Indian FarmingSeptember 201846

Upliftment of arid zone economythrough horticultural and protected cultivation

P. R. Meghwal1, Akath Singh2, Pradeep Kumar3, P. S. Khapte4 andAnurag Saxena5

Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur (Rajasthan) 342 003

Climatic vagaries of arid zones make cultivation of annual crops risky and unsustainable.Horticultural sector proved beyond doubt its potentiality for gainful economy in such fragileecosystems. Immense opportunity existed in arid zone for quality production of some of the mostwater economizing horticultural crops. In recent years arid and semi-arid regions witnessed agreater shift from traditional to commercial horticulture with constant government support andtechnical input of research and development institutions. Technologies developed on ber,pomegranate, date palm and other arid fruits by Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur,Rajasthan showed significant impact on development of dry regions at national level. However,after near plateau for some time, horticultural scene in arid region was brightened up withintroduction of newer options viz. commercial tissue culture techniques in date palm andpomegranate, protected cultivation of high value crops and new varieties and technologies inregion's adapted species. However, expanding the scale of horticultural production is often hinderedby lack of market access, technological awareness and abiotic stresses.

Key words: Arid horticulture, Abiotic stress, Cultivation, Horticulture, Protected

Indian Farming 68(09): 46–51; September 2018

Avast land resource (39.54 m ha)in the country characterized as

arid region is consideredunderutilized for cultivation due toclimatic vagaries. Under theconstraint climatic situation as well,immense opportunity exist for qualityproduction of some of the mostwater economizing horticulturalcrops. Arid region has vast potentialand opportunities in bringing thehorticultural industrialization. Inrecent years arid and semi-aridregions witnessed a greater shift fromtraditional to commercial horticulturewith constant government supportand technical input of research anddevelopment institutions.Nonetheless, even under extremeconditions, some of the fruits cropsdevelop best qualities like kinnow,mosambi, date palm, pomegranate,ber, aonla seed, spices, medicinalplants and several other indigenousfruits and vegetables which cannot be

grown in other part of the country.The selection of crops coupled withimproved technology can play animportant role in achieving higherand sustainable income from this partof the country.

Horticultural sector made stridesat national level with recordproduction of 300.6 mt from 24.85m ha area in 2016-17. At nationallevel, the production of horticulturalcrops showed an increase of 9.78%during 2016-17 over 2012-13.However, in Rajasthan, theproduction of these crops reached upto 67.51% during the same period.Suitable crops, their improvedvarieties, important agro-techniquesand benefit-cost ratio in theircultivation under arid conditionswere instrumental in enhancing theincome.

Important fruit crops and availabletechnological options making stridesin increasing the prosperity in arid

zone are discussed here.

BerThe Indian ber or jujube (Ziziphus

mauritiana) is one of the life supportmultipurpose fruit species in arid andsemi-arid regions of India. Ber fruit isricher than apple in protein,phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca),carotene and vitamin C, and exceloranges in phosphorus, iron, vitaminC, calorific values and carbohydrates.Besides, the use of fruits for table-purpose, it can also be processed toprepare preserve, candy, dehydratedber, jam and ready to serve drinks. Itshowed wider adaptability to soil andagro-climatic conditions prevalent intropical and subtropical regions andenhanced resilience of fragileecosystems.

The work done on delineation ofsuitable varieties, standardization ofpropagation and other productiontechnology helped farmers in

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Table 1. Important fruit crops, varieties, major agrotechniques and B:C ratio under arid conditions

Crops Improved Spacing Propagation Important B:C ratiovarieties (m2) agrotechniques

