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Food security is one of the most important issues during this century under the projected climate change scenario. The world is facing severe food crisis due to weather vagaries as a part of global warming and climate change. One sixth of world’s population is under starvation. It is estimated that 300 million people in the world do not get food three times a day. About 18,000 children die every day due to malnutrition. Many Asian-African countries are under severe food crisis. It is also estimated that out of the World’s most hungry people, 29 per cent is in India. 47 per cent of children below three years of age are suffering from malnutrition problem. 75 per cent of world’s population is dependant on agricultural activities for their livelihood. Therefore, there is an urgent need to produce more and more foodgrains at the global as well as national levels to meet the food requirement of growing population under the projected climate change scenario. There has been a major decline in world rice production since late 2007 due to various reasons including global warming and climate change in top rice producing countries. Deficit monsoon over India during 2009 resulted to poor foodgrains production including rice as the area under rice cultivation was less. There were also devastating floods in southern States of India viz., Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh, one of the major rice producing states of India, was affected first by drought and then by floods. Thus rice production decline in India was a real set back in 2009. Similar was the case in 2010 due to excess rain during monsoon and floods during NE monsoon across the rice growing regions. At the same time, Philippines got hit by two major typhoons in September-October, 2009 causing damage to rice crop on ground. Approximately one million tonnes of rice in storage also got damaged. These events resulted to low world rice production over the country in 2009. The immediate impacts of global warming and climate change on rice production systems and food security will be felt in the form of adverse effects of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, heat and cold waves, hailstorms and cyclones on rice production. Less immediate but significant impacts are anticipated due to changes in mean temperatures, increasing weather extremes and sea level rising.

Kerala, popularly known as the God’s own country, is situated at the southern tip of India between latitude range 8°15‘ N to 12°50’ N and 74°50’ E to 77°30’ E longitude. The State is graced with 44 rivers and numbers of streams and has rich biodiversity and tropical rain forests spread in 13 agro-ecological zones under humid tropics. Kerala is the Gateway of monsoon in India. Though Kerala is identified as Plantation State, the major staple food is rice. The annual rainfall in Kerala is about 2.7 times the national average. More or less assured amount of rainfall is being received in almost every year over the State, though inter-annual variability is felt more in recent decades. Uncertainties in rainfall are also felt much in the recent decades. Droughts during summer and floods during rainy season are frequent. Natural disasters like landslides/mud slips during rainy season are common across the mid and high lands of Kerala as the intensity of rainfall is high. Atmospheric temperature across the State is increasing. 1983 was a disastrous drought year in Kerala. The severe summer affected the State’s plantation crops economy to a considerable extent. Insignificant rainfall led to the severe summer drought during 1982–83.

Rice is one of the major staple food of the world’s population. About 114 countries grow rice and more than 50 have an annual production of 100,000 tonnes or more. Asian farmers produce about 90 per cent of the total, with two countries, China and India, growing more than half of the total crop. For most rice producing countries where annual production exceeds one million tonne, rice is the staple food. In Bangaldesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmer, Thailand and Vietnam, rice provides 50–80 per cent of the total calories consumed.

Of the various weather elements affecting crops, temperature and rainfall are perhaps the most important. It is the reason for the development of special flora and fauna in different climatic zones of the world as seen in the tropical, temperate and frigid zones. The tropical regions get abundant solar heat and the vegetation is high while it is low in the temperate regions. The vegetation is very little in the frigid zones. Similarly, natural vegetation is at its poor growth in the Arid Climates and better in the Humid Tropics. Xerophytes are confined to the Arid Climates where low rainfall is seen, while hydrophytes are confined to the Humid Tropics. Mesophytes are intermediate in their water requirement. Most of the crops are included in this group. If the crops are selected for cultivation on the basis of the optimum climatic requirements, it is likely that crop production can be maximised under rainfed as well as irrigated conditions. For example, coconut is grown in vast areas across the East and West Coasts of the Country in different agroclimatic zones and known as a coastal tree. It gives reasonably better yield in terms of quantity and quality in the Humid Tropics under rainfed conditions. However, the coconut yield scenario is totally different when the crop is cultivated in Semi-arid Tropics under irrigation. Therefore, it is a complex phenomenon to understand the influence of weather and climate on crops under rainfed and irrigated conditions in various climatic zones. The production potential of crops under field conditions could be explained through crop-wise agroclimatic zonation, whether the crop is well-suited with minimum inputs for maximising yields under rainfed conditions, but not under irrigated conditions due to crop manipulation. Many attempts were made to explain the climatic boundaries for various crops based on agroclimatic indices under rainfed conditions.

