eChapters

Eastern India is frequently affected by weather hazards, such as drought, flood and heat wave. The region consists of Orissa, West Bengal, and Bihar. The coastal states of Orissa and West Bengal frequently face cyclones, while Bihar and eastern U.P. face cold wave. Due to unfavorable seasonal weather, crop productivity is poor. However, the recent change in climate induced by global warming has further threatened the agricultural productivity in the region. Rice is the principal crop of Eastern India and rice based cropping systems has long been practiced in the region. While rice-rice is the most dominant cropping system in Orissa and West Bengal, rice-wheat is in Bihar and eastern U.P. Besides, rice-groundnut occupies a considerable area in the region. It is now doubtful whether the resilience of these cropping systems would continue sustaining the productivity under the climate change. The major aim of the proposal was to identify suitable adaptation measures of crop production under projected climate change. Climate change is expected to alter precipitation pattern, increase temperature, change in humidity level and decrease sunshine. As a result it is like to influence right from land preparation to the harvest and post harvest process. Thus the project aim was to revisiting the existing package of practices of selected cropping systems by simulation modelling, deduce suitable adaptation measures and validate these by OTC experiments.

Climate change is a multifaceted alteration of climate which is perceptibly subtle and yet continuous, nevertheless it is extremely important due its consequences on whole biome that thrives under constant or relatively unchanged climates. The effects of climate change have reached such an extent that irreversible changes in the functioning of the planet are feared. Some of the main effects of climate change with specific reference to agriculture and food production especially during the last decade are: increased occurrence of storms and floods; increased incidence and severity of droughts and forest fires; steady spreading out of frost-free intervals and potential growing season; increased frequency of diseases and insect pest attacks; and vanishing habitats of plants and animals. Currently, the world is facing a challenge of producing sufficient food from dwindling natural resource base for the constantly increasing population. Strengthening of agricultural activities through improved productivity and effective resource management is one of the key options existing as competition for land and water are increasing from non-farm sectors. In other words, more production is required from fewer natural resources under future climate scenarios. Agriculture, human health and animal health are three important pillars of global livelihood security systems and they contribute to the developing nations’ GDP significantly. While major crops and livestock world over contribute to the food security, the human resource has been a major driver of the growth in these sectors directly and indirectly. Across continents, climate influences these three pillars substantially. Climate –variability and -change are exerting additional pressure on developing countries of tropics and subtropics which are already at the threshold to cope with the increasing demand for food for increasing population pressure. Climatic disturbances in terms of increase/decrease in temperature, high intensity rainfalls, droughts, floods, hail storms and other extreme weather events in these areas will cause significant yield declines in major food grain crops. Several forecasts for the coming decades project changes in precipitation resulting in more frequent droughts and floods, increase in atmospheric CO₂ and temperature, widespread runoff leading to leaching of soil nutrients and reduction in freshwater availability. With the impending global climate change and the need to secure food supplies for the future, it becomes imperative to understand the consequences of climate change on the productivity of important agricultural crop species (Shanker et al 2014).

History and development of seed Industry in India can be discussed under two heads

1. Pre-independence development.
2. Post-independence development.

Agricultural production in India is still vulnerable to vagaries of monsoon rainfall in spite of rapid technological advancements like 1) Availability of high yielding varieties 2) Improved crop management practices and increased irrigation availability and effective control of pests and diseases and etc, over last few decades. Majority of Indian farming community which broadly comprising of small and medium farmers are often subject to climate extremes such as droughts, floods, heavy rainfall events, heat and cold waves, frost, hail storms during the crop growing season. The probabilities of occurrence of such climate extremes and associated crop damages and production losses are common in tropical countries like India. Compensation to the resource crunched farmers in the form of crop insurance seems to be the best option for speedy recovery from the losses incurred during the season. It provides security and stability to farm income by protecting the farmers’ investment in crop production and then improves their risk bearing capacities. Crop insurance scheme is based on the fundamental principle of insurance business in which risk is distributed across space and time. For successful implementation of any crop insurance scheme operating presently in the country, proper monitoring of accurate weather parameters at the identified locations throughout the crop life cycle is important. Since these ongoing schemes requires recording weather data right at the locations the existing weather network stations operated by the national agencies which are mostly located at the district head quarters are not adequate to cover the entire cropped areas, where crop is grown and insured. In order to avoid such difficulty, the government allowed few private entrepreneurs for monitoring and supply of daily weather data of high quality by adopting strictly the norms laid out by world Meteorological Organization (WMO) and India Meteorological Department (IMD). The process of monitoring,collection and supply of weather data to the insurance companies on a regular basis involves the following:

Increasing evidences over the past few decades indicate that significant changes in climate are occurring across various regions of the globe in the form of increased occurrence of extreme weather events. The significant cause to this sustained increase in climate variability, known as climate change has been a resultant of increased level of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. The reason for this increase is mainly ascribed to enhanced human activities such as industrialization, uncontrolled burning of fossil fuels, increased use of refrigerants and changed land use patterns and practices. Most significantly, the concentrations of GHGs like CO₂ has already crossed the 400 ppm mark, while other potential contributors like methane and nitrous oxide also show significant rise. As a result of the heat absorbing capacity of these gases, there has been a considerable rise in global mean temperatures, more so in the recent decade and more. The increase in mean air temperatures of the globe was 0.76⁰C during the past 100 years. This rate of increase has been higher during the past two decades and the recent period recorded the warmest years in sequence, the latest being the 2017. The impacts of the climate change are visible across all regions of the globe, in the form of increased occurrence of extreme weather events like severe droughts, floods, storms, heat waves, cold waves, high wind regimes etc. Besides the physical risks to life and increased discomfort, these events directly influence the quantity and quality of agricultural production adversely. They increase the production risks and threaten the food security of nations. Agriculture is one of the main sectors that is likely to be impacted by climate change and in a country like India, the consequences can be harsh with projections of decline in yields of major food crops due to warmer temperatures and increased drought risk in the coming decades. Thus risk characterization and risk management are critical issues in agricultural productivity management. The risks are higher in rainfed areas which are mainly dependent on the quantum and distribution of rainfall during the monsoon season of June to September over major part of the country. As against the national average of 40% of the total cropped area being irrigated, 60% of the total cropped area is still rainfed and is strongly dependent on uncertainties of monsoon. This shows that the dependency of Indian agriculture on climate is very large and as such the Indian agriculture is called a gamble in monsoon.

