Floriculture Industries, Opportunities and Challenges in Indian Hills

The hill regions of India include Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Uttarakhand and the North Eastern region (NE) comprising states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim, has been identified as a potential area for the development of floriculture owing to its diverse geo-climatic conditions and floral biodiversity. The existing flower crops in NE region include orchids, roses, lilies, bulbous ornamentals, bird of paradise, gerbera, marigold, tuberose, begonia, dahlia, etc. Out of 1331 species of orchids reported, 856 species are found in this region including rare and endangered species of other ornamentals also. State wise floricultural activities, infrastructure, marketing and transport facilities, constraints, opportunities and relevant strategies discussed in details for the region.

1. Floristic trade of cut flowers, cut foliage and potted flowering and foliage plants 2. Production and sale of seeds, bulbs, corms, rhizomes, tubers and tuberous roots of ornamental plants 3. Plant nursery business and production of tissue culture raised plants 4. Production of flower perfumes, essential oil, attar and concrete 5. Production of dried flowers and plant parts 6. Landscaping and turf grass industry

Floriculture Activities in Hilly States
Assam: The floriculture sector in the state is in a nascent stage at present while the market holds great potential. Arunachal Pradesh: Diversified climatic zones of Arunachal Pradesh are congenial for almost all the flowers grown in India, but the State Department of Horticulture is emphasizing on cultivation of top ten cut flowers like gerbera, anthurium, rose and carnations, etc (Table 4). Commercial cultivation of these flowers has been successful, opening a huge prospect for State to emerge as a major producer of fresh cut flowers. At present, area covered under floriculture is about 1220 ha, producing about 286 million stems. In addition to these, the popularity of flowering potted plants and ornamental foliage are ever increasing. Floriculture development in Arunachal Pradesh is mainly confined to orchid cultivation, which has been promoted in the state as a cash cropas well as a supplement crop in Jhum and wastelands by Forest Department. About 1331 species of orchids are reportedly available in India, of which 856 species are reportedly found in North East India, and about 600 species Table 2 Recommended varieties under different flowers for hills (De, 2011;De, 2014)  , and also at Itanagar, has been multiplying the Cymbidium planting material through tissue culture for distribution among the growers as well as for conducting demonstration trials.
Most of the flowers produced are sent to Guwahati (Assam) by road, from where they are further transported to different parts of India for sale, a part of which is exported to several destinations. With streamlining of transport system (Rail, Road, Air) in the State, new avenue for improved marketing will emerge for such highly perishable produce. Arunachal Pradesh with its high quality produce and low cost of production would make its produce most competitive.
International Journal of Horticulture, 2016, Vol.6, No.13, 1-9 http://ijh.biopublisher.ca   Nagaland is rich in flora and fauna. Commercial flower production is being given a major impetus by the government. Women are in the forefront in floriculture activities in the state have enthusiasm in growing quality flowers like anthurium. Nagaland's main production centers are Kohima, Dimapur, Mokokchung and Wokha. The infrastructure required such as land development, establishment of collection centre, refrigerated vans and developing a nursery.
Ramesh flowers, India's largest exporter of dry flowers, sourcing some flowers from Nagaland. Government official is used to impart training to the people to make dry flowers. They have a tradition of making beautiful accessories from bamboo for the flower industry.
A Blossoms Florist society has been developed by Mrs. Akruzo Pusture, a house wife and amateur flower grower from Nagaland after visiting the Netherlands and Germany, auction and breeding houses in Holland. The society is now initiated to grow flowers under hi-tech polyhouse for the export market. The project is situated at Dimapur district, where the temperature ranges from 15°C in winter to 34°C in summer with an average rainfall of 1500 mm and humidity of 80%, highly suitable for anthurium. The project area is also well connected by rail head, air port and National Highway 39.The society has plans to set up 14 hi-tech polyhouses covering an area of 14,112 m 2 in 2005-06.
Two model greenhouses for rose and lilium have been set up in Mokokchung and Wokha districts. Kohima a hilly area with temperate climate is congenial for growing of liliums, orchids, statice, carnation, foliage plants and dry flowers.
Sikkim:The traditional floriculture of Sikkim is the cultivation of orchids and anthurium (Nayar and Sastry, 1999). However, several other flowers like rose, alstroemeria, zantedeschia, carnations, gerbera, bird of paradise, heliconia, spray chrysanthemums have also been introduced in the State (Table 2). Cymbidium is another important flower of the State. A Cymbidium Development Centre has been established to promote various activities like varietal screening, multiplication, technology up-gradation, training and skill development of farmers. Four laboratories under private sector and two under public sector have been set up for production of cymbidium clones. To further promotion production of Cymbidium, East Sikkim has been declared Agri-Export Zone. Sikkim has successfully established a number of RoseVillages, a concept which is unique to this region. As per this concept, the whole lot of farmers in a village are encouraged to adopt rose cultivation on commercial scale, using scientific inputs provided by the State Department of Horticulture under the Horticulture Mission. Another activity which is worth mentioning is establishment of a joint venture between the State Department of Horticulture and Florance Flora of Bangalore for production and export of anthurium cut flowers. As a result of these interventions, the economy of the farmers has improved. Cymbidium farmers are now earning an average annual income of Rs. 35,000-Rs. 40,000/-from a unit of 500 plants. Likewise, each rose grower earns Rs. 80,000-Rs. 100,000/-from an area of 500 sqm. Gerbera farmer's have recorded an earnings of Rs. 25,000-Rs. 30,000/-from an area of 134 sqm. The average income per unit area probably is the highest in floriculture, ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs. 200 per sqm.
Currently about 210 ha of land area has been brought under commercial flower production. Oriental lilium targeting Gulf, Japan and U.K, Alstroemeria for other SAARC countries, carnation for SAARC countries and Gulf, potted plants and flower bulbs are other items grown in the state. Flower bulbs are basically being multiplied for the European market. The main production centers are Assam Linzay, Pakyong, Majitar, Namchi and Sadamturukbumbuk. Jorethang, Melli, Sumbhuk and Turuk are the main production bases, which provide for exportable surpluses of floriculture produce to nearby markets such as Kalimpong and Siliguri.

