eChapters

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The cumin (Cuminum cyminum Linn.) belonging to family Apiaceace is an important seed spice believed to be indigenous to northern Egypt, East Mediterranean region, Iran, Turkey  and India (Amin, 2003; Raghavan, 2007). It is popularly known as safed jeera and is one of the most common spices of daily use in the Indian sub-continent. Cumin is well known to ancient civilization. It is one of the oldest spices known since biblical times, valued mostly for their digestive properties and for flaovouring bread and other dishes during the periods of ceremonial fasting. As early as 5000 BC, Egyptians preserved the bodies of their kings by mummifying them with cumin, anise and marjoram.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is important seed spices belonging to family Apiaceae, and a native of Southern Europe and Mediterranean area. Later it spread to the far East and far north in Europe. To the ancient Greeks, fennel represented success and so it was called “Marathon” in reference to the battle, fought in fennel field where the Greeks defeated the Persians in 490 B.C. Fennel was also a symbol of success to the Romans. During the thirteenth century in England, fennel was considered as a royal spice and was served to kings with fruits, bread and pickled fish seasoned with fennel seeds. Fennel was even described by Longfellow in his poem The Goblet of Life. According to early Sanskrit writings, fennel has been described as Madhurika and was known as far back as 2000 BC for its cultivation in India.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Fenugreek is one of the oldest cultivated spice crops of the world and grown for its medicinal value and forage in India, Western Asia and Nile valley since remote antiquity. In Egypt, it has been cultivated since 1000 BC and is part of the Indian diet for over 3000 years. Fenugreek is used as an important component of holy smoke in Egyptian incense. It is found growing wild in parts of northern India and cultivated all over the subcontinent for its green leaves and seeds. Fenugreek is a native of south-eastern Europe and Western Asia.  India is also said to be a native of fenugreek (Shanmugavelu et al., 2002) and found growing wild in Kashmir, Punjab and upper Gangetic plains.

1.0 INTRODUCTION
 
Coriander is a native of southern Europe and Asia Minor. In a treatise, Farrell (1999) has described coriander as indigenous to the Near East and Mediterranean region of North Africa and Southern Europe. According to early Sanskrit writings, coriander was known as far back as 5000 BC for its cultivation in India. Persia grew coriander 3000 years ago for adding fragrance to hanging garden of Babylon and seeds were found in Egyptian tombs of 960 BC. It has been used as an ingredient to traditional and folk medicine in the Middle East and Asia for more than 2000 years. There is archaeological evidence of coriander cultivation from Early Bronze Age in Macedonia (Fragiska, 2005)

