New Age Protected Cultivation

New Age Protected Cultivation | January - June 2019 | Vol 5 (1)1 |

New Age Protected Cultivation
(A magazine devoted for the advancement of protected cultivation technology)
January - June 2019
Published bi-annually, Vol 5 (1)
Contents
Editorial Board 3
Editorial 4
News 5
Brahma Singh
Low tunnels: boon for farmers in hot arid region of Rajasthan 15
B.R. Choudhary, P.L. Saroj
Seed cane production under protected environment 19
S.K.Saini
Aeroponics: a novel system revolutionizing potato 23
seed industry in India
Tanuja Buckseth, Rajesh K Singh and SK Chakrabarti
Soilless vegetable nursery production: Arunachal Pradesh 26
Ajithabh Bora and SK Dwivedi
Promoting Indian cut rose varieties for protected cultivation 28
T. Janakiram, Tejaswini, M.R.Dinesh
Doubling farmer’s income through greenhouse 30
cultivation of rose
YC Gupta, Gitam Sharma, Prabhat Kumar
Repairs and maintenance of greenhouse structures 35
and micro irrigation systems
Anand Zambre
Alstroemeria: a potential crop for doubling farmer’s income 37
YC Gupta, Shweta Sharma and Prabhat Kumar
Grafting in brinjal 39
Brahma Singh
Cherry tomato: performance in Pithoragrah, Uttarakhand 41
Vandna Pandey, RiteshRanjan, Harish Pandey, S.K. Dwivedi
and MadhuBala
Off-season long melon (‘Kakari’) production in 43
poly/net house: a new initiative
Awani Kumar Singh, N. Sabir, Shridhar, V. Singh,
A. Singh and A. Kumar
Commercial cultivation of gerbera under 46
protected condition
Pushpendra Kumar, V.M.Prasad and Devi Singh
‘Pusa seedless cucumber-6’ a new variety for 49
protected cultivation
A.D.Munshi, T.K.Behera, A.K.Sureja, A.K.Singh,
Balraj Singh, B.S.Tomar and Jogendra Singh
Protected cultivation and precision farming at 51
Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya,(IGKV),
Raipur, Chhattisgarh
G. L. Sharma, Hemant Kumar Panigrahi and Rajesh Agrawal
Contamination free curry leaves powder: innovative 53
greenhouse production
Sai Krishna
Vertical production - hydroponic salad production at 54
Gurugram
Shivendra Singh
Ornamental plants sales counter in polyhouses : 55
Sanjay Nursery , Pune
Recommendations National seminar on protected 56
cultivation of hi-valued vegetable crops”
Sanjeev Kumar
National workshop on vertical farming: status, 60
researchable issues and future prospects:
T. Janakiram, V Pandey, Singh and Nutan Kaushik
Greenhouse manufacturers association (IGMA) 62
Membership form

New Age Protected Cultivation
(A magazine devoted for the advancement of protected cultivation technology)
Published bi-annually
The magazine covers...
Protected cultivation technology Polyhouse/Greenhouse
Net and shade houses Climate- horticulture
Plasticulture —mulching, drip and fertigation Soilless horticulture
Innovations in horticulture nurseries Vertical garden/farming
Grafted vegetables, Tissue culture Robotic - horticulture
Mechanization in Protected horticulture Innovative protected cultivation
Container farming Space farming
Post-harvest management Allied subjects
Articles covering not more than eight pages including photographs, tables, diagrams etc. may be mailed to brah-
ma88@gmail.com along with recent JPG photographs and five lines of brief about senior author. Hard copies are
not required.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor-in-Chief Contributory Editor Editors and Reviewers Printed and Published by
Dr Brahma Singh Dr A. Alam Dr. Balraj Singh Dr. Brahma Singh
Dr. S S Sidhu
Dr. B S Tomar
Dr. S K Dwivedi
Enquiry : Email: brahma88@gmail.com, Ph.: +91-09818313660, Website: www.ispc.co.in
Views expressed and data given by the contributors in the magazine are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of editors and
publisher. New Age Protected Cultivation does not accept any direct or indirect responsibility or consequential damage caused to any individ-
ual, party or organization due to the views expressed by any one or more persons in India and abroad. Disputes if any are subjected to Delhi
Jurisdiction only.
Citation :
Singh Brahma 2019. New Age Protected Cultivation. Indian Society for Protected Cultivation, New Delhi.64p
EDITORIAL BOARD

FROM
EDITOR’S
DESK
Chief Editor and Founder President
ISPC, New Delhi
Protected cultivation in India is picking up to combat with climate change and adoption of
hi-tech, off-season production, soilless production and better production. Low tech protected
farming involving use of plastic mulch, low tunnel cultivation with nonwoven cloth cladding,
fruit bags, net house, rain shelter etc have made the impact felt in horticultural crops main-
ly in boosting vegetable crops production. Hi-tech protected cultivation – a future farming
method is facing problem not because of technology and its potential but problems faced in
its popularization with state support and incentives offered. However, it is gradually picking
up because of its high potential experienced in India and abroad.
This issue has compilation on very exciting and interesting development in protected or
greenhouse research under news chapter indicating possibilities of cultivation of vegetables
almost anywhere and everywhere - in space, on ground, underground, on sea under sea,
portable farms and others. Soilless cultivation research is getting great attention to make
unban agriculture a reality. News on production of hydroponic barley on large scale is quite
encouraging.
Crops like sugar cane would be, in future, dependent for healthy seed cane nursery produc-
tion using settlings under protected environment as has been highlighted by Dr S K Saini in
his article. Recommendations of some of the seminar and workshop held in recent past on
protected cultivation have been covered for the benefit of readers. Articles on ornamental
crops and Murraya koenegii (curry leaves powder) production covered in this issue are infor-
mative, innovative and highlight higher and better yield of these under protected structures.
Information on newly bred varieties of crops suitable for poly houses is also covered in the
present issue. Importantly maintenance of greenhouses by Er Anand Zambre, Executive Di-
rector, National Committee on Plasticulture Applications in Horticulture (NCPAH), Ministry
of Agriculture and Farmers ‘Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi makes useful and
fruitful reading for greenhouse growers.
Brahma Singh
15-12-2018
EDITORIAL

World’s first largest
underground farm: growing
underground
A
n important step for future urban
farming and soilless farming.
This urban farm is situated 33
meters underneath the streets of Clapham,
London in a World War II air raid shelter.
Location: 1a Carpenter’s Place London
SW4 7TD United Kingdom
World’s first underwater farm-
Noli, Italy
F
ounded in 2012 by father and son
duo Sergio and Luca Gamberini
and run by scuba company Ocean
Reef Group, Nemo’s Garden is an under-
water farm that grows anything from ba-
sil to aloe vera.
One hundred meters off the coast of
Noli, Italy, scuba divers can find pods
of 2,000-liter acrylic demi-spheres that
resemble giant jellyfish standing at the
bottom of the ocean. Anchored to the
ocean floor by ropes, chains, and screws,
the biospheres surround a half-ton met-
al tree that serves as a 12-foot-tall cable
protector. But more surprising than all
this is the fact that bright, fresh plants are
inside, thriving 15-36 feet below the sur-
face. According to an article on inverse.
com¸ underwater, many of the issues of
traditional farming vanish while still pro-
viding plants with their core needs. Iso-
lated from inclement weather like hail or
the devastating effects of parasites, the
sunlight each plant needs still reaches
the biospheres. Eliminating potential for
parasites also lets Nemo’s Garden remain
pesticide-free.
Floating farm
T
he Italian agrinauts of Nemo’s
Garden actually inspired a student
Leilah Clarke at the University of
Sussex to develop the Floating Farm -
growing crops at sea:. So far, Leilah has
grown cress, watercress, rocket and rad-
ishes in the system (www.sussexproduct-
design.co.uk/the-floating-farm )
Floating Farm
Deep flow technique
F
loating cultivation (DFT = Deep
Flow Technique) is a serious op-
tion for emission-free cultivation.
In this cultivation technique the plants
hang in floating panels,that are floating
on a few decimeters deep nutrient solu-
tion. Almost the entire root development
takes place in the nutrient solution.
Various vegetables and herbs can be
grown well on a floating system, but the
system also seems to offer perspective for
cut flowers and perennials. The most im-
portant advantages of a floating cultiva-
tion are: better control, cleaner product,
fewer soil-related disease and pest prob-
lems, such as weeds, snails and thrips
(water@ltoglaskracht.nl)
World’s largest smart vertical
vegetable farm-- China
• Futuristic farm maximises growth
potential of plants and is 75 times
more efficient than conventional
farming
• 54,000 sq ft plant in Fujian, south-
east China, can produce eight to 10
tonnes of vegetables every day
• The system automatically regulates
temperature, water, humidity, nutri-
ents and LEDs that replace sunlight
• Autonomous greenhouse allows
plants to grow without soil or sun-
light
• A smart farm factory that enables
vegetables to grow efficiently in an
automated environment
• The smaller-sized varieties can be
harvested in 18 days while larger
vegetables take between 33 and 35
days
Sanan Sino-science’s first generation
Space farming a possibility
W
ith scarce nutrients and weak
gravity, growing potatoes on
the Moon or on other planets
seems unimaginable. But the plant hor-
mone strigolactone could make it possi-
ble, plant biologists from the University
of Zurich have shown. The hormone
supports the symbiosis between fungi
and plant roots, thus encouraging plants’
growth – even under the challenging
conditions found in space. “In order to
get crops such as tomatoes and potatoes
to grow in the challenging conditions of
space, it is necessary to encourage the
formation of mycorrhiza,” summarizes
research leader Lorenzo Borghi. “This
seems to be possible using the strigolac-
tone hormone. Our findings may there-
fore pave the way for the successful cul-
tivation in space of the types of plants
that we grow on Earth.” (Guowei Liu,
Daniel Bollier, Christian Gübeli, Noemi
Peter, Peter Arnold, Marcel Egli, Lorenzo
Borghi. Simulated microgravity and the
NEWS - Protected Cultivation (Compiled by Brahma Singh)