Generation system of seed multiplication is nothing but the production of a particular class of seed from specific class of seed up to certified seed stage. The choice of a proper seed multiplication model is the key to further success of a seed programme. This basically depends upon,

• The rate of genetic deterioration
• Seed multiplication ratio
• Total seed demand (Seed replacement rate)

The District-wise weekly agroadvisory service based on medium range weather forecasting (3 to 10 days) has been made operational by the State Agricultural Universities in collaboration with National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), India Meteorological Department. The Agroadvisory Bulletin (AAB) contains three parts. The first part of AAB consists of weather events occurred during the past week and weather forecast for three days ahead. These forecasts provide expected weather on cloud amount, rainfall, average wind speed, wind direction, maximum and minimum temperatures and cumulative rainfall. The second part contains the factual information on the varieties of crops, their state and stage, ongoing agricultural operations and occurrence of insect pest and diseases of crops. The final and third part of the AAB provides information on agroadvisory to be taken up as farm operations during the ensuing week. The AABs are prepared by the Agrometeorological Field Units (AMFUs) in consultation with the scientists belonging to various disciplines and Agricultural Officers of the locality. Such AABs are being prepared and issued in English as well in local languages. The AMFUs functioning across the Country (more than 130 AMFUs) attempt the weekly agroadvisory service very effective and operational from time to time with simple models developed in the concerned universities for sustenance of crop production against the ill effects of climate change/variability to a considerable extent. Agroadvisory service is based on weather forecasting and agromet products play a major role in AABs for the benefit of farmers. As such the AABs revolve mostly around agronomic practices rather than based on agromet products. Some of the typical tools prepared in Kerala Agricultural University are quoted for guidance and such models may be implemented wherever they are relevant for betterment of Agromet Advisory Services as a part of climate risk management in Agriculture.

Variety is a group of plants having clear distinguished characters which when reproduced either sexually or asexually retains their characters. The genetic purity of a variety or trueness to its type deteriorates due to several factors during the production cycles. The factors that are responsible for loss of genetic purity during seed production are :

• Developmental Variation
• Mechanical Mixtures
• Mutations
• Natural Crossing
• Genetic drift
• Minor Genetic Variation
• Selective influence of Diseases
• Techniques of the Breeder
• Breakdown of male sterility
• Improper/defective seed certification System

Natural disasters are extreme events within the earth’s system (lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere or atmosphere) which differs substantially from the mean, resulting in death or injury to humans, and damage or loss of valuable good, such as buildings, communication systems, agricultural land, forest, natural environment. They are a profound impact of the natural environment upon the socio-economic system (Alexander, 1993). This impact may be rapid, as in the case of earthquakes, or slow as in the case of drought. It is important to distinguish between the terms disaster and hazard. A potentially damaging phenomenon (hazard), such as an earthquake by itself is not considered a disaster when it occurs in uninhabited areas. It is called a disaster when it occurs in a populated area, and brings damage, loss or destruction. Natural disasters occur in many parts of the world, although each type of disaster is restricted to certain regions. Natural disasters are events which are caused by purely natural phenomena and bring damage to human societies (such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes). Mitigation of natural disasters can be successful only when detailed knowledge is obtained about the expected frequency, character, and magnitude of hazardous events in an area. Many types of information that are needed in natural disaster management have an important spatial component. Spatial data are data with a geographic component, such as maps, aerial photography, satellite imagery, GPS data, rainfall data, borehole data etc. Many of these data will have a different projection and co-ordinate system, and need to be brought to a common map-basis, in order to superimpose them. We now have access to information gathering and organising technologies like remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS), which have proven their usefulness in disaster management. Remote sensing and GIS provides a data base from which the evidence left behind by disasters that have occurred before can be interpreted, and combined with other information to arrive at hazard maps, indicating which areas are potentially dangerous. The zonation of hazard must be the basis for any disaster management project and should supply planners and decision-makers with adequate and understandable information. Remote sensing data, such as satellite images and aerial photos allow us to map the variabilities of terrain properties, such as vegetation, water, and geology, both in space and time. Satellite images give a synoptic overview and provide very useful environmental information, for a wide range of scales, from entire continents to details of a few metres. Secondly, many types of disasters, such as floods, drought, cyclones, volcanic eruptions, etc. will have certain precursors. The satellites can detect the early stages of these events as anomalies in a time series. Images are available at regular short time intervals, and can be used for the prediction of both rapid and slow disasters. When a disaster occurs, the speed of information collection from air and space borne platforms and the possibility of information dissemination with a matching swiftness make it possible to monitor the occurrence of the disaster. Many disasters may affect large areas and no other tool than remote sensing would provide a matching spatial coverage. Remote sensing also allows monitoring the event during the time of occurrence while the forces are in full swing. The vantage position of satellites makes it ideal for us to think of, plan for and operationally monitor the event. GIS is used as a tool for the planning of evacuation routes, for the design of centres for emergency operations, and for integration of satellite data with other relevant data in the design of disaster warning systems. GIS is extremely useful in combination with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in search and rescue operations in areas that have been devastated and where it is difficult to orientate. The impact and departure of the disaster event leaves behind an area of immense devastation. Remote sensing can assist in damage assessment and aftermath monitoring, providing a quantitative base for relief operations. In the disaster rehabilitation phase GIS is used to organise the damage information and the post-disaster census information, and in the evaluation of sites for reconstruction. Remote sensing is used to map the new situation and update the databases used for the reconstruction of an area, and can help to prevent that such a disaster occurs again. The case studies of extreme weather events - floods due to cyclones, heavy rains and drought were presented hereunder.

Seed Production

Systemized crop production is known as seed production. In seed production adequate care is given from the purchase of seeds upto harvest adopting proper seed and crop management techniques. The benefits of seed production are

• Higher income
• Higher quality seed for next sowing

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines Climate Change as a change the weather parameters attributed directly or indirectly to human activity, altering the composition of the global atmosphere. Human activity includes the pollution that arises from industrial activity and other sources that produce greenhouse gases. These gases, such as carbon dioxide, have the ability to absorb the spectrum of infrared light and contribute to the warming of our atmosphere. Once produced, these gases can remain trapped in the atmosphere for tens or hundreds of years.

The important events involved in seed development and maturation include

• Pollination
• Fertilization
• Development of the fertilized ovule by cell division
• Accumulation of reserve food material
• Loss of moisture content

Climate change has become real and tangible affecting people. It is a major challenge for agriculture, food security and rural livelihoods. Climate change impacts on vulnerable groups have social, economic, political, and environmental implications. The impacts of climate change are global. India is more vulnerable in view of the high population depending on agriculture, which in turn is dependent on the seasonal monsoons. India is confronted with the challenge of sustaining rapid economic growth amidst the increasing global threat of climate change. Government of India has accorded top priority for addressing climate change related concerns.

