eChapters

Introduction

Agriculture is one of the promising sectors which offers marvelous potential for sustainable growth and play a key role in the economy of the country. Many of the foods that are already common in our diet are obtained from plant varieties that were developed using conventional genetic techniques of breeding and selection. Increase in the world population and limited food supply strained researchers to introduce and advance agriculture management and modern technologies along with conventional practices to attain highest possible crop productivity. Agricultural technology is based on the domestication of wild plants to create the crops that we have come to depend upon. Humans invented agriculture approximately 10,000 years ago when they began to harvest and cultivate specific plants to produce food. The improved plant traits selected by early agriculturalists were transmitted genetically to succeeding generations of plants. Both public institutions and private companies are now involved in crop genetic improvement.

Abstract

Brassica vegetables belonging to family Brassicaceae are one of the most important groups of cool season vegetables. Initially, these crops were confined to Europe and other temperate regions. But, after the Second World War, their cultivation has spread to tropics and sub tropics as well. All the members of this group have originated primarily from the common ancestor wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. oleracea) and are fully cross-compatible with each other. In general, these are highly cross pollinated crops and have shown preponderance of non-additive gene action for most of the economic traits thereby suggesting the relevance of heterosis breeding. In the absence of appropriate genetic mechanism for the production of hybrid seed with ease at relatively lower cost, heterosis in a crop is of no practical value. Fortunately, the presence of natural genetic phenomenon of sporophytic self incompatibility and male sterility (particularly CMS) in brassica vegetables has proved instrumental in commercialization of hybrid seed production.

Introduction

Controlled perpetuation of plants is known as plant propagation. Plant propagation can be broadly classified in two types: sexual and asexual. In sexual propagation, the fusion of male and female gametes gives rise to a new plant, whereas in asexual propagation which is also known as vegetative propagation, the development of new plants takes place without the fusion of male and female gametes, that is, the new plant develops from vegetative plant parts. Various techniques of asexual propagation are adopted in plant propagation, such as: grafting, budding, layering, cutting, etc. So far cutting and layering are concerned; the new plants are developed on their own root system, but in grafting and budding on the others’ root system. It means that in these two techniques (grafting and budding), two plant parts are joined to form new plants; the one which forms the root system is known as rootstock and the one forming the shoot system is known as scion. Plant propagation is both a science and an art. The science of plant propagation requires knowledge of plant physiology, nursery cultural practices, and characteristics of the particular plant that you want to grow. The art of plant propagation cannot be taught in a book or classroom, however, because it consists of specific technical skills that must be acquired through innate ability or experience and often requires a certain feel.

Abstract

India is primarily agrarian country and this sector provides livelihood to a major part of the population. The indiscriminate use of agro chemicals since green revolution resulted in adverse effect on the soil fertility; crop productivity; quality of produce and more specifically on the environment system. Organic cultivation is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost, and biofertilizers which helps to maintain soil productivity. Organic farming excludes or strictly limits the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides (herbicide, insecticides and fungicides), plant growth regulators, livestock feed additives, antibiotics and genetically modified organisms. Thus, the importance of organic sources of nutrients was recognized in current scenario in order to get higher yield without disturbing soil health. In this context integrated use of inorganic and organic sources of nutrients in crop production is becoming very crucial for assurance of food security on sustainable basis, which in turn not only improve the soil fertility for sustained crop productivity but also to reduce the cost of inorganic fertilizers.

Introduction

The demand for agriculture commodity is growing world over and meets the ever increasing targets as per the demand, productivity needs to be raised further. This can be realized in two ways- by increasing area of cultivation and/or through increased efficiency of inputs (both natural and manmade). The scope for the farmer is very limited worldwide and for the latter, the primary input is the solar energy which is most abundant except in few cases like colder regions. In the coming future, the availability of land for cultivation will be a major impendent due to rapid urbanization, hydroelectric projects, dams and rivers, highway roads and also there is a degradation of fertile land due to soil erosion (120.72 million ha), soil salinity and water logging (8.4 million ha) Nath et al., 2007 and Hegde et al. (2015).  Under this situation, multi-storied cropping system will be a viable option to provide food, nutrition and income security to people Awasthi et al., (2008). The available arable land could be effectively utilized for production of field and horticultural crops to achieve nutritional security for the growing population and sustainable income for the farming community. Increasing food production with limited natural resource is a great challenge to the scientific community. Thus, production per unit area of land, time and inputs can be increased by improving efficiency of the rate and extent to which solar energy is harvested for conversion to economic produced.

