eChapters

12.1. Common Term Used • GATT (General Agreements on Tariffs & Trade) • WTO (World Trade Organization) • TRIPS (Trade Related Intellectual Property Right)/IPR/Pateni/Copy right/ Trademark /G.l./Sui generis system etc. • UPOV/PVP/PBR/Farmer’s Right • CBD (Convention on Biodiversity) What is GATT? • Established in 1948 (after 2nd World War) • For the smooth conduct of trade by 22 countries (India was the party) • Several negotiations • Usually trades related to industries • Eight round at Uruguay in 1986 • First time issues on agricultural trade, textile, investment, IPR were discussed • (moral victory for the developing world especially county like IndiaWhat is WTO? • WTO is the only international organization dealing with global rule of trade (through revised GATT agreement; also called as GATT Rule Book) • On 15th April 1994 (1986-194) in Mexico, 125 countries signed the agreement • On 1 January 1995, came in force as WTO • HQ: Geneva; —140 members; wwwAvto.org Function of WTO • Administrating trade agreements. • Providing forum for trade negotiations. / • Settling trade disputes (DSC). • Reviewing national trade policies. • Technical assistance (training). • Cooperating with other institions organizations

5.1 Introduction

The application of chemical pesticides is crucial in horticultural production, but it is also one of the most hazardous agricultural operations. Overapplication can lead to significant environmental concerns. Spraying is vital for reducing harvest losses and improving productivity. According to Cho et al.,(2012), 30-35% of production damages can be prevented by reducing harmful insects and diseases through spraying. Plant protection is essential for ensuring yield quantity and quality. Effective pesticide use is crucial, as excessive application can lead to pests developing immunity, destruction of beneficial insects and natural pest enemies, and increased harmful insect populations. Excessive pesticide use also disrupts pollination, preventing fruit formation. The method of pesticide application is key to targeting the correct quantity and quality, reducing environmental contamination, and increasing sustainability (Abbas et al., 2020). Site-specific application rates in precision horticulture can decrease pesticide use. Only 30-40% of pesticides typically reach their targets, with most lost to the environment, contaminating workers and causing pollution. Protecting plants with chemicals aims to prevent infections and ensure healthy growth.

Spray drift can harm non-target plants and contaminate watercourses, posing a severe and costly problem for horticultural farmers using air-assisted variable sprayers (Seol et al., 2022). Spray drift refers to airborne spray droplets moving beyond the intended application area from aerial or ground-based methods. Studies have found that a significant portion of pesticides is lost to the air and ground, with up to 30-50% of the applied pesticides being lost through various means (Abbas et al., 2020). Modern trends emphasize the importance of sensors and precision agriculture for effective pesticide use. Understanding tree canopy physical features is crucial for effective spray application. This study focuses on recognizing and geometrically classifying canopies for adequate pesticide protection. Variable rate spraying targets only the canopy, enhancing pesticide application efficiency (Rathnayake et al., 2022). Electronic methods and innovative equipment reduce operational and environmental costs. Sensors tracking canopy characteristics and spacing ensure optimal use of inputs, promoting sustainability.

Since time immemorial India has been leader in respect to spice, area, production and consumption. India is known as ‘Land of spices. Out of 109 spices listed by the ISO, India produce as many as 63 owing to its varied agroclimatic regions. Almost all the state and union territory of the country grow one or the other spices. Spices are the sources of livelihood and employment for large number of people in the country. Seed spices are annual herbs, whose dried seeds or fruit are used as spices. Spices are the nature’s gift to mankind and since antiquity, spices have been considered indispensable in the culinary art, as they are used to flavour foods and beverages The important seed spices are coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek. ajwain, dill,, celery, anise, nigella and caraway. The other seed spices s are poppy seed, rai, yellow mustard, white mustard, parsley and sesame. In India, Rajasthan and Gujarat has emerged as “Seed spice bowl” and together contributes more than 80 percent of total seed spices.

Burgeoning population exerts pressure on limited precious natural resources for enhancing production of food, fodder and fuel. In order to meet out increasing demand for food, fruit, vegetables, oilseeds, fodder and timber wood for burgeoning population, it is necessary to utilize each unit of natural rsesource very efficiently. The productivity of the precious natural resources is to be enhanced per unit time per unit area by agronomic ally managing stresses soil and land ecosystem to harvest more benefit. The cropping system as well as intercropping system practised by using different trees, fruits, vegetables, crops are the very efficient enterprises for realising higher productivity of natural resources available with in specified ecosystem.

Founded in 1924, with the aim to develop and publish standard procedures in the field of seed testing, with member laboratories in over 70 countries world wide. ISTA membership is truly a global network. ISTA secretariat is located at Zurich, Switzerland.

1. VISION AND MISSION

ISTA members work together to achieve their vision of ‘Uniformity in seed quality evaluation worldwide’. The association produces Internationally agreed rules for seed sampling and testing, accredits laboratories, promotes research, provides International seed analysis certificates and training and disseminates knowledge in Seed Science and Technology. This facilitates seed trading Nationally and Internationally and also contributes to food security.

The intervarietal chromosome substitution lines of wheat (T. aestivum) are utilized to study the effects of individual whole chromosome/s on agronomic characters of interest to improve crop plants to be selected for preferred traits (Law and Worland 1973). The common method to develop subsitutiion lines involves development of monosomics lines first of that variety which are used later as recipient variety or recurrent parent for substitution. Presently monosomic lines of several wheat varieties are available. However, the development of substitution lines for a specific chromosome by using monosomics sometimes may be erroroneus due replacement of specific monosome by another one of the 21 chromosome set from the donor to the recipient and consequently monosomic becomes monosomic for another chromosome or a recombined chromosome (univalent shift.). Therefore, to maintainand confirmthe identityof a chromosome involved in monosomy are tagged with either genetic marker/s or confirmed cytologically or with the help of molecular markers.

