eChapters

1. Introduction

Heat transfer from a hot surface is a general method or technique of heating liquids and slurry type of food materials. In such cases the heat can be generated either directly by a heating element or indirectly from a hot medium like steam or hot water via a heat exchanger (e.g. shell and tube, plate). Therefore, for the heat transfer during heating by these techniques a temperature gradient will be required, which usually causes the fouling on the surface of the heating element or heat exchanger. Afterwards the fouling not only reduces the heat transfer rate but also results in quality deterioration within the product which is being processed. 

1. Introduction

Thermal processing treatments are the conventional methods that have been broadly employed in the food industry to guarantee the microbiological safety of food materials at a minimal cost. However, these thermal treatments cause undesirable changes in flavor, nutritive value, texture, or color of the finished product that impact food quality (Pan et al., 2017). Growing the modern consumer’s demand towards the minimally processed and “fresh-like” taste foods has challenged the food industry to develop novel non-thermal preservation techniques as an alternative to thermal processing. 

1. Introduction

In recent years, consumers have been demanding convenient, healthy and safe foods which have ’fresh-like’ characteristics with a long shelf-life. These demands include important food quality such as appearance, texture, taste and nutritional content which are strongly impacted by the way it is processed. Another major concern among the consumers is food safety and quality. The shelf-life of the food products are mostly influenced due to the action of various harmful microorganisms and enzymes. The conventional food processing technologies, such as thermal treatments (pasteurisation and high temperature sterilisation), evaporation, drying, frying and baking can assure the microbiological safety and/or stability of processed food products, but affects the food quality and nutrients (heat sensitive vitamins, flavour and other bioactive compounds) (Zhang et al., 2019)

Introduction

In the process of creating a hole in the metal surface through a drill, we use a drilling machine. We use a tapper shank and parallel shank to tie the drill to the drill machine. We can also use a drilling machine to do extra experiments i.e., tapping rimming counter shrinking and counterboring. In simple language, we also say that a, it is a machine which is wildly used over world for making a circular hole in various metal workpiece for making desired design or structure.

Principal Scientist and I/c Head, Division of Social Sciences and Training IIHR, Hesaraghatta Lake Post, Bangalore – 560 089, Karnataka

Extension organizations are highly sociable organizations with a definite purpose of using the grass root principle and democratic leadership in bringing transience in the organization and society. In this direction the communication styles most suited for these extension functionaries in bringing these transitions need to be studied and understood and developed for effective functioning of these organizations as nucleus of change in transforming societies for development

Teamwork and collaboration is better than individual effort is a proven fact that human beings have realized since the Stone Age. Similarly, it was also recognized and applied in farming. The concept of farmer’s organization had emerged by realizing the power of unity. With the growing concern of present condition of decreasing size of land holdings the need for unity and collectivization has been prominently realized in agriculture. Agriculture sector is facing a rapidly overflowing basket of challenges. Population has increased 3.71 times from 350 million in 1947 to 1.3 billion in 2017; hence, demand for food has increased while total cultivable land has shrunk. The grain area per person has been shrinking steadily for several decades from 0.22 hectares in 1950 to 0.10 hectares in 2010 and it is projected to be as less as 0.06 hectares per person in 2050 (Larsen, 2003). So, the big and alarming question on food and income security has been raised.

Introduction

Feed is the main contributor to economic and environmental costs of poultry production. This applies in particular to the protein fraction of the diet as the protein constitutes the second abundant and the most expensive nutrient in the broiler diets. Quantitatively, protein rich feed sources constitute 25 to 40 per cent of the diets, next to cereal grains as energy sources accounting for 60 to 70 per cent. In terms of input cost, protein sources account for 40 to 50 per cent of feed cost as these ingredients are highly expensive and play a major role in determining the cost of broiler production.

