Commercial Agriculture: April 2017

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Commercial Agriculture
Research · April 2017

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Training Manual
 Bimlendra Kumari  Surender S Dhankhar  KS Bangarwa
Students’ Counselling & Placement Cell

Directorate of Students’ Welfare
In Collaboration with
Department of Forestry
College of Agriculture
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar
http://hau.ernet.in/
November, 2015
Training Manual
on
Editors
Dr Bimlendra Kumari
Course Coordinator
Professor (Forestry)
Dr Surender S Dhankhar
Course Director
Assoc Director (C&P)
Dr KS Bangarwa
Professor & Head
Department of Forestry
Students’ Counseling and Placement Cell

Directorate of Students’ Welfare
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004
http://hau.ernet.in
2015
Contents
Sr # Title of Chapter (s) Authors (s) Page #
1 Honey Extraction, Processing and Packaging Ombir 1-4

KS Bangarwa, Ashok Deshwal
2 Poplar Based Agroforestry for Higher Return 5-8
& JS Bamel
3 General Principles of Commercial Crop Production AK Dhaka 9-20
4 Fundamentals of Fruit Production DS Dahiya and SK Sehrawat 21-24
5 Cultivation of Vegetable Crops in Protected AK Bhatia 25-32

Conditions
6 Eco-friendly Disease Management in Crop Plants Naresh Mehta 33-42
7 Techniques of Seed Production in Field Crops RC Punia 43-46

Weeds, Their Cost and Ways to Manage Them
8 Samunder Singh 47-52
Efficiently
9 Commercial Farm Forestry in India Bimlendra Kumari 53-58
10 Bio Intensive Integrated Pest Management in Crops KK Dahiya 59-62

Surjeet Singh, Hari Chand &
11 Cultivation of White Button Mushroom 63-64
Rupesh Kr Arora
12 Nutrient Management for Commercial Agriculture Krishan Kumar Bhardwaj 65-70
13 Organic Farming for Higher Returns AS Godara 71-78
14 Mushroom Production and Marketing in India Ashwani Kumar 79-82
15 Commercial Importance of Non Timber Forest 83-90

Bimlendra Kumari
Products
16 IPR: Commercialization of Agriculture SK Sethi 91-96
Nematode Management in Commercial Agriculture
17 Anil Kumar & Sewak Ram 97-100
18 Role of Value Added Products in Marketing Raj Bala Grewal 101-104
Bimlendra Kumari, Surender S Dhankhar and KS Bangarwa (Eds)
CCS HAU, Hisar, 2015, pp 1-4.
Honey Extraction, Processing and Packaging

Ombir
Professor (Entomology) & Controller Examination
Honey is the wonderful gift to the mankind. It is sweet, viscous, liquid substance produced by
honeybees from the nectar of blossoms or from secretions of extra floral nectaries, which
they collect, transform and combine with specific substances and store in honey comb. It is
twice stolen sweet, which is changed from an easily spoiled, thin sweet liquid to a stable high
density and energy food by honeybees. It was the only sweetening agent known to early man
and it found its way into traditions, customs and in food of every religion and nation. It has
been also acclaimed as a restorative healer and health provider since ancient times as it cures
wounds, burns and ulcers and enhances resistance against diseases. Honey is a desirable and
delicious variety in our diet. Honey contains about 80 different compounds, predominantly
sugars (fructose, glucose, maltose and sucrose). It also contains minerals, amino acids,
proteins, vitamins and enzymes. Honey has different colours, aromas and flavours.
It is almost a complete natural food and is held in high esteem next to Amrit. In
combination with milk, honey makes almost complete food for mankind. It is a
very good source of energy, which provides about 3000 cal/kg. It not only
provides energy but also provide mineral a nd vitamins for human body. The
following components are present in honey:
1. Moisture: It is most important characteristics of honey. Honey contains 15-25 per cent
moisture, which influence the keeping quality and granulation. Higher the moisture
contents earlier the fermentation of honey.
2. Sugars: Honey is excellent source of carbohydrates, which are its major
components (70-80%). Sugars contribute 95 to 99 per cent of total solids. It
has 13 plant sugars predominantly fructose and glucose (almost in equal
proportion), that are easily digestible and provide instant energy. The other
common sugars are maltose and sucrose.
3. Minerals: Generally, minerals are referred to as ash, which varies from 0.02
to 1.0 per cent. About 11 minerals and 17 trace elements are av ailable in
normal honey. The dark coloured honey contains more mineral than light
coloured honey. The minerals, which are available in honey, are potassium,
calcium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, manganese, sulphur, copper,
chlorine and silicon.
4. Vitamins: Honey contains several vitamins. At least six vitamins are present
in honey buy due to their small quantity these have a little nutritional value.
Riboflavin, thiamine pantothenic acid, niacin, pyridoxine and ascorbic acid
are available in honey in variable amount depending upon source of nectar.
5. Enzymes: The enzymes present in honey are invertase, glucose oxidase,
diastase and to lesser degree catalase and acid phosphate. Almost all these
are added to honey by honeybees.
1 Commercial Agriculture
6. Proteins and amino acids: A little quantity of proteins is found in honey,
which varies with nectar sources. About eighteen free amino acids are
present in honey in small amount.
7. Aroma and flavour: The aroma and flavour of honey are important
characteristics from consumer point of vi ew. There are many different honey
aroma and flavour as many plant species from which nectar is collected. The
flavour and aroma is sensitive to heat and storage.
8. Colour: The colour of honey ranges from whitish to dark brown depending
upon the plant source from where nectar is collected.
The honey has high nutritive values and easily digestible nutrients. In India,
honey is licked at the tongue of a baby at the time of birth. Use of honey in infant
feeding because of rapid absorption; it complements the iro n deficiency in human
and cow's milk. It increases appetite and it has soothing effect, which reduce
fretfulness. Honey is also advised for athletes, sports persons, mountaineers,
deep-sea divers, patients in hospital and workers in factories, which quickl y
replenishes the energy lost in these activities. So honey is a nutritive food for all
the ages, castes and religions of people.
Honey is used in hundred of food products around the world. It is predominantly
used in cereals, bakeries and confectionery pr oducts. Honey may be used as
honey spread on bread, biscuits, etc. for breakfast. It may also be used in some
squashes such as lemon, mango and orange squash. Honey can also be used in
limejuice or water, which is a good energizer.
Honey extraction
In India beekeeping in mainly done to get honey. During honey flow season honey is
extracted. To get quality honey it should be extracted from completed filled and sealed
combs. To avoid storing of honey is brood frames at least three weeks before extraction of
honey a queen excluder should be placed in between broad and supper chamber and queen in
confined to broad chamber. The frames which are three fourth filled or full of honey should
be raised from brood to supper chamber. The combs which are completely sealed or two-
thirds capped may be taken out for honey extractions. The extraction of uncapped/raw honey
should be avoided because this unripe honey has higher moisture percentage and is liable to
ferment shortly after extraction.
Extract honey during a sunny day. For extraction of honey a room with wire gauged fitted in
bee tight doors and will ventilated and lighted is required. In case room is not available then
honey can be extracted in honey extraction tent made up of netted cloth. The honey should be
extracted when bees are foraging. The derived combs from a colony should be taken out and
bees should be brushed off with the help of a soft brush. These combs are placed in bee tight
hive bodies, take them in extraction room and stock there. Then uncap frames either with
plain uncapping knives with provision for heating them in boiling water or steam heated
double wall uncapping knife. Electrically heated uncapping knives with a thermostat are used
in big apiaries in European countries. Place the uncapped frame in honey extractor then rotate
the extractor and honey will be extracted with the centrifugal force and stored in the extractor
at the bottom. Empty frames are stocked in hive bodies and returned to be colonies by
evening. It is advisable to make arrangement for straining and packing of honey. Freshly
extracted honey is warm and hence easy to strain. All the utensils and honey extractor should
be cleaned and washed thoroughly.
Honey Processing
Honey consists of various sugars mainly of glucose and fructo se. It also contains
proteins, amino acids, enzymes organic acids, minerals, pollen and other
substances as well as yeast. The colour of honey varies from nearly colourless to
dark brown. Consistency may be fluid, viscous or partly to wholly crystallized.
The flavor and aroma vary with its floral origin from which it is obtained and are
important characteristics available in the comb. During handling and processing,
it should be our aim to preserve them.
Honey is a good preservative and can be kept for a lo ng time without
deterioration. In the present time, honey is produced in large amount handled at
various levels, i.e. from production, extraction, collection, processing, storage
and consumption and stored in different conditions, which determines its exte nt
of deterioration.
Categories of Honey:
A. Honeys obtained throughout the world are categorized as:
1. Apiary or table honey:-Centrifugally machine extracted from beehive with
optimal, moisture content and superior quality.
2. Squeezed honey:-Obtained by squeezing or pressing the honeycombs of
wild bees, (Apis dorsata or A. florea) with high moisture content liable to
fermentation.
B. On the basis of moisture content of honeys, Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS) has grouped them as:
1. Special grade (less than 20%)
2. 'A' grade (less than 22%)
3. Standard grade (less than 25%)
Honey with more than 25 per cent moisture content is rejected for consumption
purposes. The coastal area and rock bee honeys have thinner consistency with 28
per cent or more moisture content and liable to ferment, while North and Central
India honeys are thicker having moisture content from 17 -20 per cent.
―Least processing is the best processing‖ is the thumb rule. It means indirect
heating of honey at controlled temperatures and duration just suffi cient to kill all
the yeast cells in honey. The processing leads to reduction/prevention of
granulation and fermentation of honey.
The keys to good honey processing are care and hygiene during process.
Therefore, processing is limited to controlled indirec t heating and straining for
ease in its subsequent handling. The indirect heating is done liquefy it, destroy
all yeast cells to prevent fermentation and delay granulation, reduced excess
water content with retention of its flavour, colour, taste and medi cinal and
nutritional value.
1. Heating: Heat the honey indirectly to 65 0C for 10min.so that all the yeast
cells destroy and the wax which is present in the honey and come out and
form a layer on the honey, which can be easily removed.
2. Straining: To remove foreign particles like dust, bee parts, etc., the honey
having temperatures of 35°C is passed through screens of different meshes
for rapid straining with reduced viscosity of honey. Before straining, heating
of honey may not always be required under Indian conditions. Honey passes
from one screen to next to have final passing through finest one. BIS
specified to use 180 µ strainers in the first of the three settling tanks. Honey
processing plant as specified by B I S consists of (i) a plate form, (ii) hot
water bath, (iii) processing unit, and (iv) settling tanks.
3. Filtration: Sometimes to remove pollen, colloids and small air bubbles left
in honey after straining, it is filtered under pressure. The filtered honey
remains in liquid form for longer period as co mpared to unfiltered one. This
process is useful for granulated honey, which is not acceptable to the users.
4. Storage of honey: After processing, honey may be stored preferably in clean, sterilized
dry large containers made to stainless steel having air tight lids.
5. Package of honey: Honey processing and packing is a highly technical field; require
professional competence, proper organization, machinery, etc. Honey is usually sold
with quantities specified by weight and labelled with following information:
a. Brand name,
b. Name & address of supplier,
c. Weight (gms or kgs)
d. Description of content (flora, etc.),
e. Date of Packing
Honey is sold in glass or food grade plastic or steel containers. Glass jars are
considered the best for packaging honey. Packing is done in air tight containers
of 2kg, 1kg, 500g and 200g for retail marketing and in big containers (20 -100kg)
for bulk marketing.
Specification of Honey
Characteristics BIS: 4941 Grade Agmar
Special grade A grade PFA K 1986
Standard grade A07.0
Moisture (Max.%) 20.00 22 25.00 25.0 20-25
Specific gravity 1.41 1.3 1.37 - 1.35
Reducing sugar (min. %) 70.0 65.0 65.0 65.0 65.0
Sucrose (Max.%) 5.0 5.0 5.00 5.0 5.0
Fructose/glucose ration (min.) 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.90 0.95
Ash (max.%) 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50
Hydroxy methyl furfural (ppm 80 80 80 80 80
max.)
Acidity (max.%) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Poplar Based Agroforestry for Higher Return

KS Bangarwa, Ashok Deshwal and JS Bamel
Department of Forestry,
Forest-based industries in India show significant deficits between wood requirements and
supply. The paper industry in particular is plagued by raw material shortage in the face of
continually increasing demand. Therefore, plantation timbers under social forestry,
agroforestry and imported wood would be the means to fill the gap. Populus deltoides Bartr.
ex Marsh. var. deltoides (typical eastern cottonwood from the USA) is an exotic and is
currently the species of choice for agroforestry in the Indo-gangetic plains of the states of
Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), Haryana, and Punjab. Poplar (Populus deltoides), a native tree of USA
introduced in India around 1950, is widely grown on a rotation of 6-8 years in all over
northern India as an agroforestry tree because of its desirable characters and multiple uses.
Commercial scale plantations of poplar have been expanding since the introduction of buy
back guarantee scheme by WIMCO Ltd in 1984. Poplar replaced Eucalyptus (with crash in
prices) in nineties due to the following advantages:
 It has faster biomass growth.
 It is more compatible with agricultural crops.
 Its leaves get decomposed and help in maintaining soil nutrients.
 It was easily saleable and fetches better prices.
 It is easily propagated through cuttings.
Maximum production potential of poplar plantation is upto 65 m3/ha/year. Average potential
of poplar plantation is 35-40 m3/ha/year. Deciduous nature of poplar allows agricultural crops
to grow under poplar without much adversely affecting crop production.
1200
1000
800
over
600 under
400 sokta
dandi
200
0
1992
2012
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
Fig.1: Wood price per quintal with varying girth since 1980
Poplar-based agroforestry has been very profitable. About 10 million trees have been planted
every year since 1984 in 0.02 M ha of lands with an average density of 400-500 trees per ha
till 2000. Bangarwa and Wuehlisch, 2009 reported that poplar wood prices were reduced
during 2000-2004 (Fig 1). Farmers were thus compelled to cut their young poplar trees to
earn income. The poplar plantations are again rising with the increase in price of poplar wood
in 2005.
It is also the candidate species for use in east-central India, and may eventually be an
important component of poplar culture in northeast India. A very robust market has
developed for poplars grown in agroforestry systems on the Indo-gangetic plains. The
primary products are plywood, veneer, and matches, but secondary products include charcoal,
fuelwood, leaf litter (composted), and (occasionally) fodder. Farmers are making money from
these trees, and many now consider wood as their primary farm crop. Six to eight-years old
poplar trees, with girth measuring 1 m, was priced at Rs 500-600 each in 2004. The poplar
plantations are again rising with the increase in price of poplar wood in 2005.
Poplar (Populus deltoides) is now widely grown all over northern India and is considered as
most suitable agroforestry tree because of its desirable characteristics and multiple uses. It is
widely grown on a rotation of six to eight years in northern India viz. Punjab, Haryana,
Uttranchal, U.P. and Bihar. A well drained, deep and fertile soil is suitable for poplar. Poplar
prefers neutral soils, but can be grown well on soils having pH from 5.5 to 8.0. It is
successfully planted only under irrigated conditions and success is restricted to correct choice
of clone, spacing and better management practices. G3, G48, L34, S7C15, Uday, Kranti and
Bahar are superior clones of poplar that are suitable for the different agroclimatic conditions
of northern Indian states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttranchal. WIMCO
Seedlings Ltd., Rudrapur (Uttranchal) has got registered six new clones of Populus deltoides
(viz. WSL-22, WSL-27, WSL-32, WSL-39, WSL-A26 and WSL-A49) with the International
Poplar Commission of FAO, Italy (Anon., 2004). The clones were released for commercial
planting during 2002. These clones attain commercial size girth of about 1m in 6 years under
good management practices. All these clones have given greater volume than G 48.
Nursery Raising of Poplar: Taking cuttings of 20-22 cm from main stem of one-year-old
plants can raise poplar nursery. Cuttings obtained from the middle of main shoot between the
diameters 1 to 3 cm give better results. Cuttings should have four live buds. Make bundles of
cuttings and bury these bundles in moist soils for about two weeks in order to have callus
formation. This will be advantageous for uniform sprouting. Alternatively, before planting,
cuttings should be soaked in water for 4-5 days. Cuttings are prepared in January-February
and planted in nursery with a spacing of 80 x 60 cm. Cuttings are to be treated with 0.2%
chloropyriphos. Cuttings are planted in soil leaving at least one growing bud above ground.
Apply light irrigation weekly. During the rainy season undesirable branches appear which
should be removed to prevent the stem becoming bushy. Do not allow other plants and weeds
to grow in the nursery. Plants of about 5 m become ready for transplantation after one year
(next January-February). About twenty thousand plants can be raised in one hectare area.
Price per plant varies from Rs 5.0 to Rs 20.0. One-year-old bare rooted saplings (5-6 m) are
used for transplanting in January-February. Saplings should be purchased from the trusted
source.
One-year-old bare rooted saplings (5-6 m) are used for transplanting in January-February.
Saplings should be purchased from the trusted source. About 25m2 area is required for the
proper growth of the poplar tree. Pits of one-meter depth are dug with the help of an auger.
8x3 m2 7x3.5 m2 and 6x4-m2 spacing are optimum for the proper growth of trees and
mechanized agricultural practices. Rows should be made in north-south direction. This
system will provide maximum sun light for agricultural crops. The pits are filled with a
mixture of topsoil, 3 Kg FYM, 100g single superphosphate and 250-g neem cake or 0.2%
chloropyriphos or any other powder for the control of termites. Along the water channels and
boundaries, the poplars are planted 3 m apart. For the first two years, weekly irrigation is
advisable. Subsequently, irrigation at an interval of 10-15 days is sufficient. Fertilizers
applied to the agricultural crops are sufficient to meet the requirement of poplar trees.
Remove the sprouting buds on lower one third portion of stem during first year. In the second
year during December, branches competing with leader need removal and the interfering
branches should be removed. During 3rd to 6th year, remove lower one third to half branches.
Pruning should be done during winter and Bordeaux paste must be applied on cut ends. If at
any stage of growth two leader shoots appear to grow cut the poor one and maintain the
healthy one. Inter-crops such as wheat, sugarcane, potato, mentha, berseem and various
vegetables can be grown. Paddy, however, should not be grown with poplar. The Rabi crops
can be grown for the entire eight years. For the kharif season, fodder crops are to be
preferred. Up to first two years, the returns obtained from sugarcane + poplar combination are
maximum. Third year onwards shade-loving crops like turmeric can be grown successfully.
During the winter season wheat and during summer season fodder crops can be grown till its
harvest.
Sugar cane with Poplar
Turmeric and Fruit trees with Poplar

Wheat with Poplar
Harvesting and Income: Presently, 6-8 years old poplar trees, with girth measuring 1 m at
breast height (1.37 m), fetches about Rs 4000 per tree and net income from poplar plantations
can be expected to be Rs 200000 per hectare per year. About 400 trees/ha will be ready for
harvesting after 6-7 years. The income from intercropping agricultural crops will be extra.
Apart from a very handsome income from poplar plantation, the soils are enriched with
organic matter when planted with poplar. It is estimated that 5-10 tonnes of organic matter is
added every year over an area of one acre from leaf fall of 5-6 years old poplar trees. The
leaves are easily decomposed and mineralized to increase soil fertility. Moreover, poplar has
reduced pressure on our natural forests by providing fuelwood and timber from the fields
itself and has also maximized the total returns. Poplar plantation is the economically excellent
alternative in increasing tree cover
Marketing of Poplar: Poplar is harvested when at attains a girth of about one metre at breast
height. The poplar wood is used for peeling by making pieces of one metre and two metres.
The piece of wood with girth higher than 60 cm and free from any knot will fetch highest
price. The rates of wood will decrease with decrease in girth and the rates of wood for the
year 2008 with different girths are given in Fig 1.
References
 Bangarwa, KS; von Wuehlisch, G, 2009. Using exotic poplar in northern India for
higher returns in agroforestry. Asia-Pacific Agroforestry Newsletter 35: 3-5.
General Principles of Commercial Crop Production

AK Dhaka
Asstt Professor (Agronomy)
Crop production principle: Crop production is the exploitation of plant morphological or

