eChapters

Introduction

Floral arrangement is the art of selecting and organizing flowers and foliage according to the elements and principles of design in order to attain a pleasing and interesting design. Arranging flowers is an artistic activity and a way to express oneself creatively.

21.1 Flowers and Foliage

Successful floral arrangement begins with plant materials that have been properly handled and prepared. Beauty and good composition of an arrangement is not determined by the cost or rarity of plant materials used, but by the way they are selected, cared for and arranged. The plant material has to be handled carefully, handling only the stems. Properly dried, bleached and dyed flowers, foliage and accessories can be arranged following the principles for dry flower arrangement.

Artificial flowers are a great source of handmade decorations. Beautiful handmade artificial flowers are suitable for banquets, weddings or to decorate any room in the home. They are generally made of paper or cloth and in a variety of colors. They come in either a bouquet form or can be ordered as individual stems. There are different kinds of artificial flowers including silk flower, latex flower, flowers made from natural leaves and embroidery flower.

Dried Fruits and Pods

The enchanting beauty and usage of fresh pods or fruits need not end up with the season. They are dried and preserved for years. A colorful array of choice dried fruits are very popular in dried arrangements. There are numerous dried fruits and pods used in potpourri and dried flower arrangements.

Dried Petals

Many types of dried petals are used for making pot pourii eg., land lotus petals, rose petals, mahogany petals, lily petals and lotus petals. Flowers are dried for everlasting beauty. They add an elegant touch to the room and are dried for everlasting beauty. Preserving blooms is a wonderful way to preserve memories and enjoy long lasting splashes of color. Many flower parts are used in dried form. A vibrant and thrilling range of dried petals are used to embellish greeting cards, folders, books, and other personal belongings.

Dried Leaves

Leaves are dried or preserved to capture the beauty of spring and hold it for a long time. Dried leaves are beautiful when used in any decoration. There are several preserving techniques that help to enhance the prized collection of leaves well. Drying leaves is an age old tradition. Leaves were dried to preserve them. The leaves were picked for their medicinal qualities, fragrance, or to be used as spices and for their decorative value. Leaves can be preserved by various ways: 

Dried Grasses

Grasses are easy to collect to dry and use. When the seed-heads have formed, the grass is cut off just above the soil using a sharp knife. They are allowed to lie in a thin layer in the sun for a day or two, turning them over a few times. They should not be allowed to get too damp. After they are dried they are put into a plethora of uses. Bunches of dried grasses can make a wonderful addition to any home or office.

Perennial Flowers

Perennial flowers have a life span of more than one year and usually bloom during a specific time period every year during the growing season. These flowers are hardy and herbaceous. They need less maintenance, less water, and fewer pesticides than annuals. Perennials are easily used as ground covers, mixed with annuals, grown in containers and used as accents or specimen plants. Many perennials are short bloomers and are best mixed with others that bloom at different times or included with other landscape plants. These flowers are treasured by gardeners as heirloom plants and have proven themselves to be hardy enough to withstand weather and climate extremes. They are treasured in their dried form for beautiful and exotic dried flower arrangements.

Flowers blooming in a garden can be preserved by drying them for use in arrangements, decorations and various other applications. Natural dry flowers can be annual or perennial. Some of the important annuals used for dry flower making are described below.

14.1 Annual Flowers

Plants classified as annuals are those that complete their life cycle within the space of one year. Annual flowers are versatile and sturdy. The annuals have many uses in landscaping. Annual flowers are beautiful and garden lovers tend to preserve these flowers throughout. They dry these flowers and store them for use in several beautiful dry flower arrangements.

Skeleton Leaves

Skeleton leaves are semi-transparent leaves, also called fossil leaves. They are prepared by soaking the fresh leaves in bleached water and then by hand rubbing the soft green flesh from the network of veins. The leaves can be then dyed to variant colors to give them a beautiful and pleasing appearance. Although delicate by nature, they are actually sturdy and can easily be glued to a variety of surfaces. They come in several colors and sizes to meet a complete line of crafting needs. The delicate beauty of these leaves is sometimes meant to capture life, hope and memories. These delicate, gorgeous skeleton leaves are a perfect accent for all craft projects. They make a beautiful and elegant statement when they adorn your wedding invitations. They work surprisingly well on gift tags, greeting cards, scrapbooks, collages, papermaking, stenciling, and stamping. They are perfect for decorating bridal bouquet, wedding reception table, candles, and wedding favors.