6.1 Introduction

One of the key challenges in the 21^st century is that Agromet Advisory Services (AAS) have to respond to an unpredictable and changing climate. In India Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa (GKMS) is the umbrella project for Agromet Advisory Services (AAS) and it intends to link AAS to different sources of knowledge and innovations to respond to the climate change at root level farmers. The main aim of GKMS is to create effective, efficient and synergistic linkages to improve the delivery of these AAS to the farmers. GKMS works under the frame work of India Meteorological Department (IMD) which seeks to enhance the livelihood of every Indian farmer. 

Women have contributed significantly and selflessly since ancient times to uplifting and bettering any nation. A literate woman builds a country; truth cannot be closer than that. Women have always carried the burden of being a wife, mothers, sisters and daughters, all on their own magnificently. They are leaders, decision-makers, entrepreneurs and service providers in different fields. The valuable contributions of women are significant to the well-being of families and communities and the economic growth of any society. Rural women have tremendous potential for developing culture, and their leadership, participation, and education will help eradicate poverty and hunger.

Almost half of the population in the world comprises women, indicating that women are at par with men, but the issue is ‘Is she really at par with men in the status too?’ Numerous studies have drawn attention to the fact that women are half marginalised in every society; they have not yet got their share. The concern over women’s problems started with the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, which led to the declaration of 1975 as ‘International Women’s Year’ and the years between 1975- 1985 as the UN Decade for Women. For the first time, the attention was focused on the unnoticed and forgotten halves, who by birth were women, performing 2/3^rd of the world’s work, receiving 1/10th of the world’s income and owning less than 1/100^th of the world’s property (Rath, 1996). 

Education: Education is the production of desirable changes in the behaviour of the people. It is the production of desirable changes in human behaviour in knowledge (things known), attitudes (things felt) and skills (things done), in all of them or in one or more of them.

Behaviour: Includes three components viz., knowledge, attitude and skill

Knowledge (Cognitive): It includes facts, concepts, principles and relationship.

Attitude (Affective): An attitude can be loosely defined as a feeling towards some object, person and situation or idea.

5.1. Introduction

Glass is one of the oldest packaging materials used for food. The use of glass as a packaging material dates back to 3000 BC where it was the first object to be used for containing and carrying food objects. It is made by cooling a heated fused mixture of silicates, lime and soda. It is an amorphous material in which all the constituents individually form an irregular network at microscopic level. It means it has failed to form a definite crystalline structure during cooling. Glass is defined as “amorphous, inorganic product of fusion that has been cooled to a rigid condition without crystallizing (ASTM, 2010)”. It has no definite melting point.

11.1 Agroterrorism

‘Agroterrorism’, also known as ‘agriterrorism and agricultural terrorism’, is a malicious attempt to disrupt or destroy the agricultural industry and/or food supply system of a population through “the malicious use of plant or animal pathogens to cause devastating disease in the agricultural sectors”. It is closely related to the concepts of biological warfare, chemical warfare and entomological warfare, except carried out by non-state parties. It refers to a hostile attack towards an agricultural environment including infrastructures and processes in order to significantly damage national or international political interests.

The terms ‘agroterrorism, agroterror and agrosecurity’, were coined by veterinarian pathologist Corrie Brown and writer Esmond Choueke in September 1999 as a means to spread the importance of this topic.

The bio-resources application in the soil is known to improve the biological properties of the soil. Several earlier reports show a spur in microbial populations or increased microbial biomass carbon and the enhanced enzymatic activities with the incorporation of bio-resources in soil (Perucci, 1990; Goyal et al., 1993; Bonde et al., 2004).

Microbial populations

Indigenous microbial populations in soil are of fundamental importance for an eco system functioning, through determining nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition and energy flow (Doran and Zeiss, 2000).

Soil is the fundamental resource in the agricultural production systems and monitoring its fertility is critical to the sustainability of agriculture. Plant nutrients undergo different transformation processes through which they are converted from unavailable to available forms. Nutrient cycling thus involves the transformation and availability of nutrients and is mediated by microbial action. Understanding the dynamics of nutrient and soil organic matter transformations requires an understanding of the biological, chemical, and physical processes involved.

