eChapters

Introduction

Agriculture is the measure livelihood of tribals in India. Indigenous Tuber crops, like Elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus) and Dioscorea play a valuable role to uplift the socio and economic status of people of tribal areas (tribal farmers) in terms of nutritional security and livelihood. In every year rural India subjected to wide spread of poverty, malnutrition, infant mortality rate etc. Ecological degradation, climate change, erratic rainfall and drought are the principal causes of food insecurity in these tribal areas resulting migration, periodic starvation and deaths. Therefore under erratic climate, tuber crops like Amorphophallus and Dioscorea, played a crucial role as life support crops to combat hidden hunger. Tuber crops are the traditional crops cultivated in order to meet the food requirements and give economical sustainability to the people. After cereals and legumes, tuber crops constitute a major staple or subsidiary food for all. Amorphophallus paeoniifolious and Dioscorea alata, important tropical tuber crops are excellent dietary staple for low-income consumers in tribal areas of Odisha state, better opting tuber crops cultivation rather than forest produces.

Introduction

The COVID 19 pandemic is threatening food systems and international food security. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), that says the amount of individuals facing crisis hunger is anticipated to virtually double this year to 265 million. Already, quite 820 million individuals don’t get enough food to eat, and another a hundred thirty five million individuals face acute hunger or starvation. Increase that, the economic destabilization caused by COVID-19, and another a hundred thirty million people are in danger of starvation by the top of 2020, says WFP. The quickness with that a health crisis transforms in an exceedingly hunger crisis shows however fragile is our food systems to shocks of any nature.

Introduction

Agricultural production system achieved a miracle by the way of green revolution which compactualized the potential of photoperiod and the thermo insensitive input responsive crop culture. The productive trends of food crops continued with increased fertilizer consumption, irrigation potential and improved agro-techniques. However science based intensive agriculture with intensive irrigation due to its inappropriate, inpropotional and ambitious approaches put the agriculture productivity on back foot. Because of these problems the arable land is facing the problem to sustain itself in terms of its capacity to produce desirable output. The scenario is further threatened with increase in climate change impact on various natural resources. The projected food crisis is on the card.

Introduction

Rice, being an important crop in India, there is a part to focus on improving rice production and productivity. A number of biotic and abiotic factors mostly referred as production constraints that affect the rice yield adversely and subsequently, needs an extraordinary consideration to the developing demand of continuously emerging population of India (Kumar and Jha, 2000). Abiotic stress has been estimated that more than half of the yield potential of major crops is mainly affected due to unfavourable growing environments such as drought (Cortina and Culianez-Macia, 2005). The current study was aimed to carry out to assess the impact of Pink pigmented facultative methylotrophs (PPFM) and plant growth promoters on mitigating drought stress effects in semi dry rice.

Introduction

Agriculture is an important sector in Indian economy, 58 per cent of India’s population depends on agriculture for their livelihood. Agriculture is main victim of climate change, it can disrupt availability, accessibility and quality of food. Moreover, increase in temperature, reduction in ground water availability, f looding and salinity are the major limiting factors in sustaining and increasing vegetable productivity. As a result of this crop physiology and production both are affected. Organic farming can help to tackle climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied to farming land. In India we have advantage that the agricultural techniques we practiced before green revolution in our country is eco-friendly and today also it is somehow it is in memories of our older and younger farmer generation. Principle of sustainable farming is the base of organic farming. According to OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) “Sustainable agro-ecosystem - agricultural and food systems are economically viable, meet society’s need for food assurance, while they retain and enhance natural resources and environmental quality for future generations” it is very clear from the definition that organic farming mostly emphasizes the environmental aspect and it includes.