The Government formulated the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in 2008. Climate change is a complex policy issue with major implications in terms of finance. All actions and solutions to address the adverse impact of climate change ultimately involve costs. Funding is vital in developing countries to design and implement adaptation and mitigation projects. NABARD has already taken various initiatives in addressing the challenges posed by Climate Change particularly in the areas of agriculture and rural livelihood sectors. In this direction NABARD aims to channelize national, international and private finances for adaptation and mitigation activities in India. The Green Climate Fund has been designated as an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC. In the context of sustainable development, the Fund aims to promote a paradigm shift towards low emission and climate-resilient development pathways by providing support to developing countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the impacts of climate change, taking into account the needs of those developing countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The Fund will play a key role in channelizing new, additional, adequate and predictable financial resources to developing countries and will catalyze climate finance, both public and private levels. The finance is expected to meet the agreed full and incremental costs for activities to enable and support enhanced action on adaptation, mitigation, technology development and transfer (including carbon capture and storage), capacity-building and the preparation of national reports by developing countries. NABARD is accredited as National Implementing Entity in 2015 on fast track. NABARD is eligible to submit large size projects having outlay of more than USD 250 million. The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) was established in 2015 to meet the cost of adaptation to climate change in India, particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. In keeping with the commitment of NABARD to address impact of climate change the ”Climate Change Fund” was created out of the profit of NABARD during 2016-17 for facilitating attempts to address impacts of climate change especially towards fostering sustainable development. NABARD contributes annually from its profit towards the corpus of the fund. Institution of the “Climate Change Fund” is a unique initiative of NABARD as a Development Financial Institution to foster sustainable development and contribute meaningfully towards national priorities. The objective is to promote and support activities aimed towards addressing climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation measures, awareness generation, knowledge sharing and facilitate sustainable development.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench) is one of the most nutritional and fifth most important cereal crop after maize, wheat, rice and barley as well as a major dietary staple food crop of more than 500 million people in various countries (Ashok Kumar et al., 2011). It is considered as the “King of Millets” that extensively grown in Semi-Arid Tropics (SAT). As a coarse grain, it is used not only for human food, but also for fodder and feed for animals, and building material etc. Its grain is used to make bread, biscuits, sugar, starch, syrups, and alcohol, beer and malt products. It is a good source of energy, protein, vitamin, minerals, and trace elements. Sorghum cultivation in India probably started in the first millennium BC (Dogget, 1988). In India, sorghum is commonly known as jowar and accounts 14% of total world’s sorghum cultivated area and 8% production. India stands first in area of cultivation and second major producer until the end of 20^th century. Currently (2012-16). India stands second in cultivated area after Sudan and fourth in production after USA, Nigeria and Mexico. It is the fifth major cereal crop in India after rice, wheat, maize, and pearl millet (bajra), and accounts 6% of total cereal cultivated area and 3% of total cereal production (DES, 2016). Sorghum is cultivated in India majorly during kharif (rainy) season as a rainfed crop and in rabi (post-rainy) season under residual soil moisture/limited-irrigated conditions. Sorghum is gaining importance along the coastal belt of Andhra Pradesh as rice fallows during rabi season in place of maize due to water scarcity in recent years. Maize requires 4 to 6 irrigations while 2 to 3 irrigations in case of sorghum during the crop season for potential yields under field conditions. In this chapter,a glimpse of sorghum growing regions in India, interrelationship between climatic changes and yield of sorghum and adaptation strategies to sustain sorghum productivity in India during future climatic periods are discussed in detail.

• The seed production of varieties and hybrids should be carried out carefully by following various techniques in the region where they are well adopted.
• The various factors affecting quality seed production includes,
  1. Agro climatic factors / Ecological factors - edaphic and climatic factors
  2. Production factors
  3. Post harvesting handling of seed
  4. Seed quality control factors

Wheat (T. aestivum) is a staple food of the vast majority of the human population in most part of the world; Europe, West Asia, South East Asia, Americas and North Africa. It provides more nourishment than any other food crop and leads all other food crops-rice, maize and potato on a global basis. The wide varieties of food products prepared from it make the crop popular and also a reason for its expansion even to non-traditional wheat cultivated areas. As a leading cereal crop, it is cultivated widely under varied agro-ecological regions and cropping systems throughout the world. It is one of the first plants domesticated and cultivated by humans, which played a critical role in the transition from hunter–gatherer groups to stabilized societies with an agrarian foundation.

Harvesting is one of the agronomic management practices that require technical knowledge on maturation of the crops. This knowledge is much important in seed production than in commercial production.

Physiological maturation

• It is the stage of accumulation of maximum dry matter within the seeds. The moisture content of the seed at this stage will be in decreasing order (25-30%) and is expressed with maximum dry weigh of seed, germination and vigour potential. The physiological maturation is represented for individual seed and this maturation will not be the same for the population, due to differential flowering habit.
• The attainment of physiological maturation is represented by sigmoid curve of growth pattern. The physiological maturation can be represented both as duration and visible symptoms.

Removal of seeds from dry fruits is known as threshing while that of wet fruits is known as extraction. Threshing involves beating or rubbing the plant material to detach the seed from its pod or fruit. The detached seed is then winnowed to remove chaff, straw and other light material from the seed.

Threshing / extraction methods

1. Mechanical threshing

• Various types of threshing machines with adjustable cylinder speeds are available for extraction of vegetable seeds.
• Care must be taken to avoid damage to the seed during mechanical threshing, by properly adjusting the speed of the beaters, the width of the gap between the beaters and the concave, the airflow and the sieve sizes.

Seed Processing

Seed processing may be understood to comprise all the operations after harvest that aim at maximizing seed viability, vigour and health. It includes cleaning, drying, seed treatment, packaging and storage.

Seed Packing

Seed packaging is the process of filling, weighing and sewing of bags with seed. The choice of packaging materials and amount of seeds to be packed depends on kind of seeds to be packed, duration of storage, storage environment, the seed moisture content, the cost of seed, the cost of packaging material, the geographical area where the seeds will be stored.

Seed certification

It is a legally sanctioned system for quality control and seed multiplication and production. It involves field inspection, pre and post control tests and seed quality tests. As per Indian Seed Act seed certification is voluntary and it is not compulsory. The seed that is sold in the market is of two types certified seed or truthfully labelled seed. Whereas truthfully labelled seed is one which is being produced and marketed by the producing company by maintaining the labelling standards.

Plant breeding/genetic improvement aims at altering plant genotypes in a way that they suit human needs for food, feed and industrial raw products and support sustainable plant production. In that sense, plant breeding may be regarded as the evolution of plant type by the will of mankind. Plant breeding/genetic improvement is important because an improved cultivar is the most-economic and least laborious input for farmers.

Plant breeding is one of the early accomplishments of humankind. Many of the cultivated plants are the result of slow and involuntary improvement from wild progenitors by human being over centuries. In fact, the process of domestication of wild plants is one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of humankind. Concept of plant breeding came in the being through domestication as it involved selection of the most desirable types. Among the ancient domesticates, some of the vegetable crops are front-runners, like peas, radish, muskmelon, watermelon, etc. Other present day popular vegetable crops were domesticated later in the Neolithic times. Some species including certain vegetables are still undergoing the domestication process. However, for all practical purposes, the breeders have given up domestication of wild relatives of the cultivated species. Today, breeders often incorporate important characters, like resistance to biotic stresses, adaptability to environments, etc. to the cultivated forms from their wild relatives.

Selection from the available variations is the oldest and the most effective breeding procedure. However, genetic recombination at present forms the basis of modern plant breeding approach. In this respect, Josef Kolreuter’s extensive crossing experiments between 1755 and 1806 were essentially the first attempts to scientifically-reconstruct naturally occurring species and types by combining their characters. Any way, no matter what method is adopted in the breeding approach, it inevitably involves selection, which is the most difficult part of overall breeding process.

The industrial revolution in Western Europe and concomitant flourish of capitalism and increasing commercial agricultural production stimulated breeding activities as a profitable venture of capitalistic economy. Throughout the 19th century, thousands of large and small seed companies were developed in Germany, England and the United States out of this impetus.

Dietary constitution of Indian people is mostly cereal based. However, the cereals supply chiefly carbohydrates. Therefore, there is deficiency of protein, minerals and vitamins, especially vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin C, etc. in the diet. The dieticians advocate the intake of 125 g leafy vegetables, 75 g other vegetables and 100 g root and tuber vegetables (total 300 g) everyday because vegetables provide all the nutrient components like carbohydrates, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins and water along with roughages, which are the essential constituents of a balanced diet.

