Plantation Crops

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The book provides a wide-ranging, up-to-date and methodical account of the role of various plantation crops in the nation's economy and the new opportunities as well as challenges that they offer to the farmers, scientists, researchers and the consumers alike. Written in a non- technical style to introduce the vastness of the subject to the general readers, the book presents information on the origin, distribution, botany, crop improvement, crop production, crop protection and also post-harvest technology of the plantation crop sector supported by tables and diagrams wherever necessary.

KV Peter (1948-2022) had a distinguished career in the field of horticulture and plant breeding having served as Founder Director, Indian Institute of Spices Research, Calicut and Director, Research Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) and Vice-Chancellor of KAU. He is an author of several books and numerous research papers and was also the recipient of many prestigious awards from prominent agriculture research institutions.

Plantation crops coconut, arecanut, palmyrah, coffee, cocoa, tea, rubber, cardamom, cashew, oil palm and cin- chona play a vital role in the agricultural economy and export trade of many developing and developed countries. In India, these are grown over an area of 3.2 million ha (1.82% of the total cropped area), generating an annual income of over Rs 1,00,000 millions and contributing about Rs 30,000 millions to export earnings. Though historically tea, coffee and rubber were raised as industrial crops in large estates, currently sizeable area under these crops are in smaller holdings in diverse farming systems. There has been considerable research attempts to improve their pro- ductivity through genetic means, to formulate package of cultural practices to boost up yield/ha, to manage major pests and diseases and above all to develop post-harvest technologies and value-added products. Remunerative prices and price stabilization mechanisms are vital to sustainable production in plantation crops. So far 14 varieties/hybrids in coconut, 8 in cashew, 5 in cardamom, 11 in black pepper, 9 in rubber, 45 in tea and 16 in coffee have been developed and released to farmers in India. Plantation crops are important in many respects. Coconut, 'Kalpavriksha', is used as food, edible oil and industrial lubricant. Tender coconut water is a healthy drink. Owing to immense utility coconut is popularly known as the tree of heaven. The timber, leaf petiole, shell husk, etc, are useful for various purposes.