One of the important aspects of dry flowers is the pleasure of gathering flowers and grasses to make wonderful dried arrangements. The only drawback is that the original colors fade and the floral arrangements can end up looking like a bunch of straw. To enhance the colors of dried flowers, dyeing is advocated. While coloring ferns or small leaves, it is better to work on an aluminum foil or waxed paper so it can collect extra paint, which can be used on another leaf. Leaves should be lightly brushed, and never saturated with paint. The painted specimens are placed on the waxed paper or on a computer paper to dry. Newsprint should not be used.

The major drawback of dried arrangements and other dry flower products is that they are dull and lack the brightness of fresh flowers. To overcome this problem, flowers are bleached and dyed. This enhances the visual appeal of the product. Both chemical and natural dyes can be used. Squires (1971) reported on the use of various types of paints to colour dried foliage and flowers using brushes or by dipping and spraying. Enamel paints, interior paints, poster paints and tube paints could be employed for this purpose. Tampion and Reynolds (1971) explained the three ways by which dyeing can be carried out for fresh flowers. They are as follows:

Bleaching is essentially whitening or decolourizing. It is an important step in the processing of dry plants. It involves chemical processes that can change the ability of colour bodies to absorb light by changing their degree of saturation (Robson, 1967). This chemical action removes the discolouration occurring during the dehydration phase of preservation of plants. It allows the effective use of dyes for colouring. Bleaching agent is a material that lightens or whitens a substrate through chemical action. To reduce the processing costs, multistage bleaching is suggested. In this method, both oxidative and reductive bleaching chemicals are used.

The process for freeze dried flowers began in 1989. Freeze drying was first used by the Peruvian Incas of the Andes, who stored their food on the heights of the Andes. The ancient Incas were the first to learn the benefits of sublimation. They discovered that when they dried food at high elevations, the results were better. Even though the food would freeze, it would dry well if left exposed to the sun. The reduced pressure at high elevation, combined with the dry air and energy from the sun, had caused sublimation to occur.

Microwave Oven Drying

Microwave drying is quick and relatively simple. It takes only a few minutes and provides dried flowers that look fresher and more colorful than obtained by other methods. Flowers with thick petals like magnolia are not suitable for drying in microwave. Since flowers vary in moisture content, texture and density, care should be taken to use the same sized flowers from one species at a time. It has been found that many flowers held almost true to life color and form using this process. Brightly colored flowers are best to dry. Flowers such as lilies, roses, violets, zinnias, and dahlias work well with this process.

Drying by Embedding

A desiccant is simply a substance with a high affinity for water which can be used as a drying agent. Embedding the flowers in a granular, desiccating material is probably the most commonly used method and many consider it the best all around method. Several materials are used as drying agents. All the agents used vary in cost and in the results they produce. It is important to use the correct procedure when covering the flowers so that their form is maintained. Most well known is silica gel, but also clean dry sand can be used. Usually an airtight container is used; the flower heads are placed in the drying mixture face up, and very carefully covered with the mixture. The container must be kept closed during the drying process. After 4-14 days, depending on the thickness of the flower, the flower will be dry.

Pressing Flowers

One of the most popular methods for drying flowers is to put them under pressure, to remove the moisture out while leaving the color of the flowers and structure intact. There are several ways to apply pressure to flowers. The easiest method is placing them in heavy books and allow for drying. Flower presses can also be used. Some guidelines for pressing flowers in the traditional way are explained below:

Various methods are employed to dry flowers and foliage. The method adopted for drying depends largely on the character of the plant, that is to say whether the plant is glabrous, succulent or not succulent, hardy or delicate in nature. The suitable method for drying any given plant has to be studied elaborately. However, the different methods of drying are described broadly in this and consequent chapters.

4.1 Dry Flower Garden

Contrary to popular assumptions, the area required for producing large quantity of dried flower material need not also be large. However, the garden should be planned so as to harvest dry flowers all year round by planting evergreens, deciduous plants, annuals and perennials. Rows of flowering plants should be planted in the dry flower garden. Herbs are easy to grow, and can be planted in pots and window boxes. They are useful in transforming simple cooking into gourmet dishes, while also lending their delicate scents to a room when dried and for use in wreaths, pot pourri and arrangements. Gardens for dry flower production should include a wide selection of weeds, grains, seed-heads and pods. Flowers such as hydrangeas, zinnias, roses, dahlias and sunflowers and a selection of line flowers such as golden rods, statice, gladiolus, larkspur and delphinium can also be grown as these will provide a greater variety of flowers needed in flower arrangements.

