eChapters

10.1. Co-operative marketing

Private agencies dominate Indian food grains trade.

High marketing charges and prevalence of malpractices.

Progress of regulated markets is not uniform in all areas.

Need for strengthening co-operative organization in marketing of farmers produce and supply inputs at right price and time.

Instrumental methods of chemical analysis are the quantitative methods of analysis that use, as principal measuring devices, instruments other than those employed in conventional gravimetric and volumetric determinations.

The main basis for this method of analysis is the physical property of any particular element or compound being analyzed. These properties include:

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is an internationally recognized method of identifying and managing food safety related risk and, when central to an active food safety program, can provide customers, the public and regulatory agencies assurance that a food safety program is well managed. HACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product. (FAO, 2003)

Mycotoxin hazard analysis and identification of possible control measures

I. Hazard Analysis

a) Identification of mycotoxin hazard

For a given commodity system in a particular location, the HACCP team need to first consider which, if any, of the mycotoxins known to constitute a food safety hazard are likely to be present. Over 300 mycotoxins are known, but only a relatively few of these are widely accepted as presenting a significant food or animal feed safety risk.

The following mycotoxins have regulatory limits set by one or more countries: the aflatoxins (including aflatoxin M₁), ochratoxin A, zearalenone, patulin, ergot alkaloids, and deoxynivalenol. Guideline limits exist for fumonisin B₁ and regulatory limits are likely to be set in the near future. The regulatory limits are taken as the target levels and should be included in the Product Description table. Mycotoxin limits can also be set by the customer in specific contracts and it is possible that these may include mycotoxins not subject to regulatory limits.

Abstract

Agriculture provides food, feed, fiber and many other desired products for survival of human beings in the world. Modern agriculture emphasizes on use of hybrid seeds, high yielding varieties and chemical fertilizer to increase the crop productivity within a short period. Indiscriminate use of synthetic fertilizers has led to environmental pollution and deterioration of soil health, which results in depletion of essential plant nutrients and organic matter in soil. On account of the environmental hazard and soil infertility, biofertilizer concept was developed. Biofertilizer are natural fertilizers including bacteria, fungi and algae alone or in combination that augment availability of nutrients to the plants. However, due to its short shelf life period it may not be a suitable candidate for modern agriculture. Thus, it is the need of the hour to develop an economic and eco-friendly nano-biofertilizer for sustainable agriculture.

The basic principles of biological control of pests and diseases remain the same, whether applied to insect pests, nematodes or plant pathogens. In the recent years, there is a paradigm shift towards studying antibiosis and its application in biological suppression of pathogens, yet the classical bio-control will remain as relevant as ever. The following discussion is based on recapitulating the basic principles of classical biological control as applicable to plant parasitic nematodes.

Biological control agents (BCAs) have been exploited for pest control in different ways. One way is to manipulate the naturally occurring BCAs by augmenting their populations to pest suppressive levels. In this approach no BCAs are introduced, but various means such as agronomic practices, introduction of organic matter etc. are adopted to favour the build-up of BCAs. The second way is the introduction of BCAs, either as inoculative or inundative release. In the former case, the BCAs are introduced in small quantities and allowed to build-up gradually in due course of time. However, in the latter approach, BCAs are introduced in large quantities so that quick pest suppression can be achieved. Each method has its own merits and demerits (Table 1).

Introduction

Plant parasitic nematodes are important pests, causing major damage to the world’s food and fibre crops. The management of nematodes is more difficult than that of other pests because nematodes mostly inhabit the soil and usually attack the underground parts of the plants. Nematodes in soil are subject to infections by bacteria and fungi. This creates the possibility of using soil microorganisms to control plant-parasitic nematodes. Biocontrol of nematodes was first studied by Duddington (1951). The development of biological control agents is also considered an effective alternative for nematode control on vegetables (Van Gundy, 1985; Kerry, 1987). There are more than 200 species of nematophagous fungi described. Based on the infection mechanism, they are commonly subdivided into three main groups: the nematode-trapping fungi that captures free living nematodes using specialized morphological structures (i.e., traps), the endoparasitic fungi that infects nematodes using adhesive spores, and the egg- and cyst-parasitic fungi that infect these stages with their hyphal tips (Barron, 1977). The nematophagous fungi that have received most attention for biological control of plant-parasitic nematodes include various species of the nematode-trapping fungi Arthrobotrys spp. (Stirling and Smith, 1998), and the egg-parasitic fungi Pochonia chlamydosporium (Kerry, 2001) and Paecilomyces lilacinus (Gaspard et al., 1990).

