocoa
    
13.    Climate and Coconut
        
References

1.    Placement
    
2.    Growing Media
    
3.    Media Preparation
    
4.    Containers
    
5.    Potting
    
6.    Propagation
    
7.    Watering
    
8.    Feeding
    
9.    Diseases
    
10.    Precautions
    
11.    Indoor Plants

Abstract

The development of nano technology creates an excellent opportunity to address complex technical  issues of food supply chain. Failure to embrace nano technology will deny the horticultural sector an opportunity to capitalize on improved product visibility, food safety, quality and security and associated economic benefits. Agricultural and food supply chain management is complex due to the diverse characteristics of agricultural products. There are numerous types of horticultural crops and products, many of which are perishable. In addition, the degree of standardization of some kinds of fruit products and their management is still low. In this regard, the potential application of nano technology to the horticulture is reviewed. Investigation confirms that incremental applicationof nano technology in the horticulture,

The first step of sexual reproduction (Flowering) is of paramount importance in agriculture, horticulture and plant breeding. The change from the vegetative state to the reproductive state is one of the most dramatic events. Flowering leads to an exciting succession of events like anthesis, fruit set, fruit development, maturation and ripening. It provides for the propagation of the species and assists in crop improvement through genetic recombination. Plant growth regulators have remained an important component in horticulture, agriculture from time immemorial, because they were effective means of quantitative as well as qualititative improvement in growth and development of crops. Plant growth and development as well as the responses to environmental factors, are highly regulated by complex and coordinated action of the endogenous hormones (Reddy and Bhagwan, 2014).

Introduction

With the change in global scenario there is increase in pressure of meeting the food requirements of rapid growing population but due to scarcity of resources it is becoming very difficult to meet the needs of present population but even if there is so much problem still nature has provided solution to sort out from it through hybrid seed production through male sterility. As male sterility is a condition in which pollen grain is either absent or non-functional in the pollen grain. Its first case was reported by Koelreuter in 1763. Later many scientist have reported about its role in hybrid seed production. Mainly the male sterility is characterized by malformation of androecium, lack of normal anther sac, inability of pollen to mature or to release from the anther sac and inability to develop normal microspore or pollen. Due to such malformation male sterility is characterized into phenotypic male sterility, genotypic male sterility and chemically induced male sterility. Later in 1998, Kaul further generalised the phenotypic male sterility into structural, sporogenous and functional male sterility. In case of structural male sterility stamens are completely absent or if present then it is either malformed or modified into other floral part. While in case of sporogenous male sterility a case of abnormal microsporogenesis has been reported. In functional male sterility pollen development is normal but its function is impaired.Genotypic male sterility which is further classified into genetic, cytoplasmic and cytoplasmic genetic male sterility.

A. General
        
B. Turf Grass
        
C. Indoor Plants

1.    Breeding Systems Utilized in Production of Vegetable Hybrids
    
2.    Male Sterility-Theory
    
3.    Hybrid Seed Production in Chilli Using GMS
    
4.    Hybrid Seed Production in Muskmelon Using GMS
    
5.    Cytoplasmic Genetic Male Sterility
    
6.    Hybrid Seed Production in Onion Using CMS
    
7.    Hybrid Seed Production in Hot Pepper Using CMS
    
8.    Self-Incompatibility Systems
    
9.    Types of Incompatibility
    
10.    Hybrid Cultivars in Cauliflower and Cabbage
    
11.    Male Sterility in Tomato and its Uses in Hybrid Seed Production
        
References

1.    Marketing Scenario of Fruits and Vegetables
    
2.    Marketing Systems of Fruits and Vegetables
    
3.    Vertical Coordination in Food Chain
    
4.    Supply Chain Management
    
5.    Post Harvest Management
        
References

Introduction

In the present, India is food secure due to our self-sufficiency in foodgrains, but still,we have to achieve the goal of nutritional security. The horticulture sector is the one which alsoescapes the weather shocks and has the potential to help in poverty alleviation, nutritional security. Again, it has ample scope for farmers to increase their income and helpful in sustaining a large number of agro-based industries which generate a large number of employment opportunities besides helping to achieve the national goal of 4.0 per cent agricultural growth. India with more than 28.2 million tonnes of fruits and 66 million tonnes of vegetables, is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, next only to Brazil and China.Onshares, the world fruit production is 11% and vegetables 7%.