Introduction

The hilly states in north eastern India are not only famous for their forest wealth and awesome wild assets. These states are also known for their track record in harvesting specific crops and fruits. Some of the iconic ones are like, “Assam tea” which is famous in and outside India and popularity of “Khasi mandarin” is also well known. The small landlocked state Tripura produces quality pineapples in abundant amounts, where cv. Queen is popular among the growers. Sikkim and other states of north eastern region of India is known for their Organic Farming techniques, which is mostly attributed the nature of hill farming on this region. North-East is rich in horticultural aspect viz., f loriculture with a rich variety of medicinal plants grown there along with various fruits and vegetables. An analysis of NSSO survey data on cultivation practices shows that the North-East hill states have retained traditional practices and show an inclination towards organic agriculture that is harnessed for the development of the region with ecological benefits.

Introduction

For capacity building of farming community, training plays a vital role. It helps in enriching the knowledge along with enhancement of essential skill required in performing certain practices in a specific crop cultivation. The skills required by a coconut cultivator need to be supplemented with additional skills in order to increase the yield of nuts. Government provide better support to the coconut growing farmers to improve their income, to reduce the risk involved in cultivation, implementation of quality agricultural practices and f inally enhancing the income of coconut grower in business mode. Training is a source of information, advice and influence in the decision making process. Training helps in enhancement of knowledge, improvement of skill, interaction with experts and to build confidence. Keeping this in view, the present study was conducted to know the training need areas of coconut growers in Gop block of Puri district of the state of Odisha.

Introduction

Soil is one of the elements required for farming and it provides nutrients to the plant. Healthy soil containing all the elements for growth and development of crop as well as heart of soil health is the integration of the soil physical, chemical, and biological process and its functions. But inorganic farming adopted over the recent years to maximize crop production has become Hazardous because in the long run deteriorating the soil health and the quality of the agricultural produces besides polluting the environment and natural resources of soil and water dangerously. Soil testing helps to recommend chemicals fertilizers more judiciously in combination with organic manures and bio fertilizers and hence balanced nutrition to crop. Soil health and fertility is the basis for sustainable profitability of the farmers. Soil testing is a science based and time-tested tool for assessment of soil fertility status and soil ailments and for nutrient amendment recommendations.

Introduction

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L) is one of the major starchy tuber vegetable crops of the world. It is a unique crop which can supplement the food needs of the country in a substantial manner. Today, potato is the need of life or poor man’s food in many countries including India. Potato production in India has made tremendous progress only with the development of new technologies in different fields of agriculture. It has been observed that the farmers are not adopting recommended practices and consequently not realizing the potential yield of potato. To understand the problems of farmers in the adoption of complete recommended farm practices, researchers as well as extension workers should come out with some concrete findings and suggestions, which can solve these problems. It has been seen that a large number of techniques and practices do not reach the farmer’s fields and those carried to the farmers get considerably distorted or often adopted partially with the result that farmers do not get the potential yield.

Introduction

In the era of communication and information, each one of us should have access to information as per our choice, interest, priority, need and requirement. We all are playing different role in different walk of life in different capacity, for different professions, avocations, duties and responsibilities as well. To internalize any concept or idea, a perceptual clarity is very much necessary for interweaving it in our experiential textures. This is possible when more and more number of sensory organs are engaged in a learning situation irrespective of the subject or content to learn. In 21 Century with the advancement of science and technology, more particularly, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), it is possible to establish the connectivity on e-mode and do the things on virtual mode to the possible extent. It is quite possible in urban set up with proper infrastructural facilities both at the source as well as at the receiver end, without any distortion of message on account of electricity failure or wrongful handling of computer or any gadget for that matter.

The term ‘gender’ was first used by Ann Oakley and others in 1970s to describe the characteristics of men and women which are socially determined in contrast to biological differences. The term ‘gender’ further explains, a neutral term meaning, either men or women or both are in a particular context. The goal is to improve the status of disadvantaged class and get rid of socially created and approved discriminations. The green revolution in India changed the face of agriculture but apparently it contributed to two general trends (FAO, 1996) where wealthy have benefited more from technological change in agriculture than the less well off and secondly men have benefited more than women. In general, it is true that the priorities are set by men and some women, who are unaware of gender issues, and that these are seldom considered unless the research is sociological. But even social research can be totally gender blind.

