The horticulture is one section which has been growing lately in quantitative and qualitative terms. The Indian agricultural land covers area of 140 million hectares out of which, 17% of area is dedicated to horticultural crops that contributes to 30% of total agricultural GDP. India produces approximately 20% of grade A produce which can be hiked to more with better practices.
Dr. B N S Murthy tells Krishi Jagran, “According to the estimates, we will have a production of 305 million tonnes for this year. This number is higher by approximately 2% compared with the 2016-2017 production of 299.85 million tonnes. For the last 5 years, horticultural produce is surpassing the produce of other agricultural commodities.”
Dr. Murthy also mentions that exotic fruits like blueberry and dragon fruit are also showing brilliant results and are being grown at commercial level for exports. States like Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra are the leaders in being benefitted by these fruits.
The increasing acreage under horticultural crops is a sign that the population is diverting towards other agri commodities other than cereal crops. To bring the good nutritional content at our plates it is conspicuous to include variety in our diets, which can be augmented with more fruits and vegetables.
