horticulture schemes and benefits of farmers: A Review

1) Introduction

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India is the seventh largest country in the world with a total geographical area of 328.73 m ha. and has
second largest population 121crores (2011), after China. The total arable land available is 144 million
hectare of which 70% is under rainfed cultivation. Around 55-60 per cent of the total population
depends on agriculture and allied activities. Horticulture crops constitute a significant portion of total
agricultural production in the country. The term Horticulture is derived from the 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
fruit, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants. Therefore, in original sense “Horticulture refers to
cultivation of garden plants within protected enclosures”. At present the horticulture may be defined as
the science and technique of production, processing and merchandizing of fruits, vegetables, flowers,
spices, plantations, medicinal and aromatic plants. [1] Branches of Horticulture Horticulture is a wide
field and includes a great variety and diversity of crops. The science of horticulture can be divided into
several branches depending upon the crops it deals with.

The following are the branches of horticulture.

1. Pomology: refers to cultivation of fruit crops.

2. Olericulture: refers to cultivation of vegetables.

3. Floriculture: refers to cultivation of flower crops.

4. Plantation crops: refers to cultivation of crops like coconut, arecanut, rubber, coffee, tea etc.

5. Spices crops: refers to cultivation of crops like, cardamom, pepper, nutmeg etc.

6. Medicinal and aromatic crops: deals with cultivation of medicinal and aromatic crops.

7. Post harvest technology: deals with post harvest handling, grading, packaging, storage, processing,
value addition, marketing etc. of horticulture crops. 8. Plant propagation: deals with propagation of
plants.

Fruit crops: India is the second largest producer of fruits after Brazil. A large variety of fruit crops are
grown in India. Of these, mango, banana, citrus, papaya, guava, pineapple, sapota, jackfruit, litchi,
grapes, apple, pear, peach, plum, walnut etc. are the important ones.[2]
India accounts for 10 per cent of the total world production of fruits. It leads the world in the production
of mango, banana, sapota and acid lime besides recording highest productivity in grape. The leading fruit
growing states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Vegetable crops: More than 40 vegetables belonging to Solanaceaeous, cucurbitaceous, leguminous,

cruciferous, root crops and leafy vegetables are grown in Indian tropical , subtropical and temperate
regions. Important vegetables grown in India are onion, tomato, potato, brinjal, peas, beans, okra, chilli,
cabbage, cauliflower, bottle gourd, cucumber, watermelon, carrot, radish etc. India ranks second in
vegetable production next to China in area and production contributing 13.38 percent to the total world
production. India occupies first position in cauliflower, second in Onion, third in cabbage in the world.
[10] West Bengal, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka are the important states for
horticultural crop production.

Floriculture: Flower cultivation is being practiced in India since ages. It is an important/integral part of
socio-cultural and religious life of Indian people. It has taken a shape of industry in recent years. India is
known for growing traditional flowers such as jasmine, marigold, chrysanthemum, tuberose, crossandra,
aster, etc. Commercial cultivation of cut flowers like, rose, orchids, gladiolus, carnation, anthurium,
gerbera is also being done. The important flower growing states are Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Sikkim, Jammu &Kashmir, Meghalaya etc.

Plantation crops: This is one of the important sector contributing about Rs.7500 crores of export
earnings. The major plantation crops include coconut, arecanut, oil palm, cashew, tea coffee, rubber
cocoa, betel vine, vanilla etc. The leading states are Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Goa, Assam etc.

Spices: They constitute an important group of horticulture crops and are defined as vegetable products
or mixture thereof, free from extraneous matter used for flavouring, seasoning and imparting aroma in
foods. India is known as home of spices producing a wide variety of spices like black pepper, cardamom,
ginger, turmeric, chilli, Coriander etc. Major spice producing states are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa, Tamil Nadu etc.

Medicinal and Aromatic plants: India has diverse collection of medicinal and aromatic plants species
distributed throughout the country. It has more than 9500 species with medicinal properties. Demand
for these crops is increasing progressively in both domestic and export markets.

Important medicinal plants are Isabgol, Senna, Opium poppy, Periwinkle, Coleus, Ashwagandha, etc. and
aromatic plants are Japanese mint, Lemon grass, Citronella, Davana, Patchouli etc.

