eChapters

Introduction

Whey is the serum or watery part of the milk that remains after separation of curd that result from the acid or proteolytic enzyme mediated co-agulation of milk. It is major by product of dairy industries manufacturing products like channa, paneer, cheese and chakka (Sharma and Bhatia, 1999).The current world production of whey is estimated at about 165 million tones, in that cheese whey accounts for nearly 95 % of total whey. In India near about one million tonne of whey is annually derived, in that major source of whey is from the production of channa, paneer and shrikhand production. This is mostly thrown away as a waste which creates environmental pollution, also in that way about 70, 000 tonnes of Nutritious solids are lost (Puranik, 1999).

Abstract

The production of natural food colours through bio-processing is preferred now-a-days due to health related issues associated with their synthetic counterparts. Microorganisms are generally preferred sources as these have high production rate, high growth rate, ease of handling under controlled conditions and absence of seasonal variations. Biopigments can be produced from different genera of bacteria, yeast and mold. Different types and colours of pigments have been produced from microorganisms depending upon their origin, media components and process conditions. The biopigments have variety of applications in food industry such as food additives, food preservatives, biological control agents and nutritional supplements. These have also been associated with therapeutic, and antioxidant properties. Lycopene from B. trispora is used as a food ingredient in dietary supplement. Astaxanthin from X. dendrortious has also been reported to have beneficial effect on human health as it possesses strong antioxidant properties. Arpink red P. oxalicum is used as red colorant in meat products, non-alcoholic drinks, milk products and confectionary. 0- carotene is considered as leading food colorant in world and is applied to range of baked, dairy and canned foods to improve their appearance. The antioxidant andprecursory properties of0-carotene increase its applications in pet foods. Zeaxanthin is used as additives in poultry fed to intensify the colour of the egg yolk. Monascus pigments are utilized for coloration of sausages, ham, marine products and tomato ketchup. Monascus extract is also marketed as dietetic supplement in Japan. Thus, the biopigments can serve as a chromophore for colorant production with broad spectrum of colours and wide applications.

Abstract

Health benefits of aloe vera include its application in wound healing, treating burns, protection against skin damage, lung cancer, intestinal problems, increasing high density lipoprotein (HDL), reducing low density lipoprotein (LDL), reducing blood sugar in diabetics, fighting acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), allergies and improving immune system. Phytochemistry of aloe vera gel has revealed the presence of more than 200 bioactive compounds. Aloe vera gel is extracted from its leaves and appropriate processing techniques are needed for stabilization and preparation of the food products. Aloe vera gel products have become available in our country for internal consumption as a tonic and diversification in its products is on progress. The use of aloe vera has gained popularity because of herbal movement initiated by naturopaths, yog gurus, alternative medicine promoters and holistic healers. A recent market analysis report indicates that Americans have spent almost 40 billion dollars on functional foods, drinks and supplements for the improvement of their appearance as well as to provide energy and added nutrition to handle health issues such as hypercholesterolemia and diabetes.

Abstract

The concept of functional foods has received significant media attention and, as a result, interest has focused on the need for research into the non- nutrient constituents of food plants. This has enabled market penetration of functional foods containing increased amounts of bioactive food compounds or physiologically active nutrients and non-nutrients within food that impart proven health benefits. Functional foods can take many forms. Some may be conventional foods with bioactive components that can now be identified and linked to positive health outcomes. Some may be fortified or enhanced foods, specifically created to reduce disease risk for a certain group of people. Numerous observational studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids enriched diets are associated with a reduction of cardiovascular mortality, heart attack and sudden death. In several studies, a higher fish intake has been associated with decreased incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and cardiovascular mortality. A trial revealed that fish oil supplementation of 130 mg/kg of body weight each day decreased the number of stiff joints, duration of morning stiffness, pain and global arthritis activity. Many supplements contain active ingredients that have strong biological effects in the body. The bioavailability of nutrients within a given food is governed by the composition and microstructure of the food, commonly referred to as the food matrix. More specifically, numerous studies investigating the development of functional foods have shown that the interactions between nutrients and non-nutrients within the food matrix can be synergistic, additive, or neutralizing in nature. The preventive and curative effects of the functional foods on health concludes it to be integral components of established public health programs to reduce the risk of specific diseases.

Abstract

The amaranth as a pseudocereal has shown its role in the development and diversification of agricultural products and food which is a priority trend for world agriculture. The amaranth has excellent nutrient profile and technological advantage in various food formulations in comparison to other conventional cereals. Recently, current interest in amaranth also resides in the fact that it has a great amount of genetic diversity, phenotypic plasticity and is extremely adaptable to adverse growing conditions, resists heat and drought, has no major disease problem. This crop is among the easiest of plants to grow in agriculturally marginal lands in hilly area. Moreover, these contain significant amount of bioactive components such as phytosterols, squalene and polyphenols along with good amount of micronutrients such as minerals and vitamins. Amaranth consumption has been shown to improve plasma lipid profile in animals. Methanolic extracts of amaranth have demonstrated anti-hyperlipidemic,anti-diarrheic, anti-fungal and anti-malarial properties. Specific polyphenols such as rutin, isoquercetin and nicotiflorin and phenolic acids and amides with antioxidant activity have been found in amaranth seeds. In addition to above, amaranth, seeds are gluten free and thus they are currently emerging as healthy alternatives to gluten containing grains in gluten free diet for celiac people.

