eChapters

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.

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.

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

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).

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.

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is one of the most important tropical fruits of the world and is commonly known as the ‘King of fruits’ for its high quality fruits which are very popular among the Indians (Sharma et al., 2008). It is an oldest and extensively cultivated fruit crop in India having high socio-economic significance. India is the home of about more than 1000 mango varieties, which originated in the Indo-Burma region (Mukherjee, 1958). India is the largest producer of mango, grown in about 2.3 million hectares with an annual production of 15.02 million tonnes. However, its productivity is only 6.5 tonnes ha against 30 tonnes per ha in Israel. Improvement of productivity in mango continues to be the foremost issue in mango production (Sauco, 1993). Of late, all the mango importing countries are considering the India as a source of quality mangoes due to its varietal wealth and availability. Hence, it is imperative to improve the productivity and quality of Indian mangoes to meet the global need (Balamohan and Gopu, 2014).

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.

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.

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.

Introduction

Controlled perpetuation of plants is known as plant propagation. Plant propagation can be broadly classified in two types: sexual and asexual. In sexual propagation, the fusion of male and female gametes gives rise to a new plant, whereas in asexual propagation which is also known as vegetative propagation, the development of new plants takes place without the fusion of male and female gametes, that is, the new plant develops from vegetative plant parts. Various techniques of asexual propagation are adopted in plant propagation, such as: grafting, budding, layering, cutting, etc. So far cutting and layering are concerned; the new plants are developed on their own root system, but in grafting and budding on the others’ root system. It means that in these two techniques (grafting and budding), two plant parts are joined to form new plants; the one which forms the root system is known as rootstock and the one forming the shoot system is known as scion. Plant propagation is both a science and an art. The science of plant propagation requires knowledge of plant physiology, nursery cultural practices, and characteristics of the particular plant that you want to grow. The art of plant propagation cannot be taught in a book or classroom, however, because it consists of specific technical skills that must be acquired through innate ability or experience and often requires a certain feel.

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.

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

India is a rich center of plant diversity due to varied climatic conditions as well as soil qualities which provide a better platform for the diverse plant groups. In India around 45000 plant species are spread over the area (Mayers, 1988). These plant species multiply and produces the new plant. The multiplication of plants is termed as propagation and the art of propagation is as old as civilization of human being. The history of civilization began with the propagation and growing of plants. Plant propagation was in practice in pre-historic period. However, the propagation process has got commercial popularity only recently. The success in plant propagation depends on a thorough knowledge of the growth of plants, choice of suitable method and technical skill. In nature, plants multiply naturally to perpetuate themselves. Now-a-days, propagation practices have been totally modernized and became advanced from field to in vitro. Variation in plant propagation can be observed in the nature like some plants are producing many seeds for future generation with their unique type of dispersal mechanism. Among a large

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.    Basic Principles
    
2.    Scale and Proportion
    
3.    Balance
    
4.    Rhythm
    
5.    Simplicity
    
6.    Unity
    
7.    Transition
    
8.    Focal Point or Emphasis
    
9.    Elements
    
10.     Variety
    
11.     Grouping
    
12.     Mass
    
13.    Sequence
        
    Further Reading

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.     Groups of Polyembryony (PE)
    
