Protected cultivation (Polyhouse) in Haryana: Problems &Prospects
Indiais the largest producer of vegetables in the world next to China; its requirements of vegetables are rapidly increasing because of burgeoning population. The factors such as adverse climatic conditions, high potential of vegetables, fruits and flowers, agro inputs availability, small and fragmented land holdings and increased demand of quality vegetables necessitate the adoption of protected cultivation. Multiple cropping on the same piece of land, increased production and productivity per unit of land, water, energy and labour, high quality and clean products, high water and fertilizer use efficiency, subsidy provision for establishment of high cost infrastructure, round the year employment to the farmers were the major prospective aspects perceived by poly house farmers. While they facedthe problems like population explosion of minute insects like mites white flies, especially the white fly menace, poor quality of cladding material, frequent occurrence of windstorms, hailstorms, lack of cold storage facilities in villages, high cost and problem of nematode infestation were the major serious constraints faced by the poly house growers.The field functionaries may also provide continued technical guidance and quality cladding material since technology being capital as well as care intensivewith special carefor control of white fly and nematode infestations, regarding proper marketing and valueaddition knowledge and skillto farmers for sustainability of poly house cultivation