Abstract

Demand for starch is increasing day by day and is met by restricted range of crops. In recent years, substantial progress has been made in obtaining starch from non-conventional sources such as sweet potato, buckwheat, sago, water chestnut, which can be used as a substitute for conventional sources. So it is necessary to search for other underutilized and nonconventional sources of starch to meet the increased demand. Typha angustifolia, an aquatic weed containing appreciable amount of starch in its rhizome and roots, can be used for starch isolation to make its use in food and non-food derivatives. In many parts of the world, starch-rich roots of Typha angustifolia are eaten raw or boiled or dried roots are pulverized into a powder, and then, used as a thickener in soups or added to cereal flours to make biscuits and bread.

Abstract

Quinoa is a pseudo-cereal which belongs to family Chenopodiaceae. Quinoa can act as highly potential crop for areas where ecological conditions do not support other food crops because of its rusticity, tolerance to frost, salinity, drought and ability to grow in marginal soils. Recently, much attention is focused on quinoa for people with celiac disease and allergic to gluten. Quinoa contains high-quality protein, complete with all essential amino acids and is a good source of carbohydrates, lipids, vitamin C, vitamin E (natural antioxidants) and adequate amount of important micronutrients such as minerals. Carbohydrates of quinoa possess excellentfreeze-thaw stability and can be used as thickener in frozen foods.

Quinoa also consists of bioactive components such as phytosterols, squalene, fagopyritols and polyphenols which act as powerful anti-oxidants in-vitro and thus couldprevent degenerative diseases such as coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Fibre accounts for 6% of the grains total weight, and quinoa intake therefore promotes intestinal transit, regulates cholesterol, stimulates the development of beneficial bacterial flora and helps prevent colon cancer. The quinoa grain can be used to combat liver disease, angina and cystitis. The radical scavenging ability and Angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition activity of quinoa is higher than that of amaranth, rice and wheat. Recent studies have identified significant amounts of ecdysteroids, kaempferol, quercetin, two phytoestrogen - daidzein and cenistema in quinoa. Ethanolic extract of quinoa was observed to have Antioxidant and antihypertensive activity.

Abstract

This review presents an idea on the botanical description, medicinal properties and traditional usage of wild, edible and aromatic plant (Nymphaea alba) in the human nutrition. Nymphaea alba Lin, also known as the White Water lily, White Lotus, or Nenuphar is an aquatic flowering plant of the family Nymphaeaceae. Nymphaea is a weed in India and its production pretty much as good as water chest nut and Nelumbo nucifera. Its rhizome is rich in tannic acid, gallic acid, alkaloids, sterols, flavonoids, glycosides, hydrolysable tannins and high-molecular-weight polyphenolic compounds. It is used as associate aphrodisiac, anodyne, antiscrophulatic, astringent, cardiotonic, demulcent, sedative and antiinflammatory. Further, it conjointly produces calming and sedative effects upon the nervous system, and is beneficial within the treatment of sleep disorder, anxiety and similar disorders. Moreover, the content of starch in the rhizome is said to be 40%. Extensive work has been carried out on agronomic and phenotypic properties for most plants, but relatively little study has been carried out on the properties which are of direct technical and economic interest to competitive food and nonfood industry. Non-conventional food resources and their value addition have attracted attention in the recent yearsfor their potential use as functional ingredients in food formulations, besides food they have also been used for non-food applications. Moreover, Plants provide the predominant ingredients of medicines in most medical traditions. So, there is tremendous potential for the profitable industrial use of these medicinal plants and exploring them for further use. Keywords: Non-conventional food resources, Nymphaea alba, Rhizome.

Abstract

Pomegranates are usually consumed as fresh fruit, with only a limited quantity being processed into products like juice, syrup, beverages, wine, confectionary and anardana. The special structure of fruit is one of main factors which limit its industrial processing. Knowing the importance of health benefits of pomegranate and all related aspects, the present study was carried out in order to utilize pomegranate fruit for preparation of pomegranate mouth freshener. Arils of two cultivars like Ganesh and Araktaweredried by two drying methods viz., sun drying (SD) and cabinet drying (CD).Nutritive and palatable mouth freshener was prepared from anardana of two different cultivars as Ganesh (G) and Arakta (A). Production cost of 100g pomegranate mouth freshener is about Rs.55/. It was noticed that moisture content, acidity and ascorbic acid content decreased at the end of storage.

Abstract

India has got a pool of medicinal herbs which are proved to be beneficial in curing various diseases. Their regular consumption not only will improve the health status but also reduce risk of lifestyle diseases. Though simple solutions, associated colloids, suspensions and emulsions are some of the traditional techniques for encapsulating functional agents, micro-encapsulation techniques is the most successfully employed technique for the controlled release of sensitive bioactive compounds. Owing to the targeted delivery of functional components directly to the human gut system, emulsion based delivery system are getting more attention now-a-days. With advancement in science, more complex and novel structures can be created which can successfully deliver these nutraceutical and bioactive ingredients into existing food systems. The technological interventions in emulsion science have opened great opportunities to improve the delivery of bioactive herbal components into milk and milk products. Various milk and milk products functionality can be improved in this way which will improve the gut- microflora within short period of time after consumption.

ABSTRACT

This paper reviews the various application of hyperspectral remote sensing data carried out by the scientists of India emphasizing its advantages.

1. INTRODUCTION

The most significant recent breakthrough in remote sensing has been the development of hyperspectral sensors. The ‘Hyper’ in hyperspectral means ‘too many’ and refers to the large number of measured wavelength bands. Hyperspectral images are spectrally over determined, which means that they provide ample spectral information to identify and distinguish spectrally unique materials. Hyperspectral imagery provides the potential for more accurate and detailed information, extraction than is possible with any other type of conventional remotely sensed data.

