DDG Horticulture Key Note Address

7/30/2019 DDG Horticulture Key Note Address

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A New Paradigm in Horticulture with

Special Reference to Floriculture

Key Note Address

By

Dr H P SINGH

Deputy Director General (Horticulture)Indian Council of Agricultural Research

Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan-II,

Pusa, New Delhi- 110 012

During

National Workshop

Floral Craft:

The Art and Technique for Value Addition in Flowers

(April, 12, 2012)

At

Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari


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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 ofNational

Workshop- Floral Craft: The Art and Technique for Value

Addition in Flowers. Floriculture has emerged as an importantsub-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 andHorticulture 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

1Deputy Director General (Horticulture) Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi

Anusandhan Bhawan-II, Pusa Campus, New Delhi 110 012, Key note Address forNational Workshop on Flower Craft: The art and technique for value addition in flowersto be held on April, 12-13, 2012 at NAU, Navsari.


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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 isalso 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 withchallenges 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 interms 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.


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Scenario of Horticulture Research and Development

4. Under the National Agriculture Research System, ICAR has

been playing a pivotal role in providing the required leadershipin 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 systemmanagement. 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 thehorticulture 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 andproductivity 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


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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 horticulturalproduce, 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 Directoratesand 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 AgriculturalUniversities. 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 researchprograms 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


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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 floraldecorations, 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


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(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 publicissues 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 sectororganizations, 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 increasingphenomenally 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


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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 Colombiaand 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 producefrom 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 ever-

lasting cultivated are Helichrysum, Helipterum, Limonium,

Nigella, Gypsophila, Delphinium, Amaranthus, Papaver,

Carthamus and Rosa.


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2007 2008 2009

0

50

100

150

200

250

Million US$

1 2 3

Year

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

Leading exporters of dried ornamentals in the world during 2009

58.34

9.52

16.55

23.39

28.07

30.47

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

India Netherlands USA Italy Germany Others

Leading expoters

MillionUS$

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 marketedthrough 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

182.57 m US$ 230.73 m US$ 167.34 m US$


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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. Thearea 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 otherHimalayan 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 focusarea 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 Flower Power. This is part of a new

National Vision for Floriculture, the brainchild of former

President APJ Abdul Kalam. Floriculture industry is targeting

an annual turnover of $ 1 billion in export of floriculturalproducts.

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 inBangalore, 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 productionoutside 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 tosafeguard 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 thelast 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 witnessedowing 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 12.50lakh 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 pollinatedvarieties 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 broadeningthe 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 distributionrights 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, arefrom 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 tropicalflowers 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 flowercrops 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 7-

10% annually. However, due to lack of infrastructure and

knowledge, least care is taken during their postharvest

handling with regard to maturity indices, hardening-

conditioning, 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 theirpostharvest 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. Valueaddition 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 techniqueof 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 stylei.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 exportsas 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 nowwithin 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 jasmineoil 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 fragranceindustry (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 thecolour 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) andCosmetics 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 theorange, 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 theproduction 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 strategicpromotion 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 horizontaland 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 captureemerging 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 andEastern 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 youthincluding women, and will specifically benefit farming

community for higher income generation.


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BBrriieeffBBiioo--ddaattaa

Dr H P Singh, Deputy Director General(Horticulture& Ag. Extn), ICAR, born in 1950 atMahamda (Pusa), Samastipur, Bihar has

outstandingly contributed to horticultural researchand development in his career spanning 40 years,with his distinguished academic record,commitment and vision, leading to GoldenRevolution. Starting his career as a Scientist at theCentral Horticulture Experiment Station, Chethalli(Coorg) in Karnataka in 1972, he held various positions which include Sr.Scientist, Project Coordinator (Fruits), Director, NRC for Banana, HorticultureCommissioner, Govt. of India, Chairman, Coconut Development Board, Dean

(Agriculture), GBPUA&T, Pantnagar, Vice Chancellor, Rajendra AgriculturalUniversity, Pusa and now Deputy Director General (Horticulture & Ag. Extn),ICAR. He was also Chairman of APCC, Jakarta, National Director forinternationally-aided projects, Member Secretary of NCPH, Delhi and MissionDirector. He has been Chairman of various high powered committees both atnational and international level and has contributed as Member Secretary andmember in shaping the horticulture development in the country. Dr Singh hasoutstandingly contributed significantly to horticultural research, managementand development and also human capital formation which earned him 3international 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 contributedoutstandingly in genetic resource management of perennial horticulture,development of cultivars and production system based technologies, nutrientand water management and fruit biotechnology beside hi-tech horticultureand precision farming. He is instrumental in promotion of efficient watermanagement and providing boost to micro-irrigation and fertigation. Hi-techhorticulture and precision farming was conceptualized and executed by himwhich has influenced the development. He has been at centre stage in thepromotion of organic farming for sustainability and has provided newdimension to horticulture development by conceptualizing and executing themission mode approach for horticultural development, a driver for integrateddevelopment of horticulture across the country. His contribution as anacademician, Dean, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar and Vice-Chancellor, RAU, Pusa,Samastipur, Bihar also created an impact on agricultural education. Dr Singhhas provided a strong foundation for horticultural development. He is alsoresponsible for the establishment of many new institutes and centres and hasbrought 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 ofseveral professional societies. Dr Singh has been instrumental in organizing18 International, 74 National Conferences, 67 Workshops and trainings. Hehas provided leadership to horticulture and is credited to have authored andedited 54 books and 24 bulletins, besides 300 research papers and populararticles. He is widely traveled in India and abroad and has visited 31countries as leader as well as member of delegation or to deliver talks. As aDDG (Horticulture) he has provided new dimension to horticultural researchand has taken many new initiatives to address the emerging challenges.

Documents

DDG Horticulture Key Note Address