India has attained food security by increased cereal production due to green revolution. In case of vegetables, although there has been increase in production from 15 million tonnes during 1950 to 94 million tonnes in 2005 but still more vegetables are needed to meet the minimum requirement of at least 250 g per day per capita. There has also been increasing demand for fresh export and for processing industries. Moreover, there is a pressure for increasing vegetable supply caused by constantly increasing population in a world of limited acres.

Addition of new agricultural land is of course not possible. In this situation, plant breeding can be expected to contribute substantially to greater vegetable productivity. This can be accomplished not only by the breeding of basically higher yielding varieties but also by the development of varieties that help to stabilize production through resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses.

Seed sampling

Seed sampling is to draw a portion of seed from seed lot that represents the entire seed lot. Seed lot is a uniformly blended quantity of seed either in bag or in bulk.

Vegetables are cheaper source of carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins and dietary fibers, and hence, assume a place of very great importance in the diet of individuals. All kinds of vegetable are grown almost universally. India occupies the prime position in the production of vegetable crops and is the second largest producer of vegetables in the world. The area and production of vegetables in India have been increasing during the post-green revolution period, and the country is heading towards another revolution in the form of Golden Revolution. However, there is an utmost requirement for genetic improvement of vegetable crops in terms of productivity, qualitative characters and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. For any genetic improvement programme, the presence of genetic variation is pre-requisite and mutation is the ultimate source of this heritable variation.

Mutation technique that holds promise of generating a much wider desirable variability than classical breeding has been refined. Out of 2275 mutant varieties worldwide in all crops, as many as 66 mutants are in vegetables. In terms of percentage, China, India, USSR, The Netherlands, The United States of America and Japan account for 26.8, 11.5, 9.3, 7.8, 5.7 and 5.3%, respectively of mutagen varieties in all crops. Such varieties are 3% in case of vegetables. After mutation treatment by a mutagen to a specific plant, DNA alterations (deletion, duplication, inversion, translocation, or transposition of larger DNA fragments, or simple basic pair changes) occur and lead to the DNA sequence change. Hence, new characteristics of that plant are established. In fact, induced mutations supply us with many new plant lines, which may be used as primary materials for crop breeding. Hence, mutation breeding seems to be an effective and ultimate option to improve vegetable crops in the shortest possible time. A large number of new promising varieties in different crops, including vegetables, have successfully been developed worldwide using various mutagens (Chopra, 2005).

Vegetables have always been looked upon as an essential part of diet and are necessary for human health and well-being. Vegetables supply many kinds of nutrients, e.g., carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins, fibers, phytochemicals, etc. and also add flavour, colour and crispness to foodstuffs. For developing modern day vegetables, breeders have utilized an understanding of genetic principles and applied them for the improvement of these crops. They often make crosses (hybridization) between a crop plant and a related or wild species (a wide cross) enabling valuable genes to be used for genetic improvement of the crops. Over the last few decades, molecular breeding is supplementing plant breeder’s efforts for accelerated genetic enhancement bringing about a revolution in this area. This approach demands efficient procedures for the routine introduction of foreign DNA into plant genomes and utilizing them for the production of novel types of vegetable. In this chapter, attempts have been made to review most of the available molecular breeding techniques, which can routinely be employed in various aspects of vegetable improvement.

Cultivars are developed by selecting for desired traits or by removing undesirable traits that are controlled by genes (the blueprint for all characteristics in living organisms) from existing varieties or breeding lines. The plant species, varieties and clones are identified or selected by their physical features since olden times. However, these traits would change with respect to environmental and climatic conditions. The biochemical parameters like enzymes, proteins, alkaloids, etc. are also likely to change due to the stages of development of plant tissue. Successful selection strategies are dependent on the breeder’s ability to distinguish genetic effects from environmental effects on a visible or measurable trait. Therefore, the scientists resorted to use ‘genetic marker’, i.e., any stable and inheritable variation that can be measured or detected by a suitable method and can be used subsequently to detect the presence of a specific genotype or phenotype, which otherwise is very difficult to detect. Presently, the breeders and scientists all over the world are pursuing mostly DNA or molecular markers.

Hybrid vigour is used as a synonymous of heterosis. In 1910, the term heterosis was first used by Shull who defined this phenomenon as the stimulus of heterozygous, and in his word, it has been the “interpretation of increased vigour, size, fruitfulness, speed of development, resistance to insect-pests and diseases or to the climatic rigors of any kind manifested by the out breeding organism as compared with corresponding inbreds as a specific result of the unlikeliness in the constitution of uniting parental gametes”. This definition is often interpreted as not implying a genetic basis for heterosis, because the definition basically describes the phenotypes that result from the crossing of two different inbred lines. Generally, heterosis is manifested as an increase in vigour, size, growth rate, yield, or some other characteristics but in some cases, the hybrid may be inferior to the weaker parent. This also represents as heterosis (average heterosis), and if heterosis is estimated over the superior parent, such an estimate is sometimes referred to as heterobeltiosis, hence, authors feel “heterosis refers a biological phenomenon in which the F₁ population obtained by crossing of the two genetically dissimilar gametes or individual shows increased or decreased vigour over better parent or over the mid-parental value. Earlier, Power (1944)also suggested that the term heterosis should be used only when the hybrid is either superior or inferior to both the parents. Other situation should be regarded as partial or complete dominance. It can be easily explained with the help of Table 5.1.

Purity analysis

Purity of a seed lot indicates in percentage how large a fraction is made up of pure seeds of the species in question, and how much is made up of inert matter and other seeds. Impurities may be any non seed material (leaf, flower, fruit fractions, soil etc.), small fractions of seeds of the actual species, as well as seeds of other species. Pure seed may include both dead and empty seed, plus damaged seed, purity does not tell anything about viability. The purity analysis of a seed sample in the seed testing laboratory refers to the determination of the different components of the purity viz., pure seeds, other crop seeds, weed seeds and inert matter. Each component is reported as a percentage of total weight. The objective of the purity analysis is to determine whether the submitted sample conforms to the prescribed physical quality standards with regard to physical components. Large seeds are generally easy to clean and purity analyses are therefore often omitted. However, for smaller seeds contamination with other seeds may occur e.g., during processing.

Diseases of plants are produced by a variety of organisms from plant and animal kingdoms viz., fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes and insects. The diseases reduce total biomass (dry matter) production and consequently yield of the crop by general stunting, damage to the leaf tissues, fruits and seeds or by killing the plants. The degree of damage would depend upon the intensity of infection but both need not be proportional. One serious effect of disease is the disappearance from cultivation of otherwise excellent but susceptible varieties.

Vegetable crops have been found to be highly susceptible to biotic stresses from the disease causing microorganisms and insects-pests. The ability of pathogen and insect-pests to attack and proliferate in the host plant is highly specific. There are wide differences in the host plants in response to the attack by pathogens and insects. Although control of the diseases and insects by the use of chemicals is possible to certain extent but indiscriminate use of fungicides or insecticides over the crop has several disadvantages. Besides increasing cost involved in chemical control, residual toxicity of the chemicals such as fungicides, antibiotics and insecticides in food chain and development of resistance against pathogens and insect-pests to different chemicals are serious problems.