Imaging spectroscopy (Goetz et al., 1985) in hyperspectral imaging is concerned with the measurement, analysis, and interpretation of spectra acquired from a given scene (or specific object) at a short, medium or long distance by an airborne or satellite sensor. The concept of imaging spectroscopy originated in the 1980's, when A. F. H. Goetz and his colleagues at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory began a revolution in remote sensing by developing new instruments such as the Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (AIS), then called AVIRIS, for Airborne Visible Infra-Red Imaging Spectrometer (Green et al., 1998). This system is now able to cover the wavelength region from 0.4 to 2.5 μm using more than two hundred spectral channels, at nominal spectral resolution of 10 nm. The special characteristics of hyperspectral datasets pose different processing problems, which must be necessarily tackled under specific mathematical formalisms, such as classification and segmentation (Jia et al., 1999, Green, R 1998) and spectral mixture analysis (Adams et al., 1986; Smith et al., 1990a, b).

ABSTRACT

Pests and diseases cause serious economic losses in yield and quality of many cultivated crops. Detection and assessment of their damage symptoms is very crucial to initiate timely control interventions. The conventional scouting technique adopted for assessment of pest and disease in field crops is very laborious and time consuming. Remote sensing may provide a better means to objectively quantify disease stress than visual methods and it can be used to repeatedly collect sample measurements non-destructively and non-invasively. In this paper we report the changes in the reflectance spectra due to pest and disease incidence in three crops viz., groundnut, castor and rice. Canopy reflectance measurements were made with a hand held multispectral radiometer (MSR 16-R, CropScan Inc) which records incoming radiation and light reflectance with up looking and down looking sensors, respectively in 16 pass bands. Data of percent reflectance at each pass band were processed subsequently using the calibration and correlation constants through a mini computer connected to the sensor. A total of 10 samples were selected for each level of pest/disease. At each sampling, six measurements were recorded and the resulting data were averaged. The reflectance spectra varied for different biotic stresses in the three test crops. Higher absorption in the NIR region between 760-1240 nm was observed for healthy plants compared to the diseased plants in all the three crops tested. The spectral signatures from severely defoliated (by semilooper pest) castor crop showed that the percent reflectance in the visible region between 560-710 nm was higher in the defoliated crop compared to healthy and reverse is true in the NIR region between 810-1100 nm. In case of rice, spectral reflectance in the region between 760-1100 nm could differentiate the healthy and brown plant hopper affected plants. Decrease in reflectance in this region was proportion to the number of hoppers per plant. This could be due to collapse of leaf tissues by hopper damage. The higher reflectance in the visible region (560-710 nm) was observed only when the damage is very severe (hopper burn). Different spectral indices viz., SR (simple ratio), NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index), NPCI (normalized total pigment to chlorophyll index), DWSI (disease water stress index) and WBI (water band index) were compared to distinguish healthy and diseased plants. NDVI was found useful in distinguishing semilooper damaged (defoliated) castor crop from healthy castor. All the indices tested were useful to differentiate the rice plants damaged by sap-sucking pest, BPH at different levels of infestation. Incase of groundnut, the differences in the spectral indices between different disease incidence levels were not significant. Results of the present study demonstrated that by comparing the reflectance spectra generated using ground based high-resolution radiometer, it is possible to distinguish healthy and pest/disease affected crops.

ABSTRACT

Petroleum exploration is the art of searching hydrocarbon reserves in unknown regions by geological, geophysical and geochemical methods. The selection of effective exploration targets is an important step to achieve success in oil exploration and its selection also dependents on study of basic petroleum geological conditions. Petroleum geologists generally consider basins to be a basic geological unit for petroleum exploration and their main task is to find and determine various sedimentary basins. The remote sensing images have characteristics of really and macroscopic to provide accurate and visualization data for directly determining geometric shapes of sedimentary basins. Remote sensing techniques are more effective in understanding the study of basins in an out-of-the-way about mountains and remote deserts.

Key words: Petroleum Exploration, Sedimentary basin, geology, basin, geometry.

The history of gardening dates back to the history of human civilization. In order to meet various utility purposes, primitive people used to grow plants initially. Some of them had beautiful flowers and drew attention. Gradually, the importance of growing flowers / ornamental plants for worshiping Gods and Goddesses came into existence. The need for growing plants for aesthetic purpose came much later. Development of formal gardens also initially confined to temples and, thereafter, attached to the residential places. Concept of developing parks and gardens for beautification purpose exclusively for public use came much later during 17^th century. With the influence of different regimes as prevailed in India time to time, the gardening styles and plants also changed a lot for fulfilling new taste and need of the people.

Gardens have played a very important role in development of nations of the world. In fact, humanity started its cultural development from a garden rememberd as ‘Garden of the Paradise’. Gardens always occupied a prime place in our social and cultural life. Every race has its own idea of gardening and the characters of the nation is expressed in its gardens and parks.

Garden designing has also got certain principles like other subjects. These help proper designing by selecting right garden features, plant species besides their placement, allocation of space, colour scheme etc. Moreover, style, elevation, harmonization, type of the garden etc. are also to be taken into account while designing gardens. The main purpose is to achieve an aesthetic effect in totality.

Keeping these in mind, the main principles are categorized into following two groups.

Lawn is the basic feature of garden without which a garden is seldom complete. All other features are selected and placed considering lawn as a first primary feature. A well spread out land planted with uniform lush green grass of particular type serves as a heart of all gardens. Lawn with systematic planting of shrubs and seasonal flower beds along with well placed specimen plants is the most striking feature of the garden.

Developing a good lawn is not an easy task. One has to consider many things like selection of site, preparation of the land and type of grass to be planted besides its maintenance. Following points need to be considered while developing a lawn.

