This book provides an integrated approach to crop growth and development and the technical aspects of greenhouse cultivation and climate management. It combines an analysis of the relationship between crop production and ambient climate with an explanation of the processes that determine the climate in a protected environment. With the ability to modify the environment comes the need for growers to strike a balance between the costs and benefits of technology. This book outlines the methods and gives several examples of how to make 'optimal' choices about technology. Sustainable management of shoot and root environment is discussed, as well as the pros and cons of vertical farming. The processes addressed in this book, like crop growth, energy balance and mass exchange, apply to any kind of greenhouse. Therefore, in spite of the word 'technology', this is not a book about high-tech greenhouses only. 'Greenhouse horticulture' is an easy-to-read textbook for all those interested in protected cultivation, from university students and teachers to professional advisers in the field and managers of horticultural companies.
The book consists of 32 chapters featuring the concepts and applications of precision farming and protected cultivation broadly covered with theoretical and practical approach. The first 8 chapters are exclusively designed to provide detailed information on concept, need, objectives, benefits, components, applications and limitations of precision farming; laser leveler and its working mechanism, components and functioning; mechanized sowing and types of mechanical seeders and their use; approaches for mapping of soils and plant attributes; site-specific weed and nutrient management; precision management of insect-pests and diseases; yield mapping in horticultural crops. An attempt has been made to cover the concept and application of protected cultivation in chapters from 9 to 30 characteristically highlighting the concept of greenhouse technology, its principles as well as historical and technological developments, agrivoltaic system, its concept and features, response of plant species under greenhouse conditions, criteria for the selection of crops and varieties for protected cultivation, basic considerations for site selection, orientation and designing of greenhouse structures, climate control mechanisms for cooling and heating in greenhouses, components, accessories and BIS codes for protected cultivation, types of Irrigation system for greenhouse production system, growing media for greenhouse cultivation, soil pasteurization namely solarization, steam sterilization, chemical sterilization and augmentation with biological agents, checking the suitability of soil and water for greenhouse crops, plug tray nursery raising, basics of fertigation in greenhouse production system, packages of practice for greenhouse cucumber, bell pepper, tomato and melons, potential of pruning as unconventional alternative for mass multiplication of greenhouse cucumber and tomato, types of soil-less cultures, GAP for protected cultivation and economic analysis of protected cultivation. Note: T&F does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Presented here is another classic from this series and deals with general aspects of micropropagation of plants for commercial exploitation. It includes chapters on setting up a commercial laboratory, meristem culture, somatic embryogenesis, factors affecting micropropagation, disposable vessels, vitrification, acclimatization, induction of rooting, artificial substrates, cryopreservation and artificial seed. Special emphasis is given on modern approaches and developing technologies such as automation and bioreactors, robots in transplanting, artificial intelligence, information management and computerized greenhouses for en masse commercial production of plants.
This book focuses on pests (insect and mite) and diseases (fungal, bacterial, viral and nematode) in protected horticulture (fruits, vegetables and ornamentals) using physical, cultural, chemical, biological, host resistance, and integrated methods. It opens with chapters describing the setting in which integrated pest and disease control operates, i.e., the greenhouse and its environment. Subsequent chapters present the basic strategies and tactics of different control methods including integrated control, with special reference to greenhouse crops. Further chapters include the different facets of biological pest and disease control – its scientific bases, its development in practice, its commercialization and quality control. The concluding chapters of the book highlight the present status of integrated pest and disease control for the most important greenhouse crops (fruits, vegetables and flower crops) worldwide. The book’s final chapter explores future challenges for researchers assigned to identify non-pesticide methods and integrate sustainable pest management technologies that can contribute to increased productivity, such as breeding for durable resistance, biological control and devising integrated methods that will have minimal adverse environmental and social impacts. Among productivity-enhancing technologies, protected cultivation has a tremendous potential to increase the yield of vegetables and flower cro ps by several fold. Pests and diseases are one of the major challenges to protected cultivation. Year-round warm temperatures and relatively high humidity together with abundant food make the protected environment of greenhouses highly attractive to pests and diseases. Nevertheless, very little attention has been paid to the manipulation of greenhouse environments expressly to avoid disease epidemics and insect infestations, which together can easily account for 30% of crop losses. This book will be of immense value to all members of the scientific community involved in teaching, research and extension activities on protected horticulture. It also offers a useful reference guide for policymakers and practicing farmers, and can be used as a textbook for postgraduate courses.
The frontiers of technologies have been constantly expanded in many industries around the world, including the agricultural sector. Among many “frontier technologies” in agriculture, are protected agriculture, precision agriculture, and vertical farming, all of which depart substantially from many conventional agricultural production methods. It is not yet clear how these technologies can become adoptable in developing countries, including, for example, South Asian countries like India. This paper briefly reviews the issues associated withthese three types of frontier technologies. We do so by systematically checkingthe academic articleslisted in Google Scholar, which primarily focus on these technologies in developing countries in Asia. Where appropriate, a few widely-cited overview articles for each technology were also reviewed. The findings generally reveal where performances of these technologiescan be raised potentially, based on the general trends in the literature. Where evidence is rich, some generalizable economic insights about these technologies are provided. For protected agriculture, recent research has focusedsignificantly on various features of protective structures (tunnel heights, covering materials, shading structures, frames and sizes) indicating that there are potentials for adaptive research on such structures to raise the productivity of protected agriculture. The research on protected agriculture also focuses on types of climate parameters controlled, andenergy structures, among others. For precision agriculture, recent research has focused on the spatial variability of production environments, development of efficient and suitable data management systems, efficiency of various types of image analyses and optical sensing, efficiency of sensors and related technologies, designs of precision agriculture equipment, optimal inputs and service uses, and their spatial allocations, potentials of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and nano-technologies. For vertical farming, research has often highlighted the variations in technologies based on out-door / indoor systems, ways to improve plants’ access to light (natural or artificial), growing medium and nutrient / water supply, advanced features like electricity generation and integration of production space into an office / residential space, and water treatment. For India, issues listed above may be some of the key areas that the country can draw on from other more advanced countries in Asia, or can focus in its adaptive research to improve the relevance and applicability of these technologies to the country.
A comprehensive, practical text which covers a diverse range of hydroponic and protected cropping techniques, systems, greenhouse types and environments. It also details the use of indoor plant factories, vertical systems, organic hydroponics and aquaponics. Worldwide hydroponic cropping operations can vary from large, corporate producers running many hectares of greenhouse systems particularly for crops such as tomato, cucumber, capsicum and lettuce, to smaller-scale growers growing fresh produce for local markets.
This book highlights the underlying principles and outlines some of the key hi-tech practices and technology interventions required to achieve enhanced productivity. It discusses horticulture technology interventions like varietal improvement including genetically modified crops; good agricultural practices like optimum planting density, micro-irrigation, fertigation, integrated nutrient management, plant bioregulators, precision horticulture, protected cultivation, nanotechnology, and integrated farming systems; integrated management of insects, mites, disease pathogens, nematodes, and weeds; and post-harvest management practices like handling, storage and processing to reduce crop losses. The importance of attaining food and nutritional security through hi-tech horticulture and profitable marketing of horticultural produce is also discussed. This book will be of immense value to the scientific community involved in teaching, research and extension activities related to hi-tech horticulture strategies for enhancing productivity in enhancing farmers’ income, food, nutrition and livelihood security. The material can be used for teaching postgraduate courses. The book can also serve as a very useful reference to policymakers and practicing farmers.
