A New Paradigm in Horticulture with Special Reference to Floriculture

Key Note Address

By

Deputy Director General (Horticulture) Indian Council of Agricultural Research Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan-II, Pusa, New Delhi- 110 012

Dr H P SINGH

During

National Workshop Floral Craft: The Art and Technique for Value Addition in Flowers (April, 12, 2012)

At Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari 1

A New Paradigm in Horticulture with special reference to Floriculture

H P Singh1 Ladies and Gentlemen, 1. It is a matter of great honour and privilege to be here and deliver key note address address on the occasion of National Workshop- Floral Craft: The Art and Technique for Value Addition in Flowers. Floriculture has emerged as an important sub-sector of horticulture in providing the livelihood security to small and marginal farmers, besides providing ample opportunities for domestic and export markets. Therefore, this workshop is organized by ASPEE College of Horticulture and Forestry, Navsari Agricultural University in association with Indian Society of Ornamental Horticulture, Directorate of Floricultural Research, Flower Grower association and Horticulture Society of Gujarat. I consider, the Workshop, timely to address the emerging issues, take stock of the research in floriculture and identify the gaps and prepare ourselves to respond quickly to the changing needs so as to harness the potential. After attaining the self sufficiency in food production, the Government of India focused its attention on nutritional and livelihood security for the ever increasing population. This focus has brought the horticulture sector to the forefront through the initiatives taken by the Government. In Gujarat, horticultural crops especially floriculture has become more popular primarily due to their capacity to provide better returns per unit area. 2. We feel proud to state that, Indian agriculture has made rapid strides in achieving self sufficiency in food production recording 4.5 times increase in production from the base line of
Deputy Director General (Horticulture) Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Anusandhan Bhawan-II, Pusa Campus, New Delhi 110 012, Key note Address for National Workshop on Flower Craft: The art and technique for value addition in flowers to be held on April, 12-13, 2012 at NAU, Navsari. 1

1950-51 through Green revolution. Our efforts have also resulted in achieving 8 times increase in horticulture, 6 times in milk and 9 times in fish from the base level of 1950-51. This has been possible due to technological interventions, which is also evident from the fact that area has remained static at 142 million hectare for the last 40 years, but production has increased manifold. Pressure on the cultivable land for agriculture continues to be high as Indian agriculture that supports 17% of world population and 11% of livestock only from 2.4% of global land and 4.5 % of water resources. Looking into population growth, declining land, water coupled with challenges of climate change has created much greater concern to feed the growing population. The challenges before us are much greater than before, and have to be addressed with strategic approaches utilizing innovations in science and technology. Past achievements are testimony for our success in addressing the challenges, which may need investment and concerted efforts in integrated manner. 3. In this context, horticulture (which includes fruits, vegetables, flowers, potato and tuber crops, spices, medicinal and aromatic plants and plantation crops) has emerged as the best option for diversification to meet the need for food, nutrition, health care besides providing better returns on farm land and employment. Little investment made in horticulture has been rewarding in terms of increased production, productivity and export and emergence of India as largest producer of fruits and vegetables. This changing scenario is attributed to technological interventions and efforts for development. Science and technology-led development has been a driving force to face the challenges. Therefore, horticulture research needs much more attention for utilization of waste land, greening nutritional security, employment opportunity, reversing the declining profitability, gender equity, health care and above all for inclusive growth.

Scenario of Horticulture Research and Development 4. Under the National Agriculture Research System, ICAR has been playing a pivotal role in providing the required leadership in the development of technologies, new cultivars and their dissemination. These initiatives have resulted in increased production, productivity and also availability of horticultural produce. One of the significant developments seen during the last decade is that horticulture has moved from rural confine to commercial production, and this changing scenario has encouraged private sector investment in production system management. The economic importance of horticultural produce has been increasing over the years due to increasing domestic and international demand. Area, production, productivity, availability and export has improved manifold. This has provided ample opportunity for utilization of waste land, better employment and effective land use planning. Resultantly, horticulture is identified for inclusive growth. Among the horticulture crops, fruit crops recorded a two fold increase in area and production in the last decade. India is the second largest producer of fruits (75 million ton) from 6.42 million ha area and contributes 11 per cent share in global fruit production. India occupies first place in the production of mango, banana, papaya, pomegranate, sapota and aonla. The productivity of grape is the highest in the world. Production and productivity of banana and sapota is highest in the world. However productivity in citrus, mango, apple, guava and pineapple continue to be lower than world average. Production of vegetables has increased manifold to the tune of 141 million tonne. Commercial floriculture has grown many folds in the last decade to attain a record production of 1031 MT of loose flower and 6902 million cut flowers from an estimated area of 191000 ha area. Intensive floriculture has contributed considerably for generation of employment. Medicinal and aromatic plants, which has immense potential has got due recognition in the last decade. We continue to be the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices and spice products in the world and produce more than 50 spices. India is the leading producer of plantation

