Horticulture: Principles and Practices (Recommended Text as per 5th Deans Committee)

This book presents an extensive and comprehensive overview of the fundamental principles of Horticulture, progressing gradually to more advanced technologies. It serves as a valuable resource, providing ready tips for undergraduate faculty. The first four chapters cover broad descriptions of the fundamentals in horticultural sciences and the institutions dedicated to fostering interest in the field. Chapters 5 through 14 delve into the tools, inputs, and techniques used in crop management. Chapters 16 through 19 examine the application of growth regulators, protected cultivation, good agricultural practices, and organic horticulture. In light of increasing pollution, chapter 20 addresses the growing need for individuals to produce their own vegetables. Chapter 21 provides insight into applied biotechnology in horticulture, including micropropagation and genetic engineering. Chapters 22 and 23 explore the scope of aesthetic aspects of horticulture. Horticulture therapy, a novel approach to addressing current health concerns, is explained in chapter 24. Chapter 25 discusses the impact of climate change and human behavior on crop growth and stress conditions. Lastly, chapters 26 and 27 focus on post-harvest handling and value addition to reduce the estimated 20-30% of horticulture produce lost as post-harvest loss.

Dr. J. Auxcilia is Ph.D in Horticulture from TNAU, Coimbatore from 1988-1998. She was the recipient of ICAR Junior merit fellowship and awarded with two gold medals and one prize for Ph.D (Hort.). Totally she won 16 awards/prizes as a merit of her research and education activities. Handled more than 35 UG courses, 10 PG and Ph.Dcourses and guided 7 students as Chairperson at PG and Ph.D level. She has published 35 research papers, two books including a catalogue on papaya, two e-books and two e-guides. She has expertise on Papaya and Banana. Germplasm curator for papaya and banana and involved in resistant breeding programme. Acted as National level lead scientist for papaya projects under ICAR- AICRP (Fruits) programme. Released varieties TNAU Co. 8 papaya, Co. 2 banana, CoTH.1 tomato, COBH. 1 brinjal, CoBgOH. 1 bitter gourd, as one of the scientists. Developed DUS guidelines for papaya (PPV & FRA). Contributed for technologies viz., bunch cover for banana,stem injector for banana, bud pollination technique in tomato etc.

Dr. Veena Amarnath is Ph.D in Horticulture from G.B.Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. She has a vast experience in teaching, research and extension. She worked in TNAU and was one of the scientists responsible in release of bhendi hybrid COBH.1 and trained and empowered about 200 farm women in hybrid bhendi seed production with the help of DST- GOI funded project. Dr. Amarnath is author of a book on 'Nursery and Landscaping'. She has written a chapter for a book on 'Vegetable Science'. She has 17 international and national publications to her credit. Presently she is a Horticulture Consultant.

Dr. S. Parthiban pursued his B.Sc (Agri.) in Annamalai University, Chithambaram. M.Sc(Hort.) and Ph.D at HC & RI, TNAU, Coimbatore from 1886 to 1998. He has contributed for release of the varieties viz., Sapota- PKM - 4 (SA), Sapota - PKM - 5 (SA), PKM-1 Manila Tamarind (MT) and PKM - 1 Davana. He developed a Technology for 'High Density Planting' in Mango referred as 'Double Hedge row planting system' for mechanized cultivation. Handled more than 63 UG and PG courses. Assembled 14 types of avocado, 21 types of jack fruit, 150 varieties of grapes and new-ecotypes of panneer grapes viz., Chinthamani, and introduced new improved and high yielding grape varieties viz., Red Globe, Medika and A18-3.

Dr. V.P. Santhi, pursued her B.Sc. (Hort.), M.Sc. (Hort.) and Ph.D at TNAU from 1987 to 2004. She was the recipient of ICAR Junior merit fellowship for M.Sc. (Hort.) and awardee of CSIR-Senior Research Fellowship for Ph.D Hort. Totally she won 7 awards as a merit of her research and education activities. She was specialized on fruit crops especially on Banana, Guava, Pomegranate and Pear and temperate vegetables on French beans, Garlic and Carrot. Handled more than 53 UG courses.The varieties released are French bean - Ooty -3, Garlic Ooty 2 and Butter Pear Ooty -1. Assembled 72 types of garlic, 36 types of French bean, 32 guava and 18 pomegranate in germplasm for further conservation.

Dr. K. Indhumathi, pursued her B.Sc.(Agri.), M.Sc.(Hort.) and Ph.D at TNAU, Coimbatore from 1996-2009. She was the recipient of TNAU Merit scholarship for B.Sc.(Agri.), KIADEF fellowship for M.Sc. (Hort.) and ICMR fellowship for Ph.D. She has specialized in Floriculture and Medicinal crops. She has published 15 research papers, 14 book chapters and two books. She has handled two projects on Nutrition garden demonstration in tribal areas of Dharmapuri district.

Dr. L. Pugalendhi, is Ph.D in Horticulture from TNAU, Coimbatore, recipient of more than 40 externally funded projects worth of Rs.500 lakhs. Assembled 800 germplasm accessions of vegetable crops. Developed 19 horticulture crop varieties/hybrids in vegetable crops and a few others. To his merit, developed brinjal grafting technique for the first time in India to mitigate soil borne pathogens, besides grafting techniques in bitter gourd and cucumber. Developed technologies for protected cultivation of tomato, capsicum etc. Recipient of Lasam Amit Singh Memorial award for outstanding contributions in AICRP Vegetable Crops during 2010. He has handled UG, PG and Ph.D courses for more than 15 years including student's guidance as Chairman.

Dr. M.S. Aneesa Rani is Ph.D in Horticulture, pursued her BSc. (Hort.), M.Sc. (Hort.) and Ph.D from TNAU during 1988 to 2002. She handled 21 UG and 4 PG courses. Recipient of ICAR Junior Merit Fellowship and the prestigious Tamil Nadu State Best Women Scientist Award in 2010, with a total of 8 awards/prizes. A voluminous work on Cashewnut resulted in the development of first F1 hybrid in Cashew. She has contributed for development of five varieties including horticulture and other crops and developed high density planting system for cashew. Published 20 research papers, 5 books, 19 book chapters. Obtained many projects on cashew and Cocoa. Served to the farming community through KVK activities as Professor and Head of Regional Research Station and Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Vridhachalamat TNAU.