3.1 Indian Floriculture Industry

Indian floriculture industry has been shifting from traditional flowers to cut flowers and dry flowers for export purposes. The liberalized economy has given an impetus to the Indian entrepreneurs for establishing export oriented floriculture units under controlled climatic conditions. About 60,000 ha area is under floriculture at present. During nineties, increasing demands for flowers in world market was coupled with production technology available abroad for high quality flowers. This encouraged some entrepreneurs to establish export-oriented units in Hyderabad, especially for the production of long stem rose by importing cultivars and adapting green house technology.

Preserving flowers dates back to earliest recorded history. The first evidence of use of dry flowers was when the bones of a pre historic man discovered in the Middle East were found with a mantle of delicate wild flowers. The pollen grains that remain indicated specific flowers that were used. During ancient times people used to freshen or enliven their rooms with fresh sweet smelling flowers. In the sixteenth century, when the Elizabethan Age was coming to a close, it was considered fashionable to wear silk flowers as part of one’s attire. These days flowers are dried and are versatile in their use. They supply us with food, medicines, ornaments and adornment. Flowers became essential for a fashionable appearance. Each civilization developed its own interpretation of flowers. Pressed flower art became popular in Victorian times. The Japanese use pressed plants and colorful papers to create Oshibana Art.

Flowers attract both young and old alike. They are associated with mankind from the dawn of civilization. These have become an integral part of human life in the modern era.
 
The Indian floriculture industry has been shifting from traditional flowers to cut flowers and dry flowers for export purposes. The liberalized economy has given an impetus to the Indian entrepreneurs for establishing export oriented floriculture units under controlled climatic conditions. About 60,000 hectares, area is under floriculture at present. During nineties, increasing demands for flowers in world market was coupled with production technology available abroad for high quality flowers.

Vedic literature indicates that the energy in the universe gets transmitted into the human body through star galaxies. The star galaxies of our universe are divided into 27 parts each signified by a particular star (nakshatra). Every human being is assigned to a particular star by virtue of his birth time.  Each star is associated with a tree. The tree associated with his star gives the universal energy to the human being. Thus astrology gives us a chance to identify the tree which is auspicious to us, being associated with our birth star. When one plants the tree associated with his birth star near his dwelling, it will bring good luck and prosperity to him.

Renewable energy sources, are the sources of power that quickly replenish and which can be used again and again. For this reason they are sometimes called energy resources. The main sources of renewable energy and their advantages and disadvantages are :

Solar
Energy from sunlight is captured in solar panels and converted into electricity.  Potentially it is an infinite source of energy supply, but the solar panels are costly.

Bonsai first appeared in China over a thousand years ago on a very basic scale, known as pun-sai, where it was the practice of growing single specimen trees in pots. These early specimens displayed sparse foliage and rugged gnarled trunks which often looked like animals, dragons and birds.

With Japan’s adoption of many cultural trademarks of China, bonsai was also introduced to Japan during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) by means of Zen Buddhism, which at that time was rapidly spreading around Asia. Once bonsai was introduced into Japan, the art was refined to an extent not yet approached in China. Over time, bonsai, which was confined to the Buddhist monks and their monasteries, were introduced as a symbol of prestige and honour. It became an important part of Japanese life by being displayed on specially designed shelves.  For the Japanese, bonsai represents a fusion of strong ancient beliefs with the Eastern philosophies of the harmony between man, the soul and nature.

Moniliformis means ‘like a string of beads’ signifying the arrangement of flowers on the spike. The tree is native of tropical Australia. It is valued for afforestation and beautification. It grows in warm climate under both dry and moist atmosphere. It is a medium-sized, thornless, quick growing, evergreen tree of 13 to 15 m height.

Leaves: True leaves are present only in early seedling stage. The apparent leaves are the modified midrib called phyllode, leathery, sickle-shaped, tapered at each end, up to 18 cm long and 6 cm broad; nerves parallel.

Trees are perennial in nature and are valuable elements in a landscape. Trees provide shade, privacy and beauty but a tree in a wrong place may create problem in years to come. To avoid this, care should be taken while selecting trees for landscape. The ultimate size and shape of the mature tree, how much annual maintenance it requires, location and purpose are major considerations while selecting a tree. Matured tree height and tree diameter should fit it into the space when tree is planted. Shape of canopy, colour of flower and season of flowering are also to be considered.

Urbanization coupled with industrial development creates problems of environment like air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution and civic ugliness. Of late, there is a greater awareness of environmental issues and increasing understanding of several attributes of vegetation. This led to an intensification of activity in the field of landscape horticulture to combat pollution and create an aesthetic environment for recreation and healthy living. Planning and execution of landscape projects for different urban locations should be done to meet both aesthetic and ecological requirements.