crops in the world with a contribution of 22.34% in coconut, 25% in cashew nut and 55% in areca nut. Past trend in development has been satisfying in terms of technological adoptions, production, availability and export of horticultural produce, and this trend has been marked as "Golden Revolution". Research Support for Horticulture 5. The horticultural research in the country is being carried out at 10 ICAR institutes (with 24 regional stations) 6 Directorates and 7 National Research Centers (on major crops). Area specific, multi-disciplinary research is also being conducted under All India Co-ordinated Research Projects each on Tropical, Sub-Tropical, Arid Fruits, Vegetables, Potato, Tuber Crops, Mushroom; Floriculture, Medicinal and Aromatic crops, Betel vine, Palms, Cashew, and Spices at 251 centers located at various research institutes and State Agricultural Universities. In addition, 5 network projects have been approved in XI plan to address specific issues. Research on horticulture is also undertaken in multi-disciplinary institutes, departments of horticulture in 37 Agricultural Universities, two Deemed Universities and 3 Universities of Horticulture and Forestry. The Horticulture Division of ICAR is responsible for national level planning and promotion of major research programs in relation to horticultural crops. The main focus of program is to safeguard the genetic resources, develop suitable cultivar of different crops, and augment the production and protection technologies and also technologies for enhanced shelf-life. Five National Research Centers on Cashew, Onion and Garlic, Mushroom, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants and Oil palm have been upgraded to function in directorate mode having all India program. Realizing the importance of the floriculture sector, the AICRP on floriculture has been upgraded to a full-fledged Directorate of Floriculture to cater the research needs of the sector. Two genomic network projects are being operated in India at various ICAR institutes on horticultural crops namely, International

Solanaceae Genome Network program and International Network on Improvement of Banana and Plantain. Floriculture in the changing times 6. Floriculture which includes cut flowers, loose flowers, bedding plants, potted plants, hedges, value added products etc. has made appreciable growth in the last two decades as commercial venture. The use of floricultural produce is no longer confined to religious purposes alone but floriculture has become a part of modern lifestyle and is being utilized in floral decorations, floral craft, interior-scaping and commercial premises. Today, floriculture represents business and activities involving production of ornamental plants, cut flowers, turf, foliage and delivers a range of services for such projects. The business has transformed to landscape design, contracting and maintenance services, whole sale and retail sales, development of parks and leisure places, gardens, greenhouses including various greenhouse inputs besides providing technical advices. Resultantly, development of floriculture has provided not only opportunities for floriculture farming but also for improving livelihood compared to other crops. The development of floriculture also provides very good business opportunities in other allied sectors like specialized transport services and production of supply of allied products, nursery bags, pots, potting media, tools, plant protection and other equipments etc. This has happened due to the vision of policy planners who were involved with various stakeholders in floriculture sector and provided the required direction that has resulted in appropriate growth in floriculture. Current Support for Floriculture 7. The Government of India liberalized the economy during late 80s. During the same time, the National Seed Policy was also liberalized paving the way for the import of planting material of elite, exotic varieties from different parts of the world. The liberalized economy also favoured Foreign Direct Investment

(FDI) in some of floriculture companies and some of the infrastructure and input supply industries. This has helped in the advent of state of the art greenhouse cultivation of flower crops in our country during early 90s. A large number of public issues were floated to establish 100% EOUs in different parts of the country particularly in Karnataka, Maharstra, Tamilnadu, Gujarat etc., The euphoria thus generated could not be sustained for longer since the infrastructure and logistics required for handling such volumes was not available at that juncture. However, the scenario changed in due course of time. With the proactive role played by the public and private sector organizations, infrastructure facilities and logistic network was put in place to support the floriculture sector. Establishment of cold storage facilities at airports, large fleet of reefer vans for effective transportation, commissioning of state of the art international flower auction centers at Bangalore and Noida are some of the recent developments in this direction. Scenario of Floriculture Global trade in floriculture 8. The term Horticulture/Floriculture which is gaining popularity in recent times is also known globally as the Green Industry or Environmental Horticulture Industry. International Floriculture trade is around US $ 17 billion, which is increasing phenomenally at 10.3 percent annually and is expected to reach US$ 25 billion by 2025. Flowers and foliage account for around 49 percent (US$ 8.41billion), and live plants, bulbs and cuttings account for 51 percent (US$ 8.58 billion) of total floriculture products exported. Developed countries in Europe, America and Asia account for more than 90 percent of the total world trade in floriculture products. In recent years a paradigm change in the flora industry has been observed and has lead to the development of new production centers in Asia and Africa which were earlier concentrated in USA and Europe. In Asia, India, China and Thailand are moving progressively in this direction and emerging as leading countries. The international trade in floriculture, to a large extent is organized along