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Capsicum or chilli including paprika belonging to family Solanaceae, is a native of new world tropics and sub tropics. Within the genus Capsicum, mainly five species have been recognized as domesticated namely, Capsicum annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense, C. frutescens and C. pubescens. Most of the commercially cultivated chilli cultivars as well as paprika belong to the species C. annuum. The cultivated Capsicum was introduced to India and Southeastern Asia in the 17th century by the Portugese. The name Capsicum is possibly derived from the Greek word ‘Kapso’ meaning ‘to bite’ referring to the dominant pungency stimulated by the spice, while ‘Paprika’ means plants of the genus Capsicum, in the Hungarian language. ‘Paprika’, is defined in the world market as non-pungent (sweet) brilliant red ground Capsicum powder, derived from the thick flesh dried red pods, with most of the seeds and veins removed. Both chilli and paprika are widely consumed as vegetable and spice all over the world. Mostly, the cultivars grown in Asian countries are pungent, while less and non-pungent cultivars are more common in European countries. Chilli of commerce is the dried pod, while it was pericarp (outer skin of the dried fruit) for paprika.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Among tree spices, nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt) belonging to the family Myristicaceae is the most important, providing two spices, i.e. the nutmeg (dried seed) and the mace (dried aril covering the seed). The latter is more important. Nutmeg is cultivated mostly in the tropical areas of Indonesia and West Indies. The world annual production of nutmeg and mace is around 12000 tonnes and 2000 tonnes, respectively (Krishnamoorthy and Rema, 2001). A native of the Moluccas (The Banda Islands of East Indonesia), nutmeg is presently cultivated in several countries such as Grenada, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Fiji, some Caribbean Islands, Africa and China including India. Of late, Brazil also started its cultivation. The Indonesian nutmeg known as East Indian nutmeg shares 75% and Grenadian known as West Indian nutmeg shares 25% of world market and they are major suppliers in the world. The East Indian nutmeg is highly aromatic which is preferred by the USA. West Indian type is of mild flavour and is preferred in Europe. The major importers are USA, Canada, Japan and European countries. In USA, the oil is generally preferred whereas the Europeans consume it as whole spice.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Vanilla is one of the most popular and widely used flavour materials in the world and it is the most expensive spice traded in the global market after Saffron (Crocus sativus L). The major consumers of vanilla beans currently are the developed countries with the US, France and Germany absorbing about 80 per cent of the world imports. Among them, the US imports 50-60 per cent while the latter 10-15 per cent each. They are also main re-exporters of both vanilla beans and processed products. The total area under vanilla cultivation in the world during 2002 was 38,066 ha with the production of around 4956 metric tones and increased to 76,440 ha with a production of 10, 360 tons during 2005 (FAO, 2007). The major vanilla producing countries are Madagascar, Comoros, Indonesia, Mexico and Reunion (Table 1). Area under vanilla in India during 2002-03 was 2545 ha with the production of 92 tonnes. (Spices Board, 2003) and increased to 5370 ha with a production of 196 tonnes during 2004-05.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Turmeric (Curcuma domestica Val. (syn. C. longa Koenig non L.) is an important spice, a native of India and South East Asia. Chikarmane et al. (2003) by analyzing historical patterns of movement of South Asian and Southeast Asian people known to have used turmeric suggested that turmeric was introduced into Southeast Asia via Indian colonization in the early Christian centuries. An increase in colonization events from South India during this time was because of discoveries in navigational science and desires to expand civilizations, rather than military conquests. The cultural expansion from South India supports the introduction of turmeric cultivation to Southeast Asia via human means. These human migratory patterns are compared to a phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence data within Curcuma, and suggested that key locations such as the Isthmus of Kra were important not only to human movement but to species evolution in Curcuma (Chikarmane et al., 2003).

1. INTRODUCTION

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is a perennial herb and the economic part is underground stem (rhizome), which is used as a spice. It is native to tropical South-East Asia, introduced into the West Indies, African countries and other tropical belt of the world. The ginger rhizome is harvested between 6 and 12 months after planting and used as spice in the fresh condition,  peeled and split dried or powedered forms. Ginger is utilized widely as a spice, for pickles, candies and as a medicinal herb. The anti-inflammatory and anti-nausea qualities of ginger have applications in the pharmaceutical industry. Ginger and supplements derived from ginger have received attention for the treatment of chronic inflammation. Administration of ginger has resulted in decreased symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (Srivastava and Mustafa, 1992) and gingerol (a component of ginger) has been reported to have anti-inflammatory actions (Kiuchi et al., 1992; Tjendraputra et al., 2001).