Ber Gola, Seb, Umran, 6x6 I-budding during Pruning and management 2.36(Ziziphus mauritiana) Illachi, Tikadi June-July of fruit flyPomegranate Bhagwa, PhuleArakta, 4x4 Tissue culture/ Canopy management, 2.67(Puninca granatum) Ruby, Ganesh cutting defoliation, nutrient and

pest managementAonla NA7, Chakaiya, 6x6 budding Irrigation and nutrient 1.87(Emblica officinalis) Kanchan, Krishna, Anand-2 managementDate palm Barhee, Khalas 8x8 Offshoot, Tissue Irrigation, nutrient 2.0(Phoenix dactylifera) Khunaizi, Medjool, ADP-1 culture management, pollination,

offshoot removalOrange Kinnow 6x6 Budding Irrigation scheduling, 1.99King × Willow leaf nutrient and pest managementSour lime Kagzi, Vikram, Pramalini 5x5 Seeds/budding Irrigation scheduling, nutrient 1.89(Citrus aurantifolia) and pest managementSweet Orange Mosambi 6x6 Budding Irrigation scheduling, nutrient 2.13(Citrus sinensis) and pest managementGonda Maru Samridhi 6x6 Budding Defoliation and irrigation 2.40(Cordia myxa) schedulingGuava Allahabad Safeda, Lalit, 5x5 Air layering, Pruning,Irrigation scheduling 2.4(Psidium guajava) L-49,Red Flesh Wedge grafting and nutrient management

Bael Dhara Road, Faizabadi 6x6 Budding Irrigation management 1.84(Aegle marmelos) Local, NB-9,NB-5Kair Local 5x5 Seeds, cutting Harvesting, marketing and 2.28(Capparis decidua) value additionKhejri Thar Shobha, CAZRI 6x6 Budding Harvesting, marketing and 2.51(Prosopis cineraria) Selections value addition

enhancing their income. Polytubenursery technique of ber for massmultiplication of seedlings becomestransplantable after 30 days ofbudding. Hardened plants in thismanner have more than 90% survivalin transplanting. The technique werestandardized for long distancetransport of saplings. Since ber bearsfruits on current season’sgrowth,annual pruning during May-

June is considered most importantcultural operation in improving berproductivity. Fruit fly is one of themost devastating insect which causehuge economic loss to ber growers.However, cent per cent control offruit fly may be accomplished withsummer ploughing and chemicalsprays of quinalphos (1.0 ml litre-1)/metasystox/monocrotophos (1.0 mllitre-1) at pea stage of fruits with

second spray after 15 days.Usually after 25 to 30 years after

planting, the fruit yield of ber treestarts diminishing. Such trees can begiven lease of productive life ofanother 15 to 20 years when theywere headed back at 9 inches (22.5cm) above ground in mid-Mayfollowed by smearing of cut surfaceby copper oxychloride to preventinfection. Budding withrecommended varieties on newlyemerged shoot removal of side shootemerging from rootstock parts resultsin development of optimum canopywithin three years. Intercroppingwith moong bean in alleys of suchrejuvenated ber gives additionalincome.

Pomegranate: an emerging cash crop inThar desert

The area under pomegranate isexpanding fast especially in aridRajasthan owing to its tolerance tosaline or sodic soil/water. It hastremendous scope in national andinternational market for tablepurpose and processing. Thedevelopment of newer varieties likeBhagwa, Phule Arakta and superBhagwa with attractive colour andGola Mundia Tikadi Thailand Apple

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Sequential steps of rejuvenation of ber orchard

better-quality attributes playedsignificant role in fast adaption inlarge-scale. The availability of tissueculture raised pomegranate seedlingsplayed significant role in makingavailable the planting material forlarge-scale plantation. As a result ofsupport from the government andincreasing interest of the farmers, thearea under pomegranate cultivationincreased from 793 ha in 2010-11 tomore than 6,000 ha in 2016-17.

Improved production managementPits of about 60 cm × 60 cm ×

60 cm were dug at a spacing of 4 m× 4 m to accommodate about 625plants ha-1. The ideal time of plantingin arid regions is July-August andFebruary-March. The plants shouldbe trained to retain 4 to 5 main stemsfrom the ground level. Main pruningand skirting (removal of lowerbranches) should be done just afterfruit harvest however, light pruningfor flower regulation should be doneafter stress period. Shoot pinching isalso desirable in pomegranate toregulate current season growth andfruit development. Mrig bahar(flowering in July-August and fruitsripen in December to March) isrecommended in arid region, which

Pomegranate: an emerging cash crop.

