Abstract

Grape cultivation is being intensively done in the tropical regions throughout the globe; countries like Brazil and India are leading the way in the tropical grape production. Grape fruit has nutritional and health benefits. The processing of grapes is being done for numerous goods, including wine, raisins, rapeseed oil, jelly, jam, and juice concentrates. Favourable conditions for grape cultivation are hot, dry, and long summers, with optimum temperatures in the range of 15-40 degrees Celsius, rainfall within 500-600 mm, and soil pH around 6.5-7.5. With context to India, there are over 20 grape varieties, out of which 12 are being commercially grown, primarily in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and the Himachal Pradesh regions. Grape cultivators are facing many challenges to make their businesses profitable and sustainable, such as climate change, changing consumer patterns and preferences, labour shortages, increasing input costs, and a lack of required support from the government and other agencies. Technologies like soilless cultivation, digital platforms, smart sensing systems, and DNA-based solutions can help the grape cultivators manage the impact of climate change, disease, fertilizer, pest management, and the development of resistant varieties. The average yield of grapes in India is about 30 tons per hectare. Although the yield of grapes depends on the variety, soil, and climate, if cultivated using scientific techniques, a fully developed orchard can yield about 30 to 35 tonne of grapes. Talking about earning, if its minimum price in the market is Rs. 50/kg and the average yield is 30 tons per hectare, then about Rs. 15 lakh is earned from its production. Even if the cost is taken out of this, the profit is around Rs. 8-10 lakh.