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton.) acclaimed as the ‘Queen of Spices’ is the true cardamom belonging to the family Zingiberaceae. The cardamom of commerce is the dried ripe fruit and is one of the most important valued spices next only to saffron. It is native of evergreen forests of Western Ghats of South India. Cardamom is a shade loving plant (Pseophyte) thriving well in elevations up to 600-1200 m above MSL under an average annual rainfall of 1500-4000 mm and temperature range of 10-350C. India has been the world’s largest producer of cardamom until 1979-80. Later, Guatemala emerged as world’s premier producer and the exporter of cardamom accounting for about 90 per cent of the global trade. Cardamom is also grown lesser extent in Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Black pepper popularly known as ‘King of spices’ or ‘Black gold’ is one of the important and earliest known spices produced and exported from India. Its original home is the dense evergreen forests of Western Ghats in south India. The flavour and fragrance of this oriental spice had a magic spell in human civilization and culture since very ancient days. Expeditions in search of pepper led to the discovery of new trade routes.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Plant parasitic nematodes are among the major soil-borne crop pests that cause significant economic losses to a wide variety of crops. They cause an estimated annual crop-yield loss of US$78 billion worldwide which warrants for effective control strategies (Sasser and Freckman, 1987). Nematodes have the greatest impact on crop productivity when they attack the roots of seedlings or young plantlets (Ploeg, 2001). Nematode feeding also creates open wounds that provide entry to a wide variety of plant-pathogenic fungi and bacteria. These microbial infections are often more economically damaging than the direct effects of nematode feeding.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The bacteria in the genus Ralstonia, Xanthomonas, Agrobacterium, Xylella, Pantoea, Leifsonia, Curtobacterium, Enterobactor, Pseudomonas, Corynebacterium, Erwinia cause the most important bacterial diseases of crop plants. Few of them are directly responsible for post harvests losses during storage or transit and many of them are known to cause disease in the field. These diseases are economically important due their potential to cause crop failure in crops including spice crops. Among the bacteria genus Ralstonia is very important owing to its broad host range across the plant kingdom. Traditionally bacterial diseases of crops are prevented by the principle of ‘Disease Avoidance’ rather than disease control in the field. Their fast rate of multiplication, selective host and rapid spread in the field makes the disease control one of the challenges in the production system. The organic strategies are very well fit in the disease avoidance in the field. The preemptive strategies works exceedingly well for management of bacterial disease in any crop. Few genus such as Ralstonia, Enterobacter and Xanthomonas have been frequented in spice crops.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

“Biological control is the reduction of the amount of inoculum or disease producing activity of a pathogen  or parasite  in its active or dormant state, by one or more organisms, accomplished naturally or through manipulation of the environment, host or antagonist or by mass introduction of one or more antagonists ” (Baker & Cook 1974). The biological world is a vast interacting network of living organisms in a state of dynamic equilibrium, reflecting changes in their physical environment and their relations to each other. Organisms exhibit many type of interactions in the process of achieving biological balance.  An organism may exert no effect on another or it may stimulate or inhibit the growth or development of the associate, it may stimulate or inhibit the formation of resting spores of the associate or it may enforce dormancy or cause lysis of the associate (Cooke & Baker, 1983).

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Infestation by insect pests is a major factor responsible for the low productivity of spice crops in India. Spice crops such as black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton), ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) and turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) are infested by many species of insect pests, some of which cause severe crop losses. Adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) schedules in which biological control forms a major component is more relevant in these crops since excessive use of insecticides could lead to pesticide residues in the produce and other ecological hazards. Spices are high-value and export-oriented in nature and pesticide residues are the most important non-tariff barriers on trade in these produces. There has been a renewed interest during the past decade in developing environment–friendly crop management schedules in sustainable agriculture including spice crops, reflecting the increasing concern over pesticide misuse.

1.0. INTRODUCTION

The plant nutrient cycling depends on micro organisms that constitute major components of the biosphere. Although less than one per cent is cultured, a tremendous diversity exists in their populations. Transformation of nutrients from soil to plants is brought about by soil microorganisms. Latest molecular techniques enable scientists to understand and appreciate the diversity and help to utilize the beneficial effects of microbial diversity for increased productivity. Among soil organisms intense activity is found in and around rhizosphere of plants because of the presence of the secreted nutrients such as carbohydrates, amino acids and other cellular components present at the growing tip of roots. These root colonizing micro organism form symbiotic, associative, or parasitic relationship with the plants. These organisms have evolved mechanisms to occupy and reside in the specialized niche. These mechanisms are often utilized both for growth enhancement and disease suppression. The host also plays an important role in selecting its own microflora for the rhizosphere similar to the probiotic microflora of human gastrointestinal tract (Haas and Keel 2003).

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Soil fertility can be considered to be a measure of the soil’s ability to sustain satisfactory crop growth, both in the short and longer-term. Organic farming recognizes the soil as being central to a sustainable farming system. It could be argued that organically managed soils require a higher level of baseline fertility because shortfalls cannot be made up by applications of soluble fertilizers. Soil fertility is determined by a set of interactions between the physical and chemical environments of the system and by biological activity. Organic matter is linked intrinsically to soil fertility, because it is important in maintaining good soil physical conditions (e.g. soil structure, aeration and water holding capacity) and is an important nutrient reserve. Organic matter contains most of the soil reserve of N and large proportions of other nutrients such as phosphorus and sulphur.

