Floriculture is growing plants for its beautiful flowers. Demand of flowers is increasing day-by-day because change in human attitude towards social and religious values. Flowers are now used in almost all the functions in India due to which its domestic demand is rapidly increasing. International demand of cut-flowers soars up specially during X-mas and Valentine day. Flowers like roses, gerbera, carnation, gladiolus, chrysanthemum, orchids and lilies are in great demand. Annual growth potential of floriculture industry is about 25-30%. This rapid rate is based on its export potential. The market is vast and sky is the limit for export of Indian cut flowers.

India being a tropical moderate country, is a treasure house of ornamental plants. The inter-national floriculture market trade is estimated to be Rs. 125,000 crores of which cut flowers accounts for about Rs. 80,000 crores. Out of this, India is having only 300 crore business. Hence, there is a good scope to increase its share in the international business.

Floriculture can be done in open fields or in polyhouses. However, culture in polyhouses is preferable as it provide artificially controlled environment in which threat from diseases, insects, high temperature, intense light, heavy rains, etc. are minimized. Hence, flowers are produced round the year without any seasonal constraint. Floricultures in polyhouses are of two types -

A- Soil Culture : Plants are grown in soil.

B- Soilless/hydroponic Culture : Plants are grown in pots without soil. Coco-pit/saw dust/sand is used in pots in place of soil. Nutrients and water are supplied through pipe or drip from outside. Hydroponically produced flowers are good in quality and fetch maximum price in the market.

Floriculture industry require persons of followings categories :-

a) Skilled workers : Persons trained in manual work like cutting/harvesting of flowers, packaging, transport and storage in cold chambers.

b)        Junior Technicians : Class X pass with 6 months to one year training in techniques of floriculture, hydroponic/soil culture, packaging & storage, construction & maintenance of pipe line, sprinkler, drip, cold storage, etc.

c) Senior Technicians/Floricul-turists : Essential qualification for the post is B.Sc. in Agriculture/Floriculture/Botany with specialization in polyhouse/greenhouse, drip irrigation and fertigation, hydroponic culture, transportation, sales, marketing and exports. Knowledge of computer is desirable.

d)        Scientist/Scientific Officer/Manager : Persons having M.Sc./Ph.D. in the field of agriculture/floriculture/micro-biology/virology with specialization in polyhouse/green house, modern techniques of irrigation and fertigation, hydroponic culture, sales, marketing and exports.

Self-employment opportunity-There is a good self-employment opportunity in this field. Small scale floriculture industry can be established with limited resources through which one can be gainfully employed. This industry has very high employment generation and foreign exchange earning potential.

List of some Floriculture Industries of India that can provide employment

â  Pudumjee Plant Laboratories Ltd., Pune.

â  Sharda Farms, Nasik.

â  Sahil Agro and Farm Products, 24-Kapashera, Delhi.

â  Al-Falah Blossoms Limited, A-22, Green Park, Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi.

â  Shreyash Blooms, Raghu Ganj, Chawri Bazar, Delhi.

â  Indus Floritech Ltd., Hyderabad.

â  Jagdambi Agri Genetics Ltd., Hyderabad.

â  Neha International Ltd., Pune.

â  Praz Agro-Vision Ltd., Pune.

â  Eden Park Agro Products (P) Ltd., Pune.

â  Agri-expo Biotech (I) Ltd., Bombay.

â  Nagarjuna Agritech Ltd., Bangalore.

â  Global Industries Ltd. Delhi.

â  Sri Vasavi Florex Ltd., Bangalore.

â  Nath Biotech Ltd., Aurangabad.

â  Varlak Agrotech Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore.

â  Eden Agro Flora (Aop), Bangalore.

â  Turbo Industries Ltd., Punjab.

â  Florence Flora, Krishna Apart, Basappa Road, Bangalore.

â  Horizon Flora (I) Ltd., Induri, Pune.

â  Century Flowers, Pune.

â  Birla Floriculture, Shirgaon, Pune.

â  Cooper Agro Products (P) Ltd. Sahney Sujan Park, Pune.

â  Kumar Biotech, Pune.

â  Samarth Greentech, Bhawani Peth, Pune.

â  Deccan Flora base, Pune.

(The List is indicative)

List of some institutions/universities that offer courses in Floricultures -

â  IARI, New Delhi.

â  National Centre for Mushroom Research and Training, Solan, H.P.

â  Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat.

â  Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi.

â  Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur.

â  Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar.

â  Shere-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture, Srinagar.

â  University of Agriculture Sciences, Bangalore.

â  Kerala Agricultural University, Trichur.

â  Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidya-peeth, Rahuri, Ahmednagar.

â  Dr. Punjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola.

â  Central Agricultural University, Imphal.

â  G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Tech., Pantnagar.

â  Acharya N.G. Ranga Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University, Hyderabad.

â  University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharbad.

â  Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Palampur.

â  Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Tech., Faizabad.

â  Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

â  Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner.

â  Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbtore.

â  Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.

â  C.S. Azad University of Agri-culture and Technology, Kanpur.