What is the use of several trees grown in the forest? A single tree by the way side is far better where under people can rest (Vrikshayurveda).

The towns and villages are made more healthy, more beautiful and more efficient by well planned streets with avenue planting. There is no doubt that, an impressive avenue gives any property the special distinction that it desires. In the past, Emperor Ashoka and Mughal rulers paid attention to roadside planting. Avenue trees primarily provide shade and act as windbreaks, weather conditioners-by purifying and humidifying the air, check radiation of heat and obstruct glare, limit noise and enhance the beauty of the street where they are planted. Roadside planting has two aspects; beauty and utility and both these aspects should be combined. This requires a thorough knowledge of plant material and imagination in planning.

What is the use of several trees grown in the forest? A single tree by the way side is far better where under people can rest (Vrikshayurveda).

The towns and villages are made more healthy, more beautiful and more efficient by well planned streets with avenue planting. There is no doubt that, an impressive avenue gives any property the special distinction that it desires. In the past, Emperor Ashoka and Mughal rulers paid attention to roadside planting. Avenue trees primarily provide shade and act as windbreaks, weather conditioners-by purifying and humidifying the air, check radiation of heat and obstruct glare, limit noise and enhance the beauty of the street where they are planted. Roadside planting has two aspects; beauty and utility and both these aspects should be combined. This requires a thorough knowledge of plant material and imagination in planning.

Trees alone on the earth give happiness both here and hereafter. Since they “save” from abject poverty they are named “taravah” (the saviors). Therefore, the trees should be carefully nurtured as through their shade, flowers and fruits they help immensely in the pursuit of dharma, artha, and kama (Vrikshayurveda).

The early inhabitants of our country were very conscious of the placement of their dwellings in beautiful surroundings. The best examples are from the West Coast, where the houses were traditionally constructed in the midst of gardens. The Arab traveller and historian, Ibn Batuta, in his itinerary in coastal Malabar recorded their picturesque beauty, as early as in the 10th century AD. The whole compound was planted with trees, which were useful and aesthetic in appeal. The scholarly elite used trees and shrubs mentioned in Kalidasa’s work in their planting schemes. Through the tree and foliage, a path is formed to the main village.

The cultural history of India is associated with religious believes and any emphasis on arguments dealing with plant-man-God relationship appeals to people even today. This attitude prevails throughout India and many places of worship have continued to preserve in situ biodiversity of specific species of plants.

Trees rise towards the sky, beautiful symbol of Nature’s aspiration for light. Sri Aurobindo writes “When the sun sets and all become silent, sit down under a tree for a moment and put yourself into communication with Nature: you will feel rising from the earth, from below roots of the trees and mounting upwards and coursing through their fibres upto the highest outstretching branches, the aspiration of an intense love and longing, - a longing for something that brings light and gives happiness. There is a yearning so pure and intense that if you can feel the movement in the trees, your own being too will go up in an ardent prayer for the peace and light and love that are unmanifested here”.

The global economy has adversely been affected to a considerable extent due to weather related disasters which are not uncommon in the recent past due to global warming and climate change. It is true in the case of the Indian economy too. The year 2010 was the warmest year ever recorded, followed by 2009 in India. The year 2015 was the warmest year globally. Model simulations indicate that a marked increase in rainfall and temperature over India would be seen during the current century. The maximum expected increase in rainfall is likely to be 10–30% over the Central India. Temperatures are likely to increase between 2 and 3^oC by the end of 2100 A.D. Greater number of high surges and increased occurrence of cyclones in post monsoon period along with increased maximum wind speed are also expected along the East Coast of the Country. As a result, the occurrence of floods and droughts, cold and heat waves adversely affected the foodgrains production to a large extent across the Country in one or other region as seen in 2014, 2012, 2009, 2004, 2002 and 1987. It is true in the case of plantation crops also, which are predominantly grown in the Humid Tropics like Kerala (8°15` N and 12°50`N latitudes and between 74°50`E and 77°30`E longitudes). As seen in previous chapters, summer drought and heavy rains including waterlogging during monsoon period is a threat to plantation crops production in the Humid Tropics to a considerable extent. Waterlogging and floods due to excess rains could be minimised by providing surface and subsurface drainage facilities in plantation gardens which will improve the soil health and nutritional status, in turn yields can be increased in plantation crops.