2.     Mechanism of Polyembryony and the Genetic Bases
    
3.    Classification of Polyembryony
    
4.    Polyembryony – Its Practical Implications
        
References

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

1.    Factors Causing Spoilage of Foods
    
2.    Methods of Preservation
    
3.    Preservation by use of Preservatives
    
4.    Preservation by Irradiation
    
5.    Preservation by Low Temperature
    
6.    Methods of Food Freezing
    
7.    Principles of Preservation by Fermentation
    
8.    Preservation by Dehydration
    
9.    Preservation by Thermal Processing
    
10.    Advantages of Processing
    
11.    Demand for Processed Products
        
References

1.    Postharvest Losses of Fruits and Vegetables
    
2.    Minimization of Postharvest Losses
    
3.    Postharvest Management Practices
    
4.    Selection of Varieties
    
5.    Harvesting
    
6.    Sorting /Grading
    
7.    Washing
    
8.    Trimming
    
9.    Curing
    
10.     Delatexing or De-sapping
    
11.    Waxing
    
12.    Pre-cooling
    
13.    Hot Water Treatment
    
14.    Postharvest Disease Management
    
15.    Regulation of Ripening
    
16.    Sprout Inhibition
    
17.    Packaging
    
18.    Transportation
    
19.    Marketing
    
20.    Storage
    
21.    Conclusion
        
References

1.    Land Preparation
    
2.    Tillages
    
3.    Planting
    
4.    Field Maintenance
    
5.    Vegetation Control
    
6.    Animal/ Bird Control
    
7.    Insects and Diseases Management
    
8.    Irrigation
    
9.    Manuring
    
10.    Harvesting
    
11.    Collection and Transportation
    
12.    Integrated Mechanization
        
References

1.    List of Spices
    
2.    Biotechnological Interventions in Spices
    
3.    Micropropagation
    
4.    Protocols for in vitro Multiplication of Some Spices
    
5.    Factors Affecting Large Scale Propagation Systems
    
6.    Field Performance of Tissue Culture Plants
    
7.    Other Tissue Culture Techniques
    
8.    Secondary Metabolites Production
    
9.    in vitro Germplasm Conservation
    
10.    Somaclonal Variation
    
11.    Molecular Marker Studies
    
12.    Disease Diagnostics
    
13.    Genetic Engineering
    
14.    Identification of Adulterants
    
15.    Future Prospects
        
References

1.    Botanical Background/Classification
    
2.    Nutritive and Medicinal Values of Fruits
    
3.    Genetic Resources
    
4.    Plant Propagation
    
5.    Design and Orchard Management
    
6.    Physiology of Fruit Trees
        
References

1.    Vegetables for Nutritional and Health Security
    
2.    Status of Vegetable Production
    
3.    Classification of Vegetable Crops
    
4.    Influence of Environment on Vegetable Production
    
5.    Management of Seedlings in Nursery
    
6.    Vegetables Based Cropping System
    
7.    Water Management
    
8.    Plant Nutrients and Integrated Nutrients Management
    
9.    Micro-Irrigation and Fertigation
    
10.    Pollination Management
    
11.    Integrated Pest Management
    
12.    Biological Management of Diseases
    
13.    Mechanisms of Biocontrol
    
14.    Weed Management
    
15.    Management of Vegetable Crops Under Polyhouse
    
16.    Post Harvest Handling and Storage of Vegetables
    
17.    Marketing and Export of Vegetables
    
18.    Export Trade of Vegetables in India
    
19.    Seed Technology
        
References

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.    Major Branches of Horticultural Science

    
2.    Potential Production Zones of Various Horticultural Crops in India
    
3.    Indian Horticulture
    
4.    Current Production and Projected Demand of  Horticultural Products
    
5.    Extent of Value Addition in Fruits and Vegetables
    
6.    Horticulture as Profession
    
7.    Projected Demand for Horticulture Professionals in 2020
    
8.    Major Career Opportunities in Horticulture
    
9.    Level of Employment (%) in Horticultural Processing Sector
    
10.    Conclusion
        
References

A. General
        
B. Turf Grass
        
C. Indoor Plants

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

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.

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

Floriculture  is  increasingly  regarded  as  a  viable  diversification  from traditional field crops due to increased per unit returns and increasing habit of “saying it with flowers” during all the occasions. All over the world, the floricultural sector is experiencing rapid changes. Opening up to the world, market  in  the  WTO  regime  paving  way  to  free  movement  of  floricultural products worldwide, globalization and its effect on income generation have all  contributed  to  increase  in  per  capita  consumption  of  flowers  in  most countries. Noticeable  feature  of  global  floriculture  is  the  development  and expansion of floriculture in non-traditional areas. Netherlands, Italy, Germany and  Japan  had  strong  tradition  for  growing  and  consumption  of  flowers. The  concept  of  commercial  floriculture  was perpetuated  across  the  world from those regions. New production centres are developing in Latin America, Africa and also in Asia to meet the demand of consuming countries and also to  expand  domestic  market,  commensuration  with  improved  economic conditions  these countries  provide  highly  qualitative  floricultural  products with low cost price which is finding a favourable place in markets of Western Europe, America and Japan. Emergence of new production centres has made floriculture  more  competitive  and  this  in  turn  is benefiting the  ultimate consumers.

Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is the only species in the genus Lathyrus and family Fabaceae which is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. Lathyrus comes from the Greek word “Lathyros” in which the prefix “la” means “very” and suffix “thyros” means “passionate”. The “Odoratus” is derived from Latin word which means “fragrant” (Fernald, 1950). It is mainly grown for its beautiful flower colour forms. It is an annual climbing plant growing to a height of 1-2 m with the support of a terminal tendril which twines around the plants and helps to climb. The illness caused by the ingestion of sweet pea is known as odoratism or sweet pea lathyrism. Sweet pea was used to verify Mendel’s work with the garden pea (Pisum sativum L.) in the early 1900s (Bateson, 1902). The genetical phenomenon of linkage was first demonstrated in the sweet pea. It is used prominently as a model organism to study flower development due to its large, colourful and fragrant flowers. The essential oils extracted from the sweet pea can be used in perfume blends.

ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION

Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus L.) was discovered in Sicily in 1695 (Rice, 2002). Its species are found both in the Old World and the New World. The main centres of diversity are the Mediterranean region, Asia Minor and North America as well as temperate South America and East Africa (Kupicha, 1977, Jackson and Yunus, 1984, Yamamoto et al., 1984 and Simola, 1986). It generally grows in temperate regions and has been found on all continents except Antarctica (Kenicer et al., 2009 and Kenicer et al., 2005). Its cultivation is popular not only in the United Kingdom and the United States but also in Europe, Russia, Egypt, New Zealand, Australia and Japan (Hambidge,

1996, Inoue, 1981, 2007 and Rice, 2002). There are some reports of commercial sweet pea cut flower production (Hammett, 2006, Inoue, 1981 and Parsons, 2004). A seed bank at the Chichester Collection was started in 1998 and stores around 900 cultivars and around 100 accessions of other species.

Clematis is member of the Ranunculaceae family which also known as buttercup family. This cosmopolitan genus comprises climbing lianas, small shrubs and erect sub-shrubs distributed predominantly in the temperate zone of both hemispheres but with some species distributed in tropical areas (Tamura, 1995, Johnson, 1997, Grey-Wilson, 2000 and Wang and Li, 2005). The word clematis is taken from Greek as in “klema” meaning “a vine branch”. Most species are known as Clematis in English while some are also known as Traveller’s joy, Leather flower, Vase vine and Virgin’s bower the last three being names used for North American species (Chawla et al., 2012). Most Clematis is climbers (Roh and Song, 1997), however; two notable exceptions are the species C. heracleifolia and C. integrifolia which are herbaceous and fit well in a perennial garden border. The vast majority of these are very hardy. Some species however, particularly the evergreens can only take a few degrees of frost. Most Clematis varieties produce single flowers. Some varieties produce double flowers; others produce both single and double flowers. Clematis blossoms often change colour, some very marked through the life of each flower particularly when grown in full sun. Pastel colours will hold their colour best if grown in some shade. Many Clematis species are scented, although none are strongly perfumed. The most-highly scented is the tender species C. armandii. Montana types can also be relatively aromatic often with a scent reminiscent of vanilla. Of the large flowering hybrids, Fair Rosamund is the only one with any noticeable scent.

