eChapters

Statistics: Collection of methods for planning experiments, obtaining data,

and then organizing, summarizing, presenting, analyzing, interpreting, and

drawing conclusions.

Sir R.A. Fisher: Father of modern statistics.

Population: All subjects possessing a common characteristic that is being

studied.

Sample: A subgroup or subset of the population.

Parameter: Characteristic or measure obtained from a population.

Statistic: Characteristic or measure obtained from a sample.

Karl Pearson: Study of correlation and chi-square test of goodness of fit.

W.S.Gosset: Student’s t-test for small sample

Francis Galton: Regression analysis.

Descriptive Statistics: Collection, organization, summarization, and

presentation of data.

Inferential Statistics: Generalizing from samples to populations using

probabilities. Performing hypothesis testing, determining relationships

between variables, and making predictions.

The term ‘Management’ derived from word ‘manage’ derived from French

word menage means ‘housekeeping’.

According to Knootz and Weihrich 1988, ‘Management as the process of

designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working

together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims’.

According to Louis E.Boone and David L.Kurtz ‘management as the use of

people and other resources to accomplish objectives’.

POSDCORB is an acronym widely used in the field of Management and

Public Administration., it first appeared in a 1937 staff paper by Luther Gulick

and Lyndall Urwick. The acronym stands for steps in the administrative

process: Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting

and Budgeting.

Rural Development: The economic betterment of people as well as greater

social transformation. The efforts for rural development comprises the direct

and indirect involvement of people at the grass root level for development of

agriculture/animal husbandry, industry, communication, education, health and

allied sectors.

Democratic Decentralization: To ensure people’s participation in rural

development programmes, democratic decentralization has been the core

principle of the government since 1957. In the process, people’s participation

in all developmental activities has been the unique phenomena to find out the

solutions of their problems.

Panchayat Raj: On the principle of democratic decentralization, Panchayat

Raj institutions were launched in 1957 as per the recommendations of Balwant

Rai Mehta Committee. Under this, the government has derived its authority

from the people, and distribute to some extent to the people for decision and

action at the local level called Panchayat Raj.

Extension teaching methods: Methods by using them new information can

pass freely between the extension worker and rural communities. Extension

education is mainly concerned with the dissemination of useful and practical

information relating to rural life and helping the rural people in the practical

application of such knowledge to rural situations. Extension teaching methods

can be classified on the basis of:

Some Definition

Farmer’s call: Call made by a farmer or homemaker at the working place of

the extension agent for getting information.

Adoptive/minikit trial: It is a method of determining the suitability of a new

practice in farmer’s situation.

Farm clinic: It is a facility developed for diagnosis and treatment of farm

problems and provides specialist advice to individual farmers.

Field day/ Farmer’s day: Methods of motivating the people to adopt a new

practice by showing what has actually been achieved by applying the practice

under field condition.

Communication word comes from Latin ‘Communis’ - Common

Communication: The communication is the process of human interaction in

which one person communicates a message/idea to another person.

Diffusion: It is the process by which an innovation/new idea/new technique

spreads.

According to Rogers (1983) ‘Communication is the process by which the

message is transmitted from the source to the receiver’.

Function of communication

1. Informative

2. Instructive/Command

3. Influence/Persuasive

4. Integrative

Communicator: Person who starts the process of communication OR he is the

sender of message

Message: It is the information the communicator wishes his audience to

receive, understand and act upon

Encoding: It is a process of interpreting the message

Decoding: It is a process of receiving the message

Research: The word research is composed of two words “Re” and “Search”.

“Re” - ‘Again or over again or a new’.

“Search” - ‘To examine closely and carefully’ or ‘to test and try’.

Research is a careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in some field

of knowledge undertaken to establish principles / policies.

Science: It is a systematized knowledge derived through observation,

experimentation or any other systematic method or procedure in order to

determine the nature of phenomenon or process being studied or the causes

behind specific events.

Research Methodology: The study of conducting research is research

methodology.

Pure/Basic/Fundamental Research: Gathering, knowledge is termed as

‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research. Just to gather knowledge in order to formulate or

generalize theories or policies. Pure research involves developing and testing

theories and hypotheses that are intellectually challenging to the researcher but

may or may not have practical application at the present time or in the future.

