Horticulture of Telangana - Telangana PCS Exam Notes

Horticulture of Telangana

Definition of Horticulture:

Horticulture may be broadly defined as the Science and art of growing fruits, vegetables and flowers and crops like spices condiments and other plantation crops.
It is a science of cultivation of Garden plants.
The word Horticulture in derived from the Latin word Hortus meaning enclosure (garden) and culture – meaning, cultivation,. Thus Horticulture mans culture or cultivation of garden crops.

Branches of Horticulture:

Horticultural Science is the most distinct branch of Agricultural Sciences and call be divided into four different branches as follow.

Main Branches:

Pamology– It deals with cultivation of fruit crops.
Olericulture- It deals with cultivation of vegetable crops
Floriculture- It deals with cultivation of ornamental flowers and land scaping.
Fruit and
vegetable preservation- It deals with the principles of fruit and vegetable preservation

Sub Branches:

Plantation and Medicinal plants.
Ornamental Gardening
Landscape gardening and
Nursery plant production

Horticulture of Telangana

Horticulture of Telangana has over the years emerged as an indispensable part of Agriculture by offering wide range of crop diversification choices to farmers and providing opportunities for sustaining large number of agro-industries which have created employment opportunities to semi-skilled and unskilled labour force.
In fact, Horticulture of Telangana as a sub-sector is a revelation – benefiting from an impressive base has shown remarkable signs of progress in Telangana.
Horticulture of Telangana is the growth engine of Telangana State and is the chief source of income to the economy of the state.
It contributes approx 5.16% GSDP of the State.
In India, Telangana State stands 3rd in area and 8th in production of fruits and vegetables.

Total Geographical Area: 114.84 Lakh Ha
Total Net Irrigated Area 17.73 Lakh Ha.
Area under Horticulture: 8.20 Lakh Ha (1st Estimates 14-15)
Production of Hort. Crops: 94.54 Lakh MT
Telangana stands 3rd in area & 8th in production of fruits in the country.
Ranks 1st in area & Production of Turmeric.
Telangana stands 11th in Area & 13th in Production of Vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables constitutes 74% of the total horticulture cropped area

Telangana Potential in Horticulture of Telangana

Suitable Agro- Climatic conditions and Soils.
Availability of vast extents of land for area expansion.
Well connected rail, road and air network. Increased awareness among consumers for nutritive diet i.e fresh Fruits & Vegetables.
Large Network of Nurseries / Seed Agencies / R&D
Enterprising & Progressive farming community. Mostly (80%) dependent on farming activity.
Export potential for Mango, Banana, and Vegetables & Flowers – International Airport – Potential to become export Hub.
Blooming of Retail Fresh Chains in Hyderabad – provide impetus to production & ensuring better price realization to grower.
Agro based industries can spur generation of employment in future in Telangana State

AREA PRODUCTION – 2015-16 (Final Estimate)

(Area in lakh Ha & Production in Lakh MTs)

S. No.	Name of Crop	Area	Production
1	Fruits	3.235	41.972
2	Vegetables	1.718	31.953
3	Flowers	0.037	0.14
4	Plantation Crops	0.148	0.62
5	Spices	1.596	6.97
	Total	6.734	81.65

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture of Telangana

The State Horticulture Mission (Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture) was launched on 3rd November, 2005, under National Horticulture Mission.

Objectives

To provide holistic growth of the horticulture sector through an area based regionally differentiated strategies which include research, technology promotion, extension, post harvest management, processing and marketing, in consonance with comparative advantage of each State/region and its diverse agro-climatic feature;
To enhance horticulture production , improve nutritional security and income support to farm households;
To establish convergence and synergy among multiple on-going and planned programmes for horticulture development;
To promote, develop and disseminate technologies, through a seamless blend of traditional wisdom and modern scientific knowledge;
To create opportunities for employment generation for skilled and unskilled persons, especially unemployed youth.

Horticulture Districts of Horticulture of Telangana

Adilabad
Nirmal
Manchiryal
Asifabad (Komaram Bheem)
Nizamabad
Kamareddy
Karimnagar
Jagityal
Peddapalli
Siricilla
Sanga Reddy
Medak
Siddipet
Warangal (Urban)
Warangal (Rural)
Mahaboobabad
Bhupalapally
Janagam
Khammam
Kothagudem
Nalgonda
Suryapet
Yadadri
Mahaboobnagar
Nagarkurnool
Wanaparthy
Gadwal (Jogulamba)
Vikarabad
Ranga Reddy
Medchal (Malkajgiri)

Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

Telangana is endowed with suitable agro-climatic conditions for production of various horticulture crops especially vegetables production. Horticulture sector has been identified as one of the prime sector contributing to State GSDP.
Prospective planning of vegetables is done under RKVY for 3 seasons i.e. Kharif, Rabi and summer with following objectives:

Objectives:

Production enhancement by distribution of good quality hybrid vegetable seed to meet the continuous demand of vegetables and thereby providing support to nutritional security.
To ensure availability of vegetables throughout the year and improvement of nutritional standards in rural areas.
Creation of infrastructure like permanent pandals at farmer’s field for quality production of creeper vegetables.
To promote new technologies.
To minimize the post harvest losses.
To enhance knowledge and skills of farmers with latest advanced technologies by conducting trainings and exposure visits.

