Horticulture

The art and science of growing flowers, fruits, ornamental plants and vegetables in small gardens or farm is called as Horticulture. Importance and Scope of Horticulture In India, we have several agro-ecological regions. Hence, there are ample oppurtunities to grow a variety of horticulture crops. Approximate estimates reveal that nearly 11-6 million hectares of land is covered by horticulture crops and the annual production is about 91 million tonnes. Horticulture crops, though they occupy hardly 7% of the cropped area, they contribute over 18% to the gross agricultural output of India. India produces almost 28.2 million tonnes of fruits and 66 million tonnes of vegetables and is next only to Brazil and China. Though the per capita consumtion of fruits and vegetables in India is only around 46 kg and 130 g against a minimum of about 92 g and 300 g respectively recommended by Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Nutrition. At the present growing rate, the requirements of fruits and vegetables, on a yearly basis would be nearly 32.58 million tonnes and 83 million tonnes respectively. The need for attaining nutritional security and for more profitable use of land has made the growers aware of greater utilization of available wastelands and focussed their attention towards horticultural crops that demand less water and other inputs. They also earn 3 to 4 times more remuneration than other field crops. Abundant sunshine throughout the year, surplus labour and varied agro-climate conditions offer high potential for commercial horticulture in the estimated 240 million acres of cultivable wasteland that is lying idle at present. Scheme for Financing Development of Horticulture(Fruits,Flowers and Vegetables) and Plantation Crops Purpose: Financial assistance will be made available mainly for establishment and development of new orchards or groves of fruit crops, plantation crops, ornamental crops, medicinal plants, essential oil/aromatic plants etc, rejuvenation of existing orchards or plantation, raising vegetables ,raising flower crops, inter-cropping in horticultural crops, Marketing loan to meet picking, grading, crating, forwarding and transportation costs etc. Eligibility: Individual farmers or group of farmers with stipulated land holding , and Public Sector Undertakings or private firms desirous of seeking financial assistance for plantation of fruit trees or other economic plants on project basis. Nature of Facility: Short term loan or cash credit facility is provided for production purposes and Medium term loan for development of orchards or vegetable/flower gardens. Extent of Loan: Need based. However, working Capital loan would depend upon scales of finance. In case marketing loan is also considered, it does not exceed 20 per cent of the estimated value of crop.

Gestation Period: Gestation period will vary with variety of plants/trees grown. Repayment of Loan: Short Term Loans: Crop Loan: Loan disbursed for raising vegetable crops, flower crops or other inter-cropping shall be recovered within 6-8 weeks of harvest of crop unless loans are given as composite loans taking into account both production and investment credit needs. In such cases, loan would be recovered in 4-5 years. Marketing Loan: Repayment within 4 months from date of loan. Medium Term Loan: Repayment period (inclusive of gestation) in respect of medium term loans shall be in the range of 4-15 years. Fruits Apple grows well only in hilly and cold regions, at a height of about 7000-9000 feet. The major apple producing states in India are Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. On the basis of gross value, bananna is considered to be the 4th most important food crop in the world. Its useful for patients with high blood pressure and heart disease. Also good for kidney diseases, ulcer and gastro-enteritis. Cashew is grown both for its fruit as well as nuts. Citrus fruits, mainly mandarin orange, sweet orange and lime is grown in almost all the states of India. Grape, a deciduous fruit is grown extensively in temperate regions. Guava, which is available at a moderate price has a pleasant aroma and good flavour and also a high nutritive value. Litchi is another summer crop of India, which is consumed both fresh as well as used to make jams, jellies and squashes. Papaya is mainly cultivated for fresh consumption as a part of breakfast dessert and is also used in fruit salad. Land Apple is mainly grown in Jammu, Himachal Pradesh and the hilly areas of Uttar Pradesh. Small quantities are also grown in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Mizoram and Bihar. Banana is grown in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Grape cultivation is mainly done in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan. Litchi is grown extensively in northern Bihar, western Uttar Pradesh and in Punjab and papaya grows in Karnataka, Orissa, Assam, West Bengal and Gujarat. Pineapple is grown mainly in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, West Bengal, Kerala,

