eChapters

Introduction

Expanding human and livestock population, fast-growing industrial requirements and urbanization are putting ever-increasing pressures on land resources, creating competition and conflicts which results in sub-optimal use of both land and its natural resources. With no additional land for horizontal expansion of agriculture, there is an urgent need to find viable technologies for enhancing productivity and resource conservation on a sustainable basis. In this context, Agroforestry offers huge potential not only to diversify and increase overall land productivity to meet the demands of fuel, fodder, timber, medicine and other non-woody forest products but also to enhance green cover, and reduce the pressure on forest (Chavan et al. 2016; Handa et al., 2016). Agroforestry offers an affordable alternative in place of expensive conventional conservation measures for providing insurance against risks caused due to weather aberrations, controlling erosion hazards and ensuring sustainable production of the land on a long-term basis. The main objective of agroforestry is to take the advantage of complementary relationships between trees, crops, and livestock in such a way so that sustainability, productivity stability, and profitability of the system is maintained. In India, agroforestry practices are important component in the various developmental programmes schemes like Flood Control/Management Programmes, Multipurpose River Valley Projects, Agriculture Development Programmes, Integrated Rural Development Programmes (IRDP), National Watershed Development Programme for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA), Forestry Development Scheme, Drought Prone Area Development Programme (DPAP) and Desert Development Programme (DDP) from government sector and wood based industry from private sector. After 2000 a transitional shift in agroforestry observed to tackle the ill effects of intensive agriculture, climate change and nutritional security. Under changing climatic scenarios agroforestry rose as a silver bullet to offer not only single benefits but also a basket of multiple benefits. In the present chapter a journey of agroforestry research and developments, region-specific models, area under agroforestry, initiative of government on policy aspects and challenges are elaborated extensively.

Introduction

Majority of the India’s population (about 70%) depend directly and indirectly on agriculture for a living, and thus, the sector must attain self-reliance for their future survival. The North Eastern Region (NER) of India comprising the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim covers a total area of 26.2 million hectare (7.97% of the India’s total geographical area). Of this area, hill and mountain region accounts for about 70% area that excludes Assam plains. The region is characterized by unique geophysical socio-cultural and environmental features. Drought and floods are the two miseries for the farmers of North Eastern Region of India (NER). The poorest people are likely to be the hardest hit by impacts of climatic factors and its change because they rely heavily on climate-sensitive sectors such as rainfed agriculture and fisheries. They are also less capable to respond due to limited human, institutional and financial capacity and have very limited ability to cope with climate impacts and adaptation options in agriculture sector to a changing hazard burden (Ngachan and Das, 2018). The NER of India is endowed with enormous water resources potential that accounts for about 34% of the country’s total water wealth. In spite of the abundant water resources, the ratio of percent irrigated area to net sown area varies from 5% in Assam to 28% in Arunachal Pradesh with an average of 10.6 % in NER. This is less than one-fourth of the national average of net irrigated area which currently stands at 43.2% (Sharma et al., 2010). The water scenario in the region is skewed and is characterized by plenty and scanty syndrome, i.e. excess water during rainy season and severe scarcity during post- and pre- monsoon season. There is wide variation of rainfall in space and time. It is projected that by 2021, an additional 15 million population will be added to the current 45 million in the region (Choudhury et al., 2012). Hence, adequate planning and management of these bountiful but most vital resources are required for overall sustainability of agriculture in NER.

Introduction

Coastal zone represents a broad transitional zone between land and sea which is strongly influenced by both the shoreline ecosystems and the near shore sub-littoral land-based ecosystems. The coastal areas of the country occupy about 10.8 million ha of land and are spread over the 7517 km long coastline along the Bay of Bengal in the East coast, Arabian sea in the West coast and two islands territories. The coastline of the country in its journey covers 9 states (West Bengal Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat Goa) 2 union territories (Puducherry and Daman and Diu) and 2 groups of islands (Andaman & Nicobar group in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadeep and Minicoy group in the Arabian sea) in the country. The region has varied geomorphic and topographical features of mountains, valleys, coastal plains, riverine systems climatic conditions, soil conditions, water budgets and a wide range of cultivated crops. It also supports diverse vegetation ranging from rich tropical rain forests to coastal mangroves and highly rich in biodiversity. The entire coastal ecosystem is highly fragile and vulnerable to climate change and highly endangered by the sea level rise following global warming. Agriculture is the major occupation of the people in the rural areas of coastal regions of the country but it is highly complex risk-prone and entirely dependent on the vagaries of nature.

Since, the problems of coastal agriculture are widely variable there is no universally applicable remedial measure for self-reliant coastal agriculture and it is likely that the remedial measures or the technological interventions will be variable according to the problems associated with the concerned area. It is highly necessary that technological improvement aimed at enhancement of the productivity of coastal agriculture and the livelihood of the farming communities must be simple in use to suit the skill and resource poor farmers and, to be operative at small scale farming as the majority of the farmers are in marginal and small categories with very poor landholdings.

Introduction

Bundelkhand is an important region of Central India which is often called as heartland of the nation. It is spread in the geographical area of 7.08 mha, includes 14 districts seven, each of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and supports 1.84 crore (as per 2011 census) of socio-economically and culturally diverse population. The present region of Bundelkhand lies between approximately 23°10’ and 26°27’ (north) latitude and 78°4’ and 810 34’ (east) longitude. It lies between the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the north and the Vindhya Range to the south. Bundelkhand is a hot and semi- humid climate with highly variable depending on the region and with gently sloping upland, distinguished by barren hilly terrain with sparse vegetation, although it was historically forested. As with the rest of the Indian sub-continent, Bundelkhand experiences two main seasons, monsoon and dry. The monsoon brings over 90 percent of the annual rainfall between the months of June and September with the highest precipitation occurring in July and August. On an average, the region receives 75 cm to 125 cm of rain each year. The dry plains in the north usually receive less rain compared to the south- eastern part of the region. Minimum temperature varies from around 6-12 ^?C and maximum temperature varies from 38- 48 ^?C.

The region is blessed with plenty of natural resources. It had truly been endowed by nature, with beautiful mountains, good perennial rivers, fast flowing seasonal rivulets, large rich forest areas with valuable timber, fruit trees, numerous medicinal plants / herbs in almost each district. The rainfall here had been on average much better than many parts of India. Bundelkhand is a part of the central zone of India with a group of north-bound perennial rivers flowing and paying tribute to river Yamuna. From west to east these are Sind, Pahuj, Betwa, Dhasan, Ken, Baghein Paisuni and Tons. Along with Chambal and Yamuna these are ten major rivers. Other water resources in Bundelkhand are in form of water stored / conserved on surface termed as ponds, tanks, lakes etc. Bundelkhand has, undoubtedly, been one of the regions in India very much known for its historical rain-water management through man-made ponds, tanks and lakes. Topography here helped to build such structures but more than anything it reflected fore-sight and positive attitude of those rulers towards conservation of nature.

Introduction

The natural economic movement of a country goes from agrarian economy which is the primary sector to an industrial economy (secondary sector) and then only to the tertiary sector i.e., service economy. But due to various socio-economic factors, India has jumped from an agrarian economy to a service economy in the past and had a low growth in secondary sector.

Though primary sector is vital, there is a natural limit on how much can be extracted from this. The country is witnessing a peak in food grains production (285.21 million tonnes) nonetheless rupees 92,000 crores worth food grains are wasted annually (MOFPI annual report 2018-19). Hence, with an increasing population, decreasing arable land (52.6%), irrigation water resources and with present level of climate change scenario, food processing should be considered as a need to enhance the profitability and sustainability of agriculture in the country (Swaminathan and Bhavani, 2013). Thus, effective post-harvest management is one of the strategies for envisaging an evergreen revolution along with increasing yields. A well-developed food processing industry increases farm gate prices reduce wastages, ensure value addition, promote crop diversification, generate employment opportunities as well as export earnings.