Site and Soil

Selection of site is an important primary factor. Under full or partial shade, a good lawn can not be developed. The part of proposed garden which receives full sunlight at least four hours a day preferably in the morning should be selected as a site for lawn. Planting of tall trees is to be avoided at the south and south-eastern side of the lawn which obstructs sunlight and provides shade.

Dahlia (Dahlia variabilis) belongs to the family Compositae and is a native of Mexico. Modern garden Dahlias with large blooms in wide array of colours are important flowering plant for Indian gardens. The range of forms, size and colours of the flowers is simply amazing. In the plains of India, Dahlias produce flower during winter season and usually grown as potted plants for display purpose. At suitable sunny locations, they are planted in beds also.

Classification

There is enormous variation in shape, size and flower colour of Dahlia. In addition, hundreds of cultivars are available for use in the garden. For having information on various groups having different flower structure, size etc., it is important to know classification. Garden Dahlias have been classified in the following major categories (based on the National Dahlia Society, United Kingdom).

Anemone - Flowers double having one or more rows of petals; disc florets tubular; ideal as cut flower for floral arrangement.

Ball - Flower head in ball-shape, fully double; petal tips ovate or round and rolled half length. There are large variation in the size of flower head and categorization.

Factories are the backbone of industrial growth for economic prosperity of any nation especially for developing countries like India. There is usually huge area available in the factories but the whole area is not covered under construction or used. The vacant spaces of the factory premises are ideal for development of gardens. Moreover, plantation of trees and development of greeneries are now compulsory in industrial areas as per laws for the purpose of environmental amelioration.

Purpose

Gardens at the factories and other industrial places are different from the normal ornamental gardens. These gardens are generally less intensive in nature. The main function isto fulfill dual purpose i.e., beautification and minimizing environmental pollution. Selection of plants should be evergreen trees, free flowering perennials tolerant to air pollution.

Scope

There are large open spaces available within the campus of factories. These are generally located along the boundary wall, inner open areas and other unutilized spaces. As a whole, there is ample scope for development of gardens and other kind of plantation.

Institutes like schools, colleges, universities, R&D laboratories besides hospitals, offices, hotels, banks, courts etc. come under this group. It is recommended that these institutions should develop ornamental gardens and greeneries in order to create ambience and producing aesthetic effects. Lawn, flower beds, creepers, shrubbery borders, trees should be planted as a part of beautification programme.

Purpose

Garden attached to these institutions serves various purposes. The main purpose is aesthetic improvement of these campuses by way of planting various ornamental plants in a planned manner which provides scope for relaxation. Educational institutions may develop small gardens for botanical collection which are related with the course curriculum so that these collections complement educational courses. In that case, representative collections of different families are to be planted as per requirement of the course.

Any kind of garden established on roof top of the building is known as ‘Roof Garden’. The concept of roof gardening is not new. There are references that in ancient Mesopotamia (600 BC) plants were grown on terraces. During Roman period also ‘Villa of the Mysteries’ in Pompeii had plants on elevated terraces. However, in 21^st century, scarcity of land has driven us again towards development roof gardens.

With the advancement of time, necessity and utility, the concept of roof gardening has also completely changed. In urban environment, development of ornamental roof garden or green roof top is a necessity as it helps in temperature reduction, minimizing environmental pollution and, above all, a source of unlimited enjoyment with greens and flowers. Therefore, building architects are now include roof gardens while planning new building. The environmental issues and aesthetic benefits of the cities by way of developing roof gardens are the prime consideration.

This is a very special type of garden for the visually impaired and disabled persons. The pleasure of seeing beauty of the nature like meadows, sky, sea, mountain and plants has always fascinated mankind who has vision. Unfortunately, people who are not able to see are entirely deprived of the pleasure associated with seeing such visual objects. Their world is entirely different from the others. However, they have got better sense of touch, smell and hearing ability to compensate loss of vision.

Disabled persons are also not in a position to enjoy fully the beauty of nature and plants due to restricted mobility. In addition, most of the ornamental gardens are not fully accessable by disabled persons particularly on wheel chairs.

The ‘Touch-‘N‘-Smell Garden’ is very rare and unique kind of garden meant for the visually impaired and disabled persons enabling them to learn about the diversity of plant species by touch and smell. In India, there are three such gardens. One in the Botanic Garden, CSIR- National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow and the others are at M.S. Swaminathan Foundation, Chennai and Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Similar such sensory gardens of the world are in Berlin (Germany), Kyoto (Japan), New York (U.S.A.), Nanjing (China) and Warsaw (Poland).

20.1 Exchange Capacity

Soil colloidal particles carry both negative and positive charges on their surface which attract and hold equivalent amount of oppositely charged ions to their surface. The total number of negative charges present on a given mass of soil or capacity of a given mass of soil to exchange cations or total number of cation held by a given mass of soil is termed as cation exchange capacity (CEC). Similarly, the capacity of a soil to retain anions is known as anion exchange capacity (AEC). The ion exchange capacity of a soil depends upon the type and amount of colloidal particle (clay and organic matter) present in the soil. Ion exchange capacity (CEC/AEC) is expressed as milliequivalent ion (cation/ anion, respectively) per 100 g of soil (meq/100g). It is also expressed as centimoles of charge (positive/negative) per kg of soil [cmol (±) / kg]. Meq/ 100g = cmol (±) / kg of soil.