7.1. Soil Nitrogen

Fungi are a diverse group of multicellular eukaryotic organisms with wide variation in vegetative and reproductive morphologies and diverse life cycles. They are more abundant, on a mass basis, in soils than any other group of microorganisms; their biomass ranges from 500 to 5000 wet kg ha^-1 (Metting, 1993). Fungi inhabit almost any niche containing organic substrates, so that they are active participants in ecosystems as -

• degraders of organic matter
• agents of disease as well as beneficial symbionts - lichen (algae and fungi), mycorrhizal association

To a soil microorganism, the rhizosphere is like a lush oasis in the desert. In comparison to near-starvation conditions of the bulk soil, the rhizosphere is the place where nutrients are plentiful and microorganisms flourish. The term rhizosphere was first used by Hiltner in 1904 to describe the zone of soil under the influence of roots. The rhizosphere can extend more than 5 mm from the root and is the area of increased microbial activity due to exudation of low molecular weight compounds from root cells. The rhizoplane is the surface of plant root and any strongly adhering soil particles. The microbial populations that colonize the interior of the root and from intimate associations with the root are considered endophytes.

There are two mini-cycles in the soil nitrogen cycle:

1. Soil-based processes such as mineralization, ammonification, nitrification, and immobilisation include the conversion of organic nitrogenous molecules to plant-useable mineral forms, and subsequently back to biomass (microbial, plant and indirectly animal biomass).
2. The process of converting atmospheric nitrogen into forms available to the living components of the ecosystem, i.e. nitrogen fixation and the transformations within the soil, as well as the return of the fixed nitrogen to atmospheric inert forms of nitrogen through denitrification, are all soil and biosphere resident processes.

7.1 Introduction

In chapter 5, the cluster sampling has been discussed in which clusters were considered as sampling units and all the elements in the selected clusters were enumerated completely. It has been stated there that the cluster sampling is economical under certain circumstance but the method restricts the spread of sample over the population which results generally in increased sampling variance of the estimator under consideration. It is, therefore, logical to expect that the efficiency of the estimator will be increased by distributing the elements over a large numbers of clusters. Hence instead of observing all the units in the selected clusters, one may like to observe only few elements of the selected clusters. This will involve the sampling work to be done also within the selected clusters. If we do so, the process of selection will involve sampling work to be done at two stage, one for selecting the clusters where sampling units are the clusters and the second for selecting the units (elements) within the selected clusters where sampling units are the elements.

11.1 Introduction

In the preceding chapter 10, we have discussed in detail, the test procedures for which it has been assumed that the sample size n is large, (i.e n >,30). Those tests are also known as approximate tests or z tests. But in case when sample size n is small i.e. n<30, the approximate test fails to deal with such problem and we apply the theory of exact sample, for small sample tests. The exact sample tests however can be applied to large samples also though the converse is not plausible. In all the exact sample tests, the basic assumption is that the parent population is normally distributed.

In this part we will discusse in details the exact sample tests (based on exact sampling distributions namely snedekor’s F, student’s t and chi square (c²) distributions. These distributions will be simply introduced in short because main emphasis has to be given only on the test procedures based on them.

12.1 Chi-Square Variate

The square of a standard normal variate is known as a chi - square variate or chi square statistic with one degree of freedom. Thus if , then the variate Z defined as 

Z is a standard normal variate with mean zero and variance unity (one) and  = Z² is a chi - square variate (statistic) with one degree of freedom.

In general if xi, (i=1,2,.......n) are n independent normal variates with means μ_i and variance , then  is a chi - square variate (statistic) with n degree of freedom. It is denoted by the notation  and follows chi-square distribution. Symbolically, it is expressed as .