antagonistic influence of strigolactone on
plant nutrient uptake in low nutrient con-
ditions. (Nature Microgravity. October
17, 2018)
Aquaponics greenhouse in
Kazakhstan
T
he Korean company MANNA
CEA is investing about 2.4 million
US dollars in the construction of a
salad greenhouse with an area of 0.6 hect-
ares in the Kordai district of the Zham-
byl region. Two volumes are installed for
the arrangement of the greenhouse. One
tank will be allocated for fish, and above
it – there will be a container for plants in-
stalled. Products of fish life activity will
feed the soil for plant products in the up-
per volume, thus creating an independent,
self-cleaning ecosystem (Kazakh Invest).
Hydroponic barley - Iceland
I
n the middle of a moon-like volca-
nic landscape a modern greenhouse
shines its yellow light. The green-
house in Grindavík, 2,000 square meter
greenhouse is filled with barley, grown in
an hydroponic system ( www.orfgenetics.
com)
Greenhouse barley
Floating solar energy park
L
and is becoming scarcer due to a
growing world population using
unused space such as water sur-
faces to generate energy without using
land needed for the production of food.
The floating panels are attached to plas-
tic floaters which can be connected like
pieces of Lego. The panels are more ex-
pensive then that solar panels on land, but
has the added advantage of natural cool-
ing at the bottom by the water, increases
the efficiency by 20%. Too much heat
slows conduction, and lowers the ener-
gy yield ( www.profloating.eu; vincent@
profloating.eu)
Experimental floating panels in the
stream next to the World Horti Center
Flying greenhouse from Bremen
goes into space
S
oon, a flying greenhouse could re-
volve around the Earth. A research
satellite from Bremen is panned to
be launched into space with tomato seeds
on board. In it, the plants should grow un-
der different gravitational conditions; for
half a year gravity like on the moon, then
for half a year with the gravity of Mars.
CO2 foliar spray in pepper
T
oronto based CO2 GRO shared
positive value results from two
pepper grow trials using its dis-
solving CO2 Foliar Spray technology.
The first pepper trial was performed at
a commercial Michigan aeroponics fa-
cility using dissolved CO2 Foliar Spray
technology versus no CO2 gassing on a
limited number of pepper plants (www.
co2gro.ca)
Online system ‘IP garden’
controls the whole cultivation
process
Never again having dirty hands, no weed-
ing, no toiling with heavy watering cans -
and still end up with your own crisp fresh
lettuce in your hands.
The Internet and a
clever idea by Martin
Kruszka - the so-called
IP garden - are making
it possible.
How does this system work? Interested
parties lease a 16 square meter plot in a
field outside. The online gardeners de-
termine which vegetables to grow, when
to fertilize and when to plant radishes,
lettuce or kohlrabi. Everything is done
conveniently through a computer, tablet
or smartphone. The whole operation is as
easy as a computer game ( www.ipgarten.
de )
Smart lighting for greenhouses
A
fter being in the LED market for
years, ITC is now expanding in
to horticulture with the Amplify
and Amplify Plus product lines. Remark-
able is how their smart LED lighting solu-
tion can be steered on the actual weather
conditions at individual locations. New
Amplify product line resulted in grow
light products, specifically intended to
reduce energy usage, increase yield, and
enhance plant strength. It offers multiple,
scientifically proven spectrums and lamp
configurations to provide a solution for
greenhouse or controlled environment
growers. The LEDs used in the Amplify
product line are optimized for light distri-
bution and plant level light intensity. The
spectrum options are focused on the light
needs of different cultivars at different
points of development (www.nebulacon-
trols.ca)
Amplify lights
Reinvented toilet by Bill Gates
‘makes’ clean water and
fertilizer for crops
W
hen you hear the name Bill
Gates, you’ll probably think
about computers and Micro-
soft, but not about toilets. Still, the bil-
lionaire is now bringing a ‘reinvention’
of the toilet, in which he invested 200
million dollars. Human excrement will
be turned into clean water and fertilizer
in the special toilet. In total, Gates is pre-
senting 20 versions of the ‘new’ toilet, of
which particularly the version that makes
fertilizer and hydrogen has a chance of
further development. Besides, holding a
beaker of human excreta that, Gates said,
contained as many as 200 trillion rota-
virus cells, 20 billion Shigella bacteria,
and 100,000 parasitic worm eggs, the
Microsoft Corp. co-founder explained to
a 400-strong crowd that new approach-
es for sterilizing human waste may help
end almost 500,000 infant deaths and
save $233 billion annually in costs linked
to diarrhoea, cholera and other diseases
caused by poor water, sanitation and hy-
giene.

Remotely controlled irrigation
system
I
t is an automatic irrigation system.
Combining everything in a closed
circuit platform allows producers to
monitor, analyse, and control their ir-
rigation remotely. The software allows
them to manage their activities from their
smartphones, adapting to different bud-
gets and needs. The system consists of
sensors that are placed on the ground and
that measure the soil’s relative humidity
and temperature. Other sensors are placed
on the plant, leaf or stem. This informa-
tion, combined with external information
on climate and satellite photographs, is
sent to a system in the cloud that analyses
when and how much the plant needs to
be irrigated and that automatically opens
the valves in the fields. Each type of crop
has its own model, depending on its con-
ditions and needs(elfinanciero.com.mx)
Greenhouse robot
T
he labour-intensive task of har-
vesting and pruning has become a
challenge for greenhouse vegeta-
ble growers, making up to 30 per cent of
their overall costs. Prof. Medhat Moussa,
School of Engineering is developing a
robot system capable to harvest, package
and de-leaf greenhouse crops without as-
sistance from humans. A prototype is cur-
rently being put to the test by harvesting
tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers—On-
tario’s main greenhouse crops—in Leam-
ington greenhouses.
Greenhouse robot
The robot uses specialized visioning
technology to first determine whether a
vegetable is ripe, then devises a plan to
collect and package the vegetable besides
infestation/ nutrient deficiency detection
(University of Guelph (Amber Hutchin-
son)
Portable vertical farms
V
ertical farms on wheel have
brought the farm ever closer to
restaurant tables. It’s almost as if
you can reach out and pick a few leaves
of lettuce right from your seat. At the
Good Bank restaurant in Berlin though,
it feels like you can - there, you’re din-
ing ‘inside’a vertical farm( © HortiDaily.
com)
Portable vertical farm
Phytoponics
P
rofitable and affordable hydro-
ponic growing system for the
commercial grower, Phytoponics
provides high performance deep water
culture growing in an all in one system
for the greenhouse. Scalable, sustainable
and adaptable, Phytoponics grows plants
from transplant into crop, and works with
Tomato, Pepper, eggplant, Cucumber,
Strawberry and others.
Phytoponics helps growers get results
better than soil or substrate, by giving
crops uniform and stable nutrient solu-
tion conditions that maximize yield and
reduce complexity, thanks to a new pat-
ent-pending hydroponic growbag design.
With integrated aeration and water tem-
perature control, the risks of disease and
infection is drastically reduced, allowing
chemical free root solution for sustain-
able production (www.phytoponics.com)
Biodegradable film is ideal for
flowers
O
riginally made for packing fresh
produce, the biodegradable film
of Sirane turned out to be a solu-
tion in the ornamental industry as well.
As it is breathable it actively helps extend
the shelf-life of fresh fruit and vegetables.
However, its properties, i.e. compostable,
transparent, breathable, and sustainable,
make it ideal for flowers also (www.sir-
ane.com)
Biodegradable film
The biggest greenhouse in the
human history
“The biggest greenhouse ever built”
W
e are going to build a green-
house that never has been built
before. To build such architec-
ture in this valley is nothing but an adven-
ture. It’s an adventure to make a botani-
cal garden in this valley.The total area is
150,000m2.
Use the topography of the valley as it
is/ following the topography. We use
the original shape of the valley to build
a greenhouse. The most beautiful shape
is the nature itself. It is also very com-
plicated. There are no greenhouses in the
shape of a valley. It is not planned to do
land formation, because it costs a lot.
A Japanese company has designed “the
biggest greenhouse in human history”.
Not for growing vegetables, but for creat-
ing a touristic destination out of a valley.
By covering a valley in the Chinese Heb-
el province with glass roofs, they want to
create a mountainous “Utopia”.
The site is located in the Hebel province
of China. The forestation of mountains
and highway constructions are under
way”, they write with the sketches of the
plan. “The plan has a service zone with
an exhibition and a conference hall and
hotels, a recreational zone located in an
ecosphere in the mountains with many
rivers, a cultural zone introducing various
ethnic cultural groups in China, a com-
mercial zone, a sports area built by the

lake side in the mountains, a residential
zone with villas and in the center of this
developing site, there is a valley at the
scale of 15 hectares.
(EASTERN design office: Chezmoi
Espoir 202 12 Sumizome-cho Fukakusa
Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, JAPAN eastern@
sweet.ocn.ne.jp T +81-75-642-9644 F
+81-75-642-9644
Plants: long-distance defensive
signalling
P
lants have a built-in wound sensor
and rapid communication system
that allows them to defend them-
selves when attacked by insects, new
research from the University of Missou-
ri has found. Abraham Koo found that
glutamate not only helps plants defend
against a single attack on a specific leaf,
but it also alerts other leaves to the po-
tential danger and induces pre-emptive
responses. Koo worked in conjunction
with researchers at MU, the University
of Wisconsin, Michigan State Universi-
ty and Saitama University in Japan. The
study, “Glutamate triggers long-distance,
calcium-based plant defence signalling,”
was published in Science.(University of
Missouri)
Blue rose through
biotechnology
F
or centuries, gardeners have at-
tempted to breed blue roses with no
success. But now, thanks to modern
biotechnology, the elusive blue rose may
finally be attainable. Researchers have
found a way to express pigment-produc-
ing enzymes from bacteria in the petals
of a white rose, tinting the flowers blue.
They report their results in ACS Synthet-
ic Biology (American Chemical Society)
Plants harness microbes to get
nutrients
A
Rutgers-led team has discovered
how plants harness microbes in
soil to get nutrients, a process that
could be exploited to boost crop growth,
fight weeds and slash the use of pollut-
ing fertilizers and herbicides. The process
team named as rhizophagy cycle. The
rhizophagy cycle works like this: plants
cultivate – essentially farm – microbes
around root tips by secreting sugars, pro-
teins and vitamins, according to White.
The microbes grow and then enter root
cells at the tips, where cells are dividing
and lack hardened walls. The microbes
lose their cell walls, become trapped in
plant cells, and are hit with reactive ox-
ygen (superoxide). The reactive oxygen
breaks down some of the microbe cells,
effectively extracting nutrients from
them. Surviving microbes spur the for-
mation of root hairs on roots. The mi-
crobes leave the hairs at the growing hair
tip, where the hair cell wall is soft, and
microbes reform their cell walls as they
re-enter soil. The microbes acquire nutri-
ents in the soil and the process is repeated
over and over, according to White, who
has been studying the sustainable cycle
for seven years. (Rutgers (Todd Bates)
Can electricity boost plant
growth?
C
hinese growers have the answer to
above question that has been baf-
fling scientists for three centuries:
To find out, China has been conducting
the world’s largest experiment and the
results are transforming agricultural pro-
duction in the world’s most populous na-
tion with a jolt. Across the country, from
Xinjiang’s remote Gobi Desert to the de-
veloped coastal areas facing the Pacific
Ocean, vegetable greenhouse farms with
a combined area of more than 3,600 hect-
ares (8,895 acres) have been taking part
in an “electro culture” programme funded
by the Chinese government.
In September, 2018 the Chinese Acad-
emy of Agricultural Sciences and other
government research institutes released
the findings of nearly three decades of
study in areas with different climate, soil
conditions and plantation habits. They
are hailing the results as a breakthrough.
The technique has boosted vegetable out-
put by 20 to 30 per cent. Pesticide use
has decreased 70 to 100 per cent. And
fertiliser consumption has dropped more
than 20 per cent (South China Morning
Post Science, Edition: International; Sep
22, 2018).
Harvesting machine for micro-
greens
Bob Benner with Hamill created his auto-
matic micro-green harvester.
Mico-green harvester
The machine makes it possible to harvest
micro-greens from the tray into the clam-
shells or poach without being touched
by human hands. According to Bob, the
machine can harvest a tray within three
seconds, thus reducing harvest time by
ninety per cent. The machine can be built
for various tray sizes (www.hamillaps.
com; www.hamillmachine.ca)
Timber production in
greenhouse
A
new glasshouse has officially
opened in Cheshire, bringing a
boost to timber production and
helping to grow the Public Forest Estate.
Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey
has opened a £5 million cutting-edge
glasshouse at Delamere Nursery in
Cheshire.
The state-of-the-art growing facility cov-
ers a hectare and is set to boost timber
production, with its tight environmental
controls creating better growing condi-
tions for the four million seedlings it will
house (Gov.uk)
Saplings production of timber trees.
Intelligent sprayer
At long last, commercialization of the
smart sprayer technology is moving for-
ward. USDA ARS and Smart Guided
Systems, Inc. announced finalization of
a licensing agreement in late August. Dr.
Heping Zhu, USDA ARS Wooster, de-
signed the Intelligent Spray Control Sys-
tem to help bring precision agriculture
to environmental horticulture. A laser on
the sprayer detects the plant canopy; that
information triggers spray nozzles to acti-