regional lines. Asia-Pacific countries are the main suppliers to Japan and Hong Kong. African and other European countries are the principal suppliers to Europes main markets, and the supplies to the United States are mainly catered by Colombia and Ecuador. In spite, of these, there is a vacuum in flower markets during peaks of festive seasons in winter, as per the reports of world floriculture marketing. Commercialization of floriculture had started in mid of 19th century in our country but the commercial flora-industry has developed only in the recent years and emerged in the form of lucrative flora industry, an economical viable option in Agri-business. Floriculture produce from India has now been recognized for its quality at global level even though its share still remains less than 1%. The demand for dried ornamentals, dried floral arrangements & floral craft items has increased manifolds during the last two decades. The world import of dried flowers and plants has increased from 14.88 million US$ in 1996 to 230.73 million US$ in 2008 and decreased to 167.34 million US$ in 2009 (Source: UNCOMTRADE). The United Kingdom is the biggest market for dried flowers. The leading dried ornamentals products exporting countries during 2009 in the world were India (18%) followed by the Netherlands (17%), USA (14%), Italy (10%) and Germany (6%). The leading dried ornamentals products importing countries during 2009 in the world were USA (18%) followed by Germany (17%), the Netherlands (11%), Belgium (11%) and France (7%). The dried ornamentals market is most profitable in terms of total sales and unit value among all the floricultural products. The top ten dried flower genera as everlasting cultivated are Helichrysum, Helipterum, Limonium, Nigella, Gypsophila, Delphinium, Amaranthus, Papaver, Carthamus and Rosa.

Total export of dried ornamentals in the world w.e.f. 2007 to 2009

182.57 m US$
250

230.73 m US$

167.34 m US$

200

150 Million US$ 100

50 2008 2009

2007 0 1

2 Year

Leading exporters of dried ornamentals in the world during 2009

70

60 58.34 50

Million US$

40

30

30.47

28.07 23.39 16.55

20

10 9.52 0 India Netherlands USA Leading expoters Italy Germany Others

Indian Status Traditional Flowers 9. Growing traditional loose flowers for worship and decorations is the main stay of Indian Floriculture, which occupies about 1,91,000 ha area during 2010-11 with a production of 1031 MT. The flowers are grown in the open field and are marketed through highly unorganized marketing channels. The domestic consumption of loose flowers especially of marigold, China aster, jasmine, crossandra, barleria, etc. has increased tremendously (>90% of total flower crops area) in recent years. This sector, despite having huge potential, is still unorganized and often does not get proper importance. Concerted efforts need to be made to develop high yielding varieties for the year

round production, particularly of chrysanthemum, China aster and marigold and to promote flower crops such as annual chrysanthemum, desi rose, etc. and to develop organized marketing for flowers, flower-based products and seeds. The area under floricultural crops is hardly 0.01% of the total area available for horticulture with a share of 0.44% in the overall production of horticultural crops. Cut flowers under protected conditions 10. India produced about 43417 lakh cut flowers per annum (2007-08) for domestic and export markets. Which, rose to 69020 lakh flowers during 2010-11. The cut flower production centers are located primarily in the southern and western part of India owing to the favourable climatic conditions. States like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal have emerged as major flower producing states. North Eastern states and other Himalayan states in the recent times have become major hubs for growing quality cut flowers. The Anthuriums from Mizoram, the carnations from Himachal Pradesh, Orchids from Sikkim, gerbera from Uttarakhand and Gujarat made a significant impact in recent times. 11. With the declaration of floriculture as an extreme focus area by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, floriculture sector has acquired a special status. India produces a wide variety of floricultural products, which inter alia include flowers and foliage, both fresh flowers and dried, like roses, carnations, chrysanthemums and orchids. The International Flora and Landscape Expo-2006 reviewed the growth of floriculture industry and showcased Indias floriculture wealth and exposed the stakeholders to new technologies and scientific advancements, a platform for Indian exporters to interact with international buyers of cut flowers. With worlds fastest growing retail market, second largest consumer base and unlimited opportunities for growth, Indian Floriculture can become a force to reckon with in the years to come to make

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recognize India as a National Vision for President APJ Abdul an annual turnover products.