Introduction

The protected cultivation aims to create a favorable environment for harnessing maximum potential even in adverse climatic conditions. Farmers in India are facing different challenges including small and fragmented land holdings, climate change, vagaries of weather, poor soil health and lack of knowledge and exposure to modern agricultural technologies. The protected cultivation farming is emerging as one of the better alternatives in agriculture and gaining foothold in India. However, for successful protected cultivation farming, one needs to understand the protected cultivation structures, climate control, production technologies, plant protection, water management, marketing, guidelines and policies. At present, various innovations are adopted under the greenhouse technology viz., Soil based cultivation and soil less cultivation. Soil less cultivation consist of solid media based and liquid media based. Solid media include coco-peat, vermiculite, perlite, rice husk, sawdust, mass grass, wheat - paddy straw, sand, gravels, rock wool etc. whereas liquid based media include hydroponic, aeroponic and aquaponics cultivation.

Introduction

The country’s population is growing at fast pace putting pressure on agriculture sector to grow more with declining resources. Proper planning and management become ever more crucial to ensure the sustainability of food production with minimal environmental footprints. Space technologies have unique advantages of providing large area synoptic coverage, with repetitive, objective and scientific datasets essential for monitoring a hugely vast and heterogeneous country like India. Agriculture being very dynamic and highly dependent on different natural resources needs continuous monitoring. Therefore these technologies have immense potential for application in the agriculture sector of the country. Space based technologies provide information on crops and natural resources on a real-time basis, proving unmatched opportunity for planning including in-season manipulation of crop production and management practices improving the resilience of farming against weather aberrations. Advanced estimates of regional agricultural output are critical to anticipate and mitigate the course of food shortage from sudden crop failure.

Incidentally, the first practical application of remote sensing in India was in the field of agriculture, wherein early detection of coconut wilt disease in Kerala was possible using air borne infrared cameras (Dakshinamurty et al. 1971). To explore the potential of space technology through satellites Joint Experiment Programme (JEP) started for defining the appropriate configurations of sensors in Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites during the early 1980s. After exhaustive field experimentation, the potential of remote sensing (RS) technology to estimate crop yield and area to forecast its productivity at district and regional level due to the multispectral, large area and repetitive coverage was established. By that time this technology was being used operationally used by a few advance nations. With the launch of the first IRS satellite IRS-1A in 1988, in India

Introduction

The digital farming solutions by various advanced tools and technologies became a prime important to see the future smart agriculture in India with enhanced productivity and farmer’s lifestyle upliftment. The agriculture industry facing challenges from farm to market by climate interfacing and energy conservations practices during farming operations. The use of innovative industry 5.0 is targeting a farming society to achieve high productivity by hardware devices like Robots, Drones, Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) working on the basis of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning (DL), Big-Data, IoT and Cloud-based software tools and interactive software programs.

The use of tractors, combine harvesters, power tillers etc. like advanced machineries are practiced in present farming practices by youth farmers; however the digital tools with an automation of existing advanced farm machinery became an attraction to see human comfort. The custom operative design and development of digital tools are essentially becomes a need to innovate and exercise in finding best technologies for Indian farming society. The agricultural society spent several years and now also synthesizing an operational description for digital farming. There are several ways of opting solutions by using new digital logistic tools with software and hardware engagements. As we know agricultural production is influenced by climate, weather, soil properties, plant genetic profile, plant peripheral environment, plant protection, plant nourishing, harvesting and post harvesting like operational tasks. All such a challenging task can be handled by advanced digital tools and technologies.

Introduction

More than 380 million urban population living in town and cities generates 62 million tones of municipal waste every year out of which 75% is recyclable but only 30% is recycled and reused whereas less than 15% of municipal solid waste is treated. Generally municipal authorities of the country dump the waste outside the city to keep the urban area clean. According to World Bank report, by the year 2025, waste generation will reach 377,000 tonnes per day in India (CPCB 2020). The waste generated in industrial and urban area of the country is tangible and concerning. This is the high time to address this issue with a great sensitivity and planning. Ragpickers works as the informal waste collection and recycling sector which plays an important role in waste management and leads to lesser waste to the landfills (Gupta et al., 1998).

Waste management is the process of treatment and disposal of solid, organic and hazardous waste. It can be categorized based on the source sector i) urban waste; ii) electrical waste iii) medical waste; iv) waste produced by disasters; v) agricultural waste vi) industrial waste etc. The type of waste has variable potential harms for human health, social implications, policies and the environment (FICCI, 2011). Agriculture itself is a big source of waste generated at different paths of food supply chain that occurs as follows:

Introduction

The post-harvest and marketing system comprised of a series of interconnected activities which starts after the harvesting process and continues until the distribution of food products to the consumers. An effective post-harvest system makes sure that the food product reaches the customer in a short time without sacrificing volume, quality, and safety of the food product (Gardas et al., 2018). Increasing population growth in the last few centuries and the requirements from industrialization forces the need for sustainable food production and better food processing technologies. There is a requirement of balance between sustainable food production practices, a healthy environment, and a healthy population due to the rapid changes in the climate and population. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), there will be a requirement of a 70% increase in food production in 2050 due to the growing population across the world (FAO, 2017).

The challenges such as improper land use, decrease in biodiversity, aquatic eutrophication by over-fertilization, global warming, water shortages due to improper irrigation etc. imposed awareness among the stakeholders to bring more efficient approaches in agricultural and food production practices. This brings the idea of terms such as recyclable and eco-friendly packaging, buy local, whole foods, free-from, and fair-trade (Boye and Arcand, 2013). Recent trends in climate and changes in the environment may pose challenges to achieve the required food production in the future. In addition to the steps taken for increasing food production, the steps to reduce food loss are important. In 2011, it was calculated that 11.3 billion tonnes of food was wasted in a year, which is almost one- third of the total food production (FAO, 2011).

Introduction

Animal husbandry has been an integral component of Indian agriculture since time immemorial. It is still continuing as one of the major avocations in India contributing nearly 4.9% to the national GDP and 28.4% of the agricultural GDP. Livestock population in the country as per Livestock Census 2019 is 535.78 million which is an increase of 4.6% over Livestock Census 2012 (BAHS, 2019; DAHD, 2019). Cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats are the major livestock in the country. Today, India is the global leader in milk and milk products with a production of 187.7 million tonnes (MT) and the availability of 394 ml milk per capita per day. The per capita availability of milk has increased substantially during last four decades. The anticipated milk demand is expected to be 266.5 MT by 2030 based on per capita consumption of 468 ml/day (Table 1). It has been made possible with the active involvement of farming community and by creating awareness about high yielding breeds of livestock, improved rearing methods and milking, management of pests and diseases and most importantly, the feeding of the animal. The crop residue constitutes a major chunk of fodder to the livestock in many parts of the country. However due to their low nutritive values and poor palatability, it is not helping to realize the full milking potential of animals. A huge opportunity exists in livestock sector as there is a growing demand for animal products particularly milk and meat (NDDB, 2019). In addition, for promoting organic farming particularly the need of farm yard manure has necessitated the farming community to keep livestock as a complementary component of his farming. It provides draught power and organic manure to crop sector and hides, skin, bones, blood and fibers to the industrial sector. Therefore, the importance of livestock goes beyond its food production function, and has become even more significant (Birthal et al., 2002).

Introduction

The Indian fisheries sector is set in a unique and diverse set of resources ranging from the pristine waters of the Himalayas to the sprawling Indian Ocean. The fisheries biodiversity of the country encompasses a wide spectrum of physical and biological components that support the livelihoods of millions of people. Fisheries resources are set in different ecosystems. With growing population and the increasing demand for fish protein, the need for sustainable development of aquatic resources is now felt much more than ever before.

