Pratapsingh S. Khapte

• Ph. D. (Horticulture) in Vegetable Science
• Researcher at ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management

In present context and under foreseeing scenario of climate change, the declining of water allocation to agriculture due to increase of population and food demand has sensitized judicious use of available water in agriculture. Under such scenario, maximization of crop water productivity is more crucial than simple yield maximization – a target usua...

Protected vegetable cultivation is a fast-growing sector in which grafting plays a crucial role for success. Cucumber is predominantly grown under protected conditions. The popular slicing (mini) cucumber comprises two segments, single- and cluster-fruit-bearing. In the present study, the performance of select fruit-bearing hybrids grafted as scion...

The cultivation of nutritionally and economically important crops like tomato are often threatened by dry spells due to drought as these crops largely depend on an assured water supply. The magnitude and intensity of drought is predicted to intensify under climate change scenarios, particularly in semi-arid regions, where water is already a scarce...

Protected cultivation is gaining momentum in (semi) arid regions to ameliorate the adverse environmental impacts on vegetable crops, besides ensuring high resource use efficiency in resource-limiting environments. Among the less techno-intensive protected cultivation structures, naturally ventilated polyhouses (NVP), insect-proof net houses (IPN) a...

Background Climate change exacerbates abiotic stresses, which are expected to intensify their impact on crop plants. Drought, the most prevalent abiotic stress, significantly affects agricultural production worldwide. Improving eggplant varieties to withstand abiotic stress is vital due to rising drought from climate change. Despite the diversity o...

The hybrid development of pumpkins, utilizing local genetic material, has recently garnered attention in India. This study aimed to evaluate the combining ability, heterosis, and per se performance of pumpkin hybrids for yield-related and biochemical traits. In the present investigation, eight parental lines of pumpkins were hybridized using a half...

Understanding the abiotic stress tolerance of tomatoes is crucialfor ensuring sustainable yields. In this study, two distinct geno-types, ‘EC-317-6-1’ (drought-tolerant) and ‘Kashi Amrit’ (suscep-tible), identified based on physicochemical criteria in a priorstudy, were selected to characterize the genetic polymorphismin response to drought stress....

Abiotic stresses such as drought, heat, salinity, and waterlogging significantly impact vegetable crop production, reducing yield and quality. Traditional methods for assessing abiotic stresses rely on visual observations, which are often subjective, resource-intensive, time-consuming, and inefficient. Digital technologies provide advanced, real-ti...

Proper pollination and bunch management are vital to improving date palm productivity and fruit quality. The present study was conducted on 6‑year-old tissue culture derived date palm cv. ‘ADP-1’ in hot-arid Indian conditions. The objective was to achieve higher yield and superior fruit quality by standardizing the right time for pollination, optim...

T HE Indian horticulture industry is crucial to national food and nutritional security as well as the agricultural economy. However, it faces increasing threats from abiotic stressors such as drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, and irregular rainfall, all of which are exacerbated by climate change. These stressors significantly affect crop yie...

Agroforestry is seen as a strategy to sustainably boost agricultural production by creating favorable microclimatic conditions. However, tree shade can significantly reduce crop yield, making it important to assess the balance between the positive and negative impacts of tree cover on food security, especially as climate change alters weather patte...

In the face of a rapidly changing climate and mounting pressures on global food security, managing both abiotic and biotic stresses is crucial to sustain food production to feed over 9.5 billion world population by 2050. Several organizations under umbrella of National Agricultural Research System (NARS) working hard to sustain food production by m...

The present century is witnessing an increase in climate change driven by unpredictable weather events. Agriculture, a primary source of food, income, and nutritional security for many, is significantly impacted by climate change. The rapid progression of climate change has led to severe abiotic stresses on crops. Despite the rise in agricultural p...

The sustained higher profitability of a pomegranate orchard relies heavily on the production of a greater proportion of high-quality fruits, a goal achievable through the implementation of effective management practices. The objective of this study is to provide site-specific supplementary knowledge regarding the response of pomegranate plants to v...