Father of sociology: Auguste Comte

The term sociology was coined by Auguste Comte (1789-1875).

Sociology word comes from two roots i.e. Latin word ‘socius’ meaning companion Greek word ‘logos’ meaning speech or reasoning.

Sociology: Sociology is the scientific study of human social behavior and its origins, development, organizations, and institutions. It is a social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social actions, social structure and functions.

Rural sociology: The study of social life of peoples lives in rural areas.

Social organization: The study of the various institutions, social groups, social stratification, social mobility, bureaucracy, ethnic groups and relations, and other similar subjects such as education, politics, religion, economy etc.

Social psychology: The study of human nature as an outcome of group life, social attitudes, collective behavior, and personality formation.

Social change: Alteration in the structure and function of society. It may be structural, functional and cultural changes and it deals with the study of such current problems in society such as juvenile delinquency, criminality, drug addiction, family conflicts, divorce, population problems etc.

The Constitution of India related to women

Guarantees to all Indian women equality: Article 14

No discrimination by the State: Article 15(1)

Equality of opportunity: Article 16

Equal pay for equal work: Article 39(d)

Securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief: Article 42

The All India Women’s Education Conference was held in Pune in 1927

The National Policy For the Empowerment of Women came was passed in 2001

In 2010 March 9, Rajya Sabha passed the Women’s Reservation Bill requiring that 33% of seats in India’s Parliament and state legislative bodies be reserved for women.

Women perform 2/3 of the world’s work

Women earn 1/10 of the world’s income

Women comprise 2/3 of the world’s illiterate

Women own less than 1/100 of the world’s property

Father of Extension: James Stuart •

Word Extension: Derived from Latin roots “ex” - Out “tensio” - Stretching

Extension term originated in England as University Extension in 1866.

The term Extension Education first used in 1873 by Cambridge University.

Philosophy of Extension (Kelsey and Hearne, 1967): How to think.

Binet test: Intelligence test (IQ)

Function of Extension: Change in Attitude, Skill and Knowledge of an individuals.

Extension Education Process: Extension education is a participative and continuous process

Learning Situation: It is a condition or environment in which all the elements necessary for promoting learning are present.

Elements of effective learning situations in Extension are:

 

About two-thirds of the developing world’s three billion rural people live in about 475 million small farm households, working on land plots smaller than two hectares. Many are poor and food insecure and have limited access to markets and services. Their choices are constrained, but they cultivate their land and produce food for a substantial proportion of the world’s population. Besides farming, they have multiple economic activities, often in the informal economy, to contribute towards their small incomes. These small farms depend predominantly on family labour. In China, nearly 98 percent of farmers cultivate farms smaller than 2 hectares – the country alone accounts for almost half the world’s small farms. In India about 80 to 85 percent of farmers are small. In Ethiopia and Egypt, farms smaller than 2 hectares constitute nearly 90 percent of the total number of farms. In Mexico, 50 percent of the farmers are small; in Brazil smallholders make up for 20 percent of the total number of farmers (Rapsomanikis, 2019).

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.

Stress is an intrinsic part of biological systems, and successfully adapting to stimuli that induce stress is essential for the survival of dryland crops and farm animals kept in a complex and ever-changing environment. Here the biotic stresses of crop plants are treated and not that of farm animals to avoid the expansion of the volume of the chapter. Biotic stress in plants is caused by living organisms, specifically viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, insects, arachnids, and weeds. In contrast to abiotic stress caused by environmental factors such as drought and heat. Biotic stress agents directly deprive their host of its nutrients leading to reduced plant vigour and, in extreme cases, death of the host plant. In agriculture, biotic stress is a major cause of pre- and postharvest losses. Plants respond to biotic stress through a defence system (Atkinson and Urwin, 2012).

Marginal and sub marginal lands are being brought under cultivation to meet the demand of human and livestock in terms of rising demand of 6F viz., food, fodder, fuel wood, fibre and fertilizer. These in lands are unable to sustain productivity. Cultivation on such lands leads to imbalance in the ecosystem. In order to meet the above said demands and to conserve the natural resources, a diversified land use system needs to be adopted in different agro-ecological regions of the country as an alternative to conventional cropping systems. Through this approach, the biological productivity and quality of resource base of degraded lands can be significantly enhanced. Land use systems which are alternatives to crop production are called by the term ‘Alternate Land Use Systems’.