structural and plant physiological or functional responses with in a soil and atmospheric
environment in order to produce maximum yield per unit area per unit time.
The climatic and edaphic environment in which crops are grown can influence the rate of
growth and development. The management of physical environment under field conditions is
very difficult, costly and often impossible. Agronomic adjustments necessary for higher
yield are aimed at creating optimal conditions for crop production to the extent possible.
A principle means a scientific law that explains natural action. Crop production principles are
the ways and means for the better management of soils, plants and environment for
economically maximum returns per unit area for years. These principles largely depend on
the type of farming namely specialized, diversified, mixed and integrated and also on the
physical and technological facilities available. The crop production includes various
principles related to seed, sowing, tillage, irrigation, nutrition, plant protection, harvesting
and storage. The objective to study the basic principles of crop production is to develop an
understanding of the important principles underlying the practices used in cultivation of crops
and to develop the ability to apply these principles to crop production situation. The basic
principles of crop production are as follows:
 Principle of seed
 Principle of tillage
 Principle of sowing
 Principle of plant density and geometry of planting
 Principle of plant architecture
 Principle of fertilization
 Principle of irrigation
 Principle of plant protection
 Principle of weed management
 Principle of harvesting
 Principle of storage
 Principle of post harvest management
Principle of seed:
Seed material or propagate is the living organ of crop in rudimentary form used for
propagation. Good quality seeds are basic to profitable crop production. The seed or planting
material largely determines the quality and quantity of the produce. A good seed or stalk of planting
material is genetically satisfactory and true to type, fully developed and free from
contamination, deformities, diseases and pests.
Crops differ in their ability to extract and forage nutrients from different layers of soils and
capacity to utilize them for the production of economic products. Thus for higher production,
select crop varieties adaptable to the particular agro-climate, land situation, soil fertility,
seasons and method of cultivation. A good quality of seed should have following
characteristics:
A good quality seed should posses the following characteristics.
 Seed must be true to its type i.e., genetically pure and their duration should be according to
agroclimate and cropping system of the locality.
 Seed should be pure, viable, vigorous and have high yielding potential.
 Seed should be free from seed borne diseases and pest infection.
 Seed should be clean; free from weed seeds or any inert materials.
 Seed should be in whole and not broken or damaged; crushed or peeled off; half filled and
half rotten.
 Seed should meet the prescribed uniform size and weight.
 Seed should be as fresh as possible or of the proper age.
 Seed should contain optimum amount of moisture (842%).
 Seed should have high germination percentage (more than 80%).
 Seed should germinate rapidly and uniformly when sown.
Factors affecting germination are soil (soil type, texture, structure and microorganism),
Environment ,Water (soil moisture and seed moisture, Imbibitions of water is the prerequisite
process for germination), Temperature (cardinal temperature), Light (The most effective
wavelength for promoting and inhibiting seed germination is red (660 mu) and infrared (730
.nm), Atmospheric gases ( most crop seeds germinate well in the ambient composition of air
with 20% 02, 0.03% CO2 and 78.2% N) and exogenous chemicals (Gibberellins and Ethylene).
Seed rate should be recommended for a particular crop can be calculated with formula:
Plant population needed X Weight of one seed
Seed rate ( kg /ha) = ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real value of seed X 1000 X 1000
Seed treatment is a process of application either by mixing or by coating or by soaking in
solutions of chemicals or protectants (with fungicidal, insecticidal, bactericidal, nematicidal
or biopesticidal properties), nutrients, hormones or growth regulators or subjected to a process
of wetting and drying or subjected to reduce, control or repel disease organisms, insects or
other pests which attack seeds or seedlings growing there from Seed treatment also includes
control of pests when the seed is in storage and after it has been sown/planted. Methods may
be dry,wet, slurry and pelleting.
Principle of tillage:
Tillage is a physical manipulation of soil with tools and implements to obtain in good tilth for
better germination and subsequent growth of crops. Tillage is done to prepare a seed bed, to
break weeds, insects and disease cycles, to burry plant residue and incorporate fertilizers and
amendments , to break surface crust and hard sub soil fraction. Tillage practices aimed at
reducing soil degradation, improving weed control and helping in timely decomposition of
organic matter. A common aim is to provide optimal conditions for beneficial soil organisms,
thereby enhancing organic matter decomposition and nutrient recycling. Managing the top 15
cm of soil is vital because most of the biological activity, microorganisms and organic matter
in this layer. Tilth is a physical condition of the soil resulting from tillage, which is a loose friable
(mellow), airy, powdery, granular and crumbly condition of the soil with optimum moisture
content suitable for working and germination or sprouting of seeds and propagules i.e., tilth is
the ideal seed bed.
Thus tillage has considerable influence on soil physical properties like pore space, structure,
bulk density, water content and colour. The correct time for ploughing depends on soil
moisture. The optimum range of soil moisture for effective ploughing is 25 to 50 per cent
depletion of available soil moisture. Light soils can be ploughed in a wider range of soil
moisture conditions while the range is narrow for heavy soils. Depth of ploughing mainly
depends on the effective root zone depth of the crops. Generally, crops with tap root system
require greater depth of ploughing, while fibrous, shallow rooted crops require shallow
ploughing. The number of ploughing necessary to obtain a good tilth depends on soil type,
weed problem and crop residues on the soil surface. In heavy soils, more number of
ploughing is necessary, the range being 3 to 5 ploughing. Light soils require 1 to 3 ploughing
to obtain proper tilth of the soil. When weed growth and plant residues are higher, more
number of ploughing is necessary.
To obtain higher crop yield, under tillage following points should be kept in mind :
a) Optimum time of tillage
b) Intensity and depth of ploughing
c) Proper kind of tillage system
d) Size distribution of aggregates
Types of tillage (on the basis of time of operation):
1 . Preparatory cultivation – before sowing
a) Primary tillage
b) Secondary tillage
c) Layout of seed bed and sowing
2 . After cultivation- in the standing crop
Tillage implements:
a) For Primary tillage -Wooden plough , soil turning plough , sub soil plough ,chisel plough
, ridge plough ,rotary plough ,basin lister etc.
b) For secondary tillage- Cultivator , harrows , guntakas etc.
c) For lay out of seed bed- Country plough ,ridge plough ,marker, zindra etc .
d) For sowing – Plough , seed drill , fertilizer cum seed drill etc.
Modern concept of tillage:
a) Minimum tillage
b) Zero tillage
c) Stubble mulch tillage
Factors affecting intensity and depth of tillage operation:
They are soil type, crop and variety, type of farming, moisture status of the soil, climate and
season, extent of weed infestation, irrigation methods, special needs and economic
condition, and knowledge and experience of the fanner.
(i) Crop - Small sized seeds like finger millet, tobacco etc. require a fine seedbed which
can provide intimate soil-seed contact as against coarser seed bed required for larger
size seeds such as sorghum, maize, pulses, etc. Root or tuber crops require deep
tillage whereas rice requires shallow puddling.
(ii) Soil type - It dictates the time of ploughing. Light soils require early and rapid land
preparation due to free drainage and low retentive capacity as against heavy soils.
(iii) Climate - It influences soil moisture content, draught required tilling and the type of
cultivation. Low rainfall and poor water retentive capacity of shallow soil do not
permit deep ploughing at the start of the season. Heavy soils developing cracks during
summer (self tilled) need only harrowing. Light soils of arid regions need coarse
tilth to minimize wind erosion.
(iv) Type of farming - It influences the intensity of land preparation. In dry lands, deep
ploughing is necessary to eradicate perennial weeds and to conserve soil moisture.
Repeated shallow tilling is adequate under such intensive cropping.
(v) Cropping system - In involves different crops, which need different types of tillage.
Crop following rice needs repeated preparatory tillage for obtaining an ideal seedbed.
Crops following tuber crops like potato require minimum tillage. Similarly crops
following pulses need lesser tillage than that of following sorghum, maize or
sugarcane.
Desirable ploughing depth is 12.5-20 cm. Ploughing depth varies with effective root zone
depth of the crops. Ploughing depth is 10-20 cm to shallow rooted crops and 15-30 cm to deep-
rooted crops. The time of ploughing is decided based on moisture status and type of soil. The
optimum moisture content for tillage is 60% of field capacity. Ploughing at right moisture
content is very important. Ploughing aims at stirring and disturbing the top layer of soil uniformly
without leaving any unploughed strips of land. Straight and uniformly wide furrows give a neat
appearance to the ploughed field. When the furrows are not straight or when the adjacent furrows
are not uniformly spaced, narrow strips of land are left unploughed. After the harvest of a crop the
land is first ploughed along the length of the field. The next ploughing is done across the field for
breaking furrows of the previous ploughing.
Principle of sowing :
Seed sowing is the placement of seed in seed bed at appropriate depth in the environment
ideal for optimum germination and crop stand establishment. It depends on time, depth and
method of sowing and seed treatment. Sowing very early and late in the season may not be
advantageous. Sowing the crop at optimum time increases yields due to suitable environment
at all the growth stages of the crop. Flowering is induced after sufficient vegetative growth.
Depth of sowing is another aspect for establishing a good crop stand. Uneven depth of
sowing results in uneven crop stand. Shallow and deep sowing results in lesser plant
population as all seeds do not germinate. The optimum depth of sowing depends upon size of
seed, seed reserve, and coleoptiles length and soil moisture. Crops with bigger sized seeds
like groundnut, castor and sunflower etc can be sown even up to a depth of 6cm. Small sized
seeds like tobacco, ragi have to be sown as shallow as possible. The, thumb rule is to sow
seeds to a depth approximately 3 to 4 times their diameter. The optimum depth of sowing
for most of the field crops ranges between 3 cm to 5 cm. Shallow depth of planting of 2
cm to 3 cm is resorted for small seeds like finger millet and pearl millet. Very small seeds
like tobacco are placed at a depth of 1 cm. This is generally done by broadcasting on the
soil surface and mixing them by raking. In the same crop, coleoptile length may differ
due to varieties. Traditional tall varieties of wheat have long coleoptile. Generally, they
are sown deep in the soil with seed drill. Mexican varieties with short coleoptile do not
emerge when they are sown deep. The Mexican wheat give higher yields compared to
tall varieties only when they are sown at a depth of 4 cm. The short coleoptiles of semi-
dwarf wheat can results in poor seedling establishment when sown at deeper depth.
Method of sowing may be broadcasting, drilling, planting and transplanting. Broadcasting
method results in uneven plant stand. In drilling method the seeds are in lines at uniform
depth. Other mmechanical factors are emergence habit, seed size and weight, seedbed
texture, seed—soil contact, seedbed fertility, soil moisture. Biological factors like companion
crops, competition for light, soil microorganisms will also affect the germination and density
per unit area with healthy and uniform seedling.
Principle of plant density and geometry of planting:
Plant density is the number of plants per unit area. Optimum plant population is must for
potential yield. Sparse and dense crop stands beyond a certain level is the major cause of low
yields. Thinning, spacing and weeding etc are aimed to reduce the competition between
plants for growth resources. Crop plants are not grown in isolation but in closely spaced
populations. At establishment and early seedling phase – no competition. At some point as
the seedlings grow – start interferes with neibours and competition starts. Plants do not
compete with each other so long as long as the growth resources are in excess of the needs of
both. The immediate supply of a single necessary factor falls below the combined demands of
the plants competition begins.
According to Donald (1963) Most of the factors for which there is competition are found as a
pool of material from which competitors draw their supplies. If resources are limited or
intermittent depletion by the competing plants, then successful competitor draw most rapidly
from the pool. If all the plants in community have equal competing ability, they share equally
until supply is exhausted.
Plant population and Growth: Plant height increases within increase in plant population due
to competition for light. Increase in plant height is responsible for better interception of light
due to exposure of individual laves at wider vertical interval. Reduction in leaf thickness and
leaf orientation is also changed .The relationship between plant density and yield can be
grouped into two categories. Holliday suggested two types of response curves:
 Asymptotic Response : Where entire dry matter is the economic product as in the
case of fodder crops or most of dry matter as in tobacco, the response to the
increasing plant density is asymptotic. Further increase in the in density, increases the
dry matter of individual plants at a diminishing rate. Further increase the plant
population result in plateau. This type of response gives the asymptotic curve which is
expressed as follows
Y= Ap+1/1+Abp
Where ,Y is yield of dry matter/unit area ,A apparent maximum yield per plant, p is number
of plant /unit area and b is regression coefficient.―1/1+Abp ‖ term is known as competition
factor.
 Parabolic response : Parabolic curve is used to describe plant population and yield
relationship when the economic yield is fraction of total dry matter. Holliday
suggested that the curve can be fitted to the quadratic equation.
Y=a+bp+cp2
Where Y is yield /unit area, p plant population and a, b, and c are regression coefficient. The
extent of plateau is depends on elasticity of plants .This aspect is not considered in the
quadratic equation.
Factor affecting optimum plant population :
 Time of sowings
 Size of plant
 Planting pattern
 Elasticity of plant
 Irrigation
 Fertilizer application
 Dry matter partitioning
Principles of plant architecture:
Crop variety is amongst the most important factors that determine the yields and profitability
of farming enterprises. Among the various morphological and physiological traits, knowledge
of plant architecture is important to grower. Vegetative vigor and canopy development are
other important aspects influenced by plant architecture. Leaf characters such as number, size
and thickness also dictate plant architecture. A good agronomist should have a clear-cut idea
about the morphological, physiological and different phenological characteristics for the
variety/crop using in the field. For the better management and to get the maximum efficiency
from the applied agricultural inputs one should also have a knowledge about the relationship
of growth stages and peak demand period for inputs of a particular variety or crop.
Principle of fertilization:
To obtain the maximum benefit from fertilizers, it is most essential that fertilizers are applied
at the proper time and at proper place. There are 16 essential elements like N, P, K, C, H, O,
Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Mo, B, Cl. Timing of fertilization depends upon plant‘s need. The
fertilizers to be applied possess different quality with regard to solubility in water and
movement into the soil solution. Similarly, soils are of different nature, sandy to clayey. The
nature of the soil governs the movement of applied fertilizers. Again, the requirement of
plants for different plant nutrients varies in relation to their stage of growth. For example,
nitrogen is absorbed by the plants throughout the growth period, while phosphorus is
absorbed at a faster rate during the early growth period. Thus, the time and method of
fertilizer application will vary in relation to :
(1) The nature of fertilizer
(2) The soil type
(3) The difference in nutrient requirement and nature of field crops.
Besides these three main factors, the following general principles govern the selection of
proper time for application of fertilizer.
Proper time for application of fertilizers:
1. Nitrogen is required throughout the crop growth. As such, it is absorbed by the
plant at the same rate as that of its growth. All plants grow at a slow rate in the
beginning. Then follows a rapid increase in the growth rate. Near the harvest
time, the rate of growth again slows down. Accordingly, nitrogen is taken up by
the plant slowly in the beginning, rapidly during the grand growth period, and again
slowly as it nears maturity. In other words, the nitrogen requirement of a growing
plant is less in the early stages of growth, maximum during its grand growth
period, and low at the subsequent stages up to harvest. It is thus seen t hat nitrogen
is required throughout the growth period.
2. Nitrogenous fertilizers are soluble in water. They are mobile and move rapidly in
all directions within the soil. As such nitrogen is easily lost through leaching.
Since nitrogen is required throughout the growth period and nitrogen fertilizers are lost
through leaching, it is better not to apply too much nitrogenous fertilizers at one time, but
to apply in split doses throughout the growth period. This will supply nitrogen to growing
plants during the entire growth period and the plants will not suffer from nitrogen deficiency.
3. Phosphorus is required during the early root development and early plant growth. As such,
crop plants utilize 2/3 of the total requirement of phosphorus when the plants accumulate 1 /
3 of their dry weight. In other words, plants require more of phosphorus during the early
growth period.
4. All phosphatic fertilizers release phosphorus for plant growth slowly. This is true even of
superphosphate which contains monocalcium phosphate or water-soluble P2O5. On
application of superphosphate to the soil, water-soluble P2OS becomes immediately
slightly insoluble or is converted into dicalcium phosphate or citrate-soluble P2O5.
In this form, phosphorus becomes available to plants slowly.
On the one hand, phosphorus is required in greater quantities during the early growth period,
while on the other, all phosphatic fertilizers become available to the growing plants slowly.
As such, it is always recommended that the entire quantity of phosphatic fertilizers should
be applied before sowing or planting.
5. Potash behaves partly like nitrogen & partly like phosphorus. From point of view
of rate of absorption, it is like nitrogen, being absorbed up to the harvesting stage.
But potassic fertilizers, like phosphatic fertilizers, become available slowly. As
such, it is always advisable to apply the entire quantity of the potash at sowing time.
6. Leaching is greater from sandy soils than from heavier textured soils, like clayey
soils. This means that more frequent application, or split application of nitrogenous
fertilisers, and sometimes of potassic fertilisers, is desirable on sandy soils.
Selection of correct method of fertilizer application:
1. Nitrogenous fertilizers are easily soluble in water and move rapidly in all directions
from the place of application. In other words, nitrogenous fertilizers applied on the soil
surface reach the plant roots easily and rapidly. As such, these fertilizers are
broadcast on the soil surface just before sowing.
Since nitrogen is liable to be lost by leaching, it is applied at different stages of plant
growth. Since nitrogenous fertilisers move rapidly in moist soil, application of
nitrogenous fertilisers on the soil surface followed by irrigation is good enough to meet
the nitrogen requirement at the critical stage of plant growth. In other words,
nitrogenous fertilisers are suitable for top-dressing and side-dressing.
2. Since phosphorus moves slowly from the point of placement, it should be placed
where it will be readily accessible to the plant roots.
3. Progressive fixation of phosphates by soil clays continues to diminish their
efficiency for a considerable period following application. Fixation refers to any
chemical or physical interaction between the applied plant nutrients and the soil
whereby the nutrients become less available to crops. To reduce the fixation of
phosphate, phosphatic fertilisers should be so placed that these come into minimum
contact with the soil particles and are closer to the plant roots. In other words,
localized placement of phosphatic fertilisers near the seeds or seedling roots should
be practised. This is desirable for three important reasons:
(i) Restricted contact of fertilisers with the soil lessens the fixation of phosphate;
(ii) Necessary plant food is placed within easy reach of the plant roots. The possibility of
injurious concentrations is minimized if the placement is accurately controlled; and
(iii) The fertiliser placed in a side band along the row does not readily furnish nutrients to
weeds growing between the rows.
4. Since potassic fertilizers move slowly in the soil, they should also be placed near the
root zone.
Profitable use of fertilisers:
For the most profitable use of fertilisers, the following common questions should be answered.
1. How much fertiliser to use?
2. What kind of fertiliser to use?
3. How to apply fertiliser?
4. When to apply fertiliser?
Factors affecting optimum fertiliser dose:
The optimum fertiliser doses worked out from field experiments for each crop and for each
region of the country need to be adjusted to suit the local differences in various factors like
previous crop, supply of farmyard manure, soil texture, etc. The factors which affect the
optimum fertiliser dose are:
1. Initial soil fertility;
2. Soil pH;
3. Soil texture;
4. Soil erosion;
5. Rainfall and distribution;
6. Irrigation;
7. Previous crop raised and rotation of crops;
8. Intensity of cropping plant density, legume mixture, etc.;
9. The use farmyard manure and other organic manures like green manuring;
10. Variety of crop; and
11. Sowing period.
To a farmer, instead of a crop, land is a unit and management practices should be applied to
agriculture for efficient utilization of all resources, maintaining stability in production and
obtaining higher net returns. Timely application of proper and balanced nutrients to the crop
or crops in sequence and improvement of soil fertility and productivity, correction of ill
effects of soil reactions and increasing soil organic matter through the application of green
manure, organic wastes, biofertilizers and profitable recycling of organic wastes are must for
higher production. Determining the fertilizer schedule is complex in sequential cropping
system as several factors have to be considered. The important factors are: soil supplying
power, total uptake by crops, residual effect of fertilizers, nutrients added by legume crop,
crop residue left on the soil and efficiency of crops in utilizing the soil and applied nutrients.
Soil contribution to the crops should be known before deciding on the quantum of fertilizer
application. The total amount of nutrients taken by the crops in one sequence gives an
indication of the fertilizer requirement of the system. Balance sheet approach is followed to
know whether the amount of fertilizers applied is equal, more or less to the total uptake of
nutrients by different crops in the system. The balance is obtained by subtracting the
fertilizers applied to crops in the system from the nutrients taken up by the crop. Application
of manures and fertilizers is essential to make up the loss of nutrients from soil taken up by
the crops. Different crops require variable amount of nutrients. Green manuring and green
leaf manuring are also practiced by the farmers and this practice adds nitrogen to the soil in
addition to organic matter. Green manuring with Dhaincha is a common practice. However,
green manuring in dry lands is not practicable due to limitation of soil moisture.
Principle of irrigation :
Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil for the purpose of supplying moisture
essential for plant growth. Irrigation principle deal with what, when, how and why regarding
the irrigation of crops.
But irrespective of the purpose for which irrigation water is used by the irrigators, we have a
good understanding of the factors and processes having a bearing on the following questions:
i) Is the water available for the irrigation suitable for the purpose?
ii) How best to convey the water from the source to the field?
iii) When to apply the water?
iv) How much water to apply?
v) How best to apply the water?
vi) When to repeat?
Different methods are used to apply irrigation water to the crop depending on the land slope,
amount of water and equipment available, the crop and method of cultivation of crop. These
irrigation methods are classified as surface, sub surface, overhead or sprinkler and drip
irrigation methods. Among them, surface irrigation methods are the most common. Sprinkler
irrigation is adopted where land levelling is uneconomical or impractical and drip irrigation is
used where water is scarce. Under irrigation management to obtain maximum yield various
points should kept in mind:
1. Optimum time of irrigation
2. Amount and interval of irrigation
3. Depth of irrigation
4. Minimize water use: Apply only enough water to meet crop needs. This can be
determined through regular soil moisture monitoring or through a ―check book‖ system
to monitor water applied and crop needs.
5. Improve Irrigation efficiency: use efficient irrigation system such as drip irrigation to
minimize evaporation.
6. Apply water at rate the lower than the soil infiltration rate to reduce runoff due to
excess irrigation that cause soil erosion.
7. Uniform irrigation: make sure water is applied uniformly. This makes the water more
efficient, and reduces the chance of runoff and leaching in certain areas where water
may be over applied.
8. Provide good drainage: Stalinizations in areas of low rainfall can be minimized by
providing good drainage along with the irrigation, to leach down through the soil
profile.
9. Method of irrigation
There are four primary types of irrigation :
1. Surface 2. Sub irrigation 3. Sprinkler Irrigation 4. Trickle or Drip Irrigation
Principle of plant protection:
Successful weed, disease and insect control are another important factor in raising healthy
crops. Apart from reduction in yield, the quality of produce from weed, disease and insect
affected plant is invariable poor. General principle may be adhered to for effective
management of disease and pests in crops. i) seeds should be treated with appropriate
chemicals ii) Spray of chemicals iii) Rouging of diseased plants. Adoption of adequate, need
based, timely and exacting plant protection measures against weeds, insect pests, pathogens,
as well as correction of deficiencies and disorders.
The principles of plant protection provide the basis for the identification of optimal practice
in the use of plant protection products. It provides a practical standard for assessing
individual practices with efficacy, human health, animal health and environmental safety
being the principal endpoints. The principles of plant protection provide the basis for:
(i) Choice of active substance and formulation
(ii) Choice of –
- Dosage (and if appropriate volume)
- Number of applications to be used
- Their timing
- Application equipment to be used and the method of application in the context of :
 Crop factors (e.g. cultivar, sowing rate, timing of sowing, fertilization regime,
training system, age, spacing)
 Climatic and edaphic factors (e.g. topography, soil type, rainfall, temperature,
light).
 Possibilities for cultural and biological control,
 Cost effectiveness
 The harmful organism spectrum to be controlled
 Compatibility between products and identified side-effects
Principles of weed management:
Weed is a plant that originates under a natural environment and in response to imposed and
natural environment, evolved and continues to do so as an interfering associate our desired
plants and activities. Weeds account for 45% reduction in the yield. Climatic, edaphic and
biotic factors influences the distribution, prevalence, competition ability, behavior and
survival of weed. Types of weed management :
•Prevention
•Control:
•Eradication
In weed science, prevention is better than control, but control is required because weeds
arrive without notice and are present before they are prevented. Prevention and eradication
require long-term thinking and planning
Points to be remembered for best weed control results:
− Adopt the field sanitation practices that prevent weeds from entering or spreading
across your field
− Planting certified seed is a good starting point to reduce weeds
− Control of volunteer weeds along field edges and ditches
− Cleaning equipment before moving from field to field
- Help the crop to compete against weeds
 Several things can be done to give the crop an advantage over weeds like
fertilizer placement – placing the fertilizer where the crop, but not weeds, has
access allows the crop to be more competitive
 Banding reduces competitiveness and population density of weeds
 Always take the competitive crop varieties e.g. taller varieties close the
canopy more completely than shorter types, which helps shade weeds
- Don‘t give weeds a chance to adopt
 Crop rotation – rotating crops with different life cycles will help prevent
weeds from adapting
 Rotating crops allows rotating herbicide practices
- Scout your field to assess the type and number of weeds to help determine spray
operation
- Consider timing of weed emergence relative to the crop growth stage – use the
concepts of CPWC( critical period of weed crop competition) and economic
thresholds ( it is the level of weed infestation at which the cost of weed control equals
the increased return on the crop yield )
- Always keep in mind the cost of delaying weed control
- To make weed control program effective first very critically identify the problem,
secondly select the proper control measure and finally implement the program
properly.
- To get maximum efficiency of applied herbicides follow these points:
 Do it right
 Proper herbicide(s)
 Proper herbicide rate
 Proper placement of material
 Proper time of application
 Proper manner of application
Principle of harvesting:
The reaping what has been sown is literally harvesting or harvesting is the process of
collecting the mature crop from the field. With increase in irrigation facilities and easy
availability of fertilizers, intensive cropping is being practiced. Harvesting assumes
considerable importance because the crop has to be harvested as early as possible to
make way for another crop. Adoption of suitable method and time of harvesting of crop to
release land for succeeding crop/crops and efficient utilization of residual moisture, plant
nutrients and other management practices should be taken into consideration. The crop can be
harvested at physiological maturity instead of at harvest maturity. The field can be then be
vacated one week earlier for planting another crop. Because of continuous cropping, the
harvesting time may coincide with heavy rains and special post-harvest operations, like
artificial drying, treating the crop with common salts etc. are practices to save the produce.
The following points must be kept in mind in this regards are:
1. The crop generally harvested at physiological maturity.
2. The time of crop harvest influences the yield, use quality and storage.
3. Ideal time to harvest depends upon several factors like economic part, utilization of
product and post harvest management.
4. Method of harvesting i.e. manual and mechanized harvesting depends upon time
availability and cost associated with harvesting. Under threshing bullock trampling and
animal drawn thresher were used which were replaced by power thresher operated by
tractor or electric motor.
Time of harvesting:
If the crop is harvested early, the produce contains high moisture and more immature
grains.. The yields will be low due to unfilled grains. It is very difficult to store the
produce as shrivelled grains with high moisture are prone to primary infestation of
pests. The quality of grain as well as germination percentage are reduced. Late harvesting
results in shattering of grains, germination even before harvesting during rainy season
and breakage during processing. Hence, harvesting at correct time is essential to get
good quality grains and higher yield.
Crops can be harvested at physiological maturity or at harvest maturity. Crop is
considered to he at physiological maturity when the translocation of photosynthates are
stopped to economic part. In other words, physiological maturity refers to a developmental
stage after which no further increase in dry matter occurs in the economic part. In cereals,
moisture content of grains is very high during milking stage and it gradually decreases
due to accumulation of photosynthates. The moisture content falls steeply from 40 per cent
to 20 per cent which is an indication of attaining physiological maturity. At this stage,
translocation of carbohydrates is stopped due to formation of abscission layer between
rachis and grain.
Harvest maturity generally occurs seven days after physiological maturity. The important
processes during this period is loss of moisture from the plants. The general symptoms of
harvest-maturity are yellowing of leaves, drying of grains or pods. Crop is harvested at
physiological maturity when there is need to vacate the field for sowing another crop.
Under all other situations, it is advisable to follow harvest-maturity.
Principle of storage:
During storage, food grains are subjected to several losses. Several factors that
influence the storage of food grains are moisture content, quality of produce, climate
and storage conditions. The most important factor deciding the storability of the
produce is moisture content of grains. Higher moisture content of grains results in
severe attack of insects and microorganisms in addition to heating and germination.
Grains with high moisture respire at higher rate than dry seeds. When the moist seeds are
stored, Insects obtain water needed for their body from the food material they eat.
Moist seeds are amenable for easy biting or chewing by insects. Due to this, grains with
high moisture are prone to higher insect attack than dry seeds. Sometimes. moist grains
may even germinate and become unfit for consumption. Moisture content for safe
storage of grains of most crops is about 14 per cent . Among the climatic factors.
temperature, light and relative humidity are important factors influencing storage of
food grains. Respiration of grains increases with increase in temperature. In addition,
temperature influences metabolism, growth, development, reproduction, behaviour and
distribution of insects. Insect development is generally limited below 10°C and above
45°C. Light influences movement ovipositor and development of stored grain pests.
Darkness is necessary for egg laying. Grains are hygroscopic and absorb moisture
from the atmosphere. Under high relative humidity, moisture content of grain increase.
Dunnage, stacking and pest control are three important aspects of storage. Dunnage is
any material like crates, mats, wooden beams, stones which are placed over the ground
and below the bags so as to avoid direct contact of grains with the floor and for
providing aeration. Wooden crates provide sufficient space between floor and
produce and allow free air circulation. If the bags are placed on the floor itself, moisture
from the top layers migrates to lower layers and accumulates at the bottom as there is
no escape. This process causes caking up, charring and development of heat in lower
layers of the stack. It is advisable to spread mats on crates before placing the bags. The
mats do not allow spilled grains to fall on the ground and avoid attracting insects. The
second important aspect of storage is stacking. In case of bag storage, stacking is
done up to 13 bags high. The stack should be brought to p yramidal shape.
Several pests attack the produce during storage. They can he controlled by adopting different
ideal methods of pest control like prevention, spraying and fumigation. Moisture content
of grain and pest intensity are directly related. Pest attack can be reduced by thorough
drying of the produce. There are two type of storage:
a) Bulk storage
b) Bags storage
Principle of post-harvest management
Good designs of cleaners, graders, driers, decorticators, rice mills, dhal mill, oil mills and
other processing equipments are commercially available for primary processing and value
addition and recycling wastes. These equipments help in minimizing losses and maintaining
the quality of produce.
Fundamentals of Fruit Production

DS Dahiya and SK Sehrawat
Professor (Horticulture)
Fruits have been the man‘s food from time immemorial. In India, horticulture was an
important avocation during the 4th century B.C. and also in pre Buddhist period. In the 19th
century, European settlers & missionaries introduced several fruits & helped in establishing
commercial orchards in this country. During the British period fruits culture started
developing a little faster because of improved irrigation measures, transport and other
facilities. There is tremendous, scope of developing fruits industry in our country. To achieve
this, intensive extension support and technical knowhow to the growers should be provided.
The important points to be kept in mind before orchard establishment are:
I. Orchard planning
As orchard establishment is capital intensive and long term venture, careful and well
thought out planning is very important. Any mistake made initially in planning is likely
to put losses throughout the life span of the orchard. The important points to be
considered for planning an orchard are:
a) Selection of site:
 Preferably pre-dominantly fruits growing area than in new locality
 Close to market or road or rail
 Favorable climatic & soil conditions & good sources of irrigation.
b) Climate: Fruits suitable for different regions viz. Tropical, sub tropical and temperature
climate should be selected.
c) Soil: Loam or sandy loam soil is best Shallow soils with rocky substrata soils with high
or low pH, poor drainage and high water table should be avoided.
d) Cleaning and levelling the land: If uncultivated, deep ploughing and levelling.
e) Irrigation: Permanent source of irrigation, water throughout the year.
f) Fencing:
To protect the trees from wild & stray animals.
 Brick wall – costly
 Barbed wire fencing – costs moderately
Live hedges
 Should be quick growing,
 Easy to raise,
 Drought resistant,
 Dense foliage,
 Preferably thorny, should withstand severe pruning e.g. Karonda (also provide fruits),
Parkinsonia, Casuarina, Duranta etc.
g) Wind breaks:
 For checking losses due to strong wind (uprooting of trees, breaking of branches, fruits
drop etc.).
 Reduces velocity of wind, evaporation loss.
 Effective for a distance of 3-4 times the height of wind break. Planting of fruits should
be about 40 ft., away from the windbreak row.
 Should be upright in growth, quick growing & mechanically strong. e.g. Polyalthia,
Casuarina Grevillia, Syzygium, mango etc.
h) Buildings:
 Advance planning of buildings, road, paths & channels.
 Not more than 10% area should be utilized.
i) Layout:
Advantage of proper layout:
 Equidistance for uniform growth.
 Easy orchard operations
 Proper utilization of orchard space
 Proper supervision & management.
 Further extension of area.
1. System of planting: System of planting : Square, rectangular, triangular, Hexagonal,
Quincunx, Contour,
2. Spacing: Spacing 15% more trees in hexagonal system
3. Preparation of land: Ploughing, levelling, green manuring before layout.
4. Digging of pits: 0.6 m – 1 cube
5. Top soil up to 45 cm should be used for refilling.
6. Selection of planting material: Known & reliable source
7. Planting – Time & method
8. Inter cropping – Initial years
Quick growing 2 early bearing fruits trees (e.g. Pineapple, papaya, banana, phalsa etc.),
Vegetables and pulses etc.
II. Training and Pruning
Primarily training concern form and pruning affects function. Pr uning is defined as
the art and science of cutting away a portion of the plant to improve the quality of
the product or to repair injury. The control on the direction of the growth is known
as training. It is also known as pruning for form.
Objective of training
1. To admit more light and air to the centre of the tree & to expose maximum leaf area to
the sun.
2. To control the growth of the tree so that various cultural operations can be done at the
lower cost.
3. To protect the tree from sunburn & damage.
4. To secure a balanced distribution of fruits bearing parts on the main limbs of the tree.
Details of training
1. Height of Head– The distance from the ground level at which the main or scaffold
limbs branch from the trunk is known as height of the head. If it is 0.7 –0.9 m from
ground level, then referred as ―low headed‖ and if 1.2 m or more is called as ―high
headed‖.
2. No of scaffold limbs : Moderate number of main branches or scaffold limbs should be
allowed. Neither extreme is desirable. If there are only 2-3 main branches chances of
crotches formation is very high. 5-8 scaffold limbs are ideal & make a tree
mechanically strong and facilitate necessary orchard operation.
3. Distribution of scaffold limbs – It is more important than number. Closer branches (20-
25 cm distance) from bad crotches than when distributed at 45-60 cm distance of the
trunk. Upright growing branches should be removed as the angle is Y shaped. Branches
arising from the truck at angles ranging from 40-90 are strongest.
Method of training – The common system of training are –
1. Open centre: In this system the main stem is allowed to grow only up to a certain height
and the main stem is pruned to encourage scaffold branches production. It is also
known as vase shaped system.
2. Central leader – In this system, the main axis or leader is allowed to grow indefinitely.
It is also known as close centered system.
3. Modified leader– It is intermediate between open centre and central leaders. In this
system central leader / main axis, is allowed to grow unhampered for the first 4-5 years
as in central leader system & then headed back and lateral branches are allowed to grow
as in the open centre system. It possesses practically all the advantages of the two other
types & few or more of their disadvantages.
Pruning
Commonly trees are pruned annually in two ways. A few shoots or branches that are
considered undesirable are removed entirely without leaving any stub. This operation is
known as ―thinning out‖. The other, method involves removal of terminal portion of the
shoots, branches or limb, leaving its basal portion intact, is called ―heading back‖.
These operations are carried out to divert a part of the plant energy from one part to another.
Pruning is done with the objectives:
1. To remove surplus branches.
2. To open the trees so that the fruits will colour more satisfactorily.
3. To train it to some desired form.
4. To remove the dead & diseased limbs.
5. To remove the water sprouts and
6. To improve fruiting wood & to regulate production of floral buds.
III. Propagation
1. Sexual propagation
2. Asexual/vegetative propagation.
a) Propagation by apomictic seedlings.
b) Propagation by specialized vegetative structures eg. Bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes,
runners, suckers, offsets etc.
c) Propagation on its own root system
 Cutting: e.g. Herbacious, soft-wood, semi-hardwood, and hardwood stem cuttings.
 Layering: e.g. Simple, Tip, compound, trench, mound and air layering etc.
Propagation on the root system of the other plants.
 Budding: e.g. Shield or T, inverted-T, Patch, Chip, ring, flute and I-budding.
 Grafting: e.g. Splice, tongue, veneer, wedge, saddle, inarching, epicotyl etc.
Cultivation of Vegetable Crops in Protected Conditions

AK Bhatia
Principal Scientist (Vegetable Science)
CCS, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar
Protected cultivation or controlled environment agriculture is a total concept of modifying the

natural environment for optimum plant growth. It incorporates the manipulation of air
velocity, atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, root zone oxygen concentration and
nutrient and moisture supply to control crop growth. The aim of protected cultivation is to
achieve independence of climate and weather and to allow crop production in areas where the
natural environment limits or prohibits plant growth. In today‘s commercial vegetable
industry the greenhouse is the primary structure in providing cultivation because it affords the
most practical opportunity to make environment modifications. It encompasses all the various
system and practices of plant growth, ranging from hot beds and plastic low tunnels, to
hydronic green houses and growth rooms to completely enclosed, artificially lighted
commercial plant factories in which crops are produced without soil, herbicides and grown
under 1000 watt, high intensity discharge, sodium vapours lamps, never seeing the light of
today.
India has a wide range of diverse agro-climatic conditions but cultivation practices of
vegetables in India have been generally restricted to regional and seasonal needs. Although
the production of vegetables has increased to a level of 98.0 million tones from an area of
about 6.7 million hectares, but still the technology used and practices followed are pre-
dominantly traditional, resulting in low productivity and poor quality of vegetable produce
supplies to various markets in the country .In several parts of the country, especially in
northern plains, the soils are highly fertile but extremes of temperature, ranging from 0 to 480
C during the year does not allow year round outdoor vegetable cultivation. Similarly, in
several parts of the country several biotic stresses (mainly during rainy and post rainy season)
also does not allow successful outdoor production of vegetables like tomato, chilli, okra,
sweet pepper etc.(1,2,12,13) As a result of biotic stresses most of these vegetables are
severely damaged by the incidence of viruses. In upper reaches of Himalayas, cold desert
conditions prevails where the temperature is extremely low (–50 C to –300 C) during winter
season and most of the region cut off from rest of the country from November to March due
to very heavy snowfall. Therefore, it is very difficult to grow and supply vegetables in such a
climate and such a place.
In many countries in world like European countries, USA, Japan, China, Israel, Morocco,
Turkey etc, where climate prevents or reduces the choices for year round out door crop
production, crops are being produced in protected environments. Greenhouse being the most
efficient means to overcome climatic diversity, greenhouse vegetable production makes the
use of recent advances in technology to control the environment for maximizing crop
productivity and increasing the quality of the vegetable crops (4).Although, the world
greenhouse area as a whole is only a minuscule part of that denoted to world wide
agricultural operations but in some cases, the income can be a significant factor in improving
a country‘s farm income and foreign exchange earnings from exports (i.e. Israel who
commands the total off-season) markets in Europe).India has entered into the area of
protected vegetable cultivation more recently and the total area under protected vegetable
production is not more than 100, 00 hectares. India being a vast country with diverse and
extreme agro-climatic conditions, the protected vegetable cultivation technology can be
utilized for year round production of high quality vegetable crops, or production of virus free
high quality seedlings, production of off-season vegetables, hybrid seed production of high
value vegetables and as a tool for diseases resistance breeding programs.
Prospects of protected cultivation of vegetable crops in India
The introduction of protected cultivation technologies in India has a time lag in relation to
many countries. Incidentally, China began to use the protected cultivation technologies
almost at the same time when India made a beginning. But China has surpassed almost all
the countries in the world in the use of these technologies. While India moving steadily to
expand the area under protected cultivation, the pace of progress could be increased
several folds if government of India continues to support protected cultivation efforts
strongly in the country. Greenhouse cultivation of horticultural crops is reasoned to be the
next logical step to open field agriculture (3). Because one million hectares of area under
greenhouse cultivation is efficient to increase the production .of vegetables alone by about
60-70 million tonnes. This can also create about one million additional jobs in the rural
sector where unemployment problem is more acute. Greenhouse vegetable production has
tremendous scope in peri-urban areas of the country because of continuous increase in
availability of upmarkets and continuous changing choice of consumers towards off-
season and high quality produce of different horticultural crops. The vegetable growers
who are having agriculture land 50-100 km around the big cities like Delhi, Mumbai,
Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad etc. have tremendous potential to go
ahead with vegetable production under greenhouses for high productivity and high quality
vegetables to take the advantage of the available up market in those cities. They can also
fetch good price of their off-season produce in those cities (8,11).
Now the next question arises which vegetable crops should be grown under greenhouses. In
fact the choice of the vegetable crop or variety to be grown in a greenhous e is
normally made on the basis of the physical size of the structure and market available for
that produce. However, greenhouses have tremendous potential in increasing production and
productivity of vegetables like big size tomato, cherry tomato, coloured sweet peppers,
slicing cucumbers, off season muskmelon, summer squash including some rare
vegetables, medicinal and ornamental plants especially under adverse agro climatic
conditions. Now-a-days nursery raising of vegetables has-also become a specialized and
technical job with increasing susceptibility of vegetables to various biotic and abiotic
stresses and very high cost of hybrid seeds. The utility of greenhouse for raising virus
free healthy seedlings of various vegetables during rainy and post rainy seasons and for
raising off season nursery of cucurbits during peak winter months for off season
production of these crops may be very successful and can be adopted as a commercial
venture by the farmers and unemployed agriculture graduates of our country in major
vegetable growing pockets and specially in peri-urban areas of the country (7,9).
Protected technology suitable for adoption under various conditions
All kind of protected technologies may not be economical and useful to the farmers in India,
because of their very high initial, running and maintenance cost, but some protected
technologies are simple, suitable and highly profitable under Indian conditions and more
specifically under peri-urban areas, which can be adopted by Indian farmers for production
of different horticultural crops in the following manners.-
1. High quality seedling production under protected conditions
To ensure high productivity and high quality of the produce, raising of high quality seedlings
through use of good quality seeds at right time and at a appropriate place is one of the cheapest
but most important way. Most of the Indian farmers are raising their vegetable seedlings under
open field conditions, which are always inferior in quality, as the seedlings are mostly
infected with virus when raised in open field conditions and especially during rainy and
post rainy season. On one side soil borne fungus and nematodes create severe problem for
raising the seedlings in soil media in open fields during hot summers and rainy season but on
the other hand the very high cost of hybrid seeds in vegetables has also warranted the
farmers to change their traditional nursery raising method to increase the productivity and
quality of vegetables. Protected nursery raising in vegetable crops is already working as a full
scale industry in several European countries, Israel, USA, Morocco, Turkey, Japan and
China. Under this system seedlings are raised in multi-celled plastic pro-trays in artificial
soil-less media in especially designed greenhouses or other protected structures. Large number
of virus free healthy seedlings of different vegetables can be raised in a small area of
greenhouse in multicelled plastic pro-trays by using soil-less media for growing vegetables
either in main season or during their off season. With the use of this technology it is now
almost possible to even raise healthy, vigorous seedlings of different cucurbits; otherwise
it was not possible in the traditional system of nursery raising. The farmers or unemployed
agriculture graduate or postgraduate youths of our country can successfully start
nursery raising as a small scale industry in major vegetable growing pockets of the country.
By this way the vegetable growers will easily and timely get the virus free healthy a nd
even off-season nursery as per their requirement and it will also generate employment in
agriculture sector. Therefore, this is the first and most important step for protected vegetable
cultivation.
2. Off-season cultivation of crops under plastic low tunnels
In most parts of our country the farmers are growing various vegetables during their main
season of cultivation, but the prices of vegetables are very less and sometime the vegetable
growers are even not able to get back the cost of cultivation of those vegetables. But the same
vegetables are sold on very high price during their off-season in several cities of our country.
The demand of off-season vegetables is increasing day by day in several big and medium
sized cities of the country, which provide a wide scope for protected vegetable cultivation
through off-season cultivation of vegetables mainly the cucurbits in peri-urban areas of the
country. Plastic low tunnel technology is a simple, suitable and profitable technology for off-
season cultivation of cucurbits during the winter season in northern plains of the country.
Crops like summer squash can be grown as a complete off-season crop, whereas other
cucurbits like muskmelon, bottle gourd, cucumber, bitter gourd, watermelon can be advanced
by 30-40 days over their normal growing season (5,9,10).
Plastic low tunnels are flexible transparent coverings that are installed over single or multiple
rows of vegetables to enhance the plant growth by warming the air around the plants in the
open field during winter season normally when the temperature is below 10°C. Plastic low
tunnels are often used to promote the growth of plants during the period of winter season.
Plastic low tunnels are supported above the plants by using hoops of GI wire and a clear or
transparent plastic of 30-50 micron is covered or stretched over the hoops and the sides are
secured by placing in soil. The plastic is vented or slitted during the growing season as the
temperature increase with in the tunnels. The farmers can grow different varieties of summer
squash, which is an emerging crop along with cultivation of netted muskmelon varieties in
place of traditional varieties. Bitter gourd, bottle gourd and cucumber are other crops with
increasing demand and which usually fetches very high price during off-season and can be
grown successfully by using the plastic low tunnel technology. This technology is suitable and
profitable for the farmers of northern plains of India.
3. Use of insect proof net houses for production of vegetable crops
Usually the farmers are growing their vegetable crops like tomato, -chilli, sweet pepper, okra
etc under open fields. But during rainy and post rainy season it is very difficult to grow
these crops successfully due to leaf curl and yellow vein mosaic and other viruses,
respectively. These viruses are mainly spread by insect vectors like whitefly or aphids. The
population of white fly after on start of monsoons is very high and it remains in the
environment upto mid November depending upon the temperature. The farmers are spraying
several insecticides to control these vectors, even they could not control these vectors and
their tomatoes, brinjal, sweet pepper, chilli or okra crops are highly infected with
viruses. The second most common and most severe problem in tomato, brinjal and okra is
the fruit borer against which also the growers are using huge amount of insecticide even they
are unable to control this insect perfectly. The only way to control the virus and fruit borer
is to put a mechanical barrier between the crops and open environment and this is possible
with the use of insect proof nylon nets of 40 or 50 mesh density in form of net houses or insect
proof net covered walk in tunnels. By this way the growers can directly reduce the use of
insecticides and they can grow virus and borer free crops of tomato, brinjal, chilli, sweet
pepper and okra during rainy or post rainy season. But for growing these crops under insect
proof net houses, it is necessary to raise virus free healthy seedlings of these crops either in the
greenhouse or by covering the nursery beds with insect proof net. The farmers can erect
these insect proof net houses by using half inch size GI pipes after bending them in half circle
shape. Other insect proof net houses can also be made by covering all sides and top with
insect proof net of 40 or 50 mesh, but the nylon net should be UV stabilized. Under these net
house crops like sweet pepper, tomato chilli, brinjal and okra can be grown successfully
without infestation of viruses or other insects like fruit borer etc.
4. Cultivation of vegetable crops under naturally ventilated greenhouses
Naturally ventilated greenhouses are the protected structures where no heating or cooling
devices are provided for climate control. These are simple and medium cost greenhouses
which can be erected with a cost of Rs.500-600 m2 and these greenhouses can be used
successfully and efficiently for growing year round parthenocarpic slicing cucumber,
off season muskmelon, tomato and sweet pepper crops. These structures are having a manually
operated cross ventilation system as and when required. Looking to the year round, increasing
demand of high quality parthenocarpic slicing cucumber in upmarkets of the metro and other
big cities of the country, this is one of the most suitable and profitable crop for cultivation
under naturally ventilated green houses in peri-urban areas of the country. Three crops of
cucumber can be grown in a naturally ventilated greenhouse in a period of nine months.
Tomato, and sweet pepper crops can be successfully grown over a period of 8 to 9
months for higher yield and good economics. Muskmelon is the fourth most important
crop, which can be successfully cultivated for its complete off-season availability, which can
fetch very high price of the off-season produce in the up markets of the metro and other big
cities of the northern parts of the country.
5. Vegetable production under climate and semi-climate controlled greenhouses
High value vegetables like slicing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and coloured peppers are three
crops which can be grown for long duration (10-12 months period) under climate control
greenhouse conditions. In metro cities like Delhi there is year round demand of these high
quality vegetables in the up markets viz. five star hotels, shops of embassies or high
commissions of various countries situated in Delhi. They are ready to pay very high price for
the high quality produce; therefore, it may be a profitable venture only if this technology is
adopted around metro cities of the country. Although the initial and running cost of the climate
controlled greenhouse is very high, which restrict the adoption of this technology. But now
the time has come when the vegetable growers around metro cities can use the green
house technology for cultivation of high value vegetables for high profits. High value
vegetables produced under climate and semi-climate controlled greenhouses can also be
exported to other countries.
Kind of protected structures and their economics for protected cultivation
We must consider the market for the eventual product well before construction or fabrication
of the greenhouse or a protected structure. The economics of the protected cultivation largely
depends upon the initial cost of fabrication of the protected structures, running and maintenance
cost of the structures, available market for the product produced under a particular protected
structure. Economics of some vegetable crop cultivation under different kind of
greenhouses and low cost protected structures have been worked out at Indo-Israel
Project of IARI, New Delhi have been given in Table I (9,10). Generally the low initial cost of
protected structures viz., naturally ventilated greenhouses, insect proof net-houses and plastic
low tunnels are suitable and economical for protected vegetable cultivation under Indian
conditions. Vegetable cultivation under climate-controlled greenhouses may be economical if
the produce is supplied to five star market of the big cities or if it is directly exported to
overseas markets on a premier prices.
Table 1. Comparison of cost of production under different protected structures
SN Protected Cost Suitable crops Duration of Yield Break-even
structures (Rs./m2) crops (days) (t/1000m2) cost (Rs/kg)
1. Climate 3200- Tomato 320 25.0 22-22
controlled 3500 Sweet pepper 300 6.0 45-50
greenhouse Cucumber 360 (4 crops) 18.0 20-25
2. Semi-climate 1400- Tomato 300 20.0 15-18
controlled 1500 Sweet pepper 270 5.0 35-40
greenhouse Cucumber 280 (3 crops) 15.0 15-18
3. Naturally 500-600 Tomato 270 16.0 8-9
ventilated Sweet pepper 240 4.0 18-20
greenhouse Cucumber 280 15:0 7-8
4. Insect proof 80-100 Sweet pepper 220-240 4.0 15-16
net-house
5. Plastic low 5-6 Summer 90-95 5.0-6.0 1.5-2.0
tunnels squash
Musk melon 110-120 2.0-3.0 3.0-4.0
Bitter gourd 110-120 1.0-1.5 4.0-5.0