1.1 Spice – definition and uses

Spice is defined as “a strongly flavoured or aromatic substance of vegetable origin, obtained from tropical plants, commonly used as a condiment”. A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, rhizome, bark or vegetative substance or flower bud used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavoring. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are leafy, green plant parts used for flavoring purposes. Herbs, such as basil or oregano, may be used fresh, and are commonly chopped into smaller pieces; spices, however, are dried and usually ground into a powder (http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Spice). American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) defines spices as “any dried plant product used primarily for seasoning purposes”. Included are tropical aromatics (pepper, cinnamon, cloves, etc.), leafy herbs (basil, oregano, marjoram, etc.), spice seeds (sesame, poppy, mustard, etc.) and dehydrated vegetables (onions, garlic, etc.) (http://www.astaspice.org/spice/frame_spice.htm). Many spices have other uses like food preservation, medicine, religious rituals, cosmetics, and perfumery or as vegetables.

Tea is the most important non-alcoholic beverage worldwide gaining further popularity as an important ‘health drink’. It is consumed as a morning drink by 2/3^rd of world population. Tea was used initially as a medicine and subsequently as beverage and now has proven to be a potential raw material for pharmaceutical industry. Tea is mainly consumed in the form of ‘fermented tea’ or ‘black tea’, ‘non-fermented’ or ‘green tea’ and semi-fermented or ‘oolong tea’ are also popular in Japan and China. Green leaves are also used as vegetables such as ‘leppet tea’ in Burma and ‘meing tea’ in Thailand.

Natural rubber, cis-l,4 polyisoprene, produced in the milky cytoplasm (latex) of specialized cells called laticifers in certain plants is one of most important biological macromolecules, which is used as an industrial raw material for the manufacture of a variety of products. Natural rubber is found in the latex of over 2000 species of plants belonging to 311 genera under 79 families. However, Hevea brasiliensis, also known as Para rubber tree after the Brazilian port of Para, is the only commercial source of natural rubber mainly because of its abundance in latex, quality and convenience of harvesting. Hevea was first used as a source of rubber by the French.

Palmyra (Borassus flabellifer L.) is a tropical dioecious palm adapted to arid zone tracts. Though it is a versatile plant which yields many edible and non-edible products it is a less exploited species. It is used for sap, fruit, seed, leaf and fiber and timber products. From nutritional point of view, fruit pulp and seed shoot flour are the most important.Successful promotion of these as foods for general consumption depends on subjecting the fruit pulp to a debittering process, and the seed shoot flour, to initial detoxification processes (Thabrew and Jansz, 2004). Palmyra palms are the most numerous palms in the world after coconut palm (Fox, 1977). Despite this, they are the least studied of all the palms.

The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is recognised as the cheapest edible oil-yielding crop and has become one of the major oil crops in the world. The most productive oil-bearing crop, oil palm yields about three times the oil yield of coconut, seven times that of rapeseed, and ten times that of soybean. In terms of world production, palm oil maintains second place after soybean as a source of vegetable oil and has overtaken other crops such as rapeseed, sunflower, groundnut, and cottonseed. Under good agricultural management, a hectare of oil palm yields 5 to 7 tonnes of oil / year (Henson, 1991). The crop is unique in producing 2 distinct types of oil- palm oil and palm kernel oil- used for culinary and industrial purposes. Being rich in b-carotene, palm oil contributes substantially to nutritional and energy requirements of masses.

Coffee (Coffea species) occupies a pride of place, in the international trade of commodities, next to petroleum in trade volume and money value. Coffee is also the second important popular beverage for its aroma and mild stimulant action. Its dried beans are roasted, ground and brewed to make a stimulating & refreshing beverage. Its production forms the backbone of more than 60 developing nations. Use of coffee has evolved from original chewing of leaves and beans of the plant to relieve pain, hunger and fatigue to the present more sophisticated uses, like espresso and decaffeinated coffees. Its use was first discovered in Arabia around mid-15th century.

