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India has achieved tremendous increase in horticulture production after independence. Adoption of several production technologies developed by several agricultural universities across the countries boosted the production of the horticulture sector both by increasing area under various fruit crops as well as by elevating productivity. Though the country has acquired second position in world fruit production; the productivity is less than many under developed countries.Several reasons can be attributed for declining productivity; few of them are enlisted below.

• Cultivation of old and less bearing varieties
• Improper and unscientific management of fruit crops
• Large number of old and senile orchards with declining productivity
• Problems in flowering and fruiting due to aberrant climate especially during flowering and fruiting

Abstract

Among different acaricides evaluated, propargite (0.0285%) provided maximum control (98.6%) followed by fenzaquin (0.0025%) with 97.2 per cent control. Both propargite and fenzaquin were effective even 14 days after spray giving 71.0 to 80.6 per cent control. Horticultural mineral oils (1.0 %) were also effective and provided 87.7 to 93.8 per cent mortality of the pest after 24 hours of spray, however, their efficacy declined after 14 days of spray to 43.2 to 60.1 per cent. It was concluded that propargite (0.0285 % and 0.057%) and fenzaquin (0.001% and 0.0025%) provided effective control beyond 15 days of spray. Horticultural mineral oil treated plants, however, needed to be retreated in about 15 days.

The practice of official release of cultivars in India started in October, 1964 with the formation of the Central Variety Release Committee (CVRC) at the Central government level and State Variety Release Committee at State Government level. The Central Variety Release Committee functioned up to 1969 when its functions were taken over by the Central Seed Committee (CSC) established under the Seeds Act, 1966. The Central Seed Committee later on bifurcated CVRC and constituted (i) a Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops and (ii) a Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards Notification and Release of Varieties for Horticultural Crops to discharge the functions of release/notification, provisional notification and de-notification of cultivars at Central level for field and horticultural crops respectively. State Seed Sub-Committees (SSSC) were asked to discharge similar functions for release at State level. Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops is responsible for release and notification of field crops. This committee is chaired by ICAR-Deputy Director General (Crop Science). The members are drawn from Directors/Crop Coordinators of ICAR, Directors Agriculture from States, Directors Seed Certification Agencies, Managing Directors of State Seed Corporations, Representatives from Private Seed Companies, etc. 

Varietal release and notification comes under the purview of the Seeds Act which is intended to provide for regulating the quality of certain notified seeds for sale and for marketing and for the matters connected therewith. Released and notified varieties are offered for seed certification by the seed certification agencies which ensure that the varieties under certification meet certain prescribed field and seed standards failing which they stand to be rejected during the process of seed certification. This ensures seed quality and its availability to the farmers.

Purpose of Release

The purpose of Release of cultivars is to introduce the newly evolved varieties to the public and the farmers in particular for general cultivation in the region for which the variety is released and notified ensuring availability of seed of varieties according to their suitability and adaptation and avoiding mismatch. In other words, release of a cultivar is in the nature of a recommendation to the farmers for its adoption. Therefore, notification of a variety is linked to the release of a variety, though the release process itself does not have statutory cover.

ABSTRACT

Immature seeds of Garcinia indica were excised from the green fruits and cultured on Woody Plant Medium (WPM) with a combination of auxins and cytokinins. Somatic embryos were obtained on the media supplemented with BAP (0.5-5.0 mg/l) alone or in combination with NAA 90.5 mg/l) with 80 per cent frequency within a period of 2-3 weeks. Subculture of primary embryos on maturation medium containing BAP (3.0 mg/l) supplemented with IAA (0.5-1.0 mg/l) and / or Kinetin (1.0 mg/l) gave rise to clusters of secondary somatic embryos. In the subsequent subculture on hormone free half strength WPM the embryo clusters germinated with repetitive secondary embryogenesis. About 70 per cent somatic embryos germinated into complete plantlets, which were successfully transferred to the green house conditions.