12.2 Chi-Square Distribution

Let  be a chi - square variate with n degree of freedom. Then its probability density function is written as

Radish, turnip, carrot and beet root are the major root crops grown in the country. In addition, root crops like rutabaga, parsnip, salsify, chervil and celeriac are grown in a limited scale in different areas. Though the crops belong to different families, their cultural requirements are uniform. The common features of root crops like radish, turnip, carrot and beet root are:

• In all root crops, the tap root and a portion of hypocotyl develop into fleshy root.
• All root crops are cool season crops and are the best grown during winter in plains and spring-summer in hills of North India
• All crops, except beet root, exhibit two distinct groups, viz., tropical or Asiatic or annual types and temperate or European or biennial types. In beet root, tropical annual types are not available.
• Seeds of annual types are produced in plains. Biennial types require a chilling temperature, after attaining or completion of vegetative phase, for transforming to reproductive phase. Since this chilling temperature is available during winter at high altitudes, seed production of biennial types are practiced only in hills of North India.
• All root crops require well drained loose and friable soil without any clods for raising a good crop. Seeds are sown on ridges or on raised beds for proper development of roots.

2.1. Tomato

2.1.1. Tomato paste

Steps in tomato paste preparation

Step 1 : Tomato juice (strained)
Cooking to desired consistency (Kettle/vacuum pan)

Step 2 : Judging the end point for puree or paste (Tomato solids by hand refractometer or reduction in volume by measuring stick)

Step 3 : Filling hot into bottles or canes (82-88°C)

Step 4 : Pasteurization in boiling water for 20 minutes

Step 5 : Cooling

Step 6 : Storage at ambient temperature

Step 7 : Packing and storage

2.1.2. Tomato sauce / ketchup

• It is made from strained tomato juice or pulp and spices, salt, sugar and vinegar, with or without onion and garlic and contains not less than 12 per cent tomato solids and 25 per cent total solids.

India is the seventh largest country in the world with a total geographical area of 328.73 million ha and has second largest population after China. The gross cropped area is 198.36 million hectares of which 70% is under rainfed cultivation. Around 55 to 60 per cent of the total population depends on agriculture and allied activities.

One of the important features of India prevalence is varied agro-climatic conditions; which enables to strengthen the horticulture industry. Many numbers of horticultural crops namely fruits, vegetables, ornamental and flower crops, spices and condiments, plantation crops, aromatic and medicinal plants, etc. are grown in almost all the parts of country. Thus, horticulture sector has become one of the major drivers of growth in agriculture having major share in agriculture GDP.

1. Introduction

There are around six hundred major and minor crop species but only two percent are cultivated commercially meeting the food (calorie) requirements. The most commonly cultivated food plants are even smaller counting to merely 20 crops (Wilkes, 1984). The huge number of underutilized crops may serve as potential fruit crops to meet the nutritional requirements of poor farming households in lesser common farming and subsistence agriculture. The adoption of underutilized crops on a commercial scale may not be possible without crop improvement, standardized agronomic and fertilizer management technologies, pre- and post-harvesting techniques and marketing (Bag Mal et al., 1997).

1. Introduction

Global population is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 (UN report, 2019) and food requirement will betwofold of the current levels to feed the growing population. Asia and the Pacific regionaccounts for> 70% of the global population but has only 30% of the world’s arable land (FAO, 2021). An increase in yield of these regions over the years has largely been due to excessive and indiscriminate use of inputs like irrigation, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, agrochemicals etc. and at considerable expense of its natural resources. Most of the pesticide recommendations are also region specific, which are on a few random observations of pest density. Because of low quality of agrochemicals often due to adulteration and increased pest resistance, indiscriminate application is now common especially in high valued crops.

4.1 Climate Change

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures. Burning of crop residues also adds to climate changes

Examples of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building. Clearing land and forests can also release carbon dioxide. Landfills for garbage are a major source of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main emitters.