Fisheries and aquaculture remain important sources of food, nutrition, income and livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people around the world. Global capture and culture fish production during 2019 were 97 and 82 million tonnes, respectively with India being second largest producer of fish in the world after China. From 0.75 million tonnes in 1950-51, total fish production of India touched 12.59 million tonnes in 2018-19 with a contribution of 8.90 million tonnes (70.60%) from inland sector. The sunrise fisheries sector contributes about 0.96 % to National Gross Value Added (GVA) and 5.37% to agricultural GVA (2018-19) while engaging over 14.5 million people (2003 census) at the primary level and almost twice the number along the value chain. During 2018-19 the export of marine products that includes production from aquaculture reached 13,77,244 tonnes valued at INR 46589 crore (US $ 6.93 billion). The inland sector grew at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 6.5% between 1979 and 2018, while overall fish production witnessed 4.5% growth, which is double the growth rate of food grains production in India.

Introduction

India is predominantly an agricultural economy and about half of the workforce is engaged in agriculture sector. Around 48 per cent of households in the country are agricultural household and they derive the monthly income from crop cultivation. India is leading in production of many agricultural crops but finding a market for marketed surplus and getting fair prices have always been a major challenge. Long time ago, traditional market system was existed in India. Marketing implied greater magnitude as yields and production started rising after farmers embraced with advanced technologies such as high-yielding varieties, fertilizers, chemical inputs, block chain development, farmers business network, market linkages, diversification towards high value crops, integrated farming system approach, precision farming including digital agriculture, drones, GIS technology, remote sensing, soil health management, crop and livestock insurance, mobile apps, web portal, machine learning and many mores. These catered the need of efficient regulated marketing system to support the farmers and keep away from them getting manipulated in the market.

India has gained self-sufficiency in the agriculture production. There is need to translate this production into better remuneration for the farming community by focusing into agricultural marketing system. The agricultural marketing system is characterized by various short comings like heavy sale of commodities at primary level immediately after the harvesting period, absence of on-farm grading of produce, poor packaging, insufficient marketing infrastructure, long marketing channels, existence of various malpractices in the marketing of agri-produce, nontransparent price discovery mechanism, lack of market information system, low marketable surplus especially of small and marginal farmers, etc.

Rising population and increasing demand for food are prominent factors driving the digital farming market. Moreover, the growing demand to efficiently deal with pests, weeds, and other diseases is encouraging farmers to digitize their farm. In developing regions, cheaper internet data and strong penetration of smart devices (especially smartphones) are driving the digital farming market. Active participation of governments in digitizing farms through investment is also driving the digital farm market.

Introduction

The food production in India has been on a rising trajectory and the country is among the top producers of several crops. It is the highest producer of milk and second highest producer of fruits and vegetables. Total food grain production in the country is estimated at record 291.95 million tonnes (MT; Second Advance Estimates for 2019-20) which is 6.74 MT higher over 2018-19. While enhanced field productivity is an essential component of agricultural sector, improved postharvest handling, marketing and processing is equally essential to reduce the waste, particularly in a country where such losses are substantial and add stress on limited farming resources, appropriate agrilogistic is needed. Post-production management and marketing infrastructure is therefore, not only vital but a priority. Such infrastructure and the services they provide are essential not only for the efficient performance of various marketing functions, but also for effective expansion of the size of markets which allows for growth.An efficient post-harvest logistics network not only ensures that produce will reach destination markets in quality and quantity, but should also trigger a steady reverse flow of market information to the source.

Introduction

Agricultural Extension is as ancient as agriculture itself. When it moves in agricultural trends, the importance on extension has also been transformed. Firstly, agricultural extension was the component of the research-extension-farmer approach. In the Training and Visit (T&V) period, communication of innovation was the crucial concept and the role of extension was to successfully disseminate the technological interventions. However, after the green revolution, the gap between resource rich and resource poor farmers widened with information and extension reaching only a few of them. With the conceptualization of new models, like Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems (AKIS), the focus of extension has changed to formation of groups and collective farming. In time, the private sector has also entered into the agricultural arena, introducing the concept of pluralism in extension. Emphasis on mass media has also increased. More recently, Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) is introduced within the innovation systems framework. It focuses on the actors, their interactions, the institutions, and the policy environment to support or hinder it. Communication for innovation is the key AIS concept tried to identify the actors in systems, their core activities and bring them into an innovation platform for effective service and successful innovations (Saravanan, 2017).

Historical Perspective of Agricultural Education Policy in India

Pre-Independence Era

During the reign of the British Crown, vocational education and training suffered a great setback and there was a lack of emphasis on agricultural education, even though the Indian economy, to a great extent, depended on agriculture. In 1901, only five institutions were imparting theoretical and practical instruction in agriculture, but that education was not used in extension or fieldwork—it served only as an opening for government white-collar jobs (Crane, 1965).

Post-Independence Era

Prior to the establishment of agricultural universities, university-level education in agriculture, animal science, horticulture, agricultural engineering, and allied subjects were largely conducted by colleges affiliated with general universities that had no special commitment to the farming community. The University Education Commission of 1947, among other things, examined the state of agricultural education in India. The report of this Commission emphasized the need for having what was termed “Rural Universities.” In 1954, the First Joint Indo-American Team on Agricultural Research and Education fully endorsed the recommendations of the University Education Commission and strongly recommended the immediate establishment of agricultural universities in a few selected states. The U.S. agricultural advisors who began to arrive in India in the early 1950s were products of the land-grant university system, and many of them naturally believed India could benefit by creating a similar system (Goldsmith, 1988). The Government of India accepted this recommendation and the first agricultural university in Uttar Pradesh now named as Govind Ballab Pant of Agriculture & Technology was established in 1960, patterned on the land-grant university model of the United States. This was a significant turning point in the history of agricultural education in India. The Second Joint Indo-American Commission (1959) reiterated the recommendations of the First and recommended that at least one agricultural university be established in each state. Agricultural universities have now been established in 21 of the 28 states and the concept of the agricultural university now forms an essential part of the national policy on education.

Introduction

India is considered as one of the emerging superpowers of the world. This potential is attributed to several indicators, the primary one being its demographic trends and a rapidly expanding economy. In 2015, India became the world’s fastest growing economy with a 7.5% estimated GDP rate. But in the year 2020, the pandemic lockdown situation created adverse impact on the global economy. At this juncture, there is an urgent need to focus on native and indigenous resource mapping and judicious utilization of it to be a self-reliant. The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a new set of reforms to strengthen the economy. The first mention of this came in the form of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ or ‘Self-Reliant India Mission’ by the Government of India during the announcement of the coronavirus pandemic related economic package on 12^th May 2020. Almost 70% of India’s population depends directly and indirectly on agriculture for their survival. This means the country cannot have a development model that ignores agriculture.

It’s time to take a look at India’s agriculture economy. Over the last 10 years, (2008-19) India has been a net exporter of many farm produce. In fact, in 2018, the government has come up with a new agricultural export policy aimed at doubling farm income by 2022. However, in 2019-20, agri-exports were just $36 billion and the agri-trade surplus was $11.2 billion. The net agri-trade surplus has been falling over a period of time, making it difficult to achieve doubling of farmers’ income and doubling of agriculture exports by 2022as well.

India is not yet self-reliant in various essential agriculture commodities and depends heavily on imports. India imports around 15 million tonnes of edible oil every year — more than 9 million tonnes of palm oil and about 2.5 million tonnes each of soybean oil and sunflower oil. It buys palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, and soy and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine and Russia. There is a need to create self-reliance in theses commodities enhancing productivity of Indian farms to create competitive advantage for domestic producers. India can step up cultivation of sunflower, groundnuts, mustard and oil palms. Presently, India has about two million hectares of land that is suitable for oil palm cultivation.