vate only where plant material is present.
The result is that much less spray is re-
quired (www.hriresearch.org)
Indian horticulture yield
pegged at 307 million tons
I
ndian horticulture production in the
year ending June is pegged at 306.82
million tons, up 2.05 per cent from
last year’s 300.64 million tons, according
to estimates released by the Agriculture
Ministry. Production of fruits is expect-
ed to cross 97 million tons, thanks to an
impressive increase in the output of man-
goes in particular, which registered a 9
per cent growth. The production of veg-
etables, on the other hand, is projected to
be close to 180 million tons, marginally
up from 2016-17. A slight drop is expect-
ed in the yield of major vegetables such
as potatoes, onions and tomatoes.
The total area under horticulture crops is
also up by 3.26 per cent at 25.66 million
hectares from 24.85 mha in 2016-17. At
48.5 million tons, potato production is
projected to be slightly lower than the
48.61 million tons of 2016-17, whereas a
slump is expected in the output of onions,
which is down 1.8 per cent at 22 million
tons. The highest decrease in production
among major vegetable crops, however,
was witnessed in tomatoes, whose out-
put is projected to drop by 6.6 per cent to
19.4 million tons.
According to thehindubusinessline.com,
citrus output is expected to go up strong-
ly to 9.6 per cent at 12.51 million tons.
The production of mangoes is projected
to grow by 8.2 per cent to 21.25 million
tons. The same goes for banana produc-
tion, which is expected to go up to 31 mil-
lion tons. (Publication date: 8/30/2018)
Spain: bottle gourd, a trap
for the whiteflies that damage
tomato crops
W
hiteflies are one of its main
threats in tomatoes for trans-
mitting viruses. The Coun-
cil of Water, Agriculture, Livestock and
Fisheries of Murcia has successfully car-
ried out a test through the Murcian Insti-
tute for Agricultural Research and Devel-
opment and Food (IMIDA) with the use
of bottle gourd as a trap for whiteflies on
the sides of greenhouses.
The use of bottle gourds on the sides of
the greenhouse as a barrier has led to a
clear decline in whitefly populations.
Thus, it can be considered an effective el-
ement in the design of agro-ecosystems,
as well as an environmentally-friendly
and viable practice that leads to an opti-
mization in the biological regulation of
the pest. (Source: Europa Press)
New strawberry grower trays
T
here’s a constantly growing de-
mand for higher propagation trays
for strawberry plants. The 16-hole
strawberry mini tray comes with two dif-
ferent leg lengths – 50 mm and 70 mm.
The tray’s plant cups have a volume of
135 cc.
This strawberry mini-tray is made of sus-
tainably recycled PP. It can be subjected
to steam treatment and be used for many
years.
Specifications:
• Nestable and turn stackable
• Colour: black
• Cup volume: 135 cc
• Plant density: 133 plants/m2
• Available in two heights measured
from the plant cup to the ground: 50
mm and 70 mm
• 700 per pallet
• Dimensions of trays with 50-mm
legs: 595 x 195 x 127 MM
• Dimensions of trays with 70-mm
legs: 595 x 195 x 147 MM
(info@beekenkamp.nl; www.beeken-
kamp.nl)
Sensor technology for expensive
and scarce water regions
S
ensors and irrigation control sys-
tems are a growing solution to man-
age water use in horticulture. These
are proving to be particularly effective in
Almería, Spain where you can find one of
the largest concentrations of greenhous-
es in the world. In this arid area on the
south coast, water is a very scarce and ex-
pensive resource. Francisca Ferrer, local
tomato farmer, is testing a set of sensors
to optimise the fertigation of her plants.
This system was developed in a nation-
al project (HORTISYS) which received
ERDF funding. Francisca Ferrer and her
partner have a 11,500 square metre multi-
purpose greenhouse where they cultivate
tomatoes in soil. She collects rainwater
that falls on to the greenhouse and stores
it in a pond for irrigation, but as rainfall
is rare, Francisca relies greatly on water
from two irrigators’ associations, which
is costly. The salinity levels in the water
vary between the associations (electrical
conductivity of 15 and 0.4 milliSiemens/
cm), this adds a further irrigation chal-
lenge. High prices of water for irrigation
also made us look into ways to optimise
our use Francisca (www.eip-water.eu)
Francisca Ferrer explains how ambient
sensors record solar radiation, humidi-
ty and temperature and how one type of
sensors in the soil measure conductivity,
humidity and temperature and the other
type measures nitrates and potassium.
Super Soil
RainSoil introduces RainSoil Engineered
Super Soil, a proprietary soil ingredient

blend that contains premium expanded
coconut coir, a complete nutrient starter
charge, a surfactant and a superabsorbent
polymer. It contains professional grade
ingredients to provide plants with opti-
mum water-retention, drainage and nutri-
tion. It can be used as a growing medium
for flowers, edibles, turf and more (www.
RainSoil.com).
Carbon dioxide enrichment of
greenhouses
C
arbon dioxide enrichment is a
powerful tool for enhancing crop
yield, health and boosting the
number of annual harvesting opportuni-
ties. By lessening the time to maturity,
growers can also save money on heat and
fertilization costs and reduce the amount
of water used during crop production.
Whether it comes from a compressed
CO2 tank or a propane tank, a little bit of
CO2 enrichment goes a long way in en-
hancing the profitability of a greenhouse
(www.growspan.com)
Aqua-4D water solutions and
root-knot nematodes
A
qua-4D’s patented Swiss tech-
nology uses low-frequency sig-
nals which are applied to the
water before irrigation. This has a posi-
tive effect on the innate structure of the
water, making the minerals within more
soluble, improving overall soil quality
and eliminating biofilm. But at the same
time, studies since 2004 have shown that
root-knot nematodes exposed to this elec-
tromagnetically-treated water do indeed
become stressed, disorientated, and lay
fewer eggs, meaning they stay away from
the root zone. The knock-on effects of
this mean healthier hairy roots and thus
healthier plants and higher yields.
Experts and nematologists agree that
nematodes are virtually impossible to
eliminate, so the sustainable and chemi-
cal-free solutions provided by the Aqua-
4D system offer the next best thing: mak-
ing root-knot nematodes disinterested
and disorientated, keeping them away
from the rhizosphere so that they no lon-
ger lay their eggs or pose a threat. And
indeed, as many nematodes can play an
important role in a biodiverse ecosystem,
simply repelling them from the root zone
is a sustainable, environmentally-friendly
solution (www.aqua4d.com)
Biorationals in pest resistance
management
B
iorationals are defined as “regis-
tered plant protection products
generally derived from the natu-
ral environment, offering improved ben-
efits for plants, people and the planet,
which are increasingly important factors
for Integrated Crop Production to satisfy
requirements of the value chain and con-
sumers”.
Farmers and technicians like to use biora-
tionals because they have a very positive
residue profile: the active ingredients do
not create a residue as they are naturally
occurring substances (e.g. maltodextrin
in Eradicoat); or they can be degraded
quickly and easily (e.g. natural pyrethrins
in Breaker); or the active is not actually
applied to the produce (e.g. pheromones
for mating disruption in Cidetrak).
Biorationals are regularly used at any
time in organic production or in Integrat-
ed Pest Management at the end of the
crop cycle close to harvest of the produce
– as they have no residue issues - so it
is possible to use conventional products
at the beginning of a programme and
biorationals at the end (www.certisagro-
sostenible.com).
Aquaponics: Arka Anamika
okra cultivar
Arka Anamika okra
A
rka Anamika okra cultivar is an-
other crop we found it suitable
for cultivation in domestic as
well as in large scale commercial aqua-
ponics sand culture units.
For the aquaponics data enthusiasts, here
is some from our Arka Anamika first
yield trial.
Number of plants per square meter - 9
Minimum days to flowering - 31.97
Days to fruit setting - 36.87
Maximum plant height - 120.38 cm (still
growing)
Pods per plant - 20.40 (and counting)
Pod weight per plant - 560.6 gm
Yield per square meter - 5.045 kg (+)
(Aquaponics Futurist)
Centre of excellence for
vegetables, gharonda, Karnal,
Haryana- soilless vegetable
production
Vegetables being grown without soil sat
the Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence for
Vegetables in Gharaunda, Karnal. Tri-
bune photo
Under this technique, instead of soil, the
crops are grown in soilless media, made
of coco-pit, a fibre made out of coconut
husk, and two mineral rocks, including
vermiculite and perlite, along with water,
which is pre-treated with essential mi-
cro-nutrients in green houses.
This technology will revolutionise farm-
ing in huge salt affected soils in Haryana.
The Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence for
Vegetables has been using this technolo-
gy for the last four years while the Potato
Training Centre has adopted the technol-
ogy for the production of micro-tubers of
potato for the last one year. It has helped
in raising root knot nematodes and soil-
borne pathogens free crop, which have
become a serious problem for protected
cultivation.
“The trial on soilless cultivation technol-
ogy is going on and giving results as per
expectations at the CEV for the benefit of
the farming community. The production
of cucumber, regular tomato, cherry to-
mato and capsicum in soilless technique
is equal to production of these vegetables
in soil,” said Ram Swarup Punia, Super-
intendent Horticulture, CEV. (Parveen