Crops that are not part of the customary diet of the local population and grown primarily for their high cash values and export potential are categorized as non- traditional. Non-traditional crops are usually cultivated on low acreage, crops such as ethnic fruits and vegetables, culinary and medicinal herbs, plants for industrial uses etc. are usually considered as non-traditional fruit crops. A non traditional crop may be new to a region or simply new to the grower. Many times non-traditional crops are cultivated to adapt to changing trends in agriculture and demographics.

For growing non-traditional crop proper planning is required to build a comprehensive business case. Realistic assessment of the potential risks and gains is necessary before actual implementation. All aspects of non-traditional crop production, including the agronomics of growing the crop, potential food safety and regulatory issues and marketing needs to be reviewed. Experience of producing conventional crops may not necessarily be directly applicable in producing non-traditional crops.

In modern agriculture, use of synthetic chemical fertilizers are essential in agriculture for sustainable yield but, these have resulted in environmental pollution. The use of synthetic fertilizer could result in serious human health issues and also affects the soil microflora, besides being costly due to high production cost. Further, excess use affects soil processes and result in nutrient imbalances in plants with increased susceptibility to pests and diseases and also affects the symbiotic associations. Under these circumstances, biofertilizers could be an alternative for integrated nutrient management system in horticulture. The entire crop production system depends on soil beneficial microflora and their activities, which makes them highly potential alternatives to synthetic chemical fertilizers.

Biofertilizers or microbial fertilizers are essential for eco-friendly and sustainable cultural practices. The term “biofertiliser” has been defined in several ways due to its unique relationships between the plant and rhizosphere microflora. Biofertilizers mainly include nitrogen fixing bacteria, phosphate solublizing and potash solubiling bacteria.

The term ‘Horticulture’ is derived from two Latin words, Hortus meaning Garden and Cultura meaning Cultivation. In ancient days the gardens had protected enclosures with high walls or similar structures surrounding the houses. The enclosed places were used to grow fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants. Horticulture differs from agriculture and forestry in specializing the cultivation of garden crops. The garden crops include fruits, vegetables, flowers, ornamental trees, spices, plantations, medicinal and aromatic plants. Horticultural crops do not give food grains. The products of horticultural crops such as fruits and vegetables are highly perishable so that they are utilized in the fresh state. In general horticultural crops need more intensive cultivation (i.e. need more work) than the agricultural crops.

Special Features of Horticulture

As horticultural crops generally need intensive cultivation, they require a large input, capital, labour and technology per unit area of land.

Many cultural operations are specific to horticultural crops. The cultural operations such as propagation, fertilization, training, pruning, harvesting and marketing are skilled operations and these are specific to horticultural crops.

Mostly the horticultural products are utilized in the fresh state and are highly perishable.

Most of the horticultural crops are the rich sources of vitamins and minerals.

Gratification or aesthetic sense is an exclusive phenomenon for horticultural science.

Several definitions of plant breeding have been put forward. All of these have a core component of the definition that is “the art and science of improving the heredity of plants for the benefit of the humankind” as mentioned by famous plant breeding teacher and a popular plant breeding text book author, J. M. Poehlman. N. I. Vavilov has defined plant breeding as “evolution directed by the will of the man”. The most modern definition of plant breeding by Bernardo (2002) is “plant breeding is the science, art, and business of improving plants for human benefit”. A few more definitions on these lines given by several other famous plant breeders are as follows.

Seed

• In broad sense, seed is a material which is used for planting or regeneration purpose. However, scientifically, seed is a fertilized matured ovule together covered with seed coat is called seed or it is a propagating material i.e., part of agriculture, sericulture, silviculture and horticultural plants used for sowing or planting purpose.
• Seed is a mature integumented megasporangium or mature ovule consisting of embryonic plants together with store food material covered by a protective coat.
• Seeds are fertilised, mature ovules, the result of sexual reproduction in plants. Not all plants produce seed (some produce spores or reproduce vegetatively) but most of the higher plants produce seed.
• It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant.
• The formation of the seed completes the process of reproduction in plants (started with the development of flowers and pollination), with the embryo developed from the zygote and the seed coat from the integuments of the ovule.

1.1 Importance

Perfumes, essential oils and aroma are some of the products which indicate religious values, living standards, personality development for personal use and adornment from years back. The Vedic literatures also indicate the presence of perfumes and aromatics and were used for religious purposes as well as medicinal purposes. The word perfume has been used today to describe scented mixtures and is derived from the Latin word, “per fumum”, meaning through smoke. Perfumery has been one of the Indian arts and was a famous centre for perfume and perfume products. The essential oil means a class of volatile odoriferous oils, obtained from raw material of botanical source that impart the plant odour and other characteristic properties derived through distillation (usually with water or steam) or expression and obtained in the form of an oily liquid. The oils extracted through expression are some time called “Expression oils”. The aromatic substances being used from the Vedic period are defined as those plants which possess odoriferous steam volatile constituent’s (essential oil) in them.

Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia and USA are the major producers of aromatic materials. China is becoming increasingly important as a primary source and a very large quantity of aromatics and flowers as raw material is available. European Union and Switzerland are the main world markets for aromatics and also has established as a largest consumer of essential oils. The world’s largest importer of aromatic materials is the USA followed by Japan. The latter accounts for about 10% of world demand especially for lemon, clove, orange, peppermint and cedar wood oil.

India exports essential oils of lemongrass, mint, sandalwood, palmarosa, cardamom, ginger and eucalyptus in adequate quantity under AGMARK certification. But, for a better export quality there is a need to study the customer requirements, quality assurance and standards to keep pace with International market, Total Quality Management (TQM) through adulteration detection and modern analysis techniques with economic marketing channels.