Introduction

India is transforming from the phase of revolution to commercial mode of agriculture, a step ahead of self-sufficiency. It further evolves to reach a goal of self-reliant on agriculture and allied sector. The present phase demands several technological innovations, their application and implementation in the market. Meanwhile this phase needs due attention for handling the issues on conservation of natural resources, especially germplasm resource, biodiversity conservation, socio-cultural-economic values of our country, etc. The whole process requires good investment on research and development, various economic measures and implementation. It is only possible with vibrant governance and policy implementation of a Government. Already Government of India has taken several measures to transform agriculture. Recent analysis showed that Indian agriculture is the silent ever green revolution. Food production is kept pace with the growing population since independence. Further, it needs several innovations on technologies coupled with policy support to fill the demand. India is placed 49^th position in the world on innovations. Analysis suggested the huge potential for innovation due to its huge human capital, which perhaps need for the country like India to meet the food demand of 333 million tonnes by the year 2050. These innovations must be focussed for growth to efficiency, employment generation, food security to nutrition and health, shortage management to surplus management, input intensive to knowledge intensive agriculture, climate change and sustainability, production and producers, policy interventions, regulations and reforms. The Government emphasize usage of e-trading platforms to sell the farmers’ produce of their choice rather using mandis. This will enable contract farming and inter-state trade. However, major innovations and investment must be implemented on transportation, logistics, and digital access and payments to enable widespread prosperity. Thus, focus must be on the complete agricultural value chain. In fact, focus needed on value addition, rural infrastructure, logistics, warehousing, and quality certification of agriculture produce. India has greatest challenges to face in the future for food and nutritional security, adaptation and mitigation to climate change and sustainable use of essential and scared resources like water, land and energy.

Horticulture is the science and art of production, improvement and utilization of fruits vegetable, ornamental, aromatical medicinal, spices and plantation crops. The word horticulture derived from latin words ‘Hortus’ means garden and culture means cultivation.

The horticulture science can subdivided into different following branches on the basis of product utilization and crop involved.

Pomology: This word is derived from latin word pomus ‘Fruit’ and Greek term logy ‘Science’. The branch deals with the cultivation of fruits called pomology.

Olericulture: It is the branch of horticulture which deals with cultivation of vegetable crops product of which is utilized for culinary purpose after cooking. Olericulture word is derived from the latin word oleris means pot herbs and the english word culture means the culture of succulent vegetables.

Plantation crops: Cultivation and processing of tropical crops grown on a large scale centered around a factory constitute the plantation crops e.g., tea, coffee, black pepper.

Spices crops: These crops are grown and used for providing fragrance and flavouring to various food stuffs e.g., cinnamon, clove, pepper, coriander etc.

Medicinal plants: These plants are rich source of alkaloids and steroids having prophylactic and curative properties for treatment in several diseases e.g., Aloe, Isabgol.

Aromatic plants: Aromatic plants are rich source of essential oil which is used for cosmetic industry e.g., Rose, lemon grass etc.

Mango is most important of all fruit crops in terms of are coverage and production, besides its socioeconomics providing livelihood to million of people in India and it is acknowledged as the king of fruit of this country. The greatest tribute of this esteemed plant was paid by Emperor Akabar (1556–1605) who established the Lal Bag (a mango orchards having one lakh plants) in Darbhanga (Bihar) when large orchards of fruit trees were unknown. In Ain-I-Akbari, a master piece of Persian literature, written by the great chronicler Abul Fazal (1590 AD) during the region of Akbar. Popularity of mango among the consumers is increasing due to its delicious flavour and much higher nutritional and therapeutic values. Thus, mango is now appreciated and spreading across the globe. It is grown in more than 90 countries. Washing of mouth and hand are necessary after eating the fruit so, it is also known as bathroom fruit.

Area and Production

India is the single largest producer of fruit, accounting for 49.6 per cent of area and 49.1 per cent of the total world production. Mango occupies 23.13 million hectares area in India. Amongst the major mango-exporting countries India, Mexico, Brazil and Pakistan accounted for 3.5, 1.4 and 3.3 per cent of total area under mangoes in the world respectively. The productivity of mango is highest with 13.6 tonnes/ha in Brazil and 7.0 tonnes/ha in India which is much lower. India contributed about 45.7 per cent of total mango production (35.71 million tonnes) in the world, making it the most important mango producing country. Andhra Pradesh ranks first as it produces about 27 per cent of total mango production and Uttar Pradesh is ranked second in production (23.9%) with productivity of13 tonnes/ha. At present the varieties like ‘Alphonso’ grown in Maharashtra and Gujarat and ‘Dashehari’ in U.P. are exported to countries viz. Afghanistan, Bahrain, France, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore and U.K. Mango nectar and pulp has great scope to European and American market.

Banana is an important fruit of India ranking second fruit next to mango. Its name “Adams fig”, “Apple of Paradise” and the botanical name M. paradisiaca are suggestive of its antiquity. The edible banana is indigenous to warm moist parts of Asia and probably originated somewhere in the mountainous hot tropical regions of South-East Asia (Assam, Burma, Thiland or Indo-China region). Bananas are a very important commodity for developing countries, with a clear dual nature which complicates the analysis. They are at the same time a major staple commodity, together with rice, wheat and maize, and a fundamental export commodity. Many issues are involved in order to make of banana a very sensitive commodity at the international level, not only on economical grounds but also on the environmental, social and political aspects.

Origin and History

It is believed that the earliest written reference to banana is in Sankrist and dates back to around 500 BC. Bananas are suspected to be the first fruit in the earth by some horticulturists. The origin of bananas is placed in Southeast Asia, in the jungles of Malaysia, Indonesia or Philippines, where so many varieties of wild bananas still grow at present. Bananas have later travelled with human population. The first Europeans to know about bananas were the armies of Alexander the Great, while they were campaigning in India in 327 BC. In the Middle Ages, the banana was thought to be the forbidden fruit of paradise by both Muslims and Christians. The Arabs brought them to Africa. Africans are credited to have given the present name, since the word banana would be derived from the Arab finger. The Portuguese brought them to the Canary Islands. Bananas changed during all these trips, gradually losing its seeds, filling out with flesh and diversifying. When Spaniards and Portuguese explorers went to the New World, the banana travelled with them. In 1516, when Fiar Tomas de Berlanga sailed to Santo Domingo, he brought banana roots with him. From there, bananas spread to the Caribbean and Latin American countries. Bananas started to be traded internationally by the end of XIX century.

Citrus is a major fruit crop grown all over the tropical and subtropical region of the world. Maximum citrus species are native of tropical and subtropical regions of South East Asia specially India, China in the area between these two countries. It is mainly cultivated in China, Brazil, India, USA, Mexico, Spain and Egypt in the world. China is the leading producer country in the world followed by Brazil, India and USA. India is the third largest citrus producer which has 4.8 per cent of the world’s total citrus production.

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) has emerged from the status of a home garden plant to that of commercial orchards and is popular with the farmers because it is one of the few fruits which fruits throughout the year, give quick and high returns, requires less area per tree and adapts itself to diverse soil and climatic conditions. It is an important fruit of tropical and mild subtropical regions of the country. Though India is the leading producer of this fruit, the productivity (43.27 MT/ha) is below it’s potentially (100 t/ ha). In India, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are important centres of its production.

Origin and Distribution

Papaya is native to tropical America, from Southern Mexico through the Andes of South America. It was spread to the south by Indians, and throughout the Caribbean with Spanish exploration. It was spread in 16^th century to other parts of the world. The Spanish also carried it to Europe and the Pacific Islands. By the mid 17th century, papaya was distributed pan tropically. Papaya was introduced to Hawaii in the 1800s, and Hawaii remains the only state in the USA to produce papaya commercially. Now it is grown in all tropical and sub-tropical countries like Australia, Hawaii, Taiwan, Puerto Rico, Peru, Florida, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. It was introduced in India in 16^th century by Portuguese. There are leading producer countries in the world which are India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Dominican republic, Nigeria, Democratic republic of the congo, Cuba, Thailand and Venezuela (Bolivarian republic).

India, is the worldwide leading producer of papaya and its principal exportation market is focused on Gulf countries. The papaya cultivation in India was 138 with production 5989 (‘000 hectare production ‘000 metric tones) in 2017–18 and it was 146 with production 6096 (‘000 hectare production ‘000 metric tones) 2018–2019. At harvested area rank, Mexico is the fifth papaya harvester, with 17,500 hectares. The maximum area in Gujarat followed by Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Chhattisgarh; and production is maximum in Andhra Pradesh followed by Gujarat and Karnataka, Anony, 2019.