Dryland agriculture is a more vulnerable system in view of its high dependency on monsoon rains which are of aberrant nature. The risk of crop failure and poor yields always restrain farmers from investing on new technologies and input use.

Concept of resilience

Resilience is used to describe the magnitude of a disturbance that a system can withstand without crossing threshold into a new structure or dynamic. Resilience is defined as “the ability of a system and its component parts to anticipate, absorb, accommodate, or escape from unacceptable standards of living due to the effects of a hazardous event, in a timely and efficient manner”. In other words, resilience describes the capacity of communities in a given context or landscape to maintain and improve their livelihoods—despite stresses and shocks—through the sustainable management of natural resources while maintaining key ecological functions

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. (https://www.un.org/ en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change) While it is possible to achieve enhanced food production to meet the demands of growing populations, the prevailing negative environmental trends, if continued, might cause crises in many parts of the world (Molden, 2007). The effects of climate change on agriculture can take place through changes in average temperatures, rainfall, and climate extremes (e.g., heat waves); changes in pests and diseases; changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and ground-level ozone concentrations; changes in the nutritional quality of some foods; and changes in sea level. (Anonymous, 2014A)

In India since ages, the dryland farmers adopted a kind of mixed farming involving traditional annual crops and livestock consisting of one or two cows / bullocks and few poultry birds. This traditional system though of small scale provided some kind of risk minimisation particularly in the years of scanty rainfall causing agricultural drought. (https://coabnau.in/uploads/1587050523_ Agriculturalheritage.pdf) Discouraged by their marginal impact on farm economy, dryland farmers switched over to the lure of ‘productive’ mono-cropping with certain commercial crops like cotton etc. The continuous mono-cropping resulted in impoverishment of soils and low crop yields which took farmers into the labyrinth of poverty.

Historical perspective: Planting of single crops or mono-cultural agriculture—is a recent invention of the industrial agricultural complex (Hirst, 2019). While unequivocal archaeological evidence is difficult to come by, it’s believed that most agricultural field systems in the past involved some form of mixed cropping. That’s because of even botanical evidence of plant residues such as starches or phytoliths of multiple crops are discovered in an ancient fields (Hirst, 2019). Mixed cropping, also known as polyculture, or co-cultivation, is a type of agriculture that involves planting two or more crop plants simultaneously in the same field so that they grow together. The primary reason for prehistoric multi or mixed cropping probably had more to do with the needs of the farmer’s family and perhaps to avoid crop failure. It’s possible that certain plants adapted to multi-cropping over time disappeared as a result of the domestication process (Hirst 2016).

Dryland agriculture limits the crop growth to a part of the year due to lack of sufficient moisture (Peterson et al., 2006). According to the Fourth five-year plan of India, dry lands are defined as areas which receive rainfall ranging from 375 mm to 1125 mm and with very limited irrigation facilities. Dry lands are economically fragile regions which are highly vulnerable to environmental stress and shocks. Degraded soils with low water holding capacities along with multiple nutrient deficiencies and depleting ground water table contribute to low crop yields and further leading to land degradation. In a country like India, 44 per cent of the total food production is supported by dryland agriculture, thereby playing a critical role in nation’s food security. With the increasing population, food production has to be increased. A real need to second green revolution has been envisioned, which can be achieved by improving the dryland agriculture.

Rainfed farming has a distinct place in the Indian agriculture, occupying 67 % of cultivated area contributing 44 % of food grains to our national food basket, supporting 40% of human and 65% of livestock population. The system is characterized by resource poor farmers, poor infrastructure and low investment in technology inputs. Even when full irrigation potential of the country is realized, 50% of the net sown area is continued to be rainfed. The important problems encountered in rainfed areas are unfavorable weather, limited choice of crops and varieties, low cropping intensity and unstable productivity. The research work done by the net work of AICRPDA (All India Co-ordinate Research Project for Dryland areas) centres and SAUs (State Agricultutal Universities) indicated that the production in rainfed environment could be enhanced by 200 % compared to the productivity of farmers’ field by adopting improved cropping systems and agro techniques.