Bottle gourd 80-90 2.0-3.0 3.0-4.0
Major constraints in protected cultivation of horticultural crops

Greenhouse vegetable cultivation in India, though very ancient, is in its infancy. Very little
efforts have been made to exploit vast potentials of protected vegetable cultivation. Some
major constraints and problems which restrict vegetable cultivation under protected conditions
in India are as follows:
1. The basic cost of construction and operational cost of the climatic controlled
greenhouse is very high, which do not suit to the Indian growers without a strong
government support.
2. Uninterrupted and regular power supply is required for operating cooling and
heating system of the greenhouse, which is not available almost in all parts of the
country.
3. Very little work on standardization of designs of greenhouses and other protected
structures have been done for different agro-climatic regions of the country.
4. Cladding material of required quality is not readily available or is very costly.
There is also a lack of suitable instrumentation for environment control in
greenhouses.
5. There is a lack of indigenous information base on the relevant technologies for use by
the prospective users and entrepreneurs.
6. Greenhouse cultivation technologies entail higher investments per unit area as
compared to open field agriculture. Low interest bank loans should be made available
to the users for establishment of greenhouses.
7. Non availability of tools and implements for facilitating crop production
operations under greenhouse i.e. electric vibrator for pollination in greenhouse
tomatoes etc.
8. No specific breeding work has been initiated for development of suitable
varieties/hybrids for greenhouse cultivation even in important vegetables like
tomato, cherry tomato, sweet pepper and parthenocarpic cucumber. Exotic seeds are
very costly and are out of the reach of the Indian growers.
9. Even if some varieties of these vegetables are available in the country they do not
meet the quality standards for exports or upmarkets in India and their yield potential is
also very low.
10. Vegetable production technologies of potential crops under different greenhouse
conditions for various agro-climatic regions of the country have not been standardized
and documented.
11. There is a lack of specific research program on greenhouse vegetable production in
the country.
12. In several parts solar radiation at certain critical periods may limit the yield of some
vegetables for example sweet pepper at Delhi conditions during foggy winter
months.
Future development and research areas for protected vegetable cultivation in India
Protected horticulture has under gone with slow progress during the last two decades in
India and the level of protected horticultural crop production in this country is still much
lower than that in developed countries and China. Many problems still needs to be
solved. The requirements for research and development for protected horticulture in India in
near future are summarized below.
1. Almost all the varieties/hybrids developed in vegetables and other horticultural
crops are those that were bred for purpose of open-field cultivation, and are not
suitable for protected cultivation due to their low yield, poor quality and low
profit under protected cultivation. Therefore, breeding of suitable varieties and
hybrids in vegetables and other horticultural crops is an urgent research priority
for proper development of this technology in India.
2. Much research attention should be paid to develop production technology or
cultivation protocol for protected cultivation conditions for each high value
vegetable or floriculture crops. This includes selection of variety, fertigation
schedules, pollination management and plant protection measures or IPM methods.
3. There is urgent need to develop location and region specific suitable greenhouse
designs and to lower down the cost of fabrication of the greenhouses.
4. More efforts on techniques for water saving and water harvesting should be made for
protected horticulture.
5. The nursery industry in India is still very weak and this is one of the main reason
that the quality of vegetables and flowers in India is not high. So, there is an urgent
need to develop the nursery industry to produce quality planting material for
vegetables, flowers and other horticultural crops.
6. The market of greenhouse cladding material and accessory equipments needs to
be expanded in the country and the material should be made available on
reasonable price to the growers.
7. Protected horticulture is a labour intensive industry, which provides a great
opportunity for Indian horticulture products in overseas markets, especially after
India's entry in to the W.T.O. There is no doubt that protected horticulture specially
protected cultivation of vegetables and flowers in India will become increasingly
important in. near future.
References
1. Arora,S.K.,Bhatia,A.K.,Singh,Vijay Pal and S.P.S.Yadav. 2006 Performance of
indeterminate tomato hybrids under greenhouse conditions of north Indian plains.
Haryana J. Hortic. Sci., 35(3&4):292-294. (Published in 2008)
2. Arora,S.K.,Bhatia,A.K.,Singh,Vijay Pal, S.P.S.Yadav and P.Kumar 2006 Fruit quality
of greenhouse grown tomato under north Indian plains. Haryana J. Hortic. Sci.,
35(3&4):295-296(Published in 2008)
3. Chandra, P. (2001) Protected cultivation in vegetables crops: current status, problems
and future strategies. In: Emerging Scenario in Vegetable Research and Development
(Eds G. Kalloo and Kirti Singh) Research Periodicals and Book Publishing House
(India) pp. 242-249.
4. Manrique, L.A (1993) Greenhouse crops: a review. .I. of Plant Nutrition (16): 2411-
77
5. Singh, Balraj; Eitan Neubauer and N. (2002) Performance of sweet pepper varieties
under high-tech greenhouse condition of Northern Plains of India. Paper Presented
in "International Conference on Vegetables", held at Bangalore, India from Nov 11-
14, 2002 pp. 191.
6. Balraj and N.P.S. Sirohi (2002) High tech nursery raising technology for
vegetables. Indian Hort. 47 (3): 22-24.
7. Singh, Balraj (2004). Status of protected horticulture in world and its future
prospects in India. Invited paper presented in the International Seminar on Recent
Trends in Hi-tech Horticulture and Post Harvest Technology, held at CSAUA&T,
Kanpur (UP) India from Feb 4-6, 2004, Souvenir pp 40-50
8. Singh, Balraj and N.P.S. Sirohi (2004). Protected Cultivation of Vegetables in
India: Problems and Future Prospects. In Proceedings of the International Symposium
on Greenhouses, Environmental Controls and In-house Mechanization for Crop
Production in the Tropics and Sub-tropics" held at Pahang, Malaysia from June 15-
17, 2004, pp. 121-125
9. Singh, Balraj; Mahesh Kumar and B. Vasanthan (2005). Techno-economic
feasibility of tomato cultivation under naturally ventilated greenhouse cultivation.
Fertilizer News, 50 (2): 51-53
10. Singh, Balraj, Mahesh Kumar, Ajit Singh and Veerpal Singh (2004). Economic
feasibility of cucumber cultivation under greenhouses. Agricultural Extension
Review. 16(4):28-30
11. Sirohi, N. P. S, Eitan Neubauer and Balraj Singh. 2002. Growing vegetables
under protected conditions. Proceedings of the International conference on
vegetables held at Bangaloi°e from November 11-14, 2002. pp. 207-212.
12. Suthar.M.R.,Arora,S.K.,Bhatia,A.K. and B.S.Dudi 2006 Fruit quality of greenhouse
grown tomato under north Indian plains. Haryana J. Hortic. Sci., 35(3&4):299-302
13. Suthar.M.R.,Arora,S.K.,Bhatia,A.K. and B.S.Dudi 2006 Influence of pruning and
ethrel on earliness and yield performance of cucumber under plastic
greenhouse.Haryana J. Hortic. Sci., 35(3&4):299-302
14. Wittwer, S and N. Castilla (1995) Protected cultivation of horticultural crops
worldwide. Hort. Techonology (5): 6-23. Singh,
Eco-friendly Disease Management in Crop Plants

Naresh Mehta
Professor (Plant Pathology) & Assoc Dean (CoA)
CCS, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar
Disease ecology means, the study of organisms that cause plant diseases in relation to their
environment. Diseases are caused by pathogens that include fungi, bacteria, viruses and
nematodes. Most pathogens spread from infected plant material or soil. These organisms are
carried by wind, water (rain, irrigation water, ground water), insects, and by humans or tools
(attached to clothing or shoes, and spread by pruning or cultivation tools).
Pathogens can infect a plant or can cause disease when:
1) the variety or plant is susceptible to the disease,
2) the pathogen is virulent and present on the host (able to infect the plant),
3) the environment (e.g. humidity, temperature etc.) is favorable for the disease to
develop.
Disease management can be done efficiently on changing or influencing one of these three
elements to prevent the disease from attacking the plant. Knowing the ecology of a disease
will give clues on how to manage it. All the strategies, can be used to manage plant diseases
to remove or limit one of these factors, thus breaking the plant disease triangle.
Available fungicides or bactericides/ antibiotic are often not effective enough to stop the
major diseases, especially during prolonged periods of wet weather. If you decide that
fungicides are necessary, fungicides should used in combination with methods for altering the
ecosystem such as adding organic material to the soil, use of shade trees, sanitation, etc.
The biological control fungus Trichoderma is widely available in many countries as a
component of integrated disease management. Trichoderma can suppress several soil-borne
pathogens. Other biological agents may become available in the future for control of plant
diseases.
How and where the pathogens survive
To plan how to manage a disease, it is important to understand how the pathogen grows and
multiplies. Where does the pathogen live before it infects plant, which depends on the type of
micro-organism/ pathogen.
Many fungi that cause diseases on plants can survive for long periods in the soil or on dead
vegetation. They survive either by using dead vegetation as food (decomposing it), or by
"sleeping" in the form of a sleeping spore or other thick-walled structure. In addition, the
fungi can survive by growing on other living plants near the plantation.
Most bacteria that cause diseases on plants survive in other living plants near the plantation.
These host plants can include other plantations, some weeds, or some wild plants. In addition,
some bacteria can survive for a long time in the soil or on dead vegetation.
Viruses can survive and reproduce only inside living cells of a plant or of some insects.
Viruses cannot survive on dead vegetation or in the soil. Viruses also cannot survive inside
most insects. It is only certain sucking insects that carry living viruses inside them (especially
aphids, whiteflies and leaf hoppers).
How pathogens move and caused infection
Unlike insects, pathogens cannot walk or fly onto a plant. Nematodes can crawl for a few
centimeters looking for plant roots. But most pathogens must be carried (by wind or rain), or
else the plant must come to them (a root growing towards a fungus spore). Nonetheless,
diseases can spread quickly from one plant to another, and also from one field to the next and
even one village to another. Some common ways in which pathogens spread are described
here.
Direct transmission through:
Seed: Pathogens can be carried on or inside a plant seed.
Vegetative plant parts: infected transplants may carry diseases from nursery to the main field.
Similarly, diseases can be transmitted from the mother bushes by infected cuttings.
Indirect transmission through:
Growth of the pathogen: Fungi can spread over short distances by growth of the mycelium.
Root rotting fungi can spread through the soil from one tree or trunk to the next by active
growth.
Wind: Fungi that produce spores on the surface of plants can be disseminated by wind. e.g.
blister blight, gray blight, and dead twig diseases. Sometimes spores of some fungi that have
been found over 4000 m above an infected field often wind blows the spores over certain
distances and then rain may deposit the spores down onto another field. Some bacteria can be
dispersed by wind-blown rain.
Water: Flood or irrigation water may carry pathogens or spores, especially those in or near
soil. The splashing of water during rain or heavy dews can spread fungal spores and bacteria
to different parts of the same plant or to neighboring plants. Water-carried pathogen is
bacterial shoot blight; the secondary spread from initial infection results largely from
splashing during rains. Water is not as important as wind for long-distance dissemination.
Soil: Soil can contain plant debris that is infected with pathogens. Soil can also contain spores
of fungi and bacteria, and larvae of nematodes. So, diseases can spread whenever soil
particles are transported.
Insects, mites, nematodes: Small animals can move pathogens ―by accident‖ when spores
stick to the body of an insect or mite moving from one plant to another. More important is the
case of some sucking insects that act as vectors. When vectors feed on a plant that is sick
with virus, their mouthparts or saliva glands become contaminated with the virus pathogen.
Then, when the vector moves to a healthy plant and starts feeding, the pathogen can enter the
healthy plant and infect it. Most vectors are sucking insects such as aphids, whiteflies and
leaf hoppers.
Nematodes: Nematodes can also be vectors of pathogens. Also, nematodes create small
wounds on roots that are entry points for bacteria and fungi in the soil.
Humans, and animals: Persons and animals spread diseases by walking and working in fields
with infected plants, spreading spores sticking to the body. People also cause small injuries to
plants (e.g. during transplanting, plucking, or pruning) that can be entry points for pathogens.
Also, people can move a pathogen long distances by transporting diseased planting materials
or infected soil particles.
Infection Process
Once the pathogen has come into contact with a plant, it must penetrate into the leaves etc. in
order to grow. Each group of pathogens has different ways to penetrate into a leaf or a root.
Fungi: Fungi are dangerous because they can penetrate an undamaged plant parts. Some
fungi produce special chemicals (enzymes) that dissolve the plant tissue and allow the fungus
to enter. Or, fungi can enter a plant through natural openings like stomata. Fungi can also
enter through wounds on leaves, stems, or roots. Some fungi live mostly on the surface of the
plant, and have small ―roots‖ that grow into the plant tissue to absorb food from the plant
cells (e.g. powdery mildew). Other fungi live inside the plant and may even use the plant
vessels to spread through the plant.
Bacteria: Bacteria cannot actively penetrate plants and need wounds or natural openings to
enter.
Most bacteria require liquid water to survive and "swim" into the plant. Once they are inside
the plant, they cause wet rots, wilting, and leaf spots.
A virus can infect new plants in three ways:
- through seeds or cuttings, if the mother plant was already infected
- through direct contact between two plants (wounds from two plants rubbing
against each other, or roots growing together, etc.)
- indirectly through insects moving between plants. The main insects that move
viruses from one plant to another are sucking insects like aphids, plant hoppers
and whiteflies. Virus diseases may take a long time to recognize as often the only
effect on the crop is a gradual loss of vigor.
Nematodes can actively penetrate plant roots by piercing them with their needle-like
mouthparts. Root-knot nematodes causes roots to form galls. When roots are damaged, the
leaves do not receive enough water or nutrients. This causes leaf symptoms that often are
hard to distinguish from other diseases. The differences in the ways of attacking a plant may
be the reason that some diseases affect nearly all plants in a field, but other diseases only
appear on a few plants.
The infection process by some pathogens can be very quick. Damping-off in nurseries can
kill seedlings in just a few days. That will usually be too short to even notice disease
symptoms. Others just parasitize on a plant and do not cause the death of the plant -like gray
blight. It can reduce the yield but plants will survive
Eco-friendly management of plant diseases involves the integration of four basic methods of
plant disease management; (i). Exclusion/avoidance; (ii) Eradication/inoculum reduction;
(iii) Protection and (iv) Genetic resistance.
(i). Exclusion:
Several techniques are used to exclude the pathogen from the host plant or to avoid
infection by pathogens. These techniques include the use of quarantines, inspection
or pathogen-free certification programmes, propagation or cultivation under conditions
that do not favour pathogen infection, eradication of alternate hosts and physical
methods of excluding pathogens (Agrios, 2005). Such methods are effective in areas
where the pathogen is absent, where the conditions do not favour pathogen
infection or spread and where the pathogen is primarily spread in association with
propagation material, soil, water or plant debris. In many situations, these strategies are
very economical since no other inputs are required.
Quarantines and inspections are the tools implemented by national, state or local
governments to prevent the introduction of pathogens not known to be present. Every
country has quarantine laws to protect their agriculture and plants from pests (insects,
weeds, plant pathogens, vertebrates, etc.) not known to be present in their country.
When based on science and properly implemented, quarantines and inspections are
highly effective and economical. There are numerous examples of regions where
foreign plant pathogens have been introduced that have caused devastating
losses. Some of the important examples are (i) chestnut blight that devastated
American chestnuts in the eastern and central USA; (ii) Dutch elm disease,
white pine blister rust, downy mildew of grape in Europe (Agrios, 2005). Each of
these disasters could have been prevented had the disease cycle been understood and
proper science-based implementation of quarantine and inspection procedures been
initiated.
The Plant Quarantine Act of 1912 provides the legal framework for programmes
operated by the Department of plant protection, quarantine and
s t o r a g e i n I n d i a . P roper use of quarantines helps in reduction of distribution of the
pathogen, disease risk in the protected environment, potential controls, potential
pathways by which the restricted pathogen might be introduced, the accuracy of
detection methods and the likelihood or risk if no action is taken.
Other exclusion methods include the production of certified disease-free planting
materials and the use of methods to avoid or evade pathogens or their vectors. The use of
certified disease-free planting stock should be the foundation disease control method for
any plant which is propagated vegetatively. Generally, any viral, viroid, mollicutes,
vascular bacterial or fungal pathogen present in the mother plant can be expected to
be transferred by cutting rhizomes, tubers, buds, rootstocks, etc. Disease-free
certification programmes have resulted in significant reduction of disease impacts
for crops such as potato, small fruits, and man y ornamentals. Pathogen-free
certification programmes are typi cally operated by governmental agencies, often at
the state level. These regulatory agency-based programmes focus on specific
pathogens and typically have specific tolerances for individual pathogens. These
tolerances may vary based on the number of generations from nuclear or foundation
stock status. Requirements to use zero tolerance foundation seed in the production
of certified seed requires the use of nuclear stocks that are proven to be pathogen-free,
field inspections, appropriate and specific serological and other detection tests for
pathogens, storage inspections, winter grow outs and limited generation propagation
from nuclear or foundation stock.
Knowledge of the disease cycle, vector relationships and pathogen survival
characteristics are critical to success. In general, it is difficult, to produce certified
disease-free propagation material in regions where same plants are grown
commercially. Certified production should be isolated and highly effective pathogen
management inputs must be used.
Avoidance:
Avoiding pathogens is typically done by growing the propagation material under
environmental conditions that do not favour pathogen spread and infection. The production
of bean or crucifer crop seeds in areas of low rainfall using no overhead irrigation by
using furrow irrigation to prevent the spread of pathogens, such as bacteria and
some fungi, by water splash. Integrating the use of certified disease-free
foundation seed with avoidance of a favourable environment for pathogen
dispersal allows the production of bean seed free of bacterial blight pathogens in the
arid areas. Testing or indexing seeds to assure freedom from seed-borne pathogens
(bacterial, fungal, nematode and viral) is critical for many vegetable crops.
Other avoidance strategies include removal of plantings as far as possible from
overwintering hosts, locating new plantings upwind of older plantings, planting on
new land not infested with soil-borne pathogens, planting in soils with pH that is
unfavourable to disease development and growing plants under conditions that
exclude vectors or unfavourable for disease development (Agrios, 2005) eg.
avoiding poorly drained soils where root rot pathogens such as Pythium, Phytophthora
are the problems is basic to controlling these diseases is maintaining t h e r e l a t i v e
h u m i di t y b e l o w 9 5 % i n greenhouses to control Botrytis grey mould (Agrios, 2005).
Planting high-vigour potential seeds under conditions that favour rapid germination,
(
emergence and plant establishment is used routinely to reduce losses to damping -

off diseases (Agrios, 2005).
The use of spacing, trellises, staking or pruning can be used to change the
microclimate such that foliar infection by fungi is reduced. Use of pruning and leaf
removal to reduce Botrytis grey mould and other fungal bunch rot damage in grapes.
Anything that increases air movement and speeds drying of foliage and fruit will
reduce damage from fungal pathogens that require wet surfaces for spore germination
and infection.
Pathogens can be excluded from the host by the use of physical barriers to insect
vectors such as screens or films formed by dodecyl alcohol emulsions or paraffinic oils
that inhibit pathogen contact or penetration. Such films have been shown to be effective in
controlling powdery mildews and several leaf diseases. Paraffin oil films have also
been shown to prevent transmission of stylet borne viruses. Kaolin clay films have
been shown to be effective in protecting apple shoots from infection by the fire
blight and powdery mildew pathogens and have been shown to interfere with
transmission of Xylella fastidiosa, the causal agent of Pierce's disease, by the
glass y winged sharpshooter leafhopper(Agrios, 2005).
(ii). Eradication and Reduction of Pathogen Inoculum
Methods that reduce or eradicate pathogen inoculum include host eradication, removal
of infected plant tissue, sanitation, crop rotation, heat treatment, use of antagonistic
plants, trap crops, soil fumigation, disinfection/disinfestations of equipment, storage
facilities, pots and many forms of biological control (Agrios, 2005). Host plant
eradication is often used for management of initial infestations of foreign pathogens
and in many nursery situations. Eradication of citrus in areas of Florida where citrus
canker has been introduced is a good example of both the effectiveness and
limitations of this method of control. Eradication of host plants where pathogens
survive between crops or alternate hosts has been very effective. Examples include
the use of crop-free periods, control of volunteer plants and wild plant hosts near
crop areas (Agrios, 2005). Eradication and destruction of elm trees - with Dutch elm
disease has been a critical part of managing this disease. The pathogens require two
hosts to complete their life cycle, eradication of alternate hosts reduces both inoculum
and genetic variability. The barberry eradication programme started in the 1930s in
the USA has done much to control wheat stem rust and to reduce genetic
variability of the rust so that stem rust resistance genes are effective over longer
periods (Agrios, 2005).
P runi ng and rem ov i ng i nf ect ed host tissue has been effective for management
of fire blight and many fungal canker diseases of w oody plants, removal of
dropped, mummified peach fruit is an important component of brown rot control
programmes.
Crop rotation is a powerful disease control tool because most pathogens can
attack only the members of single plant families and many cannot survive after
the infected host tissue is decayed. Such pathogens are termed soil invaders since
they cannot compete with saprophytic organisms for food, and do not produce long-
term survival structures. Pathogens that produce long-term survival structures or
those that can compete with saprophytes or that have broad host ranges are called soil
inhabitants and rotation is generally of little value for their control. However, rotation of
certain crops or green manures may be helpful in controlling some pathogens in the soil-
inhabitant class due to the effect of antagonistic organisms or plant exudates on long-term
survival propagules. e.g. Verticillium, and Sclerotinia are negatively affected by
rhizobacteria associated with the roots of rotation crops or toxins such as cyanide or
glycosinolates released from rotation crop residues. Most bacterial and fungal foliar
pathogens are soil invaders, and rotations will provide excellent control if infected
crop residues are decayed before a host plant is replanted.
The use of bare soil or flood fallows that last for several weeks has been shown to
eradicate or substantially reduce populations of several fungal pathogens and nematodes.
Flood fallows are most effective in the tropics where anaerobic conditions develop during
the flood period. In some areas, burning of crop residues is used to reduce or eliminate
inoculum that normally survives on straw. Burning of residues for disease control is
common in seed production and in both malt barley and rice culture.
Soil solarization is used widely and effective in tropical and subtropical regions to
eradicate or reduce pathogen inoculum in soils, bulbs, corms, nursery stocks
and seeds (Agrios, 2005). Most plant pathogenic fungi, nematodes and bacteria are killed
by 30-min exposure to temperatures in the 50-80°C range, with moist heat being more
effective than dry heat. In warm, sunny environments, the use of clear polyethylene
plastic mulches will allow soil temperatures to reach 50-55°C to a depth of more than 5-
25 cm. When the mulch is kept in place for 2-8 weeks and soil temperatures reach
50-55°C, most soil-borne bacteria, fungi and nematodes in this zone will be killed. There is
also evidence that populations of organisms ant agoni st i c t o pl ant pat hogens wi l l
increase, thus increasing the effectiveness of solarization. Incorporation of ammonia-
generating manures before solarization can dramatically increase the efficacy of this
procedure. In some cases, the use of organic amendments under plastic covers will
result in low oxygen levels and significant pathogen control not attributable to the
heat from solarization. Solarization will result in reduction of many fungal and nematode
pathogens in the upper 25 cm of soils, but it will neither provide control of these
pathogens at greater depth nor is effective in most temperate climates because high
soil temperatures are not maintained for sufficient periods. It is important that soil is
not sterilized because this will kill antagonistic organisms and create a biological
vacuum such that reintroduced pathogens will cause more damage than in non-
sterilized soil. Higher temperatures can result in toxic levels of ammonia and soluble salts.
High temperatures reached in composting can achieve similar results to pasteurization,
and there is evidence that pathogen-suppressive microbial communities are
established and that antimicrobial compounds can be released from some compost
substrates.
Heat treatment of dormant plant parts and seeds is effective since most plant
pathogenic fungi, nematodes and bacteria are killed at temperatures lower than is
lethal to plant tissues. Generally, plant parts and seeds are soaked in hot water at 50-52°C
for 20-30 min though lower temperatures and longer duration are used to free bulbs
and rootstocks from nematode infestation. Hot water treatment is used in treating
seeds, bulbs and rootstocks to eradicate pathogens. Care should be taken to control
both temperature and time as either seeds or other plant materials can be damaged by
excessive heat or by long duration of hot water soaks (Agrios, 2005). Disinfestations of
pruning or potting tools, pots, storage containers and equipment to eradicate pathogens
that may be present on cutting tools, in adhering soil, roots or slime from decayed
roots, tubers or rhizomes is critical to prevent spread of pathogens or to prevent
exposing disease-free plant materials to pathogens associated with the materials.
Frequent disinfection of pruning tools is critical in preventing spread of bacterial
pathogens. Disinfection of cutting knives in vegetatively propagated plants is
critical to preventing spread of many diseases caused by bacterial pathogens. Spread
of sap-transmitted viruses by workers' hands can be reduced by washing hands
with soap between plants. Tobacco users in tobacco and greenhouse tomato culture
(Agrios, 2005) had long used this technique to prevent spread of tobacco mosaic virus.
The use of crop borders has been used to reduce spread of aphid-transmitted viruses,
particularly those that are non-persistent or stylet-borne. The aphids first alight in these
crop border plants and the aphids "clean" their stylets in these crops before moving
into sensitive crops. Breaks between the border crop and the crop to be protected will
facilitate aphid landing in the crop to be protected. Maize is often used as a border crop to
reduce transmission of cucumber mosaic virus to peppers or squash. This tall crop
barrier also reduces injury from blowing soil that can provide infection courts for bacterial
diseases such as bacterial spot of pepper or tomato and angular leaf spot of cucurbits.
Biological control by antagonistic microorganisms is perhaps the most common disease
control phenomenon worldwide, and their action could be considered as
eradication in some cases and protection in others. In some cases, the pathogen is killed or
deprived of nutrients and in other cases the plant is protected by induction of induced
resistance or by depriving the pathogen of an infection niche. However, the ability to
manipulate these natural disease-suppressing organisms that high levels of disease
control can be routinely achieved has largely evaded plant pathologists. Although
rarely if ever biological control agents (BCAs) eradicate pathogens, they can
dramatically decrease pathogen populations in soils and on root, leaf, fruit or
tuber surfaces.
Development of suppressive soils has been described for other pathosystem
including potato scab, Phytophthora root rot of papaya, Fusarium wilt of cucurbits etc.
The change from a disease-conducive soil to a suppressive soil is generally
attributed to increased populations of antagonistic microorganisms (Agrios, 2005). In
some situations, specific microbes have been identified and attempts to introduce or
supplement populations of these microbes in soils or on leaf surfaces have met with
mixed results. The failure to routinely create disease-suppressive conditions by the
introduction of microbes is thought to be due to lack of understanding of the ecology of the
soil, root or leaf surfaces, and how native and introduced organisms compete for niches
and nutrients. Because of the variable effects of the biological and physical
environment, the vast majority of applied BCA research has focused on glasshouse or
storage environments where the physical environment is more predictable and stable.
(iii). Induced systemic resistance
Effective biological control of plant diseases by BCAs that induce systemic resistance
has been described for a wide range of patho-systems including those that involve
root- and leaf-infecting fungi and bacteria, and viruses. These BCAs are applied to
seeds, potting media or to the foliage. This type of resistance makes an otherwise
susceptible plant resistant to a wide array of subsequent pathogen attack. Elicitation
of systemic resistance can be achieved by several basic types of stimuli including:
necrotizing pathogens; chemicals; PGPRs; foliar-applied bacteria and fungi; bacterial,
oomycete and fungal cell wall fractions; and compounds or microbes associated
with composts. Several systemic resistance pathways have been described: (i)
systemic acquired resistance characterized by salicylic acid signaling and t he
product i on of pat hogen esi s -related (PR) proteins; (ii) systemic acquired resistance
characterized by independence from salicylic acid signalling, production of active
oxygen species independent of hypersensitive cell death and production of PR
proteins; and (iii) induced systemic resistance in which signalling is due to
jasmonates and ethylene and is independent of PR proteins. Implicit to the
implication of systemic induced resistance as a mode of action is that the BCA is
applied espatially separate from the location where pathogen control occurs. BCA
induced resistance does not result in immunity but results in reduced levels of
pathogen infection and spread. Use of BCA induced resistance with moderate levels of
host resistance often results in excellent control, whereas BCA-induced resistance
alone typically results in 50-80% control. Therefore, unless other disease control tools
are used, results may be unsatisfactory under conditions that are highl y
favourable to disease development.
The phenomenon of cross protection is another form of systemic acquired
resistance. This is where infection of a plant with a mild strain of a given virus
protects the whole plant from infection with a more severe strain of the same virus.
This technique has been used for control of tobacco mosaic virus in greenhouse
tomatoes and for management of papaya ring spot virus in papaya. Although this
can be an effective strategy for control of a single virus, the user must be cognizant
of problems where other viruses can infect with the result that severe disease losses
occur from infection by two viruses. The use of this technique has also been limited
by the availability of suitable mild virus strains (Agrios, 2005).
(iv). Protection
Direct protection of the plant is typically used for endemic pathogens. Protection is
accomplished through application of chemical controls of the pathogen and pathogen
vectors or by application of biological controls as discussed earlier. Chemicals
used for disease control include fungicides, bactericides, nematicides,
insecticides, miticides and various oils of plant and petroleum origin. The
products are applied as seed treatments for control of seed-borne pathogens and to
protect against seed rots and damping-off diseases, as foliar sprays, soil treatments,
pruning wound treatments and postharvest dips and sprays.
Fungicides are classified as protective-contact non-systemic or systemic and can be
either organic or inorganic compounds. For protective-contact fungicides to be
effective, must be present as a barrier to prevent infection or kill fungal tissue
they come in contact. Inorganic compounds include sulphur, bicarbonates of
sodium, potassium and lithium, mono and dip otassium phosphates, silicon and
various copper compounds (some are organic but the active molecule is the copper
ion). These are all protective-contact non-systemic fungicides. Organic fungicides
have all been developed since the 1930s and are of a wide variety of types with some
being strictly protective-contact (captan, thiram, ethylene bis dithiocarbamate
fungicides—maneb, zineb, mancozeb, ferbam and heterocyclic compounds—PCNB,
chlorothalonil and biphenyl), some locally systemic (imazalil, triflorine) and others
are partially or fully systemic (benzimidazoles, triazoles, oxan thiins, strobilurins,
metalaxyl). The majority of systemic fungicides are absorbed through the foliage or
roots and are translocated in the xylem to new growth; however, some are
translocated downward in the plant while others are onl y l ocall y s ystemi c
fungicides and are translocated to a few cell layers or through the leaf
(translaminar). Systemic fungicides can be curative or can eradicate infections
onl y hours or days old. Initially, most fungicides were effective against a broad
range of fungi owing to multiple modes of action and as more environmentally
friendly, lower non-target toxicity to humans and other organisms, f u n g i c i d e s
h a v e been developed they have generally been effective on a much narrower
spectrum of fungi. Broad-spectrum fungicides typically have multiple modes of
action, whereas s ys t em i c fun gi ci des o ft en hav e onl y a single mode of
action. This sin gle mode of action characteristic has allowed many fungal
pathogens to develop resist ance a n d r e s i s t a n c e m a n a ge m e n t s t r a t e gi e s are
critical considerations when using systemic fungicides (Lyr, 1995).
Bactericides are u sed to control bacterial pathogens. Com monly used
bactericides are various inorganic or organic copper compounds and streptomycin
and tetracycline antibiotics. These products are used as seed treatments,
protectants for cuttings, tubers or rhizomes and as sprays to protect foliage, stems or
blossoms.
Products used for control of pathogen vect ors i ncl ude i nsecti ci des, mi ti cides
and nem aticides. In secti cides are most c o m m o n l y u s e d f o r c o n t r o l o f
a p h i d and l e a fho pp e r v e ct o rs of vi ru se s a nd phytoplasmas and for control
of beetles and other vectors of bacterial pathogens. In general, vector control
is only efficient for pathogens where the vector must feed on the plant for 20
min or more to achieve transmission. For this reason, control of vectors of stylet-
borne viruses that are transmitted almost instantaneously is not practical.
Petroleum and plant oils are used to control several fungal diseases including black
Sigatoka leaf spot of banana and some powdery mildews and for control of stylet borne
viruses. The oil film on the leaf surface apparently interferes with virus transmission (Agrios,
2005).
(v). Genetic Resistance
Genetic resistance to pathogens is one of the most efficient methods of control and it has
been the focus of breeding programmes for all types of cultivated plants. Use of disease-
resistant varieties has been the control of choice for pathogens such as vascular wilts
and viruses for which alternative controls are not highly effective. With the selection
of disease-resistant varieties, the grower can largely eliminate the costs for other disease
controls. Resistance in non-cultivated plants develops during the evolutionary selection
p r o c e s s w h e n p l a n t p o p u l a t i o n s a r e exposed to pathogens. Plants are resistant
to pathogens either because of specific resistance genes. Genetic resistance can be
complete (e.g. immunity) or incomplete (immunity to susceptibility), and can be
conditioned by single genes that condition resistance to specific races of the pathogen
(vertical resistance) or by multiple genes that provide resistance to all pathogen races
(horizontal resistance). Resistance can be expressed as a hypersensitive reaction
where the plant responds to initial infection by killing infected cells and
initiating a cascade of antimicrobial biochemical reactions, as physical features
that allow the plant to escape infection or as factors that reduce the rate of disease
development. Rate of disease development can be reduced by extending the period from
infection until new infectious propagules are produced (the latent period) or by
lesions producing fewer spores or allowing reduced pathogen reproduction. Wherever
genetic uniformity exists, particularly over large geographic areas, it is likely that
devastating epidemics will occur. This is often the situation where growers plant a
single genotype over large areas or breeders have used a single source of resistance
or the host evolved separately from the pathogen. Monitoring pathogens for the
presence of new biotypes or races is critical to the effective use of disease
resistance.
In recent years, host plant resistance has been improved using transgenic plants.
The use of genetically modified crop plants have effectively controlled papaya ring
spot virus in papaya, potato viruses and several cucurbit crop vi ruses in grower
fields. In these examples, plants were transformed to express the virus coat
protein and, by virtue of the cross protection phenomenon, the plants are immune
to these viruses. In other situations, plants have been transformed with viral
replicase genes, antisense nucleocapsid gene sequences, viral movement protein
g e n e s , g e n e s f o r e n h a n c e d c h i t i n a s e activity, glutamate decarboxylase and other
genes (Agrios, 2005). In addition, modern molecular biology techniques have allowed
breeders to incorporate resistance genes from plants where traditional breeding is
precluded. The use of transgenic disease-r e s i s t a n t p l a n t s o f f e r s a t r e m e n d o u s
opportunity to reduce disease losses but there are potential problems with unwanted
gene t ransfer to non -transgenic pl ants and currently significan t problems with
consumer acceptance in some countries.
(vi). Integrated Disease Management
Becaus e of t he di versit y of pat hogens that attack nearly every plant, the
plant pathologist must integrate all of the above strategies with loss economics,
pathogen epidemiology, history of disease and other pert i nent i nform at i on i n t he
devel op ment of disease management programmes. K e y c o n c e p t s a r e t h e
e l i m i n a t i o n o r reduction of primary inoculum, delay in the onset of disease,
slowing of secondary disease cycles and increase of host plant resistance with
the understanding of the economic constraints of producers. A r e s i s t a n t
v a r i e t y m u s t be a d apt e d t o t h e r eq ui r em ent s of t he marketplace and low
unit value crops will not support multiple pesticide sprays or other hi gh-
labour disease management inputs.
Understanding the critical environ m e n t a l e v e n t s t h a t f a v o u r i n f e c t i o n ,
inoculum dispersal, survival of primary inoculum and disease development
are critical to developing effective disease management strategies.
Epidemiological models have been developed for various diseases throughout
the world. The use of decision support system programmes, use environmental
monitors (temperature, relative humidity, duration of leaf wetness, rainfall, etc.)
or computer-generated weather prediction systems and disease loss development
models to decide when and how to implement specific disease cont r o l pr a ct i c es. In
m an y s i t u at i o ns , pesticide use has been reduced by more than 50% through use
of these programmes.
Th e c om p l ex i t y o f i nt e gr a t e d di s ease management strategies depends on
whether the crop is perennial or annual, its value, the range of economically
important disease present in the production area and options available for disease
management.
Suggested Reading
Agrios, GN. (2005). Plant Pathology, 5 th Edition, Academic press, New York.
Lyr, H. (1995). Modern Selective fungicides: Properties, Applications,
Mechanism of Action, 2 nd Edn. Gustav Fisher Verlag, Jena, Germany.
Techniques of Seed Production in Field Crops