India possesses a number of resources as plant parts, ample land and varied climatic conditions with low production costs but the essential oil producers need to study the customer needs for a regular supply of best quality products at a competitive rates. Today, second important factor for successful competition is the quality assurance. The consumers, these days, are very much aware about the quality and safety of using perfumes, essential oils and other pharmaceutical products. The third most important point is the packaging which attracts the consumers most of the times. Proper packaging along with an attractive label is always a plus point for the marketing of any product. Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Good Manfacturing Practices (GMP’s) are the quality assurance systems which continuously controls and regulate the quality production of commodities, needs strict enforcement. ISO 9000, TQM and ISO 14000 series are the some of quality management organizations, working for the development of quality standards.

Years ago before becoming the food producers, humans, for years remained food gatherers and the food collected from wild was sufficient to satisfy the food needs of human on the earth. The ever increasing population demanded more food to quench their hunger which is mainly served by plants but plants have limited intrinsic potential or threshold limit upto which it can put on biomass which ultimately could be consumed as food. Though by making certain modifications in the genetic make-up of the plant, the output can be altered. Before attempting any modification in the genetic make-up, it is necessary to understand the genetics and genetic behavior of the targeted plant. So the aim of studying the genetics and genetic behavior of the plants is to improve the quality and quantity of the produce. The inferences of genetics cannot be directly applied to the improvement but the principles of genetics and the genetic behaviors are set into particular situations. This part of genetics which deals with the improvement of the quality and quantity of the produce with the aim of benefitting mankind is called plant breeding.

As per the projection of International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, there is likelihood of shortfall of 41% in food production in India by 2020 and need to produce 300mt of food by 2020. India is the seventh largest country in the world with a population of more than 1.03 billion and with 1.93 population growth rate. To overcome such problems we have to go for horizontal or vertical increase in production. As the cultivable area and water resources are limited to bring under cropping, except by way of increasing the cropping intensity/cropping system, horizontal increase has little scope. While the vertical increase in production has tremendous scope with better value added varieties and farmer friendly sustainable management and production technologies.

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

Fruits and vegetables are very important food commodities. India has become the largest producer of fruits and the second largest producer of vegetables. Though the production of fruits and vegetables make us believe in our strength for self-sufficiency, a significant qualitative and quantitative loss occur in the produce from harvest till consumption.  For self sufficiency and also for processing, export and to meet additional requirements, a lot of emphasis need to be given to reduce post harvest losses, besides increasing  production and productivity of horticultural produces. Processing plays an important role in  conservation and effective utilisation of these perishable commodities. However, only less than 2% of total production of fruits and vegetables are processed.  The new industrial policy has placed this sector in the list of high priority areas.

Even since, the man adopted plant cultivation; he attempted various methods of propagation. In ancient time, the only source of plant multiplication was by seeds. Hence, techniques for higher seed germination, improved seed vigour were developed by giving pre-treatment. However, as the knowledge advanced and demands for having true to type plants was realized to man shifted his cultivation practices for some plants from seed to vegetative propagation such as cutting, layering and grafting. The use of cuttings, corm, bulbs, tubers  for multiplication were known to ancient peoples as mentioned in old literature. This method also gave an edge to conserve the genetic gain once developed in a cultivar, since all vegetatively multiplied plants will have some genome and will produce true to type plants. Thus, the development of vegetative propagation method because it is easy method to multiply plants on large scale and develop uniform quality produce.

India is famous as the ‘Land of Spices’ world over. Spices are nature’s gift to humankind for flavoring our food. They are also used as preservative and in pharmaceuticals. India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of seed spices and their value added products. About 63 different spice crops are cultivated in the country. Among them, seed spices are annual herbs, whose dried seeds or fruits are used as spices. These crops share 21.87% in terms of quantity and 7.42 % in terms of value to total spices export in the country. The country grows a wide variety of seed spices like coriander, cumin, fenugreek and fennel as major crop, while, dill, nigella, ajwain, anise, celery, caraway, parsley, black cumin and few other are categories as the minor seed spices.

Seed technology is defined as “that discipline of study having to do with seed production, maintenance quality and preservation (Cowan, 1973).

Feistritzer (1975) has defined seed technology as the method through which the genetic and physical characteristic of seeds could be improved. It involves such activities as variety development, evaluation and release, seed production, seed processing, seed storage, seed testing, seed certification, seed quality control and seed marketing etc.

So seed technology in widest sense, includes development of superior crop plant varieties, their evaluation and release, seed production, seed processing, seed storage, seed testing, seed certification, seed quality control, seed marketing, seed distribution and the related research on these aspects,

The major goal of seed technology is to increase agricultural production through the spread of good quality seeds of high yielding varieties. To achieve this goal, the quality seeds must be rapidly multiplied and supplied to the farmers at proper time with the reasonable price.

1.    The term Horticulture is derived from two Latin words  Hortus meaning = Garden and Cultura meaning = Cultivation.

2.    In ancient days the gardens had protected enclosures with high walls or similar structures surrounding the houses.

3.    The enclosed places were used to grow fruit, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants. Therefore, in original sense “Horticulture refers to cultivation of garden plant within protected enclosures”.

Definition: Horticulture is the branch of science which deals the cultivation, utilization and management of horticultural crops eg. fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, plantations, medicinal and aromatic plants.

Vegetables are rich source of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Phytochemical contents in vegetables and their strong antioxidant potential in scavergering ree radicals have generated tremendous attention among the consumers. Consumption of vegetables has significant health-promoting effect and can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and various other degenerative diseases. Human health, in recent years, has assumed an unprecedented status. The rising population levels, increase in mental stress and changes in dietary habits have resulted in various forms of degenerative diseases including cardiovascular, cancer and ageing. As a result, there has been an alarming explosion in consumers’ interest in health. In recent past, tremendous progress has been made for increasing vegetable production in the country. India has emerged as the second largest producer of vegetables next to China. During 2000-2001, India produced 93.92 million tonnes of vegetables from 6.24 million ha of land, accounting a productivity of 15.0 tonnes/ha. During 1991-1992, total vegetable production was 58.54 million tonnes from 5.59 million ha of land, with productivity of 10.5 tonnes/ha. Thus, in last one decade country has multiplied its vegetable production one-and-a-half times. Presently, India’s share is more than 13.60%. Our country will need to produce 215 million tonnes vegetables by 2015 to meet the demand of domestic and export markets. The increase in vegetable production by increasing area under vegetable cultivation is limited due to continued decrease of land holdings. Hence, it is essential to increase vegetable productivity to fulfill country’s requirements for food and nutritional security and poverty alleviation.