20.1.1 Determination of Cation Exchange Capacity of Soil Principle

Soil is first saturated with normal ammonium acetate (pH 7.0). Excess ammonium (NH₄⁺) ions and displaced cations are then removed by washing with alcohol. The amount of NH₄⁺ ions retained by the soil is measured by steam distillation of NH₄-saturated soil with MgO. During distillation evolved ammonia is absorbed in a boric acid solution as ammonium borate and the amount ammonium borate formed is determined by titration with standard sulphuric acid in presence of mixed indicator.

Industrial Microbiology is the discipline that uses micro organisms, usually grown on large scale, to produce commercial products or carry out important chemical transformations.

The products derived from such processes are

1 Alcohols and alcoholic beverages.
2 Production of pharmaceutical agents like antibiotics, vaccines etc.
3 Food additives
4 Enzymes
5 Chemicals
6 Single cell proteins

Development of sophisticated procedures for the isolation, manipulation and expression of genetic materials is a field called genetic engineering. Genetic engineering has applications in both basic and applied research. In basic research, genetic engineering techniques are used to study the mechanisms of gene replication and expression in prokaryotes, eukaryotes and viruses. For applied research, genetic engineering used for development of microbial cultures capable of producing valuable products such as human insulins, growth hormones, interferons, vaccines, enzymes etc. The commercial application of genetic engineering is sometimes referred as Biotechnology. In broad sense, Biotechnology refers the use of living organisms to carry out defined chemical processes for industrial application.

The process of isolation, purification and replication of specific DNA fragment is called molecular cloning or gene cloning. Molecular cloning is the base of most of the genetic engineering procedures. The purpose of molecular cloning is to isolate large quantity of specific genes in pure form. Thus molecular cloning is very important in genetic engineering and can be divided into several steps depends on the purpose. The steps are as follows:

Introduction

Lentil is one of the important Rabi pulses. It is one of the oldest pulses crops and the most nutritious of the pulses. It has the potential to cover the risk of dryland agriculture. It is also used as a cover crop to check the soil erosion in problem areas. It is mostly eaten as ‘dal’. Lentil can also be used as green fodder. Its straw is also used as cattle. Being a leguminous crop, it restores the soil fertility.

Area of cultivation

Lentil is mostly cultivated in the northern and central parts of India. The important lentil growing states are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Assam. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh together contribute 78% towards total national area as well as production.

Climatic requirements: Lentil requires cold climate during growth and warm temperature at the time of maturity. It can tolerate cold and frost winter up to great extent. The optimum temperature for growth is 18-30 degree centigrade. Excessive drought and/or high temperatures during the flowering and pod-fill period also reduce yields.

Soil: Lentil can be grown on a variety of soils such as light loams; alluvial soils and black cotton soils. This crop is also suited to the poorer types of soils, low lying areas such as paddy fields. Lentil does not tolerate flooded or waterlogged soils. Good drainage is required, because even short periods of exposure to waterlogged or flooded field conditions kill plants. A soil pH near 7.0 is best for lentil production. Acidic soils are not fit for growing lentil.

India has made a considerable progress during the last three decades in horticulture production in India producing 300.6 million tonnes of horticultural produce from 24.85 million hectares in 2016-17. The average productivity of different horticultural crops is quite low as compared to the best yields at national and world level, indicating the scope to enhance the yield in different horticultural crops by many fold along with its quality specially in vegetables. Unlike vegetables, flower cultivation is growing at a very fast speed and registered a marked growth along with employment generation through protected cultivation. According to NHB (National Horticulture Board), during the year 2014-15 the area under floriculture production in India was 248.51 thousand hectares with a production of 1,658 thousand tonnes loose flowers and 484 thousand tonnes cut flowers. However, India’s total export of floriculture was Rs. 548.74 crores/ 82.05 USD Millions in 2016-17. This is because of an appealing gap between potential yield and the actual yield of various vegetable crops. In many vegetable crops, the yields realized are even less than 50 % of their potential yield. Due to fluctuating market prices and poor storage infrastructure available for horticultural crops, farmers are not able to get their production cost. Though, there are some crops, fetches high prices during off-season. Several biotic and abiotic stresses are major factors, responsible for low productivity and poor quality in several horticultural crops under their open field cultivation during rainy and post rainy season more specifically, in vegetables. The increasing demand of off-season and high quality vegetables in various markets of the big cities has drawn the attention of the vegetable growers for diversification from traditional system.

The floriculture has become an important sector all over world. In India, floriculture has been associated with culture and heritage since very ancient time. In recent decades there has been increasing in demand of floriculture products with increasing income. It is souring industry in Asian countries including India. Floriculture is an emerging area with great potential both in the domestic as well as export market.In India, commercial floriculture is ongoing development but have a long tradition of various types of flowers.Floriculture was being cultivated in 3.5 lakh hectares in the country and 250 varieties of flowers exist in the country.Besides potted plants, roses, carnation, orchids and chrysanthemum are important cut flowers, which are popular in our country. In the increasingly competitive international cut flower and pot plant market, new and novelty ornamental plants plays an important role in stabilization and expanding market share. Always novelty has been considered as an important attribute in ornamental industry. The consumer choice is also changing for product quality level depending upon purpose of purchase, as well as for higher levels of services and a wider and deeper assessment suggesting product diversification. The increasing pace of agricultural transformation in India has been characterized by widening share of commercial crops in the overall basket. Among others, horticulture has shown great promise because of the availability of high-value domestic and international market against the low production base so far. Understandably, it has received special attention of policy-makers and being termed as the sunrise industry within agriculture. India, with its varied agro-climate is ideally suited for growing several types of flowers in different seasons. Although traditional ornamental crops will continue to play key role in the floriculture trade, a distinct trend towards increasing the share of new crops is clearly evident in recent years often referred to as ‘specialty flowers’, these are cut flowers, which are not widely known and also grown in small pockets but have high prospects in the international market. There are over 60 types of new ornamentals, which have been reported to hold potential for commercial utility. Some progressive growers in India have already initiated the process of introducing new ornamental crops in their fields.These new products normally fetch high prices than the traditional crops for a certain period, but quite often the prices drop when market is saturated. By that time new products should be ready to enter the market. In this context introduction of new ornamental crops is therefore continuous effort.