11.1 Biomass

Globally, all agricultural countries have promoted the use of biomass sources for many household applications and biomass energy generation. Biomass is defined as the bio residue available from the sum of crop production, agricultural waste, vegetation, forestry waste and organic waste. Biomass is a renewable source of energy and contains a complex mixture of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen. Various biomass resources are available in different parts of countries and are classified based on their availability. The broad classification of biomass energy is in three formats; residue of agricultural crops, energy plantations, and municipal and industrial waste. Agriculture residues are organic materials produced as the byproduct from processing and harvesting of agriculture crops. 

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) belongs to family Moraceae, is the largest edible fruit in the world (Naik, 1949 and Sturrock, 1977). It is one of the most popular and important fruit crops and is the national fruit of Bangladesh (Haque, 1977). The jackfruit tree is widely cultivated in tropical regions of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Jackfruit is alsofound across Africa, e.g., in Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, and Mauritius, as well asthroughout Brazil and Caribbean nations such as Jamaica. However, jackfruit originally native to Indian subcontinent, is now widely cultivated in the tropics of both hemispheres (Ochas et al., 1981).

Apple (Malus pumila, though erroneously and commonly called Malus domestica) is a deciduous plant and considered to be the world’s one of the oldest fruit crops. The tree originated from Central Asia where M. sieversii, wild ancestor of cultivated apple is still found today. It is one of the most important table fruits of the world and excels other fruits in having prolonged keeping quality and wide variety of flavour and taste. It is a highly remunerative crop and is grown in all temperate regions of the world. In India apple is mostly grown in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and some parts of Arunachal Pradesh.

Perennial nature of horticultural fruit crops provides a stable environment for the buildup and development of mite populations, as against the ephemeral habitat of short-lived plants. The phytophagous mites are represented by 169 species whereas 148 species belong to the predatory group. Mites (subclass Acari) are ecologically and morphologically very diverse group of tiny invertebrates that belong to the class Arachnida (along with scorpions and spiders), subphylum Chelicerata under Arthropods. As arthropods also include insects, but mites are differ because they have four pair of legs (insects are hexapods), lack of true head and conspicuous segmentation of the body. 

Most of the plant parasitic-nematodes (PPNs)are worm-shaped microscopic animals. They are virtually invisible through naked eyes when present in soil or plant materials. It has been estimated that of the known nematode species, approximately 50% are free-living found in soil and fresh water, 25% are marine (found in sea water), 15% are animal parasites, and 10% are plant-parasites (Walia and Bajaj, 2004; Sasser and Freckman, 1987). Free living nematodes contribute to maintain the soil bio-dynamic system, by influencing microbial colonization of substrates and mineralization of nutrients (Neher, 2001), whereas PPNs feed on plants and reduce crop growth and yield efficiency. Among the PPNs, a few nematode species feed on aerial plant parts (leaves, stems, flowers and seeds), but the majority of feed on underground plant parts (roots, bulbs, and tubers).

1. Introduction

Country has vast network of 20 river basins with utilizable surface and groundwater resources of 1123 billion cubic meter (BCM). With the rising population, the per capita availability of water in India has declined from 5178 m³/year in 1951 to 1441 m³/year in 2015. About 60% of Indian population have per capita water availability close to or lower than the water scarcity threshold of 1000 m³/year. The per capita water availability will further decline to 1139 m³/year with increase in population. On the demand side, the gross water requirement for all users in India is expected to grow up to 1447 BCM in 2050 (CWC, 2010, GoI, 2015). With the massive financial investment by the governments and the farmers, net irrigated area in the country increased from 20.85 million hectare (Mha) in 1950-51 to 68.38 Mha in 2014-15 (DES, 2019). Although India is a world leader in irrigation infrastructure, still half of the total cropped area (51%) remains rainfed. Further, many studies have flagged sustainability and equity concerns in irrigation development in the country (Selvarajan and Roy, 2004;