RC Punia
Principal Scientist (SST) & Director Farm
Seed is the basic input in agriculture since the crops were first domesticated. Quality seed of
improved cultivars are the key to agricultural progress because the production potential and
other desirable characteristic of the seed sets the production limits. A successful seed
programme is able to supply sufficient quantity of high quality seed at the required time, at
reasonable cost and at the required place. Seed production programme requires the
application of good farming practices along with careful management of crop.
What is quality seed?
• High germination and vigour.
• Genetically and physically pure
• Free from seed borne disease and insect pest
• Relatively low moisture content
1. Techniques of seed production
(i) Selection of suitable area
Seed should be multiplied in the most favourable climatic region to obtain full expression of
cultivar characters, maximum possible yield and good harvest conditions. Seed should be
produced in relatively dry and cool location. A point often overlooked is that the area where the
seed is used may not be suitable for producing high quality seed e.g. vegetable seeds.
Selection of seed plot: Seed plot should be selected with several considerations in mind. The
seed plot's soil texture, fertility and pH should fit the crops requirement. Seed plot should be
free from volunteer plant, weeds, weed seeds, other crops, soil borne disease and insect pest,
seed plot soil must be well drained and have proper isolation distance.
(ii) Isolation distance
It relates to spatial separation of seed crop from possible source of contamination during
growing period. The isolation requirement of a seed crop depends on its mode of
reproduction, pollen biology and mode of dispersal. There are two types of isolation distance
i.e. Spatial isolation and Time isolation. Time isolation i.e. differential date of blooming of
seed crop and that of contaminants is recommended in few crops with a high degree of
precautions so that flowering in the two fields does not coincide e.g. maize.
For the seed growers, the method by which cross pollination occurs is important. If wind is
transporting agent, consideration needs to be given to the direction and velocity of prevailing
wind in the area and account should be taken of the physical feature of landscape which
might affect the wind. If insect are main agent for cross-pollination, it is essential to know
which kind of insects are most efficient pollinator to be sure that seed producing area should
be suitable habitat for that. In general cross pollinated cross require greater isolation distance
and self-pollinated crops require lesser isolation distance.
(iii) Cultural Practices
a) Preparation of land: The seed field should be well prepared and leveled. Good land
preparation is very important for getting uniform germination and stand establishment.
b) Source of seed: First of all select the improved variety of a crop and use the
appropriate class of seed from authentic source for quality seed production. The tag
and seal of breeder/foundation seed bags should be intact.
c) Seed treatment: Seed to be used must be treated with proper chemicals, legume seed
should be inoculated with rhizobium culture before sowing. In some crops where
dormancy is a problem some seed treatment for breaking dormancy should be followed.
d) Seed rate and method of sowing: Lower seed rate than normal seed rate for raising
commercial crops are desirable particularly for small seeded crop because they
facilitate rouging operation and gives higher multiplication ratio. The seed crop should
be sown in rows except where the sowing could be done only by broadcasting.
e) Time of sowing: The seed plot should be sown at normal sowing time. Some
adjustment could be made if necessary to avoid incidence of disease and pest.
f) Fertilizer: In the nutrition of seed crop, it is advisable to know and identify the
nutritional requirements of seed crops and applies adequate fertilizer (N, P, K) at proper
time. Adequate fertilization results in maximum yield, good seed quality and better
expression of plant character, which ultimately helps facilitate roguing which helps in
maintaining genetic purity as well.
g) Irrigation: As mentioned earlier, that comparatively drier region are more suitable for
seed production. Even then one should not take the risk of growing seed crop in an un-
irrigated area. An assured source of irrigation is pre-requisite for raising and harvesting
of quality seed. Number of irrigations varies from crop to crop and also depend on
types of soil. In general lighter soil needs more frequent irrigation than heavy soil.
h) Plant protection: Successful disease and insect-pest management is one of the most
important factors in raising healthy seed production. In addition from reduction in
yield, the quality of seed from diseased and insect damage plant is normally poor.
Insect and disease management varies in different crops. However, the following
general principles may be followed for an effective management of disease and insect-
pest:
• Plant only treated seed with proper fungicide/insecticide.
• Application of appropriate fungicide/insecticide in proper quantity at right time.
• Adopt appropriate schedule of spraying.
• Roguing of diseased plant, helps in checking further spread of disease.
(iv) Roguing
The removal of off-type and diseased plants from within the seed plot before they start
flowering is known as roguing. Adequate and timely roguing is most important for quality
seed production. The rogues which may differ from normal plant population may cause
quick deterioration in seed stock by opportunities afforded for cross-pollination and
transmission of diseases etc. Off-types/rogues should, therefore, be removed at the earliest
possible. The number of roguing in seed production plots will vary with the crops. Roguing
may be done at any of the following stages as per needs of the seed crop.
• Vegetative stage
• Flowering stage
• Maturity stage
The roguing at vegetative/pre-flowering stage in cross-pollinated crop is more
important to avoid genetic contamination.
(v) Seed Certification
It is a legally sanctioned system for quality control, seed multiplication and production and
entails field inspection; pre and post control test and seed quality test to verify or check
whether seed crop meets the minimum field and seed standard. In seed certification, field
inspection is most important.
a) Field Inspection
The main/basic objective of field inspection is to ascertain that the seed being produced is of
the notified variety not contaminated both physically and genetically beyond certain specified
limit. The objectives are achieved by verifying the seed crop.
 Field meets the prescribed land requirement.
 Seed used for raising seed crop is from approved source.
 Provided with proper isolation or border rows in hybrid seed production.
 Planting ratio in hybrid seed production is followed.
 Properly rouged in confirmation with standard for different factors.
 True to variety's characteristics and no mechanical mixture, proper harvesting.
The field observations are then compared with a set of certification norms, specified for
each crop in relation to different factors. Only the officially notified agency for the region
concerned has the authority to perform the field inspection for seed certification.
b) Crop Stages for Inspection
It is very difficult to verify the different factors affecting seed quality in the field in a single
inspection as these factors don't occur at the same time and all may not affect at that growth
stage. Thus the phased inspection is required for all crops. The number of inspection and
growth stage depends upon crop duration, mode of pollination, possibilities of contamination,
nature of contamination factor and stage of disease susceptibility. In sexually propagated
crop, the convenient stages of crop growth are classified as follows:
 Pre-flowering
 Flowering
 Post-flowering/at maturity
 Harvesting stage
In general, two, three and four inspections are made for self-pollinated crop, cross-
pollinated crop and hybrid seed crop, respectively.
c) Observation during Field Inspection
Factors observed during field inspection vary among crops and growth stage. The source of
genetically and physical contamination is a general factor and must be observed. Different
factors observed during field inspection are as:
 Off-type
 Objectionable weed plant
 Inseparable other crop plant
 Diseased plant
 Pollen shedder and shedding tassel
d) Taking Field Count
In seed crops, it is not possible to examine all plants in the field. The number and method of
counts vary from crop to crop. For all crops, it is necessary to take a minimum of five counts
up to two hectares of area and an additional count for each two hectares. The number of
plants or heads that should make a count for different crop is as follows:
 For widely spaced and non-tiller crop like cotton and castor minimum number of plant
in a count should be 100.
 Medium spaced and non-tiller crops like cowpea, black gram, green gram 500 plants
per count should be considered. For others minimum 1000 plant/ear head per count
should be considered.
(vi) Harvesting and Post Harvesting Handling of Seed Crop
a. Harvesting and threshing: The crops can be harvested soon after the seed is matured.
Seed quality start deteriorating in the field itself if harvesting is delayed. When
harvesting is to be done mechanically, machine should be thoroughly cleaned and
properly calibrated for all its internal operation according to moisture content of the
seed crop. During harvesting and threshing operation adequate precaution should be
taken against mechanical damage and mixture to seed.
b. Drying and processing: Normally the seed produced, after harvesting and threshing is
subjected to sun drying to reduce the moisture content before transported to processing
plants. Direct exposure of the seed to sun-light may affect its quality, therefore, if
necessary seed may be dried under diffused sun-light in a shed. In some crop like
paddy artificially drying is done by blowing dry air. It is always advisable to pre-clean
the seed stock to remove dirt, chaff, soil particles etc. before drying operation is
undertaken. Seed processing by using different model of grader should be done over
prescribed sieve size or through gravity separator.
c. Seed treatment: Treatment of seed with prescribed doses of fungicide and insecticide
should be done to control the carriage of disease-causing pathogen and insects with the
seed or their fresh entry into it.
(vii) Sampling and Quality Control
After cleaning and grading, the seed should be sampled with prescribed standard and testing
in the seed-testing laboratory to verify the different minimum seed certification standard.
(viii) Packaging, Labelling and Sealing
To ensure the delivery of seed produced through rigorous system of quality control, it is very
important to use the right type of packaging material or container. If seed is to be packed in
vapour-proof container, the moisture of seed should be brought down to a level of 6-8%
while for non-vapour proof container, moisture content should not exceed 10-12%. For
identification purpose each package should be labelled in prescribed manner and thoroughly
sealed to prevent any tampering with the quality of seed.
(ix) Storage and Marketing
Adequate precautions should be followed to prevent seed lot from deterioration while in
transit or storage. Greater care should be taken for storage pest and the temperature and
relative humidity of store. The moisture content of seed generally governs the length of time
for which seed can be stored, coupled with the temperature in the store. Harrington and
Douglas (1970) devised two simple rules for storage.
 For every decrease of 1 per cent in seed moisture content the life of seed is doubled.
 For every decrease of 5°C in storage temperature, the life of seed is double.
These rules, however, operate with seed moisture content between 14 and 5 per cent. In
general, seed should be stored in a cool and dry store i.e. a temperature around 60-70°F and
RH of 30-40 per cent.
Weeds, Their Cost and Ways to Manage Them Efficiently

Samunder Singh
Principal Scientist (Agronomy)
Losses caused by weeds

Weeds can simply be defined as those plants whose virtues are still unknown or exploited.
Till then they will probably continue to infest terrestrial/aquatic crops, non-crop situations
and greatly influence harvest yield/quality despite a large array of chemicals, mechanical and
biological tools available for their effective control. Weeds have both direct and indirect cost
and influence our everyday life. They usurp essential nutrients, moisture and reduce yields,
crop quality and interfere with agricultural operations. Weeds also interfere with recreational
activities in aquatic areas and in parks and playgrounds and several invasive/alien weed
species are causing ecological disaster by suppressing the natural vegetation. There are
approximately 250,000 species of plants worldwide; of those, about 3% or 8000 species
behave as weeds. Losses caused by weeds vary depending on weed infestation, crops and
management practices adopted. Crops with wide space and slow initial growth suffer more
from weed competition. Weeds were found to reduce the yield of wheat, rice, sorghum and
maize by 30, 44, 31, and 46%, respectively compared to chemical weed control (average of
17 locations throughout India). Other than yield reduction weeds usurped 40-7-35, 29-9-32,
34-9-25, 47-8-56, 67-38-57, 42-18-100 and 57-20-116 kg/ha of N-P2O5-K2O, respectively in
wheat, rice, sorghum, maize, ragi, cotton and sugarcane.
Losses caused by weeds in US were assessed to the tune of US $8.9 bn/year in the eighties;
however, this does not include the cost of herbicides, machinery and application ($6.3 bn). A
decade later losses by weeds came down to $7.1 bn/yr, but the total cost increased to $19.6
bn/yr. These losses are obvious much more in India than US or other developed countries
where the share of herbicides in nearly 40-50% to all pesticides used compared to only 18%
of pesticides used in India for weed control. In India, losses caused by weeds were estimated
at Rs. 48,000 crores annually in the last decade of the century. Losses caused by a single
invasive/alien weed, Parthenium hysterophorus were estimated Rs.1200 crores/annum. It
was estimated that invasive weeds in US engross 3 million acres per year costing US $137 bn
in 2006. In crops, a modest yield loss of 15% by weeds in wheat in India cost Rs. 15,000
crores/annum and the cost of wheat weed Phalaris minor was estimated at Rs. 4000
crores/year alone. This is huge cost for a developing country. It is not that in other countries
weeds have been tamed. In Australia loss in crop yield was estimated at AUS$ 2.5 bn/yr with
the use of herbicides worth AUS$ 1.5 bn/yr. Since these countries are a net exporters of food
grains and can afford some yield loses by diverting extra acreages, that choice; however, is
not available to Indian farmers, where land for cultivation is decreasing fast due to population
pressures (housings/industry/malls etc.) and there is a yield plateau in the major production
zones due to over exploitation of natural resources (water and soil fertility), necessitating
effective weed management.
Weeds classification
Classification based on economic importance
Relative weeds - Weeds also have medicinal values and industrial use; can be used as fodder
for animals, also used for human consumption (culinary use and food) and also have many
other uses, e.g., cocklebur (Zanthium strumarium) repels armyworms, Asgandh (Withania
somnifera) is used again human lice, Chenopodium album, Digera arvensis and Celosia
argentea are a delicacy when consumed (cooked) before seed production. Some weed species
like cattails (Typha latifolia), munj (Saccharum munjo) are used in thatch making and other
items of decoration. Several weeds species are used as fodder for cattle (C. album, P. minor,
A. ludoviciana, E. crus-galli). Weeds like Cyperus rotundus are used in perfumery.
Absolute weeds – These plants have no economic importance as of today and called absolute
nuisance, e.g. Parthenium hysterophorus (congressgrass), Cirsium arvense (Kandai) and
Euphorbia species (dudhi).
Weed biology: Weed biology is the study of the establishment, growth, reproduction, and life
cycles of weeds.
Understanding how weeds produce, spread and survive is important for their management.
Annual weed produce abundant seeds to break the cycle of replenishing soil seed
bank/reservoir, which is very difficult to exhaust.
Abundant seed production, vegetative reproduction capability, innovative mechanisms of
seed dissemination, long periodicity of germination in the season, dormancy, competition and
allelopathy and longevity help them to survive and compete with human‘s desired activities.
The characteristics which make weedy plants so competitive, persistent, and pernicious.
Number of seeds per plant: Weeds are producers of large number of seeds. Example:
Echinochloa crus-galli, 7000 seeds; Portulca oleracea, 52, 000 seeds; Chenopodium album,
72,000 seeds; Amaranthus retroflexus, 117,000 seeds.
Dormancy: Dormancy is the ability of seeds to remain viable in the soil for extended periods
of time. For Example:Sorghum halepense, 20 years; Convolvulus arvensis, 20+ years; C.
album, 40 years; A. retroflexus, 40 years.
Years Some Seed
Name of Weed
Remain Viable in the Soil
Chickweed (Stellaria media) 10
Hedge Mustard (Sisymbrium officinale) 10
Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) 11 - 20
Oxeye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum) 11 - 20
Lamb's-Quarters (Chenopodium album) 21 - 40
Purslane (Portulaca spp.) 21 - 40
Redroot Pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) 21 - 40
Shepherd's-Purse (Capsella bursa – pastoris) 35
Dodder (Cuscuta Spp) 70
Curled Dock (Rumex crispus) >80
Special Adaptations or Appendages: Plants have developed means to assist in their spread
and distribution, these include: Hooks and spines, Cenchrus echinatus, Tribulus terrestris;
Pappus (parachutes), Calotropis procera.
Vegetative Reproductive Capabilities: Vegetative reproductive structures are those asexual
portions of the plant which allow for new plants to arise without the fertilization of the
flower. Roots with adventitious buds, Cirsium arvense; Rhizome, S. halepense & Cynodon
dactylon; Tubers, Cyperus rotundus and C. esculentus; Stolons, C. dactylon; Special
Characteristics: ―Weeds have the greater will to live.‖
Other factors affecting germination: Most of the weed seeds emerge from the top 2 cm
soil; however several weeds can have the capacity to emerge from 10 to 15 cm depth. Tillage
(exposure to light, oxygen) and fire helps in their germination. Weed seed placed deep in soil
helps in their survival and they emerge when the soil is turned again bringing them to top soil
layers. Low moisture also helps them in their viability because of reduced germination at
lower moisture level.
Weed seed longevity - longevity is synonymous with viability over time. Seeds of Phalaris
minor buried under anaerobic condition of rice-wheat lost their viability on 2 years, where it
was short under aerobic conditions of cotton-wheat cropping system. The seeds stored under
lab conditions lost their viability in 5 years. Experiments conducted in USA revealed them
many weed seeds when buried in soil survived for long time. Most seeds germinated after 10
years and several species germinated even after 80 years
In other research weed seed longevity varied by species as follows:
Xanthium strumarium 16 years
Setaria viridis 20 years
Sorghum halepense 20 years
Amaranthus retroflexus 40 years
Abutilon theophrasti 40 years
Rottboellia cochinchinensis 2-3 years
There is a famous English quote, ‘one year seeding and seven year weeding’
Weed Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of living organisms
and how the distribution and abundance are affected by interactions between the organisms
and their environment. The environment of an organism includes physical properties, which
can be described as the sum of local abiotic factors such as insolation (sunlight), climate, and
geology as well as the other organisms that share its habitat. A study on weed biology and
ecology is helpful in understanding the weak links of weeds in its growth cycle which can be
utilized in their effective management.
Intensive cultivation and increased irrigation resulted in the control of many weed species in
Haryana during the 1960‘s. For example, Jharberi (Zizyphus species), camelthorn (Alhagi
camelorum), bana (Artemisia scoparia), kans (Saccharusm spontaneum) and pohli
(Carthamus oxycantha). However, these conditions (increased irrigation, fertilizers and new
dwarf plant type) also favored the dominance of annual weeds which are no less aggressive
and severely hamper crop growth and yield. Weeds are successful colonizers of disturbed
habitats (e.g., new plantings). They are noteworthy for their high germination rates (annuals),
vigorous vegetation reproduction (perennials), and rapid growth. Often, they have
unspecialized needs for pollination, which promotes genetic variability and reproduction.
From a biological point of view, weeds are very successful organisms.
The ecological role of weeds can be seen in very different ways, depending on one‘s
perspective. Most commonly, weeds are perceived as unwanted intruders into
agroecosystems that compete for limited resources, reduce crop yields, and force the use of
large amounts of human labor and technology to prevent even greater crop losses. Weeds not
only harbor insects, pests, nematodes and diseases, but also an eyesore at public places,
impede flow of canal water and are water wasters. In developing countries, farmers may
spend 25 to 120 days hand-weeding a hectare of cropland yet still lose a quarter of the
potential yield to weed competition.
Allelopathy
Allelopathy is derived from the Greek word ‗allelon‘ mean each other and ‗pathos‘ mean to
suffer. The term allelopathy refers to the production, by a plant, of chemicals
(allelochemicals) which can influence the growth and development of another plant. Such an
effect can be varied and can be negative (e.g. reduced germination) or positive (e.g. increased
growth). For weed management we are interested in the inhibition of one plant (the weed or
weeds) by another (usually the crop) through the production of allelochemicals. These
allelochemicals may be actively produced by a growing plant or arise from the residues after
death. The effects of the allelochemicals may be reduced or enhanced by micro organisms.
Allelopathic effects can include poor germination, impaired root growth and stunted shoot
growth. These symptoms can also have other causes apart from allelopathy and in practice it
can often be difficult to distinguish true allelopathic effects. It is difficult to separate the
effects of competition (e.g. for light, water and/or nutrients) from allelopathic effects in the
field and is difficult to benefit in actual field conditions. For any plant to have a proven
allelopathic effect, it need to be demonstrable using a donor and receptor plant to trace the
movement of allelochemicals and the effect should be visible under non-limiting factors of
light, moisture, nutrients or other growth limiting factors.
Types of allelochemicals and their mode of action
Allelochemicals can be released from plant leaves, roots, decaying plant parts and can be
classified in several groups as:
Simple water soluble organic acids; Simple unsaturated lactones; Long-chain fatty acids and
polyacetylenes; Simple phenols; Benzoic acid and derivatives; Cinnamic acid and
derivatives; Napthoquinone, anthroquinones and complex quinones; Flavonoids; tannins;
terpenoids and steroids; amino acids and polypeptides; alkaloids and cyanohydrins; purines
and nucleotides; coumarins; thiocynates, and lactones.
The mode of action of allelochemicals can be direct or indirect affecting mineral nutrients,
cell division, hormonal equilibrium, membrane permeability, photosynthesis, respiration,
protein synthesis, enzyme activity, conducting tissue and water relations and altering genetic
materials.
Allelopathic effect has been reported on crops by weeds, weeds on weeds and crops on
weeds. Current evidence indicates that the role of allelopathy in weed suppression in both
field and cover crops is at best uncertain. It is probably safe to say that at the present time we
are not in a position to provide practical advice for the use of allelopathic effects in weed
management programmes
Weeds interfering crop growth through allelochemicals
Abutilon theophrasti Alfalfa, Radish, Turnip, Tomato, Cabbage, Soybean
Acalypha indica Pearlmillet
Acanthospermum hispidum Muskmelon, Maize, Ragi, Frenchbean, Okra
Aeschynomene ameriana Rice
Ageratum conyzoids Maize, Soybean
Agropyron repens Oats, Alfalfa and Tomato
Alternenthera sessilis Rice
Alysicarpus vaginalis Sesamum
Amaranthus retroflexus Alfalfa, cabbage, Carrot, Pepper, Radish, Tomato
Ammania baccifera Rice
Anagallis arvensis, Asphodelus tenuifolius & Avena ludoviciana Wheat
Boerhavia diffusa Sesamum
Cassia auriculata Tomato
Cassia tora, C. pussilus Sesame, Pearlmillet
Celosia argentea Pearlmillet
Chenopodium album Maize, Wheat
Convolvulus arvensis Rice
Cynodon dactylon Sugarcane
Cyperus rotundus Paddy, Groundnut, Cotton, Sorghum,
Cucumber, Tomato,
Soybean, Sesamum, Maize, Legume
C. iria Rice
Datura stramonium Carrot, Tomato, Pepper
Digera arvensis Pearlmillet
Digitaria sanguinalis Carrot, Tomato, Wheat, pepper
Echinochloa colona Maize, Soybean, Sorghum
Euphorbia hirta Rice
Fimbristylis miliacea Rice
Gomphrena decumbens Sorghum, Sesame
Imperata cylindrica Maize, Rubber trees
Lantana camera Maize, Soybean
Marselia minuta Tomato
Monochoria vaginalis Rice
Parthenium hysterophorus Sorghum, Bajra, Soybean, Sunflower
Phalaris minor Wheat
Sphenochlea zeylanica Rice
Tephrosia purpurea Sesamum, Legume
Trianthema portulacastrum Sorghum, Rice
Tribulus terrestris Bajra
Xanthium strumarium Wheat and Gram
Knowledge of weed biology, ecology and allelopathy can be used in effective weed
management without chemicals and can be a part of the integrated weed management
strategy.
Weed Control and Management
Herbicides: Since the synthesis of first herbicide in the nineteen forties, several herbicides
are available for efficient weed management in different crops, non-cropped areas and
aquatic environments. These herbicides, based on their chemical structure and modes of
action have been classified in different groups/classes to understand their mechanism of
action and control of weed species based on rates and time of application. The classification
based on MOA is most accepted worldwide and Weed Science Society of America (WSSA)
and Herbicide Resistance Action Committee (HRAC) have classified all the available
herbicides with inter-linkages of each classification for different herbicides. Herbicides are
most efficient in controlling weeds, but their indiscriminate use can also result in the
evolution of resistant weeds. As of today, 393 resistant weed species have been reported to
different herbicides around the globe which include 210 species comprising 123 dicot weeds
and 87 monocots. One weed species is counted more than once if it has evolved resistance to
more than one herbicide. Herbicide resistance is the most serious issue threatening the
management and this can render a good herbicide useless in a very short time of its use,
resulting in limited choice of available herbicide and increasing the cost of development of
new herbicides. There is a need to increase the shelf life of the existing herbicides by their
judicious use and following an integrated weed management approach.
Herbicide efficacy enhancement
Determine the mode or mechanism of action of adjuvants. Adjuvants that alter the
physicochemical properties and enhance the biological activity of herbicides should be
developed and used. Herbicides mixtures will not only lower the environmental load, but will
have saving in cost without sacrificing weed control levels.
Herbicide mixtures: Herbicide mixtures offer an extended life of herbicide and also
increased spectrum of weed kill. Care should be taken in the two or three way mixture that
these herbicides have different modes of action‘
Alternative weed management methods. Alternative methods often only suppress weeds as
opposed to providing effective control. Weed management often requires a combination of
many alternative methods because one method will not effectively control weeds.
Biological approaches. Although biological agents for weed management have great
potential for the future, they have several inherent characteristics that place them at a
disadvantage compared to the use of synthetic herbicides.
Natural products. Natural product chemistry has tremendous potential, and there is a need to
continue this area of research. Natural does not always mean better or safer.
Crop rotations: Crops rotation offers change in the use of herbicides and different growing
conditions (weed competition).
Mulches. Organic and inorganic mulches can effectively suppress annual weeds. Mulches
such as bark, paper, straw, rocks, and polyethylene plastic are widely used in many
horticultural situations. Inorganic mulches suppress weeds both by acting as a physical
barrier and by preventing light penetration.
Solarization. Solarization, which uses plastic film for control of soil-borne organisms, should
receive additional attention, particularly in light of deregistration of many soil fumigants.
Thermal death requirements for many weed species are unknown. Research is required to
determine the optimal duration, seasonal timing, and economics of solarization treatments in
different areas.
GM crops. Herbicide resistant crops will form a large constituent of future crop production
system. It all depends on the level of acceptance by farmers going by the saving in weed
control using selective herbicides. However, this system is also no full proof and resulted in
shift in weed flora and also has the potential to evolve resistant weed biotypes. Under these
circumstance the crops resistance to multiple modes of action of herbicide will be required
for meeting the perennial requirement of weed control.
Commercial Farm Forestry in India

