Protected Cultivation for Sustainable Horticulture

Contents: Foreword. Preface. Design and construction: 1. Polyhouse- introduction, history and important aspects/R.S. Spehia.2. Planning, designing and construction of polyhouse/R. KrishaManohar, B.N. Maruthi Prasad and G. Venkateshappa. 3. Planning, designing and construction of shade net house/. KrishaManohar, B.N. Maruthi Prasad and G. Venkateshappa. Crop production: 4. Soil health and soil testing for sustainable crop production in polyhouse/J.N. Raina. 5. Soil solarization by polyethylene mulching for the management of soil-borne diseases/Harender Raj. 6. Irrigation and fertigation in polyhouse/R.S. Spehia, I.P. Sharma and S.K. Bhardwaj. 7. Plastic mulching-In situ moisture conservation for maximizing output/J.C. Sharma. 8. Use of biofertilizer for enhanced yield and sustainable soil health under protected cultivation/Rajesh Kaushal and Sanjeev Kumar. 9. Production technology of parthenocarpic cucumber under protected conditions/N.K. Pathania and Shiv Pratap Singh. 10. Production of vegetables under naturally ventilated polyhouse/R.S. Spehia and I.P. Sharma. 11. Protected cultivation of important ornamental crops under naturally ventilated polyhouses/Y.C. Gupta and Bharati Kashyap. 12. Quality nursery production of fruit crops under polyhouse conditions/J.S. Chandel and N.C. Sharma. 13. Vegetable seed production under protected conditions/Y.R. Shukla. 14. Vegetable production in polyhouse - a case study/N.K. Pathania and Shiv Pratap Singh. 15. Protected cultivation and sustainable crop production at high altitudes of Ladakh/Raghwendra Singh, Gyan P. Mishra, Narendra Singh and Shashi Bala Singh. 16. Domiciliation of bumble-bee and their role in pollinating the crops grown under polyhouses/Raj Kumar Thakur, Lokenra Kashyap and Rakesh Kumar. Pest and disease management: 17. Integrated pest management in polyhouses/Rajeshwar S. Chandel and Ajay Sharma. 18. Diseases of vegetables and ornamental crops grown under protected cultivation conditions/S.K. Gupta and Sunita Chandel. Glossary. Annexure: I. List of selected companies associated with protected cultivation greenhouse fabricators/consultants. II. Plug trays, root trainers, pots and other accessories etc. III. UV film (Green house film) processors. IV. Cooling accessories/pads etc. V. Growing media and soil conditioner. VI. List of water soluble fertilizers suppliers. Protected cultivation has the potential of fulfilling the requirements of small grower as it can increase the yield manifold and at the same time improve the quality of the produce significantly as per the demand of the market. It is also probably the only answer to meet the future demand of growing population. Moreover, it can also be used for organic food production, which otherwise may require longer period through change of present cultivation system. The protected cultivation technology require deep knowledge of technicalities associated with it. The fabricators of the protective structures never disclose the science to the common mass, read farmer. Moreover, sometimes the same technology is being adopted at different places which leads to failure of the technology. Modification of the technology in accordance with the local condition is therefore necessary. Protected cultivation is a multidisciplinary subject involving engineering as well as production science and marketing. This book is for teachers, researchers, field functionaries and students dealing in protected cultivation. The book is divided into chapters covering topics ranging from construction to production of some important crops. Hopefully, this book will be of help in taking protected cultivation a step further in improving the economic condition of the farmers. (jacket).…