Abstract

Horticulture crops play significant role in improving the productivity of land, generating employment, enhancing exports, improving economic conditions of the farmers and entrepreneurs and providing food and nutritional security to the people. For better management of the existing crops and to bring more area under horticulture crops, updated and accurate database is necessary for systematic planning and decision making. Remote sensing (RS) is an advanced tool that aids in gathering and updating information to develop scientific management plans. Many types of sensors namely microwave radiometers, laser meters, magnetic sensors and cameras collect electromagnetic information to derive accurate, large-scale information about the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. Because these data and images are digital, they can easily be quantified and manipulated using computers. RS can be used in efforts to reduce the risk and minimize damage. The same data can be analyzed in different ways for different applications. A number of studies were aiming at identification of crop, area estimation, disease and pest identification, etc. using satellite data in horticulture. The potential use of RS techniques in Horticulture is briefly reviewed in orde

Abstract

The term “Horticulture” is a part of agriculture system which is concerned with the raising of so called garden crops. At present, fruits, vegetables, flowers etc., are grown not only within the backyards, but also in large areas in open fields on a commercial scale where better visualization can be viewed with GIS. It emerged by calculating the present context which allows us to produce a complex view about the land’s characteristics. Most of the GIS in use today have not been designed to support multimedia data and therefore have very limited capability due to the large data volumes, very rich semantics and very different modelling and processing requirements. Use of Remote Sensing (RS) and GIS in natural resource and environmental monitoring has been advocated strongly in present years. The present review gives an idea about the basic concepts of GIS, its components and applications in the agricultural sector particularly horticulture. GIS has been extensively and successfully exploited in various areas using various software’s which are available in current market.

Introduction

In the present, India is food secure due to our self-sufficiency in foodgrains, but still,we have to achieve the goal of nutritional security. The horticulture sector is the one which alsoescapes the weather shocks and has the potential to help in poverty alleviation, nutritional security. Again, it has ample scope for farmers to increase their income and helpful in sustaining a large number of agro-based industries which generate a large number of employment opportunities besides helping to achieve the national goal of 4.0 per cent agricultural growth. India with more than 28.2 million tonnes of fruits and 66 million tonnes of vegetables, is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, next only to Brazil and China.Onshares, the world fruit production is 11% and vegetables 7%.

Cakes are sweet baked products characterized by high level of sugar in the formulation and hence are foods of high calorific value. Among the various ingredient used flour, sugar, shortening and egg are the essential ingredients for cake manufacture. The optional ingredients are baking powder, milk, fruit etc. For cake manufacture the selection of ingredients is of paramount importance.

India’s bakery market at 49.5 billion tonnes makes it the third largest market in Asia Pacific, only after Japan and Australia. 72 The bakery industry in India comprises of organized and unorganized sectors. The organized sector consists of large, medium and small-scale manufacturers who produce packaged biscuits and bread. The unorganized sector consists of small bakery units, cottage and household type manufacturing their goods without much packaging and distributing their goods in the surrounding areas. Bread market is estimated to be growing at around 7% p.a. in volume terms, whereas the biscuit market has witnessed a higher growth at around 8–10%. Within the biscuit category, cream and specialty biscuits are growing at a faster rate of 20% p.a. The per-capita consumption of biscuits in India is around 900 gm as compared to 15–20 kg. for developed countries. The consumption of biscuits is equally divided between the urban and rural population. Demand for biscuits in 2003–2004 is likely to exceed 1.2 million tonnes.

Common Poultry Diseases

Infectious diseases

Bacteria

Commonly known as “germs”, bacteria are very small living microorganisms. Only a few bacteria cause diseases. In birds these include Salmonella, Clostridia, Pasteurella, Vibrio, Staphylococci, Streptococci, Mycoplasma, Hemophilus, and Mycobacterium etc.

5.1    Introduction
       5.1.1  Types of Distributors
    Questions and Problems
    
References

3.1    Factors Contributing to Climate Change
    3.1.1    Natural Causes to Climate Change
    3.1.2    Human Causes to Climate Change
    
3.2    Climatic Trends
    3.2.1    Global level
    3.2.2    National level
    
3.3    Climate Projections
    3.3.1    Global level Projections on Future Changes in Climate
    3.3.2    Climate Projections at the National level
    3.3.3    Climate Projections at the Regional level
    3.3.4    Projections of Extremes in Rainfall and Temperature
    
3.4    Consequences of Climate Change on Droughts and Agriculture
    3.4.1    Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture in some States of India
    
References

Case Study    :    Indian Ocean Tsunami - 2004

Appendix-'H'    :    Do's & Don'ts During Commercial Nuclear Disasters

Appendix-'I'    :    Mock Drill Reporting Format
    
Appendix-'J'    :    Suggested Roles and Responsibilities of Stakeholders

1.    Late blight
        
2.    Early blight
        
3.    Black scurf
        
4.    Common scab
        
5.    Bacterial Brown rot
        
6.    Wart
        
7.    Black leg (Soft rot)
        
8.    Viral diseases
        
9.    Potato spindle tuber

Abstract

More than one-third of food is lost or wasted in post-harvest operations in India. Decreasing the post-harvest losses (PHL) may be a sustainable solution to increasing food availability and improving farmers’livelihoods. As per Associated Chambers of Commerce of India, India loses approximately US$ 14.33 billion annually on account of PHL (ASSOCHAM, 2017). The objective of this study is to analyse the agricultural wastes that are produced in the value chain for a modern trade retailer, identify their causes, and discuss methods for minimising field wastages. A case study approach has been used to depict the agricultural value chain (vegetable segment). A field visit was conducted to a farmland and a privately operated Collection Center in Barasat area of West Bengal. The author discusses solutions towards minimising harvest wastages in the farm by focusing on waste reduction. Post-harvest wastages beyond the farm can be reduced by undertaking measures that focus on waste management. Going forward, adoption of technologies by farmers may lessen inefficiencies such as wastages and improve their income. Further scope for research lies in exploring joint interventions by private players, government agencies, non-profit organisations and entrepreneurs through public-private partnership models or through development of clusters for creating sustainable value chains and achieving greater profitability.