Introduction

Agricultural production in India is constrained by number of biotic and abiotic factors. India is a tropical country and has a climate which is conducive for insect pests which are, one of the major constraints in agricultural production, processing and storage. Annual crop losses due to insect pests and diseases in India are estimated to be 18 percent of the agricultural output. Insect pests are widespread in all the agroclimatic zones and large quantities of insecticides are used to control these pests. Indiscriminate use of insecticides, lack of adequate knowledge on proper application techniques and dosages, and frequent use of broad spectrum insecticides are common in India. There is a need to identify suitable alternative methods for the management of insect pests and among them, biological control using viruses, bacteria, fungi and entomopathogenic nematodes is gaining greater attention world over.

Nematode families of Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae attracted most attention as they contain the entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN). Entomopathogenic nematodes are obligate parasites of insects that kill their hosts with the aid of bacteria (Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus) carried in the nematode’s alimentary canal. The lethal obligate insect parasites are ubiquitously distributed without pathogenicity to mammals and beneficial non-target insects, and exempted from registration requirements. Currently there are about 98 valid EPN species belonging to Steinernema (79) and Heterorhabditis (19). Soil surveys conducted in divergent areas of Indian subcontinent have demonstrated high diversity of EPN across seasons, habitats, and geographic regions. There are several target pests in India that can be controlled with entomopathogenic nematodes and several workers have used EPN against cutworms, stem borer, white grubs, etc. under laboratory and field conditions and are compatible with existing IPM programmes.

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) in the family Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae have enormous potential to control insect pests of economic importance. Since, chemical pesticides pose environmental hazards, these nematodes have received considerable attention as potential bio-insecticides because of their wide host spectrum, active host seeking, killing the host within 48 h, easy mass production, storage and application and are environmentally safe. One of the important criteria for a successful biocontrol agent is formulation of nematodes into a stable product, which has played a significant role in commercialization of these biological control agents. Apart from formulation field application and desired control of insect pests decides the success of EPN.

Formulation of Entomopathogenic Nematodes

EPNs have been known since 1929 but they became commercially available only during 1990s.The first attempts at formulating EPN were initiated in 1979 but the shelf life was very limited (one month). Infective juveniles carried on moist substrates such as sponge, vermiculite and peat require continuous refrigeration to maintain their viability. While formulating nematodes, two things are necessary, a long shelf-life and easy application method. The simplest method is impregnating a moist substrate (such as sponge, peat, vermiculite, etc.) with nematodes. The sponge needs to be squeezed in water before application, to release the nematodes, whereas nematodes from other carriers could be applied directly to the soil. However, these formulations are labour-intensive, require continuous refrigeration and lack economy of scale and therefore can be used on small scale only.

Although the infective juveniles of entomopathogenic nematodes can be stored for several months in water in refrigerated bubbled tank, high cost and difficulties of maintaining quality preclude the deployment of this method. Therefore, nematodes are usually formulated into solid or semi-liquid substrates soon after they are produced.

As the ornamental fish industry expands throughout the world, genetic considerations have become more important in terms of production, sustainability and conservation. Genetic technologies are now being applied to increase food production in aquaculture through traditional and modern breeding programmes. Genetic markers can help to manage capture fisheries and distinguish farmed from wild stocks in mixed fisheries. Genetic technologies are also now finding application in post-harvest and trade to assist in product identification and traceability. Genetic improvement of fish has considerably increased the fish production from aquaculture. It includes selective breeding, hybridization, polyploidy, gene and nuclear engineering. For any genetic selection programme, induced breeding is the basic and initial step. Intensive selective breeding is practiced with various species of fish in perfecting appearance, shape and color so that new strains are produced.