2) Horticulture Sector Overview in Gujarat Gujarat

has a total geographical area of 19.6 M ha of which about 9.7 M ha is utilized for agricultural purposes. It
is about 49% of the total area of the state are under cultivation.[3] Out of the total geographical area,
the area covered under command area is about 3.8 Million ha. Rain fed area of the state is about 6.6
Million ha. Average land holding of Gujarat is 2.03ha compared to 1.16ha of total of India.[3] The area
under irrigation is about 33% of the net area sown, while rest of area is cultivated under rain-fed
conditions. Thus, there is large area dependence on rain in the state. Horticulture is a priority sector in
Agriculture by virtue of it's vast potential in improving the Socio – economic conditions of the farmers.
The horticulture sector is supplier for large number of agro-based industries, which has high avenues for
generation of skill full employment and self-employment opportunities both in rural and urban areas.
Gujarat has a wide variety of soil, rainfall pattern, temperature regimes and irrigation availability. The
major fruit crops grown in Gujarat are Banana, Mango, Citrus, Papaya and Sapota. In the year 2013-14
the productivity of fruit crops is estimated at 21.18 MT/ Hectare.[4] The major vegetables grown in
Gujarat are Onion, Garlic, Potato, Brinjal, Tomato, Okra and Cucurbits. In the year 2013-14, the average
productivity of vegetables is estimated at 19.90 MT/Hectare.[4]

Gujarat state mainly produces spices viz. Cumin, Fennel, and Garlic. The State enjoys monopoly in seed
spices. Isabgul is prominent medicinal crop grown in the State. Area under flowers like; Rose, Lily and
Marigold is increasing day by day in the State. The cultivation of medicinal plants like; Allovera, Sena,
Gugal is scattered in the state.
Gujarat has taken a lead in the sector of establishing Greenhouses by producing high value flowers like;
Dutch Roses, Gerberas and Carnation and vegetable crops like; Capsicum, Khira, Cucumber and Tomato.
The state is in leading position in Onion, Potato, Banana and Papaya. The State also introduced new
horticulture crops like; Cashew Nut, Pamaroza, Sweet Orange and medicinal crops.[9]

The climate is favourable for development of Alphanso mango in South Gujarat and Kesar in Junagadh
areas. Date palm in Kutch is monopoly crop in country. Besides, Banana, Lime, Ber, Sapota, Coconut have
also occupied area in the State. Horticulture in Gujarat, today, has become a sustainable and viable
venture for the small and marginal farmers. It is a matter of satisfaction that their food consumption
levels and household income have increased. Gujarat in the overall horticulture production of the
country, which was ranked at eighth positions in 2011-12, has jumped to the fifth spot in the 2012-13,
increased almost 8%. The maximum production was in fruits and flowers. [5]

3) Filed Visit of Various Area of Gujarat.

 Green House Cultivation Area

Greenhouses are frames of inflated structure covered with a transparent material in which crops are
grown under controlled environment conditions. Greenhouse cultivation as well as other modes of
controlled environment cultivation have been evolved to create favorable micro-climates, which favours
the crop production could be possible all through the year or part of the year as required. Greenhouses
and other technologies for controlled environment plant production are associated with the off-season
production of ornamentals and foods of high value in cold climate areas where outdoor production is not
possible. The primary environmental parameter traditionally controlled is temperature, usually providing
heat to overcome extreme cold conditions. However, environmental control can also include cooling to
mitigate excessive temperatures, light control either shading or adding supplemental light, carbon dioxide
levels, relative humidity, water, plant nutrients and pest control.

 Dragon fruits Fields

Dragon Fruit can be grown on almost any soils however Sandy soils that have good irrigation are
generally preferred. The ph of the soil should be between 5.5 to 6.5 for a good crop. Beds should be at
least 40-50 cm high.[6]

One of the major merits of these crops is that it can grow in the extremes of temperature and the
poorest of soils but is best suited for the tropical climate with an annual rainfall of 40-60 cm best suited
for growth. Temperature ranging from 20°C- 30°C is considered best for the crop to grow.[6]
The land should be treated with fertilisers in mounds. The fertilisers used should be 20-kilogram organic
fertilisers 0.5 kilograms superphosphate and 1kg of NPK16-16-8 should be used per 50 postings before
the actual plantings of dragon fruit plants.[6]