Flower Power. This is part of a new Floriculture, the brainchild of former Kalam. Floriculture industry is targeting of $ 1 billion in export of floricultural

12. Currently, flower trade has attracted the largest demand from an estimated 300 million middle-class flower-loving people with consumption in the cities and major towns at 40% per annum. Flower retail shops have mushroomed all over the place from major metros to market shops and flower boutiques. Further, super market/hypermarket retail chains have fueled the growth in the consumption. Cashing in on this trend, the Minister of State for Commerce also feels that floriculture is all about creating new employment opportunities in far flung areas rather than talking about Dollars, the focus should be on its capacity to generate a million jobs. Six Agri Export Zones on floriculture have been set up in Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The APEDA has also taken a number of measures to facilitate floriculture exports. Some key Indian airports like New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin now have cold storage and cargo handling facilities. More airports will have these facilities in the future. Among other things, flower auction centres have come up in Bangalore, Mumbai, Noida (near Delhi), and Kolkata. These are readymade market facilities for trading and price discovery for a variety of flowers, both for export and domestic markets. India has to achieve the ambitious export target of Rs.1,000 crore per annum over the next 5 years, a paradigm shift is required. The key issues that need to be addressed in the Indian context are; economics of scale, product range/latest varieties, year round exports, quality control and certification, cold chain management. The APEDA has been addressing these issues through various forums on a concerted basis given its mandate to promote floricultural exports from India.

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Trade Opportunity in Floriculture 13. The increasing demand projected for both cut flowers and potted plants in Western countries will result in the production outside and traditional area, due to the pressure of escalating cost and environmental regulation. Asian countries would gain from the situation and expand further by increasing the production of existing products as well as expanding the produce range. However, post-harvest management and meeting the import standard would pose a challenge as consuming countries would make the strict regulations to safeguard the interests of local growers. In the context of development, growers would be interested to know the types of cut flowers or potted plants to meet the demand for different occasions. The latest data available from the Aalsmeer Flower Auction Centre indicates that rose, tulip and chrysanthemum rank top three positions among cut flowers. Similarly, kalanchoe, hedera and ficus rank high among pot plants. Germany, France and UK remain top consumers of floricultural products in the world. Among species, colour of flowers is important. Since varieties in demand today may not be important tomorrow, it would require necessary change in cultivars as per the needs. Export Potential of Floricultural Products 14. India is endowed with proximity to market in Japan, Russia, South-East Asia and Middle-East countries. The Government allows subsidy on air freight for export of cut flowers and tissue-cultured plants. Freight rates are subsidized for export to Europe and West Asia, South East Asia. Import duties have been reduced on cut flowers, flower seeds and tissue-cultured plants. Floricultural exports from India comprise fresh cut flowers (to Europe, Japan, Australia, Middle East and USA), loose flowers (for expatriate Indian in the Gulf), cut foliage (to Europe), dry flowers (to USA, Europe, Japan, Australia, far East and Russia) and potted plants (limited to very few countries). Out of thee components, dry flowers contribute a

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major share to the total export. The country made significant strides in the production of cut flowers which were either exported or consumed in the domestic markets. The floricultural exports registered a phenomenal growth during the last decade 15. In view of exports, an exponential growth of floriculture products was being observed in 2006-7 when the exports reached to 649.6 crores. But since then, a decrease to 340.14 crores (2007-8), 368.81 crores (2008-9) and 294.46 crores (2009-10) and 286.42) crores (2010-11) has been witnessed owing to the downfall of the world economy. The dry flower industry contributes to 60-70% in the exports. India is the fifth largest exporter of dried flowers, and second largest exporter of dried foliage in the world accounting for around 7 percent of world exports in dry flowers and foliage. Gujarat State has strong cooperative credit & marketing structure, 350 greenhouse units, along with 265 cold storages having 12.50 lakh metric tons storage capacity. About 42 fruit & vegetable co-operative marketing societies and 197 Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) dealing with selling & buying of horticulture produce in the State. As far as area under floriculture is concerned, about 14500 ha area is covered under flower crops in the state. 16. Indian exports mostly target the major floriculturally important events like Christmas day (December) New Year Eve, Valentine day, and Mothers day (May). The major factors are the unfavourable weather conditions during winter in major production centres in the Northern Hemisphere that limit the production. Therefore, markets are open to produce that comes from more favourable climates from the Southern Hemisphere. India, therefore, finds itself competing with other equally favourable countries like Kenya, Ecuador, Morocco etc. during such events.