Guava is the fifth most important fruit crop of India in area and production after mango, banana, citrus and papaya and also fifth most important fruit crop of India in area after mango, banana, citrus and apple (Anonymous, 2018). It is also called apple of tropics because it is sold at moderate prices. It is widely grown in different part of the tropics and subtropics. It is quite hardy, prolific bearer and highly remunerative crop which requires less care. Guava is an important fruit crop of India and has gained considerable importance because of its high nutritive value, availability at moderate price, a pleasant aroma and good flavour. Guava is one of the most common fruit liked alike by both the rich and the poor. Guava is a rich source of vitamin C and pectin. It is very rich and cheap source of vitamin C. The fruit is relished when mature or ripe and freshly plucked from the tree. It is also used for many preparations like jelly, cheese and juice.

Origin and Distribution

The world leading producer of Guava is India. It contributes 40.4% production of guava followed by china with 10.0% production. It is cultivated in India since early the 17^th century. Its origin is Tropical America. It has been spread throughout the tropics and subtropics. Guava is also cultivated in Israel but it is not common in the Mediterranean area and United States. However, Guava is growing widely in Southern Asia. It is cultivated in Ceylon at altitude of 1500 m and it also grown throughout Myanamar. In Florida, the first commercial guava planting was established around 1912 in Palma Sola. It is common throughout all warm areas of tropical America and in the West Indies (since 1526), the Bahamas, Bermuda and southern Florida where it was reportedly introduced in 1847 and was common over more than half the State by 1886. Apparently it did not arrive in Hawaii until the early 1800’s. Now it occurs throughout the Pacific islands. Generally, it is a home fruit tree or planted in small groves, except in India where it is a major commercial resource. In 1972, Hawaii processed, for domestic use and export, more than 2,500 tons (2,274 MT) of guavas, over 90% from wild trees. During the period of high demand in World War II, the wild guava crop in Cuba was said to be 10,000 tons (9,000 MT), and over 6,500 tons (6,000 MT) of guava products were exported. Brazil’s modern guava industry is based on seeds of an Australian selection grown in the botanical garden of the Sao Paulo Railway Company at Tatu.

Grape was known to grow in India from ancient time but its commercialization is relatively recent, with the discovery of, Anab-e-Shahi’ variety by Mr. Shanker Pillay in 1930 from the bungalow of Nawab Baquer Ali Khan. This variety performed very well in the Hyderabad region of Andhra Pradesh and in fact gave initial boost to the Indian viticulture. It was initially known as ‘Malta’ and proved to be a pioneer in revolutionizing grape industry in south Indian.

Grape growing in north India received impetus from its success in south Indian. The commercial grape growing in north India dates back to early sixties when the ‘Pusa Seedless’ variety was released by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. Latter on, the Punjab Government imported 100,000 cuttings of early-maturing variety ‘Perlette’ from California (USA). This variety acclimatized well and proved good for commercial cultivation.

In western Rajasthan the grape was introduced around 1960, which became popular among the growers. The fruit yield declined slowly thereafter and the grape cultivation was almost abandoned by 1971–72, particularly in the arid district. The problem of the drop of flower and flower-bud has been over of the major constraints in grape growing in western Rajasthan.

Pomegranate is one of the important fruits of tropical and sub tropical regions. It is also cultivated in semi arid and arid tracts of the country but requires irrigation facilities for better quality of fruits production. Pomegranate is used as fresh and making delicious juice. In India, it is cultivated for domestic consumption and export. Versatile adaptability, hardy nature, less cost in orchard management, low irrigation water requirement as compared to other commercial fruit crops, high yield potential, fine table and therapeutical values and excellent keeping quality has made this fruit more lucrative and remunerative (Sharma et al., 2014).

In global market, India plays a significant role of export of fruits. Recently exports of pomegranate from India have increased and extended to several countries. India stands firmly at third position with 14% market share in pomegranate export after China and Iran.

The annual export of pomegranate fruits from India is about 67, 892 metric tonnes (MT) amounting to revenue of ‘688 crore (Annon, 2019). For export purpose, Phule Arakta, Bhagawa, Super Bhagawa and Mridula varieties are suitable (Anon, 2003).

The highest importer of Indian pomegranate is Gulf countries led by United Arab Emirates (19,000 MT) followed by South East Asian Countries prominently, Bangladesh (10,500 MT) and Nepal (10,000 MT). Among European countries the biggest exporter is Netherlands (4,449 MT) followed by UK (576 MT). Recently, India has also started exporting fresh pomegranate to USA to the tune of 209 MT generating a revenue of 11 crore ((Annon, 2019).

It is tropical fruit which is commercially cultivated in humid areas of India. Fruits are very tasty, sweet and rich in sugar. Trees are ever light green, slow growing and it attains a height of about eight meters.

Origin and Distribution

Sapota is native to Central and South America, specifically from the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico to Costa Rica, where the largest population of native trees still exists (Gilly 1943). It is now widespread throughout the tropical regions of the world, including Central and South America, the West Indies, India, and Florida in the United States.

Sapota is grown on a commercial basis in India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mexico, Venezuela, Guatemala, and some other Central American countries. India is the largest producer of sapota fruit with current production around 24,000 ha (Chadha 1992). Sapota is widely planted in south Florida, where the fruit is marketed locally and shipped to northern and eastern U.S. markets. The fruit, however, is not commonly seen in the United States. In southern Mexico and Central America where sapodilla is native, it is considered to be one of the best of the tropical fruits.

Medicinal plants especially underutilized fruit are the nature’s gift to arid zone. Many of fruits are popular in this area but aonla posses an important place among all. Aonla or Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis Gaertn) is native to tropical south-eastern Asia mainly peninsular of central and southern India. The tree is known as Amla, Amlaki, Amli, Ambala, Amalakamu and Nelli in different parts of India. It is a very hardy tree and can be grown under diverse soil and agro-climatic conditions without much care. Aonla fruits has been reported to have potential of antioxidant, free radical scavenging capacity, anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic, immune modulation properties, which is used to cure various cancer, diabetes, liver and heart related diseases

Aonla has been regarded as a sacred tree in India. It has religious value and it is medicinally very important since ancient time. It has hallowed position in Indian medicine system called as Ayurveda as a protective remedy for several mankind problems. The tree was worshipped as Mother Earth and is believed to nurture humankind because the fruit are very nourishing. Kartik Mahatma and Vrat Kaumudi order the worship of this tree. The leaves are offered to the Lord of Shri Satyanarayana Vrata, Samba on Shri Shanipradosha Vrata and Shiva and Gowri on Nitya Somvara Vrata. The fruit and flowers are also used in worship. Fruits of aonla are processed in various forms like Juice, Murabba, Chayvanprash, candy, powder and flakes which has significant role in mitigating several malnourished disorders. Aonla cultivation has gained special attention of researcher community due to its significant role in medicinal industry as well as processing potential.

The ber is an important indigenous fruit and growing in semi arid conditions in the country. Ber is grown in China for the last 4000 years and under sub tropical to tropical as well as Mediterranean regions of the world. It is cultivated widely for its resistance to grow in drought and other diversified climatic and soil conditions, so it is also known as ‘King of fruit’ of arid.

Origin and Distribution

The origin of ber is said to be India to South-western Asia. The ber is being cultivated in Northern India, central India and peninsular India. Hisar, Rohtak, Panipat, Gurgaon, Jind, Mahindergarh in Haryana. In Rajasthan it is cultivated in district of Bharatpur Alwer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Palib and Gnaganagar Jaipur in area 82, 73, 59, 53, 53, 53,41 hectare with production 365, 395,133, 294, 340, 597, 826 metric tones, respectively. However total cultivated area in Rajasthan is 738 hectare with production 5248 metic tones under ber during 2017–18 (Anonymous, 2018).