Coconut is the most beautiful and useful of palms known to mankind. Coconut is unique, producing a host of products and by products with distinctive applications at home and in industry. It is essentially an oil seed crop providing all amenities for human life, which include food, energetic beverage, medicine, fibre, wood, shell and a variety of raw materials for production of array of products of commercial importance. In view of its versatile uses and affinity to Indian culture, it is rightly called the “tree of heaven” or “Kalpavriksha”.

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is the third important beverage crop grown for its seeds known as beans, used mainly in chocolate industry. It is the source of cocoa butter and cocoa mass.

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is an export-oriented crop grown for its nuts, a true drupe. Often referred as ‘wonder nut’, it is highly delicious and nutritive. Its nutritional composition compares well with almond, hazel nut and walnut. It is a zero-cholesterol nut with high content of unsaturated fatty acids, proteins and carbohydrates with a right combination of amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Kernels extracted from nuts are often consumed as such or used in confectionery items and various kinds of dishes. Kernel oil of pale yellow colour is used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) extracted from its shell has many industrial applications - for making paints, resins, flame-retardants, etc. Testa covering the kernel, rich in tannin, can be an acceptable substitute for wattle bark tannin in leather industry. Cashew apple, the pseudo-fruit, is rich in vitamin C. It is used to cure scurvy, diarrhea, uterine complaints and dropsy.

Arecanut palm (Areca catechu L.) is the source of common masticatory nut, popularly known as arecanut, betelnut, or supari. It is used extensively in India by all sections of people as masticatory, and is an essential requisite for several religious and social ceremonies.

Commercial crops include a variety of high value plantation crops, which play a vital role in the agricultural economy and export trade of many developing and developed countries (Table 1). Tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, coconut, arecanut, oil palm, cashew, palmyra and cardamom are the major crops grown on a plantation scale. These crops are perennial in nature and the cultivation is labour intensive, generating considerable employment opportunity during on farm operations and off farm processing activities. The most obvious characteristic is that plantations are monocultures; the same species occupying large contiguous area usually in even aged stands. Exceptions are coconut, arecanut, cocoa and coffee, which are grown either as mono crop or as multiple crops. These crops are grown in humid tropics, mainly between 20°N and 20°S of equator in an area of 35.7 million ha yielding about 74.4 million tonnes of produce and contributing US $ 11 billion to global trade during 2002.

Introduction

Humans and grass are inextricably linked to each other. The oldest unequivocal grass fossils are 25 million years old, originating in the Oligocene epoch (Thomasson, 1987). Grasses are one of the first permanent vegetation to reappear after disasters, such as volcanic activity, extended droughts, floods, fires, explosions, abandoned urban ghettos, and battlefields. In the past, landscaping was universally regarded as an extravagance for the affluent or as a decorative for mediocre and average structural design. Today, growers offer hundreds of selections for landscape designers who envision their backyard canvases swept with fulsome grasses. Countries are capitalizing on this industry at a furious pace and turfgrass research can be circuitously, the next moolah machine for enhancing lifestyle, real estate values and tourism revenues.

Introduction

Landscaping refers to art and science of proper utilization of garden forms, methods and materials for the overall improvement of the place in such a way that it blends with surrounding and creates aesthetics. It is an approach to enhance the appearance of land by altering its contours, and planting trees, shrubs, climbers and various ornamental plants for aesthetic effects. It is the prerequisite for the urban areas that are highly polluted and densely populated. The urbanites now-a-days are facing many problems relating to the health because of imbalance in the environmental conditions.In today’s world, with the rapid pace of urbanization and the growing concern for climate change led to the increasing trend of bringing nature back into cities. Removal of greenery and replaced them with buildings and paved streets increase the surface radiation and air temperature that result to drier and hotter environment for urban cities compared to the rural areas. In this context, the demand for planned and creative exterior landscaping increases which allows the man to re-create an aesthetic environment with breath taking life. Exterior landscaping is the means of bringing man closer to the nature. It is also referred as outdoor landscaping and has gained wide popularity now-a-days because of the expansion of the urban areas along with increase interest of people towards healthier and cleaner environment.

