ABSTRACT

A. K. JHA1,3, V. K. VERMA2, N. A. DESHMUKH1, R. K. PATEL1, and S. V. NGACHAN1

Abstract ................................................................................................... 78 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................... 78 5.2 Horticultural Scenario .................................................................... 79 5.3 Projected Climate Change and Its Impact on Horticultural

Crops in 2030S, NEH Region (INCCA-2010) .............................. 80 5.4 Other Observations ........................................................................ 85 5.5 Mitigation Measures ...................................................................... 86 5.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................... 91 Keywords ................................................................................................ 92 References ............................................................................................... 92

ABSTRACT

North-Eastern states have 773.5 thousand hectare area under horticultural crops (fruits and vegetables), which is around 5.4% of the total area under fruits and vegetables in the country. From this area the region produces about 9908.2 thousand tones of fruits and vegetables with a productivity of 12.81 t/ha against the national productivity of 14.34 t/ha (Anon, 2011). The Region is known as the center of diversity for many horticultural crops like citrus, banana, minor fruits (sohiong, sophie, etc.), vegetables (Brinjal, king chili, Indian bean, kakrol and kartoli, chow-chow and dioscoria, etc.), spices (ginger and turmeric) and ornamentals (orchid anthurium and lily, etc.). North eastern region of India is facing the problem of heavy rains during the rainy season, which results into loss of fertile soil and flood in the valleys. Due to steep slope the drought during winter season becomes a major problem during November-March in last few years, the young orchard of Khasi mandarin has started declining in entire NEH Region. Erratic rainfall pattern, rise in temperature and change in relative humidity over last 15-20 years have led to emergence of new biotypes in different insect and pest species in most of the fruits and vegetables, besides affecting flowering, fruiting, production and productivity of these crops. Late blight of tomato and potato have become a serious problem due to early heavy rains and low temperature during April-May. Likewise, infestation of cabbage butterfly during March-April is becoming a serious problem in last few years in the region. Infestation of fruit fly in peach, guava, etc. is rising in last couple of years in Barapani conditions and because of this, there has been reduction in marketable yield of peach and guava up to 25-30%. These facts clearly indicate the change of the environment in the region. To mitigate the impact of climate change there is a need to focus on the conservation of genetic resources, development and production of climate resilient cultivars in different horticultural crops, demonstration and adaptation of technologies like, water harvesting, micro irrigation, protected cultivation, etc.