The Coconut palm, also known as the Cocos Nucifera L., is one of the most fascinating and beautiful palms in the world. Epigraphical, literary and sculptural evidence provide proof that coconut has served humanity for more than three millennia. The palm is looked upon with reverence and affection and is referred to by such eulogistic epithets as “Kalpavriksha”, tree of heaven, the tree of abundance, nature’s super market, king of palms and the tree of life. The coconut is believed to have originated in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines) or Micronesia (Harries, 1977; Purseglove, 1968 and 1972). Coconut has been cultivated in India since ages and plays an important role in social, economic and cultural activities of the people. The palm is amenable to both plantation and homestead management and it can be either a major crop or a minor one in a homestead garden of mixed crops. While responding favourably to scientific management, the palm also tolerates negligent farming to a certain extent. Thus, it can adapt to the divergent farming situations and management practices that are prevalent in different agro-climatic regions. The coconut palm is usually found near the sea on sandy beaches where it can tolerate salt spray and brackish soils. It is also grown under different soil types such as loamy, laterite, coastal sandy, alluvial, clayey and reclaimed soils of the marshy low lands. The ideal soil conditions for better growth and performance of the palm are proper drainage, good water-holding capacity, and presence of water table within three metres and absence of rock or any hard substratum within two meters of the surface. The coconut palm can also grow well inland, within altitudinal limit of 600 m to 1752 m in the Tropics. It requires an equatorial climate with high humidity. A year-round warm and humid climate favours the growth of coconut. The ideal mean annual temperature, which can be tolerated by coconut palm, is around 27ºC with 5–7ºC diurnal variation. The palm does not withstand prolonged spells of extreme weather/climate variations under rainfed conditions. A well-distributed rainfall of 1300–2300 mm per annum is preferred. It is known as a coastal tree since it is grown along the Coasts and Islands and does not tolerate high temperature range, that is the difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures.

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a very important horticultural crop which fetches considerable foreign exchange to India. The crop is a native of Brazil and was introduced in India by the Portuguese during 16^th Century. It is grown in India, Brazil, Vietnam, Tanzania, Mozambique, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other tropical Asian and African countries. The crop is grown within the latitudinal belt of 27°N and 28°S of the equator experiencing a tropical temperature for its growth and development (Rao and Gopakumar, 1994). The trend in productivity has a phenomenal bearing to the distance from the equator. The world production of cashew is estimated to be around 20.8 lakh tonnes. The global productivity level of cashew is 690 kg/ha. Since 2000, the world raw cashewnut production registered an increase of 40 per cent. India’s share in the world raw cashewnut production accounts to about 25 per cent. In recent times, India is facing tight competition from Vietnam and Indonesia in international cashew trade. Since its introduction in the Country, cashew has well adapted to the Indian climatic conditions and is grown in the East and West Coasts of India. Now, India is the largest producer, processor, consumer and exporter of cashew in the world (Bhat, 2009 a). In India, cashew is grown mainly in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala along the West Coast and Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal along the East Coast.

The global production of cocoa is around 36.49 lakh tonnes against the demand of 37.37 lakh tonnes. Ivory Coast leads in cocoa production in the world with a contribution of 38 per cent, followed by Ghana and Indonesia. Unlike in other crops, it appears that the production and demand of cocoa at the global level match each other to a large extent. However, the recent trends in the world production of cocoa beans indicated that there was a drop of nine per cent in 2006–07, declining from 3.8 million tonnes in 2005–06 to 3.4 million tonnes in 2006–07 (Table 9.1). It was attributed to unfavourable conditions in many cocoa producing areas. West Africa, the main cocoa producing region, was hit by a severe harmattan (dusty dry wind from November to March) and its inherent dry weather, which lasted from the end of 2006 to February 2007, had a strong negative impact on global cocoa production. In Asia and South America, El Nino- related weather conditions developed in September 2006 and continued until the beginning of 2007. It led to relatively low cocoa production in 2007–07. However, it was rebounced in 2007– 08 to some extent though it was low (36.49 lakh tonnes) when compared to that of 2005–06. The favourable weather which prevailed over most of the cocoa growing regions during 2002–03 and 2003–04 helped to achieve better production during the above years while dip in the global production in 2006–07 due to unfavourable weather. It reveals that the weather abnormalities like floods, droughts, cold and heat waves across the cocoa growing regions of the world adversely affect the Coca production and the cocoa industry is likely to suffer.