1.1 Introducution

Growing of vegetables is one of the most profitable allied activities of agriculture especially in small-medium land holdings and with limited water resources. Use of improved varieties and hybrids is very critical to make smaller land holdings profitable. Seeds of improved varieties and hybrids not only increase income to the tune of more than 30% but also reduce the use of plant protection chemicals. India being the second largest producer of vegetables in the world with 6.2 m ha of land and 85m MT production-use of improved seed is very important. The annual requirement of vegetables is estimated to be over 135m MT which can be only achieved through use of quality seed. India is predominantly vegetarian country and depends upon vegetables for their nutrients and minerals.

Vegetable cultivation is labour intensive, gives high returns and ensures nutritional security. To ensure these the supply of quality seed is very vital. Apart from seed production, its processing for seed quality to give the end user is of high importance. Unlike seed processing of field crops, vegetable seed processing is very technology driven since the volume is less and involve costly material. Improved processing efficiency brings more income for the grower and seller. The vegetable seed being low volume needs better technology for upgrading, size grading, blending, conditioning, processing, treatment and packaging. Vegetable seed processing is set of activities as mentioned here each of having a special focus on the quality.

Horticultural crops include the fruit crops, vegetables, spices, plantation crops, medicinal plants, aromatic plants, commercial flower crops and ornamental plants.

Knowledge on the methods by which these reproduce is of primary importance from the standpoint of plant breeding. Besides, their annual or perennial nature also decides the methods of breeding to be adopted to get desired improvement.

Two divisions of methods of reproduction commonly recognized are:

1. Asexual i.e. vegetative parts of the plants are utilized to produce new individuals.

2. Sexual i.e. gametic fusion, the resultant zygote develops into seed which is utilized to produce new individual.

This group can be further placed in several sub divisions according to the mode of pollination. They are

a. Naturally self pollinated crop - (e.g. tomato, pepper, brinjal) wherein cross pollination occurs less than 4 % only.

b. Often cross pollinated crop- (e.g. chillies, bhendi) wherein though self pollination is more frequent, cross- pollination may occur so frequently that some methods of preventing cross pollination between varieties and strains of different genotypic constitution must be followed throughout the breeding programme.
Common breeding methods can be applied to the above two groups, however, the parents chosen for breeding under often cross pollinated crop need to be selfed for few generations to select desirable, homozygous lines.

1.1. History of Cultivation

Prehistoric people lived as hunters and gatherers. About ten thousand years since now they unveiled the mystery of germination and engaged themselves in production of plant from seed. Since then it was practiced in the open field fully exposed to sun, rainfall, ambient temperature & humidity, etc. Gradually, with the development of society, they improved the package of practice and became accustomed to produce better crop in accordance with these natural conditions.

Backdrop of modern agriculture technology: Since the late 19^th century, population all over the world increased rapidly, which demanded more food production. This situation prompted crop production as a profitable business. New scientific inventions were incorporated in farming practices to increase the production per unit area (yield). On the other hand, repeated cultivation of same or similar crops in the same land, year after years, gradually reduced the productivity of soil. Hence, need arose for increase of crop yield through further improvement in farming technology.

First-phase development: The incorporation of ‘chemicals’ into the soil as plant nutrients(fertilizers) coupled with the use of ‘high-yielding varieties’ changed the scenario of crop production in the sixties of last century. This, along with ‘mechanization’, increased crop yield many-fold and helped to bring large areas under the plough. Countries, which developed these technologies, made good amount of money/profit from this development. Gradually, the rest of the world adopted or purchased these technologies particularly to meet up the rising demand of food in their respective country.

Subsequent problem: This systemof cultivation solvedthe food scarcity problem initially but use of chemicals, cultivation of similar crop over a large area etc. destroyed the agro- ecological balance. These technological developments, coupled with adoption of labour saving technologies, gradually created problems like gradual loss of soil health, lowering of nutrient-use-efficiency and subsequent yield. This invited severe attack of pests like insect, disease, weed and related social problem like unemployment.

Vegetables are important accompaniments for the main course of meal, which is by and large a carbohydrate-based food (wheat, rice or millets). It not only makes the meal more palatable, but also wholesome with its diverse color, smell and taste. More importantly it facilitates the easy movement of food through the bowel, better absorption by the body and till the elimination. Besides hunger satiation, it helps to maintain the health by providing the essential micronutrients and prevent lifestyle disorders.

As a nutritious food, it provides the vitamins, minerals and phyto-chemicals which are required in small quantities for physiological processes and metabolic activities. They are cheap sources of beta-carotene, vitamin-B complex, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, etc. They are rich in minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, etc., and dietary fibres. It has now been proved that minerals are better absorbed by the body in presence of several other factors of plant matrix, than as mineral supplements. It also provides small amounts of carbohydrates and proteins. Vegetables are important as protective foods as their consumption prevents many diseases. They are important sources of antioxidants and phytochemicals. Each vegetable has been found to have certain specific phyto-chemical which besides being a free radical scavenger, is also inhibitor of certain conditions responsible for disease development.