Introduction

Hi Tech horticulture is synonymous to cultivation of commercial horticultural crops using advanced scientific technology to make more profit. India is acclaimed globally for production of high value horticultural crops but there productivity is less as compared to many countries. One of the main reasons for low productivity is poor water and nutrient management. The Task Force on Agricultural Development constituted by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, Government of India in March 2015 has suggested to increase productivity, progress is required along three dimensions: (i) Quality and judicious use of inputs such as water, seeds, fertilizer and pesticides; (ii) judicious and safe exploitation of modern technology; and (iii) shift into high value commodities such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc. (Anonymous, 2015).  Hi tech horticulture meeting the entire requirement as suggested by the task force.

Abstract
 

Ensure enough food and water to the growing world population and preserve the biodiversity of our planet are among the major challenges of our immediate future. These challenges are essentially addressed to the agricultural world, which is constantly evolving to satisfy the most basic needs of the humankind. The approaches and the possible answers to these big challenges are many and, even if partial, each sustainable solution or innovation can contribute to improve the quality of our life. To overcome the barriers for food and nutritional security microgreens is one of the possible innovative approach in this 21st century. A microgreen is a young vegetable green that is used both as a visual and flavor component or ingredient primarily in fine dining restaurants. Fine dining chefs use microgreens to enhance the attractiveness and taste of their dishes with their delicate textures and distinctive flavors. Smaller than “baby greens,” and harvested later than sprouts, microgreens can provide a variety of leaf flavors, such as sweet and spicy. They are also known for their various colors and textures. Among upscale markets, they are now considered a specialty genre of greens that are good for garnishing salads, soups, plates, and sandwiches.

Abstract

In the recent past we have seen a great upsurge in the production and productivity of food grains as well as horticultural produce which is sufficient to feed our burgeoning population. This way we are self-sufficient to feed our population, but now the major challenge before us is to ensure the nutritional security of each and every individual of the country. Moreover, meeting nutritional security through conventional or molecular breeding demands long time. However, this could be achieved in much shorter period of time i.e., within 2-3 weeks by growing microgreens.Microgreens can be easily characterised by having a central stem with two fully developed cotyledon leaves and mostly one pair of small true leaves.In comparison to their mature counterparts, microgreens of a variety of vegetables and herbs have been reported to be more nutritious. They are rich in ascorbic acids, carotenoids, phylloquinone and tocopherols, which is responsible for its antioxidant properties and also plays a vital role in weight gain modulation, cholesterol metabolism. It may also protects from cardiovascular diseases by preventing hypercholesterolemia. Main problem associated with microgreens are their high price and high perishability and lack of awareness among people about its cultivation practices and health benefits. It demands great attention from the scientific community, to address these problems and make it available in each and every household to ensure the nutritional security of the nation.

Abstract

Plant research often involves growing new plants in a controlled environment. These may be plants that we have genetically altered in some way or may be plants of which we need many copies all exactly alike. These things can be accomplished through tissue culture of small tissue pieces from the plant of interest. The latest list of ISO recognizes 109 spices, but only a few are important commercially such as black pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, large cardamom, cumin, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, garlic, saffron and celery. They are extensively used in flavouring food and confectionery, perfumery and soaps and also as colouring materials. Many of these groups of crops have medicinal properties and are used in many Ayurvedic and Unani medicines. Inspite of the rich diversity and importance, the productivity of spices is low in India. Spices are an important group of economic plants with large genetic diversity in the Indian subcontinent and need to be conserved through in- vitro methods. Conservation of the germplasm using traditional method of field maintenance is problematic, normally labour intensive and also face risk of germplasm loss due to pest/pathogen attack or natural disasters. To minimize the problems of their conservation and increasing interest has been shown to use plant tissue culture. In vitro conservation of germplasm has been reported in various crop species including the spices black pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, large cardamom.