Soil and water are the basic resources in drylands. Soil supports plant life by providing a medium for their growth and development. It is a non-renewable natural resource and susceptible to rapid degradation through various forms of erosion processes. Worldwide, around 52% of total productive land has been degraded by various kinds of degradation processes and almost 80% of the terrestrial land is affected by water erosion .Further, annually ~10 million hectares (Mha) of cropland becomes an unproductive at the global level due to soil erosion with an average rate of 30 t ha−1 year−1 soil erosion .In India, out of 328 million hectares of geographical area, 68 million hectares are critically degraded while 107 million hectares are severely eroded. Soil degradation in India is estimated to be occurring on 147 million hectares (Mha) of land, including 94 Mha from water erosion, 16 Mha from acidification, 14 Mha from flooding, 9 Mha from wind erosion, 6 Mha from salinity, and 7 Mha from a combination of factors (Battacharya et al., 2015).

Moisture deficit causing shortfalls in crop production is the characteristic feature of dryland agriculture. Other adverse factors viz., decline in soil fertility together with play of biotic stresses add to the complexities of dryland crop production. Added to the proven agronomic management to combat the problem of drought in dryland agriculture, there is the need to tailoring of suitable crop varieties which can yield reasonably well under conditions of moisture deficit (Varshney et al., 2021). In this context, the appropriate developmental rhythm along with the combination of the constellation of characters of the crop plant matching with the rainfall and the soil moisture availability patterns of the zone are the important considerations together with stability of yield (Hanson and Nelsen, 1980). This task being a complex one, the problem should be approached through multidisciplinary strategy that should buffer the genetic and breeding efforts.

The world’s drylands include hyper-arid, arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas where rainfall is highly scanty and variable. Droughts are common in areas / zones where water is the principal limiting factor for agriculture (https:// www.fao.org/3/t0122e/t0122e03.htm) . Dryland soils are characterized by low levels of moisture, organic matter, and biological activity, consequently such soils are very poor in fertility devoid of plant nutrients. When, these soils suffer further degradation in fertility, resulting in erosion, desertification, and salinization when crops are grown on such soils inappropriately without any scientific basis. However, the major factor limiting agricultural production on drylands is the lack of adequate moisture for crop growth or drought.

Multipurpose trees and shrubs are defined as all woody perennials that are purposefully grown to provide more than one significant contribution to the production and/or service functions of a land-use system that they occupy. In agroforestry systems, different species of trees and shrubs can be planted with many types of crops in a variety of patterns. Thus, it is required to know about the methods of propagation and nursery raising, planting and other silvicultural management practices along with the diverse uses of multipurpose trees and shrubs of tropical and subtropical areas before their selection for forestry and agroforestry activities. It is important to select the most suitable tree species since it is not easy to replace them once they have been planted.

Trees have been used in cropping systems since the beginning of agriculture. Throughout the world, at one period or another in its history, it has been the practice to cultivate tree species and agricultural crops in intimate combination. In the tropics, human beings underwent a transition from hunting/gathering to the use of domesticated plants and livestock. As a part of the process, they cut down trees, cleared the debris by burning and sowed crops in the ashenriched soil. It was the ‘slash-and-burn’ agriculture, a primary forerunner of the present-day agroforestry and a practice that might have originated in the Neolithic period, around 7000 BC. There are innumerable examples of traditional land-use practices involving combined production of trees and agricultural species on the same piece of land in many parts of the world. Trees were an integral part of these farming systems and they were deliberately retained on farmlands to support agriculture. These practices are now known as agroforestry. However, the ultimate objective of these practices was not tree production but food production.

Farmers have been growing trees for different purposes for thousands of years. Tree species that are grown to provide more than one significant function are called multipurpose trees. These functions may be productive such as producing fuelwood, timber, fibre, fodder, food, medicine, etc. and/or protective such as soil conservation, shade, shelterbelt, microclimate amelioration, land sustainability, biodiversity preservation, etc. All trees are multipurpose; some, however, are more multipurpose than others. Tree species can be multipurpose in two ways. 1. A single tree can provide more than one function. For example, Gliricidia sepium is grown as living fences that provide fuel, fodder and green manure for agricultural crops - all at the same time. 2. Trees of the same species, when managed differently, can provide different functions. For example, Leucaena leucocephala is managed so that some trees will mainly yield wood while others mainly produce leaf fodder.

