Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
4.10.13 PROTECTED CULTIVATION
Protected cultivation of horticultural crops is also another approach for
increasing land use along with resource use efficiency. The main purpose
of protected cultivation is to create a favorable environment for the sus-
tained growth of crop so as to realize its maximum potential even in ad-
verse climatic conditions. Protected cultivation technology offers several
advantages to produce vegetables, flowers, hybrid seeds of high quality
with minimum risks due to uncertainty of weather and also ensuring ef-
ficient and other resources. This becomes relevant to farmers having small
land holding who would be benefitted by a technology, which helps them
to produce more crops each year from their land, particularly during off
season when prices are higher. Thus, protected horticulture has great po-
tential to enhance the income especially of small farmers if appropriate
technological interventions are made.
Protected cultivation offers several advantages to produce horticultural
crops and their planting material of high quality and yields, through ef-
ficient land and resource utilization. Fruits, vegetable and flower crops
normally accrue 4 to 8 times higher profits than other crops. This mar-
gin of profit can increase manifolds if some of these high value crops are
grown under protected conditions, like greenhouses, net houses, tunnels,
etc. Protected cultivation has very high entrepreneurial value and profit
maximization leading to local employment, social empowerment and re-
spectability of the growers. Environmentally safe methodologies involv-
ing IPM tactics reduce the hazards lacing the high value products.
Protected Cultivation technology is a relatively new technology for our
country. The total area covered under protected cultivation in our country
is approx. 30,000 hectares. There has been a very good development in this
area during the last five years. The leading states in the area of protected
cultivation are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, North-eastern
states, Uttarakhand, Tamilnadu and Punjab. The major crops grown in
the protected cultivation are tomato, capsicum, cucumber, melons, rose,
gerbera, carnation and chrysanthemum. Nursery grown in the protected
cultivation is becoming very popular venture for income and employment
generation.