Among the vegetables, tubers like cassava, potato and sweet potato being highly rich in carbohydrates, served as staples for several countries for very long time, in the history. For the same reason, there are a variety of food products based on these tubers. Others like carrot, radish, beetroot, and turnip in root vegetables, onion and garlic among bulbous crops; tomato, brinjal (egg plant), okra and capsicum among fruit vegetables serve as sources of phytochemicals (carotenoids, anthcyanins, lycopene, betalain, capsicum, bassiniloids, etc.). Beans, peas, cowpea, and other leguminous vegetables are important sources of proteins and leafy vegetables (greens) contribute to the much-needed minerals, vitamins and fibre (roughages) in the diet. Allicin and diallyl disulphide found in onion and garlic control blood cholesterol besides being anti-bacterial. The diphenylamine in onion is effective against diabetes. The ‘Charantin’ found in bitter gourd have hypoglycaemic activity. Diosgenin in yams are used for manufacture of contraceptive drugs. Cole crops like cabbage, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and sprouting broccoli have anti-carcinogenic properties mainly due to hydrolysed glucosinolate derived isothiocynates and indoles. Similarly, health benefits and curative properties of many indigenous and exotic vegetables have been mentioned in several classical texts of India and China.

Agriculture has been the base of human livelihood since ancient time when the man started planting of seeds of some edible plants now called Agricultural crops. Domestication of food plants and animals was started with the development of human civilization. Thus agriculture can be explained as science and technology of growing food crops and rearing of animals. Still in several countries of the world, most of population is based on agriculture for their livelihood particularly in rural areas of that country. According to Williams and Haq (2002) there are over 7000 species of plants that can be used for food. The edible plants species grown for food are called agricultural crops. The crops grown in garden are known as garden cops or Horticulture crops. Horticulture is a branch of agriculture, which deals with intensive cultivation of garden crops such as fruits, vegetables, f lowers, ornamental plants, plantation crops, spices, medicinal and aromatic plants, and mushroom. It also deals with post-harvest technology of horticultural crops. Processing and Preservation of fruits and vegetables is a part of Post-harvest Technology of horticultural crops which deals with methods of processing and preservation of these crops to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables after harvesting.

All horticultural crops have their own importance in our society. Fruits, vegetables and spices are major ingredients of our meal. Spices add taste and flavor to our food and also have high medicinal values. Flowers and ornamental plants are used for decoration of environment and landscape. Aromatic and plantation crops have become industrial crops. Mushroom growing is a great enterprise. Among these crops fruits and vegetables are major crops and have been considered presently as highly economical and important food crops. There are 1200 crop species are used for vegetable purpose in the world (Hazra and Som, 2006). Fruits and vegetables are richest and cheapest source of all essential nutrients (carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins and minerals) required by our body for proper functioning of body organs and maintaining good health. Besides these nutrients they also supply water and fibers to our body which play vital roles in our body. Fruits and vegetables have important place in our daily diet and based on survey made by experts FAO WHO (2003) has recommended 400 g/capita/day of fruit and vegetables (fruits -100 g/capita/day and vegetables -300 g/capita/day) to be consumed for good health and prevent chronic diseases. Therefore, the demand of these food commodities has increased in the modern society due to increased awareness of the nutritional importance of fruits and vegetables. So that people must be aware that what part of fruit and vegetable is to be consumed?

1. FOOD AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

Food is the basic necessity of all the living world and the man is no exception to this. The basic purpose of food is to provide energy for the routine body functions and protect the body from various diseases. Life cannot be sustained without adequate nourishment for a healthy and active life, diets should therefore, be planned and consumed on sound nutritional principles (Fig. 1). For want of nutritious foods, consequence is the prevalence of malnutrition. There are several diseases that are related with deficiency of nutrition food, if not consumed. Such diseases include Kwashiorkor that can develop in children consuming insufficient protein even if total calories are sufficient. Marasmus is often due to the cessation of breast feeding and the attempt to replace it with foods, inadequate in protein such as rice broth. Other nutritional diseases still found particularly in the developing world are childhood blindness (vitamin A deficiency), rickets (vitamin D deficiency), beri-beri and infantile beri-beri (inadequate thiamin intake), pellagra (inadequate niacin intake), anemia (iron deficiency), goiter (iodine deficiency), etc. To cope up with this, the diet needs to be supplemented with nutritious food components including fruits and vegetables to make it more suitable for the growth and development of body.

Out of different types of foods, the fruits and vegetables constitute an important component of the food. Horticultural crops occupy a prominent position both in the importance and production in the world. The temperate fruits and vegetables are an important part of the horticultural crops, in terms of production and role in human health. These crops assume all the more importance due to their antioxidant activity, and presence of minerals and vitamins. Both fresh and processed fruits and vegetable, their different products are consumed. They are also called as protective foods. Fruits and vegetables are major sources of important vitamins like B and C and minerals such as Ca, Fe, P and K.

India had fourfold increase in population from 0.3 billion to 1.34 billion and registered a fivefold increase in food grain production from 50 million tons to
285 million tons in 2018 (Paroda, 2020). 

Vegetables are defined as edible herbaceous plants or parts of plants consumed as raw or after cooking and are rich in vitamins and minerals, low in calorific value and neutralize the acid substances produced during digestion of high energy foods. Olericulture is a branch of horticulture that deals with production, storage, processing and marketing of vegetables and has its origin when man started growing vegetables for human consumption. The term Olericulture comes from Latin words holus-holeris = any kind of culinary vegetable, pot herb, and cultura = to cultivate.

Vegetable crops include a large number of plants, mostly annuals and a few perennials, grown for their edible leaves, stem, flower buds, flowers, fruits and roots. Vegetables are integral part of a balanced diet and are considered as “Protective foods” as their consumption prevent several diseases. They have a prominent role in combating malnutrition of animals and human beings.

The word ‘horticulture’ was first conceived by Peter Laurinburg. In an English language, the word horticulture used for the first time in 1678 in a book entitled “New World of Words” by Phillips. The term HORTICULTURE is resultant of two Latin words i.e. HORTUS meaning GARDEN and CULTURA meaning CULTIVATION.

The Latin term ‘Garden’ meaning to enclose. In past, the garden had protection with with walls or other similar structures. Such protected places were used to grow fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants. When fruits are grown in a definite area, that area is called as an ‘orchard’. Thus, horticulture refers to cultivation of garden plants in protected enclosures. It is an aesthetic science deals with the garden crops. Such as growing of vegetable crops in vegetable gardens; fruit crops in fruit gardens. The most distinguished character between horticulture and agriculture is that horticulture deals with small scale gardening and usually in enclosed gardens although this is not a necessity, while agriculture is done on large scale with extensive crop cultivation.