Bimlendra Kumari
India is quite rich in forest wealth. About one-fifth of its land is under forests. Most of our
forests are in the hilly area or over the plateau. The plains and the large areas in valleys are
under cultivation. The area under the forests in India is not sufficient. About one-third area of
the land surface should be under the forests to keep up the ecological balance. India‗s forests
can be divided into five types: Evergreen, Tropical forests, Deciduous Forests, Thorny
Forests or Desert Forests, Coniferous Forests and Mangrove Forests
Forests in India can not meet national demand for firewood, timber and wood based products
on sustainable basis because of low growing stock, poor increments, inadequate financial and
technological inputs, unbearable biotic pressures and serious degradation of forest resources.
Genetically improved clonal planting stock of eucalypts, poplars and acacias has transformed
the productivity and profitability of plantations. Average yields from such clonal plantations
are 20 to 25 times higher compared to the average productivity of forests in India. Current
levels of clonal Eucalyptus and poplar plantations produce nearly 5 million cubic meters
wood valued at 21,000 million rupees annually. Plantations sustain most of the wood based
pulp and paper mills and plywood/ veneer factories in the country saving precious foreign
exchange.
State Forest Departments, local communities and wood based industries can join hands to
raise plantations
The Need of raising tree plantations
Nearly 50 to 60 % of the paper mills in the world are wood based, forests have a very
important role to play in this industry. Forests account for nearly 30 % of the world's land
surface. The shrinking forest area (due to the increasing population and use of wood for
various applications) is a cause of concern for everyone. The paper industry accounts for
nearly 12 % of the world's wood harvest (including the harvest for fuel purpose). If the wood
harvest for industrial purpose alone is considered, the paper industry accounts for nearly one
fourth of the total industrial consumption. Evolution of annual market of agroforestry based
wood products worth more than Rs.10000 million in Yamunanagar district of Haryana.
Forest cover in India is much lower than the world average, and an increasing rate of
population promises that the pressure on forests will increase manifold and reach
unsustainable levels. Most desirable and viable strategy for maintaining social, economic and
ecological sustainability in India is to raise tree plantations of various types. Eucalyptus and
Poplar are main commercial, fast growing exotic species.
Importance, extent and limitations of Tree plantations in india
Back in 1840 when the first plantation was raised in Nilambur and Malabar in Kerala. Since
then country has developed plantations of both exotic and indigenous species to provide
goods and services in a short period of time. Presently, plantations are raised over 1 million
ha/annum in the country India‘s achievements in raising forest plantations, in term of area,
have been impressive (Anon, 1995). It is estimated that up to 1997-98, the total area of tree
plantation, under different schemes, was 23.38 million ha. of this, some 3.54 million ha were
raised before 1980, 13.51 million ha during 1980s, and the rest during the 1990s.
There is a strong belief that forest plantations can, to some extent, compensate for the
deforestation and forest degradation. These plantations have been raised to supplement
natural regeneration, to restock forest freshly clear felled or destroyed by fire and other
factors, to replace miscellaneous slow growing indigenous species with fast growing
economically important exotics.
Tree farming with various indigenous and exotics species like neem, poplars, eucalyptus,
casuarinas, acacias etc have been adopted in the farmer‘s fields to meet basic requirements of
farmers like wood, fuel, fodder, fruits, gums, charcoal. 60,000 ha. area in plains of UP,
Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand was planted with Populus deltoides (Chandra (2001). This
species is planted at a rotation of 6-7 years. MAI of forest plantation in India varies from
about 2 cu.m/ yr for valuable timber species to about 5 to 8 cu.m/ yr for Eucalyptus and other
fast growing species. This may be compared to an MAI of over 10 cu.m/ha/yr generally and
about 50 cu.m/ha/yr for good quality industrial plantations in different countries, over 70
cu.m./ha/yr has been reported in certain cases. By any measure, the performance of forest
plantations in India is far below the potential. Inadequacies in site selection and site-species
matching, poor planting stock, lack of proper maintenance and protection (from fire, grazing,
pests and diseases), lack of timely tending/thinning, delay in fund allocation, and lack of
adequately trained staff are some of the causes of the situation. To meet the needs like timber,
fuelwood, fodder of large section of the rural population, the state and central government in
India have initiated large scale afforestation/reforestation projects with loan and aid from
World Bank, DFID, EU, CIDA, JBIC etc.
Role of plantation in Productivity increment
The national mean productivity is about 3.2 t (air-dry weight)/ha/yr. When the dominant
plantation types are considered (Eucalyptus, poplars, kadam , Casuarina, Acacia
auriculiformis etc.), Eucalyptus recorded the highest productivity of 6.6 t/ha/yr, which is
double the national mean for all plantations (Ravindranath et. al., 1992; Bhat et al., 1995).
There are location specific case studies, which show higher productivities in the range of 7.2
to 8.2 t/ha/yr in semi-arid Karnataka for Eucalyptus in farm forestry in croplands (about 70
mm of annual rainfall), 63.5, 25.0 and 11.90 t/ha from the 8 years old in case of Eucalyptus
globules, E. grandis and E. tereticornis in Tamilnadu 5.2 to 7.3 t/ha/yr for Acacia
auriculiformis-dominated plantations on degraded forestlands in the heavy rainfall zone. It is
evident that the productivity of tree plantations on village commons and degraded forestlands
is low, particularly in semi-arid locations, and, as expected, the productivity levels are higher
in the heavy rainfall zone. The productivity of mixed tree plantations under semi-arid and
unfertilized but good soil conditions is about 6 t/ ha/yr. A field trial in the same region
showed that the annual productivity of mixed plantation is 5.8 t/ha/yr compared to 5.9 and 2.7
t/ha/yr for monoculture plantations of Leucaena leucocephala and Eucalyptus spp.,
respectively (Nadagouda et. al.1997).
Role of Co-operatives
Indian Farm Forestry Development Co-operative Ltd. (IFFDC) is committed for integrated
rural development and ecological up-gradation through afforestation on abandoned
wastelands with community participation by promoting village level Primary Farm Forestry
Co-operative Societies (PFFCS) and Primary Livelihood Development Cooperative Societies
(PLDCS) for livelihood enhancement of the landless, marginal and small farmers, tribal and
women in particular.
Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), the promoter organization of IFFDC
started its farm forestry activities for wasteland development since 1986-87 in the states of
U.P., M.P. and Rajasthan which has been handed over to IFFDC in 1995. More than, 26,900
ha. of wastelands have been converted into sustainable multipurpose green forests through
145 village level PFFCS with a membership base of 28,500. Special emphasis has been laid
on women participation who is 30% of the total membership.
Role of Social Forestry schemes
Social Forestry‘ as a term was used in 1976 by the National Commission on Agriculture. The
aim of the Commission was to use land of areas surrounding urban settlements that have been
deforested by human activities. The government encouraged the participation of the public to
cultivate surrounding land to meet their needs of food, fodder and fuel. Social forestry makes
use of fallow and unused land so that deeper forests that have been safeguarded so far are
saved from exploitation. It involves the raising of fast-growing trees to meet the needs of
fuelwood and fodder. The village panchayats undertake this task with the help of local
population to plant trees on common lands, like borders of canals, along the roads and on
wastelands. Social forestry encourages development of gardens and landscapes. People
benefit from such resource sharing and thus pressure on natural resources is reduced.
Types of Social Forestry plantations
1. Farm Forestry
Farm forestry is the management of trees for a specific purpose within a farming context.
Typically these are timber plantations on private land. However, it can be applied to a range
of enterprises utilizing different parts of the tree and managed in a variety of ways. Farm
forestry or social forestry is a silent movement sweeping across parts of rural India which has
the potential of creating another green revolution. Simply put, farm forestry is about
promoting cultivation of trees as a crop by small farmers. Farm forestry was initially
promoted as a NABARD assisted project during 1987-95. Now the paper industry is using
this tool effectively to get its raw material without harming forests and at the same time
generating income and employment for the farmers. This helps the environment, the
corporates and the poor at the same time, which is a rare proposition.
2. Agroforestry
With depletion of agricultural lands and lack of irrigation facilities, agriculture in arid and
semiarid regions is becoming uneconomical. Agroforestry provides a viable solution for such
problems. Trees serve as wind breaks, source of organic matter, shade and soil binder to
prevent soil erosion while generating additional income. In areas receiving more than 800
mm annual rainfall, it is possible to introduce various fruit crops while planting multipurpose
tree species on field bunds and borders. The interspace can be used for cultivation of food
crops for 8-10 years, till the trees spread widely in the field.
Plate 1, 2: Poplar based agroforestry

In 1969, a Dr. Pryor from Australia, advised Wimco to try out clones from provenances that
were growing at similar latitudes (about 2800 N) in the Mississippi Valley of the United
States of America. Subsequently, he sent cuttings of two clones called G3 and G48 from the
area. These clones were tried out by Wimco and were found to be suitable for the local
conditions. These clones are fast growing and disease resistant the rotation for these trees is
only six years and farmers easily get about four quintals of saleable wood per tree at rotation
age and these clones are deciduous. These are accepted by the farmers at a large scale for on
farms plantations.
3. Extension Forestry:
Planting of trees on the sides of roads, canals and railways, along with planting on wastelands
is known as ‗extension‘ forestry. Extension forestry helps in increasing the boundaries of
forests. Under this project, there has been creation of forests on the village common lands,
government wastelands and panchayat lands. Schemes for afforesting degraded government
forests that are close to villages are being carried out all over the country.
4. Community Forestry:
Community forestry is a village-level forestry activity, decided on collectively and
implemented on communal land, where local populations participate in the planning,
establishing, managing and harvesting of forest crops, and so receive a major proportion of
the socio-economic and ecological benefits from the forest. Community forestry is a process
of increasing the involvement of and reward for local people, of seeking balance between
outside and community interests and of increasing local responsibility for the management of
the forest resource. Also, like sustainable development, community forestry should be a
learning experience for all involved parties.
5. Commercial Plantation Forestry:
In a forestry plantation for industrial raw materials and round timber, only about 40-50%
wood is used for timber or industrial raw material and the rest is used as fuelwood. If the
community forestry programme can promote commercial plantations to meet the annual
demand of 65-70 m3 of wood, these plantations can also meet 25% of the demand for
fuelwood. As the returns from commercial wood are very attractive, tree growers can afford
to sell the leftover fuelwood as by-product at a lower price. Thus, the poor can be benefitted.
Local grasses which grow in abundance in a well managed plantation, can be cut and carried
to feed the stall-fed livestock.
6. Mixed Plantations:
Introduction of fuelwood species in a mixed stand with fruit, timber and commercial tree
species is feasible. Species like teak, mango, cashew, neem, etc. need wider spacing but the
interspace remains idle for about 8-10 years, till trees attain normal size. It is possible to
establish fuelwood species of short gestation between these trees and harvest them in 3-5
years. Selection of nitrogen-fixing tree species which are known for high calorific value, can
further benefit farmers by nursing the main tree species through soil enrichment. This
strategy can further boost the fuelwood production. Fodder cum fuelwood species like
leucaenea, gliricidia, sesbania, acacia and albizia are ideal for establishing a mixed stand.
Non-browsing tree species such as Australian acacia, kassod and casuarina are also useful as
fuelwood species for planting on bunds and borders in fruit orchards. (Table1)
7. Trees with Religious Sentiments
Trees have religious and sentimental values. In ancient Hindu scriptures, uses of many trees
for different purposes and their placement in home gardens have been very well described.
Establishment of tree groves around the community temples with a wide range of tree species
is also a traditional custom. These groves known as sacred groves, with a wide range of
naturally grown and introduced trees and shrubs, are protected with respect by the
community. Many species of Ficus religeosa, Prosopis cineraria, Mangifera indica,
Azadirachta indica and Aacacia nilotica etc. are also considered holy trees and people
generally do not cut them. However, they do not want to plant a large number of such
species unless they find some tangible benefits.
8. Trees for Beautification
Economics and tangible benefits are the primary considerations for selecting tree species by
farmers. Trees are also planted for beautification, to improve the micro-climate, arrest soil
erosion and many other functions. Trees provide an excellent ambience to the site, either
residential or work areas. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, thereby reducing the harmful effects
of air pollution. Thus, trees act as lungs of our cities to purify air and keep the surroundings
cool, healthy and beautiful. Selection of suitable tree species will enhance the aesthetic value
and beauty of the surroundings.
Table 1. List of Multipurpose Tree Species for plantations of various types
S. No. Name of the Species Common Name *Use
1. Eucalyptus spp. Eucalyptus T
2. Mangifera indica Mango F
3 Tectona grandis Teak T
4. Annona squamosa Custard apple F
5. Zizyphus mauritiana Jujubee F
6. Melia azedarach Chinaberry T
7. Tamarindus indica Tamarind F
8. Psidium guajava Guava F
9. Leucaena leucocephala Leucaena, Subabul T,Fo
10. Punica granatum Pomegranate F
11. Syzygium cumini Jambolina F
12. Moringa oleifera Drumstick F
13. Thespesia populnea Portia T
14. Azadirachta indica Neem Oi
15. Artocarpus heterophyllus Jackfruit F
16. Acacia nilotica var.telia Gum acacia Fu
17. Cocos nucifera Coconut F
18. Manilkara zapota Sapota F
19. Citrus medica Sweet lime F
20. Casuarina equisetifolia Casuarina T
21. Anacardium occidentale Cashew F
22. Dendrocalamus strictus Bamboo T
23. Acacia auriculiformis Australian acacia Fu
24. Citrus reticulata Mandarin F
25. Agave sisalana Agave Fi
26. Polyalthia pendula Ashok O
27. Delonix regia Gulmohar O
28. Citrus sinensis Sweet orange F
29. Acacia nilotica var. Ramakathi acacia Fu
cupressiformis
30. Sesbania sesban Sesbania Fo
31. Emblica officinalis Indian gooseberry F
32. Annona reticulate Ramphal F
S. No. Name of the Species Common Name *Use
33. Dalbergia sissoo Shishum T
34. Santalum album Sandalwood Oi
35 Feronia limonia Wood apple F
* T -Timber, F-Food, Fo-Fodder, Fu-Fuel, Fi-Fibre, Oi-Oil, O-Ornamental
Conclusion
The prioriety has to be given to raise the tree plantations of some or the other kind, so as to
increase the tree/ forest cover, not only in our country but also in other parts of world as well.
The preference of farmers should be the main consideration, while introducing trees on farm
lands. Tree species to be selected should be based on the quality of land, availability of
moisture, suitability of climate, growth rate, gestation period etc. While most of the farmers
consider profitability as the primary consideration, beautification, conservation and
improving micro-climatic are the other considerations. For the success of any afforestation
programme on private lands, income generated needs to be the most important factor.
Literature
1. Anon. (1995). Forestry statistics India-1995. Indian Council of forestry Research
Education Dehradun.
2. Bhat, D.M. and Ravindranath, N.H.(1995). Evaluation of socialForestry programme in
Sirsi, CES, Indian Institute of Science,Bangalore.
3. Chandra, J.P. (2001). Scope of poplar cultivation. Indian Forester, 127 (1): 51-60.
4. FSI 2011. Forest Survey of India Repotrt published in 2011.
5. Nadagouda, V.B., Patil, C.V., Desai,B.K and Manjappa, K. (1997). Growth and yield of
seven tree species under high density planting and irrigation. Indian Forester vol.123(1):61-
65.
6. Ravindranath, N.H, Somashekar, H.I, Shailaja, R, Parthasarathy, C.K, and Jagadish, K.S,
(1992). ''Study of tree plantation resources in a semi-arid region of Karnataka, Energy
Environment of Economics and Statistics, Governmentof Karnataka, Bangalore. Monitor 8:
71
Bio Intensive Integrated Pest Management in Crops

KK Dahiya
Principal Scientist (Entomology) & Director RDS Seed Farm
Agriculture continued to change as per need of the society, leading to intensification in crop
production practices. India is primarily an agrarian state, nearly 2/3rd of the population
directly or indirectly earn from agriculture. Since, the farmers lack the scientific know how
about the crop thus, use the insecticides injudiciously resulted in the chaos for the
sustainability of the crops production. Farmers this way harvest uneconomical crop yield,
which leads them in death debt. Human health is also at great risk. Pollution due to
insecticides has been reported causing abnormalities even in fetus and some insecticides are
suspected to be carcinogenic. This situation may threaten the very existence of human race on
this planet Indiscriminate use of broad spectrum insecticides has resulted in undesirable
ecological changes such as development of insecticide resistance in the pest population, pest
resurgence, destruction of natural enemies, changes in species composition and dynamics
leading to the minor pest attaining major pest status, contamination of food chain,
environment pollution and health hazard besides escalating the cost of cultivation. Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) is an ecologically base strategy that focuses on long-term prevention
of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques such as biological control,
habitat manipulation, modification of agronomic or horticultural practices, and use of
resistant varieties. Integration of multiple suppression techniques has the highest probability
of sustaining long-term crop protection. Pesticides may be used to remove/prevent the target
organism, bit only when assessment with the help of monitoring and scouting indicates that
they are needed to prevent economic damage. Pest control tactics, including pesticides, are
carefully selected and applied to minimize risks to human health, beneficial and non-target
organisms, and the environment. Good planning is prerequisite for any IPM programme
particularly in bio intensive IPM. It should be done before sowing as many pest strategies
require inputs such as beneficial organism, habitat management etc. Due to this problem, in
recent years, bio-intensive integrated pest management approaches for insect-pest have been
suggested so that insecticides load on crops may be reduced to make it more eco-friendly and
sustainable.
Tools of IPM:
Accurate Identification and Economic threshold concept:
Prerequisite for the success of bio-intensive IPM programme is the accurate identification of
insect-pests. It helps in the reduction of insecticides load in crop. Sometimes the farmers are
unable to distinguish the natural enemies of the insect-pests and start spraying the crop. And
due to misidentification farmers, for example, took the gray weevil as white fly and start
applying the insecticides while gray weevils are not the serious pest of crops. This practice
will only contribute towards the building up of the insecticide resistance. The same is true for
semi-loopers for which the farmers confuse with Helicoverpa and start spraying the cotton
crop increasing the pesticide load in crop. Likewise, without the proper knowledge of
economic threshold of various insect-pests, merely seeing the presence of any insect in field,
farmers start spraying their crop which result in adverse affect on environment and other
related events.
Biological control:
India is blessed with a rich natural beneficial insect fauna. It is one among 12 mega diversity
countries, and accounts for 6.2 per cent of Hymenoptera fauna which has a large percentage
of parasitoid of crop pests. Out of 18 species of parasitoids imported into USA for the
suppression of Helicoverpa, 11 are from India (Subaratnam and Rajnikanth, 2005). Use of
bio agents in the integrated manner is of great use for the sustainability of the environment.
Biological Integration of vegetable crops in planting system with minimum spray harbour
more than 4 million parasites per acre provides cheap and free biological control to the
adjacent crops including cotton. Inoculative releases of Trichogramma on 667 acres of
vegetables resulted in biological control on 3500 acres of adjacent cotton, with 60-90 per cent
parasitization of cotton caterpillars. Regular monitoring of pests and beneficial organism is
prerequisite to know the incidence and intensity viz., pheromone traps for boll worms and
yellow sticky traps for whitefly, so as to initiate the timely control measures.
Genetically Modified Crops:
Genetically modified cotton has emerged as one of the potential bio intensive IPM
approaches for the management of cotton insect-pests. The ever increasing demand for Bt
cotton seeds is a testimony to the proven merits of this technology. Bt toxins are effective
against a variety of economically important crop pests but pose no hazard to non-target
organisms (Deepika et.al. 2009). It has opened a new vista for the management of insect
pests. Transgenic cotton is very helpful in the reduction of bollworm damage though their use
is unable to eliminate the need of the pesticides but helps in the reduction to a great extent. Bt
genes are able to express the insect control protein at a level sufficient to kill lepidopteran
larvae. But the aim should be to adopt a cautious approach in the use of GM crops so as the
useful life of GM crop is extended. Use of GM cotton resulted in increase in cotton yield
ranged from 30.9 to 63 per cent, reduction in chemical sprays was from 39 to 55 per cent and
increase in profit to farmers ranged from 50 to 110 per cent equivalent to about
approximately Rs.10, 000 per hectare over the non-Bt cotton (Manjunath, 2007).
Insecticide Resistance Management Strategies:
Up to 60 days of sowing no insecticides should be sprayed because during this period
beneficials are more active. It has also been observed that jassid infestation at tolerable level
discourage Helicoverpa attack later on is discouraged. In case of emergency if needed use
endosulfan once on sucking pests until 60 days.. For bollworm management (60-90 days)
monitor the poplation build up. One larva can cause damage to 8-12 sequares, which account
for 20-30% of the fruiting parts. If population is reached to the economic threshold, spray the
crop with endosulfan because endosulfan is soft on beneficials and low initial resistance.
Avoid using broad-spectrum insecticides, as they will kill beneficials. Within this period
biorationals like HaNPV, NSKE can be used as early broods are young and uniform and can
be easily managed. For bollworm management during 90-110 days of sowing, broad-
spectrum insecticides like organophosphates/ carbamates/ quinalphos or chlorpyriphos or
profenophos or spinosad can be used as and when bollworms reached to economic threshold.
During this period one larvae can cause damage to 1-2 bolls. This can account for about 5-
10% of the fruiting parts. After 90 days of sowing natural enemy populations decline and
resistance to these insecticides is low. For bollworm management after 110-140 days of
sowing use new chemistries like spinosasd as this insecticide can work best on pyrethroid
resistant larvae. If whitefly infestation is also continuing along with bollworms, use
triazophos or ethion or thiomethoxam for the effective management of the insect-pest of
cotton. Synthetic insecticides comprising a wide range of manmade chemicals are to be used
to control pests, preferably as a last resort that too with keeping in mind so as to when
reaching the pests at ETL‘s applied at recommended dose. It is also to be taken care that
whenever Helicoverpa population is more in the field, avoid the use of pyrethroids as
Helicoverpa population is resistant to some degree towards this insecticide.
Agronomic practices
It is suggested that before sowing field should be properly prepared. It should be deeply
ploughed so that soil-inhibiting stages of the insect-pests got exposed to the high temperature
and got killed. These stages are also picked up by the birds and eaten up. This way the
subsequent population build up of the pest is reduced. Well rotten farmyard manure should be
applied to contain the infestation by insect like termites. Avoid raising cotton crop year after
year in the same field but adopt crop rotation with non- host crops of important pests, which
maintains and increases biological diversity of the farm system. Alternate crops act as field
insectaries growing large populations of beneficial. Judicious use of synthetic organic
fertilizers coupled with organic manures is preferable. Incorporation of green manure crops
such as sunnhemp, pillipesara etc., is advisable wherever possible and feasible. Insect–pests
of cotton builds up on cotton ratoons and may serve the source of infestation. Thus, previous
year plants must be destroyed. Time of sowing is an effective cultural method of control
wherein the date of sowing of the crop is manipulated so as to avoid the coincidence of
susceptible stage of the crop with peak abundance of the pest viz., delayed sowing of cotton
(July) decreased the incidence and carryover of pink bollworm in Punjab (Dhawan and
Sindhu,1985). A study on the effects of intercropping involving 198 kinds of insects revealed
that intercropping led to a reduction of insect population to the tune of 53 per cent of all
insect/ crop combinations. Raising intercrop reduces the incidence of cotton pests and also
profitable to the farmers in terms of additional returns of 4-5 quintals of extra grains. In
addition, natural enemies multiply on these crop get migrated to cotton plants as soon as the
intercrop are harvested thus check the pest. Protection may be achieved either trap crops or
plants by preventing the pests reaching the crop or by concentrating them in a certain part of
field where they can be destroyed easily. Castor attracts the larvae of Spodoptera litura which
can be handled with ease. Sorghum or maize raised on the borders of cotton field in 3-4 rows
prevents the entry of pests on the cotton crop.
Mechanical Control
Collection and destruction of skeletonised cotton/castor leaves harbor large number of first
instar larvae of S. litura, hand collection and destruction of grown up larvae of H. armigera
and S. litura, removal and destruction of dropped buds, flowers, squares and bolls and
topping of growing shoots during October-November when the crop grows to a height of 4.5-
5‘ coinciding with the egg laying by H. Armigera are few tactics of mechanical control of
cotton pests
Host Plant Resistance (HPR):
HPR helps in suppressing the pest population with least disturbance to the ecosystem.
Varieties with less trichomes and yellowish green canopy received less oviposition. Varieties
with higher content of gossypol and dihydroxy phenols are also reported to be resistant.
Resistant varieties/hybrid bearing the character are the important component of bio intensive
IPM and use of which helps in the reduction of insect-pest infestation. Entries like JK 97-
FBRN and FBRN-9-1487and, HHH 223 were less susceptible to H. armigera (Rosaiah, 1992
and Deepika et.al. 2009).
Economically viable integrated pest management strategies have been developed for the
control of major pests in rice, cotton, pulses, sugarcane etc. Control of Pyrilla and top borer
of sugarcane, mealy bug of coffee, lepidopterous pests affecting cotton, tobacco, coconut,
sugarcane etc. are a few examples where success has been achieved through the release of
biocontrol agents. A major achievement has been the development of mass rearing
technology for biocontrol agents such as Trichogramma spp., Chrysoperla spp. and nuclear
polyhedrosis virus (NPV) of Heliothis and Spodoptera.. Bio-pesticides as a component of
IPM are cheaper than pesticides by 50%. Once applied they help and aid healthy growth
throughout and are easy to apply. Besides being eco-friendly they have higher cost-benefit
ratio (9 to 360) and do not pose risk of resistance development. The IPM packages tested
at several centers vis-à-vis the framer‘s practice indicate the superiority of the former for
obtaining higher net returns as compared to the latter. IPM practices enabled reduction in
number of chemical sprays and consequent pollution. The adoption of IPM technology
resulted in 73.7% and 12.4% reduction in number of insecticides sprays for the control of
sucking pests and bollworms, respectively, on cotton IPM system also resulted in increase of
natural enemies by three fold, reduced the insecticide and environmental pollution by 50.3%
and 53.3%, respectively (Dhaliwal and Arora, 1996).
It is thus summaries that to keep the environment healthy, and manage the insect-pests
effectively and economically, bio-intensive approaches should be adopted.
References
Deepika Kalkal, Dahiya, K. K. and Lal, Roshan. 2009. Influence of genetically modified (Bt)
Cotton on bollworms infestation. J. Cotton Res. Dev.23 (1) 111-116
Dhawan, A.K., 2000 Cotton pest scenario in India: Current status of insecticides and future
perspectives. Agrolook, 1(1): 9-26.
Dhawan, A.K., and Sindhu, A.S. 1985 Effect of time of sowing on the incidence of pink
bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) in hirsutum cotton. Journal of Research, Punjab
Agricultural University. 22(1):63-66.
Hargreaves, H. 1984. List of recorded cotton insects of world. Commonwealth Institute of
Entomology. London, pp. 50.
Manjunath, T. M. 2007. Q & A on Bt-Cotton in India. Answers to More than 70 Questions on
All Aspects. All India Crop Biotechnology Association, New Delhi, 78 pp.
Rossaiah, B. 1992 Bioecology and management of Helicoverpa armigera Hubner on cotton.
Ph.D. Thesis submitted to APAU, Rajendera Nagar, Hyderabad.
Subbaratnum, G.V. and Rajnikanth, P. 2005 Biointensive IPM in Cotton in Winter School on
Biointensive Integrated Management of Insect Pests and Diseases of Crops. Eds. Harvir
Singh, P.S. Vimla Devi and R.D. Prasad. Organised by Crop Protection Section,
Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500030. pp146-151.
Cultivation of White Button Mushroom

Surjeet Singh, Hari Chand and Rupesh Kumar Arora1
Department of Plant Pathology, CCS HAU,Hisar
1
KVK, Tepla, Ambala (Haryana)
Haryana has become a leading state in mushroom production. Out of the India‘s estimated
production of 1.2 million metric tons, Haryana alone produces around 10,000 tons of
mushrooms annually. This quantity is not sufficient considering growing popularity of
mushroom among consumers due to its flavour, nutrition and medicinal attributes. Farmers
like it because of its very little land dependence and it is grown indoors and escapes from
natural vagaries like rain, hailstorm etc. Environmentalists prefer it because of its eco-
friendly nature as it uses agricultural waste/byproducts as its food and converts them into
protein rich food. The scientists of CCSHAU have standardized the cultivation technology
suited to local conditions for the commercially available mushrooms. These are white button
(Agaricus bisporus), oyster or Dhingri (Pleurotus sajor caju), paddy straw mushroom
(Volvariella volvacea) and milky mushroom (Calocybe indica). Though the production
technology for these has been developed, yet these mushrooms could not achieve the
industrial status except white button mushroom.
The cultivation technique of white button mushroom involves four major components viz.
composting, spawning, casing and care during cropping. With a view to cut down cost of
cultivation of white button mushroom, which is much in demand, CCSHAU has developed
low-cost technology. The technology helps in bringing down the cost of cultivation
substantially with more return to the growers. Precisely, low cost technology involves use of
mustard straw (Brassica) for compost making, burnt rice husk for casing and using
mushroom house of thatched structure made up of locally available pearl millet, jowar,
sarkanda or cotton sticks etc.
Season: This mushroom requires an indoor temperature ranging between 15 to 250C; 22-
250C (vegetative growth) and 14-180C (fruiting). In Haryana it can be grown conveniently
during October to February.
Cultivation: It is grown on a specially prepared substrate called compost. The compost is
prepared by mixing various raw materials (wheat/paddy/mustard straw) in specific
proportions either by long or short method of composting. Preparation of compost by short
method requires specialized unit which is not feasible for small and marginal farmers.
Hence, only long method, which takes 28 days and involves 7-8 turnings at varying interval,
is being used. For the preparation of compost three formulations have been used most
commonly in Haryana.
Ingredients Formula-I Formula-II Formula-III
Wheat straw 300 kg 300 kg -
Calcium ammonium nitrate 9 kg 6 kg -
Urea 3.6 kg 2 kg 4 kg
Murate of potash 3 kg 2 kg -
Single super phosphate 3 kg - 2kg
Wheat bran 30 kg 7.5 kg 8 kg
Gypsum 30 kg 30 kg 20 kg
Molasses 5 kg 5 kg 5 kg
Poultry manure - 60 kg 60 kg
mustard straw - - 300 kg
The above-mentioned quantity gives roughly about 540 kg ready compost.
Composting: Clean and dry straw should be spread on a concrete floor and wetted with
water for 48 hrs. During wetting there should be no run-off of water. If concrete floor is not
available, then neat and clean hard surface may be used.
Turning Schedule: 0+6+10+13+16+19+22+25+28 days
On 28th day compost is tested for ammonia and moisture content. There should not be any
ammonia smell. For checking moisture content take small amount of compost in the palm
and squeeze it. Water should come between the fingers and it should not fall down. If there
is any ammonia smell or water content is more in the compost, then heap should be exposed
for a little longer duration and one or two turnings on alternate days may be given.
Spawning: Spawn (mushroom seed) is available in polypropylene bags. For 100 kg ready
compost, 500-700 g spawn is sufficient. After mixing spawn in the compost (when its
temperature is around 250C), it is either filled in polythene bags or it is spread on the racks.
Then it is covered with old newspapers or polythene sheets, which have been sprayed with 2
percent formaline. The room temperature is maintained at 22-240C and humidity at 80-90
per cent by spraying water on the newspapers, walls and roof of the mushroom house. The
height of compost in the racks should be 6 inches, whereas in bags it should be 10-12 inches
irrespective of the size of bag. Compost preparation, in general, should be started in 2nd week
of September and spawning can be done in the second fortnight of October, as temperature is
most suitable during this period in Northern India.
Casing: Generally a mixture of FYM and garden soil/ field soil is used for casing. A mixture
of burnt rice husk and garden soil/ field soil (1:1) has been found to be cost-effective. As
burnt rice husk needs no sterilization, only garden soil is sterilized by formaline. After
removing polythene sheet or newspaper sheets, a layer of 1-1.5‖ of this mixture is spread on
compost. Casing should be done, when there is thorough/complete spawn run in the
compost. After casing, water should be sprayed on the racks/bags.
Maintenance of Environment in Mushroom House: Temperature around 22-240C till one
week after casing is most desirable and subsequently temperature should be 14-180C and
relative humidity of 90% in the mushroom house during entire fruiting period. Initially less
fresh air is needed, but during pin-head formation and cropping more fresh air is required.
Picking and marketing: Mushroom should be picked when it is in button stage; for this, it is
to be held between the thumb and first two fingers and rotated gently clockwise and
anticlockwise and pulled out with care. Lower portion of the stem, which is covered with
casing mixture, is trimmed with a sharp knife followed by washing and drying. For
marketing generally packaging is done in polythene bags containing 200 g mushroom per
bag.
Yield and Economics: Growers generally obtain an average yield of 20-30 kg
mushrooms/100 kg compost within a period of 5-7 weeks. The cost of cultivation is about
Rs.30/ per kg of mushroom, which fetches a price of Rs. 50/ per kg in the market
Nutrient Management for Commercial Agriculture