can be achieved by withholding waterin May - June or spraying of ethrel(2.5 ml litre-1). The manure andfertilizer are applied during July withregular irrigation through dripsystem. Under arid condition, a doseof 25 kg farmyard manure, 625 g N,250 g P2O5 and 500 g K2O/plant/year for the trees more than four-year-old is sufficient. Full dose offarmyard manure and phosphorusand half of nitrogen and potassiumshould be applied during July andremaining half dose in October.Multi-micronutrient solution(ZnSO4@0.5%, MnSO4@0.5%,Borax @ 0.4%) or Solubor (20% B)@0.5% can be given as three foliarsprays at monthly intervals.Maintenance of plant water statusespecially at the pre- fruiting stagethrough uniformly regulated dripirrigation and foliar spray ofmicronutrient that in turn regulateswater uptake and translocation helpsin obtaining good quality produce inpomegranate.

On an average 80 to 100 fruitsshould be retained on fully grown uptrees to produce export quality fruits.Fruit yield of 12 to 15 tonne ha-1 canbe obtained from a well-maintainedorchard (5-year-old). Therefore, fifth

year onwards a net return of ` 3.50to 5.0 lakh/ha annum was expectedfrom pomegranate production.

Lasora (Cordia myxa)Gonda, lasora or lehsua is a

potential underutilized fruit vegetablein arid regions. Once established, itgave good returns even under rainfedconditions with few supplementaryirrigations. Green unripe fruits ofgonda are important as freshvegetable and preparation of pickles.Fruit availability during scarce period(April-May) makes it as high priced(up to ` 100 to 120 kg-1) vegetablein the region. The fruits can be easilydehydrated after blanching for wereduring off season. Its fruits areimportant constituent of famous‘Panchkuta ’, a traditional mixedvegetable of Rajasthan, hence playsimportant role in economy of poorpeople in arid regions.

The planting of gonda trees onfarm boundaries were dual benefits ofcreating favourable micro-climate andprevent the crops from adverseimpact of hot dry winds. Nurserytechniques standardized at CAZRI isable to produce true-to-type seedlingswithin four months. Budded plantsare more productive (60 to 80 kgfruit tree-1) and precocious and itstarts fruiting in second year ofplantation compared to 4 to 5 yearsin seedling trees. A high-yieldingvariety ‘Maru Samridhi’ is alsodeveloped through selection withproduction of more than 100 kgfruits tree.

Defoliation during January andcanopy management are importantfor getting high yield. Withdrawal ofirrigation during December-Januarypromotes leaf defoliation which isessential for regular and earlyfruiting. Chemical leaf defoliationwas found to be very beneficial withrespect to fruit yield and quality inour region.

The greatest advantage with gondais its ability to grow and produceprofitable crops even under limitedirrigation only for 2 to 3 months.The irrigation (about @400 litre/plant) at 10 days interval fromFebruary to April is essential. Thefruit harvesting starts in mid-Marchand completed by end of April.

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Date palmThe date palm (Phoenix dactylifera)

is one of the most potential fruitcrops in dry arid zone of the countrywith irrigation facilities. In India, it iscultivated in 12,493 ha area inKachchh district of Gujarat with aproduction of 85,351 tonne/annumof doka stage fruits. Date palmrequires prolong hot dry summer,moderate winters and almost rain freeperiod at fruit ripening (July-August)and assured supply of irrigationwater. With the introduction of canalirrigation, date palm is one of thesuitable cash crops as blockplantation as well under multistoreyfarming system. Recently,Government of Rajasthan enteredinto Public-Private-Partnership (PPP)to reorient the overall date palmproduction potential in India withthe production of date palm plantsthrough tissue culture at Jodhpur.Large acres of arid farmland inRajasthan, Gujarat and south Indianstates brought under tissue culturedate palm cultivation resulting thearea under date palm increased upto813 ha with production of about 800tonne of fresh fruit/year in Rajasthanonly.