With the advent of modernization and urbanization, people are shifting from rural to urban areas, thereby, urban population is increasing day by day resulting in congested cities and towns. All around the world, a huge number of buildings are being constructed adding many more in future. Throughout the years, replacement of vegetated surfaces with paved and impervious surfaces in the urban areas have increased the temperature as compared to rural areas, because the paved surfaces absorbs, retain and reradiate more solar energy than vegetation. The ambient temperature in urban area can be as much as 6oC higher than the air in rural areas.

Introduction

Increasing concern about climate change and global warming has created immense awareness among society about green house gas and its reduction. Irrespective of the geographical location, population density and economic development of any region, there is a huge scope for addressing the green house gas emission. Cities have a key role to play in the global agenda for addressing the challenge of climate change. Today, approximately half of the world’s population lives in cities; by 2050, that proportion will probably have increased to two-thirds. India has the highest rate of change of the urban population and will remain above 2% annually for the next three decades. At this rate, an estimated 854 million people will live in Indian cities by 2050.

Introduction

Landscape gardening is a very fascinating and interesting subject. It is a money spinner business and people who are involved in designing and preparing landscape gardens are earning handsome money. It is an aesthetic branch of horticulture which deals with application of garden forms, different styles, methods and materials with a view to improve the landscape. Frescos of flowers of old times reveal the association of human with flowering plants which they used in making gardens and planting on road side. In India, the landscape gardening is a developing subject and as such offers much scope for improvement. A beautiful landscape is a vital part of your home and community. A well-planned landscape can save your money by reducing energy consumption.

Introduction

Flowers are associated with mankind since the dawn of civilization. Flowers are required for all the functions, ceremonies, rituals and celebrations from dawn to the dusk. In India, flowers are mainly grown for cut flowers and loose flowers purpose. By using best postharvest techniques, we can preserve the flowers ranging from few days to few weeks, but drying or dehydration is a technique by which flowers can be preserved for months to years. India has rich biodiversity comprising of wide variety of ornamental trees, shrubs, climbers, etc. which are not being used as fresh or loose flowers but their branched, twigs, flowers, fruits, cones, stems, roots, bark, etc. can be dehydrated to preserve their beauty and for utilization in dry flower industry.

Introduction

Marketing sector via value addition has gained momentum with the rapidly growing flora industry. It is the ultimate way to rescue the flowers from the huge postharvest losses. Value addition in form of floral craft increases the economic value and consumer appeal of floricultural commodities and serving as a linkage between growers and consumers, it directly emphasizes the utility of flowers and a necessity for marketing of flowers. Other forms of value addition in flowers like essential oils, tinting, flower-drying, natural dye, art of floral arrangements are gaining momentum and popularising in our country as well.

Introduction

India has very old and long tradition of flower cultivation. With changing life styles and increased urban affluence, floriculture has assumed a definite commercial status in recent times. Improved communication facilities have increased their availability in every part of the country. Floriculture in India is being viewed as a rapidly growing industry. In India, at present total area under flower crops is about 2,33,000 ha with production of about 17.29 lakh tonnes of loose flowers and 76732 lakh  number of cut flowers (NHB database, 2013).The important floricultural crops in the international flower trade are rose, carnation, chrysanthemum, gerbera, gladious, gypsophila, liastris, bird of paradise, orchids, anthurium, tulip, lilies, etc. All the flowers and ornamentals are the most perishable commodities needs special care during harvesting, handling, storage and transport. The losses can be both, quantitative as well as qualitative, which result in loss in terms of monitory value.

Introduction

Fruits and vegetables are an important supplement to the human diet as they provide the essential minerals, vitamins and fibre required for maintaining health. For various reasons, this abundance of production is not fully utilized and about 25-30% of it is wasted due to spoilage. Most of fruits and vegetables are seasonal crops and perishable in nature. In a good season there may be a local glut, particularly of fruits, but because of insufficient transport facilities and poor availability of packing materials, the surplus cannot be taken quickly enough to the natural markets in urban areas. Moreover, the surplus often cannot be stored for sale in the off-season because of inadequate local cold storage facilities. Thus the growers do not get a good price for their produce because of the glut and some of it is spoiled resulting in complete loss.

