eChapters

INTRODUCTION

In the emerging global knowledge economy, a country’s ability to build and mobilize knowledge capital is equally important for sustainable development like the physical and financial capital (World Bank, 1997). The basic component of any country’s knowledge capital is its indigenous technical knowledge (ITK). ITK is the social capital of the local people, their main asset to invest in the struggle for survival, to produce food, to provide for shelter or to achieve control of their own lives. It is the unique, traditional, local knowledge existing within and developed around specific condition of men and women indigenous to a particular geographical area (Ghosh and Sahoo, 2011). It helps to increase the sustainability of development efforts because of its integration process with mutual learning and adaptation, which in turn contributes to the empowerment of local communities.

Introduction

Lithosphere, including the earth’s crust, is helpful in providing the base or medium for sustenance of most life processes and forms, interwoven in fine network interdependencies within themselves and the environment surrounding them i.e. ecosystems. Terrestrial ecosystem contains an important dynamic living matrix termed soil, which is critical for agricultural production and food security. Soil forms the medium for growth and maintenance of a variety of plant species while the plant roots in the soil represent a four dimensional region in space and time of profuse activity relative to the bulk soil, revolving around pH, nutrient, redox potential, and exudate gradients changing as distance from the root increases (Marschner, 1995). The soil region adhering the plant roots is being strongly influenced by the presence of these roots and is characterized by high rates of microbial population and activity and referred as rhizosphere (the soil adhering to plant roots).

Dyes are one of the most important by products of the plants, as they are related with cultural practices, rituals, arts and crafts, fabrics and to satisfy personal embodiment. However, dye yielding plants have not received significant attention (Grover and Patni, 2011). Dye is a substance that has affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied such as textile fibers, foodstuffs and powder. They are organic coloured substances which absorb light in the visible part of the spectrum and have the property of colouring the substrate they are applied to.
 
Colourants which are obtained from plants and natural sources are known as natural dyes. Natural dyes have been traditionally used in most of the countries. These dyes were obtained from roots, leaves and bark (Akhtar et al., 2012). Natural dyes find use in the colouring of textiles, drugs, cosmetics, etc. Owing to their non-toxic effects, they are also used for colouring various food products. In India, there are more than 450 plants that can yield dyes (Siva, 2007).

Abstract

Rice being the major food crop in the world requires a serious attention to protect the crop from variable pest attack under change in climatic scenario. More then 100 species of insects have been recored as rice pest affecting the productivity as well as maintaining sustainability in rice production. Bio-control agents for the control of rice pests are to be systematically evaluted. More than 1500 species of pathogens are formulated as microbiological insecticides. So our current awareness in pest- pathogen-abiotic interactions should be made use in designing the crop protection strategy.

Abstract

Training is essential but expensive. Hence, training impact is a crucial measure. National Agricultural Research System (NARS), India employs about 30000 scientists. To effectively manage such huge scientific-capital, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) establishedCentres for Advanced Faculty Training (CAFT) and National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM). CAFT train faculty of State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), while NAARM trains scientists of ICAR institutes and SAUs. Assessing impact of these training programmes becomes essential. Application of knowledge, skills and attitude (KSA) acquired during training back at job environment is training-transfer that addresses learning, behaviour and results levels of training impact. This chapter critically analyses training-transfer of NAARM and CAFT programmes, suggests empirical framework to enhance impact of NAARM and CAFT programmes and thus contributes to literature. Policy strategies suggested in this paper hold wider applicability.

Pulses, grown on marginal and poor soils under low input management with very low yields, are the integral part of dryland farming systems and cover 12.8% of the total cropped area in Andhra Pradesh. There are no pulse based cropping systems in the state and they are only component crops of cereals or commercial based cropping systems as intercrops or catch crops in between two main crops or as sequence crops after exhaustive cereal or commercial crops raised on residual fertility and receding soil moisture. The important pulse crops grown are Chickpea, Pigeonpea (Redgram), Mung bean (Greengram) and Urd bean (Blackgram) which contribute to 97.7% of total pulse production in the state. Pigeonpea is mostly grown as intercrop under rainfed conditions with crops like sorghum, maize, castor, cotton etc. It is also grown as sole crop and at times, pigeonpea is intercropped with greengram/ blackgram.

Gujarat grows more than half a dozen pulse crops on  7.84 lakh hectares  area with an annual production  of 6.09 lakh tonnes and a productivity of 777 kg/ha. Amongst these, pigeonpea, chickpea, greengram, blackgram, cowpea, mothbean and clusterbean are the important pulse crops grown in the state. Mothbean, greengram and clusterbean are the predominant pulse crops grown in arid region of North Gujarat, though other pulses are also grown on a sizable area. Despite this distinction of being the largest producer, the availability of pulses is far from satisfactory which is evident from the fact that per capita availability has not kept pace with the population increase and has declined to merely 28 g/capita/day as against the mandated minimum and optimum quantity of 80 and 104 g/capita/day, respectively, as per WHO standards. As a result, with 11 per cent of the world’s import, it is also the largest importer of pulses.