Karnataka and Goa in a large scale whereas in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on a smaller scale. Season The best season for harvesting apples is during July-Sept in Uttar Pradesh and in July till Nov in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Bananna is a moisture and heat loving plant. It cannot tolerate frost or arid conditions. Grape is a subtropical fruit, which grows well in dry summer. The vines shed their leaves in winter and new growth takes in spring and matures in summer. Guava is the most adaptable of all trees and grows well in almost any type of soil and climatic conditions. It can withstand prolonged droughts but not frost. Main production of litchi takes place in may and june. Hot dry winds in summer, when its ripening are undesirable. Papaya is intolerant of low temperatures. Strong winds can easily break the tree's weak stems. Pineapple is a humid tropical plant and grows well, both in the plains and also the elevated areas but not exceding 900 meters. It cannot withstand either high temperatures or frost. Fertilizers Soil type and area of cultivation determines the requirement for fertilizers. The major nutrients required are Nitrogen, P2O5 and K2O. Areas receiving neem cake have significantly reduced Nematode population. Green manuring can be done wherever feasible. Irrigation About 1500 and 2000 mm of water is required every year at an average of 3 to 6 mm per day for banana's. Citrus plants respond well to irrigation. The better irrigation, they get, the heavier fruits they produce. Graevines should generally be irrigated when the available soil moisture is at 80% of the field capacity. Guava plants, generally grown under rainfed conditions hardly require very little irrigation. Papaya is susceptible to water logging and hence the area where it is grown should have a proper drainage system, especially in heavy soils, having high rainfall. Although pineapple is grown mostly under rainfed conditions, supplementary irrigation can help in production of good sized fruits in areas having optimum rainfall. Harvest Some early varieties of bananas flower about 7 months after planting. The fruits then take about 3 months to ripen. Cashew fruits usually ripen from March to May. Grapes are ready to be picked when the berries near the tip change colour and become sweet. Guava fruits should be plucked as soon as they ripen. Litchi bunches are plucked from the tree

by hand. Papaya flowers in about 4 months time, after planting and is ready to be harvested in another 6 months. They should be picked while they are still green and hard, but there's a slight change in the colour of the rind. Pineapples are harvested when they are just about yellow and the eyes become full and the bracts wither. It is cut clean, retaining only about 5 cm of the stalk. They are transported after packing them in bamboo baskets or crates in a layer or two. Medicinal Plants Many of the drugs, these days are made from plants. An extract from the chemical compound in a medicinal plant and its subsequent modification could be used as a pharmaceutical product. Countries like India, which have a rich knowledge base regarding medicinal plants and health care have attracted the interests of many pharmaceutical companies. This knowledge has been used for a lot of research and development programs in the hope of discovering and producing new drugs. Over 9500 species of plants have been identified as having medicinal value, by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. So its very important that not only, these species are protected but also their cultivation developed in order to meet the entire demand of the domestic industries and for export purposes. We should start the cultivation of medicinal & aromatic plants, to ensure purity, authenticity and sustainable supply of raw materials required for herbal drugs, including polyherbals. Over US $ Every year 3000 million is earned in foreign exchange from this category. State Agricultural Universities have developed several agro-techniques for large number of medicinal plants. Unorganized marketing arrangements have lead to this industry, not being exploited its fullest potential. A Medicinal Plants Board has been constituted in the Department of Indian Systems of Medicines & Homeopathy to address all these issues. Aonla a deciduous tree, ashoka an evergreen tree are found in the Centre and Eastern Himalayas & khasi, Garo & Lushai hills. Aswahagandha, Atis, Cinchona, Guggal, Ipecac, Isabgol, Jangali Haldi, Jatamansi, Kalmegh, Kokum, Lemon Grass, Long Pepper, Madhunasini, Opium Poppy, Rauwolfia and Senna are a few other plants, which have medicinal characteristics. Goverement Finance Schemes 1. Scheme for Financing Kitchen Gardening Purpose: Loan is given for initial expenditure on fencing, purchase of inputs like seeds, fertilizers, plant protection chemicals, Land development, Small gardening equipments. Eligibility: Applicant be employed in a Government/Semi-Government unit or in a Co-operative/Private Sector Organization of repute. However, he/she should not be working as an ad-hoc employee; Professional and self-employed person having previous dealings with the financing branch; Pensioner of Central/State Government or other Government Undertakings and should be having pension account with financing branch; Wives of employees of