Domestication

Most of the fish being widely grown in captivity are domesticated to some extent, but there are very few which have undergone genetic improvement. Just as terrestrial livestock and crops are bred to be not only productive, but productive in convenient proximity to humans, aquatic plants and animals are now undergoing these same pressures.

In comparison to agriculture crops, fruit plants and animals, aquaculture is much behind with regard to the domestication of the fish, especially ornamental fish. Never the less, a good number of ornamental fish have been domesticated which can be considered for selective breeding to improve their traits. The available technologies and tools could be used to remarkably speed up domestication and genetic improvement process.

Domestication implies much more than merely keeping wild animals in farms or homes. Domestication is a very long process, during which captive individuals become more adapted to captive environments. Domestication leads to permanent genetic modifications of a bred lin-eage, while taming or keeping wild fish in captive conditions is only conditioned behavioral modification of individuals. The entire life cycle of the domesticated fish species must be fully closed in captivity. Once full life cycle is completed in captivity, the process of domestication can proceed further.

The first truly domesticated fish species was certainly the goldfish, for which the domestication was initiated by the Chinese about 1500-2000 years ago.

Rock

A rock may be defined as “an aggregate of one or more minerals”. An aggregate of single mineral calcite gives rise to crystalline limestone. Granite is a combination of several minerals. Most rocks are hard and compact as granite and basalt, but some are loose and feebly aggregated as sandstone. Rocks possess certain characteristics such as structure, colour, specific gravity, cleavage and mineralogical make-up by which we can identify the rocks and also distinguish one from the other.

Rocks and minerals formed under a very high temperature and pressure, when exposed to atmospheric conditions of low pressure and low temperature, they become unstable and weather. Soils are formed from rocks through the intermediate stage of formation of regolith (parent material) which is the resultant of weathering.

Physical properties of a soil greatly influence plant growth. The plant support, root penetration, drainage, aeration, retention of moisture and availability of plant nutrients are all linked with the physical condition ofthe soil. The physical properties of a soil which depend on the amount, size, shape, arrangement and mineral composition of its particles, also influence its chemical and biological behaviour.

Soil Structure Defined

Soil structure is defined as the arrangement of individual soil particles with respect to each other into a pattern. Structure describes the gross, over-all arrangement ofthe soil solids. In other words, soil structure is the ‘architecture’ of a soil.

Soils are composed of structural units, called “peds”. The peds consist of many individual particles, bound together by cementing agents like organic matter, clay and hydrous oxides of iron and aluminium. However, the strength of the bonds, the size and shape of the peds and the proportion of the soil particles involved in the peds differ considerably among soils.

Soil Consistence Defined

Soil consistence is the strength with which soil materials are held together or the resistance of soils to deformation and rupture. Soil consistence is measured for wet, moist and dry soil samples. For wet soils, it is expressed in terms of both stickiness and plasticity. Stickiness is the ability of soil materials to adhere to other objects. Plasticity is the ability of the soil materials to change shape continuously under a constant pressure and to retain the impressed shape when the pressure is removed. Soil consistence may be estimated in the field using simple tests or may be measured more accurately in the laboratory.

Water is the elixir of life. It is required for the evapo-transpiration of growing plants. Water acts as a solvent and, together with dissolved nutrients, makes up soil solution from which plant roots derive nutrients. Soil water content controls soil air and soil temperature.

16.1. Forces of Water Retention

The forces responsible for water retention in soils are adhesion and cohesion. Adhesion refers to the attraction of solid surfaces for water. Cohesion refers to the attraction of water molecules for each other.

The force with which the soil particles retain water is defined in terms of pF scale (Schofield, 1935). pF is defined as “the logarithm to the base 10 of the numerical value of the negative pressure of soil moisture expressed in centimetres of water.”