Preanesthetic agents are so named because they are usually given to prepare the patient for administration of an anesthetic agent for one or more of the following reasons:

    1.    To reduce the amount of general anesthetic needed and increase the margin of safety.
    2.    To calm the patient so that anesthesia can be administrated without fright or struggling. 
    3.    To reduce secretions of salivary glands (antisialogogue) and mucous glands of the respiratory tract, thus maintaining a free airway. 
    4.    To reduce gastric and intestinal motility and prevent vomiting while the patient is under anesthesia. 
    5.    To block the vagal reflex, thus prevent cardiac slowing or arrest (bradycardia).

Abstract

Stress can be due to both positive as well as negative experiences, which also forms a necessary part of our daily lives. If we consider an evolutionary standpoint stress was necessary for survival (i.e., imagine hunting large prey on which one’s entire tribe is dependent) and in our modern lives also stress is important as it motivates us for the fulfillment of tasks and changes. Pressure is felt from the environment during transition period ( like at the time of high school graduation) and in preparation for some events (like job interview). Although stress can be a motivation tool, too much stress or inability to cope up with stress can have an adverse effect on the health of an  individual. This chapter represents the study on stressors, various sources of stress, outcomes of stress, and various strategies which will help an individual to cope up with stress. The study is supported by case studies which helps in understanding the chapter more clearly.

Abstract

This chapter highlights the need of performance appraisal. It discusses various measures and methods of performance appraisal with respect to organizational goals. Performance counseling, when used as a part of performance appraisal is a strong motivational tool for the employees and results in organizational effectiveness. The issue has been discussed from the perspective of employer and employee

1. Introduction

In the field of sustainable agriculture our main aim to produce high quality, safe and affordable food for ever-increasing worldwide population. Today, global agriculture is at crossroads and this is the consequence of climatic change, increased population pressure and detrimental environmental impacts. Furthermore, agricultural growers and producers have the additional constraints of economic profitability and sustainability. During the last couple of decades excessive amounts of chemicals are used to improve plant health, productivity and for management of plant pathogens, which has disturbed the ecological balance of soil and has led to the depletion of nutrients. Therefore, there has been ever-increasing interest to develop new mechanisms to ensure food security through sustainable crop production system that will supply adequate nutrition without harming the agroecosystem. Plant growth in agricultural soil is influenced by many abiotic and biotic factors. There is a thin layer of soil immediately surrounding plant roots that is an extremely important and active area for root activity and metabolism which is known as rhizosphere.

Introduction

Seabuckthorn (Hippophae Spp) a treasure house of vitamins, belonging to the family Elaeagnaceae, and it is a valuable medicinal plant, since its fruit contain high amount of bioactive substances. It is a thorny, temperate bush, tree and is widely distributed throughout the dry temperate regions of Europe and Asia. As the name indicates Seabuckthorn, the plant grows from sea level to high altitude mountain regions but mainly distributed in higher elevations of Indian Himalayas, from Ladakh (J & K) to Lahaul - Spiti (H.P.), Kumaon and Garhwal in Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh (Chauhan 1999). It is seen under natural conditions Seabuckthorn grows on slopes, well drained soil with silt, river banks, lakes, sea shores & waste lands. It is well adapted to dry conditions. Seabuckthorn the wonder plant of cold arid Himalaya, grows in wastelands, dry rocks and along river belts in Indus, Nubra, Chanthang, Suru, zanskar and Lauhal - Spiti valleys in India (Singh and Chaurasia 2000).

Agriculture encounters a complex dynamic system of natural conditions. The meteorological factors among these natural conditions play a pivotal role so far as agriculture is concerned. The rate of growth and development of a bio-system is largely depending upon its ambient temperature and moisture. The plant productivity per unit area, total production, quality of the produce, operational efficiency as well as econometrics are solely governed by the meteorological parameters. Therefore, their through understanding including the computation and the measurement techniques is absolutely essential. It is no less important to have sufficient workable information on weather phenomena as well as climatic resources to determine realizable potential and an appropriate solution for a number of problems faced in agriculture.

There are some weeds which prefer to in crop field and some of them have a distinct association with some crops.

Abstract

The paper examines some important issues of gender inequity in Agriculture. The issues are women’s contribution to agricultural GDP and their access to agricultural resources such as land, water, credit and technology. The paper also examines gender discrimination in agricultural wages. The paper is in three parts. The first part examines the contribution of women to agriculture in terms of time spent by women on activities and number of women engaged in productive agricultural activities with the help of the data from time use surveys and the National Sample Survey Organization’s Reports and the 2001 census. The second part of the paper then analyses Women’s poor access to land, water, credit and technology that reduces their productivity. The second part also elaborates how the women’s work is undervalued in the economy resulting in a huge amount of unpaid work in family agricultural enterprises and low wages in paid work. The third part explicitly elaborates the adverse consequences of such imbalance in terms of misallocation of resources to unsustainable agricultural production as against sustainable production.

In order to portray the conditions of the migrated rural youth in cities, who otherwise would have been practicing agriculture, a few case studies were conducted to know more about the migrated rural youth, their family background, reasons for migrating, satisfaction after migration, type of support given to the family at the villages, assets created at their village and in the cities, types of problems faced, opinion about the environment, and willingness to go back to their villages for continuing farming. The sample included migrated persons engaged in different jobs in Bangalore city as Hotel workers, Construction Workers, Auto Drivers / Taxi drivers, Security Guards, Garment workers and Vegetable/Fruit Vendors. From each category, five respondents were interviewed by using a simple questionnaire. Following are the case studies.