Abstract

Packaging industry is considered to be one of the world’s largest industrial sectors. In the past few years, food processing has undergone several paradigm changes with respect to production, distribution, storage, processing and retailing. This increasing dynamism in the food industry, while on one hand placing a lot of challenges on the packaging industries, is on the other hand opening up opportunities for entrepreneurs to foray into food processing and also packaging industries and develop appropriate solutions in response to the needs of the market and environment. This study aims at exploring the state of packaging industry and packaging technologies in developing countries, with special emphasis on India, against the backdrop of increasing concern for prevention of food losses and therefore highlighting the need for new innovative ideas for food packaging. The authors posit that customer awareness about safety of processed food has given rise to tremendous possibilities of entrepreneurship opportunities in the area of safe and hygiene packaging. However market preferences, state reputations and cost benefit analysis play major roles in packaging of processed food products.

In insects nervous system is highly developed and serves to coordinate the activities of its various systems. Units of this system are known as neurons. Which carry information in the form of electrical impulses from external and internal sensilla (Sensory cells) to appropriate effectors e.g., glands, muscles and glail cells. Nervous system of insects may be divided into three parts.

1. Central nervous system
2. Sympathetic or visceral nervous system
3. Peripheral nervous system.

Introduction

Indian agriculture is in a phase of transition from subsistence to high-tech agribusiness. This has ushered in an era where entrepreneurship is viewed as a strategic intervention in rural development. As a result, promotion of rural enterprises has gained great significance as an instrument for improved farm earnings, employment and women empowerment. It implies development of agriculture through farm diversification, value addition and development of agro-processing industries that provides autonomy, independence and reduced need for social support to the farmers. Improved farm-industry linkages along with great export potential will be added advantages. In this development scenario, agriculture, specifically high value horticultural crops like fruits, vegetables, spices, flowers, plantation crops, medicinal and aromatic plants among others that ensure maximum returns to the growers with multiple scopes for value addition hold great promise. In fact, horticultural crops become a necessary condition for improving the living standards of farmers and ensuring nutritional security of the nation. The concept of nutritional security goes beyond food security to include adequate availability of micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals in addition to calorie and protein needs of the people supplied through food grains. Therefore, the spectacular increase in food grain production and a reasonable overall agricultural performance has failed to eradicate malnutrition as can be inferred from Table 1. It indicates that the Global Hunger Index (GHI), a more comprehensive tool used to measure and track hunger, ranks India (97 out of 118 developing countries) in the category of serious hunger behind Bangladesh (90/118). More disturbing are the rates of growing malnutrition among Indian households. As such, nutritional security becomes a more relevant indicator of food security as we move up the development ladder

Introduction

World’s population is continuously on the rise, triggering the demand for food. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 2011) observed that 70% increase in food production will be needed to sustain the globe’s population by 2050. Though, increase in agricultural production and productivity is said to be the panacea to solve food security issues, the greatest challenge that need to be addressed is the inefficiencies in the supply chain; instigated by insufficient storage capacities and perishability of food products. Food preservation and processing is highlighted in this context, as it serves to conserve/improve the quality and reduce food loss due to wastage as well as add nutritional security.

Introduction

Compared to the previous decades, the scope and power of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in agriculture and biotechnology has grown substantially and their international reach has expanded. The IP regime has set up the stage for healthy competition among research centres and industries for developing and seeking novel technologies. However, compared to developed countries, once the technology is created, not much attention is paid in the developing nations on their commercial, policy, environmental, ethical and societal implications. Hence, better techniques are needed for their management, to create policy and educate professionals to commercialize and govern them. Due to the critical role of technology in a competitive environment, strategic technology management is important for farmers and agri-enterprises too. The translation of nascent technologies into new products/ services and their commercialization requires some amount of hand-holding, mentoring and incubation support.

Executive summary

The enclosed project report envisages the setting up of a modern rice mill complex with attached parboiling facilities having an average processing capacity of 16 MT of paddy per day. The initial investment of the project is estimated to be Rs 480.17 lakhs. Sales Realization is assumed as constant for all the 7 years; amounted Rs 1129.2 lakhs. Pay Back Period for the project is estimated as somewhat more than 3 years. Internal Rate of Return for the project is 31%. Net Present Value is Rs.367.92 lakhs which is a positive value. It indicates that present value of cash inflows is greater than present value of cash outflows. Projected working results of the project throws light on its viability.

Introduction

Low and erratic precipitation, diurnal fluctuations in temperature and low humidity are the typical characteristics of deserts and their margins. Further, strong winds, sunny and very bright days and unpredictable periods of drought and famines are regular features. These lands are poor in fertility. Uninterrupted increase in human and animal pressures is violating carrying capacity of the natural resources, thus resultant is desertification.