Plant parasitic nematodes are microscopic, thread like, soil-born organism, found in every conceivable environment. Severity of nematodes as plant pathogen is more a problem in tropical than temperate climate. These organisms are basically root feeders causing injury to the plants, which adversely affect the function of the root to absorb and translocate nutrients and water efficiently. This result into nutrient deficiency like symptoms, and as such nematode problems go unnoticed. Such symptoms are not corrected even after a dose of fertilizers.

Based on feeding habits, they are classified as migratory ectoparasitic, sedentary semi-endoparasitic or endoparasitic nematodes. They feed silently but constantly without killing the host producing debilitating symptoms and in the process reproducing to great numbers at the end of the crop season. Normally, nematodes complete their life cycles in a span of 20-25 days at temperature of 25-30 °C. They have a great egg laying capacity, which varies from 40-1000 eggs.

The most important nematode is root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne sp. distributed worldwide and can infest more than 2000 species of plants. Cereal cyst nematode, Heterodera avenae - an important nematode pest of wheat, barley and oat, citrus nematode, Tylenchulus semipenetrans associated with citrus dieback and slow decline, burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis causing spreading decline in plantation crops, the reniform nematode, Rotylenchulus reniformis in vegetables and cotton and the rice root nematode, Hirschmanniella spp in lowland rice are few other damaging nematodes.

Scientific agriculture is the only solution for increasing productivity of various crops and the input resources most effectively. Fertilizer, the most efficient and often the most expensive input can be applied to crops on the basis of generalized state level fertilizer recommendations. However, state level fertilizer recommendations do not take into consideration fertility status of the field which is neither uniform nor constant and which varies from field to field. Sometimes more fertilizers are added leading to unnecessarily higher investment, while under another situation, inadequate quantities of fertilizers may be added, resulting in lower returns. Inefficient and imbalanced uses of fertilizers affect both soil health and agricultural productivity.

Therefore, the best and most effective method for fertilizer recommendation is soil testing. It is a mode of assessing the nutrient supplying capacity of a soil.

What is biofertilizer?

Biofertilizers are ready to use live formulates of such beneficial microorganisms which on application to seed, root or soil mobilize the availability of nutrients by their biological activity in particular, and help build up the microflora and in turn the soil health in general.

Why should we use biofertilizers?

With the introduction of green revolution technologies the modern agriculture is getting more and more dependent upon the steady supply of synthetic inputs (mainly fertilizers), which are products of fossil fuel (coal+ petroleum). Adverse effects are being noticed due to the excessive and imbalanced use of these synthetic inputs. This situation has lead to identifying harmless inputs like biofertilizers. Use of such natural products like biofertilizers in crop cultivation will help in safeguarding the soil health and also the quality of crop products.

Honeybees are marvelous insects known to mankind since the prehistoric times. The art of their scientific management is called as apiculture or beekeeping and the place where hives are maintained is called apiary. Beekeeping is a decentralized, forest and rural agriculture based industry, which does not require any raw material. The raw material needed is in the form of nectar and pollen, which is freely available from flowers in nature. Bee hives neither demand additional land space nor do they compete with agriculture or animal husbandry for any input. The beekeeper only needs to spare a few hours in a week to look after his bee colonies. Beekeeping is therefore ideally suited to him as a part-time occupation. Beekeeping constitutes a source of sustainable income for the rural and tribal farmers. It also provides them valuable nutrition in the form of honey. However, in addition to honey, production of bees wax, propolis, pollen, royal jelly, pedigree queen bees, package bees and renting out honey bee colonies for crop pollination are some of the potential areas of apicultural diversification in India (TOI, 2012).

Mushrooms are fleshy fungi constituting a purely vegetarian diet, which is very tasty and nutritious. Some mushrooms are edible whereas others are poisonous. So far, more than 1600 types of mushrooms are known of which, nearly 100 have been accepted as food worldwide. Diversification in any farming system imparts sustainability. Mushrooms are one such component that not only impart diversification but also help in addressing the problems of quality food, health and environment related issues. One of the major areas that can contribute towards goal of conservation of natural resources as well as increased productivity is recycling of agro-wastes including agro-industrial waste. Utilising these wastes for growing mushrooms can enhance income and impart higher level of sustainability (Manjit Singh et al., 2011).

Mushroom cultivation activities can play an important role in supporting the local economy by contributing to subsistence food security, nutrition, generating additional employment and income through local, regional and national trade; and also offering opportunities for processing enterprises. Among the 33 globally cultivated types of mushrooms 3 mushrooms i.e. white button, oyster and paddy straw mushrooms are popularly grown in India.

Amongst agricultural commodities milk is the single largest contributor to gross value of output followed by paddy, wheat, oilseeds, pulse and sugar. It is not only that, milk is also least contributor to inflation.Thus it can be said that milk is the lifeline of Indian economy. Unlike developed countries, unique feature of Indian milk production system is that about 70% of it is produced in about 70 million household dairy units in rural areas.Dairy farming has always been a subsystem of agriculture in such household units which entirely depends on the recyclable crop residues. Moreover the milk production system has been mainly confined to landless labourers, small and marginal farmers.Their poor socioeconomic condition, religious sentiments for cattle and utilitarian attitude towards dairy farming coupled with poor milk production potential of dairy animals has remained a major impediment in the overall development of the system. Livestock is an important source of supplementary income. Mixed farming has been serving as an insurance against natural calamities, while supporting food security and nutrient recycling. India has over 500 million livestock, which include cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats. Among them, cattle and buffaloes are popular for milk production. As milk is an important part of the Indian diet and bullock power is essential as draft animal for farming and rural transportation.

