Vol. 11, Issue 12 (2022)

Author(s):
Aqleema Banoo, Shabber Hussain, FA Shah Khan, Shahnawaz Rasool Dar, Rinchan Dolkar and Rovidha S Rasool

Abstract:
Ladakh is a cold arid desert at an altitude of mostly 3000 m above the sea level. Cold arid Ladakh region experiences more than 300 cloud free sunny days. This solar energy is an asset that can meet all energy needs of Ladakh region. The implementation of the protected cultivation offer immense scope and support small-scale farmers of this cold arid region and also help to improve their livelihood security. Protective cultivation practices adopted in Ladakh regions is a cropping technique wherein the micro climate surrounding the plant is partially/fully controlled, as per the requirement of the plant species grown, during their period of growth and has an ability to produce variety of fresh vegetables even in harsh winter. Different protected cultivation techniques exist and among these protective cultivation practices, greenhouse/polyhouses are extremely useful for round-the-year vegetable cultivation in the Ladakh region.