Arora;Tribune News Service Karnal,
July 6, - Jul 7, 2018)
Congratulation Dr.Yus-
souf Khan ji for your innovative Horti-
culture work .
This is a good modal of hydroponics sys-
tem of farming
Ukrainian greenhouses tomato
new varieties
Syngenta and Kitano Seed Companies to-
mato seeds popular in Ukrainian (www.
profihort.com )
Response of bell pepper to rootstock
and greenhouse cultivation in coconut
fibre or Soil Neymar Camposeco-Mon-
tejo et al 2018
The study was conducted to know the
effect of rootstocks on yields and quali-
ty in bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.)
grown in either soil or coconut fiber sub-
strate, in greenhouses. Using a random-
ized block design with three repetitions,
the resulting treatment groups consisted
of three rootstocks (Foundation-F1, Yao-
cali-F1, CLX-PTX991-F1 (Ultron), and
non-grafted controls) with four hybrids as
scions (Lamborghini, Bambuca, DiCap-
rio, and Ucumari). The yield of fruit per
plant (YFP) and number of fruit per plant
(NFP) obtained in coconut fiber were
85% and 55% greater, respectively, than
in soil. The CLX-PTX991-F1 rootstock
was superior to the hybrids without root-
stock (p ≤ 0.05) in YFP and NPF (30%
and 19.5%, respectively. It is concluded
that the use of coconut fiber significant-
ly improves the yields of bell pepper and
that the use of rootstock improves plant
vigor and plant yield (robledo3031@
gmail.com;Agronomy 2018, 8(7), 111)
Sweeper: pepper harvest robot
tested
G
liding over the pipe rails in the
Dutch nursery De Tuindershoek
is a machine, matching the bright
yellow peppers on the plants. There’s a
mechanical sound and flashes appear.
Shortly after a gripper moves toward one
of the ripe fruits and a sawing sound fol-
lows next. The pepper falls into the grip-
per to eventually end up in the receptacle.
In less than 30 seconds, the job is done
and a next harvest movement is ready to
start. The first live demonstration of the
pepper harvest robot Sweeper first week
of July, 2018 (www.sweeper-robot.eu).
The Sweeper robot in action in the test
crop
New heights for
horticulturalists- Drone
A
n “aviation” certification to care
for plants something unheard
in 20th century. Now becoming
common throughout the world some pro-
duction nurseries are using drone-mount-
ed cameras to capture imagery to manage
plant count, health and unknown symp-
toms requiring attention. Drone-mounted
cameras can provide high spatial reso-
lution and fast turnaround capabilities
whilst remaining relatively low-cost and
easy to use when compared to satellite
imagery (www.ngia.com.au).
Drone with camera in action
Madhavi farms, Bengaluru
M
adhavi Farms, a 20Acre Organ-
ic estate, located in the heart of
Bangalore city was established
on a barren plot of land in 1998. Today it
is a bio-diversity hotspot with thousands
of medicinal, fragrance, timber, fruit and
sacred vedic trees, herbs and plant variet-
ies. Our ecosystem has become home to
several types of birds, bats, insects, rep-
tiles and wild bees. Additionally, Mad-
havi Farms also hosts a Dairy facility for
the protection and proliferation of Indig-
enous breeds. A star addition launched in
November 2017 to the Madhavi Farms
chapter is India’s first and largest com-
mercial Aquaponics farm in collabora-
tion with Messrs. WaterFarmers, Canada
(www.waterfarmers.ca). Madhavi farms
is the first in India to set up this path
breaking, new age, innovative, Agri-tech-
nology, and will scale up in 2018 to meet
the full requirements of all our selective
clients across Bangalore. WaterFarmers
already have similar successful ventures
in different parts of the world, including
Hong Kong, China, Oman, Australia and
parts of the US and Canada.
A growth facility of 3,000 sq meter
with the same number of plants usual-
ly grown in a 1.5 hectare hydroponic
greenhouse will be possible with the
new hydroponic system, developed and
patented by the Czech company Tho-
rilex. The brand new automatic vertical

system will be placed in an Aquaponic
showroom (of 500 sq m) in the Czech
Republic. While the company has not
disclosed the technical details for now,
they are willing to share the calculation
that thrives them into this market. “Sav-
ing in the greenhouse, in the space and in
the operational cost.”
The company explains the numbers with
the table below. “With our hydroponic
system you can get the same production
as with 1.5 ha using NFT, while if you
count everything on a sqm, it is obvious
that the price per sqm will be higher for
the traditional systems. Biggest benefit
comes in the price of the greenhouse. An-
other benefit would be to use lights. Be-
cause our hydroponic system is automatic
the necessary number of lights is lower.
Even from the operational perspective it
is also much cheaper to control tempera-
ture in the small greenhouse than in the
big one. Estimated Commercial aspects
are as under (info@thorilex.com; www.
thorilex.com)
Yoga in the greenhouse
Cerbo’s Parsippany Greenhouses in New
Jersey, USA invited locals for yoga in
their greenhouses. Another way to intro-
duce your company and your product line
to possible future customers (www.prov-
enwinners.com)
Yoga in greenhouse
UAE: emirates invests in
130,000 sq.ft. vertical farm
E
mirates Flight Catering (EKFC)
and Crop One will co-invest
US$40 million to build a large
vertical farming facility near Al Mak-
toum International Airport at Dubai
World Central. The project is a joint
venture with U.S.-based vertical farm
operator Crop One Holdings. “As one
of the world’s largest airline catering op-
erations, Emirates Flight Catering con-
stantly looks at innovation, and ways to
improve our productivity, product and
service quality. Introducing the latest
technology to our operations, we secure
our own supply chain of high quality and
locally-sourced fresh vegetables, while
significantly reducing our environmental
footprint. We are pleased to partner with
Crop One, the industry’s leading grower,
packer and distributor, and a successful
company that shares our corporate val-
ues. Together we look forward to deliver-
ing a best-in-class product and excellent
value to our customers and stakeholders,”
said Saeed Mohammed, Chief Executive
Officer of Emirates Flight Catering (cro-
poneholdings.com and emiratesflightca-
tering.com)
Dissolved CO2
foliar spray plant
benefits on lettuce
T
oronto based CO2
GRO announced
more scientific proof validating its
dissolved CO2
foliar spray technol-
ogy on lettuce. The first trials at St Cloud
State University in Minnesota measured
a fourfold sustained increase of chloro-
phyll concentration in Romaine lettuce
leaves with dissolved CO2
foliar spray
pulsed in 15-minute intervals for four
hours. More chlorophyll lets plants grow
faster and larger. According to Tridge In-
telligence, the worldwide lettuce market
is 26.8M tonnes/y with the US produc-
ing 15.2% or 4M tonnes/y. Over 90% of
US lettuce grown is in California. At the
current $1.17/kg global wholesale lettuce
price, the global wholesale lettuce mar-
ket is worth $30B/y. GROW believes that
these initial chlorophyll trials with further
replication of previous lettuce grow trials
using its CO2
foliar spray technology will
confirm the potential of 1-2 more lettuce
crops/year in California or $1-2B/y more
wholesale California lettuce revenue with
less water use per unit of lettuce yield
(www.co2gro.ca)
Italy: hydroponic basil
I
l Bettolino is a cooperative producing
basil and aromatic herbs employing
the Floating System. It sells its pro-
duce directly to retailers and owns 10,000
sq m of state-of-the-art greenhouses man-
aged professionally. In 2017, it produced
90 thousand tons of produce (www.ilbet-
tolino.it)
Hydroponic basil
Mega greenhouse to arise in
tambov region of Russia
T
TP are fulfilling a construction
project of the first series of a major
greenhouse complex in Tambov
region, Abireg reports. The greenhouse
complex will be equipped with smart
glass and LED lighting, and comprise 12
production units with an overall acreage
of 75.6 ha, service and sorting zones of
3.4 ha, seedlings department of 7.6 ha,
and a training centre of 1.1 ha. It has
been announced that the amount of in-
vestments will total 381 million euros (
abireg.ru)
Bolivia: walipinis, underground
greenhouses
T
he Walipinis are a sort of green-
house that go unnoticed in the ex-
treme climate of the highlands of
Bolivia. In these underground greenhous-
es, producers grow products that are unfit
for such an arid landscape, which has hot
days, freezing nights, strong winds, and
scarce water; a place where much of the
vegetation does not survive.
These constructions, whose name, in
Aymara, means very good or very well,
were devised some 25 years ago by the
Swiss co-operator Peter Iselli and they
manage to create a bubble of soft and
constant temperatures where producers
can plant fruits and vegetables. Their un-
derground walls of earth help retain heat
and humidity, something that minimizes
the consumption of water, which in this
area is a very scarce resource.

They were abandoned by Iselli and res-
cued by agronomist Hector Velez, who
has been leading an ecological farm proj-
ect financed by the Gemio family for the
last 17 years.According to an article from
the BBC, these Walipinis are from a tech-
nical point of view based on N +1, cheap-
er and more effective than conventional
greenhouses (journalistadigital.com)
Antarctica: plenty of
production in future
exploration greenhouse
T
he most important element of the
EU H2020 EDEN-ISS project is
the simulation of a one-year “space
mission” on Antarctica, in preparation of
future space missions.
The business unit Greenhouse Horticul-
ture of Wageningen University & Re-
search has been involved in all prepara-
tions (from the design and dimensioning
of the installations and necessary resourc-
es of the Future Exploration Greenhouse,
through the selection of the crops, to the
preparation of a crop handling manual for
Paul, the space technician whose job is to
produce fresh vegetables for the benefit
of the “mission” crew ((wur.eu/green-
househorticulture)
Greenhouse at Antarctica
Farms without humans are
coming
T
he Hands Free Hectare (HFH)
project, run by Harper Adams Uni-
versity and Precision Decisions,
has won the Future Food Award at the
BBC’s Food and Farming Awards cere-
mony which was held in Bristol. In 2017
the world-first project drilled, tended and
harvested a crop of spring barley without
operators on the machines or agronomists
in the field. The team are growing a hect-
are of winter wheat now, thanks toAHDB
funding.
The project was demonstrated for the
first time away from the university cam-
pus earlier that day at Cereals 2018, near
Cambridge. The combine’s first demo,
held in the morning, didn’t fully go to
plan but the team worked hard to ensure
it would be ready for the afternoon slot;
which proved to be a success and received
a fantastic reaction from the audience.
Source: Harper Adams University
Vegetables can be grown
anywhere
C
ultivation of vegetables can be
done (virtually) anywhere, even
in the Arctic Circle. Technology
enables us to cultivate vegetables virtu-
ally anywhere, even in Norway or Alaska
during an ice-cold winter. Or in the sti-
flingly hot desert of South Australia. Hy-
droponics at sea could be the next chal-
lenge for vegetable growers.
One of the nurseries having to deal with
external conditions throughout the year is
Viken Gartneri in Frosta, 50 miles north
of Trondheim, Norway. There, Jonas and
his wife Ragnhild and 13 staff members
together cultivate 30 varieties of herbs in
pots and two varieties of lettuce on water
in a glasshouse spanning 13,000 m2. The
outside temperature varies from over 25
degrees Celsius in the summer to minus
25 degrees Celsius in the winter. ‘The
greatest challenge for us is the changing
of the seasons. In the winter there’s pretty
much no sunlight here, compared to 20
hours of sunlight in the summer. Mois-
ture is another challenge here, due to the
quantities of rain and snow we recieve.
And the wind can get pretty stiff here too,
which can damage the greenhouse’, says
Jonas.
Cultivating in a fjord
T
he high-tech greenhouse is situat-
ed on a peninsula in a fjord, which
tempers the extreme climate. It
also results in greater light output. During
the spring, the snow provides extra light
reflection, adds Ragnhild, which presents
a new challenge. Climate control in the
greenhouse, which was produced by a
Danish firm, is done with the aid of dou-
ble glazing, a double climate screen and
a Finnish computer. The climate screens
stay completely retracted in the winter.
They only open them very slightly to al-
low moisture to escape, with assimilation
lights keeping the greenhouse at the right
temperature when they do so.
Despite the challenges, Viken Gartneri
succeeds in cultivating high-quality pro-
duce, which is sold to Norgesgruppen
and Bama in central and northern Nor-
way. These customers demand not only
high quality but also swift delivery, says
Ragnhild. ‘We work hard to ensure that
we remain the most sought-after producer
of lettuce and herbs in our sales territory.
We’re also taking part in the research into
new food trends and the development of
production methods.’
Cultivating in the arctic circle
I
n Kotzebue, in north-west Alaska,
vegetables are cultivated in a 12-me-
tre-long container throughout the
year. Different kinds of herbs and lettuce
are harvested from the container on a
weekly basis. They are also experiment-
ing with kale. LED lights are suspended
in the container, taking over the role of
the sun. There are nearly 3,300 residents
in the city, and they have given the new
way of cultivating vegetables their seal
of approval. It frequently takes two to
three weeks before freshly harvested
vegetables find their way to the local su-
permarkets. These are flown in from the
more southerly regions in Alaska, over
600 miles away. Which results in a head
of ‘fresh’ romaine lettuce in the shop
costing as much as $8. ‘The project is a