Small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton), popularly known as the “Queen of spices”, occupies an important position among the foreign exchange earning commodities. Cardamom is cultivated on a commercial scale in Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Tanzania and Papua New Guinea. Guatemala is the largest producer of cardamom in the World. In India, it is confined to the States of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, accounting for an area of 41588 ha, 25021 ha and 4561 ha, respectively (Spices Board, 2009). Among these States, Kerala accounts for the major portion of production (58.4 %), followed by Karnataka (35.2 %) and Tamil Nadu (6.4 %). In Kerala, Cardamom is mainly grown in the erstwhile Travancore area in the present Idukki district and it is known as the Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR), which was specially reserved, denotified and removed from the control of forest development by the orders of the Travancore Government. By a Royal Proclamation in Medam 997(ME) 334 square miles (86,506 ha) area in Devikulam, Udumbanchola and Peermedu taluks of the present Idukki District was declared as CHR for the promotion of cardamom cultivation (Miniraj and Nybe, 2007). Cardamom is a native of the moist evergreen rain forests of the Western Ghats of South India and is grown extensively in the hilly regions at elevations of 700 to 1300 metres as an under crop in forest lands. Cardamom thrives well within certain thermal regimes. It is believed that diurnal symmetries in temperature trends, if any, have close links with the changes in cloudiness, humidity, atmospheric circulation pattern, winds and soil moisture (Kumar et al., 2002).

The natural habitat of rubber (Heavea brasiliensis) is rain forests of the Amazon basin, situated within 5° North and South at altitudes below 200m. The climate of this region is equatorial monsoon type characterized by mean monthly temperature by 25 to 28°C, well distributed rainfall and no marked dry weather. Though it is originated in the Amazon basin, it is now predominantly grown in the tropics where an equatorial monsoon type climate prevails. Regions between 8°N and 10°S which includes Indonesian archipelago, Malaysia, southern part of Sri Lanka and some other Islands, are better suited to rubber cultivation. The production of natural rubber in the country was 8.65 lakh MT in 2008–09, registering a 4.74 per cent growth compared to the previous year.

Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), famous as “Black Gold” and also known the “King of Spices” is the most important agricultural commodities of commerce and trade in India. It is the most important, most popular and most widely used spice in the World. Of the total spices traded internationally, black pepper accounts for 34 per cent. South West India is the traditional home of this important spice, particularly the Malabar Coast. Black pepper is also grown in tropical zones such as the Asia Pacific Region, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Vietnam and Cambodia. Outside the Asia Pacific region, the crop is distributed in Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, etc., totaling about 26 countries. It is grown successfully between 20°N and 20°S latitude and from mean sea level to 1500 meters above sea level. World’s black pepper production varies in the range of 2.7 to 3.35 tonnes annually.

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the most important beverage crops in the World and the second most commonly drank liquid on earth after water. It has numerous medicinal benefits mainly due to its antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The major tea growing regions of the world are South-East Asia (India and Sri Lanka), Eastern and South Africa consisting of Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique. All these countries are producers of black tea. China and Japan are the major producers of green tea.

The State of Kerala under the Humid Tropics is one of the wettest places in the Humid Tropics where annual rainfall is of the order of 3000 mm, ranging from less than 1000 mm to greater than 5000 mm. About 68 per cent of the rainfall is obtained during southwest monsoon while 16 per cent in post monsoon and the rest from summer (14 per cent) and winter rainfall (2 per cent). Bi-model rainfall pattern is noticed towards southern districts due to influence of both southwest and northeast monsoons while uni-model rainfall pattern towards northern districts of Kerala. Coconut productivity is better towards south despite dreaded disease of root-wilt when compared to that of northern districts due to less dryspells during summer. Floods during monsoon adversely affect paddy production in the State while prolonged droughts during summer in the absence of post monsoon rainfall adversely affect plantation crops’ production to a considerable extent. The wetlands in Kerala are rich sources of water during summer and act as sink during monsoon season. Such wetlands are fast declining in Kerala and converted as garden lands. Decreasing wetlands might be one of the reasons for frequent floods and droughts in Kerala in recent years. The forest cover of Kerala also declined from 70 per cent to 24 per cent over a period of one- hundred- and - fifty years due to deforestation and forest fires.

Coffee is grown at higher elevation across the Western Ghats between 750 and 1200 m amsl. It requires a certain degree of shade for its better performance. The annual rainfall over the coffee growing tracts varies between 1400 and 2600mm, having uni/bi-model rainfall with prolonged dryspell from November to May. It is more so over North of the Western Ghats. The mean annual maximum temperature varies between 24 and 30⁰C while the minimum between 15 and 18⁰C. The difference between maximum and minimum temperatures (temperature range) varies between 5 and 16⁰C across the coffee tract. The ‘Monsooned Malabar Coffee’ is a specialty coffee produced from the erstwhile ‘Malabar Region’. It undergoes certain changes in physical and biochemical characters when the coffee beans are processed during the summer monsoon (June to September). It is processed at Mangalore, located in Coastal Karnataka. The processing location experiences heavy rainfall of more than 1000 mm in July, followed by 950 mm in June and 600 mm in August. Out of 3264 mm of annual rainfall, 2852 mm is received during the monsoon period. It accounts more than 80 per cent of annual rainfall. The maximum temperature during the monsooning varies between 28 and 30°C while night temperature revolves between 22 and 24°C. Being located in the tropics along the West Coast, the crop processing environment in terms of surface air temperature is relatively uniform and moderate with a characteristic feature of heavy clouds and continuous rainfall during the monsoon period.

