Scientific Efforts for Fruit Security: Yield Gap Analysis, Challenges and Future Perspectives

Security of subtropical fruit production, supply to local market and export is given due importance as export earning and farmers profit is linked with it. The process of securing fruit production to supply comes under severe threat due to several reasons; out of which soil and climate, water conservation, rejuvenation of unproductive orchards plays significant role. Scientific and systematic analysis showed differential variance of soil nutrients across mango orchards of subtropical, Uttar Pradesh, India. Histographic distribution of nutrients indicated high frequency level at lower class intervals of nutrients. It has been observed over decades that mango yield is either declining or stagnant at < 10 to rarely 20 t ha^-1. Yield gap in Dashehari and other cultivars of 20 to 30 t ha^-1 pose serious challenge to policy planners, scientist and growers and future perspectives are in demand to sustain yield gap challenge. Enabling unproductive orchards to fruit supply through rejuvenation technology is being implemented at growers’ orchards. New initiative of Valencia orange, Apple and Apple ber in non-traditional areas of subtropical, Uttar Pradesh, India was implemented for fruit security to next 20 to 30 years. Efforts of plantations of high value diversified fruit crops were also included. Sincere scientific efforts of growing strawberry, Mallika, Amrapali, Guava, Jamun, Aonla, Jackfruit, Banana through resource conservation and management was made to ensure subtropical fruit security for future. The critical scientific analysis concluded with the thought of need for constant and sincere efforts to sustain fruit security on hostile soils and climates in subtropics.