District-Wise Prospective Potential for Land Management Planning of Horticultural Crops in Himachal Pradesh , 1999, by D.V. Singh
Abstract: Himachal Pradesh is a major horticultural crops production State and already made impressive progress in the fruit cultivation. The state has built up a good reputation for producing the best quality of fruits (mainly apple) in the country, because the agro-climatic conditions prevailing in some of the regions are very conducive for the development of horticultural crops. Apart from the apple crops, the State also started cultivation of other fruit crops. The geographical and climatic conditions of the state provide conducive atmosphere for the production of various types of temperate; sub-temperate, tropical and sub-tropical fruits. Now horticultural crops like citrus/Kinnow and mango are becoming the important horticultural crops of the state. Other high value fruit crops like Kiwi, almond, cherry etc. etc. have also taken up on commercial scale in some regions of the state.
The agro-climatic conditions of the state are so heterogeneous, that each district or region has different kinds of soil and climatic conditions for growing of particular kind of fruit crop e.g. high hills of Shimla, Kullu, Sirmour, Mandi, Kinnaur districts are major apple growing regions, while foot hills of Kangra, Una and Sirmour districts are taking up citrus and mango cultivation,. Mango is also cultivated on commercial scale in Bilaspur and part of Solan districts. Similarly flower crops are also growing in some of the districts of the state. A very high value cash crop, hop is mainly grown on commercial scale in Lahaul & Spiti district. In nutshell the cultivation of fruit crops in different regions of the state has varied magnitude and potential for the commercial production in coming years. The nature of output fruit crops is generally differs from the other crops. Mot of the horticultural crops falls under perishable category and hence requires proper strategy for disposal of these crops. This necessitates the need for proper management planning of horticultural crops so that desirable returns can be ensured on sustainable basis. The earlier studies on post-harvest management of horticultural crops clearly indicates that unless the proper marketing strategy is not evolved for disposal of perishable horticultural products, the benefits, of good harvest can not be availed by the growers. This aspect also requires proper land management strategy for allocation of land resources under these crops for sustainable returns.
As well as all know, the arable and non-arable land resources in the country in general and particularly in Himachal Pradesh, are scare and allocation of this resource among different categories has utmost importance. Recently there has been a sizable increase in the area under horticultural crops in some districts. However, the increase in few pockets of some the districts is noticed significantly large, while in some other regions the spread of fruit crops is still not significant (may be due to inadequate marketing facilities of these crops). The marginal farmers (which are more than 80 per cent in the state) have not taken up the growing of fruits in all areas of the state. This is partly due to unawareness of economic viability of these crops. In the state, there is a need to bring maximum smallholdings under horticultural crops and adopt packages and practices which seems not adopted on the desired level. The farmers in backward areas of the state faces some peculiar type of problems in growing of fruits, thought, the region has considerable potential for growing of these crops.
This needs sincere efforts. With the present day stress for planned growth, the need for a study of land utilization pattern and potential for horticultural crops cannot be over looked. Such type of land use assessment can inter alia provides a useful base for determining the extent of utilized and underutilized lands which can be put to more economic uses like cultivation of high value crops. Keeping in view, the present study was designed also on the request of Land Use Board. The study also confirms the district-wise potential and possibilities of cultivation of horticultural crops on the basis of empirical evidence and also on the basis of second information. The important aspect of this study is to assess the decomposition of increase in area under horticultural crops i.e. what type of land is shifted in favour of horticultural crops. The study also tried to assess the change in land use classification and cropping pattern during last two decades on the basis of secondary information. The out come of the study will help in assessing the status of land resources for the of future development planning.
