eChapters

Abstract

Natural plant products are known to prevent several deleterious diseases. This potency of plants to act as medicinal therapeutic source is due to the presence of various bioactive compounds including alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids and glucosinolates (GSLs). Among array of these compounds, GSLs are important class of plant secondary metabolites. The mechanical or physical injury to plant leads to the activation of this “GSL-myrosinase” system resulting in the formation bioactive compounds viz., thiocyanates, nitriles, isothiocyanates, and epithionitriles. Out of these compounds, isothiocyanates (ITCs) are well known for their therapeutic properties. Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) commonly known as “mustard oil” is one of the naturally occurring ITC which is derived from hydrolysis of sinigrin, the major GSL in cruciferous vegetables like horseradish, wasabi, brussels radish etc. Due to high bioavailability in human body, it has been widely studied for its important bioactivities. Therefore, this review highlights the significant biomodulatory effects viz., antioxidant, antimutagenic, in vitro, in vivo anticancer, antimicrobial, and insecticidal activities of AITC.

Abstract

India is known as hub of medicinal plants in recent years due to availability of variety of species in different regions which is used in treatment of frequently occurred local diseases. Family a pocynaceae is one of frequently used angiosperm members as medicine in different Indian system of medicine. At present, the genus Rauvolfia is represented by 77 species distributed across the globe, known to contains various unique active phytochemicals in the form of flavonoids, phytosterols, oleoresins, steroids, tannins and alkaloids. R. serpentina (also known as Indian snake root or sarpaghandha) and R. tetraphylla (also known as devil root or barachandrika) are two very important distinctive medicinal shrubs growing in India having wide application in traditional system of medicine for curing human disease and various herbal formulations available in market using these plants. In the present communication, we have discussed the biology, chemistry, pharmacology, cultivation practices and future perspectives of R. serpentina and R. tetraphylla for conservation and as a potential plants for future application in herbal medicine discovery.

Abstract

Plants have been used both in the prevention and cure of various diseases throughout the centuries. An important prerequisite for proper utilization of plants as natural resources is that we should have full knowledge regarding their occurrence, frequency, distribution and phenology. Arisaema jacquemontii Blume (Araceae) is a perennial herb that has been reported in various literatures to be used traditionally in various countries for the treatment of different diseases. Scientific evaluations of this plant have revealed that it harbors various phytoconstituents like alkaloids, phenols, terpenoids, flavonoids, glycosides, tannins and several other chemical constituents which have pharmacological implications with as antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, anticancer and immunomodulatory activities. This chapter collaborates the data with respect to the ethnobotanical and ethno medicinal importance of Arisaema jacquemontii and its role as a natural source of phytoconstituents that have therapeutic implications.

Abstract

Recently there has been increasing interest in plants and plant-derived compounds as medicinal agents. In Ayurveda, a wide range of medicinal uses of Pterocarpus santalinus is described. Many important bioactive phytocompounds have been extracted and identified from the heartwood of P. santalinus. The major bioactive compounds present in the heartwood of P. santalinus are santalin A and B, savinin, calocedrin, pterolinus (K,L) and pterostilbenes. These phyto-compounds present only in small amounts and have more effect than nutrients. The heartwood of the plant is used traditionally for the treatment of inflammation, diabetes, headache, skin diseases, jaundice, and in wound-healing. A wide range of pharmacological activities and health benefits of P. santalinus have been reported, including antioxidative, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties, and protective effects on liver, gastric mucosa and nervous system. All these protective effects were attributed to bioactive compounds present in P. santalinus. Most of the secondary metabolites reported from this plant are terpenes, phenolics, flavones and sterols. The present communication gives the phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of P. santalinus on health with up-to-date information.

Abstract

Blumea lacera (Burm f.) DC. belonging to family Asteraceae is an annual herb with a strong odour. This herb is distributed throughout the plains of North-west India upto an elevation of 2,900 m and is also reported from Tropical Africa, South East Asia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Blumea lacera is a plant with camphor-like odour, and is highly variable, grows in grassland, field, roadside and forest edge. Traditionally, it is used internally and externally as a hemostatic and anti-inflammatory agent. The juice of leaves along with black pepper (Piper nigrum) is given to cure bleeding piles. This herb is also offered as anthelmintic (especially for threadworm). Leaves and roots are used as astringent, diuretic and febrifuge and even in cuts and wounds. Bruises and ulcers can also be treated by applying fresh juice or extract. For treating piles (Hemorrhoids), the leaves of B. lacera has been used in ethnomedicinal practices.The phytoconstituents present in leaves are mainly terpenoids, glycosides, volatile oils, some glycoalkaloids and many more yet to be determined. B. lacera has been used as an ingredient in many pharmaceutical preparations. The chapter gives a brief idea about the ethnomedicinal usage, phytochemical profile, pharmacological usage and the future perspective of B. lacera. and would help the researchers for better understanding of this plant as well as developing plant derived molecules in drug discovery process.

Abstract

The percentage of people with obesity and diabetes has increased globally both in developed and developing countries but highest burden is on the indigenous people who are also socially disadvantaged. The modern medical treatment of diabetes is based generally on oral hypoglycaemic agents and insulin. So, there has always been a search for new anti-diabetic agents which are of lower cost and can cure the disease without harming other body functions. Plants being readily available in the Indian-subcontinent have been an important source of drug in the traditional system of medicine in India since time immemorial. The utilization of plants for alternative treatment to combat diabetes using herbal remedies has also been substantiated by World Health Organization. In this communication, we tried to list some scientifically proven anti-diabetic plants commonly available in the Indian subcontinent which can be used in the treatment and management of diabetes.

Abstract

Wild plants have a great role in the lives of tribal peoples living in and around the world by way of providing products for both food and medicine. Such herbal plants are the core of research, which can solve several health issues as well as nutritional supplements. Keeping on the view we have presented a summary of medicinal plants used as nutraceuticals collected from various regions of India. This communication describes 35 herbal plants used as a medicine against different diseases as well as their nutritional applicability.

Abstract

For thousands of years, plants have provided medicine to human and animals. People still depend on plants for food and shelter. The present surveys and investigation covers Jasrota Wildlife Sanctuary, Kathua District (J&K) situated in Southeastern parts of Asia (India). This communication mainly focused on ten high value plant species belonging to eight families of medicinal value being used to cure different types of ailment growing in Jasrota Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding areas of Kathua district. These species are Aerva sanguinolenta (L.) Blume, Centella asiatica L. (Urb.) Fl., Cissampelos pareira L., Colebrookea oppositifolia Sm., Cryptolepis dubia M.R.Almeida, Holarrhena pubescens Wall. ex G.Don, Justicia adhatoda L., Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers ex Hook.f. & Thomson, Vitex negundo L. and Woodfordia fruticosa (L.) Kurz. It also deal with morphological enumeration, ecology and habitat, ethnobotanical uses and active chemical constituent present in studied plant species.

