Research Priorities

Major Research Areas – The Horticulture (fruits including nuts, vegetables including potato, tuber crops, mushroom, ornamental plants including cut flowers, spices including seed spices, plantation crops and medicinal & aromatic plants) has become a key driver for economic development in many of the states in the country and it contributes 33% to the GDP of agriculture, which calls for technology-led development, where Division of Horticultural Science of ICAR is playing a pivotal role. The research priorities are for Genetic Resource Enhancement and its Utilization, climate resilience enhancing the production efficiency and reducing the losses in Environment friendly manner along with agripreneurship & capacity building of the stakeholders. 
The title of the Sub-scheme is “Technology based support in improvement and management of horticulture crops towards enhanced and sustainable productivity for nutritional security”. 
Key Challenges Addressed –  

• Explorational of biodiversity and acting as repository of genetic resources of various horticultural crops, and to utilize them for crop improvement programmes to overcome various biotic and abiotic stresses, enhance nutritive value and yield.
• Development of improved production technologies for better soil, water and plant health management using advanced ICT tools, integrated biologicals to mitigate climate change effects and residue-free production system.
• Post-harvest management and value-addition in horticultural crops to reduce the post-harvest losses and to ensure food safety & quality besides waste to wealth strategies.
• Dissemination of technologies to the stakeholders and the assessment of its impact through farm trials, capacity building, and to commercialize the technologies and encourage entrepreneurship in the field of horticulture. 
• Strategic research for technology development and production of nucleus, breeder seed and quality/ healthy planting materials of various horticultural crops including those of arid and semi-arid regions through PP mode.

Emerging / Future Areas –

• Development of trait-specific, multiple disease to rescue climate-resilient and bio-fortified varieties and hybrids through utilization of plant genetic resources in horticultural crops.
• Systematic developing India’s Clean plant program aiming at improving horticulture farmers’ access to certified disease-free planting materials.