The suitable varieties for aridregions are Barhee, Khunaizi, Khalas,Medjool, Khadravi, Jamli and Sagaiwhich are sweet at doka stage (fit fortable purpose). The fruits of datepalm harvested at the end of June orfirst week of July to avoid spoilage byrain. Farmers are getting good valuefor their produce and there is moreinterest to take up this among thefarming community in Rajasthan.Under recommended package ofpractices, the fruiting started in 3rd

year (3,000 kg ha-1). However, 5th

year onwards economic yield of 65kg tree-1 and the monetary benefit of` 3.5 to 4.5 lakh ha-1may beexpected. The Government ofRajasthan is promoting date palmfarming in arid desert regions ofnorth-western Rajasthan and givingtissue culture raised sapling tofarmers at a subsidized rate under thecentrally-sponsored Rashtriya KrishiVikas Yojana.

Aonla

Aonla (Emblica officinalis) is

another important minor fruit cropof commercial significance in semi-arid and arid regions. It is hardy,prolific bearer, and highlyremunerative more so because it canbe grown without much care invariable agro-climatic and soilconditions. The fruit is recognizedfor its nutritive and therapeuticalvalues. The fruit is rich source ofvitamin C (400-900 mg-1/100g),pectin, iron, calcium and phosphorusand main ingredient of manyAyurvedic formulations. Aonla hashuge scope in arid region forgrowing under limited irrigation andwith poor quality water providedprocessing industries are there in thevicinity of growing areas. Processedproducts of aonla like pickle, squash,candy, shreds, preserve and driedproducts have great marketabilityscope.

KhejriKhejri (Prosopis cineraria) is

considered life-line tree of desertbeing an important component offarming system. Owing to itsmultiple uses, atmospheric nitrogen-fixing ability and suitability in agro-forestry systems, it was conserved inarable land since ages. Its highlynutritious leaves constituteimportant source of fodder forlivestock while nutritious pods arevalued as vegetable for humanbeings. The immature pods are usedas vegetables both fresh as well asafter dehydration, while ripe driedpods having 9 to 14% crude proteinand 6 to 16% sugar can bepowdered and used in thepreparation of bakery items such asbiscuits and cookies.

High-yielding types with desirablepod quality was identified at CAZRIfor production of quality pods.Production of quality pods (tenderpods with less tannin content) can beachieved through budding or in-situbudding of elite germplasm. Packageof practices for quality tender podsproduction through in-situ buddingwas standardized. Tree seeds may besown in previously prepared pits (60cm × 60 cm × 60 cm) at a desiredspacing (6 × 4 m2 / 6 × 6 m2 / 4 ×4 m2) and seed should be sown afterfirst monsoon rain. Next year during

July-August, one-year-old seedlingshould be budded in-situ with elitegenotype at a height of 6 inches (15cm) through I-budding. The sproutsemerging from rootstocks should beremoved periodically. Trees should betrained with 3 to 4 main primarybranches. As against normal pruningin November–December, forharvesting of quality pods, treesshould be pruned in second fortnightof June. The major advantages areprecocious, start producing tenderpods in third year than in 8-9 years intraditional khejri. Budded khejribecome thornless so harvesting ofleaves (for fodder) and pods is easy.These trees are capable of producingboth fodder (loong) and pods everyyear while in traditional khejri onehas to compromise either for pod orfodder. Since canopy is short, culturaloperations are easy and it is moreproductive (20-25 kg pods tree-1)with quality tender pods. The goodquality dried pods of khejri are highin demand and sold in the market foras high as ` 600/- kg-1.

KairKair (Capparis decidua) is an

under-exploited drought hardymultipurpose, woody shrub or smalltree found throughout arid regions ofIndian sub-continent. It is of greatvalue to the inhabitants in a variety ofways.

The green immature fruits are richin protein, carbohydrates. fats andminerals (Ca, P and Fe); immaturefruits are either pickled or made intoa delicious vegetable curry. It is themost important ingredient of thefamous panchkuta vegetable ofRajasthan which is prepared fromdried fruits or seeds of five differentspecies. Kair also has ecologicalsignificance as it has soil bindingability to control erosion caused bywind and water. Although kair israrely cultivated as an organizedorchard, large quantity of fruits isharvested from naturally growingpopulation either in common land orfrom farmers field. The people inrural areas harvest the fruits inMarch-April and sell in urban marketat higher cost. Good amount ofrevenue is generated by the people asthe only cost involved is of

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Followings are the goodmanagement practice followed ingreenhouse cultivation:• Right choice of cultivars is crucial

in greenhouse cultivation.Terminator and Rica in cucumberand Myla, NS (TR) 4266, NS(TR) 4343, IA 07 in tomato wereevaluated at CAZRI and foundmost suitable for arid greenhousescultivation.