The area Sangrur and Patiala in Punjab; Banaskantha and Sabarmati in Gujarat; Bijapur and Bellary in Karnataka; Tirunalveli, Ramanathapuram and Salem in Tamil Nadu are major ber growing areas in the country. Besides India, ber is grown in Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Burma, Australia, USA, Russia, Italy, France, Spain and Northern Africa.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important fruit tree of semi-arid and arid regions. It grows well under poor desertic soils due to its hardy plant characteristics and deep root system. It is also one of the most suitable fruit trees, which can be easily grown under saline conditions. In arid region, crop production is risky preposition, where date palm cultivation contributes in achieving food security, high nutritive value food, crop diversification, desertification control, income generation and foreign exchange earnings. It can be grown at such places where adequate irrigation facilities are available besides other climatic requirements.

The latin name of the date palm, Phoenix dactylifera is derived from a Phoenician name “Phoenix”, which means date palm and dactylifera derived from a Greek word “daktulos” means a finger. In India, generally two species of Phoenix are found. Out of which, Phoenix sylvestris Roxb. called “desi khajoor” is found throughout the country but it produces inferior quality fruits. The fruit contains large stone with less pulp content. From its crown parts, a liquid is extracted known as neera or taddi, which is used as fresh drinks and also for preparation of jaggary. The tree of wild date/ desi khajoor (Phoenix sylvestris) is found in Bundelkhand region of the country and it is suitable tree component for agro forestry system (Tewari et al., 2001). Phoenix dactylifera is commercially grown for edible fruits and value added products.

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is a subtropical and evergreen tree belonging to the family Sapindaceae. This fruit has highly specific climatic adaptability due to chilling requirement for floral initiation on one hand and the damage caused due to high summer temperature along with low relative humidity during fruit growth period on the other hand. Some other factors influencing expansion in different regions of the world are difficulties in establishment of plants in nursery and orchards, bearing and further into harvesting and post-harvest management. Calcium rich soil with mycorrhizae is best suited for the luxuriant growth of litchi plants which are commercially propagated by air-layering or gootee.

There has been a substantial increase in the area and production of litchi in India during the past 50 years. The area has increased from 9400 ha (1949–1950) to 91,000 ha (2016–2017). The contribution of litchi to the total area under fruit cultivation has increased from 0.75% to 1.70%. Increase in area during 1991–1992 to 2016–2017 (22 years) has been more than 80%, whereas production increase during the same period is to the tune of more than 150% (NHB, 2016–17). Productivity also recorded an increase of about 50% during the same period. Evidently, production and productivity of litchi are constantly increasing in the country. On a global scale, the fresh fruit market dominates the trade, followed by dried and canned fruit. Low success rate of establishment, lesser fruiting span, low and irregular yields because of poor flowering and fruit set, fruit cracking, browning and rotting of fruits, fruit borers and mites, poor shelf life, and lack of suitable varieties with early and late maturity and good-quality fruits are some of the factors encountered

Custard apple (Sitaphal) is one of the most delicious fruit. The genus name, ‘Annona’ is comes from the Latin word ‘anon’, which means ‘yearly produce’ has three species namely Annona squamosa, Annona cherimola and Annona reticulate. Out of which Annona squamosa has been extensively used as fruit crop and traditional medicine for different ailments. The seeds and the leaves also are being used for preparation of medicine. It is hardy, tolerant to drought, salinity and saline irrigation water to certain extent. It grows very well in shallow soil profile. It also sheds off leaves during stress condition to evade moisture loss from plant tissue through transpiration. This crop is known by varied name like sitaphal, shariffa and sugar apple.

Origin and Distribution

The custard apple is believed to be a native of the West Indies but it was carried in early times through Central America to southern Mexico. It has long been cultivated and naturalized as far south as Peru and Brazil. It is commonly grown in the Bahamas and occasionally in Bermuda and southern Florida. Apparently it was introduced into tropical Africa early in the 17th century and it is grown in South Africa as a dooryard fruit tree. In India the tree is cultivated, especially around Calcutta, and runs wild in many areas.

The bael (Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr.) is indigenous to India and it is also called as Baelpatra, Bengal quince (John and Stevenson, 1979), Indian quince, golden apple, holy fruit, bel, bilwa, bela, maredoo and other dialectal names in India. Hindus used the leaves to worship Lord Shiva (Bilwa Patra) and keep them on Shivling and they consider it is very auspicious and to get the blessings of Shiva. The fruits form a vital ingredient of holy offerings to the God and Goddess through holy pyre (haven). In history, the mention of bael tree is traced to Vedic times (C 2000 BC. to C 800 B..) within the Yajur Veda.

Pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) is an important commercial fruit crop belongs to family Bromeliaceae. It is one of the choicest fruits all over the world because of its characteristic taste and pleasant flavour. Plant is herbaceous in nature with narrow pointed leaves and 50–100 cm height. The inflorescence composed of 150–200 flowers arranged in a compact spiral cluster. The flowers are perfect with three short fleshy sepals and petals, six stamens, floral bract and ovary with three locules. The plant bears a single fruit of cylindrical shape terminally on a peduncle come out from the centre of the rosette. Pineapple fruit is a multiple or sorosis type fruit formed by the partial fusion of numerous fleshy segments from several separate flowers and edible part of fruit mainly consists of the ovaries, bases of sepals, bracts and cortex of the axis. Commercial varieties are self sterile but easily crossable with plants outside their varietal group. The apex of fruit bears a compressed, leafy and spiny shoot known as crown. The fruit weight ranged from 1.00–2.50 kg and has outer colour yellow and very golden yellow flesh inside. Pineapple fruits are mainly consumed as fresh fruit, juice purpose and also used for canning. The typically yellow fruit flesh is found suitable for fresh consumption when sweet (10 to 18% sugar) and moderately acid (0.5 to 1.6%). Fruits are processed in various value added products like pineapple chunks, crushed pineapple, diced pineapple, slices, juices, syrups, jams, etc. The pineapple possess crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), a photosynthetic carbon assimilation pathway with high water-use efficiency

The Jamun (Syzygium cuminii Skeels) is a nutritious fruit with a variety of uses; virtually every part of the tree has been utilized by both urban and rural dwellers. The fruit is good source of iron, sugars, minerals, protein and carbohydrate etc (Table 1). Fully ripe fruits are eaten fresh and can be processed into beverages like jelly, jam, squash, wine, vinegar and pickles. The Jamun fruit has sub-acid spicy flavour and squash is very refreshing drink for quenching the thrust in the summer season. A little quantity of fruit syrup is much useful for curing the diarrhoea. The vinegar prepared from juice extracted from slightly unripe fruit is stomachic, carminative and diuretic, apart from having cooling and digestive properties (Thaper, 1958). However, small jamun fruits not suitable for table use but suitable for use in the beverage industry as they contained a high amount of acidity, tannins and anthocyanins (Anon., 1986). The volatile oil from the jamun fruits can also be extracted (Vijayanandet al., 2001). Fruits are used as an effective medicine against diabetes, heart and liver trouble (Singh, 2001). The Powdered seeds have also reputation of being useful in the treatment of diabetes. Oral administration of an aqueous jamun seed extract for 6 weeks caused a significant decrease in lipids, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and an increase in catalase and superoxide dismutase in the brain of diabetic rats (Prince et al., 2003). Leaf extract of jamun also reduces the radiation induced DNA damage in the cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Jamun seed can be used as concentrate for animals, as it is rich in protein, carbohydrates and calcium. Its timber wood is used for railway sleepers, construction of buildings, agricultural implements and for well work, as it resists the action of water (Chundawat, 1990).

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., Syn., Artocarpous integrifolia L.) is an evergreen tree species. Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a close relative of jackfruit. It belongs to Moraceae family along with fig and mulberry. It is a tree borne fruit crop species producing biggest size fruit among fruit crops. Jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh and Indonesia (Matin, 2015). In southern India, Jackfruit received a respected status symbol. The state government of Kerala declared it as the state fruit of Kerala to promote the ‘Kerala Jack fruit’ and its value-added products as a brand, highlighting its organic and nutritious qualities among people.