Coffee is grown at higher elevation across the Western Ghats between 750 and 1200 m amsl. It requires a certain degree of shade for its better performance. The annual rainfall over the coffee growing tracts varies between 1400 and 2600mm, having uni/bi-model rainfall with prolonged dryspell from November to May. It is more so over North of the Western Ghats. The mean annual maximum temperature varies between 24 and 30⁰C while the minimum between 15 and 18⁰C. The difference between maximum and minimum temperatures (temperature range) varies between 5 and 16⁰C across the coffee tract. The ‘Monsooned Malabar Coffee’ is a specialty coffee produced from the erstwhile ‘Malabar Region’. It undergoes certain changes in physical and biochemical characters when the coffee beans are processed during the summer monsoon (June to September). It is processed at Mangalore, located in Coastal Karnataka. The processing location experiences heavy rainfall of more than 1000 mm in July, followed by 950 mm in June and 600 mm in August. Out of 3264 mm of annual rainfall, 2852 mm is received during the monsoon period. It accounts more than 80 per cent of annual rainfall. The maximum temperature during the monsooning varies between 28 and 30°C while night temperature revolves between 22 and 24°C. Being located in the tropics along the West Coast, the crop processing environment in terms of surface air temperature is relatively uniform and moderate with a characteristic feature of heavy clouds and continuous rainfall during the monsoon period.

The State of Kerala under the Humid Tropics is one of the wettest places in the Humid Tropics where annual rainfall is of the order of 3000 mm, ranging from less than 1000 mm to greater than 5000 mm. About 68 per cent of the rainfall is obtained during southwest monsoon while 16 per cent in post monsoon and the rest from summer (14 per cent) and winter rainfall (2 per cent). Bi-model rainfall pattern is noticed towards southern districts due to influence of both southwest and northeast monsoons while uni-model rainfall pattern towards northern districts of Kerala. Coconut productivity is better towards south despite dreaded disease of root-wilt when compared to that of northern districts due to less dryspells during summer. Floods during monsoon adversely affect paddy production in the State while prolonged droughts during summer in the absence of post monsoon rainfall adversely affect plantation crops’ production to a considerable extent. The wetlands in Kerala are rich sources of water during summer and act as sink during monsoon season. Such wetlands are fast declining in Kerala and converted as garden lands. Decreasing wetlands might be one of the reasons for frequent floods and droughts in Kerala in recent years. The forest cover of Kerala also declined from 70 per cent to 24 per cent over a period of one- hundred- and - fifty years due to deforestation and forest fires.

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the most important beverage crops in the World and the second most commonly drank liquid on earth after water. It has numerous medicinal benefits mainly due to its antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The major tea growing regions of the world are South-East Asia (India and Sri Lanka), Eastern and South Africa consisting of Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique. All these countries are producers of black tea. China and Japan are the major producers of green tea.

Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), famous as “Black Gold” and also known the “King of Spices” is the most important agricultural commodities of commerce and trade in India. It is the most important, most popular and most widely used spice in the World. Of the total spices traded internationally, black pepper accounts for 34 per cent. South West India is the traditional home of this important spice, particularly the Malabar Coast. Black pepper is also grown in tropical zones such as the Asia Pacific Region, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Vietnam and Cambodia. Outside the Asia Pacific region, the crop is distributed in Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, etc., totaling about 26 countries. It is grown successfully between 20°N and 20°S latitude and from mean sea level to 1500 meters above sea level. World’s black pepper production varies in the range of 2.7 to 3.35 tonnes annually.

The natural habitat of rubber (Heavea brasiliensis) is rain forests of the Amazon basin, situated within 5° North and South at altitudes below 200m. The climate of this region is equatorial monsoon type characterized by mean monthly temperature by 25 to 28°C, well distributed rainfall and no marked dry weather. Though it is originated in the Amazon basin, it is now predominantly grown in the tropics where an equatorial monsoon type climate prevails. Regions between 8°N and 10°S which includes Indonesian archipelago, Malaysia, southern part of Sri Lanka and some other Islands, are better suited to rubber cultivation. The production of natural rubber in the country was 8.65 lakh MT in 2008–09, registering a 4.74 per cent growth compared to the previous year.