Arid zones are described as a part of the drylands, and have the most severe edapho-climatic conditions. The major distinguishing feature for defining and for planning for the arid zone is the low rainfall (below 500 mm or Aridity Index <0.20) with more than 50% inter-annual variability. This makes a great difference in terms of the nature of the ecosystem, the socio-economic environment and the challenges for sustainability. High wind and solar regimes further increase the effect of rainfall variability and the whole complex makes a fragile ecosystem in which small disturbances may cause great loss to the sustainability, which are sometimes irreversible (Hou’erou, 1996). The hot arid zones of the world are economically and environmentally disadvantaged, with unique problems. The ecosystems of these zones are highly fragile with large risks that cause severe impediments to development programs. Of the total land area in the world, arid zones cover 18.8% and the hyper-arid zones account for 22.3% of the total arid zones (FAO, 1989).

Introduction

Desertification is now accepted as a major environmental issue because of the fact that 69.5 percent area of the world’s dry lands and more than 1.2 billion people in over 110 countries living in this habitat are affected by various land degradation processes. During last 20 years, researchers have focused their discussion either on a condition or a cause or a set of processes to assess different paradigms of desertification. Several studies carried out in arid western part of Rajasthan (Singh et al., 1992, Kar, A. 1993b, Kar, 1995, Dregne, H.E. 2000, Kar et al.2007) show that wind erosion is still a major problem. Though, there are many instances of location specific problems like water erosion, salinity/ alkalinity and water logging, about 75% area in arid western Rajasthan is affected by wind erosion hazard of different intensities (SAC, 2007, Kar et al. 2009). Decreasing rainfall gradient from east to west and increasing wind strength in that direction are responsible for the spatial variability in sand reactivation pattern. Water erosion in the form of sheet, rill and gully erosion is a major problem in areas, where average annual rainfall exceeds 350 mm, the rainfall intensity is high and the topographic and soil characteristics favour high run-off. Destruction of vegetation cover and excessive ploughing of shallow soils, especially on the sloping lands, accelerate the problem.

Introduction

Drylands account for over 40% of the global land surface, or approximately 5.2 billion hectares (de Sherbinin, 2002). They provide home for more than 2 billion people or nearly 40% of the population of the world (White and Nackoney, 2003). Asia alone accounts for about 32% of the World’s drylands. Broadly defined by their modest water supply drylands have many regional names, such as semideserts, grasslands, savannas, steppes, and pampas. Dryland ecosystems are a vital part of the earth’s human and physical environments and play a major role in global biophysical processes. They provide much of the world’s grain and livestock, forming the habitat that supports many vegetable species, fruit trees and micro-organisms. With an exception of Australia and the United States, almost all drylands are situated in developing countries with populations living in extreme poverty. Populations of drylands are frequently some of the poorest in the world. Food security and water availability of these areas has always been unstable due to high variability in both rainfall amounts and intensities and the occurrence of prolonged periods of drought. The increasing pressures caused by the global climate change and massive land-use changes further increase human vulnerability in dry regions. The impacts of climate change in drylands are likely to lead to still larger populations being affected by water scarcity and the risk of declining food security and increase the risk of environmental migrations and violent conflicts caused by the decline of resources, which are important to sustain livelihoods (Barnett and Adger, 2007).

Abstract

This paper is the synthesis of researches of quaternary on the Chad lake basin, our field investigations, our previous palaeogeographic research underlined by the sédimentological analyses, ¹⁴C radiocarbon and thermoluninescence dating. The objective is to show that after the effects of geological fluctuation, paleoclimatic oscillations, the Chad lake basin experiences since historical times an increasingly drying up due to the combination of geographic factors such as its close position in the Sahara desert, centre of the climate dynamics and human activities. This situation frequently generates recurrent live conditions to which man has to face.

Introduction

Thar Desert is unique both from floristic and climatic parameters. Biodiversity in this region survives on a very/ fragile ecosysytem under a highly hostile environment. Major area consists of dry undulating mass of loose sand, thus, leading to shifting sand dunes. The sandy plain is full of sand-hills with serve as low depressions where salt and soda are deposited after drying. The whole area is inhospitable and sterile. Trees are rather a few and far between (Bhandari, 2005).

The Thar Desert of western India is known for its rich and ancient culture system and traditions. The communities have long been part of the Thar Desert ecosystem and have evolved specific strategies to live in harmony with its hostile environment. Orans have remained mainstay in balancing this arid ecosystem. Man of this region has never been greedy as he is today. Orans were repositories of ancient system of gene pool conservation. But, there are unregulated encroachment on the marginal lands and over-exploitation of groundwater resources. Orans has been part and parcel of the lifestyle of the Thar Desert inhabitants. Orans are used to provide vital grazing land for livestock, water, minor forest produce, medicinal plants and green cover for the villages. They were worshipped as devbhumi. Orans preserve the endemic, endangered or threatened species, medicinal plants and wild variety of cultivars found.