Abstract

India harbors a wide variety of medicinal plants used traditionally in various remedies to treat livestock ailments. The therapeutic value of these plants attributes due to the concentration of several bioactive compounds present in them. Indigenous tribal communities are the treasurer of age-old traditional knowledge which inhabits Asian country since centuries. District Poonch exhibits a rich repository of traditional knowledge as major part of the population comprised of nomadic tribes such as Gujjars and Bakerwals which are still practicing the primitive traditional ways to treat diseases. In the present investigation, the traditional herbal plants and associated remedies for treatment of various veterinary disorders are presented. A total of 34 plant species belonging to 30 genera and 21 families have been reported which are being used by indigenous people for ethnoveterinary purposes. The majority of ethnoveterinary plants recorded from the district belong to families such as Ranunculaceae and Araceae (4 species each), Acoraceae, Amaryllidaceae, Apiaceae, Fagaceae, Lamiaceae, Primulaceae, Rutaceae (2 species each) and rest of the families members were represented by one species each. The frequently used plant parts are roots (30.23%), followed by tubers (18.6%), leaves (16.28%), fruits and whole plant (13.95% each), stems (4.65%) and seeds (2.33%). It has been observed that numerous formulations are made from these parts which are used for the treatment of various cattle infections such as abdominal colic, allergic infection, anestrous, chest diseases, constipation, cough, digestive troubles, FMD, fracture, galactagogue, gaseous bloat, induce puberty, internal injury, lung disease, pneumonia, quick discharge, removal of Leech, sexual stimulant, skin infection, snake-bite, stomachache and weakness with snake bite being dominant. The present study infers that the documentation of ethnoveterinary knowledge from the district requires utmost attention and may give leads or serves for further biochemical studies for the discovery of novel plant based drugs which will certainly helps in commercialization and betterment of tribals through benefit resource sharing.

Abstract

Ladakh, a geographically isolated region, is known for its tough terrain and harsh climatic conditions. It remains cut off from rest of the country for 6-7 months in a year during winters. With limited food, fuel and other resources the people here have developed and sustained a long unique relationship with plants. They have been using both cultivated and wild ones as medicine, food, and fodder since centuries. The local populace possesses good knowledge of traditional methods of utilization of plant resources for diverse purposes, which they have acquired from their ancestors. However, this indigenous knowledge and age old practices are fast disappearing from the tribal communities, and there is an urgent need to save this treasure from getting irretrievably lost. Therefore, the present study is an attempt to document the various wild and cultivated plants along with their ethnobotanical uses as per the ancient practices of these tribal communities. For this purpose, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted in various villages of lower Ladakh. The investigation revealed a host of plants put to use by the natives in different indigenous ways. The scientific, family and local names of 50 species belonging to 48 genera and 31 families along with their uses have been enlisted in the present communication. As per the information gathered from the local inhabitants, these plants are categorized into five different groups. More than 50% of these are used as medicines, 38% are edible, 24% as fuel and 20% as fodder. Approximately 38% plants are employed in construction, as ornamentals, or sources of dyes, incense, cosmetics, etc.

Abstract

Traditional knowledge on plants and their uses by tribal indigenous culture is helpful in the conservation of biodiversity. During 2017-2018, ethnobotanical investigations of the plants growing in Neelum Valley in District Bandipora (a part of Kashmir Himalaya) were carried out to collect information regarding different usages of the plants species growing in the region through questionnaire and interviews. Floristically, a total of 57 species belonging to 54 genera and 38 families were investigated to be used as medicine, food, fodder, timber, fuel wood, vegetable/edible fruit, resin yield and herbal tea purposes. On the basis of the floristic analysis of the study area, the leading family recorded was Asteraceae with (11%) species co-dominated by Rosaceae (9%). In terms of habit forms, herbaceous (70%) growth form is the most dominant. The most frequently used plant parts are leaves (26%) followed by whole plant (23%) and roots (19%). The plant documented cured different categories of diseases, the most common diseases such as diarrhea, fever, digestive problems, urinary troubles, rheumatism, eye diseases, skin diseases and wounds. Based on investigated knowledge, the data are discussed under sub-head as single, double and multi-diseases curing plants. The present study can provide a baseline data for future researchers, policy makers, common public, land managers, and the other stakeholders to develop scientifically-informed strategies for conservation of natural resources and sustainable use of plant resources in hotspot regions like Himalayas and other similar biodiversity rich sites.

Abstract

Family Apiaceae (or Umbelliferae) is one of the largest plant group represented by 418 genera and 3257 species (TPL 2013). The plants members are mostly aromatic, used by local populace as traditional medicines as well as spice and condiments in their routine food preparations. They have characteristic aroma due to the presence of some essential oils or oleoresin. Members of this family possess large number of compounds having antibacterial, hepato-protective, vaso-relaxant, inducing apoptosis and antitumor activities. Although the family is distributed globally but Indian subcontinent is a major center of its diversification, where more than 200 species are distributed specifically in the Himalayan eco-terrains. Jammu province (Jammu and Kashmir, India) in North Western Himalaya having unique climatic conditions supports a large variety of medicinal and aromatic plants, and amongst these Apiaceae are well known. Local people uses these plants as vegetables, for culinary purposes and valued as traditional medicine like Bunium persicum (black cumin), Carum carvi (caraway), Coriandrum sativum (coriander), Cuminum cyminum (cumin), Foeniculum vulgare (fennel), Narthex asafoetida (Heeng), Trachyspermum ammi (ajwain) and Centella asiatica (Brahmi). People in Jammu province have their unique traditional way of using plants, knowledge of which is being transferred from generation to generation through oral dialect. As the data on the numbers of Apiaceae is scattered in the literature and difficult to be procured by the researchers. Therefore the current attempt is made so that the data along with some quantitative statistics can be provided at one platform only.

Abstract

In developing countries, about 80 percent of the world population depends on traditional medicines for their primary healthcare as estimated by World Health Organization. In a recent floristic survey undertaken in Chithara Village Panchayat recorded a very rich diversity of wild medicinal plants. Based on extensive literature search, of the total 272 plants, 96% species were known to have marginal to outstanding medicinal properties and uses. Among the plants, ten species namely, Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst., Cannabis sativa L., Cissampelos pareira L., Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt, Eclipta prostrata (L.) L., Euphorbia hirta L., Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit., Justicia adhatoda L., Solanum americanum Mill. and Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal were found to be very important as they possess medicinal properties for curing a large number of diseases in traditional system of medicines in India and other parts of the world. The whole plants including root, stem and leaves are utilized traditionally for curing various ailments such as abdominal pain, cold, cough, diarrhoea, dysentery, inflammation, fever, rheumatism, sexual disorders, skin diseases, respiratory diseases etc. These plants are also reported to contain numerous important phytochemicals such as alkanes, amino acids, flavonoids, organic acids, polyphenolic compounds, polyphenols, steroids, tannins, terpenes etc. which qualifies their various medicinal properties. Plants are reported to yield potent drug such as vasicine and vasicinone (by A. vasica), bacosoids (B. monnieri) and withanolides (W. somnifera). The paper provides the details of traditional medicinal usages and chemical constituents of ten high value medicinal plants recorded from the study area.

Abstract

Plants are an integral component of life in many ethnic communities. Plant-based medicaments have been used since time immemorial as curative and protective agents for prolonging life of humans and animals by combating a plethora of ailments. One such ailment affecting women of reproductive age-group is leucorrhea. The study aimed at systematically documenting the precious traditional knowledge regarding the plants traditionally used for curing leucorrhea in Jammu and Kashmir. A total of 55 infomants (39 females and 16 males) between the age group 25-94 years were selected and interviewed for extracting ethnomedicinal information and 29 plant species belonging to 28 genera and 23 families were observed to be of ethnomedicinal significance in the treatment of leucorrhea in Jammu and Kashmir. Fabaceae was observed to be the frequently encountered family. Bulk of the taxa were observed to grow in wild habitat and majority of them were herbs. Seeds were observed to be of highest therapeutic significance and ethnomedicinal formulations were prepared in the form of powder, decoction, paste, etc and all of these were administered orally. The present study may serve as a base line data for further research and will go a long way in the treatment of leucorrhea thereby promoting well being of women folk. Advanced investigations are required to validate the time-tested information associated with medicinal flora to determine the identity of phytochemicals linked with leucorrhea, so that compounds of pharmacological application having prospective relevance in the alleviation of human maladies may be discovered.