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Components of Floriculture Flower Seed Production 17. Seed production of seasonal flower crops is a lucrative business and is practiced in considerable area in Punjab and Haryana. This offers higher returns from unit area. Of late, demand is increasing in domestic market also. Research work is required to develop high-yielding varieties include F1 hybrids, agro-techniques for producing uniform seed with higher certification standards. Production of seeds of open pollinated varieties of annual flowers gained momentum in recent times to produce seeds worth Rs. 6 crores from nearly 600 hectares area (mainly in Punjab and Karnataka. Realizing the potential of the seed production in ornamental crops the ICAR initiated a Net Work project on F1 Hybrids in floricultural crops at IIHR, Bangalore as the coordinated center with three sub-centers at Dr.Y.S.P.U H&F, Solan, PAU, Ludhiana and MPKV, Pune. Promising pure lines in marigold, antirrhinum, pansy, petunia were developed from a large collection of exotic and Indian germplasm. Promising male sterile lines are identified in marigold. The technology generated forms the base for the large scale development of new varieties/hybrids in annual flower crops. Availability of quality planting material 18. With the growth of the production and trade of planting material for ornamental crops, need for quality assurance was also realized. It was noted that nursery production facilities expanded in the country in view of the good profitability of the most organizations in their quest for generating higher profits, focused more on the quantities/volumes and in the bargain, attention to quality was neglected. However, soon the appreciation for the value of quality seed and planting material was realized and quality assurance of the material started receiving attention. Diagnostic tools for disease identification and management have been developed and are in use.

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Disease free virus indexed planting materials are available in most crops. In tulips, bulbs are used for propagation but many viruses (TRV) affect the quality flower production. 19. Ornamental crops have been produced and used in the country for ages. Besides the aesthetic value, their commercial importance is being appreciated now. A large number of varieties, particularly in rose, gladiolus, chrysanthemum, marigold, aster, hibiscus, marigold, tuberose, jasmine etc. have been evolved and their region specific package of practices standardized. These varieties have contributed to broadening the genetic base of the material available for use in gardens and parks, as well as, commercial production farms. Protocols for the multiplication of the planting material for all these crops have been developed, enabling expansion of their production base of particular significance is the wide scale generation of planting material through micro-propagation in both public and private sector facilities. Licensed propagation and distribution rights awarded by several leading names in global floriculture industry, particularly for rose, carnation, gerbera, anthurium, orchids, lilium, gladiolus, calla lily etc. has added to the varieties in commercial production in the country. Quality planting material is constantly provided by the ICAR research institutes for the mandated crops. IIHR, Bangalore supplies china aster, marigold, tuberose, gladiolus, chrysanthemum, heliconia, red ginger, crossandra etc., Similarly IARI, New Delhi provides planting material of rose, chrysanthemum, marigold, tuberose, gladiolus etc., Nursery Industry 20. Lack of quality planting material is the major hindrance for not realizing the full potential of floriculture in India. Plant material of various kinds (seedlings, budded plants, rooted cuttings, bulbs, tubers, corms, annual seed, etc.) is required for commercial flower production, pot plant production (and their rentals) for adding to home garden and for landscaping (corporate landscaping, bioaesthetic planting, etc.).

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Hi-tech floriculture 21. The cut flowers, which are being exported from India, are from these hi-tech floricultural units. Protected cultivation, although is in limited area (5% of total flower crop area), its contribution to total floricultural exports is significant. At present, there are about 110 export-oriented floricultural units (EOUs) in operation, covering an area of 500 ha. These units are growing mostly roses, but can be diversified into orchids, Anthurium, gladiolus and tuberose as the demand for tropical flowers is increasing worldwide. India has several advantages and great potential to increase the acreage under intensive production and ultimately to increase the floricultural exports provided the units should be opened in ideal locations with sound technological back-up. Indigenous technology for greenhouse, irrigation, fertigation and crop management including pest management is available for most of the flower crops presently grown in the country from ICAR/CSIR and SAU research establishments. High Value Flowers 22. Of late, the cultivation of high value flowers like asiatic lily, protea, heliconia, bird of paradise, etc. has come into practice. Because of their lucrative prices, the farmers get higher return per unit area. Hence the farmers with small holdings can grow these flowers under the favorable climatic conditions to improve their livelihood through better profitability per unit area and input used. Value Addition 23. Indian consumer base and flower market is growing at 710% annually. However, due to lack of infrastructure and knowledge, least care is taken during their postharvest handling with regard to maturity indices, hardeningconditioning, pre-cooling, packaging etc. The transportation of