Genetic improvement of host plants conferring resistance to diseases and insect-pests is considered to be the best approach in the management of diseases and insect-pests, and this is more particularly true in case of vegetable crops. Indiscriminate use of chemicals in the vegetable sector has led to health hazard. This has resulted in switching towards organic vegetables. However, cost of production of organic vegetables naturally will not permit the common people to consume these products. Therefore, the best option is to induce resistance in the host varieties. The resistant varieties could in turn be an important component in the organic vegetable farming, thereby reducing cost of production to certain extent.

Concern for improvement of nutritional quality of vegetables has arisen in the context of providing nutritional security to our ever-increasing population. Nutritional security denotes the consumption and physiological use of adequate quantities of safe and nutritious food by every member of the family and encompasses the process of equitable distribution among members of household and communities (Nandi and Bhattacharjee, 2002). This would entail the need to ensure a varied food intake, comprising all the essential macro-and micronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins), plant pigments (lycopene, beta-carotene, anthocianin, lutein, capsanthin, zeaxanthin, etc.) and other functional phytochemicals (secondary metabolites, like flavonoids, isothiocyanates, glucosinolates, etc.) through a diversified diet. In this regard, production and consumption of vegetables that are the valuable source of micronutrients, beneficial phytonutrients and highly functional phytochemicals hold the key in assuring nutritional security.

Implication of vegetables in diet has been well conceived among the high-income group in the world since human health in recent years has assumed an unprecedently important status. Increased interests in nutrition, fitness and beauty have exaggerated concerns over diet and human health. A new diet-health paradigm is evolving which places more emphasis on the positive aspects of diet. Foods have now assumed the status of functional foods, which should be capable of providing additional physiological benefits, such as preventing or delaying the onset of chronic diseases as well as meeting basic nutritional requirements so with high-income elasticity, the demand for vegetables and perception of diversified diet have been growing steadily, hence, both access and consumption of vegetables have been increasing in the urban and peri-urban population groups. However, meeting the requirements for macro- and micronutrients for most of the population groups in households and communities of South Asia, Latin America and African countries seems far off because of meager presence of vegetables in the diet. In south Asia where meat intake is low, ascorbic acid emerges as one of the most important enhancers of iron absorption. This is attributed to the fact that foods containing vegetables may provide an optimal mix of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, dietary fibers and other non-nutrients bioactive compounds.

Seed germination

It is defined as the emergence and development from the seed embryo, of those essential structures, for the kind of seed in question, indicates its ability to produce a normal plant under favourable conditions. The seedlings devoid of an essential structure; showing weak or unbalanced development; decay or damage affecting the normal development of seedling are not considered in calculating the germination percentage.

India is contributing about 10% of the world’s vegetables, and in terms of production, the country stands second after China. The existing area under vegetable cultivation in India is around 6.89 million hectare with a production of about 96.54 million tonnes. There will be a demand of 151-193 million tonnes of vegetables in India by 2030 (Dhaliwal et al., 2006). There are extensive crop losses in vegetable crops due to increased insect infestations. Since vegetables are grown round the year, there is carry over of insect-pests across the seasons and also from sowing until harvesting. Vegetables also invite more pest problems because of their cultivation under high fertility conditions leading to high plant succulence. High yielding varieties and hybrids are further more prone to the attack of insect-pests. Insect infestation affects the quality and market value of vegetables adversely and it is estimated that 30-40% of the total production is lost due to the attack of pests (Lal et al., 2004). A large number of pesticides are being used repeatedly to manage the insect-pests in India. Indiscriminate use of pesticides has led to many problems like toxic residues in edible parts of the vegetables, adverse effects on non-target organisms and beneficial insects, resurgence of secondary pests and development of resistance in major pests to pesticides and also environmental pollution. Therefore, latest approach has been to minimize the use of highly toxic insecticides by integrating different strategies of pest control like use of biological control agents, pesticides of plant origin, insect resistant varieties and other cultural practices. In this chapter, efforts have been made to highlight the distribution, host range, identifying characters, biology and nature of damage of important insect-pests of vegetables and also the methods of their management crop or pest wise.

Introduction

Agricultural soils harbour a rich variety of nematode fauna, where they coexist with a myriad of other microorganisms. It has been estimated that one cubic meter soil of highly fertile field may contain as many as 3×10¹⁴ bacterial cells (300 g), 5×10⁸ protozoa (39 g), 1×10⁷ nematodes (12 g) and fungi (400 g), besides other organisms. The nemic fauna comprises of free-living (saprophagous and microbivorous), predatory forms and plant parasites (phytophagous). In addition, certain animal and insect parasitic forms may spend a part of their life cycle in soil. Plant parasitic nematodes (PPNs) exist in poly-specific communities and attack all types of plants- cultivated or wild. They possess a needle-like stylet or spear at their anterior end, which is used to puncture the plant cells and ingest the cell contents. Majority of PPNs dwell in soil and draw their nutrition from plant roots. Only a few forms attack the above ground plant parts such as stem, leaves, inflorescence and seeds. PPNs may be ectoparasites (feed from outside and do not enter plant tissues) or endoparasites (enter inside the plant tissues). The endoparasites spend a part of their life cycle in soil or may come out into the soil to re-infect the other roots. These may be further categorized into migratory or sedentary types. The migratory forms keep on moving, feeding and laying eggs that are scattered in soil or plant tissues. The sedentary nematodes are more harmful and a particular stage of their life cycle infects the plant and establishes a feeding site by modifying plant tissues by their enzymatic secretions. The females of sedentary nematodes usually attain swollen shapes upon maturity and lay hundreds of eggs in clusters.

Plant parasitic nematodes are ubiquitous, and so far, more than 1800 species have been recorded. They are obligate parasites and must feed upon plant hosts, thus, debilitating the plants to some extent. The extent of direct damage by the nematodes to plants depends on several factors viz., nematode density in soil, nature of parasitism (ectoparasite or endoparasite), host susceptibility, cropping pattern, edaphic factors (mainly soil texture and moisture) and ambient climatic conditions (like temperature and relative humidity). Nematodes, by themselves, rarely kill the plants to ensure their own survival. Nematodes also inflict considerable indirect damage to crops by interacting with other plant pathogens (fungi, bacteria and viruses) to cause disease complexes in which nematodes act as incitants, aggravators, or vectors.

Seed viability tests

Only two methods, the Topographical tetrazolium (TZ) test and the embryo excision test were previously accepted by the International Seed Testing Association as official methods for some species of seeds. ISTA has recently accepted the X-ray method as a valid alternative to the cutting test for the detection of empty and insect-damaged seeds. The following tests can be applied depending on the circumstances.

Vegetables being good source of carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins and dietary fibers constitute important component of human diet. These are the cheapest source of natural protective food and increase the palatability. India is the second largest producer of vegetables next to China. Diseases are inherent component of agro-ecosystem, which must be dealt with continuous and knowledgeable basis. Diseases in the standing crop from the seedling stage until harvest and spoilage caused by microorganisms during transit, storage and marketing are major constraints in increasing production and availability of vegetables. At different stages of vegetable production, disease management requires several approaches, and it is more successful, if it is integrated into crop production system. Since vegetables are mostly grown year after year in the same fields especially near towns and cities, therefore, concerted efforts are required to manage the diseases. More than 300 diseases have been reported to occur on vegetable crops and it is beyond the scope of this chapter to discuss all the diseases. However, brief description of etiology, diagnostic symptoms and management practices being adopted are presented here for the economically important fungal and bacterial diseases of vegetable crops.