Abstract

Lichenized fungi or lichens represent the most successful symbiotic organisms on earth. They are the inconspicuous group of lower plants having numerous properties. Their different growth forms namely crustose, foliose and fruticose have been put to use in one way or the other. Since ancient times, they were used as food, fodder, dye and in perfumery. Lichens are a rich source of several important secondary metabolites because of which they are widely used as a source of medicine against several diseases and to improve the health of humans as well as animals. Most of the information related to the usage of lichens is gathered from the traditional knowledge holders. Therefore, there is a need to explore and document this traditional knowledge associated with lichens. The present paper thus makes an attempt to present and document the valued information on the ethnobiological uses of lichens from the Northwestern parts of the Himalayas, if not, the undocumented information will be lost for all the future generations. Ethnobiology of 39 species of lichens belonging to 08 families is being presented in this communication.

Abstract

Wild plants of medicinal value are the embodiment of knowledge perception gift from our ancestors and these plays a significant role in curing various human health disorders. This gifted knowledge of economic plants used by the local people usually has long narrations for use in their daily activities. Considering the value of indigenous knowledge associated with plants, a study was undertaken on herbaceous communities in Atraulia area (Burhanpur tehsil), district Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. During the investigation, a total of 71 informants (22 females and 49 males) were interviewed and data regarding ethnobotanical information on wild plant species were documented and analysed. The results indicated a total of 169 species belonging to 41 families used in indigenous herbal preparation as medicine from Atraulia area by local tribal people. The dominant growth forms were the annual herbs represented by 91 species, followed by 46 species of perennial nature and 32 species of biennial growth. Therefore, we can conclude that this region is rich in herbaceous plants and plant used as medicine is wide spread in the study area. This communication deals with demography of the informants, botanical name of herbaceous plants, family, part used, disease cure, use report, frequency of use and recommendation for conservation of unique valueable resources.

Abstract

Asteraceae is one of the largest family of flowering plants and have been used by mankind for a variety of purposes including food, medicine, cooking oils, sweeteners and tea infusions. In India, Asteraceae is 4^th largest family of angiosperms and ranked third among dominant families of angiosperms in Arunachal Pradesh. The indigenous communities of Arunachal Pradesh possess a rich knowledge on utilization of the plant resources around them for food, fodder, medicine and other purposes. Due to the remoteness and inaccessibility, the indigenous communities are mostly depended on their traditional medicines using plant resources around them for treating minor and major ailments. The effectiveness of these plants in traditional medicine has also been confirmed after isolation and characterization of the bioactive compounds responsible for their pharmacological activities. The present study is a review on ethnomedicinal plants belonging to Asteraceae family that are being used by different tribes of the state. The tribal communities have been using 36 medicinal plant species from this family as recorded from published literature and field study. Maximum number of species have been found to exhibit antimicrobial, antioxidant, antihelminthic, analgesic and anti-malarial properties. Among the recorded species, Ageratum conyzoides, Spilanthes acmella, Artemisia nilagirica, A. maritima, Blumea balsamifera, B. lacera, Eclipta prostrata, Vernonia cinerea and Chrysanthemum indicum were already being used in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy, Folk and Sowa-Rigpa systems of Indian Medicine. Therefore, the study highlighted the pharmacological potential of ethnomedicinal plantsfrom Asteraceae family which would provide opportunities for future drugdiscovery.

Abstract

Ethnobotany is the area of study which include direct interaction of human and plants. This communication compiles and evaluates 301 ethnobotanically important medicinal plants used by ethnic tribes for the treatment of different ailments living in Uttarakhand Himalaya. The state is a home of five major tribes, viz., Bhoxa, Bhotiya, Tharu, Raji, and Jaunsari. These tribal people have age-old relations with plants, and their indigenous knowledge passed from one generation to another. In this communication, a total of 90 plant families were reviewed and recorded that Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Rosaceae, Fabaceae, Amaranthaceae Apiaceae, Combretaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Anacardiaceae and Malvaceae members are frequently used as medicinal plants. Total 68 roots of different species, followed by leaves of 55 species, whole plants of 29 species, fruits of 26 species and 28 types of seeds of different plants families used by locals for the treatment of various diseases such as fever, cold, cough, diabetes, skin problems, digestive problems and other associated ailments. The mode of application of herbal formulations varies from tribe to tribe. Herbaceous communities belonging to 160 species were the frequently used plant groups followed by trees, shrubs, and lianas. The decoction was recorded as the most frequently used method of preparation. Medicinal plants sold in the market was not primary for local people rather herbal plants locally available used as food, spice and beverages preparations. Therefore, there is a need for proper documentation and conservation planting of these unique medicinal plants growing in the Himalayas.

Abstract

The paper deals with taxonomy, ethnobotany and threat status of lesser known liana species Hodgsonia heteroclita (Roxb.) Hook.f. & Thomson. The local people use in terms of foods and rites and its role in ecosystem have been reported. Local people used the seeds of liana as food because of high nutritive value. Threat assessment has been following IUCN version 3.1 to evaluate the threat status of the species in Sikkim Himalaya. Out of the five criteria, data on two criteria could be collected and was used to evaluate the threat category of the species. The criteria used for threat assessment were (a) reduction in population and (b) geographical range in the form of either B1 (extent of occurrence) or B2 (area of occupancy) or both. Considering the population status and geographical range of the species, it has been classified as “Least Concern” (A1acd; B2ab(ii,iv)).

Abstract

The Khasi tribe of Meghalaya depends on wild medicinal plants for curing a number of ailments since ages. The traditional knowledge systems which evolved through trial and error method are an integral part of their culture. The objectives of the present study were to highlight the medicinal plants used by the Khasi tribe to treat various diseases, provide scientific validation of the medicinal plants by pharmacological screening using secondary literature and suggest strategies for its sustainable management. A total of 363 plants distributed in 283 genera and 129 families were documented. The life forms of these plants were in the order of herb > tree > shrub > climber > parasite > epiphyte. The herbal remedies for treating various ailments are prepared by using the whole plant either individually or in combination with other plant parts. Cross validation with the help of secondary literature showed the presence of active compounds in these plants. Therefore, it is suggested that traditional knowledge should be properly documented and scientifically explored with more emphasis on species specific phytochemicals and their mode of action.

Abstract

Since pre-historic times plants have tendered their services to mankind in the form of food, shelter and medicine. Due to the advancement of human civilization, various folklore systems of medicines were developed across the globe. Among the various folklore system of medicine, Sowa-Rigpa” is one of the oldest well recognised and widely accepted system of folk-lore medicine in the world. It is one of the commonly used of system of medicine in different parts of Tibet, Bhutan, China, former Soviet Union (some parts), Himalayan ranges, Magnolia and, Nepal. The exact origin of Sowa-Rigpa system of medicine is still not known. In the present scenario due to the awareness among the people about the determental effects of the modern chemical drugs, people preferred to use herbal based system of medicine to treat diseases. So, it is needed to understand the floristic wealth of tradional system of medicine to identify the important plants with potential source of drug candidate molecules. In the present chapter an attempt has been made to study the folklore plants used in Tibetan Mountain based Sowa-Rigpa system of medicine and food. Total 332 plant species presented as the most important in Sowa-Rigpa system of medium.

1. House Plant

The screwpines or kewda plants are characteristics of many tropical regions with long ringed trunks, bracing roots and crowns of Dracaena-like foliage. The young plants are amongst the most popular foliage plants for home decoration as the plants do not flower at early stages (Wickham, 1950). They are also grown as pot and tub specimens for green house, residence, veranda and lawn decoration where their stiff clustered foliage gives them a formal decorative character. They may be kept as indoor ornamental foliage plants in the warm and semi light places of a house. (Wickham, 1982a).