Government/Semi Government bodies and other organizations as aforesaid are also eligible provided loan for the purpose has not been raised by their husbands; Staff members are also eligible provided they have sufficient space to undertake such activities; Applicant must have vacant land in/around residential house with right to use such land; He/she should have a deposit account with bank for at least six months; The applicant should have adequate income for repayment of loan. Nature & Extent of Loan: Short term loan upto Rs. 5000/-. Repayment of Loan: One year. 2. Scheme for Financing Forestry Development Programmes Purpose: Term Loan shall be provided for the development of nurseries, Plantation and raising forestry trees upto harvesting , Loan for inter-cropping is also considered depending upon the crops to be grown. Eligibility: Farmers, Companies, State Undertakings having ownership/ lease-hold/ perpetual tenancy rights over land in their name shall be eligible for availing loan under the scheme. Extent of Loan: Need based. Repayment of Loan: (i) Forest Plantation: Loan for scheme where trees are grown should be repaid within a maximum period of 15 years inclusive of grace period. (ii) Nursery: Since nursery starts yielding income within short period, repayment of entire term loan shall be fixed within 5 years. 3. Scheme for Financing Development of Wasteland(Including Tree Patta Scheme) Purpose: Loan is given for Reclamation of soil ,Soil conservation measures ,Conditioning of land by raising seasonal crops in reclaimed area for initial one/two years, raising of forest tree/pastures in existing wasteland or reclaimed land, creating irrigation potential in wasteland, Schematic afforestation of wasteland, Tree Patta holders under Tree Patta Scheme. Eligibility: Farmers having land holdings ,Panchayats/other bodies having such community land. Extent of Loan: Need-based loan

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General
Soils Seed Material Cultivation Practices Nutrients Irrigation Pests Post Harvest Growth Regulators

Orchard Establishment

Establishment of Mango Orchard

Establishment of mango orchard is a long-term investment and trees continue to produce fruit for longer years than many other fruit crops. Thus its planting requires proper planning which includes careful selection of site, provision of gentle slope to facilitate proper irrigation and prompt drainage to avoid harmful effect of water logging during rainy season. Similarly, proper maintenance and care is required for profitable return through high production of quality fruits. Special attention is needed in selection of site, field preparation, actual layout of the orchard, proper spacing, digging of pits, selection of planting material and planting, handling of young plants and intercultural operations.

Crop Specific

About Mango History Morphology Mango Management Varieties Soils And Climate Orchard Establishment Root Stocks Propagation Orchard Care Training And Pruning Irrigation Weed Management Fertilizer Requirement Flowering And Fruiting Disease Management Pest Management Malformation Post Harvest Technology Marketing High Density Orcharding

Site selection

Selection of suitable site is the first step for a mango orchard on commercial scale. The land which is chosen for mango orchard, planting should be near to main road and market. It should have proper irrigation facilities and have a good soil and climate suitable for growth and production of mango trees. Any mistake in selection of site can not be altered after planting while modifications in other factors are possible. Therefore, selection of site should receive the primary consideration.

Field Preparation and Layout

Selected fields should be deeply ploughed followed by harrowing to root out the perennial weeds and heavy clods. This operation provides congenial tilth to young roots for their healthy development. Proper levelling of land follows this and a gentle slope is provided in one direction to facilitate irrigation as well as drainage of excess water during rains. The soils which have drainage problems, should be provided with adequate trenching from the very beginning to avoid serious damage to young plants due to water stagnation. After the proper field preparation one should move for layout. Proper layout of an orchard is necessary. Like selection of site, any mistake committed in beginning cannot be rectified later on. Therefore very careful pre-planning is essential before the actual layout in the field. The system of layout to be adopted is decided according to needs. The main systems of layout usually in vogue are I) Square ii) rectangular iii) Quincunx iv) Hexagonal and v) Contour.

Square System

This system is most common for planting of mango orchards.

AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE

Monday, February 23, 2004, Chandigarh, India

Give old mango trees a new lease of life

Amarjit Thind

MANGO, the king of fruits, is cultivated throughout India. In the South, Banganpali,
and in the North, Dusehri, hold the place of pride at any dining table. Alphonso is an important cultivar with untapped export potential. Seedling plantations of desi mango varieties, the fruit of which is essentially sucked out rather than eaten, are still found in the countryside, where no commercial cultivars are grown.

