HORTICULTURE DEVELOPMENT SCENARIO IN KUMAON REGION, UTTARAKHAND

Horticulture is a branch of agriculture that deals with cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc. The horticulture sector plays an important role in the economic development of local people by improving their income and generating employment. The present studyaims to analyze the development and growth in the area, production and productivity of the major fruit crops of the study area for the period of 10 years (2011-12 to 2020-21). For this purpose, the secondary data has been collected from the Directorate of Horticulture, Government of Uttarakhand. This collected data has been analyzed and interpreted in Microsoft Excel and thematic maps are also prepared using QGIS software to visualize the production and area of major fruit crops. The study reveals that the total area under major fruit crops in 2011 was 52783 (H) and 44493 (H) in 2021. Similarly, the total production of major fruit crops in 2011 was recorded to be 298344 (MT), with 289119 (MT) in 2021. The growth rate in 2011-2021 was 15.7(H) and the production growth rate was -3.09(MT). Similarly, the total productivity of major horticulture fruit crops in 2011 was 56.5(H/MT) which increased to 64.9(H/MT) in 2021. Thus, the study demonstrates that the total area under major fruit crop production is decreased but productivity remains higher .This is the main reason for the improvement of the socio-economic condition of the cultivators and other related people.