Novel Approach to Sustainable Temperate Horticulture

In the current scenario, marked by a continual improvement in living standards, it becomes imperative to boost the productivity as well as the efficiency of agriculture, especially horticulture, which holds the potential for significant economic prosperity aligning with Sustainable Development Goal number 8, "Decent Work and Economic Growth". Modern technological interventions, such as geospatial technology and geographic information system (GIS) technology, can be harnessed to yield effective results in addressing challenges and providing enhanced decision support, particularly in the planning of horticultural resource management. Cultivation and production of fresh produce face several challenges, including prolonged juvenile phases and reproductive cycles with extended breeding periods, creating bottlenecks in the process. The evolving trends in biotechnology offer promising solutions for improving the selection of desirable traits. Biotechnological techniques aimed at improving fruit efficiency encompass tissue culture, induction of genetic variability, germplasm conservation, and molecular breeding/genomics. These methods involve the study of genetic diversity, DNA fingerprinting, and Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) analysis for marker-assisted selection. Over the past few decades, the global population has consistently risen, raising concerns about the ability of the current food system to adequately feed the anticipated 10 billion people in the next 30 years. While this challenge is deemed achievable, certain changes in both food production and consumption systems are essential to ensure sustainability, reduce food loss and waste, and contribute to a global shift toward healthier and more sustainable diets. Implementing sustainable models of crop production represents a significant undertaking. To address the growing food demand amid deteriorating production environments, there is a need for promising technologies and effective management options to enhance productivity.

This book is poised to be a valuable resource for horticultural scientists operating in universities, government agencies, and research centers, offering insights into achieving sustainable cultivation practices for fruits. It stands out as the first of its kind, providing in‑depth knowledge on environmentally friendly methods for cultivating temperate fruit crops, to reduce harmful emissions and pollution. This book will delve into the application of geographic information system (GIS) for estimating horticulture area expansion and crop yield. Additionally, it will encompass recent biotechnological interventions in horticulture, circular agriculture models, and emerging non‑thermal food preservation techniques as significant components.

Features:

• Aims to provide a comprehensive and integrated overview of current techno-statistical techniques employed in horticulture, delving into the associated livelihood benefits derived from the practice.
• Explores the novel geographical trends to identify the site suitability indices of several temperate fruits.
• Offers a comprehensive and integrated exploration of recent trends in biotechnological approaches aimed at enhancing food production, quality, and safety.

Gulzar Ahmad Nayik completed his Master’s Degree in Food Technology from Islamic University of Science & Technology, Awantipora, Jammu and Kashmir, India and his PhD from Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering & Technology, Longowal, Sangrur, Punjab, India. He has published over 90 peer-reviewed research and review papers, authored/co-authored over 60 book chapters, and edited 18 books with Springer, Elsevier, Royal Society of Chemistry and Taylor & Francis. He has also delivered a number of presentations at various national and international conferences, seminars, workshops and webinars. He was shortlisted twice, in 2017 and 2018, for the prestigious Inspire-Faculty Award from the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, India. He was nominated for India’s prestigious National Award (Indian National Science Academy Medal for Young Scientists-2019–20). He also fulfils the roles of editor, associate editor, assistant editor and reviewer for many food science and technology journals. He has received many awards, appreciations and recognitions and holds membership of various international societies and organizations. He is currently editing several book projects for Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, Springer Nature, Royal Society of Chemistry, etc.

Sajad H. Wani is currently working as a Lecturer in the Department of Biotechnology, Government Degree College Shopian, affiliated with University of Kashmir Srinagar- India. Dr. Sajad is a former National Postdoctoral Fellow of Division of Biotechnology, Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar, J&K-India. He has Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Biotechnology from Department of Biotechnology University of Kashmir, J&K, India and has also qualified J&K SET-2010 in Biotechnology. He has been awarded international travel support award by DST to attend 3rd international conference on agriculture and biological science at Qingdao University China. He has been awarded Young Scientist Award and Best Thesis award for his contribution towards the biological sciences in several reputed journals. Further, he is the author of five books and 18 book chapters. In addition, Dr. Sajad has contributed in more than 50 research papers in reputed journals. He is well versed with several Biological techniques: PCR , RT-PCR, Tissue Culture, Cell Culture, Bioevaluation Studies, HPLC, Column chromatography, ELISA, Spectroscopic Techniques and has completed several training courses related to Applied biotechnology from prominent universities and institutes like NBAIR- ICAR, SKUAST-K, CITH-ICAR, etc. Dr. Sajad has presented his research at more than 20 conferences at national as well as international and participated in around 6 workshops.

Vajahat Khursheed completed his Bachelor’s, Master’s & Doctorate Degree in Geography from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, UP, India. Dr. Vajahat is currently working as Lecturer in the Department of Geography, Government Degree College for Women Pulwama, affiliated with University of Kashmir Srinagar- India. Vajahat Khursheed has also qualified JRF in Geography. He has published many peer-reviewed research and review papers. He has also published few book chapters as well. He has also attended few National and International conferences, seminars and workshops.

Dr Mohammad Javed Ansari is currently working as Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany, Hindu College Moradabad, UP, India. Dr Ansari has also worked as Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Protection, College of Food & Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 2010 to 2017. He did his PhD in Biotechnology from Indian institute of Technology Roorkee, India and M.Sc in Botany from Ch. Charan Singh University Meerut, India. Dr Ansari has published over 160 Research/Review articles in high impact factor journals. Dr Ansari has worked as Principal Investigator in many funded projects in King Saud University Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Dr Ansari has participated in many national and international conferences (Abu Dhabi, Belgium, Indonesia, Turkey, USA, Italy, Romania, Germany, Spain, Cuba, Australia, Egypt, Ukraine, Ethopia, Portugal etc.). Dr Ansari is editorial board member of many renowned journals and also member of many international scientific associations and societies. Dr Ansari has supervised many students at master’s level & doctorate level.