MAJOR SCHEMES UNDER RKVY

Supply of Hybrid Vegetable Seed – 50% subsidy on Hybrid vegetable seed @ Rs. 3000/- per hectare and a maximum of 2 hectares per beneficiary.
Creeper Mesh- 50% assistance not exceeding Rs. 40000/-per acre. Maximum eligibility is 1 hectare per beneficiary.
Supply of Shade net for vegetable cultivation @ Rs. 25/- per Sqm. unit cost – 50% assistance not exceeding Rs. 12.5/-per sq.mt. Each farmer can avail upto 10000 sq. mts.
Seedling Protrays – 50% assistance not exceeding Rs.7.50/-per protray of 99 cells. Each farmer can avail upto 200 No. of protrays.
Vegetable Mini kits – 90% assistance per kit of Rs.100/-. Each farmer can avail upto 2 No. of Vegetable mini kits.
Permanent Pandals- 50% assistance not exceeding Rs. 100000/-per acre, Maximum eligibility is 1 hectare per beneficiary.
Plastic Crates – 50% cost of the equipment subject to the maximum of Rs. 120/- for plastic crate and maximum eligibility of 40 crates/farmer.
75% subsidy on onion seed distribution has been taken up to cover an extent of 14000 acres. Draft Onion Price Stabilization policy submitted to Govt.

Poly House –State Plan (Under Department of Horticulture of Telangana)

Poly Houses are protected structures made up of GI pipes covered with polythene, used for cultivation of high value horticulture crops.
The Government of Telangana has sanctioned a scheme on establishment of Polyhouses in Telangana under State Plan Schemes during 2014-15, through the Department of Horticulture with the following major objectives.

Enhancing productivity per unit area.
Promotion of high value Horticulture crops under Poly houses.
Year round production of flower & Vegetable crops.
To cater to the needs of consumers in Hyderabad & entire state

Highlights of the scheme:

The scheme is implemented with 75% subsidy under Normal State Plan scheme in the entire state for vegetables and flowers
Beneficiaries are eligible up to min. of 200 sq.mts and max. of 3.00 acres and preferably farmers small farmers with 0.5 to 1.0 acre area
The farmers are given choice for selection under empanelled companies and registered companies.

VIUC in Telanagana is Implemented in Telugu Catchy phrase as “Mana Ooru Mana Kuragayalu”

Objectives:

Vegetable production plan based onv market arrivals of last five years, for availability of vegetables round the year.
Transfer of technology and ensuringv adoption of technology by farmer.
Strengthening of Vegetable Value chain creating Marketing linkages in 3 districts i.e. Mahbubnagar, Medak & Ranga Reddy which are main feeders of Hyderabad Market.
Enhancement of productionv & productivity by adopting best innovative practices

NEED FOR VIUC IN TELANGANA

Population of Hyderabad : 100 lakhs approx.
Per day requirement (ICMR recomdn.) : 300 g/ day/person
Annual requirement : 11 lakh tonnes
Total Annual estimated arrivals in Hyd. city: 7.8 LakhMTs
There is a gap of 3.2 lakh MTs which needs to be addressed by VIUC intervention

Horticulture Department of Telangana

Objective

Identify suitable areas for cultivation of various Horticultural crops, motivate, educate and encourage the farmers to take up cultivation of identified crops in a large scale.
To provide latest technologies, Good Agriculture Practices (GAP), quality plant material to the farmers for increasing production & productivity.
To create awareness on water-use management and cropping patterns.
Acts as nodal agency for implementation of various Horticultural programmes of State and Central Governments.

Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University (SKLTSHU)

Apart from these 11 Research stations which are catering to the research needs in major horticultural crops, there is every need, scope to establish new research station which should cater mainly to the dry land crops as the state is having vast tracts of dry lands and majority of the farming system are under the dry land crops category.
Further as the demand of chillies and onion are increasing day by day and with the amenability of cultivating potato in Telangana region, there is also need and scope for the establishment of the dedicated research station for chillies and onion and potato.
Keeping this scenario, the future vision of the SKLTSHU is to establish the following research stations

Dry land Horticultural Research Station at Mahaboobnagar district
Chilli and seed spice Research Station, Warangal district
Potato and Onion Research station at Zaheerabad, Medak district

To further improve the quality of the research work, a state of art PG research center with all the infrastructure and latest equipment is being established at Mulugu, the new headquarters of the SKLTSHU.

