Kerala Agricultural University and Indian Society of Vegetable Science jointly organized a National level Web Conference on “Challenges and opportunities in vegetable production in the warm humid tropics” on 11, 12, and 13 November 2020. More than 500 participants, including PG students, scientists, professors, progressive farmers, and selected entrepreneurs from different parts of the country attended the webinar. They have now published a report.
Humid Tropics extended along the east and west coast of India are resource-rich lands that possess adequate water supply, naturally fertile soils, plenty of sunshine, and favorable terrain. However, there are certain challenges in production like the abundance of pests and diseases, soil acidity, high humidity with high temperature, shrinking land resources, etc, which need to be addressed in an ecologically sustainable manner. Some States with a humid tropical climate have a productivity of vegetable crops below the national average, although they could achieve higher productivity in view of rich resources and availability of technological options.
The existing yield gaps can also be bridged by increasing seed replacement rate or the area under seeds of improved varieties and especially hybrids, as well as using high-tech vegetable production technologies and adopting good agronomic practices that are based on natural resource conservation, and both water and nutrient use efficiency.
Read the complete research at www.researchgate.net.