Abstract

The Western Desert covers approximately 700,000 km², which is more than two-thirds of the total area of Egypt. This immense desert, to the west of the Nile, spans the area from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sudanese border. The Great Sand Sea lies within the desert’s plain and extends from Siwa Oasis to Jilf al Kabir plateau. Scarps and deep depressions exist in several parts of the Western Desert. Limited agricultural production, the presence of some natural resources, and permanent settlements are found in the western desert oases (Siwa, Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga), all of which have fresh groundwater. Siwa Oasis, close to the Libyan border, is isolated from the rest of Egypt but has sustained life since ancient times. The Siwa’s cliff-hung Temple of Amun was renowned for its oracles for more than 1,000 years. Herodotus and Alexander the Great visited the temple in the pre-Christian era. The Oasis is a natural depression about 23 meters below sea level. It covers an area of about 1050 km² (2,50,000 acres); of which only 87.95 km² (20,940 acres) are currently cultivated. The total numbers of inhabitants in Siwa were 21,482 in 2006. The main activity in Siwa oasis is agriculture which depends on the groundwater that outflows from about 1199 wells and springs giving a total annual discharge of about 255 million cubic meters from which, about 222 million cubic meters are lost due to evaporation and evapotranspiration, while the remainder goes to the natural lakes of Siwa Oasis. This has led to a continuous rise in the water table level and soil salinity.

Present research paper on land degradation processes relates to the improper management of water and land resources in Siwa Oasis, Egypt.

Introduction

On 26^th December 2004, the Indian coastline experienced the most devastating tsunami in recorded history. The tsunami was triggered by an earthquake of magnitude Mw 9.3 at 3.316ºN, 95.854°E off the coast of Sumatra in the Indonesian Archipelago at 06:29 hrs making it the most powerful in the world in the last 40 years. In recent years increasing the vulnerability to natural disasters of developing countries is a major reason for concern. The potential loss of human lives and property due to natural hazards is very high in the urban areas of these countries. The Information obtained from conventional tsunami hazard maps does not always provide sufficient data for users .needs. The difficulty in presenting more significant information on tsunami hazard maps in conventional paper format is due to the limited available physical space of that format. Printing more information on such paper maps tends to confuse rather than provide more needed information to users. Furthermore, these kinds of maps provide little opportunity for users to ask for additional information, to determine the relationships between different kinds of information and important quantitative analyses. Furthermore, Tsunami hazards have important temporal attributes. Presenting these attributes on the map; e.g. the sequence of volcanic eruptions in a region or the frequency of tsumani in a particular area during a particular period of time is very difficult.

Logical Framework Approach (LFA) is a framework for designing change process, monitoring progress and evaluating impact. It is a powerful tool for project design, management, assessment, follow up and evaluation of projects. In designing change process, monitoring progress and evaluating impact, ordering the change process in a logical sequence where inputs or resources identify as necessary means for performing activities are very important. Specific activities are then identified because they result in outputs which are necessary to achieve objectives. The two terms i.e.; log frame and logical framework approach are sometimes confused by many. The log frame is a document whereas the logical framework approach is a project design methodology. LFA originally developed by the American Defense Department and was first formally adopted as a planning tool for United State Agency for International Development (USAID) by the end of 1960’s and today it is being used, in one form or other and with different names, by major organisations in the field of development co-operation and private industry. Among these are British DFID, the OECD expert group on Aid Evaluation, ISNAR International Service for National Agricultural Research, Germany’s GTZ and the Inter-American Development Bank. It has also been widely adopted by NGOs, though not without reservations and concerns by some. In the 1990s it was often mandatory for aid organisations to use the LFA in their project proposals.

Introduction

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands popularly known as the Bay Islands are situated 1200 Km away from Indian mainland and are well known for their wide range of biodiversity.The dreaded tsunami hit the island on 26th December, 2004 and it destroyed livelihood of thousands of people. CARI on a limited scale initiated process of restoration of livelihood by technological interventions with generous funding by DBT under project entitled “Integrated Rehabilitation of tsunami affected people through technological intervention in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands” in the adopted villages of Manjeri, Manglutan and Guptapara. (Three situations). A total 56 ha has been affected by tsunami in the adopted villages. Following three situations occurred after tsunami and for each situation appropriate technological interventions were taken up.

Introduction

Cashew is an important horticultural crop. It has gained status of commercial crop from that of a forest component through technological advancements with respect to propagation, production and management. This has been possible as a result of increasing demand for raw cashew nuts and enhanced interest for its commercialization. The demand is mainly due to its good quality protein, unsaturated free fatty acids, rich blend of minerals and water-soluble vitamins, which altogether contribute an excellent dietary supplement. It is being cultivated by as many as 28 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America

Introduction

Aquaculture has developed quickly over the last three decades to turn into important economic activity world wide. It has been attracting heavy investment due to the availability of sound technologies and limitless potential for export especially shrimp. There are several forecasts on demand for aquatic foods and it is expected that it will be 183 million tonnes by 2030. As the capture fishery production is stagnating at around 90 million tonnes, aquaculture is seen as the only alternative to bridge the widening gap in demand and supply. Globally, Landings from worldwide aquaculture has increased 10-15 % per year in the last two decades and this growth was due to the combined effects of scientific farming, availability of infrastructure facilities, changing consumer preferences and export market potential to developed countries.