Introduction

Agriculture is the main sector of the Odisha economy and contributes approximately 42% to the gross domestic product (GDP) and employs over 80% of the population. Despite its role, agricultural production is constrained by high climate variability where rainfall distribution is extremely uneven and this has negative implications for the livelihoods of people .Drought frequently results in crop failure, while high rainfall intensities result in low infiltration and high runoff causing enhanced soil erosion and land degradation. Land degradation in the form of soil erosion and declining land fertility is a serious challenge to agricultural productivity and economic growth (Lemenih, 2004).Studies indicate that the tribal district of Odisha have experienced high rates of soil erosion and deforestation, resulting in sediment accumulation in downstream reservoirs and rivers.

Introduction

Agriculture sector is currently at the crossroads, which is evident in terms of higher nutritive food requirements juxtaposed with growing population. Food production faces multiple challenges due to frequent occurrence of natural calamities, sudden rise in temperature, increase in occurrence of disease and pests leading to both pre and postharvest crop loss. Alarming decrease in fertility status of high and medium land soils of Odisha due to formation of hard clay pan below 4-6” of soil depth has resulted in slowing down of nutrient mineralization by the soil microorganisms within the soil. Crop production stress is further aggravated due to steady decrease in availability of cultivable land with the advent of urbanization, which concurrently reduced the number of dedicated agricultural households. It has been estimated that production of all food grains and horticultural crops needs to be doubled at farmer’s level in order to feed the growing population of the world failing which there will be food crisis by2050.

Introduction

Agriculture as a primary sector in India is mostly production oriented. Global agriculture is experiencing significant changes in terms of technological and digital revolution, rapid urbanization, faster growth in middle income groups, changing food habits, market oscillations, and above all, climate change. During the last 50 years, India has recorded 4 to 10-fold increase in agriculture and food production(food grains-290 MT, horticultural produce -315 MT, milk production nearly 180 MT, and fish production approaching 12 MT), rendering the country as the second largest agrarian economy in the world (Singh, 2019). Despite the excellent progress, the country is home to over one third of the world’s small and marginal farm holders, with scattered land holding. Eighty f ive percent of the farmers are small and marginal. On the other hand, world’s population is growing and to meet the growing food demand there is a need to increase agricultural output by at least 60 percent globally, and 100 percent in developing countries (FAO, 2014a)

Introduction

The much awaited new educational Policy 2020 approved and released by the Central Government on July, 29, 2020. A document which is set to transform Indian education system in most holistic way and will exert a long lasting influence on framing the Indian education system by addressing the vivid issues across the discipline and streams. The implementation of this policy will be under a single body HECI (Higher Education Council of India) well supported by multiple bodies like National Higher Education Regulatory Council(NHREC), Meta-accrediting body referred as Nation accreditation Council (NAC), Higher Education Grant Council (HEGC), General Education Council(GEC) also called Graduate attributes, it will formulate the National Higher Education Qualification Frame work (NHEQF). This council will take over presently regulating bodies of higher education like University Grant Commission, All India Council of Technical Education and National Council of Teachers Education.

Rice is the longest continuously grown cereal crop in the world and according to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) it is “one of the most important developments in history” (Forssell, 2008). India has to produce 114 million tons of rice by the year 2030 to meet the food grain requirement of burgeoning population. In state Bihar, Kharif is the predominant season with rice cultivated in 3.2 m ha. On the other hand the rice is cultivated in about 1 lakh ha during Rabi season (Anonymous, 2014). The process-based dynamic simulation crop models based on soil, crop and weather factors could be effective research tools for planning alternative strategies for crop management, land use and water management and also a useful tool for planning and developing technological interventions in diverse areas like India (Aggarwal and Kalra, 1994).