Climate change driven by uncertain weather events is increasing in the 21st century. Agriculture is a major source of food, income and nutritional security for the majority of people. However, due to the acceleration of climate change, crops are experiencing a severe impact from abiotic stresses. Agricultural production around the world has increas...

In soil-based protected cultivation, the prevalence of certain diseases like bacterial wilt and nematodes in the bell pepper plant due to its successive cropping pose a threat for maximizing productivity. Considering the potential of grafting to alleviate various biotic and abiotic stresses, often relying on rootstock’s capability, we explored the...

Arid region is characterised by extreme climatic condition, poor soil health and over-exploitation of natural resources. Under prevailing conditions of arid India, Ficus carica is an emerging fruit crop with high commercial value and nutritional significance. Phenological study plays an important role in ensuring efficient crop management practices...

Water scarcity and climate variability impede the realization of satisfactory vegetable yields in arid regions. It is imperative to delve into high-productivity and water-use-efficient protected cultivation systems for the sustained supply of vegetables in harsh arid climates. A strenuous effort was made to find suitable protected structures and le...

Chilli is a significant vegetable cum spice crop having broader applications in the food, phytogenic feed, cosmeceutical and pharmaceutical industries. To meet the demand, there is a need to develop F1 hybrids with tolerance/ resistance to major threatening diseases and higher yields. The present investigation was conducted to study the diversity o...

Climate change-induced uncertainties in weather patterns have become increasingly prevalent in this century, posing significant challenges to horticultural crop production. Horticultural crops, valued for their health-promoting nutrients. These crops depend on consistent irrigation for successful growth and yield. However, these crops are now facin...

The increasing effect of heat stress on horticultural crops has become a critical concern, given the current and anticipated global warming trends. The horticultural sector, playing a vital role in the economy, is making significant strides. It is no longer optional but an imperative necessity to address the challenges posed by a warming future. Th...

The abiotic stresses, such as drought, waterlogging, heat, cold, and salinity, cause significant crop yield losses associated with extremes of moisture and temperature and ion imbalance. The occurrence of these conditions is being aggravated by climate change, global warming, and industrial pollution. It is crucial to safeguard food security throug...

Integrating plant bio-stimulants to promote low external input and sustainable agriculture (LEISA)-based agricultural systems in abiotic-challenged situations appears to be a realistic alternative, especially for resource poor farmers. Bio-stimulants improve nutrient uptake, nutrient use efficiency of fertilizers and impart stress tolerance through...

Unlabelled: To deal with the vagaries of climate change, it is essential to develop climate-resilient agricultural practices, which improve crop productivity, and ensure food security. The impacts of high temperature and water deficit stress conditions pose serious challenges to a sustainable crop production. Several adaptation measures are practi...

India is the second largest producer of onion, contributing about 20% of the world production. Onion is cultivated both during monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. The latter is preferred by the farmers for its superior quality, larger and uniform bulb size, and better storability. However, incidence of unseasonal rainfall, unstable market prices, lac...

Water scarcity severely impacts agricultural productivity and quality in arid and semi–arid regions. Specific elicitors like plant growth regulators (PGRs) and bio–stimulants as well as deficit irrigation (DI) practices have been put forward to alleviate the effect of resultant water stress and enhance crop productivity. Hence, a field experiment w...

Rainfall induced hypoxia with transient waterlogging is a major constraint limiting the productivity and quality of monsoon season onion (Allium cepa L.). Therefore, the effects of water stagnation at different growth stages and possibilities of its alleviation with plant growth regulators (PGRs) namely; potassium nitrate (PN, 20 g L⁻¹), thio-urea...

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a vital vegetable crop cultivated on about 5.7 Mha areas with an annual production of 109 Mt across the world (Wakchaure et al., 2023a). India ranks first in acreage and second in production after China by contributing about 20 % of global production. About half of the onion is produced in the Deccan Plateau (DP), where it...