Let pesticides not harm you

Divender Gupta

PESTICIDES are an important tool for pest control in most situations like protection
of plants, stored foodgrains, household articles, domestic animals and even human beings. Even in integrated pest management pesticides have a major share, though the use of other control methods like biological control agents and bio-pesticides is on the increase.

Herbicides: learn before you spray

Ram Murti Sirohi

IMPROPER spray of herbicides, besides giving poor control of weeds, may also lead
to herbicide resistance in the target weed. The application of herbicides thus requires special attention because the target and the host belong to the same class, whereas in the case of insecticides and fungicides they belong to different classes.

Disease-resistant rice developed

Applying DNA-marker technology, the Centre for Cellular Molecular Biology and the Directorate of Rice Research have developed bacterial leaf blight (BLB)-resistant Samba Mahsuri and Triguna rice lines in a unique collaborative effort.
HYDERABAD:

Vanilla in Karnataka Micro-irrigation

Give old mango trees a new lease of life

Amarjit Thind

MANGO, the king of fruits, is cultivated

throughout India. In the South, Banganpali, and in the North, Dusehri, hold the place of pride at any dining table. Alphonso is an important cultivar with untapped export potential. Seedling plantations of desi mango varieties, the fruit of which is essentially sucked out rather than eaten, are still found in the countryside, where no commercial cultivars are grown. Mango is a huge tree: a single tree growing in the open can occupy up to an acre of land. It can bear fruit for 60 years. The yield may vary from a few kilograms to a ton, depending on the age and bearing capacity of the tree.

A 40-year-old seedling mango tree top-worked in 2003 with Rampurbola.

There are reports that many seedling mango trees, which had been bearing good crop of high-quality mangoes for juice and pickle, are being uprooted and sold for wood across the region. The commercial plantations of grafted mango trees that have grown old and are not bearing good crop are also being replaced with new plantations. Dr K.K. Sharma, who retired from PAU, says orchardists can avoid uprooting inferior seedling trees and other low or non-bearing mango trees. He recommends the rejuvenation of old trees or top-working of seedling trees. For this, a tree should be beheaded keeping 30cm stubs on 3-6 major limbs from January 15 to February-end. Several sprouts will come up on these stubs during March-April. Let all these sprouts grow till September. Select the best one or two sprouts on each stub and graft them with the desired cultivar. Remove the rest of the sprouts gently by giving a clean cut close to the stub so that these may not re-sprout. If any of these shoots are left they will overpower the newly sprouted grafts. This way one will have 6-12 grafted shoots. These grafts sprout within 20 days of grafting. The shoot above the sprouted graft should be headed back by keeping only one whorl of old leaves in November. These leaves provide food to the newly sprouted graft. Newly sprouted grafts should be covered with basmati trash or plastic bags to save the grafts from frost or severe winters in December. The covers may be removed in February-March. While removing the covers, the polythene sheet used for tying the graft union should also be gently removed. The old sprout above the graft union should also be re-cut, keeping only the newly sprouted grafts. Care should be taken that grafts should not get damaged since these cannot tolerate even small pressure. For at least two years take care that no sprout should come up on the tree limbs other than the grafted shoots. Top-worked trees come into bearing within five years, depending upon the grafted cultivar.

The old superior mango trees (dusehri-langra, etc) can also be rejuvenated similarly. In the rejuvenated trees, select 6-12 out-growing sprouts on the 3-6 stubs during June. Remove the rest of the sprouts. These selected shoots grow very fast. During August, the apex of the shoots may be pinched to check the fast growth. This will also help in the development of side branches. The land rendered open to sun after top-working can be utilised for growing crops till the trees come into bearing. With rejuvenation, the benefit of an established root system of the trees can be utilised profitably. These trees can bear a good crop for a number of years once more.