Jammu and Kashmir:
The practice of flower cultivation at commercial scale by individual growers is at its infancy stage in the State; however commercial cultivation is gradually increasing with boost from the State government. At present, around 300 hectares of land in the state is under cultivation of different varieties of flowers, particularly Marigold, Jasmine, Aster, Rose, Chrysanthemum and Tuberose. In the recent years, the state has been exporting flowers worth Rs. 2 crore annually and more than 300 people are associated with this sector.
With the recent launch of the Tulip Garden, the State is set to become the Tulip hub of the country. Currently around 50 exotic varieties of Tulips imported from Holland are produced in over 90 acres of land, producing around 3 million Tulipbulbs annually. Other varieties grown in the State include Gladioli grown in Jammu, Kud, Chenani, Poonch and Rajouri Districts in Jammu, and Srinagar; Budhgam and Anantnag in Kashmirregion, producing around one lakhstems annually; Lily is grown in Panchari, Sudhmahadev (during winter), Poonch and Rajouri (during summer) in Jammu region; and Srinagar, Budhgam, Pulwama in Kashmir region.
Uttarakhand: Floriculture is fast picking up in Uttarakhand as farmers adopt it a lucrative option as against the

Infrastructure, Transport and Marketing
There are only a few organized sector commercial floriculture units in the region such as ICL Flora Exitica, Guwahati, Nana-Koo Agro Pvt. Ltd., Ziri-Hapoli and Oriental Orchids Ltd. (Tissue culture unit), Imphal. The supporting infrastructure for commercial floriculture is presently lacking in the region. The region has one State Agricultural University and a Central Agricultural University (Assam) and a Central Agricultural University (Manipur) and a network of ICAR Research Centres for providing the technology support, though at present little floriculture technology is available with them. Lack of proper transport facilities in one of the major reasons for a poor level of commercial floriculture activity in the region. There are a number of National Highways in the region connecting the state capitals. The rail network in the region is mainly concentrated in the state of Assam. AAI and NEC have together been funding upgradation of these airports. Guwahati airport is the only airport in the region with night landing facilities. The market infrastructure in the region is very poor. There are no integrated post-harvest management facilities, collection centres or auction centres. In many states, there are no retail markets for flowers, even the major market related activities are confined primarily to the respective state capitals. The only active flower markets in the region are Sukreshwar Ghat (Guwahati) and Ima Market (Imphal). There are no cold storages for flowers in the region.
The cut flowers produced in different parts of Himachal Pradesh are being sold through different marketing channels viz. commission agents, wholesalers, registered companies, cooperatives or retailers to different markets. The main cut flower markets are located in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jallandhar and Pathancot.
In Jammu & Kashmir, Department has linkage with departments and institutions engages in marketing of floriculture products at National and International level including Agriculture product Export Development Agency (APEDA), New Delhi.