I. Case Studies on Migrated Rural Youth Working as Building Construction Workers

1. Case of Sri Krishnappa : Muttanna, V.L. Madhuprasad and D. Nanjappa

Sri. Krishnappa S/o Saranappa, aged 30 years from Surapur taluk, Yadagiri district had migrated to Bangalore as a construction labourer. He had completed his primary education and got married at an early age. He has two sons and  two daughters.  After marriage, he continued to live in a pucca house along with his parents, one brother and two sisters.  The family has two acres of dry land, and  farming is main occupation. Desire to earn more money by him and non  co-operation among members of his family are the reasons for Sri Krishnappa’s migration.

Nucleic acids were first discovered in 1868 by Friedrich Meischer. Nucleic acids are high molecular weight polymers that are present in our cells. They  store and transfer genetic material from generation to generation. Knowledge of how genes are expressed and how they can be manipulated is becoming increasingly important for understanding   of nearly every aspect of biochemistry. These macromolecules pass on information for cellular growth and reproduction.  All the genetic information in the cells is called the genome. Every time a cell divides, the information is copied and passed on to the new cells.
 
Nucleic acids fall into two main classes according to the type of sugar they contain: the Deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) and Ribonucleic acids (RNA). Some sections  of  the  DNA  called  genes contain the information to make a protein. RNA translates the genetic information in the DNA to the ribosomes, where the synthesis of proteins takes place.

Carbohydrate metabolism in the cell is essentially the metabolism of glucose and other substances related to glucose in their metabolic processes. The chemical reactions involved in carbohydrate metabolism represents complex groups, sequences, and cycles of reactions which integrate at various points with the reactions concerned in the metabolism of lipids and proteins. The major types of chemical processes involved in carbohydrate metabolism may be grouped as follows: a) Anabolism of starch – Photosynthesis, b) Catabolism of starch, c) Catabolism of glucose – 1. Glycolysis and TCA cycle and 2. Oxidative pentose   phosphate pathway.
 
Plant cells “burn “ glucose for energy. Plants also produce sugars through photosynthesis. This is roughly the reverse of the burning process.

Abstract

India has become not only self sufficient in food grains but has also emerged as net exporter of wheat and rice. Acute famines in India have practically been eliminated, thanks to increased food availability at the national level, improved early warning systems and expanding infrastructure for more rapid transport of food grains and other products to needy areas. However, the existing post management system, strategies and policies don’t seem to match new challenges. Despite government intervention in pricing and procurement of food grains, primarily wheat and paddy, India continues to suffer heavily on account of losses and wastages incurred during the post harvest stages, which are more manmade than natural. Some losses have already occurred before the arrival of food grains in the regulated and wholesale markets and continue till food grains reach their destination. What contribute to continuing losses and wastages are improper post harvest handling, government policies and their implementation, which even stifle growth and modernisation of grain markets and processors.

Abstract

Maintaining grain in good condition in storage requires careful, routine inspection and good storage practices. An integrated approach of several management tools and practice factors are necessary to manage stored grain to prevent deterioration and wastage: This includes:1) harvesting, handling, and storage equipment; 2) initial condition of the grain; 3) grain moisture content; 4) grain temperature; 5) aeration system management ; 6) insect and mold control; and 7) monitoring grain condition. An effective management program greatly enhances the likelihood of maintaining top quality grain. A well- designed and properly operated storage system with adequate aeration capacity, storing only clean grain at the proper moisture content and temperature, sanitizing the bin before loading, checking the grain condition regularly and correcting problems before they get out of hand are critical management strategies that must be implemented to prevent grain damage and possible serious economic loss.

For effective and economic control of pests, besides selection of appropriate plant protection chemicals, application of the chemicals at the most vulnerable growth stage of the pests and use of chemicals at the correct dosages, selection of proper plant protection appliances to carry out the operation is also of vital importance so as to ensure uniform application of the chemicals.
 
Plant protection chemicals are mostly used as sprays and dusts using sprayers and dusters respectively. However, in most of the cases spraying is preferred to dusting. Different types of sprayers and dusters are being used for these operations and in both, there are manually operated as well as power operated equipments and in sprayers there are both hydraulic and pneumatic types of sprayers.

The nature of the pesticide formulations to be used and the purpose for which they are used also determine the type of equipment to be used. Dusters are used for dusting insecticidal dust formulations; sprayers are used for spraying insecticidal liquid formulations; granular applicators are used to apply granular formulations; fumigators are used to apply fumigants to fumigate godowns, warehouses, rat holes etc.; soil injectors are used to inject pesticides at a particular depth of soil under pressure; flame throwers are used to throw flames at specified targets.