Precautions
The following precautions should be taken in the process: A clean cut should be given to the limbs with a sharp saw to avoid bark splitting. Start beheading from base to the top. Apply bordeaux paste on the cut surface soon after beheading. Preparation of the paste: dissolve 2 kg of copper sulphate in 15 litres of water; mix 3 kg of quick lime in 2-3 litres of water and then add the remaining 12-13 litres of water; mix the two concentrated solutions. If the old trees are infected with fungi, do not behead the limbs since the stubs may not sprout. The Fruit Research Station, Gangian (Dasuya), of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, has to its credit a collection of 70 promising sucking mango selections and 10 grafted table varieties. PAU has recommended seven sucking mango selections (Gn 1 through Gn 7). Table-mango cultivars recommended are dusehri, langra, chausa, alphonso and amrapali. The grafted mango plants come into bearing within five years, whereas seedlings take 7-10 years.

Let pesticides not harm you

Divender Gupta

PESTICIDES are an important tool for pest control in most situations like protection
of plants, stored foodgrains, household articles, domestic animals and even human beings. Even in integrated pest management pesticides have a major share, though the use of other control methods like biological control agents and bio-pesticides is on the increase.

Synthetic pesticides are popular because of the ease of application, effectiveness and high economic returns. Being poisonous in nature and harmful to human beings and other creatures, pesticides should be used with care purchase onwards.

Purchase

At the time of purchase, select the pesticide according to the recommendations of competent authorities. According to the Insecticides Act, 1968, certain information is mandatory to be given on the label of the container. These include technical and trade names of the pesticide, composition (percentage of active ingredient and other auxiliary materials), manufacturers address, registered uses, designation of the toxicity class, net contents, date of manufacturing and expiry, etc. Purchase the insecticide by trade name. For example, if you want to purchase endosulfan, which is a technical name, ask for Thiodan, Endocel, etc., rather than for endosulfan. Do not purchase pesticides after their expiry date.

Before use
After the purchase, read the label information carefully. The toxicity label is in a diamond shape, divided into two triangles. The lower triangle is red/ yellow/ blue/ green; these colours depict the toxicity class, red being extremely toxic, followed by yellow, blue and green. The handling of the red-label pesticides needs utmost care. One should not work alone while handling the extremely toxic pesticides. Store the pesticides in labelled containers out of the reach of children. Check the spray equipment by filling water and rectify the problems.

During use
While opening the packing, take care not to blow or splash the contents. Use only the recommended dose as a higher dose, besides being costly, can also cause phytotoxicity, residues and other health hazards. On the other hand, a lower dose will not be effective. Mix the pesticide in a ventilated place to avoid inhalation. Do not mix in containers meant for general use. For mixing, use rod and never bare hands. Do not use your mouth to siphon pesticide out of a container. Those handling pesticides should not be sick or have any bruise or cut. Wear protective clothing while using pesticides. Do not eat, smoke or chew during the spraying operation and never rub the mouth or eyes with your hands while spraying. Do not spray against the wind, as it will cause drift, leading to harmful effect to nontarget organisms, and the wastage of pesticide. Never apply granules with bare hands as these formulations are highly toxic and are absorbed through the skin. Generally, with packs containing granules, gloves are provided; if not, then wear synthetic gloves and use a granule applicator. The risk of skin absorption is increased in warm weather when sweating. Also, people tend to avoid protective clothing in such weather. Do not use your mouth to blow open clogged nozzles, instead use a fine wire. When there is bee activity in the field, avoid pesticide application. But if necessary, then do it late in the evening when there is no bee activity. Most ready-to-use formulations are inflammable; do not bring these near a flame. After use, clean the spray equipment thoroughly with water. The unused pesticide should be kept in a labelled container. Do not use empty pesticide containers for any purpose, particularly for storing water or feed for

animals. The containers should be destroyed and buried. Wash hands thoroughly with soap, take a bath, and change your clothes. After application of the pesticide, observe the waiting periods recommended for different pesticides before harvest.

