Abstract

It is a well-established fact that the success of fruit-growing industry is mainly dependent upon the fruit nurseries. Nurserymen not only determine the fruit wealth and fruit quality of a region but also influence to a conside- rable extent the economic condition of fruit farming. A large class of the public naturally look upon the nurserymen for guidance on a variety of matters such as the selection of orchard sites, selection of kinds and varieties of fruits and the proper orchard cultural practices. This aspect of the nurserymen's duties are considered so important in some parts of the world that the issue of periodic publications replying to enquiries and organisa- tion of demonstrations and exhibitions are being done through a permanent and important branch of each of the various leading horticultural nursery establishments. Many countries of the world proudly point out the research work carried out entirely by some of the reputed nursery firms, particularly in the sphere of originating new varieties either by breeding or through selection of bud sports, which form in some fruits a fertile source of improve- ment, for or through the proper selection of propagating material. Trading with spurious plants under wrong names and with fanciful claims is unfortu- nately not an unknown feature of the Indian fruit nursery trade.

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