introductionimportanceandscopeofhorticulture-240207100812-144e804b.pdf

B.sc Horticulture

1. Dr. Vinay N.D.
Ph.D(Vegetable Science). IARI, New Delhi
ICAR-JRF, SRF
NAHEP-CAAST fellow
Horticulture -Its definition and
branches, importance and scope.

2. Introduction
India is the seventh largest country-total geographical area of 328.73 Mha
The total arable land available is 144 million hectare -139.3 million Ha (net sown
area) and 197.3 Mhaarea (gross cropped)
About60%of the Indian population depends on agriculture for their livelihood.
Agriculture contributes around 17% to the total GDP and provides employment
for approximately 58% of the population.
Horticulture crops constitute a significant portion of total agricultural production in
the country.
Horticulture contributes 30.4 per cent of the agriculture Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) using only 13.1 per cent of gross cropped area.

3. Horticulture
ThetermHorticultureisderivedfromtheLatinwords:“hortus”
meaninggardenand“cultura”meaningcultivation.
Gardenisanenclosedorprotectedareausedtogrowfruit,
vegetables,flowersandornamentalplants.
Therefore,inoriginalsense“Horticulturereferstocultivationofgarden
plantswithinprotectedenclosures”.
Atpresentthehorticulturemaybedefinedas“thescienceand
techniqueofproduction,processingandmerchandizingoffruits,
vegetables,flowers,spices,plantations,medicinalandaromatic
plants”.

4. Branches of Horticulture
1. Pomology/ Fruit science: refers to cultivation of fruit crops.
2. Olericulture/ Vegetable Science: refers to cultivation of vegetables.
3.Floriculture: refers to cultivation of flower crops.
4. Plantation crops: refers to cultivation of crops like coconut, arecanut,
rubber, coffee,
tea etc.
5. Spices crops: refers to cultivation of crops like, cardamom, pepper,
nutmeg etc.
6. Medicinal and aromatic crops: deals with cultivation of medicinal
and aromatic crops.
7. Post-harvest technology: deals with post-harvest handling, grading,
packaging, storage, processing, value addition, marketing etc. of
horticulture crops.

5. Features of Horticulture
1. Horticultural produces are mostly utilized in the fresh state and are highly
perishable.
2. Horticultural crops need intensive cultivation requiring a large input of
capital, labourand technology per unit area.
3. Cultural operations like propagation, training, pruning and harvesting are
skilled and specific to horticultural crops.
4. Horticultural produce are rich sources of vitamins and minerals and alkaloids
–nutritionally rich.
5. Aesthetic gratification is an exclusive phenomenon to horticultural science.
6. Most suitable for kitchen gardening, backyard farming and subsistence
farming.
7. Perennial crops
8. High value crops.

6. Present status of horticulture in India
Production-In2022,totalHorticultureproduceis341.6milliontonnesand
totalAgricultureproduceis314.5milliontonnes.
Contribution-Horticulturecontributes30.4%oftheagricultureGrossDomestic
Product(GDP)usingonly13.1%ofgrosscroppedarea.
Fruitsandvegetablesaccountaloneaccountforalmost90%ofthetotal
horticultureproductioninthecountry.
IndiaisthesecondlargestproduceroffruitsafterBrazil.Indiaaccountsfor
10percentofthetotalworldproductionoffruits.Itleadstheworldinthe
productionofmango,banana,sapotaandacidlimebesidesrecording
highestproductivityingrape.

7. India ranks second in vegetable productionnext to China in area and
production contributing 13.38 percentto the total world production. India
occupies first position in cauliflower, second in Onion, third in cabbage in the
world.
Areas of cultivation of flowers-More than 50% of the floriculture products are
produced in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and Madhya
Pradesh.
Areas of cultivation offruits & vegetables-Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha.
Exports-India is ranked14thin vegetables and23rdin fruits.
Present status of horticulture in India

8. Plays crucial role in providingfood and nutritional securityespecially to
rural and tribal population
As a source of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, flavour, aroma, alkaloids,
oleoresins, fibre, etc.
As an economic proposition as they give higher returns per unit area in
terms of energy, money, job, etc
As a source of medicine.
Employment generation 860 man days/annum for fruit crops as against 143
man days/annum for cereal crops and the crops like grapes, banana and
pineapple need 1000-2500 man days per annum.
Importanceof Horticulture

9. Effective utilization of waste land through cultivation of hardy fruits and
medicinal plants.
As a substitute of family income being component of home garden.
As a foreign exchange earner, has higher share compare to agriculture
crops.
As an input for industry being amenable to processing, especially fruit and
vegetable preservation industry.
Aesthetic consideration and protection of environment/Biodiversity.
Religious significance.
Importanceof Horticulture

10. To exploit great variability of agro climatic conditions.
To increase productivity
To meet the need for fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, beverages in relation
to population growth based
Adoption of more standardized horticulture production procedures to
increase productivity and profit.
To reduce Post harvest losses.
To meet the requirement of processing industryand to promote processing
Future scope of horticulture in India

11. Protected cultivation and Offseason cultivation
Contract Farming
To substitute import and increase export.
Future scope of horticulture in India