Abstract

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs, which are also technically perennials. in vitro technologies are continuously expanding in the field of biology. Plant tissue culture has become a general title for a very broad subject. Commercial use of micropropagation is still limited, because of its relatively high production cost resulting mainly from high labor costs, low growth rate in vitro, and poor survival rate of the plantlets during acclimatization. Micropropagation of woody perennials is essential due their importance in production of secondary metabolites, which are playing a vital role now a days. Stages of micropropagation i.e mother plant selection, establishment of the aseptic culture, multiplication, root regeneration and transfer to the natural environment, which are systematically reproduced in many protocols which will aids in micropropagation studies of many woody perennials. Thus the review of present study attempts to provide a comprehensive account on micropropagation of woody perennials complementing conventional programmes for improvement.

Introduction

Healthy seeds and seedlings are the first and essential requirement for achieving full yield potential of any vegetable crop. In recent years, vegetable growers have become highly conscious of the importance of quality seeds or seedlings. A major portion of the area under vegetable cultivation in India is now sown with hybrid seeds, which are costly but give higher yields and quality produce. In view of the high cost of seeds, some vegetable crops like tomato, brinjal, capsicum and cucurbits are being transplanted after growing nursery under protected conditions to achieve maximum germination count and healthy plant establishment. Raising of seedlings in plug trays or portrays is one such technology that achieves the above requirement. This technology is fast emerging as agro enterprise in India for its obvious advantage to both the nursery grower and the farmer. Soil-less substrate consisting of coco-peat and vermiculite is filled in plug trays and one seed is manually placed in each cell of the plug tray. However, manual seeding is labour-intensive operation requiring about more labour and time consuming. Mechanized precision seeding of plug trays is, therefore, necessary to enhance the capacity of rapidly growing nursery industry in India.

Introduction

The demand for agriculture commodity is growing world over and meets the ever increasing targets as per the demand, productivity needs to be raised further. This can be realized in two ways- by increasing area of cultivation and/or through increased efficiency of inputs (both natural and manmade). The scope for the farmer is very limited worldwide and for the latter, the primary input is the solar energy which is most abundant except in few cases like colder regions. In the coming future, the availability of land for cultivation will be a major impendent due to rapid urbanization, hydroelectric projects, dams and rivers, highway roads and also there is a degradation of fertile land due to soil erosion (120.72 million ha), soil salinity and water logging (8.4 million ha) Nath et al., 2007 and Hegde et al. (2015).  Under this situation, multi-storied cropping system will be a viable option to provide food, nutrition and income security to people Awasthi et al., (2008). The available arable land could be effectively utilized for production of field and horticultural crops to achieve nutritional security for the growing population and sustainable income for the farming community. Increasing food production with limited natural resource is a great challenge to the scientific community. Thus, production per unit area of land, time and inputs can be increased by improving efficiency of the rate and extent to which solar energy is harvested for conversion to economic produced.

1.    Fruit Crops
    
2.    Spices
    
3.    Masticatory Crops
    
4.    Vegetables
    
5.    Plantation Crops
    
6.    Tuber Crops
    
7.    Medicinal Plants
    
8.    Ornamental Plants
    
9.    Future Prospects
        
References

1.     What is IPM
    
2.    What is a Pest
    
3.    Importance of Crops in IPM
    
4.    Impact of Environment in IPM
    
5.    Crop Stage Specific IPM
    
6.    Management Practices
    
7.    Tropical Tuber Crops
    
8.    Ornamental Plants
    
9.    Medicinal Plants
    
10.    Aromatic Plants
    
11.    Plantation Crops
    
12.    Masticatory
    
13.     Spices
    
14.    Fruit Crops
    
15.    Vegetables
        
References

Abstract

Plant architecture, plays a crucial role in gathering multiple resources from the environment. As a plant grows, they change its architecture with the surrounding environment for altering available resources. The architecture of the plant is modified through the distribution of assimilate, which conclude the growth rates of different organs. Plant roots expand to acquire soil water and nutrients (e.g. nitrogen, phosphorus) from different soil layers by adjusting their direction in order to growth which transported and allocated to whole plant for maintenance and expansion of plant organs. All plants gradually develop their architecture according to source–sink activities and endogenous signals. This adaptation can result in complex structures. This chapter deals with the importance, different method for changing the architecture   of vegetable crops for improving their yield and quality.

A. General
        
B. Leaves and Floral Terminologies
        
C. Diversity in the Flower
        
D. Diversity in Fruits
        
E. Terminologies Related to Seed