Seed is the primary and most critical input in any crop production programme. A quality seed alone contributes around 15-20% towards total production. The efficacy of all other inputs to increase production will be in vain if the quality of the seed is poor. Hence, use of quality seed is crucial as it appreciably increase the productivity of the crop without depending much on other inputs. This adds to the old saying in Manu Smriti good seed in good field yield abundantly .A quality seed can be defined as genetically and physically pure seeds with high germination percentage, free from seed borne pathogens and safe moisture content. This guarantees good germination, vigorous growth, and good establishment of crop in the field.

History of Seed Industry in India

Farmers dependent mostly on traditional indigenous varieties earlier and its seed requirements were met through their own farm saved seeds or through local sources. But the quality of these seed stocks was not assured, and this resulted in drastic reduction in production as well as productivity of the crops. As a result of various crop improvement programmes, improved varieties possessing high yield potential along with additional characters of biotic and abiotic resistance came into the scenario. But the availability of the seeds of these improved varieties among the farmers remained as a problem and it limited the cultivation of these varieties. This led to the development of a well-planned systemized seed production system. Government of India had framed and brought out different legislations for regulating systemized seed production. These laws are framed to make available quality seeds and planting materials to a common farmer and equip him to approach authority for justice. Seed legislations were initiated in the country by establishment of National Seed Corporation (NSC) during 1963 under Ministry of Agriculture and the seed industry was restructured through the nationals seed projects phase I (1977-78), Phase II (1978-79) and Phase III (1990-1991). These initiatives strengthened the seed industry through formulation of seed regulations, establishment of state seed corporations and seed certification agencies thereby assured the supply of quality seeds to farmers

Introduction

Modern-day agriculture and civilization together demand increased production of food to feed the global population. New technologies and solutions are being applied in the agricultural domain to provide an optimal alternative to gathering and processing information while enhancing net productivity. At the same time, the alarming climate change and increasing water crisis demand new and improved methodologies for modern-age agricultural and farming f ields. Automation and intelligent decision-making are also becoming more important to accomplish this mission in flower production. In this regard, the Internet of Things (IoT) ubiquitous computing, wireless ad-hoc and sensor networks, radio frequency identifier, cloud computing, remote sensing, etc. technologies are becoming increasingly popular.

Most of the IoT-based applications are targeted for various applications. For example, IoT for environmental condition monitoring with information on soil nutrients are applied to predict crop health and production quality over time. Irrigation scheduling is predicted with IoTs by monitoring the soil moisture and weather conditions. The world’s first IoT device was invented in the early 1980s at Carnegie Melon University.

H orticultural crops are most important ones incurring huge amount of pesticides in our country. The intensity of esticides on them is highest per unit area. However research on integrated pest management has not matched the progress and problems of plant protection at large and protected cultivation in particular. The USA, UK, Israel and Russia, pioneers in protected cultivation, are able to harvest productivity of up to 500 tonnes/ha of tomato and 200 tonnes/ha each of cucumber and capsicum, while in India up to 300 tonnes/ha of tomato and 100 tonnes/ha each of cucumber and capsicum are obtained, has compared to normal open field where their yield ranges from 40 to 60 and 10 to 20 tonnes/ha in India, respectively.

The sustainability of an agro-ecosystem is represented by its ability to maintain a given level of productivity over time and a given quantitative-qualitative level of environmental resources (Loucks, 1977). The greenhouse is also a form of agro-ecosystem, where unlike other agro-ecosystems, environment has been adapted to crop in order to maximize its productivity. The greenhouse system has to take maximum advantage of natural benefits offered by location in certain latitudes while minimizing the disadvantages (Castilla, 2002). Higher productivity under such protected cultivation is attainable mainly on account of reduced competition, healthy environment, better nutrient management, increased surface area and longer crop duration. However, ideal and stable environment with warm, humid and abundant food under protected conditions provides an excellent platform for pest development often more than open field crops, leading to severe pest situations in greenhouses, as revealed by extensive surveys.

Reducing insecticide application to the lowest level is the motto of IPM in vegetables. Monitoring for the initial build up and timely mechanical removal of the first population is a must in vegetables. Always remove the first affected plants, by diseases like mosaic, and destroy them by burying or burning. Remove insect eggs, insect affected plant parts and adults and immature stages of insects, and destroy them every day. Do not throw them in the field. They will either come back, or pupate and attack later. During nursery stage, use wood ash, cow dung solution, and plant extracts to deter all pests. Use only low residual insecticides like Dichlorvos 1ml/l, Malathion 2ml/l, Endosulfan 2ml/l or Quinalphos 2ml/l, in spots, at the beginning of attack itself.

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.

A. Precision irrigation

The prevalent flood irrigation in crops would be the thing of past because of limited water resources, waste of water in leaching and evaporation and cumbersome management resulting in considerable loss of water. The micro irrigation (sprinkler and drip- irrigation) are preferred depending on the field topography. Undulated fields are better irrigated by sprinkler and laser levelled field by drip irrigation. There are precise tools to deliver only required amount of water at different stages of growth of crops with the help of sensors. Irrigation water volume release is mechanised and automated. Efforts of using microirrigation methods such as sprinkler and drip irrigation have been made in last three decades in many parts of the world. There is no ideal irrigation method available which may be suitable for all weather conditions, soil structure and variety of crops cultures.

