Tropical and Subtropical Fruits in India

India is the second largest producer of fruits in the world with an annual production of 81.2 million tonnes contributing 12.6% of world fruit production next only to China (21.2%). Of late, with growing population and realization of commercial and nutritional values, the demand and requirement for fruits has increased manifold globally and so is in India. Since then, India has managed a steady growth in area expansion and production of fruits. Even in 2012-2013, increase in area and production of fruits in India was 4.1 and 6.4 times over 2011-2012 Of these, tropical and subtropical fruits contribute a major share, and the important fruits are mango, banana, papaya, citrus, guava, pineapple, litchi, sapota and pomegranate. Among the minor fruits (less area in cultivation than the major fruits) are jackfruit, bael, aonla, carambola, syzygiums, passion fruit and tamarind are also growing in many states of India

Understanding the pollen and ovule characters and fruit set of fruit crops in relation to temperature and genotype – a review

Plant reproduction is indispensable for maintaining crop productivity and species sustainability which basically involves pollen and ovule. Productivity is influenced by temperature stress in various fruit crops worldwide and important factor for unfruitfulness is failure in fertilization. Understanding of the plant reproductive characters in relation to genotype differentiated response across different temperatures will help to develop strategies in overcoming temperature stress. Available literature suggests that variation in pollen viability, germination and tube growth and ovule normality exists among different fruit species, cultivars and flower types (even in the same plant as in litchi) and are strongly influenced by temperature stress and suitable temperature for proper pollen and ovule performance has been identified for various fruit crops. Possible reasons to explain the mechanism for impairment of proper functioning of pollens and ovule are discussed. Further, low and erratic fruit set, improper fruit development and stenocarpic fruits as a result of temperature stress leads to reduced yield. We suggest considering in vitro performance for establishing in vivo nutritional requirements and standardizing critical leaf nutrients by way of correlating with pollen germination, tube growth and ovule normality per cent. Male and female parents can be identified for breeding purpose and region specific adoption based on temperature prevalence in the area.

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn) propagation. New Technologies and innovations

The different propagation systems for litchis are reviewed. After examining the main morphological and developmental characteristics of the plant and the description of the structures and materials, including types of substrate required for the propagation of this species, the different methods for its propagation are discussed. Propagation by seeds is only used for breeding or research purposes or for raising rootstock for grafting. Although propagation by cuttings is done in many countries and stooling has been reported as highly successful in India, air layering is the most common commercial way of propagation for this species. Despite that the cambium activity varies from place to place around the stem with only 30% of the cambium being active at any one time grafting is of current use in China

Propagação de Lichia (Litchi chinensis Sonn) : novas tecnologias e inovações

Foram estudados os diferentes tipos de propagação da lichieira. Depois de examinar as principais características morfológicas e de desenvolvimento da planta e de uma descrição das estruturas de propagação, materiais e tipos de substrato necessários para esta espécie, descrevem-se os diferentes métodos de propagação desta frutifera. A propagação por semente usa-se apenas para melhoramento, pesquisa ou obtenção de porta-enxertos. Embora a propagação por estaquia seja usada em vários países e que a propagação seja por mergulhia é praticada na Índia com grande sucesso, a alporquia é o sistema de propagação comercial mais usado no mundo para esta espécie. Ainda que a atividade do meristema varie em torno do caule, e apenas 30% do mesmo esteja ativo, a enxertia é prática comum na China.The different propagation systems for litchis are reviewed. After examining the main morphological and developmental characteristics of the plant and the description of the structures and materials, including types of substrate required for the propagation of this species, the different methods for its propagation are discussed. Propagation by seeds is only used for breeding or research purposes or for raising rootstock for grafting. Although propagation by cuttings is done in many countries and stooling has been reported as highly successful in India, air layering is the most common commercial way of propagation for this species. Despite that the cambium activity varies from place to place around the stem with only 30% of the cambium being active at any one time grafting is of current use in China

Organic Horticulture in India

During the previous three decades, organic produce has attracted the attention of a growing health-conscious population across the globe. Both international and domestic communities are becoming aware of issues like agrochemical residues, produce quality, and food safety. Worldwide, over 37.5 million ha of land (0.87% of total agricultural land) is being managed organically by 1.9 million producers in 164 countries. In addition, there is another 31 million ha certified for wild harvest collection. Global sales of organic products have reached U.S. $75 billion, with the U.S. and Europe as the largest consumers. The concept of organic farming is not new to the Indian farming community. Several forms of organic farming are successfully practiced in diverse climates, particularly in rain-fed, tribal mountains, and hilly areas of the country. Many of the forest products of economic importance, such as herbs and medicinal plants are in this category by default. The report of the Task Force on Organic Farming appointed by the Government of India noted the vast areas of the country where limited amounts of synthetic chemicals are used, although they have low productivity, but also which could have unexploited potential for organic agriculture. As of March 2014, India had 4.72 million ha under an organic certification process, including 0.6 million ha of cultivated agricultural land and 4.12 million ha of wild harvest collection forest area. During 2012–2013, India exported 165,262 million tons of organic products across 135 commodities valued at$312 million. The domestic market for organic commodities is also growing at an annual growth rate of 15%–20%. The crops grown organically include cashew nut, spices, cotton, rice, sugarcane, pineapple, passion fruit, groundnut, sunflower, millet, vegetables, wheat castor, mustard, walnut, tea, coffee, banana, and mango. Institutional support for organic exports from India was created by the launch of the National Program for Organic Production (NPOP) by the Agriculture and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce. The NPOP supports promotional initiatives, accreditation by inspection and certification agencies, and offers support to agri-business enterprises to facilitate export. India now has 26 accredited certification agencies to facilitate the certification of growers