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.

Agroforestry systems are not simply systems where trees and crops or animals give useful products to the farmers, rather systems where trees and crops and/ or animals interact. Interaction literally means influence or mutual or reciprocal action. So component interaction refers to the influence of one component of a system on the performance of other component as well as the system as a whole. In agroforestry systems, trees are grown in close proximity to crops and pasture. Their performance would largely depend on their ability to share various growth resources in a given environmental situation. Various interactions take place between the woody trees and herbaceous plants (crops or pastures) which is referred to as tree-crop interface. These interactions take place through the media of soil and microclimate and may exert favourable or adverse effects on the crop. Study of interaction helps to know how the components of agroforestry utilize and share the resources of the environment, and how the growth and development of any of the components will influence the others. Interaction occurs both above and below the ground and includes a complex set of interactions relating to radiation exchange, the water balance, nutrient budget and cycling, shelter and other microclimatic modifications.

In agroforestry systems the various components like tree, crop and pasture exist in different proportions and orientations. It is difficult to find out which agroforestry system is the best suited for a given land situation. Similarly, it is to be decided which technologies are required for refinement and improvement of the existing agroforestry practices. But without sufficient knowledge of the existing system in a particular land situation, it is very difficult to set the research priorities for modification and development of this system. Diagnosis and Design (D & D) is a systematic and objective methodology developed by International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) to initiate, monitor and evaluate agroforestry programmes. D & D is based on the philosophy that knowledge of the existing situation (diagnosis) is essential to plan and evaluate (design) meaningful and effective programmes in agroforestry research for development. The methodology plays a strategic role in all the phases of the agroforestry research process. D & D in agroforestry is unique and it has been specially developed for the following purposes.

Agroforestry is a land use system that involves two or more plant species at least one of which must be a woody perennial. When perennial woody and herbaceous components are grown together on the same piece of land their performance would largely depend on their ability to share various growth resources in a given environmental situation. Due to difference in growth pattern and resource requirement of the components in agroforestry situation, a close interactive relation is obvious. Thus, careful management practices for the components are required to establish a successful agroforestry system. The characteristics of the trees and crops, and their interactions, can be modified with good management practices in order to take advantage of the positive characteristics and minimize the effects of the negative ones. Effective and efficient agroforestry management may be divided into two groups; tree management and agricultural crop management.

The words ‘system’, ‘sub-system’ and ‘practice’ are commonly used in agroforestry literature. In a broad sense, a system is defined as a group of associated elements forming a unified whole and working together in a well defined regular relation for a common goal. An agroforestry system refers to a type of agroforestry land-use that extends over a locality to the extent of forming a land utilization type of the locality. Sub-system and practice are lower-order terms in the hierarchy with lesser magnitudes of role, content and complexity. However, these terms are used loosely, and almost synonymously. Classification of agroforestry systems is necessary in order to understand and provide a practical framework for evaluating systems and developing action plans for their improvement. Any classification scheme should satisfy the following criteria (Nair, 2008).

A forest is a large area dominated by trees. Many definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing and ecological function. Although a forest is usually defined by the presence of trees, under many definitions an area completely lacking trees may still be considered a forest if it grew trees in the past, will grow trees in the future, or was legally designated as a forest regardless of vegetation type.According to the Food andAgriculture Organization definition, forests covered 4 billion hectares or approximately 30% of the world’s land area in 2006. Forests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem of earth, and are distributed around the globe. Forests account for 75% of the  gross primary production  of the earth’s  biosphere, and contain 80% of the earth’s plant biomass.

Agroforestry is a new name for a set of old practices. The farmers have been practicing agroforestry since ancient times. The general concept of agroforestry is to integrate trees and agriculture so as to create a more diversified landscape, while providing the producers with new environmental and economic benefits. In other words, agroforestry is a method of farming that allows trees and shrubs to grow along with crops and/or livestock, therefore blending agriculture and forestry in the same production system. In fact, man’s association with forest is much older than with agriculture. First man was a food gatherer and hunter in forests. Then he realized that the seeds of the fruits he collected germinated, grew into plants and bore the fruits again and thus man started to cultivate foods. Man’s desire to live in a community created settled agriculture.