Precision irrigation is worldwide accepted concept in irrigation. Precision irrigation involves the accurate and precise application of water to meet the specific requirements of individual plants or management units and minimize adverse environmental impact. Commonly accepted definition of precision irrigation is sustainable management of water resources which involves application of water to the crop at the right time, right amount, right place and right manner thereby helping to manage the field variability of water in turn increasing the crop productivity and water use efficiency along with reduction in energy cost on irrigation. It utilizes a systems approach to achieve ’differential irrigation’ treatment of field variation (spatial and temporal) as opposed to the ’uniform irrigation’ treatment that underlies traditional management systems. Precise and regulated application of irrigation water and plant nutrients at low pressure and frequent intervals through drippers/emitters directly into the root zone of plant with the help of close network of pipes is known as drip irrigation system.

Water is one of the most vital components for the successful growth and development of crops. It influences most of the plant metabolic activities, namely photosynthesis, respiration, absorption, translocation utilization of mineral nutrients, etc. Its stress or in excess affects the growth and development of a plant directly and consequently its yield and quality.

Role of water: Water plays an important role in plant growth and development in many ways.

• It is the chief constituent of protoplasm.
• It provides aqueous medium for various biochemical (metabolic) reactions.
• It serves as a temperature stabilizer and helps in maintaining a stable metabolic rate.
• It is an essential input for photosynthesis.
• It helps to maintain turgidity of cells and plant organs.
• It is an excellent solvent for various organic materials of cells.

Water is a very essential component for human civilization, living organisms, and natural habitats. It ma.kes up a major part of plant biomass (about 90% of plant cytoplasm; Singh, 2014). Irrigation, the largest water user sector, is currently under pressure to produce more with higher quality by using limited water to feed the increasing population of the country. The highest proportion of water is consumed by agricultural crops, which is called the blue water footprint, and it is assumed that the water scarcity will increase in the future in view of the changing climate. India has 18% of the world population; however, the water resources are only 4%. Even with all the planning and development, the country has not even been able to provide sufficient drinking water to all at the end of the 20th century. The water sector is facing a number of challenges regarding the availability, accessibility, use, and sustainability of its fresh water resources. Further, the distribution of water in the country is also uneven over space and time. Unfortunately, Rajasthan is the driest state in the country and has been water scarce (with per capita water availability below 1000 m3/year) since 1991. The efficient use of water in agriculture/ horticulture without affecting crop productivity or quality by adopting water saving irrigation techniques is the foremost need. Fruit crops, which have gained commercial attention in recent years, are an important component of Indian agriculture. Due to low irrigation and water use efficiencies, irrigation managers are looking for the introduction of effective water-saving devices and practices for water management in fruit crops.

Water is an extremely essential component in plant growth and development. It is of utmost importance for photosynthesis, cell division, cell growth / elongation, respiration, nutrient uptake, mineral utilization and much other metabolic process, which directly affect the quantity and quality of the produce. Hence quantity and quality of water play a vital role in performance of a crop. A well distributed water supply, throughout the growth of plant is essential. Rainfall is the major source of water for the crops. Rainfall recharges the surface water resources such as rivers, streams and ponds and also the ground water resources like wells.

The following various types of irrigation methods and their systems are used in crop production in greenhouses and plant nurseries.

1.Hand Watering

2.Perimeter Watering System

3.Tube Watering System

4.Drip Irrigation System

5.Overhead Spray System

6.Ebb and Flow System.

The cotton aphid: Aphis gossypii: Aphididae

Symptoms of Damage

Both nymphs and adults cause the damage by sucking the plant sap from shoot tips, pods and leaves. Severe infestation may result in complete drying of affected parts. Attacked leaves curl up, wither and fall. These are yellowish green or brown coloured aphids. The total life cycle from first instar nymph to adult occupies an average of 8-10days. It reproduces parthenogenetically and viviparously. The female may produce 10-30 young ones in a life span of 10-12 days. The nymphs transform into adult in 5-8 days after passing through four moults. 

ABSTRACT

Amajor goal of plant biotechnology is to develop effective and lasting means to reduce crop losses due to stress caused by biological organisms. In Indian context, fungal diseases are rated as the most important factor contributing to yield losses. Although, conventional programmes towards development of disease resistant cultivars have been successful , they suf fer from limitations of human health consequences, potential degradation of environment etc. In this scenario, introduction of specific genes encoding for disease resistance through genetic engineering seems to be a viable alternative. Among the various genes that are induced in response to plant defense, chitinases are the most widely studied and used for development of transgenic crops. Keeping this in view, attempt was made to isolate chitinase genes from four fungal species viz., Trichoderma harzianum, Metarhizum anisopliae, Nomuraea rileyi and Alternaria solani by designing primers based on sequence information available in the database. RT-PCR was done using the RNA isolated from the fungal species using the designed primers. Amplified products were eluted, cloned into pTZ57R vector and sequenced. Characterization of sequenced cDNA was done using the BLAST (x) programme of NCBI site. The amplified product (261 bp) from T. harzianum showed 90 per cent homology to endochitinases from T. asperellum and T. viridae. Using this cDNA, full-length chitinase gene of 1556 bp from T. harzianum could be accomplished through RACE (Rapid amplification of cDNA Ends). In M. anisopliae the amplified product of 1500 bp matched the full length gene of 1500 bp and showed 99 per cent homology to M. anisopliae and 96 per cent homology to M. flavoviride. In other two fungal species, viz., Nomuraea rileyi and Alternaria solani, the amplified products did not show any homology to chitinase gene

INTRODUCTION

Potato plays a vital rolein foodsecurityworldwide. It is the third most important food crop, afterrice and wheat. It is a nutrient-rich crop which provides more calories,vitamins and nutrients per unit area than any otherstaple crops. FAO declared potato as the crop to address future global food security and poverty alleviation during2008. In Indian agriculture, potatoplays a very important role as it alone contributes about 21 percent of the total vegetable area and 26 percent of total vegetable production of India (DAC&FW, 2017a). As per FAOSTAT data for the year 2017,India with48.6 million t is ranked second in potato productionin the world, onlybehind Chinawith 99.2 million t (Figure 1).