India is emerging as a global economic power and the economy is growing at an average of 8 9 per cent for last couple of years.The Dairy sector is contributing significantly to the national economy and with 112 Million Metric Tonns (MMT) milk productions during 200910; it ranks first in the World. It provides gainful employment and supplementary income to large number of people. Dairy sector contribute significantly on poverty reduction in rural areas as income from milk in the total income of underprivileged family is as high as 75 to 80% during drought and the employment generated is relatively high. Dairying has become an important secondary source of income for millions of rural families and has assumed an important role in providing employment and income generating opportunities.

India is endowed with 8118 kilometers of coastline and access to 5.3 lakh square kilometers of continental shelf to facilitate marine fishing.195210 kilometers long river and canal system, more than 6 million hectares of water bodies under reservoirs, ponds, Fish is an integral part of food and culture in India. Indian coastal region is rich in aquatic bio diversity with various identified fish species and also in aquatic resources. India with its vast and varied marine and inland resources stands third in world total fish production and second in inland fish production. India’s fish production has increased from 5.6 million tonne during 2000-2001 to 6.9 million tonne during 2006-2007. During the year 2006-07, the country witnessed foreign exchange of Rs.8363.53 crore through export of sea food. Fish processing industries in India are gaining importance in recent years due to increase in demand of processed food by the developed countries. In India fishery sector provide livelihood to an estimated 10 million people and the Inland fisheries are of particular importance to the rural poor accounting for about 15% of total global employment (FAO, 2000). Sustainable utilization of available resources with appropriate farming system approaches will increase fish production and also will generate employment opportunities.

VIVEK M. PATIL

The term “information” has a diversity of meanings, from everyday usage to technical interpretations. Generally speaking, the concept of information is associated with knowledge derived from study, experience, or instruction. Technology, on the other hand, refers to the application of knowledge to the practical aims of human life, or to changing and manipulating the human environment. Technology includes the use of materials, tools, techniques and sources of power to make life easier or more pleasant and work more productive. Technology began to influence human endeavour as soon as people began using tools. Technology also started being used for managing information when the amount and variety of information grew to such vast proportions that the human brain could neither store nor process it efficiently.

Definition

The term Information Technology (IT) was coined by Jim Domsic of Michigan in November 1981. Domsic created the term to modernize the outdated phrase “data processing”. Information Technology is a general term that describes any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate and/or disseminate information. Presumably, when speaking of Information Technology as a whole, it is noted that the use of computers and information are associated. “Information Technology” as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is “the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware.” IT deals with the use of computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit and securely retrieve information.

M. D. SURANAGI

Software is a tool that allows the hardware to process and manipulate data. It is essentially a list of commands; therefore it is not something you can touch. Software is stored in the different drives in a computer. Software, like data, can be stored and shared through disks. Unlike hardware, software is not permanent. It can be added, removed, and changed very easily. Individual software pieces are normally called programs. There are different types of programs. The three major categories of software are System software, Application software and Programming software.

• System software like device drivers and utilities enables the application software to interact with the computer hardware.
• Programming software like compilers, debuggers and interpreters provides tools to assist a programmer in writing computer programs.
• Application software is what most users commonly use to interact with their computers and carry out various daily tasks.

SANTOSH P. SARANGAMATH & VIVEK M. PATIL

While System Software like device drivers and utilities enables the application software to interact with the computer hardware, Programming Software like compilers, debuggers and interpreters provides tools to assist a programmer in writing computer programs. However, most common users interact with their computers using Application Software, which enables them to carry out various daily tasks.

Application Software

Application software is programs that work with the operating system software to help the computer to do specific types of work. Applications are the pieces of software that perform tasks for the user besides helping the computer to operate (i.e. the task of system software). Applications range from games, calculators, and word processors (document creation programs). Application software can be easily divided by looking at exactly what function they serve. Listed below are some common types of software which one may encounter while using a computer. Application Software can be categorized into :

Introduction

E lectronic-resources is an umbrella term which refers to provision of digital instruction courseware over the public Internet, private distance learning networks or in-house via an intranet. E-resources most often means an approach to facilitate and enhance access through the use of devices based on information and communications technologies (ICT) like personal computers, digital television, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) and mobile phones. The electronic resources might include notes, PowerPoint presentations, video clips or Internet sites.

Online library resources aim at providing materials, information and services by different types of libraries to the end users. These libraries may be in different jurisdictions, but agree to serve one another on the same basis as each service to its own users through the use of ICT. With the rapid growth of information on veterinary science, there are frequent delays in providing service to the end users when traditional library systems are adopted. The cost of providing service is also rising, mainly because of manual methods and duplication of investments in library holdings. ICT enables the use of the Internet, email, discussion forums, and collaborative software to support students and veterinarians through the use of WANs (Wide Area Networks), and may also be considered where greater flexibility and just-in-time access is desired.

Computer Purchase

With so many factors to consider, deciding which omputer to buy can be a real challenge. From components to software to accessories, new PCs offer a bewildering array of choices. Sifting through the large number of options can be a daunting task. Almost any PC on the market today can more than adequately handle such standard office chores as word processing and spreadsheets, as well as basic Internet functions like e-mail and general browsing. If you want to edit digital video or manage a large database, however, you may need more than the basics.

