PROTECTED CULTIVATION IN INDIA: MEETING CHALLENGES

The future of protected cultivation in India is very vast but highly depending upon the technicality and recommendation of the technology has to play a significant role under varied agro climatic conditions as a means for sustainable crop intensification ,vertical growth of productivity, leading to optimization of water and fertilizer use efficiency in an environment of water scarcity in addition to better control of product quality and safety, in line with the market demands ,standards and regulations .In the near future, first and most important requirement for the use of protected cultivation technology is for its large-scale use for raising healthy planting material for all horticultural crops and secondly to use the technology for hybrid seed production of vegetables rather production of fresh food for better economic viability in the country and mostly in cluster approach. Further, for sustainability of the technology, it is utmost important to develop a huge skilled manpower in the form of youths in two sets, one set for designing, fabrication/installation and maintenance of protected structure and the other for crop production and management under protected conditions.