Introduction

The term ‘lectin’ was coined by William C. Boyd in 1954 for their property of selectivity (Latin ‘legere’, to pick up or choose). In 1888 H. Stillmark of Russia gave the first description of what we now know as lectin. While investigating the toxic effects on blood of extracts of the castor bean (Ricinus communis), Stillmark observed that the red blood cells were being agglutinated by a protein and gave it the name ‘ricin’. Shortly afterward ‘arbin’ was extracted from Arbus precatorius. Because they were first isolated from plants, lectins came to be known as phytohaemaglutinin. Now it has become clear that lectins are present not only in plants but also in some bacteria, vertebrates and invertebrates. However, lectins are most widely distributed in plants, reported in almost 1000 plant species.

Plant lectins are a very heterogeneous group of proteins; as far as their occurrence within the plant kingdom and distribution over tissues are concerned. They show high degree of heterogeneity with respect to biochemical and physiological roles, because of their widely different carbohydrate binding specificities (Etzler 1986; Rüdiger 1988; Goldstein and Hayes, 1978). Besides the fact that they all exhibit carbohydrate binding activity, most of the plant lectins behave as typical storage proteins (Peumans and Van Damme, 1995 b).

Breeds of Rabbit

There are many breeds of domestic rabbits in the world and all have different qualities. Out of the number of breeds and varieties about 38 breeds and 87 varieties are recognized and well established world wide.

For commercial purposes, the most important differences between rabbits are their size, colour breeding ability and suitability to the climate. Examples of several different breeds of rabbits are given below. Some of these might be used for improving local rabbit herds.

Food, furs, research, hobbies, pets – these are the major uses of rabbits around the world. It should be noted that rabbit production for meat and wool has become increasingly important in the last few years.

Angora wool rabbits are a commercial rabbit which is raised for its fine wool and meat as well, but primarily raised for wool production. Cooler climate is most conducive to raising this breed of rabbit. Angora rabbit does not differ from other breeds of rabbit except for its unusual length of valuable fur(wool). This modifies its raising compared to other rabbits.
 
The term ‘Angora’ qualifies those mammals which are covered with fur or wool composed of very soft hair of more than normal length – double or more than double the normal length.

Plant oils are obtained from their plant hosts through a variety of processes commonly called Extraction process. Essential oils are extracted from different parts of the plants. The quality and quantity of the oil is mainly depends on the method of extraction and the quantity of the raw materials used. For example, Lavender is extracted from its flowers, Orange from the rind of its fruit, Frankincense from the resin of its tree, Cinnamon from its bark, Pine from its needles, clove from flower buds and so on. Production of a good quality essential oil, the cultivation factors also play a vital role like soil quality, climatic and geographic conditions etc. As example, Jasmine flowers must be picked by hand at dawn on the very first day they open. A Sandalwood tree must be 30 years old and 30 feet high before it is ready to produce its best quality oil. Further the quantity of the plant materials are also matters for the price and quality of the essential oil. As an example, it takes roughly 12,000 Rose blossoms to produce 5 ml of Rose. Whereas it take 100 kilos of Lavender leaves to produce 3 liters of Lavender. As a result Rose is roughly 24 times more expensive than Lavender.

Introduction

The history of Integrated Pest Control goes back much farther than the mere coining of the term in the early fifties and the subsequent elaboration and clarification of the concept. The origins are deeply rooted in the evolution of pest control practices as developed by Entomologists and Plant Pathologists in the Nineteenth Century.

Human history is a series of attempts to gain increasing control over the environment. At first this control was minimal to the degree that poor shelter and unstable food supplies imposed severe population constraints. The gradual gain in man’s capacity to control his environment parallels the gradual rise of civilization. But as man aggregated into villages near rivers and planted crops near by, he encountered increasingly severe attacks by pests on the crops. For thousands of years, man could do nothing about these pests but appeal to the power of magic and a variety of gods. For the most part, early humans had to live with and tolerate the ravages of plant diseases and insects, but gradually they learned how to improve their conditions through “trial and error” experiences. These improvements included the beginnings of pest control or pest management, the most preferred term today.

Introduction

Although the concept of IPM, with emphasis on minimum use of pesticides; is well established and widely practiced in India pest population still continue to be unabated, often reaching to alarming levels. Out breaks of Spodoptera litura and hairy caterpillar, Amsacta moorei have been recorded in soybean and kharif crops recently during 2002 & 2004 in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, respectively. Outbreaks of Helicoverpa armigera populations are well known, appearing more frequently since past few years (1987-88, 1995-96, 1997-98 & 2001) doing extensive damage in cotton and pulses. in many parts of the country. Failures in controlling these populations, even by most potent insecticides, have raised a serious doubt on the success of present day pest management practices aimed to kill the pest in immature larval / egg stage, when infestation spreads out in large areas. Insecticidal treatments require wide coverage of crop area to control them effectively. Insecticide resistance in pest species and destruction of natural enemies are obvious problems, since chemicals are applied indiscriminately to entire crop ecosystem including the non-target beneficial bicontrol species. How to minimize use of insecticide in pest control is often a question of major concern to the entomologists.

Instrumentation and Advanced Analytical Techniques

    1.    Chromatography is defined as an analytical technique where by a mixture of chemicals may be separated by virtue of their differential affinities for two immiscible phases. One of these, the stationary phase, consists of a fixed bed of small particles with a large surface area, while the other, the mobile phase or “eluant”, is a fluid that moves constantly through, or over the surface of, the fixed phase.

    2.    The chromatogram evaluated qualitatively by determining the Rf or retention factor, for each of the eluted substances.