Small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton), popularly known as the “Queen of spices”, occupies an important position among the foreign exchange earning commodities. Cardamom is cultivated on a commercial scale in Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Tanzania and Papua New Guinea. Guatemala is the largest producer of cardamom in the World. In India, it is confined to the States of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, accounting for an area of 41588 ha, 25021 ha and 4561 ha, respectively (Spices Board, 2009). Among these States, Kerala accounts for the major portion of production (58.4 %), followed by Karnataka (35.2 %) and Tamil Nadu (6.4 %). In Kerala, Cardamom is mainly grown in the erstwhile Travancore area in the present Idukki district and it is known as the Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR), which was specially reserved, denotified and removed from the control of forest development by the orders of the Travancore Government. By a Royal Proclamation in Medam 997(ME) 334 square miles (86,506 ha) area in Devikulam, Udumbanchola and Peermedu taluks of the present Idukki District was declared as CHR for the promotion of cardamom cultivation (Miniraj and Nybe, 2007). Cardamom is a native of the moist evergreen rain forests of the Western Ghats of South India and is grown extensively in the hilly regions at elevations of 700 to 1300 metres as an under crop in forest lands. Cardamom thrives well within certain thermal regimes. It is believed that diurnal symmetries in temperature trends, if any, have close links with the changes in cloudiness, humidity, atmospheric circulation pattern, winds and soil moisture (Kumar et al., 2002).

The global production of cocoa is around 36.49 lakh tonnes against the demand of 37.37 lakh tonnes. Ivory Coast leads in cocoa production in the world with a contribution of 38 per cent, followed by Ghana and Indonesia. Unlike in other crops, it appears that the production and demand of cocoa at the global level match each other to a large extent. However, the recent trends in the world production of cocoa beans indicated that there was a drop of nine per cent in 2006–07, declining from 3.8 million tonnes in 2005–06 to 3.4 million tonnes in 2006–07 (Table 9.1). It was attributed to unfavourable conditions in many cocoa producing areas. West Africa, the main cocoa producing region, was hit by a severe harmattan (dusty dry wind from November to March) and its inherent dry weather, which lasted from the end of 2006 to February 2007, had a strong negative impact on global cocoa production. In Asia and South America, El Nino- related weather conditions developed in September 2006 and continued until the beginning of 2007. It led to relatively low cocoa production in 2007–07. However, it was rebounced in 2007– 08 to some extent though it was low (36.49 lakh tonnes) when compared to that of 2005–06. The favourable weather which prevailed over most of the cocoa growing regions during 2002–03 and 2003–04 helped to achieve better production during the above years while dip in the global production in 2006–07 due to unfavourable weather. It reveals that the weather abnormalities like floods, droughts, cold and heat waves across the cocoa growing regions of the world adversely affect the Coca production and the cocoa industry is likely to suffer.

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a very important horticultural crop which fetches considerable foreign exchange to India. The crop is a native of Brazil and was introduced in India by the Portuguese during 16^th Century. It is grown in India, Brazil, Vietnam, Tanzania, Mozambique, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other tropical Asian and African countries. The crop is grown within the latitudinal belt of 27°N and 28°S of the equator experiencing a tropical temperature for its growth and development (Rao and Gopakumar, 1994). The trend in productivity has a phenomenal bearing to the distance from the equator. The world production of cashew is estimated to be around 20.8 lakh tonnes. The global productivity level of cashew is 690 kg/ha. Since 2000, the world raw cashewnut production registered an increase of 40 per cent. India’s share in the world raw cashewnut production accounts to about 25 per cent. In recent times, India is facing tight competition from Vietnam and Indonesia in international cashew trade. Since its introduction in the Country, cashew has well adapted to the Indian climatic conditions and is grown in the East and West Coasts of India. Now, India is the largest producer, processor, consumer and exporter of cashew in the world (Bhat, 2009 a). In India, cashew is grown mainly in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala along the West Coast and Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal along the East Coast.

The Coconut palm, also known as the Cocos Nucifera L., is one of the most fascinating and beautiful palms in the world. Epigraphical, literary and sculptural evidence provide proof that coconut has served humanity for more than three millennia. The palm is looked upon with reverence and affection and is referred to by such eulogistic epithets as “Kalpavriksha”, tree of heaven, the tree of abundance, nature’s super market, king of palms and the tree of life. The coconut is believed to have originated in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines) or Micronesia (Harries, 1977; Purseglove, 1968 and 1972). Coconut has been cultivated in India since ages and plays an important role in social, economic and cultural activities of the people. The palm is amenable to both plantation and homestead management and it can be either a major crop or a minor one in a homestead garden of mixed crops. While responding favourably to scientific management, the palm also tolerates negligent farming to a certain extent. Thus, it can adapt to the divergent farming situations and management practices that are prevalent in different agro-climatic regions. The coconut palm is usually found near the sea on sandy beaches where it can tolerate salt spray and brackish soils. It is also grown under different soil types such as loamy, laterite, coastal sandy, alluvial, clayey and reclaimed soils of the marshy low lands. The ideal soil conditions for better growth and performance of the palm are proper drainage, good water-holding capacity, and presence of water table within three metres and absence of rock or any hard substratum within two meters of the surface. The coconut palm can also grow well inland, within altitudinal limit of 600 m to 1752 m in the Tropics. It requires an equatorial climate with high humidity. A year-round warm and humid climate favours the growth of coconut. The ideal mean annual temperature, which can be tolerated by coconut palm, is around 27ºC with 5–7ºC diurnal variation. The palm does not withstand prolonged spells of extreme weather/climate variations under rainfed conditions. A well-distributed rainfall of 1300–2300 mm per annum is preferred. It is known as a coastal tree since it is grown along the Coasts and Islands and does not tolerate high temperature range, that is the difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures.