2. Fence

The plant is useful for binding the soil, so checks soil erosion and not browsed by the cattle due to its spiny leaves; hence sometimes used as fence around the crop field in the coastal districts of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujrat. The plants are often used for hedges as in the Casuarina plantations at Puri of Odisha (Haines, 1961a) (Fig. 17).

Kewda plants are mostly propagated through vegetative means. The common propagating materials used are ground suckers. The planting materials are planted in paired-row method maintaining a spacing of 4m from plant to plant and row to row keeping a spacing of 6 m between paired rows. In a field of one hectare, a minimum plant population of 500 plants in the field and 150 plants on the field bunds with a total of 650 plants are maintained. A fertilizer dose of 30:15:15 kg NPK/ha and 4 cartloads (100 cft) of FYM/ha are applied. The planting of collected ground suckers is normally done in the field just before monsoon after thorough land preparation under rainfed condition.The earthing-up of the plants are done up to five years of planting for quick initiation of flowering at the age of 5 years after planting. During the first year, the operational cost per hectare comes to Rs.28,900/- and from 2^nd to 5^th years, it comes to Rs.6,600 per year and then the maintenance cost from 6^th year onwards comes to Rs.6,000/- per year. The details of the operational cost per hectare of kewda cultivation under rainfed condition of coastal Ganjam district is given at Table 23. Kewda plant comes to flower on the 5^th year of planting, but the annual net profit begins on the 6^th year of planting and the cumulative net profit starts on the 10^th year (Table 24). The economic viability of kewda plantations is observed from 10^th to 30^th year of planting and after 30^th year, the net profit declines. A farmer can earn an annual profit of Rs.61,000/- per hectare of kewda cultivation from 11^th to 15^th year, which goes on increasing and from 26^th to 30^th year, the annual net return reached to Rs.1,23,400/- with a cumulative return of Rs.4,04,970/- on the 30^th year of planting. Then at the age of 35^th year, it declines to Rs.1,07,800/ - and at 40^th year to Rs.87,000/- per annum (Table 24). Although the profit was calculated only on the basis of sale of flowers yield, some additional profit can be obtained from other plant parts like leaves and stilt roots. After distillation of one lakh flowers, the spent over flowers and plant parts can be utilized as fertilizer/manure by selling at a rate of Rs.1000/- per batch. In the two blocks (viz., Chhatrapur and Rangeilunda) of Ganjam district, about 7,000 women are engaged for collection of flowers, leaves and stilt roots and they prepare ropes and other household items from the roots and leaves. It has been observed that one female can prepare 12 bundles of ropes each of 12 m length and the sale rate of rope is about Rs.10/- per metre. The ropes are sent to the markets of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu) for sale. The profit can also be increased by incorporating some inter-crops like Casuarina, coconut, Agasti and medicinal crops like Patchouli etc. Further, kewda can be taken on the sand dunes and waste saline land of the coastal lines, where no other crops can be grown profitably. Hence, kewda needs better attention for its extensive cultivation with a foresight on the perfume industry.

The world trade in flavour and fragrances in 1987 was US $ 7,000 million and at present, it is estimated at more than $ 10,000 million annually. In 1975, perfume was used by one woman in ten, but today it is used by eight out of ten women; even reticent Japanese women are adopting the habit (Anonymous, 1995 c). The average annual industry growth rate in perfumes of India is valued at about US $ 20 million with an annual growth rate of 12% (Murty, 1993),while the UK market is Rs. 2000 crores and the US market supersedes it by Rs. 4000 crores (Walia, 1997). However, the domestic luxury perfume market is estimated to grow at a rate of 20-25 % (Biswas, 2012). Besides domestic market, India earns a lot of foreign exchange from the export of total essential oils and perfumes and is fast growing as it is showed from the trends in export earnings of Rs. 11.1 corers in 1982-83 rose to 4-fold in 1986-87 of Rs. 41.1 crores (CHEMEXCIL, 1988). According to a market survey report, Ahmed (1999) reported that the daily turn over of the attar market in India is more than 50 crores.

Middle East countries continue to be the big buyers of our traditional perfumes. Kewda flavour which is used in pan masala and tobacco is a familiar one in this part of the world. Kewda essence, being one of the few flavouring oils, has a good scope for export to other developed countries where the food flavouring industry is well developed. India is the leading producer of kewda perfumes in the world and the market for kewda perfumes is fast expanding specifically in the Arab countries. India exported the kewda water of Rs. 266.2 lakhs in 1986-87 which rose to Rs. 276.4 lakhs in 1987-88 (CHEMEXCIL, 1990). Anonymous (2007) reported that about 140 distilleries (bhattis), both local and outsider, earn about Rs.1.3 crore by way of extraction charges and annually they extract 332 kgs of kewda oil (Rs.8.3 crore), 7823 kgs of kewda attar (Rs.15.65 crores) and 150 MTs of kewda water (Rs.4.47 crore), the total coming to around Rs.28 crore. For extracting attar , the extractors use about Rs. 8 crore worth of sandal wood oil procured mainly from other states, while Rs.18 crore goes to the plantation owners as flower cost and to the flower collectors.

French author Jean Giono once remarked, “The God creates the Odours, but the men manufacture the perfumes”. In today’s world, fragrances play bigger role than just being associated with a tiny bottle of liquid. It now serves the larger purpose of linking itself with anything you can imagine, from soaps to your favourite sweater knitted by your grandmother (Biswas, 2012). In the modern day, these products find their applications in items for personal sophistication to culinary delights and beverages, to a host of industrial products (Dev, 1993). India, a country known for its vast range of fragrant flowers and herbs, has used extracts from such raw material to produce incense sticks, medicines, body massage oils and sweet savouries.

The word ‘perfume’ is derived from the Latin term ‘perfumen’, meaning ‘through smoke’. Perfume is a fragrant liquid mainly distilled from natural oils, aromatic chemicals and resinoids; cologne is a lightly scented liquid used to cool the skin and deodorant contains chemicals to counter offensive body odour. Perfume is basically used by women, cologne by men and deodorant by both (Saha and Sareen, 1997). Throughout antiquity there was a continuous demand for incense, to mark the rites of scenting passage from birth to the grave, for the daily rituals of incensing rooms, linen and clothing. The South Asian synonym for perfume, ‘attar’, on the other hand, is derived from the Arabic word ‘aettr’ meaning ‘fat’ or ‘extract’. Almost all attars are basically aromatic oils extracted from flowers, plants and herbs through steam distillation. Some fragile flowers and oils that can not stand the heat of distillation are, however, crushed and the oil expelled by mechanical force (Mahmud, 1992).

Kewda plants are hardly attacked by the insect pests and diseases. However, a few fungal and bacterial diseases are found to reduce the yield of flowers significantly. Some important insect pests and diseases of this plant with their nature of damage and suggested control measures are discussed here as reported by Jagadev et al. (2001).

Pests

1. Bag worm

During the dry season, leaves are found to be attacked by bag worm (Manatha albipes; Fam. Psychidae; order- Lepidoptera) (Plate 36). The larva, a foliage feeder, feeds on the chlorophyll and veins of leaves leaving the mid-rib resulting in perforation of leaves. In case of heavy infestation, the leaves become dry. Extensive damage arrests the vegetative growth resulting in significant reduction of flowering. Thus, the insect is considered to be of economic importance, but till date neither the extent of economic loss caused to the crop nor its control measures have been worked out.