The global economy has adversely been affected to a considerable extent due to weather related disasters which are not uncommon in the recent past due to global warming and climate change. It is true in the case of the Indian economy too. The year 2010 was the warmest year ever recorded, followed by 2009 in India. The year 2015 was the warmest year globally. Model simulations indicate that a marked increase in rainfall and temperature over India would be seen during the current century. The maximum expected increase in rainfall is likely to be 10–30% over the Central India. Temperatures are likely to increase between 2 and 3^oC by the end of 2100 A.D. Greater number of high surges and increased occurrence of cyclones in post monsoon period along with increased maximum wind speed are also expected along the East Coast of the Country. As a result, the occurrence of floods and droughts, cold and heat waves adversely affected the foodgrains production to a large extent across the Country in one or other region as seen in 2014, 2012, 2009, 2004, 2002 and 1987. It is true in the case of plantation crops also, which are predominantly grown in the Humid Tropics like Kerala (8°15` N and 12°50`N latitudes and between 74°50`E and 77°30`E longitudes). As seen in previous chapters, summer drought and heavy rains including waterlogging during monsoon period is a threat to plantation crops production in the Humid Tropics to a considerable extent. Waterlogging and floods due to excess rains could be minimised by providing surface and subsurface drainage facilities in plantation gardens which will improve the soil health and nutritional status, in turn yields can be increased in plantation crops.

Floriculture  is  increasingly  regarded  as  a  viable  diversification  from traditional field crops due to increased per unit returns and increasing habit of “saying it with flowers” during all the occasions. All over the world, the floricultural sector is experiencing rapid changes. Opening up to the world, market  in  the  WTO  regime  paving  way  to  free  movement  of  floricultural products worldwide, globalization and its effect on income generation have all  contributed  to  increase  in  per  capita  consumption  of  flowers  in  most countries. Noticeable  feature  of  global  floriculture  is  the  development  and expansion of floriculture in non-traditional areas. Netherlands, Italy, Germany and  Japan  had  strong  tradition  for  growing  and  consumption  of  flowers. The  concept  of  commercial  floriculture  was perpetuated  across  the  world from those regions. New production centres are developing in Latin America, Africa and also in Asia to meet the demand of consuming countries and also to  expand  domestic  market,  commensuration  with  improved  economic conditions  these countries  provide  highly  qualitative  floricultural  products with low cost price which is finding a favourable place in markets of Western Europe, America and Japan. Emergence of new production centres has made floriculture  more  competitive  and  this  in  turn  is benefiting the  ultimate consumers.

Indian floriculture industry is shifting from traditional flowers to cut flowers for export purpose. The liberalized economy has given an impetus to Indian entrepreneurs for establishing export oriented units (EOUs) under controlled climatic conditions.

The wide variation in the agro climatic conditions in India permit us to grow various types of tropical and subtropical plants and flowers. Though such plants grow successfully without cover, they fail to meet the export requirements of being seldom blemish free. High quality ornamental plants meant for export should be scientifically grown only in plastic, glass or fiberglass greenhouses, or at least under partial cover. Though initial investment is high in protected cultivation, the products in them will obtain far more attractive prices.

Seed is a vital input for successful flower production and it is considered as the starting material for most bedding plants and many of the cut flowers produced. The production of bedding plants and cut flowers is both capital and labour intensive. In order to optimize production efficiency and maximize profit, it is important for growers to use high quality seeds. Production of seeds of annual flowers has immense scope as an area of diversification in floribusiness. The flower seed industry is international, operating in many countries of the world. Large quantities of flower seeds are required both by developed and developing countries for adding to the beauty of private and large gardens and also for cut flower production. Worldwide, nurseries engaged in production of seeds of seasonal flowers have a booming business. The great diversity of flower seed crops is a fascinating facet of the world seed industry and they are of high value and low volume in contrast to the high volume and low value seeds of cereal seed crops.