Mode of reproduction
All the living organisms produce individuls of their own kind for the survival of their species which is called reproduction. Hence, reproduction is the biological process by which new individual organism (offspring) are produced from their “parents”. In vegetable crops, modes of reproduction may be sexual, asexual and both. Most of the vegetable crops viz., tomato, brinjal, chilli, sweet pepper, peas, cowpea, hyacinth bean, French bean, cluster bean, runner bean, fenugreek, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, knolkhol, Brussels sprouts, sprouting broccoli, radish, beet, turnip, carrot, onion, leek, amaranth, palak, spinach, asparagus, pumpkin, bottle gourd, watermelon, muskmelon, ridge gourd, snake gourd, wax gourd, summer squash, bitter gourd, cucumber, sweet corn, coriander, parsnip, etc. are exclusively propagated sexually for both commercial cultivation and breeding purpose. Some vegetable crops like, pointed gourd, teasle gourd, yam, taro, Jerusalem artichoke, globe artichoke, etc. are exclusively propagated through asexual mode of reproduction. On the other hand, some vegetable crops like, potato, sweet potato, cassava, annual moringa, etc. can be propagated by both sexual and asexual modes of reproduction however, they are generally propagated asexually for commercial cultivation and their sexual reproduction is employed for the purpose of breeding.

Reproduction

Since the life of an individual plant is limited in duration, it has developed certain mechanism by which it can reproduce itself inorder to continue the perpetuation of the species and also to multiply in number. Mode of reproduction determine the genetic constitution of crop plants, that is, whether the plants normally homozygous or heterozygous. A knowledge of the mode of reproduction of crop plants is also important for making artificial hybrids. The various modes of reproduction found in crop plants may be broadly grouped into the following two categories : (i) Asexual and (2) Sexual.

Asexual Reproduction

Heterosis breeding systems depend upon the reproduction system of plants, whether the plant is propagated asexually or sexually. Therefore, before development of hybrids, information regarding type of flower, flowering habits and floral biology is required in hybridization programme (emasculation and pollination). In a sexual reproduction, plants develop from vegetative parts of plants (vegetative propagation) or may develop from unfertilized gametes, ovular tissues, and modified cells (apomixes). Vegetative reproduction includes plant regeneration from underground stems such as tubers in potato, bulbs in onion and garlic, underground tubers such as sweet potato, corms in yams, and rhizomes in ginger and turmeric. In certain cases, aerial parts are used for propagation as stem cuttings in tapioca, sweet potato, watercress, and drumstick, root suckers in curry leaf and globe artichoke and turfts in chive. In apomixes, sexual reproduction or gamete fusion is replaced with other form of asexual reproduction. In this case, embryo develops without fertilization. Apomixis may be of different types: (1) Apogamy—where embryo develops from a gametic cell of embryo sac other than egg cell. Apogamy may be haploid or diploid. Diploid apogamy has been reported in onion. (2) Polyembryony—where more than one embryo develops from a seed, resulting in more than one seedling. In this case, embryos usually develop from nucellus integuments, or chalaza in addition to normal syngametic embryo. (3) Parthenogensis where embryo develops from an unfertilized egg. This may be at haploid or diploid level. Sometimes, embryo development take place from unfertilized egg of a diploid plant. This is called haploid parthenogenesis. It originates in plants due to environmental effects, especially due to effects of high or low temperature, use of foreign pollen, application of chemicals, and use of irradiated pollen. Haploids parthenogenesis produces haploids.

The capacity to reproduce is one of the most important characteristics of all living beings. Reproduction is a process of producing offspring and is aimed to preserve individual species. This is known for self-perpetuation. There are several modes of reproduction, which vary from species to species, in available conditions. All the reproductive methods of plants are broadly classified into two types, i.e., (i) asexual reproduction (apomixis) and (ii) sexual reproduction (amphimixis). In asexual reproduction, the new individuals are produced by any means other than the fusion of sex gametes. In sexual reproduction, the gametes from male (androecium) and female organs (gynoecium) of the flower are fused to produce a zygote (Schranz et al., 2005; Rodrigues et al., 2008). Amphmixis and apomixis are the two sides of same coin (Curtis and Grossniklaus, 2007).