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flowers from the production centres to the wholesale markets at present is largely unscientific. Prevailing conditions of high temperature, lack of ventilation and relative humidity increase respiration and transpiration rate in flowers and limit their postharvest quality life that results into huge postharvest losses to the tune of 30 to 50%. In addition to this, high fluctuation in the flower price (price fall up to 80%) is a big drawback of Indian flower market and is influenced by the gluts due to disorganization. It is the science of postharvest technology and technique cum art of floral craft that can address these heavy losses and improve the economic status of the growers. Value addition in flowers in the form of essential oils, flower-drying, floral arrangements, tinting etc. are potential areas of exploitation for strengthening the growth of floral industry sector. Floral craft either in form of fresh or dry flower products is an exclusive technique of value addition to the flowers accounting to the tune of 25 to 100%. There is need of popularizing the use of flowers through this exclusive technique of floral craft that includes fresh flower arrangements, table decorations, loose floral designs, bouquets, corsage, wreaths, dry floral articles, potpourris, etc. Floral Craft 24. Floral craft includes floral dcor in western or eastern style i.e. ikebana, corsage, wreathes, floral ornaments, loose flower decorative etc. Marketing sector of floral crafts is presently gaining momentum with the rapidly growing flora industry. Floral craft has the potential to serve as a linkage between growers and consumers as it directly emphasizes the utility of flowers and a necessity for marketing of flowers. The growing popularity of special day celebrations like Valentines' day, women's day and mother's day has also contributed to the growth of this art-cum-industry. The popularity and commercialization of floral craft is rapidly increasing in our country as depicted from the magnificent floral decorations costing from Rs 10,000 to 20 lakhs in wedding and religious ceremonies. Even the use of loose flowers in floral craft for hair

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ornaments like gajra, veni, broach etc. is also highly popular especially in South India. Floral bouquet factories flourishing in Thailand, China, UK, etc., are offering floral decor at high cost for different occasions ranging from weddings, reception, spring, anniversary celebrations, etc. The growing urbanization and changing lifestyles have given a boost to the per capita consumption of flowers in our country and as a result flower retail shops and boutiques have mushroomed all over the cities and towns. Dry Flowers 25. Dry flowers constitute more than two-thirds of total floricultural exports. For making dry flowers, flowers and plans parts can be collected from wild sources of some flower crops like Dahlias, marigold, jute flowers, wood roses, wild lilies, helichrysum, lotus pods, etc. Some flowers that are air-dried and used include Dahlias (Dahlia hortensis), poppy seed heads (Papavere somniferum), roses (Rosa), Delphinium, larkspur (Consolida ambigua), lavender (Lavandula augustifolia), African marigold (Tagetes erecta) strawflower (Helichrysum bracteatum), cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), statice (Limonium sinuatum), globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa), lotus pods etc. Dry flowers constitute nearly 15% of the global floriculture business and form the major share in Indian floricultural exports as well. At present, the industry is not well-organised and depends on plant material available in forests and no systematic growing of specialized flowers exists anywhere in the country. The demand for dry flowers is increasing at an impressive rate of 8-10% and therefore there is a great scope for the Indian entrepreneurs. Available technology for the dry flower making and processing is available in the country and can be effectively utilized in Gujarat and few other states. Pot Pourri 26. Pot pourri is a mixture of dried, sweet-scented plant parts including flowers, leaves, seeds, stems and roots. The basis of