Plant viruses, like all other viruses, are obligate intracellular parasites that do not have the molecular machinery to replicate without the host. The plant viruses are defined as viruses pathogenic to higher plants. The discovery of plant viruses causing disease is accredited to Beijerinck who determined in 1898 that the plant sap obtained from tobacco leaves with the mosaic disease remained infectious even after passing through a filter. This was in contrast to bacteria, which were retained by the filter. Beijerinck referred to the infectious filtrate as a contagium vivum fluidum, thus, he used modern term virus.

Viruses occasionally cause significant problems in vegetable crops. However, the prevalence and severity of viral diseases differ from year to year. Aphids spread many of the viral diseases observed in vegetables. There are two types of viral transmission by aphids, i.e., persistent and non-persistent transmission. It is important to understand the difference between these two because persistent and non-persistent viruses differ both in their uptake and behaviour within the insect vector, consiquently, tactics used to limit their and spread vary considerably. In persistent transmission, the aphid usually carries the virus for life. Uptake of virus requires extended feeding and after an incubation period of several hours or days, the virus replicates and circulates within the insect. Because of the time required for feeding before acquisition by an insect vector, the spread of persistent virus is favoured by colonizing aphid species that spend time in the crop. Controlling the aphid vectors with insecticides can reduce the spread of persistent plant virus significantly. In contrast, aphids can acquire non-persistent viruses (NPV) within a few seconds after sampling an infected plant. Winged migratory aphids can move quickly from infected plants onto healthy ones, transmitting the virus in the process. Aphids rapidly lose the virus particles from their mouthparts, which are cleaned when they feed on the next available plant and are unable to transmit disease to additional plants. Because of the speed in which aphids acquire and transmit non-persistent viruses, insecticides are not usually effective in controlling their spread. One of the most common viruses found in many vegetable crops is cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). This is transmitted by several aphid species in a non-persistent manner. There are several strains of CMV that can infect over 775 different plant species in 85 families including snap bean, peppers, tomato, lettuce, tobacco and sugar beets. Symptoms vary depending upon the plant species infected but range may be from yellow-green mottling on leaves and fruits to severe stunting of plants. The viral diseases affecting different vegetable crops are being discussed below:

Post-harvest deterioration primarily means the loss of commodity after harvest. It is one of the serious problems for producers, distributors and consumers. Post-harvest deterioration of perishables is the spoilage of fruits and vegetables after harvesting. Perishables are the feed commodities with moisture content between 50 and 90%. Fruits with the size of 5 g to 5 kg or more, high to very high rate of respiration, high generation of heat, soft texture, easily damageable nature and shorter shelf life are more prone to the microbial damage. The post-harvest losses are caused either by pathological, physiological and mechanical means or combination of all these. These perishables because of having minerals, vitamins, and photochemicals (essentially required for the human health) become victim to the several biotic and abiotic factors easily. Once these fruits are detached from the plant are deprived of essential ingredients as hormones, nutrients, water and other requisites. These biotic and abiotic factors apart from rendering the produce unfit for human consumption reduce the aesthetic value, substantial decrease in food value and also organoleptic quality of the vegetables. The fleshy produce are prone to the exogenous agencies such as fungi, bacteria, etc. as well as other endogenous factors such as respiration, senescence, etc. which may lead to poor quality of the produce and also affect market quality. These perishables continue to respire and may carry out various biochemical activities, leading to ripening subsequently to senescence and making them more susceptible to microbial damage. In addition, tropical conditions prevailing in India, which are characterized by high temperature conditions, are optimal for fungal and bacterial infections. In India, the post-harvest losses of fresh fruits and vegetables are estimated to be about 30%. The post-harvest losses have been recorded are 5-20% at farmer’s field due to pre-harvest infection and sorting, 15-20% due to faulty packaging, 30-40% during transportation and 30-40% during marketing.

Seed Health Testing

Science of determining the presence or absence of disease causing agents such as fungi, bacteria and viruses and insects in the seed samples.

Seed Borne disease

The seed primordial or the maturing seed may be infected either (i) directly from the infected plant through the flower or fruit stalk and the seed stalk or directly from the seed surface, or (ii)infection from outside may be introduced through stigma or ovary wall or pericarp, and the flower or fruit stalk, and later through the seed coat. A pathogen may penetrate several of these parts of the seed and in turn infect them. The infestation /contamination of the seed may occur during harvesting, threshing and processing. Visualizing the importance of seed borne diseases the Central Seed Certification board has prescribed certification standards for foundation and certified seed for several diseases.

The pathogen may carry with the seeds in three ways.

• Admixture: Pathogens are independent of seeds but accompany them. They are mixed with health seeds during threshing.
• External:The pathogen may be present on seed surface as spores, oospores and chlamydospores.
• Internal: Pathogens establish within the seed with definite relationship with seed parts.

Landscaping combines elements of art and science to create a functional, aesthetically pleasing extension of indoor living to the outdoors. One initial purpose of landscape design is to blend mans’ technology (house or building) into the natural surroundings. To work towards a desirable landscape design, the landscape horticulturist must have a working knowledge of art elements and design principles.

The “art” is always changing as the plants grow, environmental conditions change and people use the space. For this reason, landscape designers use a design process that systematically considers all aspects of the land, the environment, the growing plants, and needs of user to ensure a visually pleasing, functional, and ecologically healthy design. The design process begins by determining the needs and desires of the user and the conditions of the site. With this information, the designer then organizes the plants and hardscape materials, which are collectively referred to as the features. The features can be physically described by the visual qualities of line, form, color, texture and visual weight—the elements of design. The principles are the fundamental concepts of composition—proportion, order, repetition and unity—that serve as guidelines to arrange or organize the features to create an aesthetically pleasing or beautiful landscape. Knowledge of the elements and principles of design are essential to designing a landscape and working through the design process.

Landscape models focus on both the integrated master landscape planning of a home gardening and specific garden design. The people should be educated to realize the importance of gardening, by providing good parks and gardens in cities for a large population to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature. The plants used in the landscape designing of gardens are directly or indirectly involved in increasing the aesthetic value of the city, changing microclimate, social behaviour of the people, checking pollution etc. The importance of landscape gardening in human welfare cannot be overlooked. Even in an under-developed country as India, people do not live by bread alone. They also need some finer things of life. The models described in this chapter are very basic features of any garden.

Garden Walls

A garden lover will never like to block the view of his garden by putting a wall along periphery of the garden. A garden as it is enjoyed from inside should also be visible from outside but sometimes, it is necessary from safety and beauty point of view to obscure the ugly sight of an open drain. A compromise is to have a low brick wall of say 60-90 cm height and to put over it some grills, so that the view is not totally obstructed from outside. Alternatively, walls from 1.80 to 5.0 m may also be erected based upon the size of the garden.

