Climate-Resilient Horticulture: Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies

Climate change, a global phenomenon, has attracted scientists to contribute in anticipatory research to mitigate adverse impacts, which are more important for horticulture, considering that the scenario is in the midst of revolution, reaching the production level of 250 million tonnes in India. Impacts of climate variability have, invariably, profound influence on production and quality. An understanding of the impacts and relevant adaptation strategies are of foremost importance to sustain the productivity and profitability of horticulture crops in the climate change scenario, which necessitates synthesis of current knowledge to develop strategies for adaptation and mitigation to achieve climate-resilient horticulture. The book Climate-resilient horticulture: adaptation and mitigation strategies addresses the effects of climate change on different horticultural crops and focuses on the adaptation strategies based on the scientific knowledge generated by the experts in different agro-climatic regions in India. Issues have been covered in various chapters to make this book a treasure of knowledge in horticulture vis-a-vis climate change. Some of the crops included in the book are apple, grapes, cashew, banana, litchi, mango, coconut, oil palm, potato, tomato, cucurbits and flowers. In addition to strategies to be adapted in these crops, various other important aspects like carbon sequestration, pests and diseases, and urban landscaping are also covered in the book. Information on climatic risks and adaptation options for resilience in horticultural crops and future strategies and information on pest and disease dynamics on horticultural crops in relation to climate change and available mitigation strategies have also been documented. The book is edited by Dr H P Singh, a visionary leader, and his colleagues, which will be highly valuable to research workers, students, policy planners and farmers to understand and checkmate the adverse effect of climate change, so as to convert weakness into opportunity.

Dr. Harish Chandra Prasad Singh, with his career spanning 41 years, has outstandingly contributed to research, development and academics. Dynamic leadership of Dr Singh has earned him national and international recognitions. He is the recipient of three international and 35 national awards and nine fellowships, including the fellowship of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Dr Singh is affiliated with many professional associations/societies as chairman, president, vice-president and general secretary. He has authored and edited 57 books, 30 bulletins, 50 reports and more than 300 scientific papers. He is the editor-in-chief of International Journal of Innovative Horticulture, published by CHAI. .Currently, he is the Founder and Chairman, Confederation of Horticulture Associations of India (CHAI).

Dr. Nadipynayakanahally Krishnamurthy Srinivasa Rao, Ex Principal Scientist (Plant Physiology.) and Emeritus Scientist at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore, has contributed significantly to the understanding of the mechanism of abiotic stress tolerance in horticultural crops. He has significantly contributed in identifying genotypes tolerant to abiotic stresses. Dr. Rao has developed a good laboratory for climate change research at IIHR, Bangalore. He devotes his full time in planning and developing various state-of-the-art facilities. He has published more than 60 scientific papers in national and international journals and he has 7 book chapters to his credit.

Dr. Kodthalu Seetharamaiah Shivashankara is a Principal Scientist in the Division of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore. He has got more than 20 years of research experience in various horticulture-related fields. Dr. Shivashankara has more than 30 research articles in various peer reviewed national and international journals. He has the experience of working in international laboratories like Food engineering lab of NFRI, Tsukuba, Japan and at Lethbridge Research centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Lethbridge, Canada in the area of antioxidant phytonutrients and fruit volatile flavours. He has been awarded the Fellow of International College of Nutrition, by the International College of Nutrition, Alberta, Canada.