The best way to pay only for what you need is to carefully consider what you want to do with your system now, and try to anticipate what might interest you next 2-3 years. Specific applications call for certain types of hardware, whether at home or in the office. When you’re ready to buy a computer, here are some recommendations for the average user’s basic requirements:

Weed

Definition: “Weed is an unwanted plant growing where it is not desired.” – Jethro Tull

Commonly noticed weed species in fruit orchard:

• There are more than 30,000 species of weeds distributed world over, out of which 18,000 are noxious and cause serious losses.
• Around 250 species are causing serious economic losses.
• Monocot weeds (Narrow leaf/Grasses): Cyprus, Cynodon, Poagrass, Rye grass, Quackgrass etc.
• Dicot weeds (Broad leaf weeds): Dandelion, Chenopodium spp., Parthenium, Solanum, Euphrobia spp., Ground ivy etc

Control means the power or authority to direct and order or restrain. In the context of an entrepreneurial function, control may be defined as “comparing operating results with the plans, and taking corrective action when results deviate from the plans”.

Control requires two things: first, there is a clear – cut and specific plan according to which any work is to proceed and second, it is possible to measure the results of operations with a view to detecting deviations.

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is the most contagious disease of animals and has a great potential for causing severe economic losses in susceptible cloven-hoofed animals. FMD has been classified as a Transboundary Animal Disease (TAD) which is highly contagious or transmissible and has the potential for very rapid spread, irrespective of national borders, and causing serious socio-economic consequences. FMD has constituted a recognised threat to the health of livestock for over 500 years and still remains a serious hazard to the productivity of animal populations throughout the world. The large numbers of virus serotypes and subtypes, the ease of transmission and the limited efficacy of vaccination make control complicated and difficult. Contribution of environmental variables for emergence and distribution of infectious diseases has long been recognized by many researchers. India is largely subject to four seasons: winter (January and February), summer (March to May), a monsoon (rainy) season (June to September), and a post-monsoon period (October to December). There are reports on effect of environmental parameters such as relative humidity, windspeed and air temperature on the spread of the disease. FMD is endemic and at a high prevalence in many countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia and is also present in parts of South America. Europe, North and Central America, the Pacific nations and the Caribbean are free from the disease. FMD in India is the biggest impediment to growth of livestock sector. FMD outbreaks occur in India throughout the year. The outbreaks occurred round the year with maximum occurrence during October to March, and in May and June (Fig. 15.1). Foot and mouth disease is associated with an aphthovirus (family picornaviridae) which occurs as seven major serotypes: A,O,C,SAT1, SAT2, SAT3 and Asia1. FMD is characterized by fever, profuse salivation, vesicles in the mouth and on the feet and a drastic reduction in milk production; sudden death in young stock may occur (Radostits et al., 2006).

Once entrepreneurship is decided upon, there are three main routes an entrepreneur may follow. He can start a new livestock business, he can also purchase an existing livestock business or he can take over a family livestock business. In the first case the entrepreneur begins from scratch on all his own ideas, as there are no existing problems or concerns from a previous owner. He has the freedom to start the business in his own way. However, the risk is higher and he has to devote time, effort, and money—especially for startup expenses such as equipment, building, etc. When the entrepreneur purchases an existing business he has advantages of smaller startup costs and building on the existing goodwill or loyalty of established customers. This option is good if the entrepreneur does not have a great deal of business experience. Disadvantages might include inheriting existing problems such as poor location, stiff competition, fluctuating market, equipment problems, and poor reputation. In the third instance an entrepreneur takes over family business. In this situation, an entrepreneur has the support and training available from the family members, creating trust and togetherness that bonds the business as one entity. Maintaining separate family and business relationships is the biggest obstacle to overcome, making it difficult to get away from the business. Personality conflicts, different interests, changed values, and burnout are a few reasons that familyowned businesses don?t survive to the second generation. A person who grows up in the family business may be ready to spread his or her wings and explore new career aspirations.

Marketing channel can be defined as the path that a livestock commodity follows from the farmer?s gate to the consumer?s plate. A marketing channel involves a set of separate but interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product available to consumers.

Importance of Marketing Channels

1. Little attention by companies or enterprises to marketing channels may damage profit, brand and number of customers.

2. Companies can change their products, advertising and pricing easily but it is not easy to change marketing channels.

3. Marketing channels are particularly convenient when the producer does not have time or financial means to carry out direct marketing.

4. Intermediaries in marketing channels are usually able to make the product widely available and accessible because they are specialized, have experience and contacts. They also have a better understanding of the market. Intermediaries take the risks involved in marketing and also pay for the produce immediately.

An efficient irrigation system implies effective transfer of water from the source to the filled with minimum possible loss. The objective of the efficiency concept is to identify the nature of water loss and to decide the type of improvements in the system.

Evaluation of performance in terms of efficiency is prerequisite for proper use of irrigation water.

16.1 Water logging

For optimum growth and yield of field crops, proper balance between soil air and soil moisture is quite essential. Except rice many of the cultivated plants cannot withstand excess water in the soil. The ideal condition is that moisture and air occupy the pore spaces in equal proportions. When the soil contains excess water than that can be accommodated in the pore spaces it is said the field is water logged.

Causes of water logging

1. Excessive use of water when the water is available in abundance or cheaply due to the belief that more water contributes better yield.

2. Improper selection of irrigation methods

3. Percolation and seepage from lands canals and reservoir located at nearby elevated places

4. Improper lay out and lack of outlets

5. Presence of impervious layer with profile impeding percolation

6. Upward rise of water from shallow ground water table or aquifer.