Introduction

Packaging and storage are two most important operations in post harvest supply chain of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables. The self-life, damage, loss, sale and profit from commodities depend on storage and packaging parameters. The primary objective of packaging of fruits and vegetables is to protect the contents during storage, transportation and distribution against deterioration, which may be physical, chemical, or biological. Packaging is hence provided at the point of production or processing or at distribution centers. Though packaging forms the last link in the chain of production, storage, marketing and distribution, it still plays an important role in delivering the contents safe from the ‘‘farm gate to the consumer plate.’’ Increase in production can have an impact on the consumer only when the food is wholesome, unadulterated and available under hygienic conditions at an economical price.

Fruit trees like ber, aonla, jamun, tamarind, custard apple, bael, lasora, phalsa, ker, pilu, etc well suited for arid environment, remained under exploited owing particularly to lack of appreciation of their quality as fruits, their economic potential and above all due to non-availability of the needed technology for their profitable cultivation. Because of their curative properties, these fruits have been used in Indian system of medicine such as Ayurvedic and Unani since time immemorial. Apart from their nutritive and medicinal values, quite a few of these underutilized fruits have excellent flavour and very attractive colour. In spite of these quality attributes, most have not undergone any conscious phase of domestication and human selection. Their cultivation is very restricted and they grow mainly wild. Being tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses, these fruit species are suitable for growing in the disaster- and drought-prone areas.India has a rich heritage of indigenous fruit types. Significant advances have been made in recent times towards providing technology support for their cultivation.

Introduction

Foods deteriorate in quality due to a wide range of reactions that may be physical, chemical or biological. The various forms of spoilage and food poisoning caused by micro-organisms are preventable to a large degree by a number of preservation techniques, most of which act by preventing or slowing microbial growth. These include freezing, chilling, drying, curing, conserving, vacuum packing, modified atmosphere packing, acidifying, fermenting, and adding preservatives. Thermal processes such as blanching, pasteurization or heat sterilization have long been employed in practice as economic, efficient, reliable and safe food preservation methods.

Introduction

Food processing is an important sector in agriculture, the scope of which has increased manifold that can help to prevent wastage of perishable commodities to a great extent. But, at the same time, the food processing industries generate a large quantity and variety of food products, provide employment to a large number of people and uplift their economic status. The production, processing and preparation of food, all results in generation of huge quantity of waste material causing health hazards due to environmental pollution. The waste material may be in the form of leaf/ straw, waste during harvesting, food preparation waste, after processing waste, unused material as waste, food processing operation waste, etc. The huge wastage of the food material is due to lack of control on such agri-economy practices. So, the disposal of waste material has become a challenge to the processors, as different agencies are pressurizing for an environment friendly treatment of waste material. The utilization of waste for the production of value added products is very important in the management of food processing waste.

Introduction
   
The major land mark in the primary food production is the Green revolution during sixties, eventually leading the country to self-sufficiency in food grains. At present, agriculture and allied sector contributes 22% of GDP in India. Total arable area in India is 184 million hectares contributing a total food grain production of 210.01 million tonnes. Horticultural crops including fruits, vegetables, flowers, plantation crops, spices and medicinal and aromatic plants have emerged as a major economic activity in India. Horticulture crops cover over 20.7  million hectares of area, which is approximately 11.25%  of the total gross cropped area of the country and contributes 18-20% of the gross value of India’s agricultural output. India is the world’s second largest fruit and vegetable producing country accounting for 81.29 million tonnes of fruit and 162.2 million tonnes of vegetables (Annon., 2013).

Introduction

In India, concern for the protection of intellectual properties took place way back in 1911 through the Indian Design Act.  Since then laws (Indian Patent Act, 1970 and its amendments) were enacted for the protection of various intellectual properties. However, the subject matter of intellectual property did not receive attention in agricultural sector, although scientists and farmers have been developing new plant varieties for almost the entire part of our agricultural history.  The development of new crop varieties on a scientific basis began only in the last 50 years with advanced knowledge of genetics and plant breeding. The entry of genetics into plant breeding resulted in major advances culminating in the development of high yielding hybrids and varieties. Indian agriculture witnessed the arrival of hybrids and high yielding crop varieties in the 1960s, during the Green Revolution.