Plant growth regulators are defined as chemicals other than nutrients and vitamins which regulate (or) modify the physiological process ofthe plant. A plant hormones or phytohormones are chemical substances which are naturally produced by plant in specific organs and are translocated from site of synthesis to the site of action. They bring about specific physiological response, even in very low concentration. The quantity of synthesis of these hormones differ from plant to plant, plant internal and external factors. They are readily absorbed and these chemicals move rapidly through the tissues when applied to different parts of the plant. A plant growth hormone may be termed as a plant growth regulator, but not vice - versa, since other than natural plant hormones, plant growth regulators are synthetically manufactured chemicals.

Plant growth regulators have a diverse chemical composition. Based on the general response the chemical mediates in the plant system, they are classified as growthpromoters and growth inhibitors/retardants. However, a particular growth regulator may be growth promoter at a lower concentration and growth inhibitor at higher concentration.

Ker (Capparis decidua (Forsk.) Edgew, (synonym Capparis aphylla, Roth) is a multipurpose, perennial, woody shrub or small tree found growing naturally in hot arid regions and semi-arid subtropics in various parts of the world. In India, it is known by different names in different parts of the country. In Rajasthan, it is generally called Kair or Ker while in Haryana it is known as Teent or Dela. Some more synonym by which ker is known are Caper, Karyal, Hanbag, Cari, Karira etc while in English, it is known as Caper berry. This species is an important constituent of arid ecosystem and plays significant roles in sustaining the ecosystem. The peoples of Indian Thar desert have known the importance of this shrub for long back. On account of its acquired xerophytic adaptive characteristics, it is capable of growing in various kinds of habitats including wastelands. It is also suitable for stabilizing sand dunes and controlling soil erosion by wind and water. Due to its xerophytic adaptive nature, the plant grows successfully under harsh climatic conditions of arid regions. Berry-shaped unripe fruits are rich in carbohydrates, proteins and minerals. It was abundant about five decades back, but, with increase in populations of humans and livestock and more demand of land for agricultural purpose, it has been over-exploited and eliminated by tractor ploughing and excessive browsing pressure from livestock. This has resulted in significant reduction in plant population of ker, but people still try to retain some plants on farm boundaries as this also prevent soil erosion which is quite high due to wind.

Almond (Prunus dulcis, syn. Prunus amygdalus Batsch.) is an important temperate fruit crop. In India, it is mostly cultivated in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Almond is a small deciduous tree, growing to 3–10 m tall, with a trunk up to 30 cm diameter. The young shoots are green at first, becoming purplish where exposed to sunlight, then grey in their second year. The leaves are lanceolate, 4–13 cm long and 1.2–4 cm broad, with a serrated margin and a 2.5cm petiole. The flowers are white or pale pink, 3–5 cm diameter with five petals, produced singly or in pairs before the leaves in early spring. The fruit is a drupe 3.5–6 cm long, with a downy outer coat. The outer covering or exocarp, fleshy in other members of Prunus such as the plum and cherry, is reduced to a leathery grey-green coat called the hull, which contains inside a hard shell the edible kernel, commonly called a nut in culinary terms. Generally, one kernel is present, but occasionally two. However, in botanical terms, an almond is not a true nut. In botanical parlance, the reticulated hard stony shell is called an endocarp. It is mature in the autumn, 7–8 months after flowering. The fruit of the wild forms contains the glycoside amygdalin, “which becomes transformed into deadly prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) after crushing, chewing, or any other injury to the seed”. However, domesticated almonds are not toxic.(FAO, 2013 and Verma, 2014).