Introduction

Agriculture sector has the most important role in Indian economy. Earlier, Indian farmers largely depend upon the human and animal power. But with time passage, implements viz. tractor and tractor driven have been introduced. During the last 10 years, It has been observed that the concept of farm mechanization and its importance has been well accepted and accordingly new farm implements/ equipments have been developed and commercialized. This has resulted in increase of productivity and production to feed the ever increasing population besides reduction in drudgery associated with farm operations. Farm mechanization has played a positive role in increasing employment in rural areas through generation of opportunities for operators, mechanics, salesmen etc. (Anonymous, 2018)

ntroduction

The marketing systems and post-harvest marketing infrastructure have not been able to keep pace with the growing production and marketable surplus. This has brought to the fore, the need for providing farmers with access to competitive markets with adequate infrastructure including cold chain logistics, to enable them to realise better prices on the one hand and providing nutritious food to consumers at stable and affordable prices on the other. With this objective in view, the Government of India on 13th November, 2013 approved the proposal of Department of Agriculture & Cooperation for continuation and integration of ongoing Central Sector Schemes as Integrated Scheme for Agricultural Marketing (ISAM) during the XII Plan (2012-2017). The ISAM have the following five sub schemes: (i) Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI) [the existing schemes of Grameen Bhandaran Yojana (GBY) and Development/Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading and Standardization (AMIGS) will be merged as AMI] (ii) Marketing Research and Information Network (MRIN) (iii) Strengthening of Agmark Grading Facilities (SAGF), (iv) 

The dairy sector plays a key role in ending poverty, especially for rural communities. Nearly one billion people earn their livelihood from dairy. Dairy has an important role to end hunger, achieve food security and improve the nutritional value of diets in a sustainable manner. Dairy products contribute to good health and wellbeing at all stages of life. Its nutrient-rich pack ensures a nourished and healthy population. Dairy has been linked to protection against non- communicable diseases. The Indian context for Dairying is an economic symbiosis of crop and cattle population. Livestock plays a pivotal role in the economy; animal husbandry is the most important economic activity in rural areas. The dairy sector today provides eighty million farm households with the triple benefits of nutritive food, supplementary income and productive employment for family labour, mainly for women. 

Introduction

According to the definition provided by Merriam-Webster, the potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a starchy, tuberous herbaceous annual that only lasts for one growing season and is a member of the Solanaceae family. The potato, also known as the king of vegetables, is grown for its edible tubers and is the fourth largest food crop in the world after maize, wheat, and rice. It is a staple food in many parts of the world and accounts for about 2% of the world’s dietary energy supply (“Potato Pro,” 2020). It was thought that the domestication of the potato began in southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia between 8000 and 5000 BC, which is roughly 7,500–10,000 years ago (Spooner et al. 2005). Potatoes range in size, shape, color, starch content and flavor.

1.1 Introduction Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is a warm-season, C4 , annual cereal crop mainly grown for food, feed and fodder purpose. It is diploid species having chromosome number 2n = 2x = 14, belongs to genus Pennisetum, tribe Paniceae of Gramineae family. It has several species e.g., americanum, typhoides, and glaucum. Pearl millet originated in northern Africa in the region from western Sudan to Senegal. It is the sixth most important cereal crop in the world and third most important crop in India after wheat and rice.1.2 Area and Production Pearl millet is cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. India is the largest producer of millet in the world. In India, pearl millet occupies 6.93 million ha with an average production of 8.61 million tones and productivity of 1243 kg/ hac. The major pearl millet growing states are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana which account for more than 90% of pearl millet acreage of the country and are commonly grown in kharif season. It is also cultivated during the summer season in parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and during the rabi season at a small scale in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

1.1 Introduction Amaranth is considered as one of the “superfoods” of the coming century due to its exceptional qualities in various aspects. However, the crop is not a novel discovery, and it has faced quite a number of obstacles in order to get to where it is today in terms of nutritional status and acceptance by modern day consumers as a food which is able to provide nutrition. Despite the setbacks and disuse, Amaranth has had three redeeming qualities that have earned its standing as a “superfood.”In recent years, the grain amaranths have garnered increased attention because of their nutritional qualities and, in particular, the nutritional value of the seed protein. Amaranth seed is higher in fiber (8%) than the grain of most cereals.

