~ 25 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2020; SP6: 25-28 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2020; SP6: 25-28 Asheesh Sharma Assistant Professor, Horticulture, J.N.K.V.V. Jabalpur, College of Agriculture, Powarkheda, Hoshangabad Madhya Pradesh, India Narendra Chaudhary Scientist, ICAR-NRCSS, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India Rajnee Sharma Assistant Professor, Horticulture, J.N.K.V.V. Jabalpur, College of Agriculture, Powarkheda, Hoshangabad Madhya Pradesh, India Shobharam Anjanawe Assistant Professor, Horticulture, J.N.K.V.V. Jabalpur, College of Agriculture, Powarkheda, Hoshangabad Madhya Pradesh, India Correspondence Asheesh Sharma Assistant Professor, Horticulture, J.N.K.V.V. Jabalpur, College of Agriculture, Powarkheda, Hoshangabad Madhya Pradesh, India International Web-Conference On New Trends in Agriculture, Environmental & Biological Sciences for Inclusive Development (21-22 June, 2020) Multi storied cropping system in horticulture - An approach for more crop per unit area of land Asheesh Sharma, Narendra Chaudhary, Rajnee Sharma and Shobharam Anjanawe Abstract Monoculture is exceptional, while mixture of species is the rule of nature. Intensive horticultural systems are often based on optimizing the productivity of monoculture. In these system, crop diversity is reduced to one or few species that are generally genetically homogeneous, the planting layout is uniform and symmetrical, external inputs are often supplied in large quantities and monoculture system are widely criticized today for their negative environment impacts. In multi storied cropping system two or more crops of different heights are grown simultaneously on a piece of land in a certain period. A multi storey cropping system accommodates crops of different heights, canopy patterns and root system to maximize use of sunlight, nutrient, sustainable land use and maintain an ecological balance. In this system of cropping, the possibility of more efficient use of resources like sunlight, water, soil and nutrient is leading to increased biological diversity, more crops per unit area and sustainability of production. Keywords: storey cropping, canopy pattern, ecological balance and biodiversity Introduction India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world (Indian Horticulture Database, 2017) [1] . The annual consumption of vegetable and fruit has been increased to meet the nutritional requirement of an estimated 1.5 billion population of India expected by 2030. Although the productivity of vegetable and fruit have increase but it will not be sufficient to feed ever increasing population as a result of increase demand. In India mostly farmers (about 85%) comes under small and marginal farmers. In near future, availability of land for cultivation will be reduce with increasing population and rapid urbanization, hydroelectric project, dams, river, roads, degradation of land due to soil erosion and soil salinity. As per estimate, in India more than 95% holding will be under the category of small and marginal holders by 2050 (Agrawal R.L., 1995) [2] . For solution of this problem, multi storied cropping system will be a potential and efficient option to provide food, nutritional and income security to the growing population of India (Awasthi O.P. et.al., 2008) [3] . This has possible because of the diverse agro climatic condition, enormous biodiversity, wide variation in soil fertility, large cultivable land area in the geographical boundary if India. The improvement of crop productivity is the common aim of farmers and agriculturists. The key to sustainable agriculture probably lies in increased output per unit area together with arable land expansion. However, the recent demographic pressure has forced agricultural planners and development agencies to review the role of multiple cropping as a means to enhance agricultural production, since the extent of suitable agricultural land is static or decreasing (Midmore D.J. et.al., 1993) [4] . The available arable land could be utilized for horticultural produce to achieve nutritional security with sustainable production. Diversified cropping system could be one of the solutions for sustainable productivity and maximum income per unit area of land with maintaining soil fertility. This system is popular in Western Ghats because of space constraint in most of the farms. Multi storied cropping system is most suitable for small and marginal farmers with provide more crop per unit area by efficient using resources (Rahim M.A., 1995) [5] . Agriculture/Horticulture/Silviculture based