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a pot pourri is the aromatic oils found within the plant. A significant component of dry flower export comprises of pot pourries. In the recent past, floriculture has been considered as a viable option of diversification in agriculture. But now within floriculture itself, there are a number of options a flower grower or a floriculturist can take up. ICAR has recently initiated a Value Chain Management in flower crops through NAIP at TNAU in PPP mode to develop a complete end to end package for making value added flowers including dry flowers and pot pourries. Essential Oils 27. Essential oils and perfumery from natural sources are gaining popularity with emerging demand in spas and aromatherapy. In India, flower crops grown for essential oil production are limited and include mainly rose, jasmine, tuberose, etc. India is the second largest exporter of jasmine oil in the world accounting for over 40 percent of total world exports in jasmine oil. Europe continues to be the largest destination of Indias floriculture exports. In recent years, Indian exports of floriculture products have also extended to the Japanese and Australian markets. According to a report by the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), the total demand for essential oil is roughly split between the fragrance industry (60%), flavour industry (20%), and pharmaceutical industry (20%). At present in India about 30 % of the fine chemical used annually in perfumes and flavours come from essential oils. Flower crops for essential oil include mainly rose, jasmine, tuberose, marigold, plumeria etc. Rosa damascene is exclusively cultivated for extraction of essential oils, rose water, attar, gulkhand, etc. in certain pockets of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Research should be focused on development of varieties with higher oil content and standardizing distillation methods for higher oil recovery. Further identification of more crops and standardization of production technology needs to be included in the research agenda. Promotion of this sector encourages ancillary industries like steam distillation and use of

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indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) for making value-added products. Natural Dyes 28. Exploitation of plant pigment for natural dyes is also a potential sector for industrial growth with growing allergy and health problems associated with the use of synthetic colours in food industry. Potential crops for natural dyes include marigold, hibiscus, Bixa orellana, Butea monosperma etc. Marigold pigments are widely used in the poultry industry to enhance the colour of the meat and yolk of the eggs and also used in food and textile industry. So far, isolation of xanthophylls from marigold has been standardized. The natural dyes can be further used for colouration of the product in the following industries viz., Textile industry (colouration of fabrics and yarn), Food industry (sweets, confectionery and bakery products), Leather industry (colouration of foot wears/ garments) and Cosmetics industry (soap, creams, powders, lipsticks, etc.). Producers of confectionery, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, salad dressings and dairy products are the most significant users of natural colourants. Anthocyanins are water-soluble pigments that occur in almost all vascular plants. The Anthocyanins pigments are responsible for the majority of the orange, red, purple, and blue colors of flowers. Betalains are water-soluble and imparts red to violet found in beet roots and portulaca. Carotenoids are also very significant nutraceutical components of the animal diet serving, for example, as precursors for Vitamin-A biosynthesis and as antioxidants. Carotenoids are responsible for most of the yellow to orange flower colors in ornamentals that include marigold, daffodil, Freesia, Gerbera, Rosa, Lilium, and Calendula. More crops can be identified and procedures can be standardized for full exploitation. Technology development in all the areas mentioned above not only improves situation of respective sub-sector of floriculture, but these become important avenues

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for diversification of floriculture, sources of income generation and means of employment to the youth. Strategies for Growth 29. Rapid technological agri-business, international economic integration, saturated markets and free market mechanism have provided opportunity, but also the challenges. Retailing on markets will be more complex. Service, quality and reliability would be an essential factor for securing position in international market. Producers have to organize the production so as to supply the necessary quantities according to the required quality standards. Any parties in the chain, which do not contribute to higher added value, will disappear. The advantages of large-scale market could be found for efficient purchasing process and also in terms of logistics and sue of information technologies. Accordingly, our efforts have to be directed to harness the potential through strategic promotion of market. Strategies could be for policy support, infrastructural development, professionalism in market management, networking of markets and quality assurance. 30. All these developments provide opportunity for production and marketing. This would need strategic marketing approach having backward and forward linkages coupled with horizontal and vertical integration. By providing sufficient attention and support, attaining the goal of reliable production of high-quality product consistent in quantities could be attained. Resultantly, Asian flower sector would soon become a major player in the region as well as in European flower market. Moreover, given the rapidly increasing rate of spending among Asian consumers for cut flowers, it is also reasonable to expect that the Asian flower industry will soon surpass consumption rates for cut flowers compared to other regions. 31. Cooperation and commitment, in terms of education, research, funding and communication in Asia would be a driving force to become a leader of commercial floriculture