Orchids belong to family Orchidaceae, which is the most highly evolved among monocotyledons with over 800 genera and 35,000 species and over 74,400 natural and manmade registered hybrids. Orchid is the first horticultural plant cloned by tissue culture methods on a commercial scale (Goh, 1990). Rapid multiplication using tissue culture techniques is an important strategy for preserving the valuable orchid wealth in India. Vegetative propagation through division of rhizomes and separation of offshoots and keikis is very slow. Both these problems can now be successfully alleviated through micropropagation. The technique has revolutionized the orchid industry and now it is possible to multiply unlimited number of desirable clones. Rotor (1949) was the first to have employed tissue culture techniques to multiply Phalaenopsis, and since then micropropagation potential of a variety of monopodial taxa has been successfully tested.

A ‘flower’ is an intricate organ composed of different morphological units including sepals, petals, androecium, gynoecium, stem and leaves. These units differ functionally with each other which ultimately decide the longevity of flowers. A cut flower may be defined as flower or an inflorescence containing more than one floral unit in the opened or unopened state which is harvested and marketed for ornamental purposes. Cut flowers in general are highly perishable commodities and highly vulnerable to huge post harvest losses. Once severed from the plant, they are deprived of their natural sources of water and nutrients and they wilt rapidly. It is claimed that 70% of the potential lasting quality of cut flowers is pre-determined at harvest. While post harvest factors influence 30% of the effects nearly 20-80% of the cut flowers are lost due to improper post harvest handling (Salunkhe et al., 1990).

Dry flowers are naturals, dried and preserved with an everlasting value the can be cherished for longer period. According to APEDA investigations, dried flowers accounted for 15% in the total floriculture export during 1988-89 and increased to 64% in 1994-95. Export value of dried plants and planting materials increased from Rs. 109.21 million in 1993-94 to Rs. 364.55 million in 1995-96.
 
India exports dry flowers to U.K., Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, U.S.A., Japan and Singapore. Dry flower production is labour intensive, provides self-employment and job opportunities for a large number of workers and aids in development of subsidiary industries. The industry has many advantages.

Bonsai culture is an important branch of Ornamental horticulture. History of Bonsai is very old dating back to many centuries in China where it originated, as most Chinese arts and from there it spread to Japan and became highly specialized.  In fact, bonsai culture is in the present day more known as Japanese than as a Chinese art.  In Japanese homes, there are plants which are hundreds of years old. This treasured art is passed from generation to generation in Japanese society.

The word Bonsai is a combination of two Japanese words, Bon (meaning shallow pan) and Sai (meaning plant) which can be interpreted as ‘Tray planting’.  The idea conveyed is that of a small beautiful tree growing in a container as in nature with all its parts performing their natural functions throughout the times.  The artistic look of plant in a miniature form maintained for many years is the prime criteria.  Bonsais are grown outdoors and are displayed in living room, as and when, needed.  They cannot be treated as house plants.

Anthuriums are tropical flowering plants with attractive foliage. These flowers are bewitchingly beautiful with attractive form and long lasting characters making it a favourite choice for flower arrangement and for bouquet making.  Anthurium is a large neotropical genus of 600-800 species belonging to family Araceae. Two flowering species in this genus Anthurium andreanum and Anthurium scherzerianum are extremely fascinating and commercially important.  The flowers of anthurium are popular with flower arrangers because of their bold effect and lasting qualities (Bhatt and Desai, 1989 and Singh, 1995). Together with some of its many hybrids, A. andreanum today forms the basis of a substantial cut flower industry chiefly in Hawaii, where much research is done in its hybridization and cut flower.

Carnation is one of the important cut flower crops grown throughout the world and occupies prime position because of the attractive colour, shape and good vase life. Due to the excellent keeping quality, wide range of forms, ability to withstand long distant transportation and remarkable ability to rehydrate after continuous shipping, carnation is preferred by growers to roses and chrysanthemums in several flower exporting countries.

Although cut carnations are sold in western countries all the year round, they are in particular demand for the Valentines Day, Easter, Mothers Day and Christmas. While standard carnations are in great demand, the miniature types are fast gaining popularity for their potential role in floral arrangement and also as cut flower at comparatively low price. White and pink standard carnations are in the greatest demand followed by red, yellow and bicolour. The liking for a colour depends upon the time or season. The re standard types are preferred to other colours, especially during the Christmas. In contrast in miniatures, the terminal flower bud is pinched to encourage clusters of short-stemmed small flowers. These types are mainly used for flower arrangement. (Bhatt, 1989)

China aster (Callistephus chinensis) belonging to family Asteracea is a native of China. It is a half hardy annual, erect plant, hispid hairy branches bearing alternate, broadly ovate or triangular ovate, deeply and irregularly toothed leaves. Flowers are solitary, usually blue, lavender rose or white coloured. China aster is one of the most important among garden annuals grown throughout the world. Among annual flowers China aster ranks third next to chrysanthemum and marigold. It is grown by small and marginal farmers in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra. Due to its long vase life, China aster is a popular cut flower used in vases and for floral decoration and also for making garlands and venis in Karnataka. Asters are popular as bedding plants and used to fill gap in mixed herbaceous borders. Dwarf cultivars are also suitable for edging and window boxes.