The volatile oil in the flower determines the odour and flavour of kewda and it has been of particular fascination to the chemists. There are only a few reports on the chemical composition of kewda essential oil (rooh or otto) Dhingra et al. (1954) distilled the kewda flowers collected from five places of Ganjam (Odisha) and Ghazipur (Uttar Pradesh) districts. He found the oil yield to vary from 0.015 to 0.031% and the compounds identified were methyl ether of β- phenyl ethyl alcohol (65.97%), d-linalool (18.70%), dipentene (8.31%), phenyl ethyl acetate (3.48%) and citral (1.82%). The oil was of light to golden yellow in colour having the following physico-chemical properties viz., specific gravity (d20o) 0.932-0.958; refractive index (n20o) 1.485-1.491; optical rotation ([α]D) + 1.350 to + 2.080; acid value 1.4 – 6.7; ester value 15.9 – 40.9 and soluble in equal volume of 80 % alcohol (Deshaprabhu, 1966). Sadgopal (1959) also reported the major constituent of oil as methyl ether of β-phenyl ethyl alcohol (65 – 80%) and minor constituents as dipentene, α-linalool, phenyl ethyl alcohol, citral and some terpene esters.

According to Chandra (1985), the oil contained dipentene (6.0%), d -linalool (19.0%), phenyl ethyl acetate (4.6%), citral (1.8%), caproic acid (0.5%) and stearoptene (0.2%) besides the major constituent methyl ether of β-phenyl ethyl alcohol (67.0%).

Kewda plant occurs wild in the entire coastal belt of Odisha , but abundant in Chhatrapur and Keluapalli areas of Ganjam district. There were about 3-4 lakhs trees of kewda in Ganjam district (Deshaprabhu, 1966). Main season of flowering starts from July-August and lasts for 2-3 months and a few flowers also come during November-December and March-May (Haines, 1961). Averagely, a plant produces 15-20 flowers per season depending on branching of the tree (Plate 32). A fully matured tree bears 30-40 spadices in a year (Deshaprabhu, 1966). Flowering is also dependant on rainfall, being better in years of high rainfall. Size of flower is bigger during rainy season. The spadices take a fortnight to mature, depending upon the weather condition. Ripe spadices, creamy in colour, give higher yield of perfume and of better quality than immature ones (Plate 33). The kewda flower of Ganjam district is also registered under the geographical indications (GI) of goods (Registration and Protection) act (Panigrahy, 2019).

In practice, flowers are collected from wild plantations. Recently kewda has emerged as one of the important commercial commodities. A systematic cultivation practice is essential to develop a successful plantation and to increase the productivity.

Planting

Kewda suckers or crowns are generally planted during June-July. i.e. in the beginning of the monsoon, when the soil is not too wet. Planting in wet soil delayd the root formation and reduces the success level. Just after the first shower of rain or during the summer shower close to monsoon, kewda is planted.

In a full grown plant, stilt roots originate at a few feet above the ground to render a support for the huge canopy of the plant. Each part of the stem is capable enough for development of root initials, but it is retarded once the stem became old and leafless. The root initials develop at the terminal portion, where more leaves cluster, but they do not grow. Hence, the stem cuttings collected from the flowering or non-flowering shoots bear the rudimentary roots and when planted, they establish quickly.

In practice, the cuttings are collected and scattered on the ground for two to three days. Before planting, a few leaves closed to the base of the cuttings are removed to expose the root development sites. The cuttings are planted in trenches of 45 cm depth horizontally or at an angle of 30^o. The new leaves appear on the growing points one month after planting.

Kewda plants are usually planted on the field bunds for fencing and subsequently used for collection of flowers. A 30 years old plant can produce a crown of 6-7 m, for which it is difficult to develop a commercial plantation in a close spacing. It has been observed in the natural plantations that the plants may be spaced at 8-10 m distance to achieve a full length of plantation life. It is, therefore, suggested by the authors to follow a paired row method of planting maintaining a spacing of 4 m between plants and rows of a paired row and 6 m between two paired rows; which provides all facilities for plant growth upto 10-12 years and then pruning of a few branches are required. Hence, a plant population of 500 plants in the field and 150-200 plants on field bunds are maintained in a land of one hectare.

Kewda is exclusively propagated through ground suckers and leaf bearing terminal cuttings. In kewda growing areas, predominantly the terminal shoot cuttings are used in commercial plantations. However, the seeds are also capable to germinate and give rise to plants, but it is not in practice due to hard mesocarp and seed coat (Bailey, 1950, Deshaprabhu, 1966, Mott, 1975, Maharana and Jagadev, 1993).

Seed propagation

In kewda, the flowers develop into berries, which fuse to form a multiple fruit. The receptacle and bracts are included in the fruit. The seeds are deep seated and very difficult to extract, hence seeds are sown along with the fibrous drupes. Each drupe contains 2-9 seeds. Seeds collected from ripe fruits are sown during spring. The seeds normally, take about 3 months for germination due to the hard seed coat and impervious fibrous covering. Experimentally, it was observed that one hour sulphuric acid scarification treatment of the drupes reduced the germination period by about one month increasing the germination percentage as compared to direct sowing, however, scarification for more than one hour was deterimental (Table 14) (Maharana and Jagadev, 1993). Bailey (1950) reported that seed soaking in tepid water for 24 hours would aid the germination. The seed propagated plants (Plate-27) take about 2-3 years more for flowering as compared to vegetatively propagated plants.

Soil

Soil has a pronounceed effect on the plant growth and productivity in kewda. Well drained sandy-loam soil with adequate supply of moisture is best suited for its vigorous growth and flower production. Thickly distributed profitableKewda plantations with normal flowering are found in the lateritic belts with deposits of silty loam soil and adequate moisture supply. In heavy clay soil with inadequate moisture supply, the plants grow vegetatively with poor flowering. At places close to the Bay of Bengal like Rangiagarh, Kujang, Paradeep of Jagatsinghpur district, where a silt-loam soil deposit is found over the clay zone, the dense plantations of kewda with free flowering ability are noticed. But surprisingly, the female plants are more at few places close to the Paradeep port, which may be due to seed propagation by drifting of ripe fruits from the uplands; while in Ganjam district, the farmers are used to plant the selected male plants in their field resulting in high flower production.

The tentative age of the natural plantations is estimated from the rates of leaf production, stem and branch growth (5-50 cm / year) and development of branching pattern (primary and secondary) in conjuction with the interactions made with the local farmers of kewda (Fig. 9). The plants of different age groups (1 to 5 years) are observed for growth characters and flower production at Tulu of Ganjam and Konark of Puri districts under farmers’ field condition and it is observed that the initiation of flowers started at 5 years of age and the rate of flower production was 1.7 to 2.2 per plant (Table 9).

No breeding work has so far been done on kewda except selection of some promising morphotypes. Varietal improvement in kewda by breeding poses problems mainly due to dioecious nature and long life cycle of the plants, besides heterozygosity. Lack of promising strains is a major drawback. The wild growing population of kewda has a measure of variation and this has never been documented and utilized, which naturally offer a good scope for improvement of kewda by resorting to selection and subsequently propagating them vegetatively. Since a wide range of variation is available and the plants are mostly propagated by vegetative means, it is worthwhile to collect genetic stocks, access variability in morphological characters and attempt a breeding programme after selecting the desirable types for high flower production as the ultimate economate economic value of the plantations depends on the quantity of flower production to be used industrially in the distillation units.