Shrimp farming is relatively new and its introduction on a commercial scale can be traced to the early seventies. Despite the recent introduction, one third of the world shrimp production is from farmed shrimp. The shrimp producing countries are found in all regions based on FAO statistics including Europe and Middle East. The major to five shrimp producing countries are China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India. The future increase in world aquaculture production will be driven by China with South Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Europe providing small increases.

Introduction

Aquarium fish keeping has become increasingly popular in industrialized countries and has been rated as the second biggest hobby and the most popular type of pet (Oliver, 2001). The National Pet Owners Survey 2007-08 revealed that 142 million freshwater and 9.6 million salt water fish were kept as pet in the USA alone (APPMA, 2008). The growing interest in aquarium fish has resulted in steady increase in aquarium fish trade globally. Today, with a turn over of US $ 9.0 billion a year and an annual growth of 8.0%, production of ornamental fish is an important business activity as well as one of the most popular hobbies in the world (Yanar et al., 2008).

Chemical synthesis is spontaneous organization of molecules into stable, structurally well-defined aggregates at the nanometer length scale. Chemical synthesis is largely an art form (i.e., theory often does not quantitatively predict how to make new materials from molecules).Yet, chemical synthesis can be quite powerful (e.g., proteins and complex organic molecules can be made from simple reagents) Semiconductor nanocrystals have been synthesized via “natural self-assembly” in two steps:

1.Capped cluster molecule forms spontaneously from molecular reagents in solution

2.Cluster molecules crystallize out of solution

Nanoparticles synthesis is done by two major routes, which include classical synthesis and green synthesis. The green synthesis techniques generally utilize relatively non-toxic chemicals non-toxic solvents, biological extracts and systems. Biological methods are considered safe and ecologically sound forthe nanomaterial fabrication asan alternative to conventional physical and chemical methods

Nanoparticles

Gold, silver, and copper have been used mostly for the synthesis of stable dispersions of nanoparticles, which are useful in areas of photography, catalysis, biological labeling, photonics, optoelectronics and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection

The need for biosynthesis of nanoparticles rose as the physical and chemical processes were costly. So in the search of cheaper pathways for nanoparticle synthesis, scientists used microorganisms and then plant extracts for synthesis. Nature has devised various processes for the synthesis of nano- and micro- length scaled inorganic materials which have contributed tothedevelopment of relatively newandlargely unexplored area of research based on the biosynthesis of nanomaterials.

Infrared spectroscopy (IRspectroscopy) is the spectros copy that deals with the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, that is light with a longer wavelength and lower frequency than visible light. It covers a range of techniques, mostly based on absorption spectroscopy. As with all spectroscopic techniques, it can be used to identifyand study chemicals. A common laboratory instrument that uses this technique is a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer.

The infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is usually divided into three regions; the near-, mid- and far- infrared, named for their relation to the visible spectrum. The higher energy near-IR, approximately 14000–4000 cm^–1 (0.8–2.5 μm wavelength) can excite overtone orharmonic vibrations. Themid-infrared, approximately 4000– 400 cm^–1 (2.5–25 μm) may be used to study the fundamental vibrations and associated rotational-vibrational structure. The far-infrared, approximately 400–10 cm^–1 (25–1000 μm), lying adjacent to the microwave region, has low energy and may be used for rotational spectroscopy. The names and classifications of these sub regions are conventions, and are only loosely based on the relative molecular or electromagnetic properties.

Infrared spectroscopy exploits the fact that molecules absorb specific frequencies that are characteristic of their structure. These absorptions are resonant frequencies, i.e. the frequency of the absorbed radiation matches the frequency of the bond or group that vibrates. The energies are determined by the shape of the molecular potential energy surfaces, the masses of the atoms, and the associated vibronic coupling.

Contract Farming

Contract farming is defined as a system for the production and supply of agricultural/horticultural produce under forward contracts between producers/suppliers and buyers. The essence of such an arrangement is the commitment of the producer/ seller to provide an agricultural commodity of a certain type, at a time and a price, and in the quantity required by a known and committed buyer.

Contract Farming Ventures in India: A Few Successful Cases

The Government of India’s National Agriculture Policy envisages that “Private sector participation will be promoted through contract farming and land leasing arrangements to allow accelerated technology transfer, capital inflow and assured market for crop production, especially of oilseeds, cotton and horticultural crops”.
Farming is an age-old means of livelihood for millions of Indians. However, there have been few systems/models in which farmers are assured of a market for their 

Introduction

Having decided to become an agri-preneur, the next task is to decide what business to venture into, the product or range of products that shall be taken up for manufacture and in what quantity. This may sound simple, it is the hardest and the single most important decision one will take in this whole business of setting up a small-scale enterprise. As the old saying goes “well begun is half done”, and if the decision to select a product is right, basically enterprise will do well, if not there are likely to be troubles ahead. One of the reasons why many small scale units become “sick” is that no serious thought is given by the entrepreneur before starting the unit on whether there is reasonable chance of succeeding in the product selected.