Among the various natural resources upon which all living organisms depend, soil is the unique because of its non-renewable in nature, heterogeneity in space and time and susceptibility to degradation inflicted by biotic as well as abiotic agents. Whereas, escalating population demands, in one way, to bring more land under the plough for providing food, fodder, fuel and fibre, simultaneously, on the other way, these finite natural resources are dwindling by leaps and bound, through overexploitations and mismanagement, the combined effect of which leads to land degradation, a serious global threat and major environmental issues in the present times.

Micronutrients are those elements essential for green plants but required in very small quantity for their growth and development. There are altogether eight micronutrient elements in soil consisting of iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron, molybdenum and chlorine with the recent addition of nickel. These together with large number of other elements usually present in plants with small concentrations are formed as trace elements. Another element, cobalt is known to be required for microorganisms concerned mainly with nitrogen fixation in legumes affects indirectly the growth of many higher plants, thus, may be considered to be included in the list of essential micronutrient element. Similarly, Vanadium and sodium although present as beneficiary elements for plant growth may also have the possibilities to be enlisted into this group of elements.

Nitrogen Content in Indian Soil Because of tropical and subtropical climates Indian soils have very low nitrogen content and in the majority of cultivated soil it varies from 0.02% to 0.13%. Low levels of N in Indian soil is primarily attributed to climate and secondarily to cropping. Climate plays the dominant role in determining the nitrogen content in soil through the effect of soil organic matter content. Generally heavy textured soils have higher N content than loamy or sandy soils. Other factors remaining the same, total N content in soil decreases with the increase in annual temperature at a given humidity level, on the other hand, it increases with increasing humidity level at a given annual temperature. Maximum N content in soil occurs in the surface layer of soils and decreases with depth in soil profile. The variation of distribution of N content in soil with depth is attributed by varying accumulation of organic matter in soil profile.

The living organisms in the terrestrial ecosystem have unique characteristics of taking up the substances from atmosphere and soil for the synthesis of their own cellular component or as a source of energy. The supply and absorption of chemical compounds required for the growth and metabolism of the organisms may be defined as nutrition and the compounds required by them are called nutrients. The process by which the nutrients are converted to cellular material is known as the metabolism. Out of 118 chemical elements so far detected in the modern periodic table, 92 elements from hydrogen to uranium are naturally occurring, a large portion (more than sixty) of such have been detected in the plant tissues. But, the elements which take part in the nutritional requirement and metabolic processes of the plant are said to be essential elements, others which do not participate in such processes are considered non-essential.

Salt affected soils can be defined as the soils containing excess amount soluble salts in their profiles in a proportion that adversely affect to soil properties and ultimately on crop growth. The soluble salts present in these soils are composed primarily with calcium, magnesium and sodium as cationic and chlorides sulfates and carbonates as anionic constituents along with the presence of potassium, nitrate and others as minor quantities. All soils invariably contain some soluble salts, but they cause harmful effects on crop growth only when accumulates in excess amount in soil solution or increase their concentration in exchange complex of the soil. Based on the presence of sodium salts and the predominance of sodium in the exchange complex, salt affected soils are classified into main categories of 1) Saline soils – contain excess soluble sodium in soil solution with little or no sodium content in exchange complex, 2) Alkaline (Sodic) soils – contain appreciable quantity of sodium adsorbed in exchange complex of soil but may or may not contain soluble sodium salts in soil solution. These soils are also divided into following types –

Soil acidity is most conveniently measured by pH of soil suspension with water. Pure water undergoes dissociation into hydrogen and hydroxyl ions and are in equilibrium with undissiociated water molecules Thus, H2 O ??? ??? H+ + OH- (1) and in presence of another H2 O molecule, H+ converts to H3 O+ H+ + H2 O ??? ??? H3 O+ (2) Since water is a weak electrolyte and dissociates as per Eqn. 1, the ionic product of water can be written as – KW = aH+ x aOH- = (CH+ x COH– ) x ( fH+ x fOH-) (3) where, a, C, and f represents the activities, concentrations and activity coefficients of respective ions. In pure water and in dilute solutions the activity coefficients are approximately unity thus the product of concentrations of H+ and OH-1 is the ionic product of water and at ordinary temperature (250 C) this has a constant value of 10-14 gm ions per litre so, Kw =(CH+ x COH–1) = 10-14 gm ion per litre (4) such that, CH+ = COH–1 = 107 gm ion per litre Therefore, if hydrogen ion concentration of an aqueous solution exceeds this value, (10-7gm ion per litre), the solution is said to be acidic then there will be a proportionate decrease of OH- concentration to maintain the constant value of ionic product.