• Planting on raised beds werepreferred over flat beds and seedlingtransplanting over direct seedingwas advised during wintercucumber.

• Transplanting in both tomato andcucumber is preferred over directseeding, which is practised incucumber. This is to be avoided inwinter crop as longer period in seedgermination and seedling growth isrequired.

• Planting at raised bed (90 cmwidth) that accommodated pairedrows of cucumber and tomato with50 cm between the two rows.Plants are spaced at 45 cm apart inzig-zag fashion in both the rows.

• Incidence of soil-borne diseases andnematodes under intensivecultivation in succession isemerging issues in protectedcultivation. To manage these,integrated management approach:soil treatment involving deepsummer ploughing followed by soilsolarization by plastic covering (airtight) of saturated soil followed bysoil fumigation with suitablefumigant (e.g. formaldehyde,methan, sodium) or sterilant (e.g.

silver-H2O2) in prescribed quantityand method.

• Based on season, scheduling ofwater and nutrient supply so thatbest possible balanced vegetativeand reproductive growth areattained.

• Regular pruning of auxillary shootsis essential operation to train plantsto single or double leader systemwhich allow balanced plant growthand fruiting. Removal of lowerleaves after attainment of properfruit size is essentially done intomatoes, while in cucumber it isrequired for adequate sunlight andair movement. This is doneespecially during winter only afterlower fruits are harvested. In clusterbearing cucumber hybrids,maximum 2-3 fruits/node wereretained.

• Double stem training in tomato isfound promising to enhancetomato fruit yield by up to 42%,besides reducing requirement of40% less seeds, which compensatedthe extra expenditure on trainingone extra stem in double stemtraining. In this, fruit yieldincreased without compromisingthe fruit size and quality and yieldincrease was due to increased fruitnumbers.

• The effect of low temperatures thatprevailed under low-cost protectedstructure can be alleviated bygrafting. Grafting commercialcucumber onto cold hardy fig-leafgourd (Cucurbita ficifolia) rootstockwas found to improve cucumberyield by 30% than non-grafted

cucumber.• To manage high temperatures,

some improvement in structuresdesign such as increase in vent sizeand adequate shading, intermittentoperation of sprinkler on top andside wall and mid-day operation offogger beneath the shade net insidepolyhouse. Besides, if possible useof fan-pad evaporative cooling, aircirculating fan operated byelectricity or solar power would bebetter. Research on improvingdrought and heat stress tolerancethrough grafting by using resistantrootstocks is also underway.

In arid regions- cultivation ofhorticultural crops pays: a success Story

Shri Satta Ram Choudhary of Jastivillage, Barmer district of Rajasthandeveloped successful model farmunder rainfed conditions of extremedesert. Earlier he was just survivingby growing subsistence crops such aspearl millet, sesame, moong bean,moth bean, cluster bean cucurbitsetc. Motivated by the scientists, hedecided to grow multi-species fruitsorchard by harvested rainwater. Heconstructed a water harvesting pondof 10 lakh liter capacities. A total of800 plants of different fruit speciessupplied by CAZRI were planted byhim in planned way in 2012.

Shri Choudhary planted five rowsof gonda (lasora) on boundarytowards wind ward side. Ber (450) cv.Gola at spacing of 6 m × 6 m asblock plantation intercropped withmoong bean and moth bean. Highvalue fruit pomegranate and sourlime was planted as sole near the farmpond. With the technical input andconstant supervision of CAZRIscientists, he started getting thereturns from orchard from third yearonwards (about ` 1.0 to 1.5 lakhfrom ber and ` 0.15 to 0.25 lakhfrom lasora fruits) that has sinceincreased to a net profit of ` 0.8-1.0lakh year-1. Besides, the monetarybenefits, his family member are nowgetting year-round employment. Thishas inspired many farmers of theregion.

1,2,5Principal Scientist, 3,4ScientistCorresponding author’s e mail :prm20964@gmail.com