Protected cultivation in India: challenges and strategies

Horticultural crop production is highly dependent on environment, and it is very difficult to get favourable climatic conditions for optimum crop growth and development along with protection against major biotic and abiotic stresses as per the crop requirements under open field conditions. The protected cultivation, also known as Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) or Modified Environment Agriculture (MEA) involves a series of techniques for modification of the natural environment around plants or crops, which totally or partially alter the microclimatic conditions, with the basic aims of improving their productivity, quality and their protection against major biotic and abiotic stresses.