Even after one has taken a correct decision, all sorts of things can happen and upset the plans, but in such cases, one can retrieve the situation, provided the product selected is intrinsically sound. There could be factors beyond control and one must be prepared to face them.

Introduction

In recent past, ‘entrepreneurship’ has been a buzz word in Indian livestock business sector. It literally means ‘turning innovations into incomes’. As a whole, livestock is a fast growing sector in Indian agricultural economy, growing at an annual rate of approximately 4.5%. This has opened avenues for commercialization of more and more technologies involving livestock health and production. According to a recent estimate by FAO (2009), meat sector in India is also growing at a rate of 4.5% per annum over last decade and pigs, contributing about 8.2% of country’s total meat production, have a tremendous role to play in the face of globalization, strict WTO regulations and emerging IPR issues. The ‘knowledge economy’ is coming to play an important role in such situation, meaning, much wider application of livestock technologies in livestock business.

ABSTRACT

Scattered trees/shrubs in agricultural fields or grazing fields are common features of landscape in arid regions of India. These trees were considered as insurance to the people during drought years. In recent past importance of these trees in such areas had been recognized by the scientific world. Lot of research had been made and is continuing to identify and research the tree-crop combination. This paper reviews the tested agroforestry systems in arid region of country with particular reference to Rajasthan. Economic gains due to technology intervention in agroforestry system is also given.

INTRODUCTION

The people in the arid regions of India, since time immemorial has developed location specific agroforestry systems. The scattered trees / shrubs in the agricultural fields or grazing fields are common features of the landscape. Since the beginning of cultivation the farmers deliberately allow the trees /shrubs to grow with the crops. They have screened the trees / shrubs based on their utility. They have considered that these trees are insurance to them during drought years. These trees provided lean period fodder, fruits, vegetable, timber, fuel, fiber etc. as farmers knew that occurrence of drought is common phenomenon in Rajasthan and due to failure of rains the crops failed to grow or their production is abysmally low. In the recent past efforts have been made to identify existing agroforestry systems for different agro-ecological zones (Malhotra, 1984 ; Harsh et al., 1992 ; Saxena, 1997). Efforts have also been made to study the production systems under each agroforestry systems and also to improve the existing systems through technological interventions (Harsh and Tewari, 2003; Tewari et al., 2004; Harsh et al., 2004).

ABSTRACT

Contour hedgerow technology has different names in different regions. Sloping Agriculture Land Technology (SALT) has alley farming with hedgerow barrier technology. It is basically an agroforestry system in which nitrogen - fixing trees or shrubs are planted very closely in rows and cash crops grown in between the alleys. The SALT has been considered as an alernative to shifting cultivation. Forest dwellers are mostly tribals and shifting cultivation have been their practice for food production. The slash and burn has caused enormous damage to the forest composition. The forests on the hills and on the mountains have suffered a lot due to “Podhu” cultivation. The similar situations have been observed also in most of the Asian country. The hilly area has been considered under the hedgerow system for soil and water conservation. The introduction of the agroforestry systems in the farmers fields and in the wastelands have brought potential forest farming. The young leaves of some hedge row plants provide good fodder for livestock. Hedgerows can also be managed to provide fuelwood, if necessary. The hedgerows and their trimming provide mechanical and biological barriers and help minimise soil erosion by reducing surface runoff velocities, leading to higher deposition of soil sediments and living source of nutrient cycling. The food and cash production has been observed to be the most essential components in four types of SALT models.

There are six nutrients which are very important to animal body and they are – Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, Minerals, Vitamins and water.

Carbohydrates: These are polyhydroxy aldehyde or ketone as in monosaccharide or polymers in oligo or polysaccharides. The question arises whether carbohydrate is a dietaryessential !!! Carbohydratemay not be dietary essential but it is definitely metabolically essential. The organic compounds – fats, proteins are oxidized only in the presence of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the structural components of DNA, RNA, and some other vital organic molecules. Although less than 1% is present in the human body (because constantly being formed and broken down in metabolism), yet without the presence of this carbohydrate, the existence of living creature is at stake.

Carbohydrate in the form of glucose primarily provides energy in the body and excess amount of carbohydrate is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle. More than fifty per cent of the energy value of the diet is provided by carbohydrate.

Glucose + 6O₂ → 6 CO₂ + 6H₂O + Δ E (675 k.cal)

They also exhibit protein sparing action because proteins are mainly required for tissue-building i.e. general wear and tear in the body. If there is any emergency, say animal is deficient in calories of the diet, then it will use adipose and protein tissues. It is said that proteins and fats are burnt or oxidized in the flame of carbohydrate.It means thatcertain intermediarycompounds of glucose oxidation through krebscycle are absolutely necessary for oxidation of proteins and fats. Again, in any emergency, if glucose level of the body goes down, fats and proteins take over and they get metabolized faster than the animal body

1. Introduction

The growing prevalence of obesity and obesity associated disorders as well as its impact on public health has received increased attention in recent years. As a result, obesity is now considered one of the world’s leading public health problems. A study published in the noted medical journal Lancet says India is just behind US and China in this global hazard list of top 10 countries with the highest number of obese people. The study - titled ‘Global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980-2013: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013’ - used data collected by international bodies and organizations in various countries like India over three decades. China and India together accounted for 15 per cent of the world’s obese population, with 46 million and 30 million obese people, respectively. According to the study, the number of overweight and obese people globally increased from 857 million in 1980 to 2. 1 billion in 2013. This is one-third of the world’s population.