The screwpines are tropical shrubby plants grown for the highly scented flowers or the ornamental foliage. The ornamental foliage types are generally cultivated in the green house and protected from direct sun. The variegated types loose the colour in a rich soil and hence should be grown in a rather poor soil containing just sufficient nutrients and moisture. Some species are good for potting and indoor decoration. The common screwpine is used as a hedge also (Randhawa and Mukhopadhyay, 1986)

The screwpine (Pandanus), is highly polymorphic with numerous forms and varieties and selected in various countries for specific uses as maintained by vegetative propagation, e.g. P. leram (Plate 14), the Nicober-bread fruit, is grown in the Andaman Islands for its edible fruit providing a starchy food that is enjoyed locally; another species, P. utilis (Plate 15), on the remote Island of Mauritius, provides fibre from the leaves, used in making bags and a species from Polynesia, P.veitchii (Plate 16) is most commonly grown in green houses and outdoors as an ornamental, where the winter weather is mild and in the species the prop roots and branching stems are particularly well developed attracting attention from many people who might not otherwise notice the stranger from the tropics (Lorus and Milne, 1967). However, these three species give a striking foliage effect and especially useful in seaside gardens as P. utilis with green leaves; P. veitchii with banded white and P. leram with even longer leaves (Thomas, 1965). An unarmed form, forma laevis warb., is cultivated for the fragrant bracts of the inflorescence, while forma samak, a group of prickly Pandanus, is preferred for the tough leaves suitable for matting; another form with longitudinal yellow bands on leaves (forma variegatus) is grown for ornamental purposes (Deshaprabhu, 1966; Ambasta, 1986). In the Pacific Islands, some of the forms (e.g pulposus) are cultivated for their edible fruits (Purseglove, 1975; Ambasta, 1986). Burkill (1966) states that the common wild armed form of the sea-coasts was var. littoralis and that flower growers had selected various races for cultivation, which included the prickly var. samak and thronless var. laevis, grown in India, Malay and Indonesia, are used for making mats.

Botany

Several vernacular names of kewda are reported in different languages all over the world ; viz.

Keora, Ketgi, Keura, Gagandhul in Hindi; Keya, Ketaki, Kea, Ketkikea in Bengali; Kiya, Kia in Odia; Kewoda in Gujrati; Ato, Keto, Covasso in Konkani; Keoda, Keora in Marathi; Talemara in Kannada; Gedaji, Gedangimogali, Gojjangi, Ketaki, Mugali, Mogali in Telugu; Kaidai, Talhai, Thasai, Thazh, Kechiya, Kedagi, Kedagai, Muchali in Tamil; Kaita, Ketaki, Palliyambu in Malayalam; Gandhapuspa, Dalapushpa, Shivadvishta, Ketaki, Suchika pushpa in Sanskrit; Leram in Nicoberese; Mudukeyiya, wetakey in Sinhalese; Keora in Urdu; Gulkiri, Kader, Kadi in Persian; Satthapu, Tsatthapu in Burmese; Nalu in Nepalese; Togenashiadan in Japanese; Kadar, Kadhi, Kazi in Arabic Kaide, Kedige, Ketaki, Gedege, Mundige in Canarese; Kedgi in Deccan; Vaquois odorant in French and Schrauben palme in German. (Kirtikar and Basu, 1935; Randhawa and Mukhopadhyay, 1986; Kapoor, 1990).

Kewda (Pandanus fascicularis Lam.) is a native of the old world extending from Africa to Australia (Chittenden, 1956; Lorus and Milne, 1967; Mott, 1975). About 600 species of Pandanus are widely distributed in the moist tropics of the old world and kewda is the most widespread species being recorded from Mauritius Islands in the west to Polynesian and Micronesian Islands in the east (Deshaprabhu, 1966).

It occupies an important position in the mythology of Melanesian, Polynesian and Micronesian Islands (Massal and Barrau, 1956). Kewda has been mentioned in the Indian mythology with several available legends. In Skandha Puran, it is mentioned that Ketaki (P. odorattisimus L.f.) flower is unfit to worship Shiva (Bhattacharjee, 1987). As regards to popularity of Kewda, one of the Gujarati tribal songs says that the sun rises behind the Kewda tree, the moon applies antimony to its eyes, the night is lit with soft moon light. Another mythological legend mentioned that during Satya Yuga, there was a fight between Brahma and Vishnu to know, to prove their greatness. Lord Shiva decided a simple method that the one, who can see his head or his feet, shall be greater than the other. Shiva disappeared and became so great that Brahma and Vishnu couldn’t see his head or feet and searched in different directions. Vishnu went up to patal, but couldn’t find his feet and Brahma had gone up to the highest peak and could not see the head of Shiva. On the returned way, Bramha found a Kewda flower and claimed that he had brought the flower from the head of Lord Shiva. On questioning by Vishnu, Kewda flower also replied that she was adorned by Shiva (Gandhi, 1989).

Among the vast resources of plants, aromatic and medicinal plants are highly beneficial to mankind for supplying medicines and essence. Olfactory gland bearing aromatic plants are few and many of them are located mainly in tropics and sub-tropics. Ecological conditions in the tropics are so conducive for such plants that out of 75,000 edible plants, majority are found in this region. (Chai et al., 1979, Jong, 1979)

Among the aromatic plants, kewda (Pandanus fascicularis Lam.), a common species of screwpine, is commercially important for its highly aromatic male spadices used in the production of highly prized kewda perfumes. Kewda attar, water and oil (rooh kewda) are the important perfumery products. Kewda attar blends well with most of the fancy perfumes, in preparation of lotions, cosmetics, soaps, hair oils, agarbatis (incense sticks), scenting clothes and flavouring betel masala, chewing tobacco and bouquets. Kewda water is used for flavouring various foods, confectionaries, sweets, syrups and soft drinks. The oil and attar are considered as stimulant, antispasmodic and administered for headache and rheumatism (Chopra et al., 1956). The kewda is mentioned frequently in Tamil classics as having flowers which neutralize the foul fish odour pervading the sea coast with their strong perfume. Jehangir in his memoirs, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, described kewda flower for its strong and penetrating scent, which even obscures that of musk (Gandhi, 1989).

Odisha state lying between 17^o 52′ N to 22^o 45′ N latitude and 81^o 50′ E to 87^o 50′ E longitude has a prosperous agriculture. Nearly 75 % of its working population are either cultivators or agricultural labourers and remaining 25 % are engaged in the categories of household industry and other works (Anonymous, 1988). The wastelands occupy 13.79 % of the total area of Odisha and are mostly scattered throughout the state. The areas of wastelands in the state mainly accounted for the hilly slopes, degraded forests, over grazed revenue wastelands, oil eroded valleys, drought stricken pastures, saline and marshy lands, etc. The changes in land use leading to creation of wastelands include overgrazing forest degradation and development of marginal cropland due to flood, drought and soil erosion etc. (Fig. 1).

Organic certification is the procedure by which the accredited certification Body by way of a Scope Certificate assures that the production or processing system of the operator has been methodically assessed and conforms to the specified requirements as envisaged in the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP).

The NPOP provides for Standards for organic production, systems, criteria and procedure for accreditation of Certification Bodies, the National (India Organic) Logo and the regulations governing its use. The standards and procedures have been formulated in harmony with other International Standards regulating import and export of organic products.

In last few decades awareness about social and environmental issues has been increased. Agriculture is one of basic enterprise that has major role in these two issues . Organic agriculture is one of the agriculture production system that not only supportive to the environment but also sensitive to the social issues like employment, health, migration etc. Definitions given by two international organizations also verify this concept.

Over 85% of the rural population in India is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. About 50% of them being poor, most of their earnings are spent on meeting their basic needs, particularly food. With the increasing population over the last five decades, their per capita share of land and water resources has reduced substantially. As a result, rural people are faced with the problem of unemployment.