This fruit plant is fast-growing when young, but soon become slow-growing tree thrive well under tropical, sub-tropical and temperate region. Mostly this crop is being cultivated for rearing of silkworm and wind break rather than fruit crop. This crop not specific with climatic requirement so can be grown in arid, marginal soil, barren land without much care.

The different plant parts viz., stem, bark, twigs, leaf, fruit etc are being utilized in different ways. Stem use for making agricultural implement, house artisans’, sports items, fodder for animals and fruits use as fresh dessert and in processing for making of different value added products like jam, beverages etc. Apart from these, its different plant parts also have medicinal properties use mainly in folk, ayurvedic and unani medicines.

Phalsa is an important minor fruit crop of India. It is a sub tropical fruits, which is also known as star apple. It is known by different vernacular names in different parts of country for example Dhamini in Bengali, Phalsa in Punjabi and Shurkhi in Hindi.

Phalsa is a shrub or small tree of Indian origin. Phalsa has been mentioned in Vedic literature as having certain medicinal qualities. Phalsa is a bushy plant of arid and semi- arid region. It is also cultivated in subtropical region. It is very hardy, tolerant to drought and suitable to grow on wastelands. Phalsa is best suited for small area as it is manageable by pruning. Its cultivation is favoured around big cities where fruits find a ready and quick sale. It has a poor keeping quality. It is also grown as an intercrop with mango, aonla, bael and ber. It is capable of growing under neglected and water scarcity conditions where only a few other crops would survive.

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) is a tropical evergreen tree species of Leguminosae family. It is a very versatile plant species which can grow easily up to 1500 m above sea level and found in abundance in the Indian subcontinent and African continent. The name Tamarindus indica was given by Linnaeus in the eighteenth century, inspired by the Arabic name “Tamar-ul-Hind”, meaning ‘date of India’. Tamarind is known by different vernacular names in different languages. In India, tamarind grows naturally in forest and also develops unattended on wastelands. Therefore, it is suitable to grow along the roads, in agroforestry as multipurpose tree species or as fire breaks for forest margins.

Wood apple is also known as kaith, kavat, curd apple and monkey fruit. It is found almost throughout the country. It is one of the very hardy tree found growing in arid and semi arid regions of the country. Hill region of northern India and Ceylon are supposed to be its native land (Reuther et al., 1967). Chundawat (1990) thought it to be a native of India and Sri Lanka. It is a popular tree of forest, Indoor yard garden and can be exploited for regular cultivation in dry areas. The cricket ball size fruits have sweet and aromatic pulp, eaten fresh or used for drinks, chutneys, jellies etc. In forests of Rajasthan, it is commonly found in Aravalli range and Hadoti Plateau.

Karonda (Carissa carandas Linn.) is also known as ‘Christ Thorn Tree’ and an important fruit plant of semi-arid and arid regions. It is an evergreen, hardy, spiny bush which is use as live fencing surrounding the orchards or filed. One or two plant was planted in backyards at rural place. It is also grown in wasteland, problematic soil, unproductive land and low moisture conditions. It can be also grown as ornamental purpose due to pink reddish fruits and evergreen nature. Plant produce sufficient amount of fruits and fruits are sour and astringent in taste. Fruits havenutritive value like rich source of iron, fair amount of vit. C and several medicinal values.

Ker (Capparis decidua (Forsk.) Edgew, (synonym Capparis aphylla, Roth) is a multipurpose, perennial, woody shrub or small tree found growing naturally in hot arid regions and semi-arid subtropics in various parts of the world. In India, it is known by different names in different parts of the country. In Rajasthan, it is generally called Kair or Ker while in Haryana it is known as Teent or Dela. Some more synonym by which ker is known are Caper, Karyal, Hanbag, Cari, Karira etc while in English, it is known as Caper berry. This species is an important constituent of arid ecosystem and plays significant roles in sustaining the ecosystem. The peoples of Indian Thar desert have known the importance of this shrub for long back. On account of its acquired xerophytic adaptive characteristics, it is capable of growing in various kinds of habitats including wastelands. It is also suitable for stabilizing sand dunes and controlling soil erosion by wind and water. Due to its xerophytic adaptive nature, the plant grows successfully under harsh climatic conditions of arid regions. Berry-shaped unripe fruits are rich in carbohydrates, proteins and minerals. It was abundant about five decades back, but, with increase in populations of humans and livestock and more demand of land for agricultural purpose, it has been over-exploited and eliminated by tractor ploughing and excessive browsing pressure from livestock. This has resulted in significant reduction in plant population of ker, but people still try to retain some plants on farm boundaries as this also prevent soil erosion which is quite high due to wind.

Arid regions lie under the category of wastelands which are not being used to their fullest potential therefore, it almost barren. Hot arid regions are sparsely populated with human and animal population and experiences various biotic exploitation of the already very poor resources base. The scarcity of water poses biggest hindrance in limits the crop productivity as climatic factor. Yet, nature has bestowed the arid region fruits with characteristic qualities. Some fruit crops can grow successfully in such type of regions. Among these crops, cardia most suitable crop for cultivation under such type of arid climate. Some regional names of cordia are Pidar, Ponugeri, Maruvilli, Geduri, Spistan, Bhakar, Borla, Kalo Bohori (Nepali) etc. It is growing not only all over Asia but also nearly whole of the globe especially in tropical environment. In Indian sub-continent, it is growing from east Myanmar to west Afghanistan. It is grown in arid region and having numerous utilities. It is found in a variety of the forest of Rajasthan to moist deciduous forests of the Western Ghats and Tidal forest of Myanmar. In Maharashtra, it grows in moist monsoon forests also. In Rajasthan, its commercial plantations are being done in Pali, Sirohi, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jalore districts.

Now, it is becoming popular as monoculture cultivation as well as under agroforestry system in arid region. It does not grow gregariously but is found growing singly in moist shady ravines and valleys. In areas with annual rainfall less than 500mm, it thrives along streams and depressions where moisture is available. The hot arid zone stretch 32 M ha or 0.32 million square kilometer long covering Rajasthan (62%), Gujrat (20%), Andra Pradesh (7%), Punjab (5%), Haryana (4%), Karnataka (3%) and Maharastra (0.4%). In these area fruits selection for cultivation must be cope up that their maximal growth period coincides with the period of water availability in the soil. Few of the xerophytes characteristics are: deeper root system, deciduous nature, reduced foliage, sunken of covered stomata, waxy coating or hairiness on leaf surface which minimize the evapotranspiration and makes plant adaptive to the hostile climate. These qualities are found in cordia plant which can grow in this area without any problem after management of some agro-techniques.

Apple is a king of temperate fruit, symbol of health and premier fruit of the world. It is a deciduous temperate fruit tree and most widely grown in the world from time immemorial. In India, a large number of apple varieties were introduced in 1887 by Mr. Alexander Coutts, and his orchard is called Hillock Head in Mashobra near to Shimla. It was also introduced in Nilgoris and Bangalore, but it was destroyed by wooly aphid in 1887. At present a small cultivation is done in Nilgiris. Among the fruits, apple is having longest storage life. Apples are mostly consumed as fresh but a small part of the production is processed into juices, jellies, canned slices, wine and other products.

Origin and Distribution

An apple is originated in the Middle East/Central Asia more than 4000 years ago where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found today. It is spreading across Europe to France; the fruit arrived in England during the time of Norman Conquest in 1066. The pioneer apple orchard in the North American continent was planted in Boston by Reverend William Blaxton in 1625. The Only North America native apples are called crab apples or common apples.