1. INTRODUCTION

Organic farming systems can deliver agronomic and environmental benefits both through the structural changes and the tactical daily management of the farming system. The benefits of organic farming systems are relevant both to developing and developed nations which helps for environmental protection, biodiversity enhancement, reduced energy use and CO₂ emissions (Thiyagarajan, et al., 2003). The post Green Revolution era has led to environmental pollution due to excessive use of agrochemicals and fertilizers and thus threatened the fragile ecosystem (Selvaraj et al., 2001). Organic farming conserves soil fertility and curtails soil erosion through implementation of appropriate conservation principles (Thampan, 1995). Organic farming leads to live in harmony with nature.

United Nation experts indicate that organic foods have the good opportunities for developing countries to open a space in the global market. This entails the creation of greater awareness of trade opportunities for organic products as well as of the environmental, economic and social benefits to the public.

Syn.cordifolia Cogn.,C.indica Wight and Arn,Bryonia grandisL. Family.Cucurbitaceae) is an aggressively climbing vine that  spreads quickly over trees, shrubs, fences or other supports. It is also called  scarlet fruited gourd or little gourd. The name is derived from the Latin coccineus, meaning scarlet,in reference to fruit colour (Wagner et al.,1999). Vernacular names are kundru (hindi), kovakka, kova (malayalam), kovakkai, kovai(tamil), thondakayi (kannada), dondakaya (telugu). Coccinia shoot is a good source of calcium, iron, and fiber and has good texture (Anon., 2002). It is grown mostly in homestead farms for tender fruits in almost all regions of the country. It bears fruits almost through out the year where mild winter prevails. In regions where severe winter occurs, it bears fruit for 8-9 months. Although this is considered as a an under utilized vegetable, it is grown extensively in Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar and Karnataka on a commercial scale and giving remunerative returns to  farmers. Availability of better cultivars and knowledge of  many other preparations and uses of this crop can propel its evolution from an under utilized species to an important horticultural crop in Indian Agriculture.

Ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt), a climbing, herbaceous perennial plant in family Cucurbitaceae, grows well under hot-humid conditions. The genus name is derived from the Latin coccineus, which means scarlet in reference to the fruit color. Thus, it is also called scarlet-fruited gourd. Other vernacular names are: little gourd in English, courge écarlate in French, pepino cimarrón in Spanish, tam leung or phak tam leung in Thai, kundree or kundru in Hindi, pepasan in Malay, hong-gua in Chinese, and tindori in East Africa (Schippers, 2002; MMPND, 2007; USDA, 2007). The plant is often collected wild or cultivated in home gardens in tropical Asia, and its tender shoots are consumed as potherb (Wasantwisut and Viriyapanich, 2003). Bundled tender shoots of ivy gourd in the village market setting are common scenes in Southeast Asia (Boonkerd et al., 1993; Engle et al., 1998). The fruit of its sweet type cultivar is also used widely as a vegetable in India (Ramachandran and Subramaniam, 1983; Sarnaik et al., 2001; Bharathi, 2007). Ivy gourd has a potential to be a valuable vegetable in the tropics to diversify cropping system in peri-urban and urban agriculture, and to improve diet and health, especially where vitamin A deficiency is of developing concern.

Canavalia ensiformis is a vine that originated in South and Central America and has since spread throughout the tropics and subtropics of the planet. It’s used as a food source, fodder, and a cover crop or green manure. As a minor vegetable crop, jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis), commonly known as horse bean, is extensively dispersed in the tropics and subtropics. Jack bean is a semierect annual herb with a bushy appearance. It is only grown on a small scale in India’s eastern and north-eastern regions. Immature pods and seeds are cooked and eaten like a vegetable. The pods should be cooked in water for 15 minutes before cooking, and then the boiling water should be drained.

The jackfruit tree or jack or simply known as jak (Artocarpus heterophyllus) belongs to the mulberry family (Moraceae) and its fruit, jackfruit, is known as the “poor-man's food” (Bose, 1985; Haq, 2006; Ramanani and Rao, 2001; Rowe-Dutton, 1976; Sonwalkar, 1951; Verheji and Coronel, 1992). It is believed to be native to Southwestern India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka (Answers.com, 2009). It is possibly also native to the Philippines and also East to the Malay Peninsula. The fruit is large, oval and covered with a thick rind that has hexagonal protrusions. Inside the fruit, we find the yellow, fleshy and banana-flavoured carpel or large "bulbs" (which are botanically the perianths) massed among narrow ribbons of thin, tough undeveloped perianths (or perigones), around a central, pithy core. Each bulb encloses a smooth, oval, light-brown coloured "seed" (endocarp) covered by a thin white membrane (exocarp).

Shoot and fruit borer : Diaphania (Margaronia) caesalis :  Pyraustidae

The shoot-and fruit-borer D.caesalis is a major pest of jackfruit in India. The larvae are reddish brown with pale brown head and thin hairs from black warts. The caterpillars bore into the shoots, buds and fruits.  Affected shoots wilt or dry up and the fruits rot and drop. The adult is brown with grey elliptical patterns on the wings.

Origin and history: Jackfruit is a common and popular fruit crop of the low land tropics of eastern and southern parts of India. This fruit tree grows well without much care. It is the largest edible fruit (20-40kg), in Srilanka a fruit of about 120 kg was harvested and created the world record. The fruit is also called as poor man’s food in eastern and southern part. The tree has considerable potential, but it is yet to receive due attention in India it is not generally cultivated in regular plantations and is mainly grown in homestead for domestic uses and as a shade tree in coffee or cardamom plantations. The largest area of jack fruit is in Assam, jack fruit can grow in a wide variety of soil but in grow well in rich, deep alluvial soil.

Jam is prepared by boiling the fruit pulp with required quantity of sugar to thick consistency, firm enough to hold fruit tissues in position. It should contain not less than 68.5 per cent soluble solids. Jam may be made from a single fruit (apple, strawberry, banana, pineapple etc.) or from combination of two or more fruits. Jam contains 0.5-0.6% acid and invert sugar should not be more than 40%.