Soil survey is essentially a systematic examination of morphological, a set of other variable soil characteristics, description, classification and mapping of soil in an area alongwith a report making an interpretation to predict their potentials for various uses particularly for crop production.

Activities of Soil Survey Soil survey is composed of the following activities –

1. Anticipation of soil variability - The initial activity of soil survey is obtained by classifying the surveyed data according to different land forms and existing land uses either through field traversing, or aerial photo or by satellite images of the concerned area.

2. Characterisation and classification – This is done on the basis of soil profile description supported with soil analytical data.

3. Soil mapping - This is performed by showing the distribution of types of soil or soil mapping units based on already classified soils with their landforms, and land uses or their combinations.

4. Interpretation - It is the process of making prediction about the potentials of soils for various uses like choice of farm practices – agriculture, horticulture, forestry, pastures etc. and their management practices.

Classification means the process of ordering or grouping of objects having large number of population and wide variations into shorter one in a systematic manner with selected characteristics. Soils being the natural objects have no exception with other objects to classify them in a best possible way. Thus, soil classification refers to the systematic categorization of soils into various groups, classes or any simpler form based on the similar properties and other distinguishing characteristics. The main purposes of soil classification are to organize knowledge, easy remembering of the soil properties for each group and better understanding about the components and the relationships among individuals and various groups of soils. Various soil classification systems have been evolved during the past for categorizing the soils into various groups but the Soil Taxonomy has been now accepted as most scientific system of classification.

The solid phase of a soil system makes up a mixture of inorganic and organic materials. The inorganic fraction of soil originated from the weathering of rocks and minerals consists of rock fragments and minerals of varying sizes and composition. Hence, this inorganic soil fraction composed by soil minerals also referred as mineral fraction of soil and is caused due to alteration of mineralogical composition of soil by bioclimatic factors. A great deal of attention is being paid to the composition of minerals in soils, their formation and distribution over the earth’s surface. Soil genesis or pedogenosis (a more useful term as soil belongs to pedosphere) deals with the processes of formation and development of soil. The branch of soil science that integrates the studies of genesis, morphology and classification of soils as natural body is called Pedology. The process of weathering of rocks, pedogenesis and development of soil profile are described successively in this chapter.

Temperature is the measure of the thermal state of a body with respect to its ability to transfer heat. Soil derives its heat almost entirely directly from the sun and losses much of it back into the atmosphere. The major processes for heat transfer in soil are: Radiation, Convection, Conduction and Latent heat exchanges between soil and atmosphere. The most important source of which is the incident radiation supplying almost all the heat energy for the biosphere and also determines the thermal regime of soil. Soil temperature or thermal regimes of soil is an extremely important property of soil as it regulates plant growth directly and influences moisture and aeration status in soil, soil structures, microbial activities and decomposition of plant residues and the availability of plant nutrients . It is controlled mainly by its thermal properties and radiation exchange over the surface and their variations within the soil. The quantity of incident solar radiation and heating the soil depends on the several factors such as exposure and latitude, albedo, soil colour, slope vegetation and composition of soil.

Water is absolute necessary constituents for the survival and growth of all the living substances on earth. It is the most essential ingredients for many of the physiological and metabolic process in plants, like photosynthesis to form sugars, translocation of cell constituents and maintenance of cell turgidity. Soil, being an adsorbent of water received from precipitation or rainfall acts as reservoir to meet requirement by plant during growing season. Water retained in the soil serves as solvent to dissolve salts and nutrients and as a carrier to translocate them for absorption by plants. It plays significant role in weathering reaction, soil forming processes and profile development. Water is also important for growth and activities of microorganisms influencing decomposition of organic matter, transformation of mineral nutrients and other physical, chemical and biological properties in soil. This chapter deals with the retention and movement of water in soils to obtain better understanding of soil-water-plant-atmosphere relationships.