1. Introduction Millets have gained popularity as staple foods worldwide, particularly in regions with hot and humid climates. These crops are often cultivated in marginal areas where major grains struggle to yield significant harvests (Thapliyal and Singh, 2015). One such millet is finger millet (Eleusine coracana), native to Ethiopia, and widely grown in Africa and India, where it is known by various names, including ragi and mandua (Table 1). In many developing countries, finger millet serves as a staple for a substantial portion of the population, especially those belonging to lower economic strata, providing essential nutrients (Chandra et al., 2016).

1. Introduction Plants have played a crucial role in fulfilling human needs for centuries, and among the vast array of plant species, Job’s Tear (Coixlacryma-jobi L), also known as adlay, coix, and Chinese pearl barley, holds significant potential as a crop in the Poaceae family. There are four main varieties of Job’s Tear, including C. lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen, C. lacryma-jobi var. Puellarum, C. lacryma-jobi var. lacryma-jobi, and C. lacryma-jobi var. Stenocarpa. The Indo-Maynmar region serves as the primary producing area for Job’s Tear millet, with other significant production countries being China, Japan, the Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India (Laxmisha et al.,2022). The versatile crop has earned the status of a staple in many regions, not only ensuring food security but also improving the livelihoods of rural farmers. Beyond its nutritional significance, Job’s Tear has garnered recognition for its potential health benefits.

Aquaculture production is promptly increasing all over the world. To increase the demand and for best management practices, we required additional technological innovations in various fisheries and aquaculture fields such as breeding, feeds, disease management, etc. The study of epigenetics provides a new way to comprehend ecofriendly-induced epigenetic markers linked to economically relevant features, disease resistance, and other qualities, allowing for the establishment of more suitable breeding conditions in aquaculture. CH Waddington invented the term “epigenetics” in 1942 to define the “study of the interactions between genes and their products that bring the phenotype into being,” which establishes the relationship between DNA segment and phenotype (Waddingto, 1942). Epigenetics is defined as processes or events that influence gene activity inheritance without relying on variations in DNA base sequences.

Introduction The fish is an important source of protein as it constitute about 17 of the total animal protein (SOFIA, 2018) and the rising demand for fish has led to unsustainable exploitation of marine and inland water resources and fishstocks are getting overexploited, due to which the output from capture fisheries is uncertain. This has put difficulty for the management of our open water resources. It is now urgent to develop a management strategy for conservation of natural resources for future generation as our responsibility. Hilborn and Walters (1992) define stocks are arbitrary groups of fish large enough to be essentially self-reproducing, with members of each group having similar life history characteristics. Stock is defined as "a part of a fish population usually with a particular migration pattern, specific spawning grounds, and subject to a distinct fishery" by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas. Understanding the importance of delineating the stocks and their boundaries which have become an essential part of fishery management and conservation.

Introduction PCR is an important molecular tool used widely in different applied research fields such as Infectious disease diagnosis, clinical medicine development and gene cloning etc., (Fang et al., 2008). Among different amplification methods, PCR was the first to be developed and has been the method of choice for its simplicity, easier methodology, extensively validated standard operating procedure and availability of reagents and equipment’s. However, it also has a good number of limitations such as advanced equipment, high cost, sensitivity to certain classes of contaminants and inhibitors requirement of thermal cycling etc. (Fakruddin, 2011). These limitations of PCR allowed to develop the alternative methods such as loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) (Notomi et al., 2000), nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) (Compton, 1991), self?sustained sequence replication (3SR) (Guatelli et al., 1990), rolling circle amplification (RCA) (Lizardi et al., 1998) etc., most of these techniques are isothermal that don’t require thermal cycler. These methods have many advantages over PCR in terms of speed, cost, scale or portability.