Lotus belongs to the Nelumbonaceae family and the genus Nelumbo. There are two species in this genus; Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. distributed in Asia and Oceania, and Nelumbo lutea distributed in North and South America (Qichao and Xingyan, 2005). Although, the species nucifera is the most important (commercially and culturally), it is critical to describe the American species, evaluate its horticultural value and its potential as a source of genetic diversity. The American species, represented by Nelumbo lutea (Syn. N. pentapetala or Nelumbium luteum) is known as American Lotus, Water-chinquapin and Yellow Lotus (Sayre, 2004) and is native to the eastern and central portions of the US ranging from Maine to Wisconsin and in the south from Florida to Texas. It is one of the most spectacular and graceful aquatics among all the native plants of India. N. indica are found all over India and extend as far as Kashmir to Kanyakumari exhibiting enormous thermoplasticity and phenotypic diversity with a large number of racial variants with different shapes, sizes and colours. First Indian fossilised record of N. nucifera has been reported from the Pleistocene epoch of Kashmir. The presence of Nelumbo in the Tertiary period of Assam is reported on the basis of impressions of leaves and rhizomes found in the collection from Eocene bed near Damalgiri. These records confirm the evidence in support of the view that N. nucifera is indigenous to India.

Lotus has good fragrance. About seventy compounds were identified with hydrocarbons representing > 75% of the extract. 1, 4 – Dimethoxy benzene, 10, 8 – Cineole, ferpinen – 4al and linalool were important constituents characterization of the scent of lotus flower (Omata et al., 1991).

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is one of the most popular ornamental pot plants belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae. The botanical name Euphorbia pulcherrima means very beautiful. Euphorbia pulcherrima the name originally given by German botanist Karl Ludwig Wilenow was changed to “Poinsettia” in honour of “Mr. Poinsett” in 1836 by William Prescott. Poinsettia is a short-day, non-food and non-feed vegetatively propagated ornamental plant. Poinsettias are fascinating winter blooming small shrubs or trees which can grow anywhere from about 0.6 to 5 m tall. The coloured bracts of poinsettia plants are actually leaves. Colours of the bracts can be red, pink, orange, white or marbled. These coloured bracts are caused by photo-periodism. Poinsettias have also been called the lobster flower and the flame-leaf flower due to the red colour. California is the top U.S. Poinsettia-producing state.

ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION

The poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is the world’s most economically important potted plant but despite its preeminence it is not clear which wild populations are ancestral to the varieties cultivated around the world. Tradition holds that the U.S. envoy to Mexico, J. R. Poinsett collected the progenitors of the over 300 varieties in global cultivation on an 1828 excursion to northern Guerrero State, Mexico. It is unknown whether the contemporary cultivars are descended from plants from Guerrero or whether germplasm from other parts of poinsettia’s 2000 km long distribution entered into cultivation during the nearly 200 years of subsequent poinsettia horticulture.

The combination of nuclear and plastid haplotypes characterizing cultivars was found only in northern Guerrero. Whereas, distribution modeling indicated that suitable habitat conditions for wild poinsettias are present in this area consistent with their likely wild status. Finding shows that the area of northern Guerrero as the cultivated poinsettia’s probable ancestral region congruent with the traditional account attributing the original collections to Poinsett (Trejo et al., 2012). Poinsettias are originally native to the central and southern parts of Mexico where they grow as a shrub up to 5 m. The poinsettia was introduced to the United States by Mr. Poinsett in 1828. It was introduced into North America in1838 from Mexico and since that time it has achieved considerable economic importance as a pot plant in the florist trade.

Orchids belong to family Orchidaceae, the largest family of the flowering plants. The term ‘orchid’ has its origin from the Greek word, “orchid” meaning “testicle”, referring to the paired underground tubers of terrestrial orchids. There are several generas in orchids, which are popular for their separate importance as cut flower, pot plant, medicinal properties, flavour extraction, etc. The fascinating flowers exhibit an incredible range of shape, size and colour, long life of flowers on plant and an amazingly long keeping quality, which no other plant can claim.

ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION

Majority of the cultivated orchids are native of tropical countries and occur widely in humid tropical forests of South and Central America, Mexico, India, Ceylon, Burma, South China, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, New Guinea and Australia. Brazilean cattleyas, Mexican laelias and Indian dendrobiums, cymbidiums and vandas have been extensively utilized for the development of modern orchid industry in the world.