Krishan Kumar Bhardwaj
Asstt Scientist (Soil Science)
Rule of applying nutrient is nutrient management. It is a system used by farmers to manage

the amount, form, placement and timing of the application of nutrients to plants (whether as
manure, commercial fertilizer, or other form of nutrients). So Nutrient management is the
process used to handle the application of nutrients to crops, including their quantity,form,
placement, and timing. The nutrients predominantly come from manure and commercial
fertilizer, but other sources, such as compost,can also be important. The purpose of nutrient
managementis to supply sufficient plant nutrients for optimum crop yields, and thus prevent
excess applications.
Nutrient management is essential:
• To supply and conserve nutrients for plant production.
• To minimize pollution of surface and groundwater resources.
• To properly utilize different sources of nutrient
• To maintain the physical, chemical and biological condition of soil or to maintain the
soil health
• To provide maximum output
There are many steps in nutrient management. Some basic steps for efficient nutrient
management in commercial crops are as follows:
• Soil testing
• Plant analysis
• Fertilizer recommendations
• Nutrients role, deficiency symptoms and amelioration
• Manures and fertilizers, their sources and methods of application
Nutrient plays a key role in increasing agricultural production through intensive cropping.
Sustainable agriculture can be achieved by efficient utilization of this costly input. Nutrient
use efficiency can be improved by checking the path ways of nutrient losses from soil- plant
system, making integrated set of nutrients from all possible sources, optimal allocation of
nutrients to cops and maximizing the utilization of applied and native nutrients by the
crops.By adopting the following steps we can manage the nutrients for commercial
agriculture in an efficient manner.
Checking the pathways of nutrient losses
Nutrient present in soil and added through fertilizers and manures are lost by gaseous loss,
leaching loss, runoff/erosion losses and fixation in soil. Efficient nutrient management
demands understanding the pathways of nutrient losses and developing technologies to
minimize these losses.
Reducing gaseous loss
Part of the applied N is lost from soil by volatilization of ammonia and part of the nitrogen is
lost as N2O and N2 gas by denitrification. Volatilization loss of ammonia can be minimized
by mixing of nitrogen fertilizers in soil rather than broadcasting on soil surface, deep
placement of urea super granules, using urease inhibitors like thiourea, methyl urea etc.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is mainly produced by denitrification of NO3 under anaerobic condition.
Nitrous oxide is one of the greenhouse gases that are believed to be forcing global climate
change. Denitrification loss can be minimized by avoiding the use of NO3form of nitrogenous
fertilizer (e.g. calcium ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate etc.) and use of nitrification
inhibitors.
Reducing leaching loss
Mobile nutrients (e.g. NO3) are lost from the soil-plant system with the percolating water.
Besides reducing the nutrient may pollute the groundwater. The groundwater having more
than 10 mg NO3, N per liter is unfit for drinking purpose (WHO). Leaching loss of NO3can
be minimized by balanced fertilization, split application of urea synchronizing with crop
demand, manipulation of water application and rooting depth, appropriate crop rotations and
use of slow release fertilizers and nitrification inhibitors and neem-coated urea.The use of
products plants like neem for coating urea can be popularized among the farmers to affect N
economy and minimize long-term environmental consequences of denitrification and nitrate
leaching.
Reducing runoff and erosion losses
Many water-soluble nutrients are lost through runoff. This loss can be minimized by proper
crops land management and selection of proper crops and cropping systems, tillage and
mulching. Nutrients absorbed on the surface of soil particles-clays and silts and soil organic
matter are lost when the top soil is eroded by water or wind. Proper soil conservation
measures should be adopted to minimize this loss.
Reducing fixation of nutrients in soil
In acid soils phosphorus is fixed as Fe and Al phosphates and in neutral and calcareous soils
it gets fixed as Ca phosphates. The availability of these fixed phosphates is very low.
Phosphate-fixation in acid soil can be reduced by combined application of rock phosphate
and single super phosphate and liming of acid soils. In both acid and calcareous soils
phosphorus fixation can be minimized by band placement of phosphatic fertilizers along with
crop rows. Use of rock phosphate along with acid forming materials like pyrites or
phosphate-solubilizing micro-organisms help in solubilizing of sparingly soluble rocks.
Vesicular- arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM)fungi are helpful in mobilizing both applied and
native P reserves. K+ and NH4+ ions are also fixed in the interlayer of 2:1 clay minerals like
illite, vermiculite etc. nutrients fixed on soil-plant system but are not available to the crop in a
short- term period. However, these are released at later stages of crop growth.
Integrated plant nutrient supply system
The high cost of fertilizers coupled with relatively greater losses of fertilizer N leading to
environmental pollution and yield decline. This system sustains and improves the physical,
chemical and biological health of soil and enhances the availability of both applied and native
soil nutrients during growing season of the crops. This helps in retarding soil degradation and
deterioration of water and environmental quality by promoting carbon sequestration and
checking the losses of nutrients to water bodies and atmosphere. Besides, organic sources of
nutrient acts as slow release fertilizer as it synchronizes the nutrient demand set by plants,
both in time and space, with supply of the nutrients from the labile soil and applied nutrient
pools.
Use of biofertilizers
Biofertilizers help in improving soil fertility through biological nitrogen-fixation, solubilizing
P from native soil and applied sources and mobilizing the micronutrients like Zn and Cufor
plant-uptake. Rhizobium strains play a major role in symbiotic N-fixation in legumes.
Similarly blue-green algae, Azotobacter sp. and Azospirillum sp. help in N- fixation in
cereals. The vesicular-arbuscular mycorhizal (VAM) fungi have an extensive mycelial
network that increase the transport and uptake of P and micronutrients like Znand Cu
phosphate solubilizing microbes e.g. Pseudomonas striata, Bacilluspolymyxa and Aspergillus
awamori help in solubilizing of native soil P and rock phosphates.
Optimal allocation of nutrients
The available nutrients should be optimally allocated among the competing crops to get the
maximum returns by following optimizing of nutrient production functions which relate crop
responses to applied nutrients under given soil, climate and management factors. Fertilizer
allocation to crops based on soil test crop correlation approach for targeted yield can help in
improving the nutrient use efficient by crops.
Enhancing recovery of added nutrients by crops
The nutrient management practices that help in enhancing nutrient recovery by crops,
maximizing yield and minimizing losses of nutrient lead to enhanced nutrient use efficiency.
Some of these practices include selection of crops and cropping systems, balanced nutrition
application and selection of proper, rate, time and method of nutrient application, optimum
interaction with other inputs and amelioration of problem soils.
Balanced fertilization
Major factor responsible for the low and declining crop response to fertilizers is the
continuous mining of soil without adequate replenishment to a desired extent. Balanced use
of fertilizer nutrients in right proportion and in adequate amount are considers as promising
agro techniques to sustain yield, increase fertilizer use efficiency and to restore soil health.
Continuous heavy application of only one nutrient disturbs the nutrient balance and leads to
depletion of other nutrients as well as to under-utilization of fertilizer N. The response of a
crop to N not only depends on the status of N but also on the deficiency or sufficiency of
other associated plant nutrients. Thus, balanced use of all nutrients is essential because no
agronomic manipulation can produce high efficiency out of an unbalanced nutrient use.
Application of green manuring
Inclusion of legumes in cropping systems for green manuring, fodder or grain purposes is an
assured agro-technology to improve nutrient-use efficiency, especially that of N. The
advantages of green manuring are indicated by increased N availability in soil, higher
recovery of green manure N and its greater contribution towards grain production of crop.
Selection of source, rate, and time and method of nutrient application
The nature of fertilizer used and the rate, time and method of its application influences the
recovery of the added nutrient by crop plants and it varies with the crop and root type.
Ammonium nitrate is considered to be a better source of nitrogenous fertilizer for upland
crops whereas ammonical and amide form of N are superior to the nitrate containing sources
for lowland rice crop. However, urea is the most economic source of nitrogenous fertilizer.
Fertilizer rates greater than the optimum level lead to lower utilization efficiency. Timing of
fertilizer application should match with the crop demand. Split application of N is superior to
basal application. P is usually applied as basal and in some light textured soils split
application of K is advisable.
Method of applying fertilizers greatly affects their agronomic efficiency by influencing
nutrient losses and their availability to plant roots. Superiority fertilizer application before
pre-sowing irrigation over application of the same at the time of seeding can enhance
fertilizer use efficiency. Similarly in rice, basal application of urea with no standing water is
superior to broadcast application of urea into standing floodwater at 10 days after
transplanting in reducing the volatilization losses of ammonia. The efficiency of water-
soluble phosphatic fertilizers can be improved by band placement with, below or to the side
of the seed row. This can improve the physical fertility of soil as the plants roots can easily
take up nutrients from these sources.
Many soils have large reserves of total phosphorus, but low levels of available phosphorus.
Total P is often 100 times higher than the fraction of soil P available to crop plants. Most
cereal growing areas will overcome the problem of low P availability through management
practices such as the application of phosphorus-based fertilizer/manure. P availability is
strongly influenced by soil pH. Availability of P is maximized when soil pH is between 5.5
and 7.5. Acid soil conditions cause dissolution of aluminium and iron minerals which
precipitates with solution P effectively "tying" it up. Basic soil conditions cause excessive
calcium to be present in soil solution which can precipitate with P decreasing P availability.
Crop rotation involving legumes
There is need to develop crop rotations involving legumes to tap the benefits of biological
nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen use efficiency for cereals following legumes is greater than that
for cereals following cereals or fallow. Legumes are known to increase soil fertility through
their capacity to fix atmospheres N and hence the soil fertility can be improved by inclusion
of a legume in the cropping system. Yields of cereals following legumes are reported to be
30-35per cent higher than those following a cereal in cropping sequence. Besides N-fixation,
legumes also help in solubilizing of occluded P, soil conservation, increase in soil microbial
activity, organic matter restoration and improvement of physical health of soil.
Use of organic manures
Organic manures are important to enhance use efficiency of fertilizer inputs and also serve as
alternative source of nutrients to chemical fertilizers. Combined use of organic manure and N
fertilizer maintains a continuous N supply, checks losses and thus helps in more efficient
utilization of applied fertilizers. Incorporation and decomposition of organic manures has a
solubilising effect on native soil N and other nutrients including micronutrients.
Breeding input efficient crop varieties
Breeding and selecting crop cultivars that make more efficient use of water and fertilizer N
(including higher N fixation and N partition) while maintaining productivity and crop quality
has been a long-term goal of commercial agriculture. Development of nitrogen- efficient
cultivars could help decrease fertilizer N inputs and resulting reactive N losses to air and
ground water. These nitrogen-efficient cultivars could also be useful in regions where
limited-resource farmers are unable to afford synthetic N fertilizers. Selection of N efficient
genotypes that is the varieties which can extract more N from soil at lower availability will
enhance the production in these regions. Molecular and biotechnological approaches for
searching for regulatory targets for manipulation of N use efficiency are strengthened.
Collaboration and accurate measurement
Improving N-use efficiency in commercial agriculture will require collaboration among
ecologists, agronomists, soil scientists, agricultural economists, and politicians. Great needs
exist for accurate measurements of actual fertilizer N-use efficiency, N losses, and loss
pathways in major cropping systems. Only in this way we canidentify opportunities for
increased N-use efficiency by improved crop and soil management, quantify N-loss pathways
in commercial agriculture and can improve human understanding of local, regional, and
global N balances and N losses from major cropping systems.
Technologies for increasing phosphorus use efficiency
It is estimated that only 20-25% of the applied P is used by cereal crops and the rest is
retained in the soil as residual P. In general, high water solubility of P will be required for
alkaline and calcareous soils. Balanced fertilization is the key to increasing the use efficiency
of nutrient management in proper way not only sustained the productivity over a long period
but also improve soil properties, incorporation of residual biomass in large quantities as result
of better harvest on balanced application nutrient is responsible of sustaining the crop
productivity and soil health. External supply of nutrient in balanced from also improved the
physical condition and biological activity in soil which favours nutrient transformation in
soil.
Technologies for increasing potassium use efficiency
K fertilizers are generally broadcast or spread on the surface and mixed with the soil at
sowing. Band placement is recommended for enhancing fertilizer use efficiency. Split
application is emerging as an alternative to basal application. Split application is advocated in
in light textured soils and acid soils in high rainfall areas in order to reduce leaching losses.
Conclusion
Nutrient management for commercial agriculture in proper way not only sustained the
productivity over a long period but also improve soil properties, incorporation of residual
biomass in large quantities as result of better harvest on balanced application nutrient is
responsible of sustaining the crop productivity and soil health. External supply of nutrient in
balanced from also improved the physical condition and biological activity in soil which
favours nutrient transformation in soil. Thus nutrient management is only option to sustain
the productivity and improving the soil health in commercial agriculture.
Organic Farming for Higher Returns

AS Godara
Asstt Scientist (Agronomy)
Agriculture is now becoming transformed into dynamic productive and profitable sector
because of ever-increasing demand for food and food products. In order to cope up with the
food production target, more emphasis is likely to be given to agricultural inputs. The use of
chemicals as plant protection practices acts as an insurance against the risk of loosing not
only the crop but also the money spent on advanced technology used as inputs in attaining
higher production. Breakthrough in the development of different agrochemicals and their
widespread use at the farm level indeed has helped to boost the agricultural production in all
countries.
During the traditional technology period in India, the use of chemical pesticide was limited
mainly to the high value crops only. The traditional varieties did not face much problem of
insect pest and diseases and if at all they occurred, the traditional method available could
control them. However, the introduction of hybrids and adoption of intensive cropping
practices, demanded high pesticide use to check the yield losses.
At present thousands of chemicals are used for agricultural production. Those chemicals
interact with different components of the plant ecosystem and contamination may take place
in respect of one component or the other. In recent years use of chemicals especially fertilizer
and pesticides have become a cause for serious concern as it has been marked out as
pollutants having adverse effects on environment including human being. In recent years
several reports suggests that the agrochemical, especially the chemical fertilizers are resulting
in environmental degradation by way of polluting plant and soil environment, water bodies,
effecting the ozone layer etc. They also contaminate the ground water and surface water
resulting in eutrophication of water bodies.
Pesticides are now extensively used to control various pests, which are harmful to crops
raised by man for food, feed and fibre production. Though they have played an important role
in boosting the agricultural production, however, most of the chlorinated pesticides are non-
biodegradable and leave residues, which are detrimental to human beings, animals and the
environment. Residue studies in India have also revealed wide spread contamination of the
food products and the environment as a whole. The presence of residues of insecticide in food
commodities and other components of the environment is a matter of serious concern. Even
small quantities of the residues ingested daily along with food can build up to high level in
body fat. There is therefore, a constant fear that society is being slowly poisoned by the
intake of food contamination with pesticide residue.
While both the fertilizer and the pesticide usage has lead to increased crop production and
greater economic return to the farmers, their impact on soil and water environment and crop
quality was not considered relevant until the last twenty years. There is now increasing
evidence show that indiscriminate use of agrochemical can have adverse effect on soil
environment. Keeping the hazardous effects of inorganic fertilizers and the agro-chemicals on
environment as well as on the human being, therefore, it is an urgent need for the developing
country like India to shift to the organic agriculture from the existing inorganic agriculture as
most of the arable soils in India contain organic carbon below the threshold level and
majority of the farming community is resource poor and purchase of fertilizers and chemicals
in adequate quantities is beyond their capacity.
Organic farming: Organic farming system in India is not new and is being followed from
ancient time. It is a method of farming system which primarily aimed at cultivating the land
and raising crops in such a way, as to keep the soil alive and in good health by use of organic
wastes (crop, animal and farm wastes, aquatic wastes) and other biological materials along
with beneficial microbes (biofertilizers) to release nutrients to crops for increased sustainable
production in an eco friendly pollution free environment.
As per the definition of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) study team on
organic farming ―organic farming is a system which avoids or largely excludes the use of
synthetic inputs (such as fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, feed additives etc) and to the
maximum extent feasible rely upon crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, off-farm
organic waste, mineral grade rock additives and biological system of nutrient mobilization
and plant protection‖.
FAO suggested that ―Organic agriculture is a unique production management system which
promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and
soil biological activity, and this is accomplished by using on-farm agronomic, biological and
mechanical methods in exclusion of all synthetic off-farm inputs‖.
With increasing health consciousness and concern for environment, organic farming system
has been drawing attention all over the world. Organic farming is a holistic production
management system, which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystems health including bio-
diversity, biological cycles and soil biological activities. As a result, there is widespread
organic movement and large demands for organic products.
Need of organic farming: With the increase in population our compulsion would be not only
to stabilize agricultural production but to increase it further in sustainable manner. The
scientists have realized that the ‗Green Revolution‘ with high input use has reached a plateau
and is now sustained with diminishing return of falling dividends. Thus, a natural balance
needs to be maintained at all cost for existence of life and property. The obvious choice for
that would be more relevant in the present era, when these agrochemicals which are produced
from fossil fuel and are not renewable and are diminishing in availability. It may also cost
heavily on our foreign exchange in future.
The key characteristics of organic farming include
 Protecting the long term fertility of soils by maintaining organic matter levels,
encouraging soil biological activity, and careful mechanical intervention
 Providing crop nutrients indirectly using relatively insoluble nutrient sources which
are made available to the plant by the action of soil micro-organisms
 Nitrogen self-sufficiency through the use of legumes and biological nitrogen fixation,
as well as effective recycling of organic materials including crop residues and
livestock manures
 Weed, disease and pest control relying primarily on crop rotations, natural predators,
diversity, organic manuring, resistant varieties and limited (preferably minimal)
thermal, biological and chemical intervention
 The extensive management of livestock, paying full regard to their evolutionary
adaptations, behavioural needs and animal welfare issues with respect to nutrition,
housing, health, breeding and rearing
 Careful attention to the impact of the farming system on the wider environment and
the conservation of wildlife and natural habitats
Principles of organic farming
1. Principle of health
Organic Agriculture should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plant, animal, human and
planet as one and indivisible. Healthy soils produce healthy crops that foster the health of
animals and people. Health is the wholeness and integrity of living systems. The role of
organic agriculture, whether in farming, processing, distribution, or consumption, is to sustain
and enhance the health of ecosystems and organisms from the smallest in the soil to human
beings.
2. Principle of ecology
Organic Agriculture should be based on living ecological systems and cycles, work with
them, emulate them and help sustain them. This principle roots organic agriculture within
living ecological systems. It states that production is to be based on ecological processes, and
recycling. Nourishment and well-being are achieved through the ecology of the specific
production environment. Organic management must be adapted to local conditions, ecology,
culture and scale. Inputs should be reduced by reuse, recycling and efficient management of
materials and energy in order to maintain and improve environmental quality and conserve
resources. Organic agriculture should attain ecological balance through the design of farming
systems, establishment of habitats and maintenance of genetic and agricultural diversity.
3. Principle of fairness
Organic Agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the
common environment and life opportunities. This principle emphasizes that those involved in
organic agriculture should conduct human relationships in a manner that ensures fairness at
all levels and to all parties - farmers, workers, processors, distributors, traders and consumers.
It aims to produce a sufficient supply of good quality food and other products. Natural and
environmental resources that are used for production and consumption should be managed in
a way that is socially and ecologically just and should be held in trust for future generations.
Fairness requires systems of production, distribution and trade that are open and equitable
and account for real environmental and social costs.
4. Principle of care
Organic Agriculture should be managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect
the health and well-being of current and future generations and the environment. Organic
agriculture is a living and dynamic system that responds to internal and external demands and
conditions. This principle states that precaution and responsibility are the key concerns in
management, development and technology choices in organic agriculture.
Components of Organic Farming:
Major components of organic farming are crop rotation, maintenance and enhancement of
soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation, addition of organic manure and use of soil
microorganisms, crop residues, bio-pesticide, biogas slurry, waste etc. Vermiculture has
become a major component in biological farming, which is found to be effective in enhancing
the soil fertility and producing large numbers of horticultural crops in a sustainable manner.
The various components of organic farming have been discussed in details below:
1. Crop rotation:
It is a systematic arrangement for the growing of different crops in a more or loss regular
sequence on the same land covering a period of two years or more. The selection of optimal
crop rotation is important for successful sustainable agriculture. Crop rotation is very
important. Soil fertility management, weed, insect and disease control. Legumes are essential
in any rotation and should 30 to 50 percent of the land. A mixed cropping, pasture and
livestock system is desirable or even essential for the success of sustainable agriculture.
2. Crop Residue:
In India there is a great potential for utilization of crop residues/ straw of some of the major
cereals and pulses. About 50% of the crop residues are utilized as animal fed, the rest could
be very well utilized for recycling of nutrients. Adequate care is required to use the residues
after proper composting with efficient microbial inoculants. While the incorporation of crop
residues e.g. Wheat and Rice straw, as such or inoculated with fungal species had beneficial
effects on crop yields and important in physico-chemical properties of soil.
3. Organic manure:
The organic manure is derived from biological sources like plant, animal and human residues.
Organic manure act in many ways in augmenting crop growth and soil productivity. The
direct effect of organic manure relates to the uptake of humic substances or its decomposition
products affecting favourably the growth and yield of plants. Indirectly, it augments the
beneficial soil microorganisms and their activities and thus increases the availability of major
and minor plant nutrients.
a) Bulky organic manure: It generally contains fewer amounts of plant nutrients as
compared to concentrated organic manure. It includes FYM, compost and Green manure.
 FYM: It refers to the well-decomposed mixture of dung, urine, farm litter and left
over or used up materials from roughages or fodder fed to the cattle. The waste
material of cattle shed consisting of dung and urine soaked in the refuse is collected
and placed in trenches about 6 m long, 2 m wide and 1 m deep. Each trench is filled
up to a height of about 0.5 m above the ground level and plastered over with slurry
cowdung and earth. The material is allowed to decompose undisturbed 3-4 months for
anaerobic microorganism for completion of fermentation. FYM becomes ready to
apply after 3-4 months. Well-rotted FYM contains 0.5% N, 0.2% P205 and 0.5%
K2O.
 Compost: Large quantities of waste material are available as vegetable refuse, farm
litter, such as weeds, stubble, bhusa, sugarcane trash, Sewage sludge and animal
waste in houses and in areas like human and industrial refuse; therefore, excreta can
be converted into useful compost manure by conserving and subjecting these to a
controlled process of anaerobic decomposition. Compost is used in the same way as
FYM and is good for application to all soils and all crops.
 Green Manuring: It is a practice of ploughing or turning into the soil
undercomposed green plant tissues for the purpose of improving physical structure as
well as fertility of the soil. From the time immemorial the turning in a green crop for
improvement of the conditions of the soil has been a popular farming practice. Green
Manuring, wherever feasible, is the principal supplementary means of adding organic
matter to the soil. It consists of the growing of quick growing crop and ploughing it
under to incorporate it into the soil. The green manure crop supplies organic matter as
well as additional nitrogen, particularly if it is a legume crop, which has the ability to
fix nitrogen from the air with the help of its root-nodule bacteria. A leguminous crop
producing 25 tones of green matter per hectare will add about 60 to 90 kg of nitrogen
when ploughed under. This amount would equal an application of 3 to 10 tones of
FYM on the basis of organic matter and its nitrogen contribution. The green manure
crops also exercise a protective action against erosion and leaching. The most
commonly used green manuring crops are: Sunhemp (Crotalaria
juncea), Dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata), Cluster bean (Cyamopsis
tetragonoloba), Senji (Melilotus parviflora), Cowpea (Vigna catjang, Vigna
sinensis), Berseem (Trifolium alexandrium).
b) Concentrated Organic Manure: Concentrated organic manures are those materials that
are organic in nature and contain higher percentage of essential plant nutrients such as
nitrogen, phosphorous and potash, as compared to bulky organic manures. These
concentrated manures are made from raw materials of animal or plant origin. The
concentrated organic manures commonly used are oilcakes, blood meal, fishmeal, meat meal
and horn and hoof meal.
4. Biofertilizers:
It has been observed that there is decline in crop yield due to continuous apply of inorganic
fertilizers. Therefore, increasing need is being felt to integrate nutrient supply with organic
sources to restore the health of soil. Bio-fertilizer offers an economically attractive and
ecologically sound means of reducing external inputs and improving the quality and quantity
of internal sources. Bio-fertilizer is microorganism's culture capable of fixing atmospheric
nitrogen when suitable crops are inoculated with them. The main inputs are microorganisms,
which are capable of mobilizing nutritive elements from non-usable form to usable form
through biological process. These are less expensive, eco-friendly and sustainable. The
beneficial microorganisms in the soil that are greater significance to horticultural situations
are biological nitrogen fixers, phosphate solubilisers and mycorrhizal fungi.
The Biofertilizers containing biological nitrogen fixing organism are of utmost important in
agriculture in view of the following advantages:
 They help in establishment and growth of crop plants and trees.
 They enhance biomass production and grain yields by 10-20%.
 They are useful in sustainable agriculture.
 They are suitable organic farming.
 They play an important role in Agroforestry / silvipastoral systems.
Types of Biofertilizers: There are two types of bio-fertilizers.
1. Symbiotic N-fixation: These are Rhizobium culture of various strains which multiply in
roots of suitable legumes and fix nitrogen symbiotically. Almost 50% demands of N are met
by these microorganisms in legumes.
 Rhizobium: It is the most widely used biofertilizers, which colonizes the roots of
specific legumes to form tumours like growths called rot nodules. It is these nodules
that act as factories of ammonia production. The Rhizobium legume association can
fix upto 100-300 kg N/ha in one crop season.
2. Asymbiotic N-fixation: This includes Azotobacter, Azospirillium, BGA, Azolla and
Mycorrhizae, which also fixes atmospheric N in suitable soil medium. They grow on
decomposing soil organic matter and produce nitrogen compounds for their own growth and
development, besides that they leave behind a significant amount of N in surroundings.
 Azotobacter: Application of Azotobactor has been found to increase the yields of
wheat, rice, maize, pearl millet and sorghum by 0-30% over control. The beneficial
effect of Azotobactor biofertilizers on cereals, millets, vegetables, cotton and
sugarcane under both irrigated and rainfed field conditions have been substantiated
and documented. Apart from nitrogen this organism is also capable of producing
antibacterial and anti-fungal compounds, hormones and siderophores.
 Azospirillium: It is an important bacterium, which colonize the root zones and fix
nitrogen in loose association with plants. The crops which response to Azospirillum is
maize, barley, oats, sorghum, pearl millet and forage crop. Azospirillum applications
increase gain productivity of cereals by 5-20%, of millets by 30% and of fodder by
over 50%.
 Blue Green Algae: The utilization of blue-green algae as biofertilizers for rice is very
promising. Recent researches have shown that algae also help to reduce soil alkalinity
and this opens up possibilities for bio-reclamation of such inhospitable environments.
 Azolla: A small floating fern, Azolla is commonly seen in low land fields and in
shallow fresh water bodies. This fern harbours blue-green algae, anabaena azollae.
The Azolla anabaena association is a live floating nitrogen factory using energy from
photosynthesis to fix atmospheric nitrogen amounting to 100-150 kg N/ha/year from
about 40-64 tones of biomass.
 Mycorrhizae: Mycorrhizae are the symbiotic association of fungi with roots of
Vascular plants. The main advantage of Mycorrhizae to the host plants lies in the
extension of the penetration zone of the root fungus system in the soil, facilitating an
increased phosphorous uptake. In many cases the Mycorrhizae have been shown to
markedly improve the growth of plants. In India, the beneficial effects of Vascular-
arbuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM) have been observed in fruit crops like citrus, papaya
and litchi. Recent studies showed the possibility of domesticating Mycorrhizae in
agricultural system.
5. Bio-pesticide:
Bio-pesticides are natural plant products that belong to the so-called secondary metabolites,
which include thousands of alkaloids, terpenoids, phenolics and minor secondary chemicals.
These substances have usually no known function in photosynthesis, growth or other basic
aspects of plant physiology; however, their biological activity against insects, nematodes,
fungi and other organisms is well documented.
Botanical insecticides are ecologically and environmentally safer generally affect the
behaviour and physiology of insects rather than killing them. Among the botanical pesticides
investigated. Neem (Azadirachta indica) has justifiably received the maximum attention. All
parts of the Neem tree possess insecticidal property but seed kernel is most active.
Biopesticides and other preparations of plant origin used in agriculture seem to have a good
scope especially in view of the environmental problems being faced with the synthetic
agrochemical. Some of the commonly used botanical Insecticides are Nicotine, Pyrethrum,
Rotenone, Subabilla, Ryanin, Quassia, Margosa, Acorus etc. Their used need to be promoted
under the Integrated Pest management Programmes.
6. Vermicompost:
It is organic manure produced by the activity of earthworms. It is a method of making
compost with the use of earthworms that generally live in soil, eat biomass and excrete it in
digested form. It is generally estimated that 1800 worms which is an ideal population for one
sq. meter can feed on 80 tones of humus per year. These are rich in macro and micronutrients,
vitamins, growth hormones and immobilized microflora. The average nutrient content of
vermicompost is much higher than that of FYM. It contains 1.60% N, 5.04% P2O5 and 0.80%
K2O with small quantities of micronutrients. Application of vermicompost facilitates easy
availability of essential plant nutrients to crop.
Preparation: Preparation of vermicompost has been described by Purkayastha and
Bhatnagar (1997). A tank of 4 x l x l m is constructed with brick line in a shaded place. The
bottom of the tank (about 5.0 cm) is made up of pieces of brick, stone chips and sand. This
will facilitate easy drainage of water. Soil is spread over this to a thickness about 15cm.
About 4-5 kg of diluted dung may also be applied. About 100 numbers of locally available
worm species are placed over the vermibed. It should be moistured without flooding. A layer
of (about 10 cm) straw, leaves of plants, kitchen waste etc are spread over this layer. This can
be continued till the bed is completely filled. Liquid cowdung suspension is then applied and
waste paper and bigger leaves are used to cover the contents in the tanks and finally the tank
is fully covered with a gunny cloth. Watering the tank is very important nutrient sources in
building up the soil fertility. Cowdung is an input in Biogas plants. The Biogas route has the
dual advantage of providing both fuel (gas) and fertilizer (slurry). The residual slurry that
comes out of the digestion tank has a manurial value superior to that of FYM. The wet slurry
should not be used as such; it should be dried for usage as manure.
Conclusion: A large fraction of farm by-products of plant and animal origin is utilized for
non-farm use i. e. for fuel or other domestic purposes. Small and scattered lands holding of
the large farming community compel them to leave the crop residue in the farm itself rather
than recycle it for recycling. Lack of location specific technology to recycle organic waste
and lack of awareness to recycle organic waste in agriculture are the main reason for its slow
adoption even though is a native technique for the farmers which got lost during the period of
Green Revolution. So, in order to popularize this eco-friendly farming practices like organic
farming we have to give attention to strengthen the production of good quality organic
manure, bio-pesticides, biofertilizers and green manuring crops, discourage the indiscriminate
use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, development of pesticides of plant origin (such as
Neem) and use of agents especially under integrated Pest Management system as well as
steps to reduce hazardous chemical residues in seeds, fodder, food products and milk.
Mushroom Production and Marketing in India

Ashwani Kumar
Asstt Scientist (Plant Pathology)
Mushroom production in India is about 1.2 lakh metric tons, which is 3 per cent of world
production. Here mushroom production systems are of mixed type i.e., both seasonal growers
as well as high-tech cultivation. Initially button mushroom was grown as a seasonal crop in
hills, but with the development of the technologies for environmental control and increased
understanding of the cropping system has dramatically boosted the mushroom production.
Button, oyster, milky and paddy straw mushrooms are cultivated in different parts of the
country as per temperature profile in different seasons. Two-three crops of button mushroom
are grown seasonally in temperate regions with minor adjustments of temperate in the
growing rooms, while one crop of button mushroom is raised in north western plains
(Haryana) of India seasonally. Oyster, paddy straw and milky mushrooms are grown
seasonally in the tropical/ sub-tropical areas from April to October. Globally some others
mushrooms viz., Lentinula, Auricularia, Agrocybe, Macrocybe, Ganoderma etc. are
cultivated in tropical/ sub-tropical conditions.
Mushrooms are popularly grown in Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala and North eastern
regions of India. Many commercial units are located in different regions of our country and
produce quality mushroom for export round the year. Out of total mushrooms production
annually, majority of share (about 85%) is contributed by button mushroom. The remaining
15% production is from oyster mushroom, Chinese mushroom and milky mushroom. The
major mushroom production (button mushroom) comes from a number of industrial units
located in different states.
Button mushroom
White button mushroom is the most popular among all the cultivated mushrooms. This was
the first mushroom to be commercially exploited on industrial scale. The genus Agaricus has
two cultivated species namely A. bisporus (temperate button mushroom) and A. bitorquis
(tropical or high temperature tolerant white button mushroom). The former is a low
temperature species requiring 16±2° C for its fruiting, the later, on the other hand grows at
higher temperature (23±2°C). A. bisporus is very popularly grown in India and only a very
limited cultivation is focussed on A. bitorquis. The cultivation technology is common for
both the mushrooms. A. bisporus requires 21-25°C for spawn run and 14-18°C for cropping
whereas A. bitorquis needs 28-30°C for spawn run and 25°C for cropping. Both the
mushroom needs high relative humidity more than 85 per cent. The cultivation technique of
white button mushroom involves four major components viz. composting, spawning, casing
and care during cropping. With a view to cut down cost of cultivation of white button
mushroom, which is much in demand, CCSHAU has developed low-cost technology. The
technology helps in bringing down the cost of cultivation substantially with more return to
the growers. Precisely, low cost technology involves mustard straw (Brassica), goes for
compost making, burnt rice husk for casing and using thatched structure made up of locally
available pearl millet, jowar, sarkanda or cotton sticks etc as mushroom house. One should
have to take adequate training on all these four steps to carry out button mushroom
cultivation as a business activity.
Long method of composting (LMC), short method of composting (SMC), a new technology
namely Indoor composting was developed for cultivation of button mushroom. Compost
prepared either under LMC or SMC involves traditional outdoor composting which causes
environmental pollution but in this new technology, whole composting process is carried out
indoors in specially built tunnels and hence, it is called indoor composting which is
ecofriendly technology and here total duration of the composting process is over by 12 days
as compared to 20-30 days in LMC or SMC.
Spawn (mushroom seed) is available in polypropylene bags. For 100 kg ready compost, 500
g spawn is sufficient. After mixing spawn in the compost (when its temperature is around
25°C), it is either filled in polythene bags or it is spread on the racks. Then it is covered with
old newspapers, which have been sprayed with 2 per cent formalin. The room temperature is
maintained at 25°C and humidity at 80-90 per cent by spraying water on the newspapers,
walls and floor of the mushroom house. The height of compost in the racks should be 6
inches, whereas in bags it should be 10-12 inches irrespective of the size of bag.
Casing means covering the compost with a thin layer of soil or soil like material after the
spawn has spread in the compost. Generally a mixture of FYM and garden soil/ field soil is
used. But, a mixture of burnt rice husk and garden soil/ field soil (1:1) has been found to be
cost-effective. As burnt rice husk needs no sterilization, only garden soil is sterilized by
formaline. After removing newspaper or polythene sheets, a layer of 1-1.5‖ of this mixture is
spread on the compost. Casing should be done, when there is thorough/ complete spawn run
in the compost. After casing, water is to be sprayed on the racks/ bags. Sterilization of the
casing material is done either by chemicals or by heating. Sterilization may also be done by
steam from boiler through perforated pipes and temperature raised to 60°C and maintained
for 5 hours. Sterilization under pressure is not advisable as the beneficial microorganisms are
also killed and leave the soil more susceptible to re-infection.
Temperature around 22-24°C till one week after casing is most desirable and subsequently
temperature should be 14-18°C and relative humidity of 90% in the mushroom house during
entire fruiting period. Initially less fresh air is needed, but during pin-head formation and
cropping more fresh air is required. Mushroom is to be picked when it is in button stage; for
this, it is to be held between the thumb and first two fingers and rotated gently clockwise and
anticlockwise and pulled out with care. Lower portion of the stem, which is covered with
casing mixture, is trimmed with a sharp knife followed by washing and drying.
Oyster Mushroom
Pleurotus mushroom which is generally referred to as ‗Oyster mushroom‘ world over and as
‗Dhingri‘ in India, has its origin from Greek word ―pleuro‖ which means formed laterally or
in a side way position, particularly referring to the lateral position of the stipe in relation to
pileus. Species of the genus Pleurotus are well appreciated for their broad adaptability under
varied agro-climatic conditions. The several species of this mushroom occur commonly as
wood- decomposers in forests throughout the world. Pleurotus has always been most
attractive to commercial mushroom growers because of the ease by which most species can
be cultivated. Majority of the oyster can be better grown in the temperature range of 20-30°C
with high relative humidity more than 85 per cent. Majority of the species needs 25-30°C for
spawn run and 20-25°C for cropping. Several oyster mushrooms are cultivated at commercial
scale in India viz., P. sajor-caju, P. florida, P. eous, P. flebellatus and Hipsizygus ulmarius
etc.
Milky Mushroom
Milky mushroom (Calocybe indica) is of recent introduction to the mushroom world. The
mushroom was first identified by Purkayasha and Chandra in west Bengal during 1974. All
though the work was attempted in several states of India, successful technology for
cultivation of this mushroom was done in Tamil Nadu by Krishnamoorthy during 1998. At
present Tamil Nadu is the major producer of milky mushroom in India. The mushrooms need
25-30°C for spawn run and 30- 35°C for cropping. The mushroom can tolerate the
temperature up to 40°C, however, the yield may be reduced. The spawn run is completed
inside the thatched house and cropping is completed inside a sunken blue polythene house.
Paddy straw mushroom
Paddy straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea) is also known as Chinese mushroom. It is
tropical species growing in the temperature regimes of 28- 35°C. In India, this species was
first grown in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during 1942. The commercial
cultivation of this mushroom could not make much progress except in some states of Orissa,
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala. Currently Orissa is the leader in
commercial cultivation of this mushroom. This mushroom needs 30-35°C for spawn run and
28-32°C for cropping. The spawn is usually prepared using paddy straw as substrate.
Sometimes, grain spawn also used for cropping. In conventional way, Bundle method of
cultivation is most preferred by mushroom growers
Reishi mushroom
Ganoderma lucidum is the most pouplar medicinal mushroom in the world and grown mainly
in China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan. It can be grown seasonally in low cost growing rooms
preferably polyhouses and also in environmentally controlled cropping rooms by sterilized
Wheat straw supplemented with 5 per cent wheat bran or Saw dust + wheat straw.
Marketing/ exporting of mushrooms
Marketing of mushrooms in India is not yet organized. It is the simple system of producers
selling directly to retailer or even to consumer, which has its own limitations. Unlike the
other countries where 10% of the total cost is earmarked for marketing. We have not given
marketing sufficient thought and investment. Per capita consumption of mushrooms in India
is less than 50 g as against over one kg in various countries. There has not been any serious
effort to promote the product, to strengthen and expand the market in order to increase its
consumption. Mushroom is a novel food item for this country and what to ask of its flavor,
texture, nutritive value, many are not aware of ‗what is mushroom and whether vegetarian or
non vegetarian item?‘
Trade in mushrooms has gained importance in recent years for two main reasons, namely;
(i) The global shift towards vegetarian food and
(ii) Recognition of mushroom as a functional food.
There is no organized assistance available for marketing of mushrooms in India.
Every export oriented unit has its own individual arrangement for marketing and the
mushrooms are preserved in brine and canned in large containers of 3-5 litres (or bigger)
capacity for export. Government support for mushroom marketing is not available in India.
There are no processing units devoted to provide support for this industry, except for some
limited support by NAFED to seasonal growers in the north-western plains of India. Such
support is available to mushroom growers in China, where they are able to process their
produce on a large-scale at rail-accessible points for export. Finance at lower interest rate and
inputs for infrastructure at fair prices, can also help this industry to keep down the cost of
cultivation. Lower production cost, together with higher productivity, can help the industry
to become globally competitive. A long-term strategy has to be developed to help the
industry.
Despite the changing trends, there is not yet much market for the processed foods and
basically fresh vegetables and fruits are preferred in this country. Fresh mushrooms have very
short shelf -life, cannot be transported to long distances without refrigerated transport facility
and are sold in localized markets in and around production areas. The cultivation of white
button mushrooms throughout the year under the controlled conditions is restricted to few
commercial units and 30-40% of the production is being done under natural conditions during
the winters. All the problems of marketing is experienced in 2-3 winter months (Dec-Feb)
when more than 75% of the annual production comes in market for sale in limited duration
and market area. Farmers face the consequences of over–saturated market and are forced to
sell their produce at highly unremunerative prices. Private processors, rather than coming for
rescue, get tempted to avail of the situation for their benefit.
Future developmental activities to promote Mushroom cultivation as an industry
Many developmental programmes which require due attentions in coming years in our
country are the following:
• Monitoring the establishment of spawn units in public and private sectors and enforcing
spawn standards and fair price.
• Involvement of cooperatives and other marketing organisation for providing the required
inputs as well as help in viable marketing of mushrooms.
• Declaration of a minimum support-price for mushrooms and provisions for insurance
coverage.
• Technical guidance and financial support to the small scale and export oriented processing
industries.
• Creation of Mushroom Development Board (MDB) like Coffee Board and Coir Board for
promotion of mushroom processing and marketing industry in India.
• Guidelines for notification and release of mushroom varieties on the lines of Central
Committee for crop standards and variety release.
Commercial Importance of Non Timber Forest Products