Chrysanthemum (chrysos =golden; anthos = flower) is a popular flower crop of commercial importance known as the “Queen of the East”. It ranks next only to rose among flower crops in the world.

Gerbera, commonly known as Transvaal Daisy, Barberton Daisy or African Daisy, is cultivated throughout the world under a wide range of climatic conditions for its attractive flowers. It is highly suitable for beds, borders, pots and rock gardens. The wide range of colour and the attractive shape of flowers suit very well in flower arrangements. The cut blooms have long vase life. Today Gerbera is known as an important commercial flower crop and belongs to the most important plant species in the world, together with the rose, chrysanthemum, carnation and tulip. Gerbera is amongst the ten most important commercially grown flower crops in the world.

Gladiolus is a flower of breathtaking beauty with a wide range of colours, size and form. Its magnificent inflorescence has won for it, a place of pride in gardens and value as a cut flower. Except true blue and green practically all colours are available in gladiolus. Flowers are long lasting and stand transport well. They are widely used in flower arrangements, bouquets and indoor decorations. It is estimated that gladiolus is grown throughout India over on area of 1270 ha (Arora et al. 2002).

Heliconias are tropical plants of princely dimensions grown for their attractive foliage and brilliant flower spikes. They are some of the most unusual flora of the tropics. Strikingly elegant flower heads rise from banana like clumps of oval leaves, which are sometimes rather slender and, with a few varieties, extremely large. They are found naturally in the tropical forests world wide and in moderate climates. A popular landscape plant and cut flower in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, heliconias are native to Central and South America, the Caribbean Islands and some of the islands of the South Pacific. Their easy cultivation and spectacular presence have made them favourite garden subjects throughout the world. Heliconias have several common names including lobster’s claw’s, ‘parrot’s flower’, ‘parrot plantain’ and false plantain. Depending on variety, heliconias will range in height from 60 to 700 cm, often with extensive rhizomatous growth. The flower or inflorescence of heliconia is nearly always terminal and may last from several days to several months. They are particularly desirable as cut flowers because of their long lasting characteristics. 

Jasmine (Jasminum spp) is one of the oldest fragrant flowers cultivated by man. They are the most common flowers in India gardens.

Importance and Uses

They are traditionally important flowers not only as fresh flowers but also as source of high grade perfume oil. Mention of jasmine is there in ancient Indian literature like Kamasutra (AD 300-400) and Mahabharatha (500 BC). The odour of jasmine flowers cannot be imitated by any known synthetic chemical or natural isolates, thus giving it a unique status in the perfume world.

Marigold is one of the easiest annual flowers to cultivate, having wide adaptability. Flowers are attractive, have good keeping quality with a wide spectrum of colour, shape and size. They produce marketable flowers in a short time and are used widely for religious and social functions as well as for garden display. 

Importance and Uses

 Marigolds are sold as loose flowers, as cut flowers and widely used for various decorations and garland making. They are also excellent landscape plants widely used for bedding purpose, in herbaceous borders and can also be grown in pots. French marigolds, being dwarf, are suitable for hanging baskets, rockeries, edging and window boxes. In fact, marigolds rank next only to jasmine in popularity in South India 

Orchids are the royalty among flower crops. They exhibit an incredible range of diversity in size, shape and colour of flower. They are valued as cut flowers and potted plants and are the most pampered plants. Orchid flowers are famous for the long lasting characteristics and bewitching beauty. No other plant has probably acquired the status of orchids. They have always been considered as mysterious plants.

Rose the ‘Queen of flower ’is undoubtedly the world’s most favourite and popular romantic flower. It occupies a prestigious position in cut flower industry and as a garden plant. For thousands of years, the rose has been a symbol of love, adoration, innocence and all other virtues. Countries like England adopted rose as their national flower. In India, rose adorned the gardens of not only the rich and the famous, but also the ashramas of the saints. Rose cultivation initially developed with the distillation of rose for essential oil. Today the importance of rose is in its value as a cut flower. It is one of the most important commercial flowers throughout the world. Roses are also used for preparation of rose water and ‘Gulkhand’ 

Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) commonly called as Rajanigandha produces waxy, white and fragrant flowers on long spikes which are mostly used as cut flowers for making garlands and extracting essential oil. Among the ornamental bulbous plants, it has great economic potential for cut flower trade and essential oil industry. The predominant characteristics of this crop are its lingering, delightful fragrance and excellent keeping quality.