Of the various weather elements affecting crops, temperature and rainfall are perhaps the most important. It is the reason for the development of special flora and fauna in different climatic zones of the world as seen in the tropical, temperate and frigid zones. The tropical regions get abundant solar heat and the vegetation is high while it is low in the temperate regions. The vegetation is very little in the frigid zones. Similarly, natural vegetation is at its poor growth in the Arid Climates and better in the Humid Tropics. Xerophytes are confined to the Arid Climates where low rainfall is seen, while hydrophytes are confined to the Humid Tropics. Mesophytes are intermediate in their water requirement. Most of the crops are included in this group. If the crops are selected for cultivation on the basis of the optimum climatic requirements, it is likely that crop production can be maximised under rainfed as well as irrigated conditions. For example, coconut is grown in vast areas across the East and West Coasts of the Country in different agroclimatic zones and known as a coastal tree. It gives reasonably better yield in terms of quantity and quality in the Humid Tropics under rainfed conditions. However, the coconut yield scenario is totally different when the crop is cultivated in Semi-arid Tropics under irrigation. Therefore, it is a complex phenomenon to understand the influence of weather and climate on crops under rainfed and irrigated conditions in various climatic zones. The production potential of crops under field conditions could be explained through crop-wise agroclimatic zonation, whether the crop is well-suited with minimum inputs for maximising yields under rainfed conditions, but not under irrigated conditions due to crop manipulation. Many attempts were made to explain the climatic boundaries for various crops based on agroclimatic indices under rainfed conditions.

Rice is one of the major staple food of the world’s population. About 114 countries grow rice and more than 50 have an annual production of 100,000 tonnes or more. Asian farmers produce about 90 per cent of the total, with two countries, China and India, growing more than half of the total crop. For most rice producing countries where annual production exceeds one million tonne, rice is the staple food. In Bangaldesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmer, Thailand and Vietnam, rice provides 50–80 per cent of the total calories consumed.

Kerala, popularly known as the God’s own country, is situated at the southern tip of India between latitude range 8°15‘ N to 12°50’ N and 74°50’ E to 77°30’ E longitude. The State is graced with 44 rivers and numbers of streams and has rich biodiversity and tropical rain forests spread in 13 agro-ecological zones under humid tropics. Kerala is the Gateway of monsoon in India. Though Kerala is identified as Plantation State, the major staple food is rice. The annual rainfall in Kerala is about 2.7 times the national average. More or less assured amount of rainfall is being received in almost every year over the State, though inter-annual variability is felt more in recent decades. Uncertainties in rainfall are also felt much in the recent decades. Droughts during summer and floods during rainy season are frequent. Natural disasters like landslides/mud slips during rainy season are common across the mid and high lands of Kerala as the intensity of rainfall is high. Atmospheric temperature across the State is increasing. 1983 was a disastrous drought year in Kerala. The severe summer affected the State’s plantation crops economy to a considerable extent. Insignificant rainfall led to the severe summer drought during 1982–83.