    3.    The Rf is a measure of that fraction of its total elution time that any compound spends in the mobile phase.

    4.    If the liquid phase is a polar substance (e.g. polyethylene glycol) and the mobile phase is non polar, the process is termed normal-phase chromatography

    5.    When the stationary phase is non polar (e.g. octadecylsilane) and the mobile phase is polar, the process is reversed-phase chromatography

    6.    The chromatographic separation of mixtures of large molecules such as proteins may be accomplished by a mechanism called size exclusion chromatography or gel permeation chromatography.

    7.    Separation of certain molecules is accomplished by a mechanism called affinity Chromatography in which specific binding between an antibody (stationary phase) and antigen (analyte) occur.

The history of the pregnancy test is a meaningful history embedded in magic, myth, politics, and science. From ancient Egyptian to modern times, the pregnancy test holds a cultural omnipresence that forces women to confront their fertility, femininity, and their future. Today we know that a pregnancy test that detects the human hormone known as human chorionic gonadatropin (hCG) offers the quickest and most accurate result for determining pregnancy. HCG is secreted by the placenta after the fertilized egg implants in the uterus and can be detected in both urine and blood. Urine pregnancy tests are convenient for home use, but a doctor may also opt to test blood as it provides a quantitative hCG number. Both methods are highly accurate and common. Pregnancy tests, however, were not always so accurate or so culturally accepted.
 
The diagnosis of pregnancy requires a multifaceted approach using three main diagnostic tools. These are (a) history and physical examination, (b)laboratory evaluation, and (c) ultrasonography. Currently, physicians may use all of these tools to diagnose pregnancy at early gestation and to help rule out other pathologies.

Overpopulation in humans and street dogs to some extent is a global problem of significant magnitude, with grave implications for the future. The overpopulation of dogs and cats is becoming an increasing concern in most countries of the world. As the global human population explodes so to do the staggering numbers of many best friends. Not only does this overpopulation cause millions of deaths each year and immeasurable levels of suffering in unwanted animals, these animals can cause significant risks to human health.

Stray animals particularly dogs are source of dreaded diseases like rabies and other zoonoses, resulting in thousands of deaths annually. The management of wild and domestic animal population is step towards controlling the situation and fertility control techniques play a role in this. However, such technology is still in its infancy is yet to be used on a large scale.

Advancements made in immunology and improved methods for the isolation of antigens specific reproductive system have paved the way for the development of antifertility vaccines in the past two decades. These vaccines are generally based on their ability block an indispensable step in the reproductive process.

Embryo Transfer (ET) refers to the technique by which embryos are collected from the reproductive tract of female (donor) and transferred to that of another female (recipient) which carries it to term. The donor and recipient female are in same stage of estrous cycle. The main objective of ET is the improvement of animal population through maximum utilization of superior females and males. It allows faster progeny testing of both male and females. By obtaining and transferring embryos from pre-pubertal females shorten the generation interval from birth to reproductive age. The superior buffaloes will be sent for slaughter after getting lactation yield in metropolitan cities. Utilizing oocytes for In-vitro maturation (IVM) and In-vitro fertilization (IVF) from such slaughtered superior buffaloes can prevent wastage of genetic material. ET allows preservation of rare and extinct species and breeds of animal. ET can be used as a basic tool for twinning, cloning, sexing and to test chromosomal aberrations.

1. Ammonia Nitrogen by Distillation Method
Method I (For Animal Feeds)
Reagents
    1.    Mangnesium oxide (carbonate free)
    2.    Standard sodium hydroxide 0.25 N
    3.    Standard sulphuric acid 0.5 N
    4.    Methyl red indicator

Weigh accurately 2 to 4 g  of the prepared sample. Shake it with water and filter. Wash the residue thoroughly with water. Transfer the filtrate to the distillation flask and dilute to about 200 ml with water. Add about 5 g of the magnesium oxide, Connect the flask to the condenser by means of the connecting bulb tube and distill about 100 ml of liquid into the receiver containing standard sulphuric acid and methyl red indicator solution, Titrate the contents of the receiver with the standard sodium hydroxide solution. Carry out a blank determination using all reagents in the same quantities but without the material to be tested.

1. California mastitis test

The California mastitis test (CMT) is conducted during milking of lactating cows. The CMT paddle is used to collect about three to four ml of fore milk from each quarter of cows after discarding few streams to which an equal volume of CMT reagent (composition mentioned below) is mixed immediately by circular motion (Fig. 1). The reaction is graded by intensity of gel formation and color changes as follows:

Aquaculture is the culture of aquatic organisms per unit water area per unit time for maximum profit. The economically important finfishes and shellfishes, whose body physiology is adjustable to varied environmental conditions, are considered as aquaculture candidate species. So, an overall knowledge on the physiology of such species is required to improve the culture practices.