Today, floriculture has transformed into a viable agri-business. Estimated area under flower growing in India is about 65,000 ha. More than two-third of this area is devoted for the production of traditional flowers. Production of cut flowers comes to about 500 million numbers. The interesting aspect is that 80% of Indian exports consist of only roses. Other major cut flowers include gladiolus, tuberose, carnation and orchids. With the emerging trends and constant urge for new innovative products, it is high time that Indian floriculture industry shifts towards new or novelty crops (Singh, 2005).

National Horticulture Board

Commercial floriculture includes production of cut flowers, foliage plants, bedding plants and growing and forcing bulbs and corms of flowering plants for whole and retail sales. The floriculture industry has become highly specialized. Floriculture industry uses many devices to ensure steady supply of flowers and foliage plants irrespective of the season and minimum loss to industry, because of perishable nature of flowers.

The field of talent management continues to mature from agri-business to extension service, but it is also being impeded both by the scale of debates taking place. The field continues to agree that talent management “adds value” to the organisation such as extension system. To understand the development scenarios of strategic talent management, we need a “theory of value” to understand the elements of talent management which are the most valuable for business-led extension service (BLESS) effectiveness. “Theory of Value” is a generic term which encompasses all the theories within economics that although explain the exchange value (or) price of goods and services. Alternatively, “Value of Theory” encompasses a range of approaches in extension system to understand how, why, and to what degree humans should value things, whether the thing is person, idea, object, (or) anything else for effective functioning of strategic business-led extension service to sustain its clients system.

1. Prelude

Indian agriculture has experienced spectacular changes in the recent period, manifesting large-scale commercialization and diversification. They broadly include cultivation of new crops and varieties, increase in the share of area under cash crops, large scale spread of livestock activities and fisheries, pursuance of high tech in the areas of aquaculture, bio-technology, horticulture, processing etc. India currently is the second largest food producer. If we look critically the resources available with the country we can say it has the potential to be the world’s number one producing over 600 million tons of food products.

Though the extension education was originated as a “field approach” aimed to enhance the life quality of rural people, it has evolved into a scientific discipline that relies heavily on empirical research to develop and test its “field-oriented” approaches and methods. Since its birth, the extension research has passed through several phases and a range of research paradigms like community mobilisation, farmer participatory approaches, technology assessment and refinement, impact assessment, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) aided development, etc.

Farmers require a diverse range of information to support their farm enterprises. Information is needed not only on best practices and technologies for crop production, but also for post -harvest aspects. Agricultural Extension is an essential pillar for research and development in agriculture. Despite a wide range of reform initiatives in agricultural extension in India in the past decades, the coverage of, access to, and quality of information   provided to marginalized and poor farmers is uneven. Approaches to agricultural extension in India and worldwide continue to evolve.

1. Introduction

Democratisation of information makes it possible for ideas, opinions, knowledge and services to be accessible to everyone, anywhere, anytime. In this era of ‘knowledge sharing’, making access to the required information and knowledge is the key to innovation and empowerment of farming community. Rapid technological developments over the years, particularly internet and mobile, have made it possible to provide array of services on a single platform due to convergence. It is a unique opportunity to leverage upon the available ICT infrastructures and deliver the knowledge based services effectively to people. There are number of ICT initiatives being attempted in the field of Agriculture and other sectors. Some of the successful models (web-based and mobile based) have shown way for the future of e-extension in India.

Agriculture is vital to the development of any nation, India being no exception. Development must include the youth and therefore the government seeks to encourage their participation in the agricultural sector. This effort seeks to change the negative perception the youth have of participation in agriculture as uneducated, unskilled, physical labourers with extremely low economic return. Modern agriculture is more than tilling the soil and animals. The sector today offers career opportunities in research, environment, financial management, engineering and other technical areas for the youth to explore. The introduction of the Youth in Agriculture is necessary and important to facilitate food and nutrition security for the sustainable development of the nation.

Throughout the history of Indian agriculture, the contribution of farmers to agricultural technology development and dissemination has been very significant. Farmers’ practices are useful not only for scientific technology development, but also for sustainable agricultural development. Rural economy will sustain only when it effectively utilise the available local resources. But recent agricultural development witnessed that those modern agricultural practices slowly replacing the farmers’ practices. In this juncture the basic challenge for sustainable agriculture is to make better use of these internal resources. This can be done by minimizing the external inputs used, by regenerating internal resources more effectively or by combinations of both (Rolling and Pretty, 1997).

Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water Bodies Restoration and Management project (TN IAMWARM) is a multidisciplinary project funded by World Bank. It is being implemented by WRO, PWD as nodal agency in 63 sub basins along with line departments and TNAU as coordinating agency since 2007. TNAU is concentrating on up scaling water saving technologies including Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI) under Precision farming in sugarcane. Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Virinjipuram is implementing TN IAMWARM project in Cheyyar & Kiliyar sub basin since 2007. Cheyyar  and  Killiyar Sub - Basin are the tributaries  of the Palar Basin that rises in KolarDistrict of  Karnataka enters through Vaniyambadi  and drains an area of about 13,470 Sq. K.M. of which 10,880 Sq. K.M. is in Tamil Nadu. The command area of this sub basin comes under the Cheyyar and Vandavasi Taluk in Thiruvannamalai and Uttermerur, Maduranthagam, and Seyyur Taluk in Kancheepuram Districts  which covers 458 tanks in 12 blocks with a registered ayakut area of 36746 ha. The major crops grown in the sub basin area are paddy, sugarcane, groundnut and pulses.

Vegetables constitute about 55 per cent of horticultural crop production in the country with a total production of 85 million tonnes which is estimated to cross 100 million tonnes in near future. Successful cultivation of vegetables is hampered due to the incidence of several insect pests. Cultivation of hybrids, improved varieties, intensive agronomic practices, off season cultivation and indiscriminate use of insecticides has changed the pest complex in these crops.

The Revised ATMA Scheme provides for dedicated specialist and functionary support to take up training and extension initiatives at State, District and Block level. Besides this, improvement in extension outreach right down to the village level is expected to be achieved through Farmer Friend. The study mainly focused on farmer friend under ATMA scheme. The FF served as a vital link between extension system and farmers at village level (one for every two villages). The FF should be available in the village to advise on agriculture and allied activities. The FF  mobilized farmers’ groups and facilitate dissemination of information to such groups, individual farmers and farm women directly through one to one interaction individually or in groups and also by accessing information / services  on behalf of farmers as per need through Common Service Centres (CSC) / Kisan Call Centres (KCC). (Government of India, 2010).

Krishi Vigyan Kendra is a Government of India funded Indian Council of Agricultural Research Project implemented at district level for enhancing the productivity and livelihood through scientific extension works. Realizing the importance of technology dissemination in the changing scenario of food and nutritional security, ICAR intervened in a big way. All the first line extension projects were merged and brought under single umbrella of KVK. The major emphasis was to enhance the production and productivity as well as to generate household income and employment of farming community. It was also envisaged that these extension works will be act as model for extension agencies and also catalyzed to improve the existing systems for better delivery mechanism.

Rice is a staple food for millions of people in the world, particularly in developing countries like India. The demand for rice is growing with ever increasing population. In India more than 70 per cent of the ground and surface water is being used for Agriculture and out of this 70 per cent is allocated to rice cultivation. Each kg of rice produced with irrigation requires 3000- 5000 litres of water (Anonymous, 2011). The demand of rice in India is increasing with increase in population and is expected to be 140 m.t. by 2025 (Pandey et al., 2008).

Theworld fashioned and occupied by three fourth of the water. Fisheries activities are an indispensable part in the life and livelihood of the peoples. Aquaculture is the most important role for the upward economic strengthening and social mobility. Most of the inland fish farmers are poor due to lack of financial resource. Because of the poor production through the inland fish culture, the most of the farmers in Tamilnadu are undertaking composite fish culture technology. Demand for fish is rapidly increasing due to the growing population and awareness about the superiority of fish to other meats. The marine and freshwater sectors growth were 2.5 and 8 per cent respectively (Ayyapan and Diwan, 2004).

Groundnut is one of the main oilseed crop of India.Unlike many oilseeds, Groundnut can be consumed directly in various farms and hence now it is also being considered a supplementary food crops. In india groundnut is grown in an area of about 6.5 hectares with a production of  about 7 million tones of pods per annum (2007). It is one of the few crops that can be cultivated even on marginal lands under low input conditions. Unfortunately average productivity of groundnut in india is quite low (1000kg) compared to (USA-3000 kg/ha, China- 2600 kg/ha, Argentina-2100 kg/ha  and  Indonesia-1550 kg/ha).

In any work environment the managers, facilitators are equipped with some specific type of skills to perform their activity effectively. In this study, multi stakeholders were involved in the process of Precision Farming from land preparation to marketing. Every stakeholder has a specific task to be performed so as to lead the client in the direction desired. In order to achieve this, the skill components viz., Management and Facilitating skills possessed by them and their own perception on those skills were assessed.