Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ABSTRACT
The global floriculture trade is estimated to be at US$ 70 billion. The
floriculture industry is growing at the rate of 8-10% per annum. There
are nearly 120 countries that are actively involved in floriculture busi-
ness. India ranks second in flower cultivation next to China producing
1,651,000 MT of loose flowers and 75,065 lakh numbers of cut flow-
ers annually (2011-2012). In the last decade, there was a great surge in
the production as well as consumption of flowers, ornamental plants and
value added products. Though, India's present contribution in the global
floricultural export market is negligible (~0.4%) as compared to the Neth-
erlands (58%), Columbia (14%), Equador (7%), Kenya (5%), Israel (2%),
Italy (2%), Spain (2%) and Others 10%. Europe continues to be the largest
destination for Indian floriculture exports. However, in the recent years,
India has been exporting floriculture products to the Japanese, Australian
and the Middle East markets.
The main global challenge facing the floriculture industry today is the
impact of climate change and the issue of carbon footprint. IPCC-GCM
projections for India indicate that the annual temperature will increase by
2 to 3.5 °C. Similarly annual precipitation is expected to increase by 10-
20% but, the seasonal variations would range from deficits to excesses of
the annual precipitation.
The higher ambient temperature has a direct impact on: (1) Volatile
fragrances the flowers emit; (2) Deterioration of pigments leading to dull
shades; (3) Reduced production and productivity under open and protect-
ed environment; (4) Shift in insect pest and disease outbreaks; (5) Absence
of winter chilling will reduce flowering; (6) reduced post harvest life; (7)
poor pollination and seed set due to changes in insect behavior. Similarly
higher rainfall would increase anaerobic stress at the root zone leading to
yellowing, poor growth and even mortality.
It is expected that the hi-tech floriculture units are likely to be buffered
to an extent from direct effects of climate change as most of the flower
production is carried out in greenhouses. Small-scale players who depend
on rain-fed floriculture will be extremely vulnerable to climate change be-
cause of their direct impact. Hi-tech growers are also not entirely immune
as the industry depends heavily on natural resources like water availability
and its quality besides the vagaries like drought and floods that are likely
to cause havoc in flower production.
