No abstract

The review is carried out to represent the effect of pesticide exposure of plant on its growth and metabolism. Decades ago, pesticides were introduced aiming to increase the crop yields and protecting crops from pests. Pesticides are highly toxic chemicals and toxicity does not remain restricted to the target organisms only but also have negative impact on the environment's non-target organisms. Pesticide inhibit seed germination and enzymatic activity, reduces the growth, rate of photosynthesis and yield. Excessive use of pesticide results in pesticide residue in fruit, vegetable, seeds and in soil. Accumulation of pesticide in soil disturbs the microorganisms, soil enzymes such as hydrolases, oxidoreductases, dehydrogenase, phosphatase activities and other physiochemical characteristics of the soil which in turn affect the soil fertility. Therefore, the main goal of this paper was to examine how the pesticide application influence plant growth and development, altering biochemical and physiological processes as well as various enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants which ultimately affect the yield and results in residues in plant, fruits and vegetables.

Balance nutrient management is an approach to soil health management that combines organic and mineral methods of soil fertilization with physical and biological measures for soil and water conservation. The indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides along with improper nutrient management is deleterious to the plant and soil health, environment and human being who consume them. It also causes soil health deterioration and disturbs the soil microorganisms. Due to these practices, the plants also become susceptible to several biotic and abiotic stresses. The quality attributes of different fruits are badly affected due to indiscriminate application of inorganic agro-chemicals which results in quality deterioration with less consumer preference and low returns to the growers. Thus, adequate mineral nutrition is a pre-harvest factor affecting fruit quality. Therefore, it is a holistic approach based on usage of all possible sources of plant nutrients in an integrated manner is considered as alternative source to maintain soil fertility and plant nutrient supply for sustaining the desired crop productivity. Due to huge distinction in the nutrient use efficiency of perennial fruit crops, their nutrient management- based production system is characteristically intricate to understand. Integrated plant nutrient management aims to optimize the condition of the soil, with regard to its physical, chemical, biological and hydrological properties, for the purpose of enhancing farm productivity, whilst minimizing land degradation. There are studies that integrated nutrient management provide tangible benefits in terms of higher yields, but simultaneously and almost imperceptibly conserve the soil resource itself along with produce quality. The replenishment of soil nutrients lost by leaching and/or removed in harvested products through an integrated plant nutrition management approach that optimizes the benefits from all possible on- and off-farm sources of plant nutrients. The review on balanced fertilization on a variety of fruit crops revealed similar combinations. These observations provided a countrywide database that INM module which consists of nutrient sources having three-tier nutrient release pattern, has far reaching consequences on soil and plant health translating into real guard production sustainability, nearer to climate resilient fruit crops.

Horticulture sector has the potential to enhance the farm income, provide livelihood security and earn foreign exchange. However, focused policy interventions are needed to realise the potential of this sector. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables globally. During 2019-20, the production of fruits is 102.03 million MT and that of vegetables is 189 million MT and that of flowers is 2.94million MT. The salient features of commercial horticulture are perishability, intense technology, high profitability accompanied with high investment and high risks including vulnerability to post-harvest losses. Overall, it demands very good entrepreneurship and leadership.The review reveals the trends of the horticultural sector in India and identifies the growth prospects. According to the Economic Survey 2020-202, the share of agriculture in gross domestic product (GDP) has reached almost 20 per cent for the first time in the last 17 years, making it the sole bright spot in GDP performance during 2020-21. The resilience of the farming community in the face of adversities made agriculture the only sector to have clocked a positive growth of 3.4 per cent at constant prices in 2020-21, when other sectors slid. The share of agriculture in GDP increased to 19.9 per cent in 2020-21 from 17.8 per cent in 2019-20.The Horticulture has become a key driver for economic development in many of the states in the country and it contributes 30.4 per cent to GDP of agriculture, which calls for technology-led development. The research priorities are for genetic resource enhancement and its utilization, enhancing the efficiency of production and reducing the losses in environment friendly manner. Horticultural sector accounts for about 37% of the total exports of agricultural commodities, and the exports have recorded sustained rising trend.The major concerns of the sector are improving the productivity through research and development, enhancing the share of value-added products, geographical diversification of exports and enhancing the infrastructure including cold storage and rural roads.The horticulture sector has been considered as the sun rising sector of Indian agriculture because of its contribution to livelihood and nutritional security. Here are some strategic options to overcome the hurdles in the entrepreneurship climate setting process to enhance farmers’ income.

Since thousands years back approximately around 900 BC, medicinal plants are considered as a source of many biomolecules with therapeutic potential. Herbal medicines are considered as safer, better, physiologically compatible and costeffective. The oldest evidence of medicinal and aromatic plants depicts that with the emergence of human civilization, plants have been considered as the main source to heal and cure various serious ailments. It has been proven that the secondary metabolites e.g. alkaloid, glycosides, flavonoides, steroids etc present in the medicinal plants possesses ability to prevent occurrence of some of the diseases, means medicinal plants acts as a “preventive medicine”. Medicinal plants have a paramount importance and a great interest due to its pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutritional values. Some plants are also considered as an important source of nutrition and are known to have a variety of compounds with potential therapeutic properties. India is the principal repository of large number of medicinal and aromatic plants or we can say India is one of the rich mega-biodiversity countries of the world. Medicinal plants are “backbone” of traditional medicinal system (TMS). Crude drugs are usually dried parts of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) such as roots, stems, wood, bark, seeds, fruits, flowers, leaves, rhizomes, whole plant etc. that form the essential raw material for the production of medicines in various systems of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Tibatian, Tribal and Homeopathy. According to the survey of the World Health Organization (WHO), about 80% of the world population are using herbs and other traditional medicines for their primary healthcare and have established three kinds of herbal medicines: raw plant material, processed plant material, and herbal products. Now days, variety of available herbs are used throughout the world and they continue to promote good health. As the benefits from medicinal and aromatic plants are recognized, these plants will have a special role for humans in the future. The present review on medicinal and aromatic plants revealed similar combination of studies.