1.1. Finfish

A fish may be defined as a vertebrate, adapted for a purely aquatic life, propelling and balancing itself by means of fins, and obtaining oxygen  (O2) from the water for survival and life processes. As the fishes have fins, they are also known as finfishes. Fish describes a life from rather than a taxonomic group. They share certain features with other vertebrates. These are gill slits, a notochord, a dorsal hollow nerve cord and tail. In number of individuals, and may be also in number of species, fishes are presently superior to other vertebrates, including mammals. There are 20,000 different species of fishes. Fishes form largest group of vertebrates, Pisces. The various types of fishes differ so much in shape, color and size that it is difficult to believe they all belong to the same group of animals. Fish in general are cold-blooded and adjusted either to freshwater, brackishwater or marine environment.

Introduction

Maize (Zea mays Linn) is the most widely distributed crop of the world. It adapts easily to a wide range of production environments and is grown in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of the world. It holds a unique position in world agriculture ranking third after rice and wheat in terms of area as well as production. In India too, it is the third most important cereal crop and is cultivated in 8. 17 m ha (2007-08) area. It contributes nearly 8% to the national food basket and more than Rs 100 billion to agricultural gross domestic products with an annual production of 19. 73 million tons. It is used as a source of human food (24%) animal feed (11%), poultry feed (52%), starch (11%), brewery and seed (1% each). In India it is largely grown in Northern states where it serves as an important staple food for an economically vulnerable population of submountainarean and hilly regions.

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) or Imli is also called  Indian Date. It is a large broad leaved, tropical tree found in India and many parts of Asia.  Tamarind is native to tropical Africa and grows wild throughout  Sudan. It was introduced to India so long ago that it is now reported as indigenous. Sometimes during  sixteenth century, it was introduced into America and today it is widely grown in Mexico.
 
There are large areas of marginal and waste lands, which are not suitable for cultivation of fruits like banana, citrus, sapota, litchi, mango, pomegranate etc., either due to poor quality of soil or lack of water resources. Such lands are suitable for  cultivation of underutilized fruit crops like tamarind which is not so popular among  farmers due to following reasons:

Kair (Capparis decidua (Forsk.) Edgew, is an under-exploited, drought hardy, multipurpose, perennial, woody shrub or small tree found in hot arid regions of many regions of the world. It is a many branched, leafless and spinose plant capable of growing in different habitats. Due to its xerophytic adaptive nature, the plant grows successfully under harsh climatic conditions of arid regions. The immature fruits are used as fresh vegetables and also in the preparation of pickles. Dehydrated fruits are used in off season as vegetables either alone or in combination with other dried vegetables. Dehydrated kair is one of the important ingredients of ‘panchkuta’, a dehydrated mixture of sangri, kair, kachri, kumat and kamal kakri. However, mature unripe fruits without processing are unpalatable as these contain high concentration of glucosinolates. Ripe fruits are sweet and acrid and enjoyed by children in natives.

The common fig, (Ficus carica L.) is a fruit of warm temperate zone. It is one of the oldest fruits known to man and is mentioned by well known Greek writers Homer and Plato. Mention about this fruit is in the earliest chapter of Bible. Figs belong to family Moraceae, which include many tropical fruits and ornamental species. The fruit is known botanically as ‘syconium’ in which the flowers are borne on the inner walls of a hollow receptacle. It is one of the most salt and drought tolerant amongst fruit trees. Fig is a moderate sized deciduous tree in subtropics but performs as evergreen in tropics. Branches are irregular, shoots develop at base of trunk, leaves are very broad, ovate and long stalked. Fruits mostly long stalked, pear shaped with a velvety or glabrous skin, yellow, brown, purplish or black in colour. 

Introduction

Tripura is situated between 22^º56 ‘to 24^º32’ N latitude and 91^º10’ to 92^º21’ E latitude with tropic of cancer passing through it. The total geographical area of state is about 10,491 Sq.Km of which 58.90 percent area is under forest cover. More than 75 percent of the population either directly or indirectly depends on agriculture. The small and marginal farmers contribute about 90 per cent of total farming community and the average size of land holding is 0.97 ha (1990-91) in comparison to 1.25 ha (1976-77), which is the lowest among the seven other North Eastern states.
 
The state weather is characterized by warm and humid subtropical climate with three distinct seasons viz., summer, monsoon and winter with three different cropping seasons like khariff, rabi, summer and jhum cultivation in forest during pre monsoon and late monsoon periods. This state has many rivers out of which the important ones are Juri, Deo, Manu, Dalai, Thowai, Haora, Mahari, Burigang and Gomati which are mainly seasonal. Tripura receives an average rainfall of 2065 mm.The monsoon breaks in May – June and continues for about 4.5-5.0 months.

Capsicum species are members of family Solanaceae, which include tomato, potato, tobacco and petunia.  Pepper, chile, chili, aji, paprika and capsicum are used interchangeably for plants in the genus Capsicum.  The word Capsicum is reserved for taxonomic discussion (Bosland, 1992). The indigenous people of Americas evolved pepper through breeding and domestication of Capsicum species. Global diversification was facilitated by age of exploration, and subsequent establishment of land races and farmers selections.  Classical genetic and cytogenetic exploitation of Capsicum species began in 1940s and continued throughout the century (Poulos, 1994). Data on crossability and hybrid sterility are developed to reinforce or revise views on the rank of morphologically distinguishable taxa, while studies on chromosomes and isozymes aided in understanding the relationships between domesticated and wild species and the course of evolution within the domesticated species.