Bimlendra Kumari
Trees are one of the major sources of sustenance of mankind on this planet in terms of:
medicines; food; sugars; starches; spices and condiments; beverages; fumitories, masticatories
and narcotics; essential oils; fatty oils and vegetable fats; waxes; soap substitutes; vegetable
ivory; fodder; fuel, bioenergy/ biofuel; fertilizers; fiber; pulp and paper; tannins; dyes; rubber
and other latex products; gums; resins; and cork. These are described separately under the
following headings:
1. Medicines
India's Export Performance of Medicinal Plants: Despite tremendous advances in modern
science, the interest in alternative modes of treatment is rising in the western countries
towards herbal products. India and China are two of the largest countries in Asia, which have
the richest arrays of registered and relatively well-known medicinal plants. India is still
lagging behind in exports of herbal medicines in the world. China commands the supreme
position in export trade in medicinal herbs. Today, one fourth of the world population
depends on traditional medicines. India's share in medicinal plant export in global trade is
very low about 8.13% as against 28% of China.
Market Demand and Scope of Trade Related to Herbal and Medicinal Plants in India
India is rich in plant wealth. Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha medicinal systems of India make
use the herbal medicines as the basis of their traditional healing systems. Even today, many
of our most important medicines come from plants only. For example aspirin, the most used
tablet of our time originally comes from the bark of the willow tree.
India is a land to about 17,000 species of higher plants, out of which 7500 are known for their
therapeutic uses. Ayurveda, has alone reported approximately 2000 medicinal plant species,
followed by Siddha and Unani. The Charak Samhita, an ancient written document with rich
literature regarding herbal therapy, production of around 340 herbal drugs and their
indigenous uses for curing various ailments and diseases. According to a study, 18% of the
world's top 150 prescription drugs are derived from plant sources. The demand for medicinal
plant-based raw materials is growing at the rate of 15 to 25% annually worldwide. Global
market size for herbal and medicinal plants is estimated at US$ 60 billion and is projected to
reach US$ 5 trillion by 2050 ( WHO). About 75% to 80% of the total exports of crude drugs
come from India.
The government of India has also initiated several schemes for encouraging cultivation and
promotion of herbals across India. Some commercially important Medicinal Plants are:-
Amla, Chirata, Kalmegh, Safed Musali, Ashok, Daruhaldi, Kokum, Sarpgandha,
Ashwagandha, Giloe, Kuth, Senna, Atees, Gudmar Kutki, Shatavari, Bael, Guggal, Makoy,
Tulsi, Bhumi, Amlaki, Isabgol, Mulethi, Vai Vidang, Brahmi, Jatamansi, Patharchur
(Coleus), Vatsnabh, Chandan, Kalihari, Pippal, etc.
Use and diversity in medicinal plants
In India, of the 17,000 species of higher plants, 7500 are known for medicinal uses. This
proportion of medicinal plants is the highest proportion of plants known for their medical
purposes in any country of the world for the existing flora of that respective country.
Ayurveda, the oldest medical system in Indian sub-continent, has alone reported
approximately 2000 medicinal plant species, followed by Siddha and Unani. The Charak
Samhita, an age-old written document on herbal therapy, reports on the production of 340
herbal drugs and their indigenous uses. Currently, approximately 25% of drugs are derived
from plants, and many others are synthetic analogues built on prototype compounds isolated
from plant species in modern pharmacopoeia.
Table 1. Distribution of medicinal plants.
Country or Total number of No of medicinal plant % of medicinal
region native species in flora species reported plants
World 297000 52885 10
India 17000 7500 44
Indian Himalayas 8000 1748 22
2. Food: Trees as a source of food include edible fruits, vegetables and tree legumes.
Botanically, a fruit is a matured or ripened ovary, along with its contents and adhering
accessory structures, if any. The seeds inside the fruits are the fertilized ovules. Sometimes
seeds are formed without fertilization. This phenomenon is called ―agamospermy,‖ a kind of
parthenogenesis. A fruit that matures without seed formation is called ―parthenocarpic fruit.‖
Fruits are eaten raw. Vegetables are edible plants that store reserve food mainly carbohydrates
in roots, stems, leaves or fruits and that are eaten either cooked or raw. Legumes or pods are
the proteinaceous fruits of family Leguminosae. Some of these are edible.
3. Sugars: Sugar is a plant product surpassed in importance only by cereals and potatoes. It is
one of the most important reserve food supplies, not only for the plant in which it is found but
also also because it serves as the most necessary food source of energy for humans. Sugar in
plants may occur in the form of sucrose (a disaccharide of glucose and fructose that, to
humans, tastes sweeter than either of its constituent mono saccharides) or cane sugar, glucose
or grape sugar and fructose or fruit sugar. It occurs in roots (beets, carrots, parsnips, etc.),
stems (sugarcane, maize, sorghum, sugar maple), flowers (palms), bulbs (onion) and many
fruits.
4. Starches: Starch, a complex carbohydrate, is a polymer of glucose units linked by alpha
bonds. It exists in two forms in plants: unbranched or linear polymers called ―amyloses,‖ in
which hundreds of glucose molecules form coiled molecules of starch; and branched polymers
called ―amylopectins,‖ in which only 40–60 glucose molecules that form branched chains do
not coil. Soluble starch (starch grains soaked in hot water until they burst and form a thin,
clear solution or paste) is used in the textile industry for strengthening fibers and cementing
loose ends together, making the thread smoother and easier to weave and thus giving a finish
to the goods. It is used as a mordant in calico printing and a thickener or vehicle for colors. It
is also used in laundry work, in toilet powders, in medicine, as a sizing agent in the paper
industry, as binding material for china clay and many derivatives or products like dextrin,
glucose, industrial alcohol and nitro starch. Starch is one of the main reserve foods for green
plants, which store it in thin-walled cells in the form of grains of different sizes, shapes and
microscopic and physical characteristics. The chief sources of commercial starch are maize,
potato, wheat, rice, sago, cassava and arrowroot, of which the last two are obtained from
shrubs and sago is obtained from trees. Arrowroot starch is obtained from the tubers of many
tropical plants, including: Marantaar undinacea (Marantaceae), yielding Indian arrowroot;
Canna edulis (Cannaceae), yielding Queensland arrowroot; Curcuma angustifolia
(Zingiberaceae), yielding East Indian arrowroot; and Zamia floridanda (Cycadaceae), yielding
Florida arrowroot. Only the last is a small, shrub like plant.
Sago starch is obtained from the starchy pith of the stems of Metroxylon sagu, of the family
Arecaceae. Other important species that yield sago starch are: Arenga saccharifera, Borassus
flabellifer, Caryota urens, Metroxylon koenigii, M. leave and M. rumphii, all Arecaceae;
Manihot esculenta, of the family Euphorbiaceae; and Cycas spp., of the family Cycadaceae, a
gymnosperm. Starchy pith is removed after the trees are cut, and, after washing, the starch is
freed by sedimentation. Dried, it is known as ―sago flour‖; it is made into a flour and then
dried in the sun or in ovens to obtain shiny, granular starch, called ―pearl sago.‖ Both are used
almost entirely for food purposes, like khir, kanji, payasam, kesari, uppuma, vaangibath, sago
curd bhath, vadam (pappad), macaroni and spaghetti.
5. Spices and Condiments: Spices and condiments are flavoring agents obtained from
plants. They are difficult to distinguish, so the terms are used interchangeably. Because they
have little nutritive value, they are not classified as foods. They contain essential oils, which
impart flavor and aroma to food and add greatly to the pleasure of eating. They stimulate the
appetite and increase the flow of gastric juices. For these reasons they are often referred to as
―food accessories‖ or ―adjuncts.‖.
6. Nonalcoholic Beverages: Beverage plants are those plants which yield beverages or
drinks nonalcoholic or alcoholic that are palatable and refreshing. Nonalcoholic beverages
usually contain caffeine, an alkaloid, which has stimulating and refreshing qualities. Alcoholic
beverages are those that contain one or more hydroxyl (–OH) groups; e.g., ethanol (CH3–
CH2–OH). They may be fermented or distilled. Fruit juices and other beverages that contain
neither caffeine nor alcohol are called ―soft drinks.‖ They have high sugar content and thus
are a good source of energy
7. Fumitories, Masticatories and Narcotics: Some narcotic substances are smoked or
chewed by humans for pleasure or to seek a ―world full of new sensation or some flight from
reality.‖ Narcotic substances that are used for smoking purposes are called ―fumitories,‖ and
those that are used for chewing purposes are called ―masticatories.‖ They have a distinct
stimulating or even narcotic effect due to the presence of various alkaloids. They are also used
in religious ceremonies.
8. Essential Oils: Like all other necessities of humans, oils are one of the main necessities of
daily life. India holds a prominent position in the world oil industry. Oils are of two types:
essential, volatile or distilled oils; and fatty, nonvolatile, expressed or fixed oils.
Essential oils are by-products of carbohydrate and fat metabolism and occur in some 60
families. The important ones are Apiaceae (= Umbellifereae), Asteraceae (= Compositae),
Fabaceae(= Leguminosae), Geraniaceae, Lamiaceae (= Labiatae), Lauraceae, Myrtaceae,
Poaceae(= Graminae) and Rutaceae. They occur in small concentrations, from minute traces
to as much as 1–2%, or even more, in specialized cells, glands or ducts, either in one
particular organ of the plant or distributed over many parts. They may be present in flowers
(e.g., roses), fruits (e.g., oranges), leaves (e.g., eucalyptus), bark (e.g., cinnamomum), roots
(e.g., ginger), woods (e.g., cedar) or seeds (e.g., cardamon) and many resinous exudations.
The utility of essential oils to the plant itself is obscure. The characteristic aroma and flavor
they impart to flowers, fruits and seeds probably attract insects and other animals, which play
an important role in pollination and/or in the dispersal of fruits and seeds. When essential oils
are present in high concentrations, the unpleasant odor may serve to repel enemies like
parasites, animals and insects. The essential oils may have antiseptic and bactericidal
properties. They are extensively used in the manufacture of perfumes, sachets, soaps and other
toilet preparations. They are very valuable in medicine, dentistry and pharmaceuticals because
of their therapeutic, antiseptic and bactericidal properties. They are used as insecticides and
deodorants, as solvents in paint and varnish industries and in the manufacture of several
synthetic odors and flavors, such as attars and scents. Some of the essential oils (e.g., clove
oil) are used as clearing or cleaning agents in histological work. They are also used in such
diversified products as chewing gum, toothpaste, dhoop, agar batis, incense, shoe polish,
library paste and fish glue.
9. Fatty Oils and Vegetable Fats: Vegetable fatty oils are called ―fixed oils‖ or ―nonvolatile
oils‖ because they do not evaporate or become volatile like the essential oils. They are also
called ―nondistilled oils‖ because they cannot be distilled without being decomposed.
Chemically, fatty oils consist of glycerin in combination with a fatty acid
The fatty oils are insoluble in water but soluble in various organic solvents. When a fat is
boiled with an alkali, it decomposes, and the fatty acid unites with the alkali to form soap. If
soda is used, a hard soap is obtained; and if potash or lye is used, a soft soap is obtained.
When fats break down, they yield fatty acids and glycerin, of which they are composed, and
usually develop a rancid odor and taste. The fatty oils are bland (balmy) and lack the strong
taste, odor and antiseptic qualities of essential oils.
10. Waxes: Waxes are quite similar to fats but are esters of monohydric alcohols rather than
glycerides. They are harder than fats and have a high melting point. They are less easily
hydrolyzed and do not become rancid. Waxes are usually found on the epidermis of leaves
and fruits. They servet o prevent excessive loss of water through transpiration, because of
their impervious character. Wax is also obtained from the leaves of the raffia and licuri
palms, sugarcane and esparto.
11. Soap Substitutes: Saponinsare a group of water-soluble glucosides that yield soap froth
in water, form emulsions with oils and fats, and are capable of absorbing large amounts of
gases such as carbon dioxide. Because of these properties they are used for cleansing and
other purposes, both at home and in industry. The important saponin-containing trees are
listed in Table X. It may be added here that leaves of a familiar garden plant, bouncing bet or
soapwort (Saponaria officinalis, family Caryophyllaceae), when placed in water, produce a
lather that is utilized for washing and imparting luster to silk and woolen fabrics. Similarly,
bulbs of the Californian soap root (Chlorogalumpo meridianum, family Liliaceae) yield a
good lather, which is utilized for washing fabrics.
12. Vegetable Ivory: The seeds of Phytelephas macrocarpa, in the family Arecaceae,
commonly called ―ivory nut‖ or ―tagua palm tree,‖ is the chief source of vegetable ivory. It is
extensively used as a substitute for true ivory. It can be carved and used in the manufacture of
buttons, chess pieces, poker chips, dice, knobs, inlays, billiard balls, toys, etc. Metroxylon
amicarum, in the Arecaceae family, can likewise be used for these purposes.
13. Fodder: The leaves of trees and shrubs are rich in calcium and phosphorus. Although
considered inferior to grasses, trees in different parts of India are lopped for fodder, especially
when grasses are scarce. The important fodder-yielding trees are Acacia nilotica (= A.
arabica), A. catechu, Acer spp., Aegle marmelos, Bauhinia variegata, Celtis australis,
Dendrocalamus strictus, Ficus glomerata, F. religiosa, Grewia spp., Helictere sisora, Kydia
calycina, Leucaenal eucocephala, Melia azedarach, Millettia auriculata, Morus australis, M.
serrata, Ougeinia oojeinsis, Populus ciliata, Quercus glauca, Q. incana, Zizyphus mauritiana
and Z. nummularia.
14. Fuel, Bioenergy or Biofuel: Bioenergy is the energy available from biological sources,
both living and immediate remains. Fuel is any material that burns readily in air. Biofuels are
materials of biological origin that are used for producing heat and other forms of energy.
Fuel is a great necessity of modern life. Wood, peat and coal, which represent three stages in
the carbonization of the original woody plant tissue, are important fuel substances. Because
their moisture content is lower than that of green wood, seasoned or oven-dried wood makes
excellent fuel: 99% of it is combustible, so it leaves only a small amount of ash.
Hardwoods, such as ash, beech, hickory, maple and oak, which burn for a longer time and
provide more uniform heat than does gymnospermic wood, are excellent fuelwoods.
The mean calorific value of oven-dried Indian hardwoods is about 9000 btu. The qualities
needed for fuel wood are physical properties of the wood as well as environmental and
silvicultural properties of the species. Small-diameter, thorn less shrubs and trees, which are
easy to cut with primitive tools and easy to transport, are generally preferred. Likewise, fuel
wood that is easy to split and either has a low moisture content or dries rapidly is preferred
over other wood, because considerable heat is lost in burning moist wood.Such wood is also
nontoxic and produces less smoke. For health reasons, too, these are important fuelwoods:
ventilation is poor in village houses. While burning, wood should neither split nor spark.
Wood density is positively correlated with the calorific value of fuelwood. A negative
correlation also exists between wood density and growth rate, so fast-growing species
generally have inferior burning properties. The best fuelwood species burn slowly and
produce good heat from glowing charcoals. Acacia and Casuarina spp. are regarded as the
best fuelwood species.
Some common fuelwood species of India are Acacia catechu, A. leucocephala, A. nilotica
var. cupressiformis, A. nilotica var. indica, Albizia amara, A. lebbek, Anogeiss uslatifolia,
Azadirachta indica, Borassus flabellifer, Carrissa spinarum, Dalbergia sissoo, Delonix elata
Eucalyptus spp., Euphorbia spp., Leucaena leucocephala, Mangifera indica, Melia
azedarach, Moringa tinctoria, Morus serrata, Pithecellobium dulce, Prosopis juliflora, P.
spicigera, Psidium guajava, Sesbania sesban, Syzygium cuminii, Tamarix indica, Thespesia
populnea, Zizyphus mauritiana, etc.
15. Fertilizers: Several species of nitrogen-fixing bacteria of Rhizobium, including R.
leguminosarum, R. lupini, R. meliloti and R. phaseoli, live inside the root nodules of
leguminous trees. Similarly, Frankia, a nitrogen-fixing mycelia bacterium, is associated
symbiotically with the root nodules of several nonlegume plants, including Alnus, Casuarina,
Coriaria, Myrica and Rubus. Both Rhizobium and Frankia are capable of fixing atmospheric
nitrogen.When the roots of these plants decay, they enrich the soil with nitrogen salts.
16. Fibers: Botanically, a fiber is a special type of cell (sclerenchymatous) that has thick
walls, a narrow lumen and tapering ends. Chemically, it is made up of cellulose and lignin.
Commercially, a plant fiber is a strand consisting of one or hundreds of cells that varies in
length from a fraction of a millimeter to 2 meters or more. Depending on how fibers are used,
they can be classed as textile fibers (for fabrics, netting, cordage), brush fibers, plaiting and
rough weaving fibers (for hats, sandals, baskets, chairs, etc.), filling fibers, natural fabrics and
papermaking fibers. The important fiber-yielding woody plants, including trees and shrubs,
are Abroma angusta, Abutilon spp., Acacia leucocephala, Ananas comosus, Antiaris toxicaria,
Boehmeria nivea, Borassus flabellifer, Butea monosperma, Caryotaurens (leaves), Cordia
dichotoma, C. rothii, Ficus bengalensis, F. cunia, F. religiosa, Grewia glabra, G. elastica, G.
optiva, G.tiliaefolia, G. vestita, Hardwickia binata, Hibiscus spp., Malachra capitata,
Marsdenia volubilis, Pandanus spp. (leaves), Sterculia foetida, S. urens, S. villosa, Trema
orientalis and Urena lobata. Most fibers are obtained from the bark of these plants.
Silky flosses produced in the fruits of Bombax ceiba, Ceiba pentandra and Cochlospermum
religiosum are also used as fibers for filling purposes. The well-known coir fiber is obtained
from the fibrous mesocarp of the coconut palm, Cocos nucifera. It is coarse, stiff, buoyant and
elastic and is therefore used for ship ropes, mats, brushes, ropes, etc.
17. Pulp and Paper: An important use of fibers is in the manufacture of paper, which is
playing an increasingly important role in modern civilized society. It can be divided into two
categories: cultural paper printing and writing paper) and industrial paper (packing and
wrapping papers and boards). The word ―paper‖ comes from the Latin papyrus (the name of
Cyperus papyrus of the family Cyperaceae), a sedge plant, the pith of which was used for
paper in Egypt as early as 2400 B.C.
The Chinese, however, were the first to actually make the paper. In 1799 Louis Robert of
France invented the papermaking machine, which was improved by Henry and Sealy
Fourdrinier of London in 1803. The important and major raw materials of the pulp and paper
industry are wood fibers (furnishing more than 90% of all the paper produced in the world),
cotton and linen rags (yielding fine grades of paper, because of their high cellulose content),
agricultural residues bamboo, bagasse, straw, etc.) and waste paper (for recycled paper).
Raw materials of minor importance are esparto grass (Stipate bnacissima, family Poaccae),
textile fibers (jute, hemp, coir, ramie, sisal hemp, sunn hemp, etc.), bast fibers of paper
mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera family Moraceae) and fibers of papyrus (Cyperus
papyrus), baobab (Adansonia digitata) and Daphne cannabina. Chinese and Japanese rice
paper is made from Tetrapanax papyriferum, Edgeworthia tomentosa and Wickstroemia
canescens. Although ancient Indian written records are on the leaves of the tree called
―bhojpatra‖ (Betula alnoides, family Betulaceae), the art of papermaking in India started with
the installation of first papermaking machine at Serampore in West Bengal in 1830.
The main fibrous raw materials for papermaking are Bambusa arundinacea, Boswellia
serrata, Dendrocalamus strictus, Eulaliopsis binata (Sabai grass) and Pinus roxburghii.
These are followed by Abies pindrow, Adansonia digitata, Agave americana, Arundodonax,
Bambusa polymorpha, B. tulda, Broussonetia papyrifera, Daphne papyracea, Dendrocalamus
giganteus, D. hamiltonii, Eucalyptus citriodora, E. globulus, Ochlandratra vancorica and
Populus ciliata. The following Indian hardwood species are used for making bleachable pulp:
Albizia lebbeck, Anogeissus latifolia, Chloroxylon swietenia, Gmelina arborea, Lannea
coromandelica, Prosopis chilensis, Pterocarpus marsupium, Sesbania grandiflora, Sterculia
urens, Tectona grandis and Terminalia bellerica.
18. Tannins: Tannins are soluble, astringent, bitter and complex phenolic substances of plant
origin. These are glycosidal in nature and acidic in reactions. They may be hydrolizable or
condensed nature. Whereas hydrolyzable tannins are easily split into alcohols and acids by
water, condensed tannins are not, for they are made up of polymers of cyclic compounds.
Tannins may be present in individual cells or in special containers known as ―tannin sacs.‖ In
individual cells, tannins are found in the cell sap or are impregnated in the cell‘s walls, often
accumulating in large quantities in dead tissues such as cork or present in bark, wood, leaves,
roots, fruits and gall. The biological functions of tannins are not very clear. It is thought that
tannins protect the protoplast against desiccation, decay and injury by animals. It may be
concerned with the formation of cork or with protection of the plant.
Uses: Economically, tannins are important in various ways. They have the ability to unite with
certain types of proteins, such as those in animal skins (hides), to form a strong, flexible,
resistant and insoluble substance known as ―leather.‖ The process and art of converting raw
hides and skins of animals into leather, usually through the use of certain chemicals, is called
―tanning.‖ Tannins react with salts of iron to form dark blue, blue-black or greenish black
compounds, which are the basis of tannin or writing inks.
Tannins are also useful in medicine, because of their astringent nature. Tanning materials are
often utilized in oil drilling to reduce the viscosity of the drill without reducing the specific
gravity.
19. Dyes: Dyes are colored compounds (pigments) that are capable of being fixed to fabrics
permanently; i.e., they neither fade on exposure to light nor wash out with soap. Therefore, a
colored organic substance is not necessarily a dye. For example, trinitrotoluene, which is
yellow in color, cannot fix to a cloth and therefore is not a dye. On the other hand, picric acid,
which is also yellow in color, can fix to a cloth and therefore is a dye. A large number of
plants secrete or contain pigments, but only about 150 are commercially important. In
addition, synthetic or aniline dyes are now obtained from coal-tar products. These are cheaper,
brighter, more permanent and easier to use, and they offer a wider range of colors.
Uses: Among the chief uses of dyes is in coloring fabrics in the textile industry, where they
are used with weak salt solutions of various metals like iron, chromium, aluminum or tin. A
fine layer of metallic oxide, which forms an insoluble compound with the dye, is deposited on
the cloth. Such salts of metals that increase the adherence of various dyes to the fabrics are
called ―mordants.‖ These actually form a chemical bridge between the fiber molecules and the
dye. Dyes are also used for coloring paints, varnishes, leather, ink, paper, wood, furs, food,
cosmetics and medicines.
20. Rubber and Other Latex Products: Rubber is obtained from the milky juice or latex of
various tropical or subtropical woody plants.
Latex is a gummy white liquid full of minute globules, a mixture of water, hydrocarbons,
resins, oils, proteins, acids, salts, sugars and caoutchoue, a substance used as a source of
rubber. Rubber is a polyterpene consisting of a long chain of thousands of isoprene
(hydrocarbon) units. The tissue containing latex is called ―laticiferous tissue.‖ It consists of
latex cells or latex coenocytes and latex vessels, the latter being formed by the fusion of many
latex cells. Laticifers occur in bark, leaves and other softer parts of trees. Laticifers are not
known in gymnosperms. They are present in a large number of species and genera belonging
to about 20 families, mostly dicotyledonous. Important rubber plants belong to Apocyanaceae,
Euphorbiaceae and Moraceae. Latex performs five functions in plants: healing of wounds;
protection (warding off the attack of animals) because of the presence of bitter or poisonous
alkaloids; storage of food reserve (for nutrition); formation and storage of excretory products;
and transport of materials (conduction or translocation or as a fluid reservoir).
Uses: Rubber is one of the best insulating and dielectric materials available.
21. Gums: Gums contain large amounts of sugars and are closely allied to pectins. They are
colloidal in nature and have the ability to dissolve in water and form a viscid solution (viscous
liquids) or to absorb water and swell to form a gelatinous paste.
On exposure to air these pastes dry to hard, clear, glassy masses by losing their water. Gums
are insoluble in alcohol and ether. Gums exude naturally or in response to wounding from the
stems and are formed by disintegration of internal tissues, mostly from the decomposition of
cellulose through a process known as ―gummosis.‖ They are mostly obtained from bark or
secondary phloem.
Uses: Gums are used in a variety of ways. The finer grades are utilized in finishing silk,
clarifying liqueurs and preparing high-quality watercolors. The intermediate grades are used
in printing inks, in sizing, finishing and dyeing textile fabrics, in confectionery and in the
pharmaceutical industry. The cheaper grades are used as adhesives, in calico printing, in
sizing of paper and in the paint industry. In the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries gums
act as emollients or demulcents or serve to bind or emulsify mixtures in lotions, ointments and
creams. They may add body and bulk to foodstuffs like commercial ice creams. Commercial
gums are dried exudations of dry-region plants belonging to the Anacardiaceae,
Combretaceae, Fabaceae, Meliaceae, Rosaceae and Rutaceae. One hundred or more species of
Acacia alone are known to yield gum.
22. Resins: Although resins resemble gum in superficial appearance, they differ in origin and
chemical composition. Some resins are sticky, viscous liquids; others are hard, brittle,
amorphous solids, generally clear or transparent but sometimes opaque.
Resins represent oxidation products of various essential oils. They are complex and varied in
their chemical composition. Chemically, they are polymerized terpenes that are usually mixed
with volatile oils. Unlike gums, resins are insoluble in water but soluble in alcohol, ether,
turpentine, spirit, carbon disulphide and other solvents. The latter property is utilized to form
varnishes; when applied in thin films, the solvent evaporates, leaving behind a hard,
waterproof layer of resin. Resinous substances have been used for waterproof coatings and
also for decorative coatings for ages. The ancient Egyptians varnished their mummy cases,
and the Incas utilized resins in their embalming mixtures.
Uses: Resins are also used in the preparation of soap—they dissolve in alkali to form soap
and in medicine, for sizing paper, as a stiffening material for mats, in the preparation of
fixatives, incenses, perfumes, tobacco flavorings, sealing wax, plastics, linoleum, oilcloth,
printers‘ ink, adhesives, etc.
Their combustible properties are utilized for making torches; their waterproofing qualities, for
making boats. Resins tend to lessen the amount of water lost from the tissues of plants.
Because of their antiseptic properties, resins prevent decay, and, when present in wood, add
strength and durability.
Resin is secreted in plant tissues in specialized canals or cavities called ―resin ducts,‖ which
are lined with a special layer of secretory cells, called the ―epithelial layer,‖ that secrete resin
into the cavity through a thin cuticular layer. Resin ducts may be present in leaves, wood and
bark of stems. They normally ooze out through the bark and harden on exposure to air.
Commercial resins, however, are extracted from artificial wounds or fossil materials.
23. Cork: Commercial cork is obtained from the outer bark (phellem) of cork oak,
Quercussuber, an evergreen tree of the family Fagaceae. It is native to the western
Mediterranean region: about 70% of the world‘s commercial cork comes from Portugal alone.
Cork is nothing more than thin-walled but strong cellulosic cell walls, which are heavily
coated with suberin, a substance that is impervious to water. Cell lumens, which represent
nearly 53% of the total cork volume, are filled with air, thus making cork very light—its
specific gravity is 0.15–0.25. Cork is buoyant, light and highly compressible, but it is resilient,
chemically inert to moisture and common liquids, resistant to deterioration, an excellent
insulator, a nonconductor of electricity, a low thermal conductor and impervious to water and
other liquids. It imparts no flavor or odor to substances, is slow to catch fire, absorbs sound
and vibrations and has a high coefficient of friction. All of these properties render commercial
cork invaluable in the world market.
Uses: It is used either as natural cork or as composition cork, the latter as linoleum, linotiles,
binder-coated cork and cork (insulation) boards. Cork is used in the preparation of stoppers,
hats and helmets, tips for cigarettes, carburetor floats, fishing-net floats, golf-club handles,
penholders, fishing rods, life preservers, floats and life jackets, surf balls.
24. Food for Silkworms: Mulberry silk accounts for 95% of the world‘s silk production. It is
produced by Bombyx mori L.which feeds on the leaves of mulberry plants. Morus is the Latin
word for ―mulberry‖ (French muries; Italian: gelso; Japanese: lewwa). It belongs to the
family Moraceae, of th order Unisexuales or Urticales. The following species of Morus are
known in the world: acidosa, arabica, atropurpurea, australis, bombycis, boninensis,
cathayama, celtidifolia, cordatifelia,
Tasar silk is the product of the secretion from the silk glands of Antheraea proylei and A.
mylitta, the temperate and tropical tasar silkworms, respectively. Although Antheraea spp. are
polyphagous in nature, the food plants of first choice are known as ―primary‖ and others, as
―secondary.‖ The three main food plants of tropical tasar silkworms are: Terminalia alata,
syn. T. tomentosa, (asan); Terminatia arjuna, vern. arjun; and Shorea robusta, (sal).
CCS HAU, Hisar 2015, pp 91-96.
IPR: Commercialization of Agriculture