Weed control in agriculture disturbs the farming. Weed management and control essentially increase productivity of the farm. Autonomous robots for weed control systems are gaining a lot of attention. Adaptability of effective weed control robots has the potential to bring evolution in the areas of weed species, genetics and climate conditions. Weed control is one of the major challenges in agriculture. Removal of weeds from farming land required a lot of human effort. To minimize the weed growth pesticides and chemicals are used which is very harmful. In order to make this process easy and reliable robots are used nowadays. Robots are specially designed to detect the weeds and remove them within a stipulated time period. Robots are programmed using various algorithms to do this task in an efficient way without human efforts. This chapter illustrates the use of modern robots in weed control to help the farmers to gain maximum profit and healthy concerns without using chemicals to do so.

10.1 Introduction

Over the time, weed control in a farming land has been an issue. Evolution in technologies in the area of agriculture brought a lot of innovations. Among these robots are one of the innovations to be implemented in agriculture to enhance profitability and reliability with minimum human resource. The robots are deployed to monitor the farming land from weeds and try to remove these. Due to which uses of agrochemicals reduced down the timeline. When precision farming came into the picture robots are the best use cases. An autonomous mechanical robot was used to remove the weed from farming land. Robots are equipped with sensor modules, actuators and IoT enabled which makes the things very easy to control from remote area with commands [4].

Lotus being a national flower of India, is closely associated with religion and culture. It is a perennial, aquatic crop that is grown and consumed throughout Asia. The edible parts of lotus are Leaves, flowers, seeds and rhizomes, and the flowers are also used in religious ceremonies. Lotus flowers are also, used for extraction of perfumes. It is one of the oldest plants in the world Archaeologists in China found Lotus seeds with estimated ages of 5,000 years in 1972 in Yunnan Provincelagoons.

During the pre-historic period, the South India Dravidians used lotus flowers (pundarika) as their food, much earlier than the people of the Indus Valley civilization (3000-2000 BC). However, there is no evidence of lotus being present during the Indus Valley culture of the Mohenjo Daro and Harappa period in northern India. The Rigveda reference that lotus was made by the Aryans (2000-1500 BC) wherein it is also mention that lotus can be used as food. Subsequently, lotus was mentioned in the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Slokas, plays and other ancient Sanskrit literature. The lotus symbol is not only mentioned in the scriptures of Hinduism but it also occurs in the Buddhist and Jainism literature.

In the Arthasastra (350-300 BC) by Kautilya, the great diplomat during the golden age of Chandra Gupta, it is recorded that one of the varieties of sandal wood possesses the fragrance of lotus. The Mughal kings were also attracted towards the beauty of lotus. While describing Agra, the Mughal king Jehangir (1605-1627 AD) in his memories Tuzuk-i-Jehangiri, mentioned a memorable scene of a tank full of exquisite red lotus flowers, the like of which he had not seen before.

The World Vegetable Center (previously called as Asian Vegetable Research and Development Centre, AVRDC) with headquarter at Shanhua, Taiwan conducts research, builds networks, and carries out training and promotion activities to raise awareness of the role of vegetables for improved health and global poverty alleviation. Vegetables can alleviate poverty by creating new jobs and new sources of income for farmers and landless laborers, improve health by providing essential micronutrients lacking in diets, enhance learning and working capacities of adults and children through improved diets and health, and improve the sustainability of food production practices by diversifying cropping systems. The Center’s research and development work focuses on breeding improved vegetable lines, developing and promoting safe production practices, reducing postharvest losses, and improving the nutritional value of vegetables (https://avrdc.org). The centre’s mission is Research and Development to realize the potential of vegetables for healthier lives and more resilient livelihoods

Analytical Chemistry

The science involving the determination of the constituents in terms of elements and compounds is called Analytical Chemistry. It is used to identify the substances found in a material and to quantify the exact amount of substances in them.

The basic principles involved in Analytical Chemistry are changes takes place in the substances by the process of combination, decomposition, replacement and double decomposition.