Introduction

Rice plays a unique role in providing food to the majority of the world population. Rice is the most widely consumed food for nearly three-fourths of the population in India. Now a days scented rice is getting higher market price than normal rice varieties. Black Scented rice is commonly considered as forbidden rice. Different researches proved that black Scented rice is one of the “super food” of the world. Black Scented rice is consumed in various ways like puddings, pulao, bread, etc in different festivals and during important ceremonies. Mostly this crop is prone to lodging but resistance to infestation by insect and pest. Works done in India and abroad indicates that the particular method of establishment, adequate level of nitrogen and a particular time of application of nitrogenous fertilizer can enhance productivity. Nitrogen is the main nutrient that determines rice yield, due to its role in the photosynthesis, biomass accumulation and, spikelet formation (Hasegawa et al., 1994; Yoshida et al., 2006).

Introduction

Protected cultivation or greenhouse cultivation is the most common technique to grow vegetable crops qualitatively and quantitatively, and has spread widely all over the world in recent decades. Greenhouse agriculture is also known as environmentally controlled planting. The technology involves the cultivation of vegetable crops in a regulated environment in which factors such as tem perature, soil, light, humidity, irrigation, fertilizers, etc. are controlled in order to achieve optimum production and ensure a steady supply even in off-season conditions. In India, the total area under protected cultivation or green house is currently approximately 25 000 ha whereas the protected vegetable area is approximately 2000 ha which has been challenged by land ownership limita tions, decreasing crop production, rapid urbanization, ever increasing popu lation and decreasing biodiversity. Food demand, especially vegetables, has increased growing of different crop varieties as protected crops, or greenhouse has opened up a new dimension to extra production within a limited crop area.

Introduction

Pulses are a part of healthy and balanced diet and have special importance for vegetarians in fulfilling their daily requirements for body proteins. Low productivity in pulses is due to nutritional deficiency in soil and imbalanced external fertilization (Awomi et al., 2012). Nitrogen (N) is more important as it is essential component of amino acids and proteins. It fixes atmospheric N of about 35 kg ha-1 by the help of symbiotic Rhizobium, a soil bacterium (Movalia et al., 2020). Globally, Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium can fix approximately 175 x 106tons of N every year which is higher than the annual total chemical N fertilizer production of 30 x 106tons (Hidayatullah et al., 2016). The element molybdenum (Mo) is crucial for functions of nitrogenase and nitrate reductase, the two important enzymes that act as catalyst for N fixation. These two enzymes work properly in presence of Mo as nitrogenase contains Fe-Mo and Fe-Fd proteins, and N fixation cannot take place without these proteins (Hidayatullah et al., 2016).

Introduction

In India, the ground water recharge in arid and semi-arid regions is very important particularly as most of the population residing in these regions depend on groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes. In such scenarios, to alleviate the problems of drinking water, the collection and storage of rainwater to supplement existing water supply sources should be implemented. The utilization of rainwater is one of the best methods that can aid in sustainable urban development (Kim et al., 2005). Every drop of rainfall should be utilized to cater the demand of an ever increasing population as the present system of water supply may not be sufficient in future. The rain water collection & its utilization, seems to be the only option to satisfy the demand of arid and semi arid regions. In most cases, the rain water is the purest water source & contains very low impurities. It is necessary to adopt rainwater harvesting methods in places where the conventional water supply has failed to meet the peak period demand of the people for drinking water. Rain water harvesting is one of the most economical and practical methods to provide supplementary water supplies for drinking purpose.

Introdoction

Tillage is a prime activity carried out prior to sowing of a crop with an objective to bring the soil to a favorable tilth to provide a congenial environment for crop growth and yield. The operation of ploughing once and left out for a few weeks followed by a broadcasting of rice seeds by hand and then ploughing and raking together at the same time once gave highly significant rice grain yield (Srisa-ard, 2008). Adoption of the “Sawah” system (bunded, puddle and leveled) in inland valleys in Ghana lead to significant improvement in soil and water management; enhancement in rice grain yield and made sustainable production. Even the practice of Sawah system of cultivation increased local rice production by over 300% because of the mechanisms with intrinsic resistance to erosion (better water control and nutrient management (Buri et al., 2012).