Vegetables have got an important place in agriculture development, human diet and economy of the country. All the developed and developing countries realized the importance of vegetables an essential diet due to medicinal and nutritional value for human health. There is a steady upward trend in vegetable production. China is ranking first in the world and currently produces 237 million tonne of vegetables. India has made a quantum jump in vegetable production securing the second position in the world. The total production of vegetable is more than 91 million tonne in the country. Diseases and pests are the most important factors for low vegetable production. Various fungi, bacteria, viruses, phytoplasmas, nematodes and weeds are responsible for causing diseases in vegetables resulting heavy reduction in yield and quality.

Micronutrients play an active role in the plant metabolic processes from cell wall development to respiration, photosynthesis, chlorophyll formation, enzyme activity, hormone synthesis, nitrogen fixation, etc. Micronutrient requirements of crops are relatively small. Use of chemical fertilizers with accompanied changes in soil management practices resulted in steady decrease in micronutrient content in soil. The future of agriculture depends on sustainable management of land, water, flora, fauna and the atmosphere. In order to produce 240 m tones of food grains by the end of twentieth century, removal of major nutrients from soil will be to the tune of 7 m tones N, 2.7 m tones P2O5 and 11.2 m tones K2O. Similarly, a good amount of secondary (Ca, Mg, S) and micronutrients would also be removed proportionately which should be compensated through application of well rotten FYM or micronutrient fertilizers in soil.

Fruits are living commodities which continue to respire and transpire even after harvest. The storage life of fresh fruits is indirectly proportional to the rate of their respiration which in turn depends on the atmospheric gas composition in which they are stored. Normal air contains about 20.9% oxygen (O2), 78.0% Nitrogen (N₂) and 0.03% carbondioxide (CO₂). Lower levels of O₂ and higher levels of CO₂ in the storage environment result in reduced rate of respiration, delayed ripening and increased storage life. The reduction in O₂ concentration and increase in CO₂ concentration in the storage room with precise control and maintenance of these gases throughout the storage period is generally referred as controlled atmosphere (CA) storage.

CA storage is generally used for long term storage or long distance transportation of fruits in combination with low temperature storage. The use of CA storage for extending the post harvest life of fruits has increased steadily worldwide during the past 60 years. This trend is expected to continue with the advancement of technologies in attaining and maintaining CA during transport, storage and marketing of fresh fruits.

Fruit ripening is a highly coordinated, genetically programmed and an irreversible phenomenon involving a series of physiological, biochemical and organoleptic changes which finally lead to the development of a soft edible ripe fruit with desirable quality attributes. Ripening is the process where changes take place in the fleshy fruit and make it edible. It represents the unique coordination of developmental and biochemical pathways leading to changes in colour, texture, aroma and nutritional quality of mature seed-bearing plant organs (Barry and Giovannoni, 2007). Physiologically mature fruit is transformed from an unfavourable state of firmness, texture, colour, flavour and aroma to favourable state for consumption. It is the final phase in the development of fruit and involves major metabolic changes and it is normally an irreversible event. The ripening phase does not start until the fruit has developed considerably from the tissues present at anthesis and it is difficult to stimulate ripening before it attains maturity. The ripening changes which are common during softening are accumulation of pigments and changes in cell wall.

DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN RURAL AREAS (DWCRA)

Objectives

  1.    To raise the income level of women poor households.

  2.    Formation of groups of 10-15 women in rural poor for developing of services.

Salient features

  1.    Each group is given one time grant of Rs.25,000/-as revolving fund for infrastructure, purchase of raw materials, marketing, child care etc.

  2.    Fund is in ratio of 50:50 between Central and State government.

  3.    Provision of setting up of District Supply and Marketing Society for women producers.

DISTRICT RURAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (DRDA)

Objective

To professionalise the DRDA so that they are able to effectively manage the antipoverty programmes of the Ministry of Rural Development and interact effectively with other agencies.

Salient Features

•   The DRDA is visualized as a specialized agency capable of managing the anti-poverty programmes and to effectively relate these to the overall efforts of poverty eradication in the district.

•   The DRDA role will be to facilitate the implementation of the programmes, to supervise, oversee and monitor the progress, to receive and send progress reports and maintaining accounts of funds received for various rural development programmes.

•   DRDAs also need to develop synergies among different agencies for the most effective results.

•   The Chairman Zilla Parishad would be the chairman of the governing body of the DRDA.

Introduction

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based navigation system that provides location and time information in all weather conditions, anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. The system provides critical capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users around the world. The United States government created the system, maintains it, and makes it freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver. The US began the GPS project in 1973 to overcome the limitations of previous navigation systems, integrating ideas from several predecessors, including a number of classified engineering design studies from the 1960s. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) developed the system, which originally used 24 satellites. It became fully operational in 1995. Roger L. Easton, Ivan A. Getting and Bradford Parkinson of the Applied Physics Laboratory are credited with inventing it.
 
Advances in technology and new demands on the existing system have now led to efforts to modernize the GPS and implement the next generation of GPS Block IIIA satellites and Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX). Announcements from Vice President Al Gore and the White House in 1998 initiated these changes. In 2000, the U.S. Congress authorized the modernization effort, GPS III. In addition to GPS, other systems are in use or under development. The Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) was developed contem-poraneously with GPS, but suffered from incomplete coverage of the globe until the mid-2000s. There are also the planned European Union Galileo positioning system, China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, the Japanese Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, and India’s Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System.