Herbicides: learn before you spray

Ram Murti Sirohi

IMPROPER spray of herbicides, besides giving poor control of weeds, may also lead
to herbicide resistance in the target weed. The application of herbicides thus requires special attention because the target and the host belong to the same class, whereas in the case of insecticides and fungicides they belong to different classes. In herbicides, accuracy and uniform application are very important, besides using adequate quantity of water and the recommended rate of herbicide because the gap between crop injury and weed control failure is very small. Wild canary grass, (Phalaris minor Retz.) one of the grassy weeds in wheat, has become resistant to isoproturon in most parts of Haryana and Punjab. Isoproturon, a substituted urea herbicide, has been withdrawn from the resistance-affected area in Haryana and four new post-emergence herbicides have been recommended for the control of Phalaris minor. This resistance to isoproturon is also due to improper application of isoproturon through urea or sand mixing, termed as broadcasting. The point of concern now is the improper spraying of the newly recommended herbicides like sulfosulfuron, clodinafop, fenoxaprop and tralcoxydim. It is seen that more than 70 per cent farmers apply herbicides the way they apply insecticides in paddy and cotton, spraying with flood-jet nozzles directed upwards and swinging the lance while spraying. Farmers use knapsack sprayers, which require continuous hand pumping and are generally fitted with a single-nozzle lance and a variable cone nozzle. Spray nozzles come with various spray patterns like flat fall, even fall, variable cone, flood nozzles and hollow-cone nozzles. Flat-fall nozzles are used for herbicide spray, which can be used on a multiple-nozzle boom to increase the efficiency. Farmers generally use a single nozzle, which consumes more time in spraying the herbicide with adequate quantity of water. Using multiple-nozzle hand booms will not only save time but also give a more uniform spray pattern. Application of herbicides requires a flat-fall nozzle. The tapered pattern from the centre to the edges requires 30 per cent overlapping with every pass for an 80 flatfan nozzle spaced 50 cm apart and the boom height must be 43-48 cm from the target. For a 110 nozzle spaced 75 cm apart, the boom height should be 50-55 cm. Spacing of nozzles is important to overlap the spray pattern and give uniform coverage. A higher boom height results in drift while a lower height may cause crop injury and may leave strips unsprayed between two nozzles. Farmers prefer flood jet nozzles because of the bigger droplet size and higher output, which saves time. But the same can be achieved by using a multiple-nozzle

boom fitted with flat-fan nozzles. Pressure variation in the tank with the up and down strokes is another reason for improper spray. Constant pressure regulator valves should be fitted before the nozzles to ensure a uniform spray. Nozzles available in the market generally come without pressure regulator valves and strainers. A damaged nozzle may lead to erratic spray patterns, thus a worn-out nozzle must be replaced. Improper spray of herbicides can either cause crop injury or fail to give satisfactory weed control. It may also lead to spray drift, which can play havoc with adjoining sensitive crops. Spray tanks must be cleaned before moving to the next crop. Residues of some of the herbicides like 2,4-D can destroy certain broad-leaf crops like cotton. Mixing of surfactants is very important where they come in separate packets, as in the case of sulfosulfuron. Surfactants help the herbicide to bind, penetrate and spread uniformly.

Disease-resistant rice developed

HYDERABAD: Applying DNA-marker technology, the Centre for Cellular Molecular Biology (CCMB) and the Directorate of Rice Research (DRR) have developed bacterial leaf blight (BLB)-resistant Samba Mahsuri and Triguna rice lines in a unique collaborative effort. At a press conference last week, DRR Director B. Mishra said that BLB was one of the serious production constraints of rice in India, limiting the yields by more than 15 per cent in endemic areas like Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. He said Samba Mahsuri was a premium rice variety of Andhra Pradesh. Triguna, another rice variety, grown in certain areas of Andhra Pradesh, was resistant to pests like brown plant hopper, but susceptible to BLB, he explained. UNI

Vanilla in Karnataka
BANGALORE: With the production and demand gap increasing by 10 per cent every year and the crash in coffee prices, farmers in Karnataka are attracted to vanilla cultivation. According to official sources here, the aggregate demand for processed vanilla beans globally was around 4,000 to 5,000 tonnes. Crash in coffee prices also has forced the farmers to vanilla cultivation, the second costliest spice after saffron, the sources said. UNI

Micro-irrigation
ANAND (Gujarat): The total land area under micro-irrigation in India has almost touched the 5-lakh hectare mark, which has propelled it to the top five nations in the world having the maximum area under micro-irrigation, said a study by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) at Anand.

A paper on this aspect was presented last week during the third annual IWMI-Tata Partners Workshop held here. According to the study, micro-irrigation in India has increased almost twofold from the previous figures recorded in 1994-95. In India, Maharashtra tops with 46 per cent of land under micro-irrigation. UNI

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