Standard solutions

Standard solutions are solutions of accurately known concentration

Different standard solutions are

Gravimetric analysis

Techniques – analyte is determined by quantitative isolation of substance by precipitation and weighing the precipitate

Precipitation

An ionic phenomena wherein the product of the ionic concentrations of a substance in a solution exceeds the solubility product

Precipitate is often ignited before weighing to convert it into substance of definite chemical composition and chemical stability

Compound precipitated –– precipitated form

Example: Magnesium ammonium phosphate

Colorimetry is the quantitative analysis of a coloured constituent. It is determined by measuring the relative amount of absorption of light passing through a solution of a constituent.

When a monochromatic light is passed through a homogeneous medium, a part of the incident light is absorbed and part of the light is reflected and part could be transmitted. This can be mathematically expressed as

Absorption and Emission

Absorption techniques – It measures the absorption of abundance of light due to electrons going to a higher energy level.

Emission techniques - It measures the intensity of light that is emitted as electrons return to the lower energy levels.

Radiation Chemistry is a branch of nuclear chemistry that deals with the study of chemical effects of radiation on matter.

Radio activity is the process by which an atomic nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionizing radiations (a, b, g radiations). It may be of

Meteorology is derived from the Greek word meteoro which means above the earth’s surface; i.e., the atmosphere. The state of the atmosphere experienced at a given time, in any location on the surface of the earth is known as weather. Thus, meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere or the weather. It is a branch of physics dealing with atmosphere and it is often quoted as the ‘physics of the lower atmosphere’. The main focus of meteorology is to understand the weather processes and forecast the weather. Solar radiation, the air mass and moisture are the three key ingredients that make up weather. The exchange of heat, moisture and momentum between the earth’s surface and the atmosphere determines the characteristic of weather. The observable weather events are known as meteorological phenomena and are defined by a set of variables called weather elements. Atmospheric temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, wind and visibility, etc. are examples of such weather elements. The weather elements are not separate entities. They are closely related with each other and are highly variable in nature. Meteorology explains and analyses the changes of these weather elements.

The major subdivisions of meteorology are dynamic meteorology (or atmospheric dynamics) and physical meteorology (or atmospheric physics). The dynamic meteorology is concerned with the analysis and interpretation of the three-dimensional, time-varying, macro scale motions and energy transformations in the atmosphere. The science of dynamic meteorology is meant to develop models based on the hydrodynamic and thermodynamic equations. The physical meteorology is concerned with the processes that alter the physical properties and the chemical composition of air parcels as they move through the atmosphere.

Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted on a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of earth. The gas molecules of the atmosphere are pulled towards the earth by the force of gravity and hence exert a force on earth surface. Atmospheric pressure can be calculated as the summed weight of all gas molecules between a horizontal plane and top of the atmosphere and divided by the area of the plane. Low pressure areas have less atmospheric mass above their location, whereas high pressure areas have more atmospheric mass above their location.

Theory

Heat required for heating greenhouses is based on the quantity of heat lost through different structural components of greenhouses per unit time. Shapes of greenhouse (A-frame and quonset) and structural components (roof, wall, gable, curtain wall, curved covering and end) are mainly influencing the calculation of heat requirement. The amount of heat lost from a greenhouse depends on glazing materials, exposed surface area of the house, inside desired temperature, outside existing temperature, wind speed, and condition of house (old, new, tight or loose). The outside temperature should be based on the lowest average expected temperature during the heating season.

Aim

To design of greenhouse cooling system

To determine the rate of air exchange in an active summer and winter cooling system.

Theory

Elevation factor (F_elev)

Elevation factor is directly proportional to the elevation. The values of elevation factors, used to correct the rate of air removal for a particular elevation. The rate of air removal from the greenhouse increase as the elevation of the greenhouse site increases.

Aim

To study the levelling instruments

To practice the simple leveling

Leveling

Leveling is a method of surveying used for determination of the difference of elevations or levels of various points on the surface of the earth. The elevation of a point is its vertical distance above or below a reference level, called datum. Most commonly used datum is the mean sea level (M.S.L). Leveling is required to determine the undulations of the earth’s surface for topographic mapping. Leveling is needed for the design of highways, railways, canals, sewers, etc. Leveling is essential for the layout of construction projects, locating the excavation levels and for the control of various elevations in buildings, bridges, dams etc. The results of the leveling can be used to determine the catchment area, volume of the reservoir and the area submerged by a reservoir.