Demand and Supply of Horticulture Produce

India’s horticulture production rose 30 per cent in the last five years — an impressive rise, considering growth in the preceding five years stood at about 23 per cent. India is currently producing 257.2 million tonnes of horticulture produce from an area of 23 million ha.The area under horticulture grew by about 3.8% per annum but production rose by 7.6% per annum. Improvement in productivity of horticultural crops was noted by about 28% between 2001-02 and 2011-12. Of the 140 million farmers in the country, horticulture engages about 20 million and also contributes about 30 per cent of India’s agricultural GDP. Horticulture contributes 37% of total exports of Agricultural commodities. India is among the foremost countries in horticulture production, just behind China.

Introducton

The Working Group Report of Fifth Assessment Report 2013, by UN’s Inter governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says, that to limit warming to a rise of 2ºC above pre industrial levels, 1000 gigatones (trillion tons) is the upper limit of CO₂ that can be emitted. However, by 2011, we have already emitted 531 gigatones since last 260 yrs and in next 25 years, we will cross 1000 gigatones limit. There is a clear long-term global warming trend. Notably, the 20 warmest years have all occurred since 1981, and the 10 warmest have all occurred in the past 12 years.

Weeds are unwanted and undesirable plants which interfere with the utilization of land and water resources and thus adversely affect human welfare. They can also be referred as plants out of place. Weeds rank first among different agricultural pests causing crop loss. About 30,000 species of weeds have been listed in the world, out of which 18,000 cause serious damage in different ways resulting in considerable loss to agricultural production.

Introduction

Insect pests cause enormous loss to horticultural crops through direct and indirect invasion on various plant parts. It is estimated from the available information in the literature that there are about 1000 insect pests species on about 100 major and minor horticultural crops in India (Sharma et al., 2011).  The yield and quality of produce are central system point to the sustainable horticultural production. If not properly managed, pests can dramatically reduce crop yield, quality and subsequent returns. We invest a lot of time, money and natural resources into growing horticultural crops. Good pest management could protect this investment from avoidable losses.

Introduction

Agriculture in general and horticulture in particular are highly vulnerable to year-to-year climatic variability. Farmers and other decision makers in agriculture make decisions based on their understanding of general climatic patterns for their regions. Crops are constantly threatened by pests such as insects and nematodes, as well as diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses and other micro-organisms. However, depending on weather conditions, the severity is very variable from year to year and often control strategies are applied without considering the climatic variability. Moreover, following the global climate change predictions, meteorological conditions triggering pest population/disease infection cycles are destined to increase, leading to consequent increase of the pests/diseases pressure. Sustainable plant protection strategies rely on weather and climate related pest and disease forecasting models in order to:

Introduction

Integrated disease management in horticultural crops are of paramount importance these days, keeping in view that a single management practice cannot control multiple diseases in a particular agro ecological system. It is therefore worthwhile that all management practices are integration of cultural, physical, biological and chemical control strategies. The routine application of fungicides for insurance purposes is not appropriate, as it does not focus the proper attention on the real problem and can lead to resistance and potential environmental issues. Fungal, bacterial, viral diseases cause a great damage to the horticultural crops thus resulting in economic losses to the farmers. The extent of damage varies from year to year, location wise and variety involved. The pathogens responsible for causing diseases affect the crop at various stages of their development right from seedling stage to harvest. The manifestation of a disease can be in the form of different symptoms viz., damping off, leaf spot, blight, wilt, etc. It is thus important to properly identify a particular disease in a crop on knowledgeable basis to reach a particular end of profitability. As such, a proper disease diagnosis is of paramount importance.

Introduction
  
Horticultural production can be highly profitable, increase employment opportunities, and bring about increasing commercialization of the rural sector. Horticulture thus has a role to play in a world where 1.1 billion people continue to live in extreme poverty on less than US$1 a day and another 1.6 billion who live between one and two dollars per day (Von Braun et al., 2004). While in past, priority to achieving self sufficiency in food grain production in our country, over the years, horticulture has emerged as an indispensable part of agriculture, offering a wide range of choices to the farmers for crop diversification. It also provides ample opportunities for sustaining large number of agro-industries which generate substantial employment opportunities. The horticulture sector contributes around 28% of the GDP from about 13.08% of the area and 37 % of the total exports of agricultural commodities (Annon, 2007).