Exogenous growth regulators (GRs) play a crucial role in alleviating water stress and sustaining crop yields in water-stressed areas. However, their effects on onions post-harvest quality, particularly post-monsoon onion—often preferred for long-term storage—were never studied. Therefore, this led us to investigate the interaction between water str...

The multi-faceted benefits of growing crops under protected cultivation are gradually establishing it as a promising technology for vegetable cultivation in India. However, the adoption of successive cropping patterns in soil-based closed structures is leading to the buildup of soil-borne pathogens and pests, which are becoming a major hindrance to...

Nematodes are a serious problem across pomegranate-growing areas worldwide, but the severity is higher in light sandy soils of arid regions. The present study was carried out to explore the integrated approaches for the control of nematodes in pomegranate. Three different experiments were carried out during 2017–2020 to (a) delineate nematode abund...

Vegetables are short duration crops and provide more returns per unit area and time besides, they play a major role in balancing human diet, thus, helping in alleviating hunger and malnutrition (Annon., 2009). In the previous few years, India has attained quantum jump in vegetable production and present estimated vegetable production is around 162....

Vegetables are of short duration, have higher productivity and give more return per unit area, besides giving nutritious food to human being and can be fitted in different farming systems. They also play a major role in balancing human diet, thereby helping in alleviating hunger, poverty and malnutrition. Because of the public awareness for the sig...

The performance of gynoecious cucumber (cv. Terminator) was evaluated under three protected structures viz., naturally ventilated polyhouse (NVP), insect proof net house (INH) and shade net house (SNH) at Jodhpur, Rajasthan in hot arid region of India. The photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) inside these structures during cropping period rang...

Understanding and mitigating the adverse impacts of water stress on agriculture production have become global concern in water scarce environments. Particularly, Deccan plateau, the largest semi-arid zone of peninsular India, is confronted with severe water resources conflicts and extensive pressure for food production under climate change scenario...

India is an agrarian country and nearly 60 percent of the population depends on agriculture and agriculture-related areas for livelihood. Due to the current environmental change, farmers and agriculture, which are the backbone of the Indian economy, have become a matter of concern. The rate of climate change is increasing rapidly due to unlimited p...

Grafting vegetable plant is relatively a new approach to confront various issues related to their growth in challenged environments. It can help manipulate plant’s ability by integration of traits imparting tolerance to stresses with those of commercial genotypes within a short time to enable their successful cultivation under growth limiting envir...

updated information about abiotic stress tolerance in crop varieties, animal breeds and fish breeds released under National Agricultural Research and Extension System (NARES). This compilation may serve as a ready reference for the students, academicians, scientists, teachers and farmers interested in the management of abiotic stress in agriculture...

The bioactive compounds, total antioxidant activity and minerals in white, pink and red flesh guava (Psidium guajava L.) varieties were assessed and quantified at three different stages of maturity in arid conditions. Changes in pectin content followed similar trend as fruit firmness and it gradually decreased till ripe stage. Total soluble solids...

In the present investigation, oblong fruited nine tomato lines were crossed in full diallel mating design to produce 72 F 1 hybrids. Heterobeltiosis and standard heterosis were estimated for growth, fruit yield and quality traits in F 1 hybrids. The parental lines, viz. BRML (P 3), Arka Ashish (P 4), Vybhav (P 5), IIVR-L (P 6), EC 608406 (P 7) and...

In present scenario of growing health concern, soil and water pollution, and heavy load of pesticides, availability of safe, nutritious and quality food is limited. Terrace vegetable gardening is an ideal choice in which vegetables are grown in environmental friendly way in ones surrounding so as to enjoy them in aesthetic way, adding value to the...

Aim : The objective of the present study was to evaluate the performance (based on growth, yield, quality, and nutrient acquisition) of commercial greenhouse cucumber (Cucumis sativus) grafted onto different locally available species as rootstocks during winter. Methodology : The performance of cucumber cv. Infinity as scion was tested onto select...