Mans’ progress in this universe is posing a threat to the environment, we live in. If we do not treat the environment well, nature will have its own repercussions and we will inevitably have to bear the consequences. We have already begun to suffer for not taking care of mother earth in the past. The earth is warming up each year and this rise in temperature will have its effects on the earths’ inhabitants. Pollution, global warming, acid rain, deforestation, extinction of species, depletion of ozone layer, soil erosion and floods are some of the commonly heard problems of the environment and they are seem to be inter related. The objective of ornamental horticulture is the functional and aesthetic integration of people, building and site, using plants and space as its main tools. The necessity of it in landscape architecture is for positive control of the fast changing landscape for the future. Landscape architecture can help a major way to alleviate the earths’ problems. The landscape which includes urban, agricultural forests and other lands becomes a component of nature and thus ensuring that our landscapes are healthy in the first step towards this goal. The landscape gardener is a necessity because very a few people are capable of selecting the right kind of plants for their grounds; they cannot imagine a landscape picture in terms of varieties and groups, the way an expert can. Planning a piece of land with ornamental plants and features transforming it into a beautiful garden requires experience, patience and knowledge about land topography, soils and climatic factors.

The vividity of the garden depends on its design, features and the most vitally on plants, the key elements which make the garden enliven. Selection of variety of ornamentals is done in order to exhibit different form of growth, flowering time, leaf and stem texture, flower colour etc. Therefore trees, shrubs, climbers, annuals, bulbous plants and ornamental grasses usually find place in the garden along with other secondary groups. Plants play a pivotal role in the protection of our environment as well as improving human life. Apart from their physical characteristics, plants aid in cleaning the environment and reducing some of the harsher effects of heat, sound, wind, air and also serves as complementor, attractor, emphasizer, diverter, indicators and provide aesthetic function by creating attractiveness for human activities.

The green buildings are the needs of present day in India as well in the world. The easy availability of most of the green materials and equipments in the country has made it easier for designers to adopt local materials to a very large extent in the construction of green buildings. Now, there is an imminent need for service providers, who would be required in large number, not in hundreds but in thousands, as the movement is heading to reach greater heights. The green building movement is here to stay for the benefit of individuals, society and the country at large in the era of climate change.

With increase in the urbanization and industrialization, there is more pressure on available land and natural resources. In coming era, there will be only limited space available for city dwellers. In buildings one can grow a wide range of flowering and foliage plants. Plants not necessarily one confined to the outdoor only but bed room, kitchen, staircases, patios, windows and other locations can be made green with suitable plants. Indian Council of Green Building (ICGB) has developed the rating system.

Green Building in Santiago, Chile

A large amount of materials are used and energy consumed in construction and operation of average building. Many steps have been taken to reduce consumption of energy by developing new types of vehicle, energy sources, recycled materials and designing environment friendly buildings. These buildings are also known as green buildings or green construction or sustainable building.

Cities or urban conglomerations are fast developing and where the rate of land availability has infinitesimally small; vertical expansion and taller buildings have emerged and are defining the city skyline. Though this may speak well of the economic development, but the increase in hard paved areas and roads may spell trouble for the environment as urban heat island (UHI) effect. The causes of Urban Heat Island are primarily due to the absorption of solar radiation (Short wave) by building/urban materials that is subsequently re-radiated (long wave) to the surroundings. In addition, heat generated from the use of air- conditioning coupled with the greenhouse effect of pollutants also contribute to the increase in temperature. Such increase in temperature with the presence of air pollutants can result in the accumulation of smog, damages the natural environment and jeopardizes human health. It also costs consumers more money because it takes more energy to cool buildings. Who can forget the regular news of Beijing repeatedly topping the list of most polluted cities and fresh air is available in cans!

Fresh air cans are in no means a firm solution. Plants are atmosphere cleansers, can serve to filter carbon dioxide and other toxins in environment, cool the air by transpiration and also provide cooling shade. Research work shows the benefits of using light colour roofs and roof gardens to minimize the heat gain inside the buildings. This would in turn reduce the energy consumption of air conditioning in buildings. Rooftops, balconies and terraces have often been referred to as the “last urban frontier” of cities, in the sense that they represent the last significant remaining space to be exploited to create a green oasis and an area of relative peace and privacy away from the urban bustle. Given the social, economic and environmental contributions of urban greenery to the quality of life in cities and the realization that cities more often than not lack sufficient greenery, greening of rooftops, balconies and terraces is therefore a logical, effective and high impact way to re-inject the much needed greenery in urban settings thus reinventing the concept of hanging gardens.

Lawn is an integral part of any garden and it gives pleasure while sitting during evening in summer and one can enjoy good sunshine during winter. Hence, it is often referred as “heart of the garden”. It is covered with perennial grass and provides open landscape to the house and adds aesthetic beauty to the surroundings. Good lawn is essential to have in a good garden. It is permanent feature, which occupies 60% share of total garden area. Here in this chapter lawn is divided into two parts. There are approximately 620 genera and 10,000 species of grasses worldwide. Grasses are used extensively used throughout the world for their beauty and utility. Grasses are found from temperate to tropical to arid semi arid regions and suits in most extreme climatic conditions and have adapted to a worldwide climate and zones. Grasses are used as fodder, food, medicinal and for aesthetics purpose and it belongs to family Gramineae.

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) is the use of Computer Technology for the design of objects which are real or virtual. CAD involves more than just shapes. As in the manual drafting of technical and engineering drawings, the output of CAD must convey information such as materials, processes, dimensions, and tolerances according to application-specific conventions. CAD may be used to design curves and figures in two-dimensional (2D) space; or curves, surfaces, and solids in three-dimensional (3D) objects.

The landscape gardening for aesthetic appreciation is an integral part of the progress achieved through the growing world floriculture business that has reached a $ 40 billion mark and valueless aesthetic emotional gains. The industry is continuously rising through transitional changes to have more accepted and unique applications as a wide and economic choice to the consumers with regards to the energy saving in the system. The use of energy for sustenance of the landscape plants before and after planting can be a benchmark in time to come as no one can believe that the plants instead can grow with still better traits either be it the foliage colour, variegation, shape, size and or form beside the fact that the consumption of such altered/compact plants has increased manifold in house, gardens, parks and indoors with a large number of products worldwide in a eco-friendly manner.