Food security is one of the most important issues during this century under the projected climate change scenario. The world is facing severe food crisis due to weather vagaries as a part of global warming and climate change. One sixth of world’s population is under starvation. It is estimated that 300 million people in the world do not get food three times a day. About 18,000 children die every day due to malnutrition. Many Asian-African countries are under severe food crisis. It is also estimated that out of the World’s most hungry people, 29 per cent is in India. 47 per cent of children below three years of age are suffering from malnutrition problem. 75 per cent of world’s population is dependant on agricultural activities for their livelihood. Therefore, there is an urgent need to produce more and more foodgrains at the global as well as national levels to meet the food requirement of growing population under the projected climate change scenario. There has been a major decline in world rice production since late 2007 due to various reasons including global warming and climate change in top rice producing countries. Deficit monsoon over India during 2009 resulted to poor foodgrains production including rice as the area under rice cultivation was less. There were also devastating floods in southern States of India viz., Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh, one of the major rice producing states of India, was affected first by drought and then by floods. Thus rice production decline in India was a real set back in 2009. Similar was the case in 2010 due to excess rain during monsoon and floods during NE monsoon across the rice growing regions. At the same time, Philippines got hit by two major typhoons in September-October, 2009 causing damage to rice crop on ground. Approximately one million tonnes of rice in storage also got damaged. These events resulted to low world rice production over the country in 2009. The immediate impacts of global warming and climate change on rice production systems and food security will be felt in the form of adverse effects of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, heat and cold waves, hailstorms and cyclones on rice production. Less immediate but significant impacts are anticipated due to changes in mean temperatures, increasing weather extremes and sea level rising.

India is the seventh largest country in the world with 17 per cent of the world’s population and with a total geographical area of 329 Mha, extending from 8°4’ to 37°6’ in the North and 68°7’ to 97°25’ in the East. It is bounded by the World’s highest mountains- the Himalayas in the North and surrounded by the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal in the South. The Indian Coastline along the southern part of the Country is over 7500 km long. The Country includes vast plains like the Indo-Gangetic Plains, and the Central Deccan Plateau, bordered by the Western Ghats on either side in the West and the South. The biodiversity in the terrain leads to a wide variety of climatic conditions, ranging from tropical to temperate climates across the Western Ghats. These range from permanent snowfields to tropical coastlands; areas of virtual desert in the northwest to fertile intensively cultivated rice fields in the northeast. A large proportion of India’s population continues to live in rural areas and depends heavily on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, animal agriculture and forestry for its livelihood. Agriculture is the mainstay of Indian economy. The Indian climate is dominated by the great wind system called the Monsoons, on which the Indian agriculture is dependant. The southwest monsoon is critical to the kharif crop (first crop), which accounts for more than 50% of the foodgrains production and 65% of the oilseeds production in the Country. The inter-annual monsoon rainfall variability in India leads to large-scale droughts and floods, resulting in a major effect on Indian foodgrain production (Parthasarathy and Pant, 1985; Parthasarathy et al., 1992; Selvaraju, 2003; Kumar et al., 2004) and on the economy of the Country (Gadgil et al., 1999a; Kumar and Parikh, 2001). Climatic variability and occurrence of extreme events are major concerns for the Indian subcontinent as they are inbuilt features under the projected climate change scenario. All the projections on climate change are based up on the General Circulation Models (GCMs). All the models project increase in temperature over the Country under different GHG emission scenarios. Rainfall variability is felt in different sub-meteorological divisions across the Country. Though the GCMs have been successful in depicting the gross features of the observed large scale climatological features, there is large uncertainty associated with these projections on regional scale, since the GCMs are yet to realistically reproduce the observed features at regional scale, particularly over the monsoon region (Kumar, et al., 2002). Several downscaling approaches are being used to derive the regional features from large scale model simulations. Under the projected climate change scenario, India will be one of the Countries facing the adverse impacts of climate change as agriculture is the mainstay of people of India. Hence, understanding of rainfall and temperature variability across the Country deserves attention in the projected climate change scenario.

Climate Change has emerged as one of the most serious environmental concerns of recent times. The most imminent climate change is increase in atmospheric temperature due to increased levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and hydrochlorofluoro carbons (HCFCs). Because of increasing concentrations of the greenhouse gases in atmosphere, there is much concern about future changes in the climate system viz., Atmosphere, Lithosphere, Biosphere, Hydrosphere and Cryosphere. Direct or indirect effects on the society linked sectors like water, forestry, agriculture, animal agriculture, fisheries, land and marine biodiversity and health due to climate change/variability are many-fold and economic impact of climate change is enormous. The recurrent drought and desertification threaten seriously the livelihood of over 1.2 billion people who depend on land for most of their needs.

Duff and  Daly (2002) briefly describes the commonly found orchid diseases. These include the Bacterial soft rot caused by Erwinia carotovora, black leg or slow decline caused by Fusarium spp., petal blight caused by Curvularia eragrostidis [PseudocochlioBolus eragrostidis] and Alternaria alternata, top rot/shoot rot caused by Phytophthora parasitica, and stem rot caused by Sclerotium rolfsii [Athelia rolfsii].