About The Department
The Department of Horticulture and Plantation Crops promotes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, plantation crops, flowers and spices, and supports farmers through horticultural development schemes, improved planting materials, protected cultivation, micro-irrigation, crop management and post-harvest practices.
🏢 Department Administration
The Deputy Director of Horticulture is the district-level officer listed in the supplied current contact directory. District and block-level horticulture officers support scheme implementation, provide technical guidance to farmers and coordinate field-level activities. Block-level contact details are provided in the directory appended to this document.
🌳 Horticulture in Cuddalore District
The supplied older website text describes Cuddalore as a district known for Panruti Jackfruit and cashew, along with banana, mango, guava, tapioca, chillies, brinjal and other vegetables. It also reports approximately 42,500 hectares under horticultural crops and 325,355 hectares as total cultivated area. These figures are retained as legacy website information and should be confirmed with the Department before being published as current statistics.
| 42,500 ha* | 325,355 ha* |
| Horticultural area reported in older website text | Total cultivated area reported in older website text |
📊 Related Agricultural Statistics — District Hand Book 2025–26
The District Hand Book does not provide a matching current total for horticultural area in the excerpts reviewed. It does, however, record the following irrigated area under relevant crop groups for 2024–2025 in Section 4.3, “Area Irrigated by Crops for the Fasli 1434”. These are irrigated-area figures, not total cultivated area or total horticultural area.
| Crop group as recorded in the Hand Book | Area (ha) | Reference period |
|---|---|---|
| Fruits & Vegetables | 14,730.380 | 2024–2025 |
| Coconut | 1,496.840 | 2024–2025 |
🎯 Key Objectives
- Improve production, productivity and income of horticulture and plantation-crop farmers.
- Promote high-yielding and quality planting materials for fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices and plantation crops.
- Encourage protected cultivation and water-efficient irrigation practices.
- Promote integrated nutrient management, pollination support and eco-friendly pest management.
- Support horticultural mechanisation, post-harvest handling and value addition.
- Facilitate access to eligible State and Central Government schemes and technical guidance.
🌱 Major Schemes and Support Areas
| Major scheme (Policy Note 2026–27) | Important support areas / components |
|---|---|
| 💧 Per Drop More Crop — PM-RKVY | Micro-irrigation systems: 100% assistance for small/marginal farmers; 75% for other farmers. Supplementary water management: 50% support for eligible farm ponds, borewells in safe firkas, pipes and motors. (pp. 119–121) |
| 🌱 National Horticulture Mission (MIDH–NHM) | Area expansion; protected cultivation; mushroom cultivation; water harvesting; beekeeping; rejuvenation of old orchards; chilli cultivation; post-harvest management and marketing infrastructure. (pp. 121–122) |
| 🏡 PM-RKVY — DPR-based Horticulture Projects | Permanent pandal systems and Good Agricultural Practices to promote export-quality mango, guava, tomato, moringa and small onion. (p. 122) |
| 🌳 Agroforestry | Quality planting material and nursery infrastructure for high-value tree species including teak, mahogany, sandalwood, red sanders and vengai. (pp. 123–124) |
| ♻️ Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) | Promotion of organic farming through farmer clusters; individual conditions depend on programme guidelines. (around p. 124) |
| 🍃 National Mission on Natural Farming | Support for adoption of natural farming and associated farmer clusters. (pp. 124–125) |
| 🎋 National Bamboo Mission | Bamboo cultivation and related eligible value-chain activities, subject to notified components. (pp. 125–126) |
| 🌴 National Mission on Edible Oils — Oil Palm | Support for eligible oil-palm cultivation and associated programme components in suitable areas. (around p. 126) |
| 🥬 Crop Diversification Programme | Encourages vegetable cultivation as an alternative to tobacco in covered areas; applicability to Cuddalore must be checked. (p. 123) |
🧑🌾 Farmer Eligibility — General Conditions in Supplied Text
- Farmers owning agricultural land are stated to be eligible, subject to the specific scheme component and current guidelines.
- For project-based components, the supplied text states that lease farmers should have a minimum 10-year lease period.
- Assured irrigation is required for components where water availability is mandatory, such as protected cultivation and certain area-expansion activities.
- Applicants must submit valid documents applicable to the current period and meet the conditions of the relevant scheme.
📄 Documents Listed for MIDH Subsidy Applications
Application form, HORTNET registration, original chitta and adangal, FMB sketch, Aadhaar, registered lease agreement (for lessee farmers), soil and water test reports for cultivation-related components, three passport-size photographs, ration card copy, first-page bank passbook copy, affidavit for components with assistance above ₹50,000, field photographs with beneficiary during implementation for area-expansion/project activities, and a field board displaying the NHM logo after completion for project-based activities.
Document checklist transcribed from the supplied older website text. Confirm the current list and any online registration/application process before publication.
🛠️ Services and Responsibilities
- Guidance on horticultural crop selection, cultivation practices and crop management.
- Information on eligible horticulture and plantation-crop schemes and application procedures.
- Technical support for protected cultivation, micro-irrigation, mulching and integrated nutrient management.
- Guidance on pollination support, eco-friendly pest management and horticulture mechanisation.
- Support for post-harvest handling, grading, cleaning, packing and relevant infrastructure schemes.
- Information on crop insurance, subject to current notified crops, areas and season-specific rules.
📞 District-Level Contact Office
| Officer / Contact | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | V. Sivakumar |
| Designation | Deputy Director of Horticulture |
| Mobile | 9715189181 |
| Office telephone | 04142-291878 |
| ddhcuddalore@yahoo.com | |
| Office address | Not provided in the supplied contact directory — confirm with the Department before publishing. |