StefanGrower2grower/)
Tissue cultured seedlings of
potato
The future method of planting potatoes
where seed tubers are major inputs.
Tissue culture potato plant hardening in
Etawah, U.P -- Source: face book
Vertical farming has limits
V
ertical farming - where food is
grown indoors in high stacks -
will not replace traditional fruit
and vegetable growing in New Zealand,
but it may supplement it in future if tech-
nology makes it economically viable, re-
search finds (www.hortnz.co.nz)
tremendous success’, says Joe Carr, the
only professional vegetable grower in the
Arctic Circle. ‘Each week we harvest 450
plants and they’re extremely popular. Be-
fore we came on the scene, fresh vegeta-
bles and herbs weren’t good-quality and
were simply too expensive, or both.’
Profitability as a challenge
K
ikiktagruk Inupiat Corporation,
the parent company of Arc-
tic Greens, is looking to set up
containers for the vertical cultivation of
vegetables throughout Alaska. Not just
to offer the local population fresh food,
but also to create jobs. One of the most
significant challenges is the price tag. The
set-up costs for the project in Kotzebue
were in excess of 180,00 euros. The most
significant expense is electricity, which is
generated using diesel engines. With its
artificial lighting eight hours a day and its
heating 24 hours a day, the hydroponic
system devours electricity, which is ex-
pensive in Kotzebue, just like it is every-
where in Alaska. It is partly because of
this that the price of the vertically culti-
vated vegetables is on a par with the im-
ported vegetables. Consequently the en-
trepreneurs are looking for ways to drive
down their energy costs, by using wind
energy or solar panels, for example.
Cultivating underwater
H
ydroponics at sea could be the
next challenge for vegetable
growers, particularly in dry coast-
al areas. The Ocean Reef Group spent
five years experimenting with cultivating
vegetables below sea level off the coast
of Noli (Italy) using small, transparent
balloons. The balloons have since been
replaced with rigid acrylic biospheres
measuring two metres in diameter.
The capsules from the nursery - called
Nemo’s Garden - have been secured to
the seabed. The biospheres are equipped
with sensors, remote-controlled ventila-
tors, cameras, Wi-Fi and intercom. Due
to the fact that they let light through, the
temperature in the capsules rise and the
plants are given fresh water, which evap-
orates out of the sea and condenses on the
walls. Pesticides are not necessary. En-
ergy and water consumption is minimal
too. The plants are harvested by divers,
who regularly inspect the plants and sys-
tems. Experience has now been gained
with 30 plants, including tomato, basil,
lettuce and cabbage.
Largest eggplant growers, New
Zealand
Eggplants in diffused glass greenhouse.
K
ees van der Eijk and Svend Ped-
ersen are business partners who
co-own CSM Limited, estab-
lished in January 2001. CSM limited
are the largest eggplant growers, by area
and volume, in New Zealand. Eggplants
are successfully grown in diffused glass
greenhouse. (https://www.facebook.com/

Low tunnels: boon for farmers in hot arid region of Rajasthan
Dr. B.R. Choudhary, Prof. (Dr.) P.L. Saroj-Director
ICAR-Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner (Rajasthan)-334 006
Dr. B.R. Choudhary
B.R. Choudhary, Ph.D. Horticulture
from RAU, Bikaner (2002) joined
as Scientist in ICAR in 2005 and is
presently working as Senior Scien-
tist-Horticulture (Vegetable Science) at
ICAR-CIAH, Bikaner, Rajasthan. He is
engaged in breeding high temperature
tolerant varieties of vegetable crops
and development of innovative low cost
production technologies like low tun-
nels. He has developed 04 varieties of
vegetables i.e. Satputia (Kashi Kushi),
watermelon (Kashi Pitamber), ridge
gourd (Thar Karni) and long melon
(Thar Sheetal).
H
ot arid region is characterized
by very low and variable rainfall
(100-450mm), very high poten-
tial evapo-transpiration rate, intense so-
lar radiations (320-619/cm2/day), high
wind velocity (20km/hr), high infiltra-
tion (9cm/hr), extremes of temperature
(0 to 48oC), low relative humidity, high
soil salinity, very deep ground water, etc.
Such harsh climatic conditions result in
very low and poor-quality yield of vege-
tables under open field conditions during
summer season. The flowering stage of
February sown cucurbits coincides with
the prevailing high temperature and hot
wind (Loo). Such climatic condition
leads to high transpiration which resulted
in wilting of plants. Desert soil being san-
dy in texture gets warm soon which caus-
es burning of pistillate flowers touching
the ground. The population of pollinators
(honey bees) is decreased considerably
during summer season which affect yield.
High temperature favours induction of
more number of staminate (male) flowers
and less pistillate (female) flowers. Culti-
vation of cucurbits under such conditions
leads to poor quality and low yield.
Low tunnel technology offers very good
opportunity for early harvesting of cucur-
bits like, watermelon, muskmelon, long-
melon, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, round
gourd, summer squash, cucumber, etc. in
hot arid region. The technology should
essentially be used with drip irrigation,
fertigation, spray of micronutrients and
integrated crop management practices to
harvest high yield and quality produce.
Now a days cultivation of cucurbits un-
der low tunnels has become reality and
emerged as a viable source of income
among the farmers of arid region. An
advancement of 30-50 days has been ob-
served in harvesting over their normal
season of cultivation which provide very
high price in the market.
What is low tunnel?
Low tunnels are flexible transparent cov-
ering that are installed over the rows or
individual beds to enhance plant growth
by warming the air around the plants us-
ing heat from the sun especially during
winter season. Plastic tunnels are trans-
parent which provides required sunshine
to the plants, and the plastic also plays a
barrier against the cool air in winter.
Why low tunnels?
Presently, river bed cultivation is in prac-
tice for production of cucurbitaceous
vegetables in off-season in northern parts
of India, although area under river bed
cultivation is very limited, which cannot
be extended further. Besides, glut in the
market and low quality produce causes
poor economic returns to the farmers.
But with the use of low tunnels, cucurbits
can be grown very early in the spring or
summer season so that the produce to the
market can be sent early in the season. It
also extends the growing season for se-
lected vegetable crops when large quanti-
ties of the crop produce are not available
results in higher prices from their off-sea-
son produce.
Principle of low tunnels
In our surrounding atmosphere CO2
concentration is 0.03% means 300 ppm.
Plants use this CO2 for photosynthesis.
In poly tunnel, during night time there is
no photosynthesis but CO2 is given out
through respiration. This CO2 remain ac-
cumulated around plants hence the CO2
concentration is higher inside the poly
tunnels as compared to outside and this
CO2 is again used by plants growing in
ploy tunnels for rapid photosynthesis.
Advantages
i. Early and off-season production of
cucurbits can be taken to get better
return.
ii. Makes cultivation of vegetables pos-
sible in areas where it can’t grow in
open conditions viz., high altitudes
and hot arid regions.
iii. It creates optimum microclimate for
plant growth, thus, increases photo-
synthetic activities and thereby yield.
iv. Maintains optimum temperature for
plant growth.
v. Enhances nutrients uptake by the
plants.
vi. Provide protection against unfavour-
able environment like high rainfall,
hail, low temperature, frost, wind,
insect-pests, etc.
vii. Inexpensive, as these structures are
easy to construct and dismantle.
viii. It generates better revenue even
though total yield may be the same
or lower because market prices are
higher.
Components
i. Structural : GI wires (2.0 m long
with 4-6 mm diameter) or phalsa
twigs or bamboo sticks.
ii. Covering material : Transparent and
biodegradable polyethylene film of
30-50 microns having 2 meter width.