At the same time there is great environmental consciousness towards transforming landscape gardening with more natural and unspoiled system of growing plants and maintaining them in the landscape as perennial ones. The system being independent of distance of use or application offers an ease of transport into a mass for large-scale uniform planting. This is the fact that in the recent times, the commercial growers do not rely on the nature to introduce the genetic mutation that will make them millionaires but depends on the art and scientific knowhow to create a novelty in its own. This has resulted in the seriousness and painstaking effort of the growers to produce the plants round the year in new forms and shapes to put forward a new plant with extra-ordinary marketable characteristics every year, e.g. compact chrysanthemum, kalanchoe, bromeliads, orchids, etc are some of the common products with an unusual and eye-catching hue in the auction markets. Similarly, a large number of annual and perennial plants perfectly suited for various kind of landscaping, slope, soil types and moisture regimes under the specific and artificial environment created for a specific growth of the plant.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir is highly mountainous except for a short belt joining the Punjab plains. Geographically, the state of Jammu and Kashmir is divided into three regions -alpine desert of Ladakh, subtropical region of Jammu and predominantly temperate region of Kashmir valley. The valley is rich in herbaceous flora with huge potential for landscape use, however, many of which are still not exploited much for the purpose. Plants which live and bloom year after year are known as perennials which have an importance of their own and are backbone of any well-planned garden. The stems of herbaceous perennials die at the ground level each winter. They comprise a vast group of plants widely differing in size, leaf texture, flower color and are found in all the gardening countries of the world. The monotonous spread of concrete and glass in cities can have a dehumanizing effect. Growing colourful flowers in the house compound and in the parks will greatly enhance the beauty of surroundings in the countryside, the towns and cities. Flowers also bring happiness to life and boast the sagging spirits. The assemblage and display of colourful and attractive herbaceous perennials can achieve very significant and telling effects on the environment particularly in the landscaping of the house compounds, gardens, parks, health resorts and hotels. Now a day herbaceous plants are also used therapeutically to cure several problems related to humans. Judicious selection of native and introduced herbaceous perennials should camouflage with the type of habitation, building pattern, colour of the countryside etc. These plants should occupy only well thought of position in the landscape. There are always a number of shady spots in our lawns/gardens especially towards north-east side of a structure where lawn grass fails to grow or show poor growth. These spots can be converted into perennial herbaceous border of foliage plants.

Trees and shrubs are often the most dominant plants in landscapes but ground covers and vines play an important role too. The low spreading form of ground covers can connect and unify major planting areas and even serve as a focal point when the plants are flowering. In contrast to annuals, perennials provide savings in time, labour and expenses each year because where adapted to a specific climate zone, they can successfully over come winter and re- establish for more than a single growing season. Perennials are probably the most diverse plant group, providing a huge variety of shape, form, colour, texture and scent with which to design a planting. Since there is an increasing trend and awareness of planned landscaping in the public and in view of its value in preserving the environment, there is an urgent need to identify and select the appropriate native, naturalized and exotic planting material for specific sites /locations. Information regarding herbaceous perennials surveyed and identified in Kashmir Valley with prospective use in landscaping are given as under:

Whether you are an experienced gardener or a newcomer to the high desert, learning how to successfully garden the desert can be an exciting challenge. With minimal annual precipitation, a short growing season and fluctuating temperatures, maintaining an attractive, healthy landscape can keep you on your toes. Most gardeners value the natural beauty of our native landscapes, but are interested in enhancing it with additional plants to add more color and texture. Can a more beautiful landscape be created and still be water efficient and sustainable? The answer is YES.

The Meaning of Xeriscape

The word xeriscaping (pronounced zer-iskap- ing) is commonly referred to as water-wise or water-smart gardening. Xeros is derived from the Greek word meaningdry’. However, do not let the Greek derivative conjure up images of a dry, desert-like, “blandscape.” Xeriscaping and Xerogardening refer to landscape gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental irrigation. It is promoted in areas that do not have easily accessible supplies of fresh water and is gaining acceptance in other areas as climate pattern changes. Xeriscape is a proactive approach to curbing wasteful use of a valuable natural resource. Xeriscaping, is a seven step method that combines innovative water conservation techniques with sound horticultural practices. Not only it is possible to have a colorful and beautiful landscape while conserving water, but it can become more sustainable while saving you time, energy and money.

Often it is thought that a xeriscape means the use of all native or low water use plants, resulting in limited plant selection. However xeriscapes can incorporate hundreds of plant choices including trees, shrubs, evergreens, perennials and grasses. Plants whose natural requirements are appropriate to the local climate are emphasized, and care is taken to avoid losing water through evaporation and run off. The specific plants used in xeriscaping depend upon the climate. The concept originated in Denver, Colorado, in early 1980s. Because of severe drought conditions, Denver rationed water and prohibited irrigation of lawns and yards. As a result, vegetation in yards withered, and Denver landscapers began promoting what they called xeriscape, a landscaping approach that uses small amounts of water but maintains a traditional look. In some areas, terms likes water-conserving landscapes, drought tolerant landscaping, zeroscaping and smart scaping are used instead.

Bonsai is an art of growing and training of a woody plant in a miniature form in a shallow container imitating natural look of an old aged tree. It differs from a pot plant where either the foliage or the flower is the main criterion, but here the artistic look of the tree in a miniature and natural form maintained for many years is desired.

The word Bonsai’ is a combination of two Japanese words, Bon (meaning shallow pan) and Sai (meaning plant), which can be translated as “tray planting”. By growing the trees in shallow containers, the growth is checked or dwarfed but the plant is not starved. A properly maintained bonsai should outlive a full size tree of the same species. Bonsai is a small tree in comparison to its huge life-sized tree of the same species. Thus, Bonsai is specially trained ordinary tree or plant, not special hybrid dwarfs. Bonsai culture is viewed as a hobby that allows greater understanding and association with nature. This art of bonsai is linked with Zen Buddhism - where this art originated as pastime that merged with natural elements and developed into a unique method of meditation and expression. The bonsai is even expressed as “heaven and earth in one container”

Bonsai is developed from seeds, cuttings, layering or grafting from young trees or from naturally occurring stunted trees transplanted into shallow containers. Most bonsai range in height from 5 centimeter (2 inch) to 1.2 meter (4 ft). Bonsai is kept small and trained by pruning branches and roots, periodic repotting, pinching off new growth and wiring the branches and trunk for giving desired shape. Tradition holds that three basic virtues are necessary to create a bonsai: shin-zen-bi standing for truth, goodness and beauty which are parallel to Hindu concept of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram. The bonsai must look natural and should never show the intervention of human hands (with the exception of Chinese bonsai which in many cases depicts images of dragons and other influential symbols of the culture at the time of origination). Bonsai is primarily kept outdoors in partial shade with exception of some plants suited, trained and indoor grown. In traditional Japanese rooms, there is a tokonoma, the alcove, specially designed for the display of bonsai on special occasions. Bonsai can live for hundreds of years with utmost care and the prized specimens are being passed from generation to generation, admired for their age and valued as a reminder of those who have cared for them over the centuries.

Horticulture and allied sector are integral elements for food and nutritional security in the country. Horticulture is the main segment, while its various sub- segments are fruits, vegetables, aromatic and herbal plants, flowers, spices, tubers, plantation crops and ornamental plants. All these are regarded as essential ingredients of economic security. The wide range of agro-climatic conditions of India is conducive for growing a large variety of horticultural crops, including, root and tuber crops, mushroom and ornamental crops.

The Government of India recognized horticulture crops as a means of diversification in agriculture in an eco-friendly manner through efficient use of land and optimum utilization of natural resources. Horticulture seeks to create ample opportunities for employment, particularly for unemployed youths and women folk. India has maintained leadership in the production of many commodities like fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants and particularly in landscape business.

India is coming up in landscaping and ornamental horticulture. There is wide scope since large number of MNC and business houses have come up in India. The purchasing power of people has increased to a greater extent.

Thus, over the years, much progress are made for advancement of horticulture and allied sector. Rising investments resulted in increased production and availability of horticultural produces in the rural and urban areas. Many schemes and policies were introduced from time to time for upliftment and commercialization of the sector. Large number of investors are taking advantage of the existing potentials in the sector, as well as trying to explore the untapped potentials in the field of horticulture.