SENSORY EVALUATION OF FOOD

When the quality of a food is judged or evaluated by the senses (taste, smell, sight, touch and hearing), it is said to be a sensory evaluation. Since food is prepared for the primary purpose of being eaten and enjoyed through the senses, sensory evaluation is most appropriate. No machine has yet been devised that can totally substitute for the human senses in evaluating the quality of human food. However, the human instrument used in sensory evaluation is very complex and many problems need to be managed as data are collected and analysed. Computers are generally used to analyse data from sensory evaluations and may also be used to collect information firsthand.

Flavour perceptions are difficult to characterise verbally, for example, think about how a strawberry tastes, then try to describe it some one else. In food research small groups of trained individuals called juding panels or sensory panels are commonly used to determine differences among food samples. These panels often consist of from 5 to 15 individuals who have had training and experience in testing the particular food products being evaluated.

INTRODUCTION

COLLOIDS :  The word colloids has actually been derived from Greek language where it means glue like. The science of colloids was founded about 1861 when Thomas Graham published a summary of his work on the diffusion of substances in solution. He classified substances into two groups, viz: crystalloids and colloids, depending on their ability to diffuse through parchment membrane. According to Graham, crystalloids readily passed through parchment membranes while colloids did not. According to modern concept, colloidal solution contain substances whose molecular aggregates possess a diameter greater than 1 mu  and less than 100 mu. If the particle size is greater than 100 mu, a suspension is obtained (Table 1).

Fats are obtained from both animal and vegetable sources. The principal animal fats are cream, butter, egg yolk, the fat of beef, mutton, pork, bone marrow, chicken fat, and codliver oil. Vegetable fats are those derived from fruits and seeds of plant, as olive oil, cottonsed oil, corn oil, peanut oil, soyabean oil and nut oils.

COMPOSITION AND NUTRITIVE VALUE OF FATS

Fats and oils, the most concentrated of fuel foods, were the first of the organic compounds or foods to have their composition determined. They are made up of same three elements which go to produce the carbohydrates, but the oxygen is less in proportion to the carbon. This explains the fact that fat yields more energy per gram than carbohydrates do.

Synonyms: Pearl's disease, scrofula

It is a chronic insidious contagious disease of man and animals caused by tubercle bacilli characterized by development of tubercles in lung tissue, lymph nodes or other organs resulting in caseation and calcification. The tubercles are frequently located in lungs and lymph nodes. But they may be formed in the liver, spleen, intestine, peritoneum, meninges and long bones. It is a zoonotic disease. Bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) is considered as the serious epizootics of animals and humans. Bovine species are natural hosts to the disease, but a wide spectrum of domestic and wild animals, as well as man, can be infected. Animals reported as having been infected with M. bovis include North American bison (Bison bison), buffaloes (Syncerus caffer), elk (Cervus elaphus), domestic and wild pigs domestic (Sus scrofa), goats (Capra hircus), camels (Camelus bactrianus), dogs (Canis familiaris), cats (Fells catus), sheep (Ovis aries), possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), badgers (Meles meles), mink (Lutreola vison), ferrets (Putorius furo) and non-human primates. All species are not equally susceptible, and are often grouped into spill-over (end) hosts and maintenance hosts. Cattle and other bovine species are considered the primary and most well-known reservoirs or maintenance hosts. In countries where maintenance hosts are present endemically in the wild, infection from these populations to domestic cattle or other farm animals is difficult to avoid. In Africa, bovine TB primarily affects cattle; however, infection in other farm and domestic animals, such as sheep, goats, pigs, dogs and cats, is not uncommon. Wild ruminants and carnivores are also affected and are the natural reservoirs of the infectious agent in the wild. Man is also susceptible to the disease, the highest risk groups being individuals with concomitant HIV/AIDS infection. In Africa, human TB is widely known to be caused by M. tuberculosis; however, an unknown proportion of cases are due to M. bovis. This infection in humans is underreported as a result of the diagnostic limitations of many laboratories in distinguishing M. bovis from M. tuberculosis. TB is a neglected public health problem and accounts for about 25% of all avoidable adult deaths in developing countries. It is of socio-economic significance, as it can affect international trade in animals and animal products. Many factors account for the failure of developing countries to control and eradicate bovine TB, many of them politico-economic. Added to the high costs of a sustainable testing programme are problems of social unrest due to political instability and ethnic wars, resulting in the displacement of large numbers of human and animal populations; lack of veterinary expertise and communication networks; insufficient collaboration with bordering countries and hence a lack of quarantine; and smuggling of live animals across state boundaries. Scarce human and financial resources are often absorbed by action against the high incidence of other acute and fatal diseases, such as contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, foot and mouth disease, African and classical swine fever and parasitic diseases. The primary sources of infection for humans are consumption of unpasteurised milk and close association between humans and animals. Rural inhabitants and some urban dwellers in Africa still consume unpasteurised and soured milk potentially infected with M. bovis. Milk borne infection is the main cause of non-pulmonary TB in areas where bovine TB is common and uncontrolled.