Captain R C Scot of the British army had introduced apples like Newton Pippin, King of Pippin and the Cox Orange Pippin to the Kullu valley in 1870. These apples were not popular because of their sour taste. The sweet apples were still being imported from Japan to meet the demand of Indian market. It was during a visit to America in 1915 that Samuel Stokes bought a few saplings and planted them at his Barobagh orchard in Thanedar and in the year 1926 the first apple trees bear fruit and the apples was sold and imports from Japan is stopped. The first few saplings from its, Golden Delicious of Kinnaur and Sweet Delicious of Shimla were became popular and Himachal Pradesh grew to become one of the largest producers of the fruit today. Therefore, the Himachal Pradesh is known as apple bowl of India.

Pear (Pyrus communis) is one of the most important fruit crops of temperate regions of the world. It is the second temperate fruit tree crop in terms of importance, area, production after apple in India. Pear belongs to the Rosaceae family which have been cultivated in Europe and in Asia for more than 3000 years. Their fruit are tasty with pleasant flavor and commonly eaten fresh or is canned. It is used to produce perry, an alcoholic beverage. Pears are grown under temperate and subtropical climatic conditions of India because of its wider climatic and soil adaptability. It is primarily grown in hills at 1700–2400 m above mean sea-level in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Low-chilling pears have adapted very well in the subtropical regions of our country. Improved pear cultivars were introduced in 19^th century and cultivation started due the success of Barlett and Gola in hills and patharnakh in Punjab of our country. European/common/soft pear (Pyrus communis) and Oriental/Japanese pear (P. pyrifolia) are commercially pear species grown in India.

Origin and Distribution

The common pear is originated from Europe and Asia where it has been cultivated since ancient times. The pear was introduced into the New World by European settlers. Early Spanish missionaries carried the fruit to Mexico and California. In most pear-growing countries of the world outside Asia, by far the most widely grown pear variety is Williams’ Bon Chrétien, known in the United States as Bartlett (Verma at el., 2010). A highly popular variety in England and the Netherlands is Conference. Common Italian varieties include Curato, Coscia, and Passe Crassane, the latter also being popular in France. In Asian countries the pear crop comprises primarily local varieties of native species, such as the Asian, or Chinese, pear (P. pyrifolia). Some species, especially the Callery pear and its cultivars, are invasive species and easily escape cultivation in areas outside their natural range. The poet Homer wrote that pears were “Gifts from the Gods”. Today, pears are a favourite fruit of Americans, second only to the apple.

Peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) belongs to the Prunoideae subfamily of the Rosaceae with other species collectively referred to as “stone fruits. Unusual in its subgenus, the peach is largely self fertile. There are at least 77 wild species of Prunus and most of them are found in Central Asia. Peaches include different types of varieties downy skin with freestone or clingstone (peach), smooth skin with freestone or clingstone (nectarine) (Bretaudeau and Faure, 1991). It is considered as favourite table fruit and highly valued for its taste, flavour and attractive colour. The fruits are rich source of sugars, vitamins and minerals and malic acid (1.2%). Peach fruit shapes vary from round to flat, beaked, skin colors vary from white to red or yellow, the flesh color white or yellow melting or non-melting types and it can be clingstone or freestone. Regions with warm to hot summers are produces highest quality peaches. It has a range of uses as fresh fruit for table purpose as well as processed product especially in sauces, slice production and canning. Peaches are highly ruminative and nutritionally rich crops for mild temperate to subtropical regions. Peaches are excellent sources of fiber, vitamins and antioxidants. The carbohydrates, organic acids, minerals and dietary fiber are among the major constituents of peaches, which contribute to the nutritional quality of both fresh fruits and the juices (Manzoor et al., 2012).

There are many cherry species, but only a few have been domesticated. The sweet cherry trees are large (30–40 feet tall) and usually pyramid shaped. Branches grow upright. The fruits are large, have a deep stem cavity, vary in colour from light yellow to dark red to purplish black. Flowers arise from clusters of 2 to 5 flowers on short spurs with multiple buds at tips; the distal bud develops into a leafy shoot. The flesh ranges in texture from tender to firm, and is sweet. Most sweet cherries are consumed as fresh fruit. The tart cherry, is sometime called “red cherry” or “sour cherry” and may have arisen from an unreduced pollen grain of Prunus avium crossed with Prunus fruiticosa. Trees are very cold hardy, but are shorter lived than sweet cherry. The fruit is relatively small, and have higher acid and lower sugar content than sweet cherry. Tart cherries are used for processing, jam, and pie filling. The Duke cherry is a hybrid of Prunus avium and Prunus cerasus and all gradations between the two species exist, but most varieties more closely resemble sweet cherry. Sweet cherries are the variety most often found in markets. They have a thick, rich, and almost plumb-like texture. Sour cherries are not usually eaten raw, but are widely used for making preserves, candy etc. Sour cherries are much smaller than sweet cherries and all varieties are self-fertile. Cherries are cultivated all over the world and the top 3 producers of cherry are Turkey, USA and Iran. The cultivated forms are of the species sweet cherry (Prunus avium) to which most cherry cultivars belong, and the another sour cherry (P. cerasus), which is used mainly for making preserve etc. Both species originate in Europe and western Asia; they do not cross pollinate. Some other species, although having edible fruit, are not grown extensively for consumption, except in northern regions where the two main species will not grow.

Japanese plum (Prunus salicina) is widely grown in hill and to a limited scale in the plains of north-western India. Although the fruit quality of plums produced in subtropical is poor however, it fetches high process in the market because of it early availability. Its availability in market at a time when the competition from other fruits is less. It is known as Japanese plum due to its cultivation in Japan from where cultivars spread to other places. At present, plum is cultivated in all temperate climate countries of the world. Plums are a familiar part of our diets. These sweet, fleshy fruit are a common sight in super market shelves. Prunus domestica, the European plum, is an important crop that has been cultivated in Europe for over 2,000 years. When the early European settlers landed on the shores of North America, they found various kinds of native plums scattered throughout the countryside, all of which were found to be of inferior quality. Until the 19th century, most plum cultivation in the United States was confined to the European varieties that were brought overseas. Today, new plum hybrids of native and Asian species have been developed for fresh market consumption, but Prunus domestica remains the prime source for processing plums. Depending on the variety, these plums can be good for either canning, drying as prunes, for culinary uses, or, in lesser amounts, eaten fresh.

Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is commonly known as ‘Akhrot’ in India. Internationally, walnut is known as English walnut or Persian walnut. It is an important nut grown in temperate regions of the world. It is cultivated for nut and wood in the northern hemisphere (Europe, Asia, and North America) and the Southern hemisphere (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America). Walnut kernel is rich source of proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and polyphenols. Inclusion of walnuts in human diet has positive effect on heart, skin and circulatory system. Wood of walnut is used for making quality furniture, interior joinery constructions,music instruments, carving, sport items, gun stocks and fore-end, and producing highly figured veneers, usually from burrs, which are used for cabinet-making and decorative panels

Almond (Prunus dulcis, syn. Prunus amygdalus Batsch.) is an important temperate fruit crop. In India, it is mostly cultivated in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Almond is a small deciduous tree, growing to 3–10 m tall, with a trunk up to 30 cm diameter. The young shoots are green at first, becoming purplish where exposed to sunlight, then grey in their second year. The leaves are lanceolate, 4–13 cm long and 1.2–4 cm broad, with a serrated margin and a 2.5cm petiole. The flowers are white or pale pink, 3–5 cm diameter with five petals, produced singly or in pairs before the leaves in early spring. The fruit is a drupe 3.5–6 cm long, with a downy outer coat. The outer covering or exocarp, fleshy in other members of Prunus such as the plum and cherry, is reduced to a leathery grey-green coat called the hull, which contains inside a hard shell the edible kernel, commonly called a nut in culinary terms. Generally, one kernel is present, but occasionally two. However, in botanical terms, an almond is not a true nut. In botanical parlance, the reticulated hard stony shell is called an endocarp. It is mature in the autumn, 7–8 months after flowering. The fruit of the wild forms contains the glycoside amygdalin, “which becomes transformed into deadly prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) after crushing, chewing, or any other injury to the seed”. However, domesticated almonds are not toxic.(FAO, 2013 and Verma, 2014).