Introduction

Agriculture is the most important sector of Indian Economy. The agriculture sector accounts for 18 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and provides employment to 50 per cent of the countries workforce. India has emerged as the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world. Formerly agriculture was more dependent on nature and all the operations were carried out manually, however new technologies have been developed to increase the production and productivity of crops (Rangbhal, 2018).

Introduction

Irrigated agriculture plays a predominant role in the state’s food grain production. Erratic trend of rainfall, it has been realized that the availability of water will become very less in forthcoming days as a result cultivation of crops will face water crisis. Development of new water resources needs excessive money investment with high level of expertise and technical knowhow. The ground water is also falling down to greater and greater depth due to overdraft causing for the restriction of the construction of tube wells. Further the efficiency of traditional irrigation system in India is now varying from 30% to 40% against 62 to 65% during the project plan periodbecause of wastage of this valuable water resource due to mismanagement. To meet the increasing demand for additional food grain production, the demand for water in the irrigation sector will increase substantially. In such a situation conservation of water and its proper management is necessary for developing a sustainable agricultural system avoiding the degradation of the land quality, water and other natural resources in an irrigated area.

Introduction

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the vital cereal crop, probably the oldest cultivated grain crop, produced under varied ecosystems is consumed as the primary source of food by the billions of people throughout the world covering 9% of total arable land among world. India is one of the top leading countries in the entire world in case of both production and consumption of rice. Rice is cultivated in 43.86 m ha geographical area of the country producing 115.6 million tons (2018- 2019) of rice. It is produced in various ecosystems throughout the country under diverse climatic and soil condition but the productivity is much lower as compared to other countries. According to Pandey et al. (2006), the average loss of rice production during drought years in major rainfed rice grown states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha was found to be 30 percent of the annual production in case of non-drought years.

Introduction

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L. ) popularly known as Gram, Bengal gram, Egyptian pea, Chana, or Kabuli chana, Garbanzo bean is one of the first grain legumes to be domesticated by humans in old world (Van der Maesen, 1972). The genus Cicer belongs to the sub-family Papilionaceae of the family Leguminoceae (Bentham and Hooker, 1970) now popularly known as ‘Fabaceae’ and have chromosome number 2n = 2x = 16. The origin of the crop is considered to be Western Asia from where it has been transferred in India and other parts of the world (Rathore and Sharma, 2003). Importance of pulses is relatively more in our country as its contribution in nutrient supply is far more in Indian diet than that in Asia and world as a whole (Ali,2002).

Introduction

Smart farming focuses on retrieving data and using it in developing farming systems in a smart way that will yield better results. Such real time data can be readily accessed by the farmers through smart phones or tablets which will help them to take wise decisions at the right time. It helps in managing farms using technologies like IoT, robotics, drones and AI to increase the quantity and quality of products while optimizing the human labor required by production. Digital farming goes a step further and creates value from data. Integrating the concept of precision and smart farming, digital farming can be explained as “consistent application of the methods of precision farming and smart farming, internal and external networking of the farm and use of web-based data platforms together with Big Data analysis” (A paper on Digital Agriculture, 2018). Though such technologies are highly attractive and worth investing, they are also accompanied by uncertainty and trade – offs. Education, training, dissemination of information, finance and marketing are some of the major factors that would drive the farmers towards adoption of sustainable farming technologies (Grand View Research, 2019).

Site of incision: Make two incisions at mid-lateral aspect at base of the tail join them dorso-ventrally and reflect the skin caudally up the 4-5 inches.

Site of incision: Make a mid-lateral and mid-medial longitudinal incision on hindlimb from stiffle joint to 3rd digit. Joins the above incisions transversally on caudal aspect at stiffle joint above and 3rd phalanx below, respectively. Remove the skin on plantero-medial aspect of limb.

Site of incision: Make a mid-lateral and mid-medial longitudinal incision on hind-limb from stifle joint to 3rd digit. Joins, the above incisions transversally on cranial aspect at stifle joint and 3rd phalanx, respectively. Remove the skin on dorsolateral aspect of limb.