Aim

To design bench terrace

1. Components of bench terrace

The bench terrace essentially consists of the four components namely: riser, outlet channel, platform and shoulder bund

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) is the largest edible fruit in the world (Naik, 1949; Sturrock, 1977), known as “poor man’s food” belongs to the family Moraceae (Bose, 1985; Haque, 2010). It is an important tree crop in tropical and sub-tropical regions, usually grown in home gardens and commercially in orchards (Elevitch and Manner, 2006; Sangchote et al., 2003). The primary economic product is the fruit, but the tree is also used for timber, fodder, dyes and traditional medicines (Haque, 2006). Jackfruit originally native to Indian subcontinent, is now widely cultivated in the tropics of both hemispheres (Ochas et al., 1981). Incidence of different kinds of diseases of biotic and abiotic origin at different growth stages of Jackfruit have been reported (Haque, 2006; Sangchote et al., 2003). Some of the commonly occurring diseases of jackfruit with symptomatology, causal organism, perpetuation and management approaches have been elucidated below.

LeafSpot

Incidence of leaf spot at different growth stages of jackfruit caused by Chaetopyrena hesperidum (Srivastava, 1974), Cercospora mehra (Rao and Subhendar, 1979) Botryodiplodia theobromae (Rao and Deshmuk, 1986), Corynespora cassiicola (Sangchote et al., 2003), Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Sirayoi, 1993; Srivastava and Mehra, 2004), Phyllosticta- artocarpi (Annon, 2003) has been reported by various workers from different parts of the world. Some of the common leaf spot diseases have been discussed below.

Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. is one of the sacred trees of Hindus and is highly popular for its medicinal properties. This tree is commonly known as “Bael” in India and the leaves are used for worshipping Lord Shiva. It has the potential for curing a number of ailments and has been in use since time immemorial. At present bael has become an important source of medicine for curing various human diseases such asdiabetes, liver toxicity, fungal infection, microbial infection, inflammation, pyrexia and to relieve pain. The raw fruits are used to prepare sugar impregnated sweets called murraba and jelly where as juices and shakes are prepared after ripening.

Bael is native to India and found throughout Southeast Asia. In India this fruit is grown in Indo-Gangetic plains and Sub-Himalayan tracts up to a height of 500 m, in North-East India and dry and deciduous forest of central and southern India.

Aegle marmelos is a subtropical plant and grows up to an altitude of 1,200 m altitude from sea level. It grows well in the dry forests on hilly and plain areas. Aegle marmelos is a widely distributed plant and found in India, Ceylon, China, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Java, Philippines and Fiji. In India it found in Sub-Himalayan tracts from Jhelum eastwards to West Bengal, in central & south India. It found almost in all the states of India.

Bael is a hardy crop and is quite resistant to diseases. However, there are certain fungal and bacterial diseases that have been reported to cause yield reduction in bael. In this chapter, important diseases of beal with causal organism, disease cycle, epidemiology and management practices are described.

Introduction

Pear (Pyrus communis L.) is a temperate fruit that mainly grows in hilly areas at a elevation ranging from 1,500 to 2,500 metres. This temperate fruit is commonly eaten fresh or is canned. It is used to produce an alcoholic beverages and perry. The production of pear is 17 million tons per year in worldwide and the cultivation is expanding throughout the worldwide.

Pear cultivation is affected by many bacterial, fungal and viral diseases due to which it reduces the plant strength and decreases the quality of yield. Besides,pear can be also affected by many disorders and nematodes.

Bacterial Diseases

Fire blight

Fire blight disease is a serious concern to pear producers. It can destroy an entire orchard under optimal conditions in a single growing season.

The study entitled “SHG in Techno Economic Empowerment of Tribal Women” was conducted on the following specific objectives.

