author(s)
Yuvraj Gopinath Kasal, Satyapal Singh and Shahroon Khan

abstract
Horticulture is central to India’s food security, nutrition and farm incomes. However, the sector is constrained by labour shortages, high post-harvest losses and limited access to appropriate machinery. Recent innovations — precision sensors and decision support, robotics and automation, electrified powertrains, protected-cultivation machinery and modular post-harvest units — can increase productivity, reduce resource use and lower losses. This review synthesizes technological advances applicable to Indian horticulture, quantifies current system metrics (production, losses, infrastructure), evaluates adoption drivers and barriers, and delineates priority R&D and policy actions to achieve sustainable mechanization. Key figures: horticultural production in 2022-23 ≈ 355.48 million tonnes; fruit production 2022-23 ≈ 110.21 million tonnes; India’s cold-storage capacity ≈ 39.4 million MT in ~8,600 facilities; post-harvest losses remain high (variously estimated at ~15-30% for horticultural produce).