Site of incision: Abduct the hind limb well apart and remove the skin covering the medial aspect of thigh. To obtain this make an incision longitudinally along the entire length of pelvic symphysis. From both ends of this incision make vertical incision up to medial aspect of stifle joint and joins distal end of these vertical incision together and remove the skin to expose the muscles of medial aspect of thigh region. To expose deeper muscles incise the vertebral attachment of biceps femoris, reflect it caudally by incising muscle close to stifle than reflect middle gluteus muscle dorsocranially and observe the deeper layer of muscles.

Site of incision: Make an incision from distal end of cranial margin of stifle joint to coxal tuber and extend it dorsally up to mid dorsal line of the body. Make another incision at mid caudal of thigh from stifle region to tuber ischii and extend it to mid dorsal up to the base of the tail and then connects the distal ends of both previous incisions and reflect the skin up to mid dorsal line of the body.

Site of incision: Make a transverse incision below the anus between lateral margins of tuber ischia. Then from each end of this incision make an oblique incision caudo-cranially so that these join midventrally each other between the thighs. Remove the triangular flap of skin to expose the region.

Site of incision: Remove the abdominal viscera to expose the sublumber region.

Site of incision: Make a dorsoventral incision along caudal border of last rib up to mid ventral region of abdomen and another incision along the coxal tuber up to mid ventral region of abdomen. Joins the above two incision mid ventrally and reflect the skin up to mid dorsal aspect of lumber region.

Site of incision: Cut the skin over the back and loin region by making cranio caudal straight incision along the proximal part of 1st rib and the lateral margin of transverse process of lumbar vertebrae up to wing of sacrum and reflect the skin to mid dorsal aspect of back and loin.

Site of incision: Make a midventral incision on the sternum from cranial to caudal than from both ends of this incision make cranial incisions along the caudal border of shoulder and arm region to mid dorsal aspect of back and along last rib to mid dorsal aspect of back, respectively. Reflect the skin flap from ventral aspect to mid dorsal region of back.

Site of incision: Make a midventral incision on the neck from larynx up to thoracic inlet then make ventrodorsal incision from both ends of this incision up to mid dorsal aspect of neck region.

Site of Incision

Make an incision around the eyeball at the margin of orbit.Then remove the supraorbital process by cutting dorsal and ventral end to access inside the orbit. Remove all the attachments of eyeball from osseous orbit through carefull dissection. Then remove all the extraoccular and periorbital fat to expose the muscles of eyeball.

Site of incision

Remove the skin of intermandibular space.Then remove one of the rami of mandible by disarticulating temporo-mandibular joint at caudal end and cut the ramus just behind the mental foramen.

Site of incision-Make a rostro-caudal incision along the ventral border of horizontal ramus of mandible then extend cranio-dorsally along caudal margin of nostrils up to middorsal line of face. From the caudal end of 1st incision make another incision dorsally up to base of the ear then passes cranially along the ventral aspect of eye up to mid dorsal line of face. Reflect the skin carefully from ventral to dorsal, carefully remove the muscle zygomaticus, malaris and nasolabialis as these are firmly attached to skin.

Site of incision- Make a mid-lateral and mid-medial longitudinal incision on forelimb from elbow joint to 3rd digit. Join the above incisions transversally on caudal aspect at elbow joint above and 3rd phalanx below, respectively. Remove the skin on palmero-medial aspect of limb.

Site of incision

Make a mid-lateral and mid-medial longitudinal incision on forelimb from elbow joint to 3rd digit. Joins the above incisions transversally on cranial aspect of elbow joint and 3rd phalanx, respectively. Remove the skin on dorsolateral aspect of limb

Site of incision: Detach the limb from the trunk by cutting various muscles viz; pectoral muscles, serratus ventralis, latissimus dorsi, brachiocephalicus, omotransversarius, trapezius, rhomboideus and long head of triceps.