Synthesis of nanoparticulate metal composites (NMCP) presents a multitude of advantages compared to conventional dosage forms. Acne, a multifactorial skin condition, predominantly involves the pilosebaceous unit and is primarily caused by bacterial species such as Propionibacterium acnes and Acne vulgaris. A staggering 95% of the global population is afflicted by acne. Leveragitng NMCP strategies holds immense promise for innovating novel, efficacious, and low-dose treatments for managing acne. This review delves into various nanotechnological methodologies tailored for effectively addressing acne. Methods: This review encompasses recent advancements pertaining to NMCP carriers aimed at treating acne.

Nanotechnology has been successfully applied in various fields such as agriculture, biochemistry and medicine. However, its application in food systems has been new and is yet to be scrutinised. It offers a range of physical and chemical benefits that can be employed in production, development, fabrication, packaging, storage and food distribution systems. These novel nanomaterials such as nanocapsules, nanocomposites, nanoemulsions, nanoencapsulation, nano packaging, nanotubes and nanosensors have been used to improve food quality with better shelf life. However, there is concern about the safety of these nanomaterials, especially because of partial knowledge about the effects of these materials on human health.

Over the years synthetic pesticides like herbicides, insecticides nematicides etc. have been used to improve crop yield. Indiscriminate application of pesticides ultimately leads to their excess discharge into water bodies during rainfall and causes death of fish and other aquatic life. Also consumption of seafood/fishes may cause biomagnification of chemicals in human body and leads to several lethal diseases like cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson, Alzheimer, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), birth defects and reproductive disorders. Likewise synthetic pesticides also damage soil texture, soil microbes and soil fertility. Their residues enter into plants and animal systems and further move into animals or humans body through food chain.

Management approaches to soil, including problems of soil degradation and low soil fertility, have recently undergone major changes. The earlier concept was to concentrate on achieving high levels of production from the more fertile areas, leaving the marginal lands for extensive use only. Steeply sloping and highly drought-prone areas were mostly left without any cultivation as production from these areas was hardly cost effective. Soil constraints were to be overcome by inputs like improved crop varieties, fertilizers, chemical control of pests and diseases, and the use of irrigation. The approach of use of newly developed high yielding crop varieties, improved agronomic management practices, use of chemical fertilizers, efficient water management and timely plant protection measures has been successful in achieving large increases in crop productivity in recent years. On the other hand, continuous application of fertilizers at higher rates leads to environmental problems. Yield responses to fertilizers have declined because of soil physical degradation and micronutrient deficiencies.

Biodiversity encompasses the different kinds of life we find in one area— the variety of animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms like bacteria that make up our natural world. Each of these species and organisms work together in ecosystems, like an intricate web, to maintain balance and support life. Biodiversity refers to all species and living things on Earth or in a specific ecosystem. Biodiversity brings together the different species and forms of life (animal, plant, entomological and other) and their variability, that is to say, their dynamics of evolution in their ecosystems. Traditionally, there are three levels of biodiversity: genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity. But what does each of these levels really mean.

Introduction

The interest in soil as a natural body originated from its ability to produce and sustain crops. The scientific study of soil probably started in the mid-nineteenth century and was dominated by geologists, chemists and plant physiologists. Justus von Liebig (1840) in his famous publication, Chemistry Applied to Agriculture and Physiology, put forward the theory that plants assimilate mineral nutrients from soils which varied in their capacity of nutrient supply. The ‘Law of Restitution’ propounded by him states that whatever is being taken by plants from the soil needs to be restored to maintain the nutrient supplying capacity of the soil.