[Himachal GK] Horticulture in Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh has been endowed with a wide range of agro climatic conditions due to which a large number of horticulture commodities like fruit crops (from temperate to sub tropical), flowers, vegetables, mushrooms, hops, tea, medicinal & aromatic plants etc. are successfully grown here. Amongst the fruit crops, perhaps all kind of fruits grown in the country, except those which are grown in the warm humid coastal regions, can be produced in the State. Depending upon the agroclimatic conditions and the suitability of a particular area for the growing of specific fruit crops in that area, the State is broadly divided into four agroclimatic zones as described in the table below :

Horticulture Zones in Himachal Pradesh.
S.No	ZONE DESCRIPTION	ELEVATION RANGE (meters amsl)	RAINFALL (cms)	SUITABLE FRUIT CROPS
1.	Low Hill and Valley areas near the plains	365-914	60 - 100	Mango, Litchi, Guava, Loquat, Citrus Fig, Ber, Papaya, Early varieties of Grapes, Jack Fruit, Banana, Low chilling varieties of Peach, Plum and Pear, Strawberry.
2.	Mid Hills (Sub Temperate)	915-1523	90 - 100	Stone Fruits (Peach, Plum, Apricot, Almond), Persimmon, Pear, Pomegranate, Pecan nut, Walnut, Kiwi Fruit, Strawberry.
3.	High Hills and Valleys in the interiors (Temperate)	1524-2742	90 - 100	Apple, Pear (Soft), Cherry, Almond, Walnut, Chestnut, Hazel- nut, Strawberry.
4.	Cold and Dry Zone (Dry Temperate)	1524-3656	24 - 40	Apples, Prunes, Drying type of Apricot, Almond, Chilgoza, Pistachionut, Walnut, Hazel-nut, Grapes and Hops.

In addition to fruits, vegetable and flower cultivation is undertaken for off season supplies to the plains, while the mushroom cultivation is being taken up even by the landless for the augmentation of their income. Beekeeping is a necessary activity adjunct to the horticulture industry, which besides providing pollinating agents for improvement of fruit set and productivity, also results in the production of economic apiculture products like honey and bee wax. The horticulture industry has, therefore plays a great role in the amelioration of the rural economy of the State with respect to:

• generation of sources for cash income to the rural people,
• generation of employment opportunities in the pre and post harvest sectors of the horticulture industry,
• provision of nutritive foods in the form of fruits, vegetables, nuts, mushrooms, honey, etc.,
• satisfaction of the aesthetic needs of the people, and
• development of a sustainable system of permanent agriculture in the hilly areas.

Area under different Fruits : (In Hectare)

S.No	CROP	Year
		2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
1	Apple	84112	86202	88560	91804	94726	97438	99564	103644	103644
2	Plum	8316	8335	8360	8396	8428	8420	8456	8530	8530
3	Peach	4861	4966	5000	5134	5175	5170	5195	5181	5181
4	Apricot	2897	2947	3034	3178	3230	3392	3444	3556	3556
5	Pear	7519	7564	7596	7662	7561	7405	7382	7333	7333
6	Cherry	292	302	313	345	374	405	453	492	492
7	Kiwi	105	111	113	118	120	128	128	120	120
8	Pomegranate	495	585	636	759	936	1085	1263	1709	1709
9	Olive	54	54	54	54	53	51	51	48	48
10	Persimmon	307	332	358	371	397	407	418	421	421
11	Strawberry	27	27	57	57	55	55	57	54	54
12	Almond	5715	5732	5766	5784	5701	5647	5610	5543	5543
13	Walnut	4651	4729	4785	4832	4718	4672	4628	4607	4607
14	Picannut	562	627	646	698	747	764	786	876	876
15	Hazelnut	11	12	13	14	15	13	13	13	13
16	Orange	7844	7906	8033	8178	8359	8405	8577	8554	8554
17	Malta	909	932	968	1013	1113	1186	1293	1419	1419
18	k.Lime	9132	9188	9336	9528	9531	9628	9824	10126	10126
19	Galgal	2322	2322	2338	2345	2316	2315	2303	2244	2244
20	Other Citrus	54	54	54	54	54	54	53	53	53
21	Mango	35144	36215	37408	38370	37840	38444	38681	39568	39568
22	Litchi	3107	3362	3539	3759	3900	4060	4272	4572	4572
23	Guava	2194	2201	2215	2235	2218	2236	2228	2237	2237
24	Aonala	615	908	1120	1313	1475	1710	1901	2069	2069
25	Jackfruit	284	328	376	432	457	524	576	651	651
26	Papaya	204	216	228	233	230	230	223	216	216
27	Loquat	67	69	70	70	69	69	68	66	66
28	Others	641	677	692	709	704	716	707	672	672
	Total	182441	186903	191668	197445	200502	204629	208154	211295	214574