Important points for tunnel
cultivation
i. Prior to start off-season vegetable
cultivation in tunnels, the farmer
must have practical knowledge about
vegetable cultivation.
ii. Soil and water quality should be test-
ed before starting the cultivation.
iii. Recommended package and practic-
es should be followed.
iv. Farmer must have the updated mar-
ket information to earn high profit.
Field preparations and sowing
The land should be prepared to a fine
tilth before construction of low tunnels.
Application of manures and fertilizers
depends upon the crop, variety and soil
status. Well decomposed FYM should
be applied @ 150-200 q/ ha, phospho-
rus @ 60-80 kg/ ha and potash @ 50-60
kg/ ha at the time of final land prepara-
tion. Nitrogen should be applied @ 60-80
kg/ ha in three split doses. One-third of
N should be applied basally, about 8-10
cm away from the seeds. Remaining dose
of nitrogen should be given at the time
of earthing up and initiation of flowering
as topdressing. 45-60 cm deep and 45-
60 cm wide trenches should be made at
a distance of 2.0-2.5 m in east-west di-
rection in December end. Recommended
doses of fertilizers (NPK) should be ap-
plied in trenches and mixed thoroughly.
The excess dose of nitrogenous fertilizers
should be avoided as it results in more
vegetative growth and less pistillate flow-
ers. For irrigation one lateral (12-16 mm
size) in each trench having drippers of 4
litre/ hour discharge spaced at 60 cm dis-
tance should be placed.
Before sowing, the seeds should be al-
lowed to soak in water for 3-4 hours
(muskmelon, longmelon, cucumber),
6-8 hours (bottle gourd), 10-12 hours
(tinda, watermelon, ridge gourd) and 24-
36 hours (bitter gourd) for quick germi-
nation. After soaking, seeds should be
treated with Captan or Thiram @ 2 g/ kg,
wrapped in gunny bag and kept at warm
place (straw) for 2-3 days to facilitate ear-
ly germination. Daily monitoring of seed
in gunny bag should be done to avoid
any damage. Sowing of pre-germinated
seeds should be done from third week of
December to first week of January. Two
seeds near each dripper should be done
to maintain optimum plant density. The
trenches should be irrigated with drip ir-
rigation prior to sowing.
Installation of low tunnels
Low tunnels are constructed with bamboo
or iron rods to form semicircular frames,
which are then covered with transpar-
ent plastic sheet or white coloured non-
wooven cloth. Such structures are tem-
porary and usually no higher than 1.0 m.
Just after sowing, the flexible galvanized
iron hoops (4-6 mm thick) are fixed man-
ually at a distance of 3-4 m on trenches.
The width of two ends of hoop and height
from ground level should be kept 1.0 m.
The erected iron hoops should be cov-
ered with transparent 30-50 micron bio-
degradable plastic sheet of 2.0 m width
on the day of sowing. Both the perpen-
dicular ends of plastic sheet should be
buried in the soil to make low tunnel. It
is done manually however; tractor driven
machines are also available in advanced
countries for this purpose. The prepared
tunnel reflects infra-red radiation and
keep inside temperature 8-10oC higher
than outside. Locally available material
such as phalsa twigs can also be used in-
stead of GI wire to reduce the cost.
The increase in temperature inside low
tunnel facilitates early germination of
seed and crop growth. The plastic sheet
serves two purposes: first it traps heat and
reduces water loss and second it protects
plants from adverse climatic conditions.
Good cross ventilation and potential
stresses caused by heavy wind, hail or
heavy rains must be considered while
constructing the structure.
Generally biodegradable plastic film of
30-50micron thickness is used. Howev-
er, plastic film of 30 micron performed
best under arid region. This biodegrad-
able plastic is available according to the
requirement of the duration one want
to cover the crop or use as mulch in the
crop. After that period, the plastic after
receiving sufficient sunlight, it becomes
brittle. The film eventually breaks down
into small flakes and finally completely
composted in the soil. The plastic is hav-
ing vented or silted during the growing
season as the temperature increase within
the tunnels during peak day time. Vents
also help bees to enter inside tunnels for
pollination. Generally, 3-4 cm size vents
can be made on eastern side of the tunnels
just below the top on a distance of 2.5 to
3.0 m. Now a day’s non-woven cloth is
also being used as covering material in-
stead of plastic which is cheaper than
plastic.
Low tunnels
Table 1. Recommended improved varieties and seed rate
S.No. Crop Varieties Seed rate
(kg/ ha)
1. Bottle gourd Thar Samridhi, Pusa Naveen, Pusa Summer
Prolific Long, Pusa Summer Prolific Round,
Pusa Sandesh, Pusa Santushti.
2.5-3.0
2. Longmelon Thar Sheetal, Punjab Longmelon-1 1.5-2.0
3. Muskmelon Durgapura Madhu, Hara Madhu, Pusa Madhu-
ras, Pusa Madhurima, Punjab Sunheri.
2.0-2.5
4. Ridge gourd Thar Karni, Pusa Nasdar, Pusa Nutan. 2.0-2.5
5. Summer squash Pusa Alankar, Early Yellow Prolific, Austra-
lian Green, Pusa Pasand, Punjab Chappan
Kadddu-1.
3.0-4.0
6. Tinda Pusa Raunak, S-48. 2.5-3.0
7. Watermelon Thar Manak, Sugar Baby, Durgapura Lal. 2.0-3.0

Off season crop in blooming stage
Fertigation, irrigation and
inter-culture
It is very difficult to obtain full benefit
from low tunnels without micro-irrigation
and fertigation. Drip irrigation combined
with fertigation is essential for growing
plants inside the tunnels. It not only ap-
plies water in the root zone but also keeps
the humidity low leading to less pest and
disease problems. Fertigation with water
soluble NPK (19:19:19) @ 8-10 kg/ ha
should be done at vine development and
flowering stages. Spray of 25 ppm boric
acid along with 1% urea as the adjuvant
3 times from 8-leaf stage to 45 days after
sowing was found beneficial which in-
crease number of pistillate flowers, fruit
setting and improve quality of fruits in all
cucurbits. Addition of urea as an adjuvant
@ 1% to the spray solution improved the
absorption of boron by leaves. Optimum
soil moisture should be maintained by
operating drip system at 5-6 days interval
during December to February) and at an
interval of 2-3 days during March-April
months for 1-1.5 hour.
Weeding and hoeing should be done
along and between the rows. It should be
done at the time of topdressing of nitrog-
enous fertilizer which is generally done
before emergence of tendrils. Once the
foliage has covered the soil, it is better
to stop hoeing since it may damage the
roots. Normally two to three hoeing and
weedings are required to keep the crop
weed free.
Hardening process
When plants start to produce pistillate
flowers, the plastic should be removed
partially during day time and covered
during night hours. In second or third
week of February when outside tem-
perature rises, the plastic is complete-
ly removed from the plants. While re-
moving the plastic care should be taken
that it should not be removed suddenly.
Hardening of plants is essential to pre-
vent death of plants. Always remove the
plastic during morning hours and cover
in evening hours. Repeat this process for
2-3 days to harden the plants and avoid
shock.
Pollination
Poor pollination is a major problem at
high temperature. Inadequate pollination
cause drying of ovary, misshapen and
undersize fruit. Pollination is an import-
ant factor in cucurbits to be taken care of
for good fruit setting thereby increasing
total yield. The sex form in most of the
cucurbits is monoecious (separate male
and female flowers on same plant) hence
effective cross pollination is needed. It
can be performed by honeybees (Apis
melifera) which can work in tunnels easi-
ly through the vents, made on the plastic.
Optimally, one beehive having 30000-
50000 workers is sufficient for one-acre
area for effective pollination in cucurbits.
It is recommended to keep the beehive
box on the north-west side of the field for
effective working of the bees. Plastic can
also be removed during day time when
plants start to produce pistillate flowers to
facilitate pollination of the crop by visit
of bees. It is very important to ensure pol-
lination when there is complete flowering
in the plants inside the tunnels because
the yield would be reduced considerably
if there is poor pollination.
Care of crop during summer
With the onset of summer season in hot
arid regions the wind velocity increas-
es which increase the soil temperature,
collect the vines in rows leading to poor
pollination and flower drop. To overcome
this situation, Saccharum (sarkanda)
should be put in the space left between
rows to facilitate proper vine spread and
to avoid the direct contact of vines with
warm soil. Proper direction to the grow-
ing vines should be given manually so
that each and every pistillate flower gets
pollinated resulting in increased yield.
Harvesting and crop
advancement
Different cucurbits sown during Decem-
ber (third to fourth week) advanced the
crop by 30-50 days over their normal sea-
son of cultivation. If the longmelon crop
sown in third week of December, can be
harvested in last week of February or
first week of March. Similarly, other cu-
curbitaceous crops such as muskmelon,
watermelon, bottle gourd, round melon,
summer squash and ridge gourd can be
advanced 30-50 days early than the nor-
mal season under low tunnels.
Table 2. Sowing time, harvesting time and crop advancement under low tunnels
Crop Sowing time Harvesting time Advance-
ment in
harvesting
Days
Bottle gourd Third to fourth week of De-
cember
Second to third week of
March
40-50
Longmelon Third week of December to
first week of January
Last week of February or
first week of March
30-50
Muskmelon Third week of December to
Second week of April to
last week of April
30-40
Ridge gourd Third to fourth week of De-
cember
Second to third week of
March
40-50
Summer
squash
Third week of December to
Last week of February 40-50
Tinda Third to fourth week of De-
cember
Last week of February 40-50
Watermelon Third week of December to
Second week of April to
last week of April
30-40

Crops ready for harvesting
Off season cucurbits produced under low
tunnels can fetch very high price in the
market. On an average the cost benefit ra-
tio of 2.0-2.75 can be obtained under hot
arid conditions.
Table 3. Yield and expected B:C ratio of under low tunnels in hot arid region
Crop Cost of cul-
tivation/ ha
(Rs.)
Produc-
tion (q/
ha)
Rate of
produce
(Rs./ kg)
Gross
income /
ha(Rs.)
Net
income
(Rs.)
B: C
ratio
Longmelon 90000 180 15 270000 180000 2.00
Muskmelon 80000 150 20 300000 220000 2.75
Watermelon 80000 240 10 240000 160000 2.00
Plant protection measures
Fruit fly, Hadda beetle, leaf eating cater-
pillar, leaf miner, white fly, aphid and red
pumpkin beetle are important insects of
cucurbits. Integrated pest management
(IPM) practices should be followed to re-
duce load of insecticides. Soil should be
exposed to sun during summer by deep
ploughing to kill hibernating pupa of in-
sects. Spray Dimethoate 30EC (2.0ml/
litre water) or Spinosad 45SC (0.5-0.7ml/
litre water) to control fruit fly, Hadda
beetle and leaf eating caterpillar. Com-
mercially available Cue-lure traps 7-8 in
one hectare area should be installed to
manage fruit fly. Aphid, white fly and leaf
miner can be controlled by spraying ei-
ther Imidacloprid 17.8SL or Thiamethox-
am 70WS @ 0.3-0.5ml/ litre water.
Diseases such as downy mildew, Alter-
naria leaf blight, Fusarium wilt and mo-
saic affect the cucurbits. Seed treatment
with Captan or Thiram or Bavistin @ 2g/
kg seed should be done prior to sowing.
Downy mildew and Alternaria leaf blight
can be controlled with periodic spray of
Indofil M-45 @ 2g/ litre water. Drench-
ing of crop with Bavisitn @ 2g/ litre wa-
ter should be made to control Fusarium
wilt. Spry of Imidacloprid 17.8SL @ 0.3-
0.5ml/ litre water should be done to man-
age viral diseases transmitted through
aphid and white fly.