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worldwide, in years to come. The strategies have been chalked out to meet the challenges and to make floriculture a most viable activity in Asia to ensure employment with enhanced farm income. The challenges are to capture emerging trend in marketing through innovation and skilled professional management. Therefore, strategies to promote effective marketing should include, quality assurance, transportation, hub development for effective delivery, institutional support for information and training, specialty production, reducing cost and widening products, developing domestic market, promoting indigenous plants and flowers, developing professional skill and knowledge management, promoting uses of flowers and providing policy support product and delivery. Therefore, there is a need for quality products and delivery, and to develop quality certification system, as developed in Holland, which ensures the quality for the brand. Conclusions 32. With increasing flower demand, production centres have expanded from traditional centres (USA, Japan, the Netherlands and Columbia) to new ones (Latin America, Africa and Asia). In Asia, India, China, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are moving in direction of intensive floriculture. New consumption centres are also emerging in South-east Asia, Middle-East and Eastern Europe. The scenario provides opportunity to capitalize on the strength and convert weaknesses into opportunity However, in the consumer-driven market, quality of service and delivery system will play a significant role. Marketing is no more a meeting of buyers and sellers, but it is complex, which is driven by quantity of products and reliability of delivery. New distribution structure with the aid of IT is likely to be in place, which would be a virtual market, demanding, branding, cataloguing and quality assurance emphasizes. Further, Technology development and dissemination backed by strong research in the areas of value addition in flowers can improve existing floriculture sector that is largely facing the problems of price fluctuation and huge postharvest losses, and is a means

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of income generation and employment to the youth including women. Value addition through dry flower making, dye making and essential oil preparation by using the ornamental plants need to be focused as an ideal venture to flourish as industry. To sum up, I congratulate the organizers for conducting this workshop focusing on the aspect of floral art and value addition. I place my best wishes for the same and hope that the outcome of the workshop will play a pivotal role in awareness generation and serve as an inspirational source for entrepreneurship development among the students and youth including women, and will specifically benefit farming community for higher income generation.

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Brief Bio-data Dr H P Singh, Deputy Director General (Horticulture& Ag. Extn), ICAR, born in 1950 at Mahamda (Pusa), Samastipur, Bihar has outstandingly contributed to horticultural research and development in his career spanning 40 years, with his distinguished academic record, commitment and vision, leading to Golden Revolution. Starting his career as a Scientist at the Central Horticulture Experiment Station, Chethalli (Coorg) in Karnataka in 1972, he held various positions which include Sr. Scientist, Project Coordinator (Fruits), Director, NRC for Banana, Horticulture Commissioner, Govt. of India, Chairman, Coconut Development Board, Dean (Agriculture), GBPUA&T, Pantnagar, Vice Chancellor, Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa and now Deputy Director General (Horticulture & Ag. Extn), ICAR. He was also Chairman of APCC, Jakarta, National Director for internationally-aided projects, Member Secretary of NCPH, Delhi and Mission Director. He has been Chairman of various high powered committees both at national and international level and has contributed as Member Secretary and member in shaping the horticulture development in the country. Dr Singh has outstandingly contributed significantly to horticultural research, management and development and also human capital formation which earned him 3 international awards and 31 National Awards and 6 Fellowships. He is also Fellow of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS). Dr. Singh in his career as a scientist has developed and released several varieties, technologies and products and has contributed outstandingly in genetic resource management of perennial horticulture, development of cultivars and production system based technologies, nutrient and water management and fruit biotechnology beside hi-tech horticulture and precision farming. He is instrumental in promotion of efficient water management and providing boost to micro-irrigation and fertigation. Hi-tech horticulture and precision farming was conceptualized and executed by him which has influenced the development. He has been at centre stage in the promotion of organic farming for sustainability and has provided new dimension to horticulture development by conceptualizing and executing the mission mode approach for horticultural development, a driver for integrated development of horticulture across the country. His contribution as an academician, Dean, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar and Vice-Chancellor, RAU, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar also created an impact on agricultural education. Dr Singh has provided a strong foundation for horticultural development. He is also responsible for the establishment of many new institutes and centres and has brought dynamism in whichever position he held. He has been closely associated with activities of Asia and Pacific Network ASPNET (INIBAP), APCC, Jakarta, FAO and is President, General Secretaries and member of several professional societies. Dr Singh has been instrumental in organizing 18 International, 74 National Conferences, 67 Workshops and trainings. He has provided leadership to horticulture and is credited to have authored and edited 54 books and 24 bulletins, besides 300 research papers and popular articles. He is widely traveled in India and abroad and has visited 31 countries as leader as well as member of delegation or to deliver talks. As a DDG (Horticulture) he has provided new dimension to horticultural research and has taken many new initiatives to address the emerging challenges.

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