Site of incision

Remove the skin flap of pectoral region to expose the pectoral muscles.

Site of incision: Make a straight dorso-ventral incision through skin from the summit of dorsal vertebral spine to the cranioventral aspect of shoulder joint. Extend it up to the cranial margin of shoulder joint, then caudo-ventrally up to caudal most part of elbow joint. Make another ventrodorsal straight incision from caudal most point of elbow joint to the summit of vertebral spine then reflect the skin flap from ventral to dorsal up to mid dorsal line of the body. Remove the facia to expose the various muscles of this region.

Myology: It is the branch of biological science which deals with the description of different muscles and their accessory structures.

Muscle is a contractile tissue present in all animals. Its function is to produce motion. Impulses from nerve cells control the contraction of each muscle fiber. Contractile part of muscles is muscular tissue.

There are three kinds of muscular tissue in the body:

a. Striated or striped muscle

b. Non-striated or unstriped or smooth muscle

c. Cardiac muscle.

For dissection purpose only striated muscles are included in this book.

Omics technologies based on genes and proteins involved in the nematode activities and the plant resistance responses are key factors to novel nematode management. Techniques such as next-generation sequencing of genomes and transcriptomes, RNAi, PIs, MAS, chemo-disruptive peptides and genetic transformation systems with reproducible results must be available within phytonematodes management strategies to enhance crop yields (Abd-Elgawad, 2022). Linking long-read sequencing to the use of high density genetic mapping can also support the detection and characterization of nematode-virulent genes. Progress in computational biology, bioinformatics, and analyzing the omics large-scale data can efficiently boost these techniques to offer accurate recognition of components and pathways engaged in nematode parasitism and plant response. Updated genome-editing devices will serve classical plant breeding and precisely translate how gene actions are linked to phenotypic performances. Yet, these methods must be cautiously used to avoid unwanted effects such as nematode virulence and pleiotropic impacts on qualitative and quantitative crop yields. Definite issues such as those related to the transfer of multiple disease resistance traits, gene original construct, and specificity of the virulent nematodes to the R-gene may arise in particular cases.

Modeling phytonematodes is helpful in the investigation of several host plant interactions and may yield useful information to be exploited in the integration of management strategies and biological control. Modeling the phytonematodes density changes in a soil/root microcosm may allow the identification of main factors active in such systems (Ciancio et?al?, 2022). The multiple tri-trophic interactions linking roots, phytonematodes and antagonists, however, originate a very complex system. It requires knowledge about the many parameters describing the nematode life stages, the interactions with the antagonistic organisms present in the microcosm, as well as their capabilities for effective and durable host regulation. Descriptive variables should also account for the effects of roots and of other environmental factors at work in the tri-trophic interaction system. Models may provide benefits, including the possibility of identifying the best moment for the inoculation of a biocontrol agent, the optimal amount of its inoculum applied to maximize its biocontrol efficacy, as well as the possibility to simulate and thus investigate its behavior once introduced in soil.

Genetic resistance is the more efficient and the more environmentally friendly way to protect crops against phytonematodes. Nematode management is complex, hence, the prevention of an initial phytonematode infestation in pathogen-free areas is of fundamental importance. However, after the entry of the nematode into an area, it is virtually impossible to eradicate because it is a soil-dwelling organism. In this regard, the genetic resistance of plants to nematodes is considered one of the most efficient and economically feasible methods to prevent production losses (Matsuo et?al?, 2012). Thus, breeding for nematode resistance is essential in crop management to obtain a high yield and stable production.

14.1 Model Organism: A model organism is a species that has been widely studied, usually because it is easy to maintain and breed in a laboratory setting and has particular experimental advantages. Model organisms are non-human species that are used in the laboratory to help scientists understand biological processes. They are usually organisms that are easy to maintain and breed in a laboratory setting. For example, they may have particularly robust embryos that are easily studied and manipulated in the lab, this is useful for scientists studying development. They may occupy a pivotal position in the evolutionary tree, this is useful for scientists studying evolution.