in 70% ethanol for one minute. Disinfec-
tion is done by treating with chlorine
water or sodium hypo-chloride solution
for 10-15 minutes.
The smell of chlorine is removed by 3-4
washings of sterile water under aseptic
condition.
B. Initial explants culture:
The isolation of shoot
apex meristem is done under laminar flow
by carefully removing the outer whorls of
the developing leaves. The apical dome
along with surrounding leaf primordia
is excised with the help of sterile sharp
blade. The explant is then placed asepti-
cally on modified Murashige and Skoog
medium for initial explant culture over
filter paper bridge or cotton wab.
C. Multiplication:
The elongated explants are transferred to
the multiplication medium that forms 2 to
5 shoots in first multiplication cycle of
about 45 days. The proliferation in the
second (first sub-culture) cycle occurs
at the highest rate, 5 to 9 fold, which
Seed cane production under protected environment
Dr. S.K.Saini, Consultant- Sugarcane Rudrapur, U.S. Nagar -263153 Uttrakhand
Dr. S.K.Saini, PhD – Agronomy
Dr S.K.Saini, former Dean College
of Agriculture, “ G B Pant Univer-
sity of Agriculture & Technology,
Pantnagar”. He served for more than
three decades at this university. He
had been there as professor and head
of agronomy department. The author
has expertise in sugarcane agronomy
and worked as principal investigator
in several projects including National
principal investigator of agronomy in
all India Coordinated Research Proj-
ect on Sugarcane, ICAR for more than
a decade. Currently, he is working as
Consultant – Sugarcane with Solidar-
idad, South &South East Asia Ltd.
P
lanting material is the key input in
successful cultivation of sugarcane
which is vegetatively propagated.
There are number of diseases and pests
which are carried over along with plant-
ing material. Hence production of healthy
planting material is important. There are
couple of techniques available which can
be adopted for rapid seed cane produc-
tion under protected condition.
Micro propagation (Tissue
culture) technique:
Micro-propagation is a rapid technique of
providing healthy seed of new varieties
and rejuvenates old run-down varieties
through meristem culture (using small
portion of apical meristem). Tissue cul-
ture derived plantlets produce more til-
lers and responsive to nitrogen fertilizers.
Further, transportation of tissue culture
plantlets are very easy. Certification pro-
cedures are easy for such planting mate-
rial.
The production of quality seed through
micro propagation technique is well rec-
ognized now. The sustained high produc-
tion of sugar per unit area depends pri-
marily on continuous supply of adequate
quantity of good quality seed cane, which
has to be genetically pure, free from dis-
eases, pests and with no nutritional disor-
ders. This can only be achieved by apply-
ing the tissue culture techniques. Since
the plants are free from infections, so the
original vigour of the newly bred variety
is maintained. Sugarcane is a vegetative
propagated crop and is cultivated through
stem cuttings using 3-budded ‘setts’. Dis-
eases like red rot, leaf scald, ratoon stunt-
ing, grassy shoot and mosaic are carried
to succeeding crops through infected seed
canes.To avoid heavy financial losses an-
nually on account of reduction in cane
yield and sugar recovery due to use of
unhealthy seed cane it is advisable to use
healthy seed of recommended varieties
multiplied preferably by shoot tip culture
technique.
The conventional mode of seed multi-
plication has a multiplication rate of 1:
8-10. As a result, a new variety takes 7-8
years to saturate the command area. Mi-
cro propagation however, offers a thou-
sand-fold rate of multiplication and is,
therefore, the quickest available method
in sugarcane.
The technology is not only economically
viable but profitable as well. The Indian
Institute of Sugarcane Research, Luc-
know and many other institutes are pro-
viding trainings in sugarcane micro-prop-
agation.
The micro propagation technique in-
volves the following steps:
A. Collection of ex plant and
sterilization:
Actively growing tops (shoots) are col-
lected from 3-4months old crop. Tops
with the growing apices are cut approx-
imately 10 cm long. Outer sheaths are re-
moved by wiping the sheath with rectified
spirit. The shoots are then washed with
soap water for about 2-3 minutes fol-
lowed by several changes of water. The
plant segment is then thoroughly rinsed

gradually declines in subsequent cycles,
3 to 5 fold in the last 7 th cycle. Shoot
tip or meristem culture produces normal
plants up to 7 cycles of multiplication.
After 7 cycles, a green mass, sometimes,
starts to appear at the base of the formed
shoots, which produces abnormal shoots.
Therefore, it is recommended not to go
beyond 7th sub-cycles of sub-culturing.
The number of resulting shoots under fa-
vourable conditions may produce 36,000
to 75,600 plants, depending on the geno-
type in a period of four and a half months.
The basal Murashige & Skoog medium
(1962) along with suitable concentration
of auxin and cytokinin is used for multi-
plication.
D. Rooting:
Rooting of p l a n ts is achieved by trans-
ferring the individual or group of plants
in rooting medium. A special rooting me-
dium has been developed for inducing
root formation. Root initiation is visible
in a week in many genotypes and three
weeks in all the genotypes and the rooted
plantlet is then ready to transfer to potting
mixture for:
E. Transferring to pots / field
hardening / acclimatization.
The plants are taken out from vessels
in a cool and shaded area. One variety
should be taken at a time and processed
at the earliest. The plant-containing ves-
sel is first inspected. If there are signs of
root rotting or leaf rotting, the damaged
plants with the container are to be dis-
carded. Planting of tissue culture plants
should be done in cool hours i.e .morn-
ing or afternoon. The rooted plants are
taken out rom bottles, washed properly
under running water to remove the slimy
medium attached with the roots and ex-
cess roots are trimmed before transfer. A
mixture of sieved sterilized soil and sand
in the ratio of 2:1 or soilless medium
should be used for transplanting. Plant-
lets should be immediately watered after
transplanting in trays or pots and shifted
to a misting chamber. With the sprouting
of the first true leaf on 6th day, the mist-
ing is replaced by manual watering. If
necessary, preventive measures for pest
control should be applied. The harden-
ing process takes about 20-30 days. The
hardened plant is transplanted in the field
in trenches at a distance of 45 cm or 60
cm within row and 90 cm between rows.
This may vary with genotype. Immedi-
ately after transplanting, irrigation should
be given. Intercultural operations in crop
raised through tissue culture are similar
to conventional method. The seed from
this crop can be multiplied further for one
generation using STP (1:40) technique &
thereafter, can be given for commercial
cultivation.
F. Merits of micropropagation :
1. Quick multiplication
(1 shoot apex : several thousand
plants)
2. Disease-free material
3. True-to-type plants
4. Easier transport
5. Low gestation period for exploiting
new varieties
6. Rejuvenation of old varieties
7. Germplasm storage
8. Micro propagated plants are more
vigorous, give higher cane yield
and sucrose %. The quality of seed
produced by this technique can be
maintained for 3- 5 years with proper
monitoring.
G. Scope:
1. Sugarcane is a vegetative propagat-
ed crop and normally requires 7-8
years or even more, for a newly de-
veloped variety to spread at commer-
cial scale. During this period, deteri-
oration of various yield and quality
characteristics is inevitable prior to
commercial use on account of sys-
temic infections during vegetative
multiplication. Tissue culture meth-
od (micro-propagation) is the only
alternative approach for fast multi-
plication of a variety in its original
form.
2. Micro-propagation is very effective
in rejuvenating/reviving the well
adapted promising local cultivars
facing gradual decline or degenerat-
ing in yield and vigor. Unfortunately,
MHAT (Moist Hot Air Treatment) is
not effective against mosaic virus.
The meristem culture is the only
method to remove the SCMV (Sug-
arcane mosaic virus) as the meriste-
matic tissue remains free from virus
disease.
3. Considering the above advantages,
micro propagation has an important
role in ‘Seed Production Chain’ of
sugarcane.
‘Spaced Transplanting
Technique’ (STP) Nursery:
This has much faster multiplication rate
(1:30-40) against 1:10 in conventional
approach. In this technique, raised nurs-
ery beds of 3 feet width and convenient
length are prepared. FYM is added on
nursery bed and mixed with soil. An area
of 35-50 sq. m is required to raise nursery
for planting one-acre sugarcane. Disease
free setts are selected from nursery crop
(preferably top portion of stalk), are sized
into small single budded setts. The setts
are then dipped in 0.1% Carbendazim +
Chlorpyriphos or Imidacloprid or Di-
methoate (1 ml/litre of water) solution for
1 min before planting them in the nurs-
ery. The setts after shade drying for 5-6
hrs, planted vertically in the soil facing
bud upward. Very close spacing between
rows and within row is adopted. About
600-700 buds/sq. m.
The setts are covered with loose soil and
watered using rose can or irrigated imme-
diately. Regular weeding and watering is
essential to obtain good germination and

Polybag filled with potting mixture. Dis-
ease free setts are selected from the
Seed nursery. Single budded setts are
cut manually, dipped in arbendazim or
Thiophanate methy +Imidacloprid or
Chlorpyriphos mixture for 1 minute and
then planted in perforated polybags (12x8
cm) filled with 1:1:1 mixture of sand, soil
and FYM or in a soilless medium.The
settlings can be also used for gap fill-
ing in ratoon and plant crop along with
earthen ball. As there is no damage to the
root system, field mortality of settlings
are very low (1-5%). Only 2 tonnes of
seed cane is required for raising settling
for one hectare as against 7.5-8.0 tonnes
seed cane required under conventional
planting. The multiplication ratio in this
method is between 1:45 to1:50.
Bud chips technique:
An intact bud along with a portion of
nodal region chipped off using a bud chip
machine is known as ‘chip bud’ or ‘bud
chip’. The bud chip is more or less similar
to single budded setts. Under ideal condi-
tion the bud chips sprouts and give rise to
whole plant. Using the bud chips, nursery
is raised. After 25-45 days, the settlings
are uprooted from the nursery and trans-
planted in the main field. Multiplication
of seed canes through bud chips is cost
effective, the settlings derived through
bud chips are vigorous, only 1.5 tonnes of
seed cane is required to plant in one hect-
are and the cane after taking bud chips
can be sent for milling.
I. Bud chip machine:
Bud chip machine is a manually operated
portable instrument, fixed either on iron
or wooden base of size 2 feet L x 1 food
W x ½ inch height. The bud chipper de-
signed and fabricated at the Sugarcane
Breeding Institute, Coimbatore consists
of a semi-circle shape bud chipper ble,
spring action handle and a central frame.
Two persons are needed to operate the
instrument. One person will operate the
handle while another will hold / position
the nodal region of full length seed cane
just below the bud chipper blade to scoop
out the bud chips.
weed free nursery. After 4-6 weeks, the
settlings would attain 4-6 leaf stage. At
this stage the settlings are uprooted from
the nursery with Khurpi/ spade and trans-
planted after flooding main field. Some
settlings say around 2000 are retained in
the nursery itself for gap filling. Evening
hours is more ideal for transplanting.
Generally, the settlings are transplanted
at 90 cmX30 cm in autumn and 75cmX
30cm spacing in spring season or can be
planted in paired row at 30:30-90-30:30
cm inter row spacing. About 40,000
single budded settlings are required for
planting one hectare. With careful man-
agement of the transplanted field, the
settling survival can be increased up to
90%. The increase in bud to bud ratio
may be about 1:40 to 1:200. STP method
facilitates planting sugarcane after wheat
harvest. There is saving of 25-35 days in
the main field preparation, saving of 2-3
irrigation, better weed management, syn-
chronous tillering and uniform maturity.
Seed cane requirement is less (25q/ha) as
against 90-100 q/ha in normal planting;
hence saving the seed cost.
Poly bag nursery:
It is an extension of STP method wherein
single bud setts are placed in
6cm long cutting Seed treatment