The major components of soil consisting with mineral and organic matter, water and air produces a three phase systems of solid, liquid and gas. Many of the soil properties influencing crop growth and other uses depend mostly on the relative proportions of these components as well as the size, shape and arrangements of the solid matters. The physical properties of soil have strong significance in sustaining agricultural productivity. Fertiliser alone or in conjunction with suitable crop varieties and plant protection measures cannot be sufficient towards improving crop productivity unless the soil physical properties are maintained at satisfactory level. Improvement and restoration of physical properties in soil are necessary for protection of soil resources against degradation. The physical properties of soil discussed in this chapter includes soil densities, texture, structure, porosity and consistency of soils and colour of the soil.

Soil Colloids A colloid, also known as colloidal solution or colloidal system, is a mixture in which finely divided particles (less than 1µm in size) known as dispersed phase are suspended in a medium, called dispersion medium. The particles must be dispersed in a medium and both the dispersed phase and dispersion medium may be solid, liquid or gaseous which leads to numbers of possible colloidal systems. In soil, the clay fraction (< 2µm in size) together with finer fractions of some organic matter forms the composition in a state of colloidal nature, known as soil colloids. The soil solids as dispersed phase predominates in the dispersion medium (soil solution). As such, colloids in a soil are referred to as ‘sol’. Clay colloids display the most reactive fractions of soil governing their distinct properties such as adsorption and exchange of ions, zeta potential, flocculation and other electrokinetic phenomenon.

The organic constituents of soils or soil organic matter is the most essential components of soil consisting of plant and animal residues at various stages of decomposition, cells and tissues of living or nonliving organisms and the substances synthesized by their decomposition. Soil organic matter exerts profound effect on soil productivity as it acts as source and sink of plant nutrients especially nitrogen and sulphur. It also involves in major biochemical processes to transform or release of plant nutrients into their available forms. Thus, it plays vital role in soil fertility maintenance, through increasing cation exchange capacity and improving soil physical properties, such as bulk density, aggregation, water retention capacity and also supports all kinds of biological activities in soil. The soil organic matter mostly concerns only with dead organic fractions formed from the decomposition of original plant and animal residues using as a source of food and energy by the soil microorganisms. It can be distinguished into –

Soil is a dynamic natural body of the uppermost layer of earth’s crust produced by the transformation of mineral and organic substances on the earth’ s surface under the influence of environmental factors over a long period. It is the most basic of all natural resources upon which all living forms on the terrestrial ecosystem directly and indirectly depends. However, soil resources are finite, nonrenewable, fragile and heterogeneous in space and time. As a component of pedosphere, it occurs as interface between the lithosphere and atmosphere and strongly interacts with biosphere and hydrosphere (Figure 1 & 2).

Soil is a natural resource that exists on the planet much before the existence of mankind on it. The human relationship with soil throughout the history of mankind has marked its ability of crop production and influenced the success of civilisation. Such relationships also affirm soil as the foundation of agriculture and food security, supplying all the essential ingredients to plants, as fundamentals to life on planet, and support various biogeochemical cycles on earth’ s terrestrial ecosystem. Prosperity of human society depends on the utilisation of planet’ s resources in creative and productive ways. Of these resources, soil has gained much importance as it provides human to sustain themselves with their capacity to food production, to make significant contribution towards biodiversity and other ecosystem services that are vital for the functioning and resilience of earth’ s environment. Soil occupies a pivotal position in the environment to maintain its quality.

Nanotechnology epitomizes one of the most dynamic and transformative fields in modern science and technology. This multidisciplinary domain bridges chemistry, physics, biology, along with engineering, enabling the creation of materials and devices with extraordinary properties and applications. The book chapter reflects the research and patenting trends in nanotechnology. USA leading the global share for most patents granted followed by South Korea, Japan, China and Germany for the top five spots contributing more than 76% of all the granted patents by EPO & USPTO related to nanotechnology. Nanotechnological products in relation to sub-industrial areas of medicine, food, agriculture, cosmetics, environment, and renewable energies are also highlighted in chapter. 

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.