New Research Stations

Dry land Horticultural Research Station at Mahaboobnagar

Owing to dry climate, Telangana state has highest potential for the increase in the acreage of dry fruit crops like pomegranate, fig, custard apple, ber, anola, wood apple, beal, sapota and guava.
Under the climate change scenario, growing dry land horticultural crop is the only alternative for improving the economic status of the farmers. More and more farmers are growing dry land horticultural crops instead of regular agricultural crops.
Growing dry land horticultural crops which has high water use efficiency is the best alternative in the present scenario of climate change stimulated vagaries like drought particularly in Mahaboobnagar district of Telangana.
However, the Telangana state has very less acreage of dry land crops like custard apple (2759 ha), Pomegranate (765 ha), Sapota (1312 ha), fig and ber (negligible). And hence increasing the acreage of the dry land horticulture crop is the only alternative for increasing the economic status of farmers of Telangana which will ultimately prevent farmers suicide.
Apart from this new crop introduction like Kinnow, Date palm and Apple ber can also be encouraged in the state as the state is congenial for growing these crops.
Under these scenario, there is every need to give impetus to dry land horticultural crops by establishing a dedicated Research Station at Mahaboobnagar with mandate crops of pomegranate, fig, custard apple, sapota, ber, anola, wood apple, beal and guava.

Chilli and seed spice Research Station of Horticulture of Telangana

In Telangana State, chilli (dry) is grown in 9 districts out of 10 districts with highest acreage in Khamman followed by Warangal districts. There is a huge area under green chillies in Medak and Rangareddy districts. The average productivity of chillies is 3 M.t/ha.
In Warangal district of Telangana, exclusively chapta variety of chilli is grown and framers are getting remunerative price for this variety. Further, the oleoresin content of Telangana chillies is high upto 11.2 %.
In the undivided Andhra Pradesh, chilli research station located at LAM, Guntur was catering to the needs of the chillie farmers of the state with more emphasis on the location based research specific to Guntur and Andhra Region.
Now, the area under chilli for green and dry is alarmingly increasing thereby emphasising for need based location specific research on the crop in the state. Hence, an urgent need to establish chilli research station. To this effect land to an extent of 85 acres has already been procured near Warangal.

Potato and Onion Research station at Zaheerabad

In Telangana, potato is grown in Medak (4530 ha and 90760 MT), Rangareddy (394 ha and 7880 MT) and Khammam (1970 ha and 39,400 MT) districts.
Majority of the potato cultivation (70-80 %) in Medak district is under drip irrigation system, a progressive system of cultivation which is yet to be followed in many of the major potato growing states.
The productivity of potato in Telangana state is higher than other potato growing states which clearly indicate the potential scope for increasing the thrust on potato cultivation in Telangana State.
In Telangana, onion is grown in an area of 33851 ha with a total cumulative production of 609318 Mt. Among the district, the leading onion producing district is Mahaboobnagar (153630 MT) followed by Medak (95859 MT). Ginger and garlic areas also increasing in the Telangana region particularly in Medak district.
There is every need to increase the area of the onion and because of suitable climate condition of Telangana this crop has huge potential in reducing the climate vagaries faced by Telangana farmers.
However, the farmers are facing certain problems in the procurement of the seed tubers particularly potato and onion, non availability of the location specific suitable varieties adoptable to local conditions, information on fertigation, mechanisation and post harvest storage. Research is lacking on the location specific technologies suitable for the region.
Hence, there is every need to establish a dedicate Research Station on potato, onion near Zaheerabad, Medak district due to its favourable climatic conditions for these crops and for the benefit of potato and onion farmers of the region and Telangana state at large.

National Horticulture Mission (N H M) of India

Recognizing the importance of horticulture sector in the growth of Indian agriculture, Honorable Finance Minister announced launching of National Horticulture Mission in his budget speech on July 8, 2004.
The horticulture sector includes fruit, vegetables, spices, medicinal and aromatic plants, flowers, mushroom and a variety of plantation crops like coconut, areca nut, cashew nut and cocoa which has been contributing significantly to the GDP in agriculture (28.5 per cent form 8.5 per cent area).
National Horticulture Mission is a centrally sponsored scheme in which Government of India provide 100% assistance to the state mission during the year 2005-06 (During XI plan, the assistance form Government of India will be 85% with 15% contribution by the State Government.

Objectives:

To develop horticulture to the maximum potential available in the State and to augment production of all horticultural production of all horticultural products (Fruits, Vegetable, flowers, Plantation crops, Spices, Medicinal Aromatic plants) in the state

To provide holistic growth of the horticulture sector through an area based regionally differentiated strategies
To enhance horticulture production, improve nutritional security and income support to farm households;
To establish convergence and synergy among multiple on-going and planned programmes for horticulture development;
To promote, develop and disseminate technologies, through a seamless blend of traditional wisdom and modern scientific knowledge.
To create opportunities for employment generation for skilled and unskilled persons, especially unemployed youth;

In pursuance of the above goals, the National Horticulture Mission will focus in the areas of horticultural research, development, post harvest management,, processing and marketing.