A great stride is witnessed in area expansion under protected cultivation, particularly in arid-western parts of India, where cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is a predominant greenhouse crop. The early-summer crop of cucumber is highly remunerative owing to high prevailing market price. In current study, efforts were made to select suitable greenhous...

Bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) has been a major production constraint in the tropics and sub tropics of the world. Lack of understanding about host, pathogen and environment perhaps one of the reasons for limited success in controlling this disease. In present investigation, six elite genotypes of eggplan...

Alike in other areas, greenhouse cultivation is getting special impetus in arid regions owing to providing favourable micro-climate, besides protecting crops from various external crop limiting factors which causes considerable losses to productivity. Cultivar selection is among the most critical aspect for successful greenhouse cultivation. In ord...

Climatic vagaries of arid zones make cultivation of annual crops risky and unsustainable. Horticultural sector proved beyond doubt its potentiality for gainful economy in such fragile ecosystems. Immense opportunity existed in arid zone for quality production of some of the most water economizing horticultural crops. In recent years arid and semi-a...

Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) is an important solanaceous crop of sub-tropics and tropics. It is an important vegetable grown in India. Bacterial wilt of brinjal has been a major production constraint in the tropics and sub tropics. Lack of understanding about host, pathogen and environment might be one of the reasons for limited success in contro...

Manjari gota fruit type of brinjal is most popular in south India due its colour, taste and flesh. Manjari gota fruit type refers to brinjal fruits with purple colour with white stripes. The study was carried out to estimate the magnitude of heterosis over better parent and commercial checks for some important characters in 21 crosses resulting fro...

The production potential of four different cropping system were assessed for two successive years in field conditions during 2008-2010 at ICAR-CAZRI, Jodhpur. Among the four different cropping systems evaluated, based on their production potential, ladyfinger-tomato-melon system gave the highest total yield (117.2 t ha-1) under drip irrigation syst...

Of late, grafting has emerged as an effective tool in successful vegetables production, though it is in practice for centuries in woody perennial crops, by exploiting its potentials primarily to tackle the issues prevailing under intensive vegetables production system such as soil pests/ pathogens. However, recent researches have demonstrated that...

Correlation analysis in tomato revealed that per cent fruit set, number of primary branches, number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight, total soluble solids, fruit length, fruit firmness, number of flower trusses per plant and pericarp thickness were positively and significantly associated with yield per plant. Path analysis revealed that av...

A study on genetic diversity was conducted in twenty four tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)genotypes. It revealed that a considerable amount of genetic diversity among 24 genotypes of tomato. The genotypes were grouped into eight clusters based on yield contributing traits. Cluster VI contained maximum number of genotypes (8)followed by cluster V an...

A genetic parameters like range, mean, phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) and genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV), heritability, genetic advance as percent of mean was studied in tomato genotypes. All the characters studied revealed high PCV than GVC which indicates that there is less influence of environment on alteration of these char...

Twenty one F 1 crosses of Manjarigota type of brinjal in a line X tester (mating design) involving seven lines and three testers were evaluated for general combining ability (GCA) of the parents and specific combining ability (SCA) of the crosses for various quantitative characters. Combining ability analysis revealed that two lines viz, IIHR-574 (...

Onion (Allium cepa. L) belongs to family Alliaceae, is one of the most important bulbous vegetable crop cultivated extensively in India. India ranks first in area (1.06 million hectares) in the world and second in total production with 15.11 million tonnes after China (Anon., 2011). Maharashtra is leading state with an area 4.15 lakh hectare with t...

The present study was carried out to know the performance of parents and their hybrids for different traits attributing for yield in Manjarigota type of brinjal at the Division of Vegetable Crops, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hessaraghatta, Bangalore during the period between July-2010 to May-2011. Among the parents used for i...

The present study was carried out to know the performance of parents and their hybrids for different traits attributing for yield in Manjarigota type of brinjal at the Division of Vegetable Crops, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hessaraghatta, Bangalore during the period between July-2010 to May-2011. Among the parents used for i...