Indian Agriculture - Horticulture

India, with its wide variability of climate and soil, has good potential for growing a wide range of horticultural crops such as fruits, vegetables, potato, tropical tuber crops and mushrooms, ornamental crops; medicinal and aromatic plants, spices and plantation crops like coconut, cashew nut, cocoa, etc. Since the mid eighties, the Government identified horticulture crops as a means of diversification for making agriculture more profitable through efficient land use, optimum utilisation of natural resources and creating skilled employment for rural masses, especially women folk with the past efforts rewarding.

India has emerged as the largest producer of coconut, arecanut cashew nut, ginger, turmeric, black pepper and the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables. Among the new crops, kiwi, olive crops and oil palm have been successfully introduced for commercial cultivation.

The changing scenario encourages private investment to go for hi-tech horticulture with micro-propagation, protected cultivation, drip irrigation, fertigation, and integrated nutrient and pest management, besides making use of latest post-harvest measures, particularly in the case of perishable commodities. As a result, horticulture crop production has moved from rural confines to commercial ventures.

A large variety of fruits are grown in India. Of these mango, banana, citrus, pineapple, papaya, guava, sapota, jackfruit, litchi and grape among the tropical and sub-tropical fruits; apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot, almond and walnut among the temperate fruits and anola, ber, pomegranate, annona, fig, phalsa among the arid zone fruits are important. India accounts for about 10 per cent of the production of fruits in the world. It leads the world in the production of mango, banana, sapota and acid lime and has recorded highest productivity in grape.

More than 40 kinds of vegetables belonging to different groups, namely, solanaceous, cucurbitaceous, leguminous, cruciferous (cole crops), root crops and leafy vegetables are grown in India in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate regions. Important vegetable crops grown in the country are tomato, onion, brinjal, cabbage, cauliflower, okra and peas. India is next only to China in area and production of vegetables. India contributes about 13 per cent to the world vegetable production and occupies first position in the production of cauliflower, second in onion and third in cabbage in the world.

Spices constitute an important group of horticulture crops. India is known as the home of spices and produces a wide variety of spices like black pepper, cardamom (small and large), ginger, garlic, turmeric, chilly and a large variety of tree and seed spices. Among various spices grown in the country, chilly is the most widely grown spice with a share in the total production of 33.7 per cent. The demand for chilly as a spice and its oleoresins as a natural colouring material is growing in the domestic as well as international market. Turmeric has a share of 21.6 per cent in the total production of spices.

Other than tea, coffee and rubber, rest of the crops which are grown for commercial purpose in the country are covered under plantation crops which include coconut, arecanut, cashewnut, cocoa, etc.

Coconut is an important crop and about 10 million people depend on coconut cultivation, processing and related activities. In India, coconut is grown mainly along the coastal states of the country and also in the North-East region. The coir obtained from processing coconut husk is of high commercial value. Besides coir, shell based products have also gained entry into the national and international markets. The coir pith made into brick like structure is now used for raising horticultural plants especially in greenhouses.

Cashewnut assumes an important place in the Indian economy. India produces 45 per cent of the global production of cashew. Besides, India is the largest producer, processor, consumer and exporter of cashew in the world.

Though flower cultivation has been practiced in India since time immemorial, floriculture has blossomed into a viable business only in recent years. Considering the potential this sector has in generating income and employment opportunities, promoting greater involvement of women and enhancement of exports, it has been identified as an Extreme Focus Area for exports by the Government. India is known for growing traditional flowers such as jasmine, marigold, chrysanthemum, tuberose, crossandra and aster. Commercial cultivation of cut flowers such as rose, orchids, gladiolus, carnation, anthurium, gerbera and lilies has also become popular.

This sub-sector has high potential for health management considering the importance being given to herbal products. Concerted efforts have been made to consume the bio-diversity of the herbal wealth by establishing 226 hectares of herbal gardens along with 16 nurseries to provide quality planting material. Besides, 335 hectares have been developed for production of quality planting material of aromatic plants. More than 6,000 demonstration-cum-seed production plots have been established in the farmer's field.

In order to maximise horticulture production, honey bees can be used as an important input for increasing the productivity of horticultural crops through cross pollination. About 85 per cent crop plants are cross-pollinated, as they need to receive pollen from other plants of the same species with the help of external agents. Honey bees wax and royal jelly give additional income to the farmers.

Indian Agriculture - Horticulture