Inspite of agriculture being a major source of livelihood, the productivity as well as profitability in agriculture have been significantly low in the country. While the productivity can be attributed to illiteracy, lack of awareness, poor dissemination of technology, inadequate investment in agricultural inputs and poor communication and information services, lack of profitability is mainly due to inadequate and inefficient infrastructure required for forward and backward integration, poor post harvest and processing facilities and poor connectivity with market, resulting in exploitation by large number of middlemen. Traditionally, the farmers have been dependent on the Agricultural Extension Agencies of the State Government for information, input supply and marketing services. Over the years, these agencies are not being able to cope up with the growing responsibilities and specific needs of the farmers. To overcome this problem, Farmers’ Cooperatives have been promoted to supply various agricultural inputs and organise the marketing of farm produce. Although, this was an excellent concept, most of these cooperatives could not carry out the work economically and efficiently due to lack of commitment from the elected leaders and unfair trade practices by the competing traders. The farmers, not realising the inability of the extension agencies, are still dependent on the Government and external agencies to help them in managing their agri-business.

Heifers are future cows of the herd. Production and reproduction performance of cows depends on the care and management during calf and heifer stage. Rearing period of heifers can be divided into two stages, viz. from weaning to first service and service to calving.

Care of calf before birth

During the last 2-3 months of gestation the fetus grows rapidly. Calf draws a significant quantity of nutrients from the mothers system. It has to be replenished by additional feeding of the cow. A cow should be fed well-balanced ration for maintenance.

Fruits with their delightful colours, flavours and tastes are nature’s wonderful gift to mankind. Apart from being the most nutritious food in the form of easily digestible simple sugars, vitamins, minerals and many phyto-nutrients (Plant derived micronutrients), they provide unique health benefits due to their antioxidant properties and valuable fibre. Antioxidants help protect the human body from oxidant stress, diseases, and cancers, and also boost the immunity of the body thus developing the capacity to fight against various types of diseases. The insoluble dietary fiber in fruits is known to provide protection from conditions like chronic constipation, hemorrhoids, colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, and rectal fissures etc. Due to their unique nutrition-profile the importance of fruits in our diet cannot be over emphasised.

Insects are a major limiting factor in fruit production. The infestation of insects pests on fruit trees in orchards adversely affects the quality and yield of fruits. The size, shape, taste, attractiveness and palatability of fruit deteroriates, due to which the market price is reduced and the growers incur losses. Fruit growers resort to use of chemical pesticides under such conditions. However many reports suggest that although the global production and use of pesticides in agriculture is increasing every year, but the damage due to insects has not decreased rather it has also increased, indicating that the use of pesticides is not the panacea remedy for all insect related problems. Many scientists are of the opinion that over-reliance on the use of synthetic pesticides in crop protection programs around the world has resulted in disturbances to the environment, pest resurgence, pest resistance to pesticides, and lethal and sub-lethal effects on non target organisms especially beneficial flora and fauna, including humans. Farmers spend thousands of rupees on pesticides. The residues of pesticides in food and fruits is yet another cause of concern. Fruits which are considered to be wonderful for health are often laden with unacceptable levels of pesticide residues nulling their beneficial properties. Pesticides have been linked to many diseases especially cancer. All these issues related with use of pesticides has triggered rethinking on the methods of control.The recent examples of the results of indiscriminate pesticides use , consequent crop failures and suicide by farmers now calls for introspection in this matter.

Importance of fruits in human diet is well recognized since time immemorial. They are important part of a healthy diet as natural sources of energy, essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants ever since the beginning of humancivilization. Our country is bestowed with varied climatic conditions, which had made it possible to grow diverse group of fruits from its temperate to tropical, to subtropical and even to arid niches. The cultivation of fruit crops is, presently, one of the most important and profitable proposition. Growing fruit crops translate into realization of more yield/ income from a unit area of land than any of the agronomic crops. However, there is need to considerably increase the yield of fruit crops, particularly under changing environmental conditions as under such conditions diseases are getting more prevalent. Therefore by adoption of proper protection practices, yield of fruit crops can be improved.

Plant diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses and phytoplasmas reduce crop yields (Khoury and Makkouk, 2010).Adoption and support for using participatory approaches help to farmers in disease management of fruit crops, reducing costs and improving production efficiency. Fungal, bacterial and viral diseases pose serious threat in the cultivation of fruit crops in India. To reduce the losses caused by plant disease, a complete knowledge of disease management strategies of fruit crops are essential which are as follows:

According to FAO estimates, about 50% total geographical area in India is under various degraded hazards and about 2.1 million ha of land is getting degraded and deforested annually (Sehgal et al. 1998). Out of that underground water in arid and semi-arid areas is saline or sodic in nature. While spices, medicinal and aromatic plants may be a boon for these areas, which not only withstand under adverse conditions but also could be productive and helps in mitigating these problems. However, other crops are remain less or unproductive in these areas.

Spices are low volume and high value crops and have tremendous export potential, which is witnessed by several invasions faced by this Indian peninsula during ancient time. Medicinal and aromatic plants have an equally market potential with the world demand of herbal products growing at the rate of 7 per cent per annum (Aishwath and Tarafdar, 2007). Seed spices and aromatic plants are the natural source of flavour, perfumes and fragrance widely exploited by essential oil industries in the world. Owing to considerable diversity of edaphoclimatic conditions ranging from temperate to tropical and arid to sub- humid that prevails in India and an array of medicinal and aromatic flora occurs in wild state. Many exotic essential oil bearing plants, including mints, citronella, geranium, patchouli, lavender and chamomile have been naturalized in India. As the country has emerged as one of the main producers of seed spices and some of the essential oils, theses plants are significant foreign exchange earners. Some of the aromatic plants especially grasses can sustain both biotic as well as abiotc stresses, even in the areas unsuitable for conventional crops (Aishwath et al., 2008). Most of the seed spices crops are seasonal crops and comes up well with limited moisture and nutrients. Therefore, under utilized natural resources can be utilized profitably by crop diversification.

The arid region of India covers about 12 % of countries geographical area and occupies over 3.17 lakh Km² of hot desert located in the parts of Rajasthan (61%), Gujarat (20%), Punjab and Haryana (9.0%), Andhra Pradesh (7%), Maharashtra (0.4%) and Karnataka (3.0%). In addition to this an area of about 78 thousand Km² of cold desert in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh presents an entirely different set of agro climatic conditions as compared to hot arid zone. The hot arid region is characterized by low and erratic distribution of rainfall (< 100 to 400 mm), high temperature, low relative humidity, high potential evapo-transpiration, high sunshine and high wind speed during summer. Soils of this region are dry for most part of the year and suffer from water stress. Besides growing annual crops, a great emphasis is being laid on the development of agroforestry systems in this region which also includes cultivation of arid fruit crops in cropping systems. Horticulture based production systems are considered to be the most ideal strategy to provide food, nutrition and income security to the people (Chundawat, 1993). Integration of annual crops with fruit trees yields multiple outputs that ensure production and income generation.

Global climate changing has been a focus for a long time in many fields, the increasing CO₂ concentration in atmosphere was considered as one main driving force for global warming. The increases in greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere contributed to raise concerns over climate change enhanced the role of forests and plantations in the global carbon cycle are growing as a great issue. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is one of the main greenhouse gases because a huge volume of CO₂ is added to the atmosphere, when compare to all other greenhouse gases and made itself as a primary agent of global warming. It contributed 72 per cent of the total anthropogenic greenhouse gases, causing between 9-26 per cent of the greenhouse effect (Kiehl and Trenberth, 1997). According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there has been an unprecedented warming trend during the 20th century. Scientists now have estimated that the average global surface temperature is likely to rise by 1.4 to 5.8°C by the end of the 21^st century (IPCC 2007).