With lifestyle disorders forcing more and more people to reel under excess body weight, even relatively younger people are developing joint disorders and knee pain. Excessive weight is associated with a series of health problems, including blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular ailments. Therefore there in an urgent need to envision effective anti-obesity strategies through effective interventions.

Introduction

Nutrition is the fundamental pillar of life and an essential foundation of human and national development. Rightfrom the earliest stage of human development, the fetal stage, at birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age, nutrition forms the basis for survival, performance, mental and physical development & economic and social development.Nutritional deficiencies during pregnancy, fetal and early postnatal life can have a negative impact not only on the subsequent growth and development but can also lead to changes in metabolic regulation and homeostasis.

INTRODUCTION

Research in agriculture and allied activities and the subsequent technological innovations are important requisites for enhanced productivity and generating income for the farmers. In India, farming is a way of livelihood to 65 per cent of nearly 1. 1 billion population. Our farm population is increasing annually by 1. 84 per cent. The average farm size is becoming smaller each year and the cost-riskreturn structure of farming is becoming adverse with the result that farmers are getting increasingly indebted. There is no option except to produce more food and other commodities under conditions of diminishing per capita arable land and irrigation water resource. Hence, we must harness the best in frontier technologies, thus integrate them with traditional wisdom and thereby launch an eco-technology movement.

The productivity in agricultural sectors is dependent on several bio physical and socio-economic factors. The significant biophysical factors are weather parameters, soil health, water resources, crops/ varieties and pest environments. In order to monitor the impact of weather parameters, we need to have weather forecasts and the accuracy of which to harvest the economic benefits should be given top priority. Only fifty years ago, weather forecasting was an art which was derived after interpretation of data received from land based observing stations, balloons and aircraft etc. Now, modern technology particularly computers / weather satellites / radars has resulted in enormous improvements in the accuracy of weather forecasting with the help of various coordinated meteorological observing networks.

Science has individual, social, and institutional dimensions. Because of the social relevance of science, the dissemination of scientific information is crucial for its progress and contemporaneity. A scientist observes and then tries to make sense of that observation. She/he collects data, develops theories, uses hypothesis to understand and explain a thing, or a phenomenon, and then tries to find patterns emanating from her/his observations. Scientific knowledge keeps on changing.

Science is a blend of logic and imagination; therefore, there is always a possibility of disagreement and mismatch between them. A hypothesis is often untestable. Such untestable hypothesis are often rejected by the scientific community. “Science never pursues the illusory aim of making its answers final, or even probable. Its advance is, rather, towards the infinite yet attainable aim of ever discovering new, deeper, and more general problems, and of subjecting its ever tentative answers to ever renewed and ever more rigorous tests,” writes Karl Popper (1).

A scientist formulates, corrects, or discards the theories. The job of a scientist is to discriminate false idols from the real things. Science has built-in error correcting machinery, writes Carl Sagan (2). The error bars are insistent reminders to the fact that no knowledge is complete or perfect. It is used to exercise self-criticism. Each generation of scientists reduces the error bars a little. When we are self-indulgent and uncritical, when we confuse hopes with facts, we slide into pseudoscience and superstition. Sagan believed in maintaining an essential balance between the two attitudes: openness to new ideas, no matter how counter-intuitive they may be, and the most ruthlessly sceptical scrutiny of all ideas, old and new.

1 & 3 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, Agricultural College & Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai -625 104

2 & 4 Senior Research Fellows, Dept. of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, AC & RI, Madurai -625 104.

Prelude

The rapid and unprecedented changes in the external environment such as liberalisation of the economy, globalisation of international markets, deregulation of the financial systems and implications of various clauses under WTO exerted considerable pressure on the agricultural system. Moreover, the major challenges facing the world today includes are: managing the environment in a sustainable manner, managing the exploding rate of population growth and urbanisation, ensuring food security, meeting health, education and literacy needs and eliminating poverty.

Meeting these challenges requires information, knowledge and participatory process of social change. Communication is an essential element in this process. According to Balit (1996) who pointed out that least expensive input for rural development is knowledge. Knowledge and information are basic ingredients of food security and are essential for facilitating rural development and bringing about social and economic change.

The 21^st century is witnessing a computer revolution in which information processing and retrieval are being reliably done at incredible speeds. Computers are used for storing, analysing and distributing information of all kinds including words, numbers, pictures, illustration, sounds and movies. Computer aided knowledge dissemination mechanism help to reach the unreached and foster new voices and new leaders.

According to Aasher (1995) microcomputer technologies have the potential to support all the major functions of agricultural extension, namely the technology generation, diffusion, adoption continuum and the efficient handling of descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive types of information.