Empowerment of women in relation to SHG (ii) Profile of SHG

Structure and functions of SHG

SWOT analysis of SHG

Constraints of SHG and suggestion

Case studies

SWOT analysis is the systematic identification of the internal strength and weakness of an organization or enterprise and environmental opportunities and threats. The analysis is based on the assumption that effective strategy maximizes strength and opportunities and simultaneously minimizes its weakness and threats. Entrepreneurial activities require a SWOT before initiation to provide first hand information about feasibility of the enterprise. All SHGs in rural sector are formed for income generation. A variety of enterprises coming up through SHG in rural sector may or may not be successful. SWOT provides basic direction for entrepreneurship at any level for benefit of the practitioners. The SWOT of SHG in tribal area where study was conducted has been analyzed.

The problems of SHG are many and diversified. The problems vary from place to place and SHG to SHG. Then problems cluster is in relation to economic productivity, overall welfare and livelihood. As we observe since five decades after independence, resistance of people in the state of social, economic, political disempowerment is considered to measure hindrance to overall development. The SHG being a part of society is not an exception to be cited with problem. During investigation the constraints experienced by SHGs members are categorized under five areas namely personal, social, economical, technological and marketing problem. These problem directly and indirectly affects the performance of SHGs. The evidences of past studies and experience in the present context reveal a wide variation in the dimension of the problem.

Radish (Raphanus sativus) is a cool weather crop and its origin is in Mediterranean, rapid growing annual or biennial plant belongs to family Brassicaceae, grown for its edible taproot. Its edible roots are having different color from as white to red. Radish is generally grown as an annual plant, surviving only one growing season. It is crop of tropical and temperate region. It is growing as herb in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab and Assam areas are major radish growing states. Radish is good source of vitamin B6, Calcium, copper, magnesium and riboflavin. Also it is rich in ascorbic acid, folic acid and potassium.

Alternaria Blight

Economic Importance

Alternaria leaf spot diseases occur in every part of the world, in both vegetable crops and seed crops and most important disease of Brassica species, often results in severe yield losses. It is considered as a number one disease of radish affecting both fresh vegetable and seed production. The disease is more severe when the plants are left for seed production in the field and causes significant reduction in seed yield. Alternaria black spot of radish; black pod blotch of radish. A. japonica is a seed-borne pathogen of plants in the Brassicaceae. A. japonica is known to affect most parts of infected plants depending upon growth stage. There are reports of it on the hypocotyls and cotyledons of seedlings and on the leaves, petioles, stem, inflorescence, fruits (siliquae) and seeds of adult plants. A. japonica occurs in all parts of radish (Raphanus sativus) seed. Its presence in the embryo can result in seed death, but in milder infections it will affect seedlings after germination, causing seedling blight both before and after emergence.

Introduction

Spine gourd/Teasel gourd (English), (Momordica dioica Roxb.) is popularly known as Kantola or Kakrol in India. It is a perennial, dioecious, cucurbitaceous climbing creeper that belongs to the cucurbitaceae family (Raj et al., 1993). The spine gourd is also called as janglee karela (Harish, 2008). The crop is cultivated for its fruits, which are used as vegetable (Sastri, 1962). Young twigs and leaves of this crop are also used as vegetable (Bandyopadhyay and Mukherjee, 2006). The fruit is rich in ascorbic acid and contain iodine (Rao, 2001). Karnataka and West Bengal are the two main states that cultivate spine gourd commercially. Indira Kankoda I (RMF 37) is a new commercial hybrid variety of spine gourd developed by Indira Gandhi Agricultural University. This hybrid variety is commercially cultivated in the states of Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Spine gourd can also be grown well up to an altitude of 1500 m in Assam and Garo hills of Meghalaya (Ram et al., 2002). This popular vegetable has high demand in market but still remain underutilized and underexploited mainly due to its vegetative mode of propagation and dioecious nature (Bharathi et al., 2010). Adopting improved genotypes and standardized agro- techniques can increased the yield potential of spine gourd (Tiwari and Tigga, 2015).