Soil sand, Vertical planting
compost mixture in poly bag
One month old settlings
II Raising settlings from bud
chips:
To obtain disease free quality planting
materials, seed cane should be selected
from a disease free field. Individual bud
along with a portion of the nodal region is
scooped out using the bud chip machine.
Two persons can chip-off about 250 buds/
hr. While cutting bud chips, damaged,
split and sprouted buds are to be avoid-
ed and also taking buds from extreme
top portion of cane. On an average 12-15
viable buds can be obtained from 8-10
month old cane. For planting seed crop
in the main field at 75 cm row to row dis-
tance and 30 cm between plant to plant in
a row, 16,000 buds or 1100-1300 striped
cane or approximately 11-13 quintal seed
cane is required to raise bud chip nurs-
ery. If inter-row distance is increased to
90 cm, then 13,333-13,500 buds or 10-12
quintal seed cane is required for planting
one acre. Before planting, the bud chips
shall be shade dried for 2-4 hrs to induce
sprouting. The shade dried bud chips
are then dipped in pesticide solution
(Chlorpyriphos or Imidacloprid @ 20 ml
+ Carbendazim @ 10 g + water 10 litre)
for about 5 minutes to protect it from ter-
mite attack and soil pathogens. Plastic
bucket or Aluminum tub can be used for
treating the buds. Instead of the above
mentioned chemicals, bud chips can be
treated in a slurry made up of mixing
bio-fungicide like Trichoderma or Pseu-
domonas (1.25 kg for bud chips required
for one hectre)+ cow urine 5 lit + lime
250 g mixed in 25 lit of water to avoid in-
festation. Incubation of treated bud chips
inside a moist gunny bag for a period of
24 hrs (this process is called curing/prim-
ing) will hasten sprouting but this is an
optional process.
In the meantime, prepare homogenous

the settlings. Open ridges and furrows at
75 or 90 cm distance. The settlings along
with ball of earth are removed from nurs-
ery and planted at 30cm distance between
plants in the furrows. Irrigate the furrows
immediately after planting, avoid flood-
ing the furrows. The settlings may show
transplanting shock (withering of leaves)
but recover after a week. After the estab-
lishment of plants, around 15-25 days
after transplanting, the mother shoot may
be cut using a scissor one inch above the
ground to get more and even tillers. It is
better to try this practice in a smaller area
initially and extend further based on the
success rate. Other cultural operations
and plant health care are same as fol-
lowed for commercial planting.
mixture of soils, sand and farm yard ma-
nure/press mud in the ratio of 1:1:1 and
fill either in polythene bags of size 15 x
10 cm (1/3rdportion) or cavity trays (each
tray may have 50 cavities- initially fill
coir pith half in each cavity).
Approximately 800 cavity trays or 40,000
poly bags would be required to raise nurs-
ery. In place of soil-sand-FYM mixture,
well rotten coco-pith (decomposed coco-
nut coir waste) can be used. It is desir-
able to use coco-pith if cavity trays are
used because it is light weight. Place
the bud chips in flat or slightly slanting
position in the poly bags / cones of tray.
Do not press or push it hard. Ensure that
the bud side faces up. Then add soil-sand-
FYM mixture or coco-pith over the bud
chips so that it is covered ½ inch above
the buds. If bud curing/priming is not
done earlier and if cavity trays are used
for raising nursery, sprouting can be has-
tened by adopting the following proce-
dure. After placing bud chips and filling
coir pith over the buds, place the trays
one above the other. About 25 trays can
be stacked in one group. Place an empty
tray upside down at the top of each stack.
About 4 stack or 100 trays can be brought
together close to each other and wrapped
tightly with black polythene sheets. A
small weight may be placed on the top of
bundle. Leave this arrangement (without
watering and exposure to light) for 5 to 8
days to create high temperature and hu-
midity. Under proper conditions especial-
ly, warm temperature within 3–5 days,
white root primordial will come out and
shoots will appear in next 2-3 days. At the
end of 5th day, one to two trays may be
inspected randomly. If sprouting is no-
ticed, remove the polythene cover and
de-stack all the cavity trays. The trays
now be kept side by side on ground and
watered periodically. Excess water may
lead to death of shoots so, give less water
using rose can. To boost the vigour of set-
tlings in the nursery, it is recommended to
spray 1% urea solution at 15 th day after
planting bud chips. Periodical watering
and weeding are important management
operations in the nursery. It is recom-
mended to raise the nursery under shade.
Agronet or shade net of convenient size
(7-8 m length x 5-6 m width x 3 m height)
permitting 75% light can be used.
III. Transplanting of settlings:
Depending on local climate and fertility
of soil mixture used for raising nursery
Sugar cane transplanting
the settlings are ready for transplanting
in about 25-45 days. Settlings bearing
6-7 leaves are ideal for transplanting.
Stop giving water for a day to loosen the
coco-pith in the trays or soil mixture in
poly bags. This enables easy lifting up of
Sugar cane settling

Aeroponics: a novel system revolutionizing potato seed industry
in India
Tanuja Buckseth, Rajesh K Singh and SK Chakrabarti,
ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla-171001 (HP) India
Tanuja Buckseth
Dr. Tanuja Buckseth, BSc (Horticul-
ture), MSc (Horticulture-Vegetable
Science) from Dr Y.S. Parmar Univer-
sity of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan
(HP) and Ph D Vegetable Science from
GBPUAT, Pantnagar (UK), is a scien-
tist in the Division of Seed Technology,
ICAR- Central Potato Research Insti-
tute (CPRI), Shimla. She has 5 years
of research experiences of Hi-tech seed
potato production with special refer-
ence to aeroponics. At the institute she
strengthened the hi-tech potato seed
production system (micro propagation
and aeroponics) by refining the various
parameters nutrient, pH, Ec etc and
explored the possibilities of nitrogen
use efficiency (NUE) enhancement by
using different nitrogen sources in con-
trasting potato varieties under aero-
ponics. She has won Best Paper award
for Aeroponics Research in seed potato
production during 7th Indian Horticul-
ture Congress. She is a Life Member of
different national/international societ-
ies and published 20 research papers
in reputed international & national
journals along with popular articles
(15), book chapters (20), extension
bulletins (3) and training manuals (5).
the vertical space of the greenhouse and
air-humidity balance to optimize the de-
velopment of roots, tubers, and foliage.
The basic difference is the sequential
seed harvests in aeroponic plants. In the
conventional system, there is only one
final harvest. Depending on the potato
cultivar, with aeroponics we can have up
to 10 or more harvests”. Seed constitutes
a major and important input in potato
(Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivation. On
account of vegetative propagation, the
requirement of seed potatoes (tubers) is
voluminous and accounts for 40- 50% of
the total production. Potato productivity
in India is low in comparison to devel-
oped countries due to the non-availability
of quality seed in required amounts. Seed
potato production involving micro-prop-
agation (tissue culture) techniques can
overcome many of the problems associ-
ated with the conventional multiplication
system. The everlasting shortage of seed
potatoes in most of the potato growing
nations can be overcome through aero-
ponic techniques on account of faster rate
of multiplication. Besides, rapid multi-
plication, disease freedom on account
of multiplication of disease free mother
stocks under controlled conditions fol-
lowed by reduced number of field expo-
sures as compared to conventional mul-
tiplication system is an added advantage
of seed potato production through aero-
ponic techniques. Due to these numerous
advantages, the new system of seed po-
tato production involving this technology
is finding favour among the seed potato
entrepreneurs.
The multiplication rate of potatoes is
very low compared to other crops, from
between four to six times under optimal
conditions. For this reason, a large por-
tion of crop area is devoted to the produc-
tion of seed tubers and it takes a consider-
able time to build up a sufficient amount
of commercial tubers. With every field
multiplication the build-up and transfer
of pathogens can increase, leading to
seed degeneration. Therefore it is essen-
tial to investigate methods of increasing
the number of minitubers (G0) produced
from disease free in-vitro plantlets.There-
fore, aeroponic technique offers many
interesting opportunities for developing
enhanced production systems, mainly for
mini-tubers. Although requiring a degree
of technical sophistication to design, es-
tablish and run, the benefits offered are
sufficient for such systems to have been
widely adopted by seed production com-
panies worldwide.
The technique of aeroponic culture is an
optional device of soil-less culture meth-
ods in growth-controlled environments
such as greenhouses. This method con-
sists of enclosing the root system in a
dark chamber and supplying a solution of
water and mineral nutrients with a mist
device. The aeroponic system mainly
Aeroponics: a novel system revolutionizing potato seed industry in India
A
eroponic techniques are a good
tool for the production of seed
crop. For instance: “they of-
fer the potential to improve potato seed
production and reduce costs compared
to conventional methods or to the other
soil-less method of hydroponics (growth
in water). Aeroponics effectively exploits

consists of an electrical unit, two light
proof (dark) growth chambers, a nutrient
solution chamber, a high pressure pump,
filters, and spray nozzles.
Healthy seed potato production
through aeroponics
Preparation of virus-free in vitro planting
material: Being a clonally propagated po-
tato crop, it is sensitive to perpetual viral
diseases over the successive generations.
Therefore, quality seed potatoes are pro-
duced under aeroponic using virus-free
in vitro plants, which are regenerated
through various tissue culture-based tech-
niques including meristem tip culture.
Aeroponic growth system: This technol-
ogy consists of plant growth with en-
closed root system in dark chamber by
spraying nutrient solutions on roots with
mist/spray devices that includes aeropon-
ic chamber, pump, spraying tube, timer
and nutrient solution reservoir. Potato
production and utilization of minitubers
using aeroponics have been reviewed by
Buckseth et al., (2016). A tube with sev-
eral nozzles passes through the aeropon-
ic chamber and sprays nutrient solution
on root zone of plants. The aeroponic
chamber has a removable top with holes
for holding potato plants (Figure 1a).
Front of the aeroponic chamber is fixed
with hinges and can be opened to harvest
minitubers of optimum size repeatedly
at different time intervals. In vitro plant-
lets are planted in the holes and fixed by
sponge. The nutrient solution is sprayed
for 30 seconds after every 3 minutes in
initial growing stages. After one week,
root system starts developing inside the
growth chamber. The nutrient solution
spraying interval is prolonged upto once
in 15 minutes with progressive growth of
the plants. Stolon and tuber formation is
initiated at different intervals depending
upon the variety. Harvesting of the tubers
starts after 45-50 days of planting when
some of the tubers attain 15-17 mm diam-
eter size. Once the first flush is harvested,
formation of additional tubers is triggered
resulting into more minitubers/plant (Fig-
ure 1b). In this system, harvesting is done
after every one week, and about 10-12
harvests are taken. On an average 45-50
minitubers can be harvested from a single
plant as against 8-10 minitubers under
the net-house. These harvested minitu-
bers (Figure 1c) are stored at 2-4oC and
are used for planting in the next season
(Figure 1d and 1e). There are differential
responses of varieties and day lengths on
growth of in vitro plants. Therefore, there
is a need to work out nutritional and plant
management (bower system under long
day conditions) requirements for variet-
ies and growing conditions.
Figure 1. Aeroponics in seed potato. (a)
Diagrammatic presentation of aeropon-
ic system. (b) Minitubers developed in
aeroponic chamber. (c) Harvested mini-
tubers. (d) Minituber crop in net house,
and (e) Minituber crop in the field.
Aeroponics: a novel system revolutionizing potato seed industry in India

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