Since the plant requires less water irrigation is recommended once a week and drip irrigation should be
used for better efficiency.

 sorting and grading unit

Sorting

Sorting is done by hand to remove the fruits and vegetables which are unsuitable to market or storage
due to damage by mechanical injuries, insects, diseases, immature, over-mature, misshapen etc. This is
usually carried out manually and done before washing. By removing damaged produce from the healthy
ones, it reduces losses by preventing secondary contamination.[7] Sorting is done either at farm level or
in the pack-houses. In sorting, only sensory quality parameters are taken into consideration.
Sizing

Before or after sorting, sizing is done either by hand or machine. Machine sizers work on two basic
principles; weight and diameter. Sizing on the basis of fruit shape and size are most effective for spherical
(oranges, tomato, certain apple cultivars) and elongated (Delicious apples and European pears are of
non-uniform shape) commodities, respectively.

Grading

The produce is separated into two or more grades on the basis of the surface colour, shape, size, weight,
soundness, firmness, cleanliness, maturity & free from foreign matter /diseases insect damage
/mechanical injury.

For eg.: Apple I. Extra Fancy II. Fancy III. Standard IV. Cull (for processing).
Grading may be done manually or mechanically. It consists of sorting product in grades or categories
based on weight/size.[8]

4) Conclusion

Some of the major challenges for agriculture sector in Gujarat include the expansion of irrigation
provisions through developing micro-level water resources such as check dams, village tanks, farm ponds
and recharging of wells under various water conservation programmes in rainfed areas of the state,
ensuring efficient water management through micro-irrigation systems, reducing wide fluctuation in
agricultural output, productivity and prices, checking distress sales of agricultural output and rising cost
of cultivation, increasing agricultural exports and up-scaling of farm-validated modern technologies and
agricultural Innovations. There is a need of proper institutional mechanisms and organizational and
management (O&M) reforms for overcoming the felt constraints coming in way of the farm prosperity in
the state

Reference

1. Bhalla, G. S and Gurmail Singh (2009), „Economic Liberalization and Indian Agriculture: A State-wise
Analysis‟, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 46, No. 52, pp-34-44, December 26.

2. GoG (1994), Season and Crop Report for 1990-91, Directorate of Economics and Statistics,
Government of Gujarat.

3. GoG (2010a), Agriculture Statistics of Gujarat, 2009-10, Directorate of Economics and Statistics,
Government of Gujarat.

4. GoG (2010b), National Conference on Kharif Camping-2010, Department of Agriculture and

Cooperation, Government of Gujarat.

5. GoG (2011a), Gujarat Agriculture Statistics at a Glance 2010-11, Directorate of Economics and
Statistics, Government of Gujarat.

6. GoG (2011b), National Conference on Rabi Camping-2011, Department of Agriculture &

Cooperation, Government of Gujarat, 14-15 September.

7. GoG (2012a), State Agriculture Profile, (http://agri.gujarat.gov.in/informations

/state_agri_profile.htm, Accessed on 25th September), Government of Gujarat.

8. GoG (2012b), Socio- Economic Review, 2011-12, Gujarat State, Directorate of Economics and
Statistics, Government of Gujarat.

9. GoG (2012c), Sector Profile: Food & Agri Business, (http://www.vibrantgujarat.

com/images/pdf/food-agro-details.pdf, Accessed on 20th September 2012), Government of
Gujarat.

10. GoG (2012d), Gujarat Agriculture Competitiveness Project, Department of Agriculture, Government
of Gujarat, January. GoG (2012e), Krushi Mahotsav 2012: Achievements at a Glance, Central
Monitoring Cell, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Government of Gujarat, Gandhinagar
Other Online Sources

National Horticulture Board Report “Indian Horticulture Database”

Link: www.nhb.gov.in/area-pro/NHB_Database_2015.pdf

Indian Council for Agriculture Research Various research reports

Link: http://www.icar.org.in/en/information-resources.htm

Department of Agriculture and Cooperation Various reports on Agriculture Sector

Link: http://agricoop.nic.in/documentreport.html

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture Presentations from various states and departments
on Horticulture Sector

Link: http://midh.gov.in/presentation.html