Reproductive development determines flowering, pollination, fruit set, fruit growth, maturation, and ultimately horticultural productivity. This chapter introduces the physiological processes controlling flowering and reproductive development and explains the influence of environmental factors and plant hormones. Major plant growth regulators such as auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, and abscisic acid are considered in relation to horticultural applications. PGRs can influence rooting, flowering, fruit set, fruit size, thinning, ripening, dormancy, and senescence when used appropriately. The chapter emphasizes crop-specific concentration, timing, method of application, and environmental conditions, highlighting the importance of responsible PGR use for improving yield, quality, and marketability.

Gametogenesis

Male Gametogenesis: Male gametogenesis is the formation of male gametes and it occurs in the anthers. The end products of meiosis in higher plants are four microspores. Two mitotic divisions occur in microspores. The first division produces a tube nucleus and a generative nucleus. The second mitotic division occurs only in the generative nucleus resulting into production of two sperm cells (Fig. 3.1). The microspore is haploid (n) and develops into pollen grain in the anther, and the pollen grain further develops into a pollen tube on the stigma and in the style. The pollen tube, when it reaches the embryo sac is the fully developed male gametophyte and is trinucleate, two sperm cells and one tube nucleus.

A large number of arid and semi-arid fruit crops are used by the local inhabitants. These fruits are better known as protective food as cultivation is restricted and are grown mainly as wild. Being tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses, these fruit crops are suitable for growing in drought prone areas. Semi-arid fruits are the oldest fruit tree crops with wide distribution, reflecting their adaptation to a wide range of edapho-climatic conditions. Development of viable agro-techniques, propagation methods, canopy management, and biotic and abiotic stresses management are equally important for improving productivity and quality of arid and semi-arid fruit crops.

A. ICAR Agricultural Institutes

• Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), Post Box No. 181. Andaman Nicobar & Lakshwadeep Group of Islands, Port Blair.
• Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur, (Rajasthan). Website: www.icar.org.in (Rajasthan).
• Central Avian Research Institute (CARI), Izatnagar, (Uttar Pradesh)
• Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), Barrackpore (West Bengal). Web site: www.cifri.com.
• Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), P.O. No. 225, G.P.O., Panjari, Wardha Road, Nagpur (Maharashtra).
• Central Institute for Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA), P.O. Kausalyaganga, Bhubaneshwar (Orissa).

Several fruits and vegetables are unexploited for proper utilization and product development. Due to lack of utilization, there is a lot of wastage and ultimately the great loss to the people as well as nation. Some unexploited fruits and vegetables have potential for introducing new products. Therefore unexploited fruits and vegetables have to be exploited for new product development especially from underutilized sub-tropical and tropical fruits and vegetables. Research and development should be undertaken to utilize these fruits and vegetables.

Unexploited Fruits

Unripe Green Mango: Although pickles are prepared but droped green mango fruits are not preferred for pickle preparation. They can be dried and utilized for preparation of dried slices or amchur. Amchur is used to develop flavor and taste in Ice cream. These products are used to develop flavor and taste in meal or food. It is also used to prepare chatney. But utilization of Amchur is not known to common people.

Avocado: It is found in tropical and sub-tropical climatic regions having more humidity and rainfall. In Ethiopia it is found throughout the country but not utilized properly by people. They prefer to eat ripe fruits with salt and lime juice. It is very healthy fruit for chronic disease like cardiac and diabeted diseases. This is seasonal use but no product is available for off season. Therefore researches should be carried out for different products development of Avocado products.

Respiration is the oxidative breakdown of complex substrate molecules such as starch, sugars, and organic acids normally present in plant cells to simpler molecules such as carbon dioxide and water. Concomitant with this catabolic reaction is the production of energy and intermediate molecules that are required to sustain the myriad of metabolic reactions essential for the maintenance of cellular organization and membrane integrity of living cells. Since respiration rate is so tightly coupled to the rate of metabolism, the measurements of respiration provide an easy non-destructive means of monitoring the metabolic and physiological state of tissues, e.g., the events of senescence and ripening are often signaled by abrupt changes in respiration.