(The author is from Dept. of Botany, R.S. College, Govindpur, Dhanbad)

CAREER prospects in plant   tissue

culture and micropropagation

—    Dr. P.C. Thakur

      Plant tissue culture is a technique through which cells   tissues, organs and even the whole plant can be grown in the laboratory according to one's will throughout the year without seasonal constraint. It is a rapid method of multiplication and thus saves time, money and space. Within very small area large number of plants can be grown. This method is specially important for propagation of plants in which natural propagation is difficult due to absence of viable seeds/propagules. Thus, it is a very powerful tool for propagation and conservation of plants in general and that of rare and endangered species in particular.

Plant tissue culture makes the foundation of plant biotechnology through which high yielding and economically important new plant varieties are developed. This technique can be utilised in the following areas of biotechnology :-

â  Production of haploid plants to speed up breeding technique of crop improvement.

â  Protoplast culture to induce rapid variation and develop-ment of new genotypes/species.

â  Development of transgenic plants.

â  Induction and selection of mutants.

â  Production of somaclonal Variants.

â  Extraction of medicinal drugs, rare biochemicals and production of vaccines.

â  In-vitro flowering and pollination of distantly relatd species.

â  Cryopreservation of germplasm of endangered and rare species.

â  Production of somatic embryos and artificial seed.

â  Micropropagation.

Tissue culture technique for clonal propagation called micropropagation is the most advanced and perhaps the most exploited area of plant tissue culture. Through this technique, large number of plants are propagated in short span of time within a limited space round the year without seasonal limitations. The plants thus developed are disease free and true to its parental type. Through natural propagation characters of elite plant are changed due to which superiority of the variety is gradually diluted. But micropropagation conserves all the characters of an elite plant exactly similar to its parent. Thus, micropropagation is the most commercialised sector of plant tissue culture in which enormous job opportunities are waiting. Usually three types of jobs are available in plant tissue culture organizations :

Post : (a) Junior Technician

Essential qualification : Class XII with six months training in tissue culture techniques.

Post : (b) Senior Technician/Technical Assistant

Essential qualification : B.Sc. in biotechnology/botany with plant issue culture as a major subject.

Post: (c) Scientific Officer/    Scientist

Essential qualification: B.Tech/M.Sc. in biotechnology with specialization in plant tissue culture.

M.tech (Biotech.)/Ph.D. in the field of plant tissue culture is desirable.

Some of the organizations where career in plant tissue culture can be started are :

A) Research Institutions:

a) Government: Research establishments of CSIR, IIHR, IARI, ICAR, DRDO, BARC, etc. Some of the good institutions are-Regional Plant Resource Centre, Bhubaneswar, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi, Rubber Research Institute, Kerala, Sugarcane Research Institute, Coimbatore, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow etc.

b)        Private : Some of the private research institutions where career can be started are - Thapar Corporate R&D Centre, Patiala, SPIC Science Foundation, Chennai, EID Parry & Co. Bangalore, Excel (I) Ltd. Bombay, Hindustan Lever Ltd. Bombay, Indo-American Hybrid Seeds, Bangalore, Rallis (I) Ltd., Bangalore, Tata Tea, Kerala, Bio-Control Research Lab (Pest Control (I) Ltd.), Bangalore, Deejay Hatcheries, Bangalore, etc.

B) Universities: Almost all universities of India require plant tissue culture technicians, scientists and teachers.

C) Tissue Culture Industry/Commercial Micropropagation Laboratory : In India there are many plant tissue culture industries that appoint technicians and scientific officers. List of some of these industries are :-

â  Pudumjee Plant Laboratories, Pune.

â  Nath Biotech Ltd., Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

â  Indo-American Hybrid Seeds, Bangalore.

â  Novartis (I) Ltd., Mumbai.

â  A.V. Thomas & Company, Cochin.

â  Harrison & Malabaram Ltd., Bangalore.

â  Beena Nursery (P) Ltd., Trivandrum.

â  SPIC Agro Biotech, Coimbatore.

â  Pioneer Seeds Co. Ltd., Delhi.

â  Inter Continental Sterling, Ahmedabad.

â  Indo-Dutch, Faridabad.

â  Kalindi Biotech, Rishikesh.

â  Agrigene International Pvt. Ltd., Shimla.

â  Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co. Ltd. Mumbai.

â  Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd., Jalgaon.

â  ITC Agro Tech Ltd., Secunderabad.

Self-employment opportunity-Increasing demand of disease free and superior quality propagules of plants has created bright prospects for self-employment in the field of tissue culture and micropropagation. Tissue cultured plants have great export potential also. A small micropropagation unit can be established in limited resources through which one can be gainfully employed commanding all respects from the society.

List of some universities/institutions that offer courses in biotechnology/plant tissue culture and micropropagation :-

l   IIT, Kharagpur, Delhi, Bombay.

l   Anna University, Chennai.

l   VIT, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.

l   Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.

l   Devi Ahilya University, Indore.

l   G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Tech. Pantnagar, U.P.

l   Goa University, Goa.

l   Banasthali Vidyapeeth, Rajasthan.

l   Calicut University, Kozhikode.

l   Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

l   Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

l   MS University Baroda, Vadodara.

l   Madurai Kamraj University, Madurai.

l   Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi.

l   Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribag.

l   Tezpur University, Tezpur.

l   University of Jammu, Jammutawi.

l   Pondicherry University, Pondicherry.

l   University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad.

l   Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.

l   Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur.

l   Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla.

l   Punjab University, Chandigarh.

Author:
Dr. P.C. Thakur