Today, horticulture forms an integral part of food, nutritional and economic security. Adoption of horticulture, both by small and marginal farmers, has brought prosperity in many regions of the country as India is endowed with a wide variety of agro climatic conditions and enjoys an enviable position in the horticultural map of the world. Almost all types of horticultural crops can be grown in one region or the other.
As per released by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, second advance estimates of area and production of various horticultural crops, its production in the country was estimated to be 329.86 million tonnes in the year 2020-21. The production estimates are highest so far and it reflects an increase of 9.39 million tonnes (2.93 percent) in comparison to 2019-20. The production of fruits is estimated to be 102.76 million tonnes in 2020-21 as compared to 102.08 million tonnes achieved in the previous year 2019-20. The production of vegetables, however, is estimated to be 196.27 million tonnes as compared to 188.28 million tonnes in the previous year.
But with shrinking land and scarce natural resources, the path ahead for Indian horticulture should be to diversify into hi-tech horticulture to improve the productivity and quality.
Protected cultivation of horticultural crops offers best ch