ศูนย์นวัตกรรมเทคโนโลยีหลังการเก็บเกี่ยว

Horticulture research in India: infrastructure, achievements, impact, needs and expectations.

Chadha, K. L.;

Acta Horticulturae Year: 1999 Issue: No. 495 Pages: 483-489

1999

บทคัดย่อ

India has a wide variety of climate and soil on which a large range of horticultural crops are grown. After attaining independence in 1947, major emphasis was laid on achieving self sufficiency in food production. Development of high yielding wheat cultivars and high production technologies and their adoption in areas of assured irrigation paved the way towards food security ushering in the Green Revolution in the 1960s. However, it gradually became clear that horticultural production, for which Indian topography and agroclimates is well suited, is an ideal method of achieving sustainability of small holdings, increasing employment, improving the environment, providing an enormous export potential and above all achieving nutritional security. As a result, due emphasis on diversification to horticultural crops was given only during the most recent decade. It is concluded that India has a good natural resource base and an adequate R&D infrastructure. Both production and productivity of several cro

ps has increased many fold. Many new crops have been introduced and others adapted to unconventional areas. A number of key projects on mushrooms and cut flower production have been established. Near self-sufficiency has been achieved in many crops. The demand for horticultural produce is rising due to increasing population, changing food habits, awareness of high nutritional value and greater emphasis on added value and exporting. Among the challenges still faced are the eroding gene pool, shrinking land and other natural resources, serious production constraints, biotic and abiotic constraints and huge postharvest losses. Future expansion has to be in arid and semi-arid areas and in under-utilized horticultural crops.