SK Sethi
Principal Scientist (Plant Breeding)
Asia‘s the earth‘s largest continent has a land area of 3.18 billion hectares and home to 3.8
billion people or about 60 % of the world‘s population. It is the most rapidly growing region
of the world economy today and according to the report of UNESCO, the region provides
35.6 % share to the word‘s gross domestic product. Another breakthrough in generation of
new agricultural technologies and their efficient transfer to the farmers and industries has
become important for India because agriculture is still a major contributor (24%) to national
GDP. Further, about 66% population depends on agriculture. The decline or stagnation in
production and productivity in agriculture will directly hit the economy of the country.
Obviously, efficient technological support is needed for Indian agriculture. If the scientists
are encouraged through incentives and recognition to use their intellect for generating new
technologies and their transfer to stakeholders, the stream of innovations may come out as
happened in USA.
To trigger the development of entrepreneurship among the farmers, the growth of farm sector
& related industries and enhancement in quality of research in agriculture is now getting
attention of planners. The time for grasping knowledge has become an important parameter
for determining the success of an institution, enterprise, government and industry; shorter the
time better are the chances of success.IPR have become important in the face of changing
trade environment, which is characterized by the following features, namely, global
competition, high innovation risks, short product cycle, need for rapid changes in technology,
high investments in R&D, production and marketing and need for highly skilled human
resources. The provisions in our laws for granting the Intellectual Property Rights to the
inventors are one of the important pathways to encourage the inventors to achieve these
objectives. The expansion of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) to agriculture has created new
opportunities to increase the source of funds. Although the IPRs may seem to be in conflict
with traditional role of universities to create, sustain and disseminate knowledge as public
good, it also provides a way to meet the objectives of increasing social welfare, which might
not be possible without Intellectual Property (I P) protection.
Presently, aims of publicly funded institutions such as universities, colleges, autonomous
bodies and public sector undertakings are multifaceted which are not purely driven by
economic considerations but by considerations of social obligations, political objectives and
will of a nation. This approach has helped in creating a pool of highly educated people and
also building an inherent strength in research and development in agriculture related
technologies as well as in basic industries. However, this system has bred complacency,
which blunts the spirit of innovation and fire for being ahead of others.
What is Intellectual Property? Intellectual Properties are intangible products of mind-the
ideas and their representations. Such inventions, publication and other scholarly works are
intellectual properties. These properties can be protected through copyrights, trademarks,
patents, geographical indicators, layouts, designs and undisclosed information‘s provisions.
Here we shall limit to patents only. The protection of intellectual property should be
considered a mission of the university. The ability to protect intellectual property would raise
the value of university research. There are several examples that show that return to
university research protected by IPR can be high.
Generation of Patentable Technologies: During 1960-1990, India had its different needs
and accordingly technologies were developed and disseminated. After-wards the social,
market and consumer needs had been slowly but definitely changing. Obviously, new look to
our research and technology transfer is required. The frontier areas of research to find out the
solutions to the emerging problems and harvesting the opportunities in global market need
more attention of the scientists. They can plan to get patents on cutting edge technologies,
which have been generated by using the intellect as well as large resources and time.
India‘s strength lies in human resource and bio-diversity. With over 40 agricultural
universities and over 100 ICAR institutes, the country has sharp edge over many developing
countries for initiating quality research in the areas of importance. Further, the country is very
rich in bio-diversity with 15000-18000 flowering plant species, 150 medicinal plant species
and 160 cultivated species. Nature has bestowed variety of breeds of economic importance in
Cattle, Buffaloes, Sheep, Goats, Camels, Horses, poultry etc. This biodiversity has to be
protected and utilized rationally. The scientific use of this biodiversity may give answer to
emerging problems and India can lead in technology development for farmers as well as to
industries.
Why Patenting and Licensing? The protection of Intellectual Property (IP) encourages the
inventor to do more creative work whereas licensing helps in wider dissemination and
financial resource generation which are distributed among the inventor(s) as royalty and
institution based on institutional rules and regulations. While patent and royalty give
recognition and encouragement to the scientists, the licensing helps in transferring the
technology to the end users because licensee tries hard to maintain quality to sell the product
in larger quantity for earning more profit. One of the instances where protection makes
economic and social sense is when the protection of intellectual property helps promote
public–private sector partnership and speeds the development of new products and processes.
It also minimizes the duplicity in research.
What is Patent? A patent is an exclusive right granted by a country to the owner of the
invention for a limited period to make, use, manufacture and market the invention, provided
the invention satisfy the criteria of novelty, non-obviousness and usefulness.
 Novelty means- not known in prior-art
 Non-obviousness means- the invention must involve inventive steps
 Usefulness means- the invention must have industrial application
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act 2001
The realization of the Farmers' Rights was highlighted by UNCED in its Agenda 21 and by
the Convention on Biodiversity. The FAO conference in 1993 adopted resolution 7/93 calling
for the renegotiation, including the realization of Farmers' Rights. The farmers rights has
several dimensions; compensation for innovations evident from the development of farmers'
varieties; compensation for making the genetic resources available and provision of
incentives to continuously sustain it. In fact, there is continuity between the farmer conserved
germplasm and the plant breeder bred new varieties as one is dependent of the other. Farmers
or their communities have a right to keep, use, exchange, share, and market their seeds or
planting material, similar to the provisions under the UPOV. Hence the PPV&FRA retains
the basic spirit of the UPOV. As custodians of plant genetic resources and related indigenous
and local knowledge to have their rights protected and to share the benefits derived there
from. Many nations fell the need for a legal frame-work for the farmers' rights and feel that
the sui generis system could facilitate the implementation in line with the TRIPs agreement.
All these matters are under active consideration and discussion (as is already the case with
UPOV 1978 Convention) in various forums including the FAs in the context of renegotiating
the International Understanding. The PPV&.FRA enacted by India is undoubtedly the trend
setter as it is the only one that covers both plant breeders' and farmers' rights as they are two
sides of the same coin.
The key aspects of this new Act are as follows:
1. Establishment of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority
consisting of a Chairperson and 15 members appointed by the Central Government.
2. Setting up of a Plant Varieties Protection appellate Tribunal to deal with any appeal on
order or decision of the authority or Registrar relating to registration of the variety,
registration of an agent or a licensee of a variety, claim for benefit sharing, revocation
of compulsory license or modification of compulsory license, or payment of
compensation under the Act or its rules.
3. Establishment of the Plants Variety Registry. For the purposes of the Act, a Register
called the National Register of Plant Varieties would be established in the Registry,
which contained entries of all the names of the registered plant varieties with names
and addresses of their respective breeders in respect of the registered variety, the
particulars of the denomination of each registered variety, its seed or other propagating
material along with specification of their salient features.
4. Registrable varieties should satisfy the criteria of novelty, distinctiveness, uniformity
and stability (NDUS).
Licensing: The Act puts in place an elaborate provision on compulsory licenses in certain
circumstances. Essentially it states that any time after the expiry date of 3 years from the date
of issue of the registration certificate for a variety, any person interested may make an
application to the Authority alleging that reasonable requirements of the public for seeds or
other propagating material of the variety have not been satisfied, or that the seed or other
propagating material of the variety are not available to the public at a reasonable price, and
they may request the grant of a compulsory license to undertake production, distribution and
sale of the seed or other propagating material of that variety. The Authority would give the
breeder of such a variety an opportunity to file an opposition to the application of compulsory
license and, after hearing both parties, decide on the matter of compulsory license. The
Authority, based on a written request from the breeder of the variety, may adjourn the hearing
of the application of the compulsory license for a period of 12 months, if the breeder is able
to reasonably justify to the Authority his/her reasons for not being able to produce the seed or
the propagating material of the variety on a commercial scale to an adequate extent until the
date of making such a request.
If the Authority deems it fit, it may order the breeder to grant a compulsory license to the
applicant and send a copy of such order to the Registrar to register the title of such applicant
as licensee on payment of the appropriate fees by the applicant. The duration of the com-
pulsory license would vary on a case-by-case basis. The reproductive material of the variety
relating to the compulsory license would be stored with the National Gene Bank or any other
centre authorized by the Central Government. The authority would set the terms and condi-
tions of the compulsory license and decide on 'reasonable compensation to the breeder of the
variety' based on the nature of the variety, the expenditure incurred by the breeder to develop
the variety and other relevant factors. The Authority would also take into consideration the
ability of the compulsory licensee to produce the seed or its propagating material and to make
it available to the public at a reasonable price. The compulsory license may be revoked or
modified by the Authority under certain circumstances.
Infringements: Actions that are considered as infringement are: (i) selling, exporting,
importing or producing a registered variety without the permission of the
breeder/licensee/registered agent by a person who is not the breeder of the registered variety
or a registered licensee or agent, or is involved in activities that are not within the registered
scope of the license or registered agency, as the case may be; and (ii) using, selling,
exporting, importing or producing any other variety giving such variety a denomination
identical or deceptively similar to the denomination of a variety in such a manner as to cause
confusion in the minds of general people in identifying such variety so registered.
Relief in the case of infringements includes an injunction and, at the option of the plaintiff,
either damages or a share of profits. Under certain circumstances, the injunction may include
ex parte or an interlocutory order.
There is a penalty for applying false denomination, etc. Any person who applies any false
denomination to a variety, or indicates the false name of a country or place, or false name and
address of the breeder of a registered variety in the course of trading such variety, unless
he/she proves that he/she acted without intent to defraud, is punishable with imprisonment for
a term of not less than 6 months but which may be extended to 2 years, or with a fine, which
is not less than 50,000 rupees (approximately US$1000) but which may extend to rupees 5
lakhs (approximately US$10,000).
Similarly any person who sells, or exposes for sale, or has in his/her possession for the
purpose of trade or production any variety to which any false denomination has been applied
or to which an indication of the country or place of such variety has been made or produced,
or the name or address of the breeder of such registered variety has been falsely made, unless
he/she proves: (i) that the necessary due diligence was exercised to check the genuineness of
the denomination; (ii) that, on demand by or on behalf of the prosecutor, all information in
his/her possession was given with respect to the person from whom he/she obtained the
variety; or (iii) that otherwise he/she had acted innocently, shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term that shall not be less that 6 months, but which may be extended to 2
years, or a fine of 50,000 rupees to rupees 51akhs.
Falsely representing a variety as registered or an EDV as registered is also a punishable
offence, with imprisonment for a term not less than 6 months, but which may be extended to
2 years, or a fine of 50,000 rupees to rupees 5 1akhs.
Technology Transfer: Licensing and Commercialization
Licensing the right granted by an owner of an asset to another to use that asset while
continuing to retain ownership of that asset is an important way of creating value with these
assets. Licensing creates an income source, disseminates the technology to a wider group of
users and potential developers and acts as a catalyst for further development and
commercialization. The word ‗license‘ simply means permission granted by the owner of the
intellectual property rights to another to use it on agreed terms and conditions, for a defined
purpose, in a defined territory and for an agreed period of time. Licensing of intellectual
property is often considered in three broad categories, namely, technology licenses,
publishing and entertainment licenses. Licensing of inventions related to biotechnology come
under technology licenses. Protected plant variety licensing will be altogether a different one
where the buyers are poor farmers. For agricultural biotechnology, companies that continue
to provide better products and services at lower price will be competitive, profitable and
maintain an edge in a market economy that is globalized, fast moving and demanding.
Valuation of Technology
Unlike tangible property, which has well recognized means of establishing a value and thus a
price, there is no easy way to determine the value of intangibles. However, as with any other
transactions, a price must be established. Valuation of a technology becomes important when
the potential licensee has recognized the need for new and most appropriate technology,
identified the potential licensor and decided that a license arrangement is the most
appropriate business strategy. Broadly, the worth of an IP/technology will be derived from
the likely benefits that would accrue to its end users, and the price will be determined from
the extent of the benefits that the R & D agencies would deem to appropriate. Several
methods can be used to value a technology. A valuation may be subjective and depends on
the data that is used in the valuation model, the valuations derived from each of the criteria
will not be the same. Three approaches which can be used are cost approach, Income
approach and market approach for the valuation of technologies.
Licensing executive Society (LES) reported that following ranges for non exclusive licenses
may be considered for determining the cost of technologies as:
 Research reagents (e.g. expression vector, cell culture), 1-5 % of net sales
 Diagnostic products (e.g. monoclonal antibodies, DNA probes), 1-5 % of net sales
 Therapeutic products (e.g. monoclonal antibodies), 1-5 % of net sales
 Vaccines, 5-10% of net sales
 Animal health products, 3-6 % of net sales
 Plant/agriculture products, 3-5 % of net sales
Epilogue
India has a great potential for the development and commercialization of new agricultural
technologies for enhancing agricultural productivity, food security and sustained economic
growth. The country has a large pool of well-trained human resources, rich biodiversity,
infrastructure, and an emerging new scientific, regulatory, legal, and business culture within
the context of globalization. India has 44 State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) dedicated
towards agricultural research, education and extension/outreach. These SAUs are public
universities working towards generating and transferring new technologies to address various
constrains facing both resource poor and commercial farmers across India. The awareness
and recognition towards the value of intellectual property however is not yet fully recognized
among SAUs in India. The SAUs are supported predominantly by the state governments and
have traditionally focused on the free delivery of technologies through government supported
extension systems in each of the 28 states in India. The linkages between SAUs and private
sector have been very weak with very little efforts put towards developing public-private
sector partnerships. With the new trends of globalization, recently some of the SAUs have
taken positive steps towards building their IP management capacity to foster a new culture of
IP protection, licensing and commercialization to speed up the delivery of new technologies
to farmers and end-users. This paper highlights the importance of IP management and steps
necessary towards building a sound IP management and technology transfer system at public
institutions in India.
Nematode Management in Commercial Agriculture

Anil Kumar and Sewak Ram
Department of Nematology
Demand for high quality, export-oriented horticultural and vegetable products and need for
the availability of vegetable and horticultural crop produce round the year especially in off
season, compelled the growers to cultivate selected crops under protected cultivation. As a
result people started cultivation of horticultural crops under protected conditions in all the
states of India. Congenial conditions of continuous availability of host, higher temperature,
humidity and use of high agronomic inputs like fertilizers and plant growth promoters in
polyhouses make the crop suitable for the attack of pest and diseases including nematodes.
Plant-parasitic nematodes are one of the limiting factors in production under protected
cultivations and hard-to-control organisms.
What are nematodes: Plant-parasitic nematodes are very small, and can only be seen using a
microscope. All plant-parasitic nematodes have a stylet or mouth-spear that is similar in
structure and function to a hypodermic needle. The stylet is used to puncture plant cells and
then inject digestive juices and ingest plant fluids. Most of the plant-parasitic nematodes that
are important in vegetable crops feed on plant roots. Some plant-parasitic nematodes, called
ectoparasites, remain in the soil during their entire lifecycle and feed by inserting only their
stylet into the root . Other nematodes enter the plant with part or all of their body and are
called endoparasites. Some endoparasites, called migratory endoparasites, burrow around
inside the root .Other endoparasites, called sedentary endoparasites, establish permanent
feeding sites inside the root and remain in one place. As it matures, a sedentary endoparasite's
body changes shape and adult females are usually swollen
Nematode problems in protected cultivations: In India on an average, a national loss of
Rs. 21,068.73 millions has been estimated due to plant parasitic nematodes1. An overall
average annual yield loss in major horticultural crops due to nematodes goes up to 60% under
protected cultivation2. Rapid spread of nematode infestation through soil, crop residues and
indiscriminate use of agro chemicals in horticultural ecosystems is a major concern for crop
protection specialists and policy makers. Soon nematode incidence under protected
cultivation particularly became severe and led to complete crop losses because of. Symptoms
such as chlorosis and stunting appear after sufficient damage is inflicted. The proliferation
rates of nematodes in polyhouse cultivation reached up to 10 to 30 folds more than in the
open field cultivation.
As yet farmers continue to incur losses in crops under protected cultivation without
appropriate solutions to problems posed by nematodes. The population build up is very rapid
in the polyhouses and nematode population reaches 5 - 6 times of threshold levels within 18 -
24 months, making the polyhouse cultivation a wasteful exercise. In tomato, dynamics of root
knot nematode showed enhanced population build up from 1 to 30 juveniles J2/c.c. soil within
a period of 6-12 months, which is comparatively higher in contrast to the open cultivation.
Crops such as capsicum (bell-pepper), tomato, chili, cucumber, muskmelon, watermelon,
carnations, roses, and gerbera are being grown under protected cultivation (in poly houses/
green houses/ shade nets). These crops are grown throughout India, are seriously infested
with nematodes such as Meloidogyne incognita, M. javanica (root-knot nematodes) and
Rotylenchulus reniformis (reniform nematode). Nematode problems on all these crops under
protected conditions have assumed alarming proportions leading to huge crop losses (up to
80%) in selected crops. The nematode infestations exacerbate severity of fungal diseases
leading to complete crop losses. M. incognita infection makes the plants highly susceptible
for the attack of Fusarium oxsporum f.sp. dianthi. Phytophthora parasitica + M. incognita
interact to produce a disease complex in gerbera leading to reduction in the yield around 40 to
60 % (ref.3). In capsicum a pathogenic bacteria Ralstonia solanacearum gets entry into the
roots infested by root-knot nematode and together produce wilting disease that reduces yield
to 60-70%. Management practices adopted by farmers include continual use of chemical
nematicides, often at higher than recommended rates resulting in build-up of resistance. In
addition, biomagnification and environment deterioration due to hazardous chemicals has
rendered several cultivated ecosystems unstable and non-profitable (ref.4).
Nematode Problems in Protected Cultivations:
Nematode Crop Country
Pratylenchus vulnus Roses Netherlands
Meloidogyne sp. Banana Libya
Meloidogyne sp. Tomato Cyprus
Meloidogyne javanica Tomato Greece
Meloidogyne incognita Gerbera India
Carnations
Meloidogyne javanica, M. incognita Tomato Italy
Meloidogne incognita, Tomato Cucumber India
Rotylenchulus reniformis, Pepper
Tylenchorhynchus brevilineatus
Root-knot Nematodes Meloidogyne species: Plant-feeding nematodes go through six
stages,an egg stage, 4 immature stages, and an adult stage. Many species can develop from
egg to egg-laying adult in as little as 21 to 28 days during warm summer months. Immature
stages and adult males are long, slender worms. Mature adult females of root knot nematode
change to a swollen, pearlike shape.
Damage and Symptoms:
Belowground symptoms Root knot nematodes usually cause distinctive swellings, called
galls, on the roots of affected plants. Infestations of these nematodes are fairly easy to
recognize; dig up a few plants, wash or gently tap the soil from the roots, and examine the
roots for galls. The nematodes feed and develop within the galls, which can grow as large as
1 inch in diameter on some plants but usually are much smaller.
The formation of these galls damages the water- and nutrient-conducting abilities of the roots.
Galls can crack or split open, especially on the roots of vegetable plants, allowing the entry of
soil-borne, disease-causing microorganisms. Root knot nematode galls are true swellings and
can‘t be rubbed off the roots as can the beneficial, nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots of
legumes. Root knot nematodes can feed on the roots of grasses and certain legumes without
causing galling.
Aboveground symptoms of a root knot nematode infestation include wilting during the
hottest part of the day even with adequate soil moisture, loss of vigor, yellowing leaves, and
other symptoms similar to a lack of water or nutrients. Infested vegetable plants grow more
slowly than neighbouring, healthy plants, beginning in early to midseason. Plants produce
fewer and smaller leaves and fruits, and ones heavily infested early in the season can die.
Damage is most serious in warm, irrigated, sandy soils.
Root knot nematode survives from season to season primarily as eggs in the soil. After the
eggs hatch, the second-stage juveniles invade roots, usually at root tips, causing some of the
root cells to enlarge where the nematodes feed and develop. The male nematodes eventually
leave the roots, but the females remain embedded, laying their eggs into a jellylike mass that
extends through the root surface and into the soil.
Root Knot nematode infested roots of Healthy roots

vegetable plants
Reniform Nematodes: Rotylenchulus reniformis, the reniform nematode, is a species

of parasitic nematode of plants with a worldwide distribution in tropical
and subtropical regions . R. reniformis is sedentary semi-endoparasite on the roots of
plants. The female penetrates the root and remains in one position at a permanent feeding site
with its posterior end projecting from the root. The immature female is the infective agent,
attacking the root and growing to maturity at its feeding site. Males and juveniles live in the
soil; males are not parasites and do not feed. Under drought conditions the nematode can
persist up to two years outside a host by entering an anhydrobiotic state.
The life cycle is 17 to 29 days long. The juvenile molts once while still inside the egg. The
eggs hatch in 8 to 10 days. The juvenile molts three times to reach the immature stage. The
immature female parasitizes the root for one to two weeks. During this time the male deposits
sperm, which the female stores until her gonads mature. The nematode can also reproduce
via parthenogenesis, without fertilization. Upon maturity the female exits the root and lays up
to 200 eggs in a gelatinous matrix.
Damage and Symptoms: When the immature female penetrates the root, a feeding tube
forms from stylet secretions. Nematode infestation can cause symptoms in the plant that
resemble those of moisture and nutrient deficiencies. It causes hypertrophy in
the pericycle cells of seedling roots and in the periderm cells of the roots of older plants. Root
growth slows and secondary root development is limited. Infested plants can become stunted
and chlorotic. Secondary fungal infection can also cause root decay. Damage from R.
reniformis is directly related to the number of nematodes present when the crop is planted.
Variation among nematode populations, hosts, environmental conditions, and soil types may
alter the threshold or economic injury level across the geographic distribution of the
nematode.
Management Practices: Commonly followed nematode management practices such as
summer ploughing, fallowing and crop rotation which are meant for nematode suppression in
field crops are not practicable in protected cultivations. Following management options are
adopted for management of nematodes:
1. Bioderma rich manure: Land should be thoroughly ploughed and soil should be
brought to fine tilth. Before preparation of the beds in the poly-house, incorporate 20
tons of FYM enriched with the bio-pesticides in the soil. Raised Beds are to be
prepared after bringing the soil to fine tilth. Bed size can be according to the
requirement and the type of crop grown. Add recommended doses of fertilizers. Also
200g neem/ pongamia/ mahua cake enriched by bio-pesticides per sq. m.. Water the
beds for 7-10 days for proper decomposition of these organic materials.
2. Removal of top soil- Removal of rhizospheric soil removes the inoculums present in
the soil and save the coming crop from infestation. However, this practice is very
expensive and labour intensive.
3. Solarisation during May/June- 2-3 deep summer ploughing during the month of
May/ June at an interval of 15 days, when the temperature more than 400C expose
nematode eggs and juveniles to high temperature and reduce the inoculums for the
next season crop. (ref.5)
4. Application of neem cake @200g/sq.m : Incorporating neem cake in soil two weeks
before sowing/planting.
5. Use of healthy plant material
6. Soil sampling and soil testing for nematodes at regular interval.
References:
1. Jain, R. K., In Proceedings of the National Symposium on Innovations in Nematological
Research for Agricultural Sustainability – Challenges and a Roadmap Ahead, Coimbatore,
2010.
2. Reddy, P. P., Diseases of Horticultural Crops: Nematode Problems and their Management,
Scientific Publishers (India), Jodhpur, 2008.
3. Reddy, P. P., Bio-intensive Integrated Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystems,
Springer, India, 2014, pp. 51–55.
4. Bhardwaj, T. and Sharma, J. P., Int. J. Agric. Food Sci. Technol., 2013, 4, 817–822.
5..Elmore, C. L., J. J. Stapleton, C. E. Bell, and J. E. DeVay. 1997. Soil Solarization: A
Nonpesticidal Method for Controlling Diseases, Nematodes and Weeds. Oakland: Univ.
Calif. Agric. Nat. Res. Publ. 21377.

CCS HAU, Hisar, 2015, pp 101-104.
Role of Value Added Products in Marketing

Raj Bala Grewal
Professor (FST) & Dean Post Graduate Studies
Value addition refers to decrease in losses during post harvest handling, increasing the
processing facilities and storage and marketing of processed foods. Food processing can add
value and find good business opportunity. As by primary and secondary processing the raw
food materials are made edible and through tertiary processing they are made ready to eat.
By and large at each stage of processing value is added to the product. In our country, larger
portion of net value addition from agro-industries is derived from undersigned cottage and
small units. In agro-food processing industry, majority of food grains and other materials
undergo primary processing; and about 90% of total value addition comes from primary
processing.
India produces over 200 million tones of food grains and about 130 million tones of fruits and
vegetables. India now ranks first in the world in terms of milk, fruits and vegetables
productions and second in the world in terms of wheat production. In last decades we have
moved from an era of scarcity to one of plenty. Although India is one of the largest
producers of raw materials in the world but only 2% of raw material undergo processing and
value addition. The damage to fresh delicate agri-produce is often up to 50% worth Rs.
70000 crore. This wastage can be avoided by processing these into value added products or
adequately distributing it in different parts of the country. For this it is most urgent to
encourage grading and packaging of fresh agricultural produce to prevent heavy food losses
during handling and transportation. The food processing sector is recognized as having an
important role in improving agricultural productivity, reducing wastage of fruits and
vegetables and other perishables; providing better nutrition and improving food availability
for the domestic market. There is great scope for domestic as well as export trade by
improving the post harvest distribution and processing facilities of agro-food products,
specially of the perishable commodities. Due to perishable nature; the post harvest loss of
these commodities is four to five folds higher than food grains.
A massive thrust to food processing and other agro-based industries will add value to the
product thereby increasing the income of farmers, create employment opportunities and
diversify the rural economy and faster rural industrialization. The demand for processed and
value added products/foods is likely to multiply significantly in the coming years. Rapid
urbanization, breakdown of joint family system, increase in cost of household labout,
increase in number of working women, rise in per capital income have all contributed to the
rapid growth and change in demand pattern. Consumer now demands convenient, safe,
healthy and quality food. India is one of the biggest emerging markets with the population of
over one billion with a strong middle class over 350 million, where, food processing can add
value to raw agri-products and find good business opportunities.
Food processing involves any type of value addition to the agricultural produce starting from
post harvest level. In includes even primary processing like grading, sorting, cutting,
packaging etc. industries like grain processing, rice milling, pulse milling, cereal based
products cocoa products, fruits and vegetable products, soft drinks nuts and oilseeds and
spices. The industry can mop up surpluses at farm level and ensure fair prices from the
produce as well as availability of product at reasonable price to the consumer. The potential
for these industries is assessed into two ways.
1. Degree of processing of primary raw materials
2. Degree of processing of all by products of commodity system.
In India agro-based industrialization has gained momentum during last few years and the
degree of processing has been intensified to get the value added products for domestic and
export markets. For example in case of wheat:
Domestic market: Fortified atta, blended atta, specially flour, bread, biscuits, vermicelli,
pasta products, pizza base, ready to cook parridge, ready to eat porridge etc.
Export: Pasta Products, biscuits, wheat based traditional products.
By Products processing- bran, germ oil, straw board paper. Similarly, based on demand, safe
and quality processed products such as baked , popped, fried, fermented, extruded, shelf
stable traditional sweets and savoury products, convenient food mixes, functional foods,
breakfast foods, quick cooking foods (curries and dals) ready to eat (RTE) and ready to cook
foods can be prepared for domestic as well as international market.
The advent of retort pouch processing technology has made the availability of shelf stable
ready foods a reality in Indian market. A variety of lip smacking Indian dishes such as Dhal
Makhani, Alu Chhole, Channa-Masala, Navrathan Kurma, Palak Panner, Sambar rice etc. are
now are readily available on the shelf. With the food processors like Tasty Bite Eatable.
MTR foods, ITC foods, Satnam overseas, ADF foods and many other dishing out newer and
newer products to meet the demand of Indian palate. The RTE foods business is reported to
have reached a turnover of Rs. 60-80 crores (2003) and it is dubbed that we are in the midst
of a ready to eat revolution. RTE foods are considered the ultimate processed foods‘ with
very high value addition, since these offer convenience of eating off the shelf, eliminating the
kitchen drudgery associated with making a meal at home. This category of food products
also assume importance among processed foods due to the fact that these do not contain any
preservatives and remain shelf stable without refrigeration for at least one year. RTE foods
have now become one more option in the home meal replacement (HMR)) segment along
with the options like mess/canteen, restaurants and carry home outlets.
Similarly, in the fast growing health food market the role of processing and value addition is
hard to miss. The average consumer is willing to pay a higher price for health food,
nutritional and herbal supplement products. Because of consumer preference for more
convenient and healthy foods and improved knowledge of human nutritional and
physiological needs together with technology advancements, we can create a wide variety of
healthy food products. These include fortified foods, low fat, low calorie foods, high fiber
foods, low sodium foods, fat free, sugar free and other health/therapeutic foods e.g. taking
raw commodity such as wheat and soybeans and making it more nutritious, safer, convenient,
more acceptable, easier to prepare or specific to the needs of special population groups adds
immense value to the commodity. Similarly, the terms ‗natural’ has become fancy to many
food marketers. Onjus of Enkay Texafood is said to be 100% natural. Dabur is also selling
its ‗Real juice‘ as 100% natural. So, is Tropicana from Pepsi Stable.
Other area in value addition of agri-products is production of organic foods. In western
countries organic food fetch a much higher price compared to processed foods. Food
industries in India are now considering about the organic foods. A Pune based company has
already launched grocery items which are being promoted, as organic in nature and priced at
premium. Dabur is largest player in branded honey in organized sector having a market share
of about 70%. About 70% of organic agriculture produce in India is being exported. These
products fetch 20-30% higher price than that of conventionally grown products in world

market. Within India also there can be great demand, as with rising income the people tend
to eat safe and healthy food.
New food products are also hitting the market, after successfully establishing in ready-to-eat
breakfast cereal segment, Kellogg is gearing itself to introduce a range of grain-based
products such as Rice Krispies.
Treats and nutri-grain ceral bars. Nestle India Pvt. Ltd. has launched two new milk products
i.e. ‗Nestle Growing UP Milk‘ and Nestle Cereal Milk Drink‘ Britannia has introduced
flavoured milk in tetrapack. Similarly, slimming foods and designer foods based on plant
foods are also being introduced in market.
Nutritious snacks are very essential for children as well as adults to avoid consumption of
junk foods. According to MFPI statistics, the snack food industry in India is worth about Rs.
100 billion with estimated productions of 4 lakhs tones annually. APEDA estimates that over
1000 snacks items and 300 types of savories are made and sold in different parts of the
country. India producers about 1.6% of the global snack food market. A study in India
predicts an annual growth of 25% in this sector.
Novelty always attracts consumers. With changing scenario there is need to forecast and
develop new value added food products. As consumerism rises, people want new things,
brand and experience e.g in biscuits people want multiple taste experience.
There is fast scope for value addition in India as wide variety of agricultural raw material is
available at competitive price. This can create opportunity for employment, improvement in
nutritional status and availability of cheaper and better products for consumer. A well run
food processing unit should ensure that the product gets remunerative prices for the product
and consumer pays less for better and assured quality. For the purpose this is need to
concentrate on:
1. Increasing market share through automation by employing technological
interventions.
2. Improvement in product quality mainly in terms of shelf life and packaging.
3. Modernizing direct manufacturing of end products, bypassing preparation of
intermediate product.
4. Developing the potential to respond to seasonal and peak demands.
5. Development of new value added products in response to consumer‘s choice.
6. Consolidation and upscaling of retail network.
The market for Indian value added products has developed on an extend that the
products are also exported to many countries Indian dishes, pickles, snacks, spices and
papads are extremely popular in many countries. These markets have developed as there are
organized efforts behind these products over couple of decades by Haldiram, MTR, GITS,
Bikaner wala etc. But many value added products are prepared in cottage/small scale units to
suit the local palate. Branded products from local entrepreneurs cater to localized demand for
regional specialties and find space an upcoming super Bazar countries and big grocery shops
where as non-branded products are generally sold door to door campaigning or through
grocery shops and foods outlets round the corner. Only few items are sold in national and
regional market. Majority of them are the local market players. There are two issues which
arise from these observations:
1. That all types of products have not yet found global acceptance and market.
2. That full potential of acceptable value added products have not yet been realized.
It is high time to realize that there is vast market potential of value added products
because of:
1. Working and earning housewives.
2. Scarcity of time, space and domestic help

3. Craze for variety.
4. Exposure from media.
5. Growing cultural interaction
6. Travel opportunities
7. Availability of variety of items across the counter.
With the force of globalization, the market boundaries are gradually breaking giving
universal opportunity to players who are capable. The key challenges for market of
value added food products are:
1. Identification of items/products which have universal acceptance in the context of
target markets.
2. Standardization of formulations and mass customization
3. Production processes to preserve unique qualities of traditional Indian value added
foods.
4. Projecting a realistic volume of business that can be generated to make the
preposition viable.
5. Logistic issues to ensure quick distribution without loss of vale.
6. Promotion of the products and mass marketing initiatives.
If we will not pay attention today, this premising market will go into the hand of non
Indian companies. For this purpose we have to create confidence among the
consumers about safety and quality of food. Indian consumer strongly believes in
purity and naturalness of the products. For this there has to be more Haldirams,
Bikanerwalas, SK Dass‘s and MTR‘s in India to avail this golden opportunity.
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Research · April 2017

Bimlendra Kumari Surender Singh

Crop Growth Simulation Modeling View project

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 Bimlendra Kumari  Surender S Dhankhar  KS Bangarwa

Students’ Counselling & Placement Cell

Students’ Counseling and Placement Cell

1 Honey Extraction, Processing and Packaging Ombir 1-4

4 Fundamentals of Fruit Production DS Dahiya and SK Sehrawat 21-24

5 Cultivation of Vegetable Crops in Protected AK Bhatia 25-32

7 Techniques of Seed Production in Field Crops RC Punia 43-46

10 Bio Intensive Integrated Pest Management in Crops KK Dahiya 59-62

13 Organic Farming for Higher Returns AS Godara 71-78

14 Mushroom Production and Marketing in India Ashwani Kumar 79-82

15 Commercial Importance of Non Timber Forest 83-90

18 Role of Value Added Products in Marketing Raj Bala Grewal 101-104

Honey Extraction, Processing and Packaging

Poplar Based Agroforestry for Higher Return

Sugar cane with Poplar

Turmeric and Fruit trees with Poplar

General Principles of Commercial Crop Production

Crop production principle: Crop production is the exploitation of plant morphological or

Fundamentals of Fruit Production

Cultivation of Vegetable Crops in Protected Conditions

Protected cultivation or controlled environment agriculture is a total concept of modifying the

Bitter gourd 110-120 1.0-1.5 4.0-5.0

Major constraints in protected cultivation of horticultural crops

Eco-friendly Disease Management in Crop Plants

emergence and plant establishment is used routinely to reduce losses to damping -

Techniques of Seed Production in Field Crops

Weeds, Their Cost and Ways to Manage Them Efficiently

Losses caused by weeds

Commercial Farm Forestry in India

Plate 1, 2: Poplar based agroforestry

Bio Intensive Integrated Pest Management in Crops

Cultivation of White Button Mushroom

Nutrient Management for Commercial Agriculture

Rule of applying nutrient is nutrient management. It is a system used by farmers to manage

Organic Farming for Higher Returns

Mushroom Production and Marketing in India

Commercial Importance of Non Timber Forest Products

IPR: Commercialization of Agriculture

Nematode Management in Commercial Agriculture

Root Knot nematode infested roots of Healthy roots

Reniform Nematodes: Rotylenchulus reniformis, the reniform nematode, is a species

100 Commercial Agriculture

Role of Value Added Products in Marketing

102 Commercial Agriculture

103 Commercial Agriculture

104 Commercial Agriculture

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