Maintaining a supply of high-energy compounds like adenosine triphosphate (ATP), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and pyrophosphate (PPi) is a primary function of respiration. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide plays very important role in mitochondrial matrix (Moller and Ramusson, 1998). The overall process of aerobic respiration involves regeneration of ATP from adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate (P_i) with the release of carbon dioxide and water. If glucose is used diphosphatas substrate, the overall equation for respiration can be written as follows:

It is a most deteriorating biological process of the harvested fruits and vegetables that leads to the oxidative breakdown of the complex material (carbohydrates or acids) of cell into simpler molecules (CO₂ & water) with production of energy. Respiration includes glycolysis metabolism, aerobic metabolism, anaerobic metabolism, trycarboxilic acid cycle and electron transport metabolism processes.

Among abiotic stresses, low and high temperature stress is very critical for determining the agricultural production. Plants exhibit a maximum rate of growth and development at an optimum temperature or over a diurnal range of temperatures (Fitter and Hay, 1981). When ambient temperature deviates from optimal, physiological, biochemical, metabolic and molecular changes occur within plants. This is an effort of plants to maximize growth and developmental processes and to maintain cellular homeostasis during such adverse conditions. Under increasingly stressful conditions, plants experience progressively more abnormal, impaired or dysfunctional cellular and whole-plant processes until the cardinal temperatures for survival are reached (Fitter and Hay, 1981). At the extremes of the natural temperature range of a plant, the degree of physiological, cellular, metabolic and molecular dysfunction becomes so severe that it leads to death.

Growth constraints and stress result in significant crop losses and therefore the mechanisms underlying endurance and adaptation to these changes have long been the focus of intense research (Bray 2004). Kültz (2005) elaborated two types of responses to a particular kind of stress:

Fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, plantation crops and spices, medicinal and aromatic plants, tubers, are the major horticultural crops contributing to the economic growth in India. Even though the horticultural sector is growing fast, with India being the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, the productivity and quality have to be improved in order to meet the demand of increasing population. Under these circumstances, ecofriendly techniques needs to be adopted which could ensure food security and sustainable production. Indiscriminate application of agrochemicals and chemical fertilizers in horticultural crops and their residues could harm the human health, soil and environment. Horticultural crops need an ecofriendly technique, as most of the horticultural products are directly consumed. Hence, there should not be any residues of agrochemicals in food products. In the current context, use of ecofriendly, cost effective and organic-based inputs like biofertilizers can maintain health of the soil and good quality in horticultural crops. The application of biofertilizers offers an attractive and sustainable means of improving the quality of food products. Biofertilizers like Azotobacter, Azospirillum and AMF and PGPRs not only supplies the required nutrients to plants, but improves the fruit quality and quantity (Pathak et al., 2017).

The response to selection (R) or selection advance or genetic gain is the difference between the mean phenotypic value of the offspring of the selected parents and the whole of the parental generation before selection. The response to selection is simply the change of population mean between generations following selection. Similarly, the selection differential (S) is the mean phenotypic value of the individuals selected as parents expressed as a deviation from the population mean (i.e., from the mean phenotypic value of all the individuals in the parental generation before selection). Response to selection is related to heritability by the following equation:

Restricted pesticides for use

1. Aluminium phosphide Captafol
2. Carbaryl
3. Dieldrin
4. Methyl bromide
5. Ethylene dibromide (EDB)
6. Sodium cyanide
7. Lindane
8. Methyl parathion
9. Monocrotophos
10. Chlorbenzilate

Preserving plant materials in a dried form is not a new idea. It has been considered as an art for hundreds of years. Fragrant dried herbs were placed in Egyptian pyramids. Dry flower arrangements have been popular in Europe for several centuries. During 1700 A.D, the early American settlers used dry flowers to brighten their homes. Any plant material can be preserved for use as dry flowers (Al Pertuit, 2004). Though enormous work is being done in this field, most of the literature is published by horticulture amateurs. Scientific work in this area is less. However, a review of the research work done in dry flower technology is discussed in detail.