The IPCC estimates that the level of carbon dioxide in today’s atmosphere is 31 per cent higher than it was at the start of the Industrial Revolution about 250 years ago. An atmospheric level of CO₂ has risen from 280 ppm at the pre-industrial to the present level of 375 ppm. Most of the increase has occurred in the second half of the 20^th century. The mitigation of climate change demands, determined commitment of scientists to develop strategies to effectively manage the issues of the changing climate through carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration is ought to be a promising solution for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide, an important greenhouse gas.

Energy and food are the two main requirements for human civilization; however the demands for these two resources are increasing in a fast rate. Development of any region is reflected in its quantum of energy consumption. In this context, the situation in arid region is difficult. People burn firewood, agricultural waste and cow dung cake for cooking food causing damages to the fragile eco-system of arid zone. There is inadequate electrical power supply and hence villagers of remote arid areas are unable to derive general benefits. The kerosene is used for lighting and fast depleting diesel oil is used for running agricultural machinery including pumps. In this context solar energy is considered to be one of the promising sources in India.

About 12% of electricity production capacity in India is met through renewable energy sources. In India, national solar mission was launched in November 2009 with a target of 4000 MW grid and 1000 MW off-grid electricity generation from solar energy by the end of phase II (2013-2017), whereas these targets are 20,000 MW and 2000 MW, respectively by 2022. The target has been revised in 2015 to a total grid connected solar power generation of 1,00,000 MW comprising of 40,000 MW roof top generation and 60,000 MW grid connected solar power plants (Resolution of MNRE, Govt of India, No. 30/80/ 2014-15/NSM dated 1^st July 2015).

Increasing susceptibility of vegetables to various biotic and abiotic stresses and very high cost of hybrid seeds has warranted the attention of the vegetable growers to improve the nursery raising technology of vegetables. Now-a-days protected nursery raising of vegetables has become a full flagged industry in several developed countries like Israel, Japan, Spain, Netherlands, USA etc. In countries like Israel no vegetable grower is growing his own nursery, but they are getting the required kind of seedlings from an established nursery owner on pre- order basis. Similar system of nursery raising is also prevalent in several other advance countries. In those situations where vegetables are being grown under protected conditions it becomes pre-requisite to raise the required vegetable seedlings only under protected environment to get virus free healthy seedlings.

Raising nursery from seeds provide an easy and convenient way to nourish tender and young seedlings in a well managed, small and compact area for better germination of small and costly seed. In general, vegetables crops are divided into three groups according to their relative ease for transplanting. Beet root, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, tomato and lettuce are efficient in water absorption and rapidly form new roots after transplanting. Vegetables crops that are moderately easy for transplanting are brinjal, onion, sweet pepper, chilli and celery which do not absorb water as efficiently as crops that are easy to transplant, but they form new roots relatively quickly. The vegetable crops which are difficult to transplant are: all cucurbits and sweet corn which require special care during nursery raising and transplanting. Seedlings not only reduce the amount of time of the crop but it also increases the uniformity of the crop and harvesting as compared to direct sowing of the crops. Transplanting of seedlings also eliminates the need for thinning and provides very good opportunities for virus free, vigorous and even off-season seedlings if grown under protected conditions in soil-less media. So it becomes necessary to know the protected structures which can be efficiently used for successful raising of vegetable seedlings, suitable types of containers and growing media, method of seeding in containers in soil-less media, growing conditions and water and fertilizer requirement of seedlings along with hardening and transplanting to the field. Protected nursery raising technology is highly suitable and can be established as a small scale industry in major vegetable growing areas of our country by progressive farmers especially in peri-urban areas. By this way the vegetable growers will get virus-free healthy and off season nursery as per their requirement and it generate extra employment in rural areas.

In the present scenario of rapidly increasing population and decreasing cultivable land, there is urgent need to increase the agricultural productivity. According to Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), 280 million tones food grain would be required to match the country’s demand by 2020. It will be a difficult task to meet this food requirement in near future from the present productivity levels. It is necessary to increase agricultural productivity, because about 60% of Indian agriculture is rainfed. Proper use of even a single drop of rain water is necessary to ensure the success of rainfed agriculture. In hills, agriculture is main source of livelihood of rural people. However, small and scattered land holding, difficult topography, womendependent agriculture, totally rainfed, typical socio-economic factors and migration of youth towards urban/plain areas are major constraints of hill horticulture.

In the high altitude areas, the river flow in deep valley at the toe of slopes rarely serve any purpose as far as domestic water supply and irrigation are concerned and hence, agriculture in these areas is mostly rainfed. However, these areas received high magnitude of rainfall but this rainwater is not possible to convert into soil moisture due to steep terrain of hills which provided minimum opportunity time for infiltration of rainwater. It has been estimated that only less than 15 per cent of the rainwater is able to percolate down through slopes and recharge the soil moisture. The rainfall pattern hill is erratic i.e. most of rain (approximately 70% of annual rain) received only during the two months of monsoon. Furthermore, the climate of high altitudes comprises several climatic anomalies such as wide variability in temperature (-3 ^oC to 35 ^oC), frequent snowfall, hail, sleet and erratic pattern of rainfall. Under such abrupt conditions crops grown in open conditions could not be sustained.

Micro irrigation normally called as drip irrigation was introduced in early seventies. Drip irrigation is one of the advanced methods of irrigation, by which water can be supplied directly into the root zone of the soil to achieve considerable saving of water through high water use efficiency, compared to surface irrigation method where water use efficiency is low due to losses in the water distribution system in the field. In micro irrigation method, water supplied at slow rate that is 1.0-2.0 kg/sq cm to the root zone of an individual plant through lets called emitters or drippers fitted with laterals pipes and filters at pump side. The success of micro irrigation is proven and efforts are being made in promoting the same extensively among the farmers in arid areas.

The hot arid regions of India are spread over about 31.7 million ha area mainly in the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, which inhabit on an average 61 persons per square km making up a population of nearly 20 million peoples. The Indian arid zone is characterized by high temperature and low and variable precipitation which limit the scope for high horticultural productivity. However, these conditions greatly favour development of high quality production in number of fruits such as date palm, ber, pomegranate, citrus, aonla, bael, grapes and, guava. The optimized technologies and inputs could increase the existing low productivity. It is now realized that there is a limited scope for quantum jump in fruit and vegetable production in the traditional production areas. The amelioration of the extreme conditions is also considered vital for life support to the inhabitants of this area. The recent awareness regarding the potential of these ecologically fragile lands for production of quality horticultural produce has not only opened up scope for providing economic sustenance for the people of this region, but also for bringing new areas to increase production through horticulture.

There has been an increasing demand for horticultural crops more particularly fruit .With this, the demand for good quality planting materials has gone up and hence the nursery business has developed rapidly in the recent years in our country. Plant propagation aims at the reproduction of selected individuals or group of individuals, in this the basic principal of life impose certain requirements which must be met with in practices for successful propagation. Plants material of various fruit crops have not only to be raised efficiently and scientifically, for which skilled knowledge in raising and management of nurseries is needed, but also these have to be transported quickly from nurseries to place where these plants materials will be grown.

Availability of quality planting material is one of the most importanant requirement for increasing the production and productivity of any fruit crops. It becomes one of the great challenges for horticulturists to get the disease free quality planting materials of fruit crops from an efficient and reliable nursery.