eChapters

Abstract: Cosmos, popular as garden annual in many parts of the world, has its origin in Mexico. Cosmos is cross pollinating and progeny can segregate widely for traits due to heterozygosity. Self and cross incompatibility, self and intersterility, limited fertility, reproductive barriers and seed sterility often pose significant challenges to breeders. The breeding objectives include development of suitable indoor plants, less susceptible to powdery mildew and more tolerant to abiotic stress. The biotechnological skills can be attempted in breeding.

Keywords: Breeding, self incompatibility, sterility, hybrid seed production.

Abstract: Periwinkles are popular seed propagated bedding plants with numerous hybrid varieties and series (First Kiss, Garden leader Splash, etc.) and cultivars available on world market and accepted by landscapers. A continued domestication by flower breeders produced a wide range of flower colours and flower patterns. The breeding objectives with high priority include alkaloid content, plant organs rich in pharmaceutical compounds, blooming potted plants with long display life, novel flower shapes/ form. Research focused on genetics of characters, genetic divergence, intervarietal/ interspecific hybridization and seed production has been discussed.

Abstract: Limoniums, popularly called as statice/ Sea lavender are morphologically diverse and admired for their ornamental value. Perennial annual statice is widely cultivated worldwide for both, garden decoration and indoor decoration. This chapter includes a short overview of the taxonomic and reproductive behaviour of the genus. Majority of the species are triploids and reproduce apomictically. Limoniums exhibit incompatibility linked with pollen and stigma dimorphism, heterostyly and biparental inbreeding and species cross compatibility leading to genetic variability. Many F₁ hybrids are available for commercialization as potted lines. Use of tissue culture, molecular markers, embryo rescue, cryopreservation, super compact transgenic clones has been discussed. No genetic information and trait heritability has been established for this crop. Traits of interest to flower breeders for crop transformation include: plant architecture, panicle length, number of branches per panicle, novel colours of both calyx and corolla, high number of flowers per stem, environmental adaptation to stressful conditions, etc.

Keywords: F₁ cultivars, interspecific hybridization, polyploidization, self incompatibility, potted plants.

1. INTRODUCTION

The demand for high quality planting material is steadily increasing due to interest in vegetable gardening. The need of setting up plant nurseries to meet the demands of the people has been felt by small and marginal farmers as well as by gardeners and farm house owners. In order to meet this demand, there is ample scope for introduction of small nurseries which will serve to augment the incomes of needy sections of rural society. Almost all vegetables crops are propagated by seeds, except sweet potatoes, asparagus, garlic, potato etc., which does better if propagated vegetatively. Among the vegetable crops which are propagated by seeds, cucurbits, beans, peas, radish, turnip, carrots and leafy vegetables seeds are sown directly in the fields. Other vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, onion, chilli etc. are first sown in nursery beds where seedlings are raised and then transplanted.

Introduction

Flowers speak millions of unspoken words. Presenting a bouquet and making arrangements with flowers in most of the drawing rooms, offices, hotels and hospitals have become the style of the day in the fast – moving modern world where there is hardly any time for exchange of sweet memories. Since time immemorial, the importance of such a delicate creation of nature has always been appreciated. Tamil Nadu ranks first among the flower producing states of India, contributing 25% of the country’s flower production with an area of 31, 970 ha under flowers. Of this, around 700 ha are under protected cut flower cultivation. In Nilgiri district alone, it has an area of around 70 ha under protected cut flower production which is inclusive of around 11.2 ha of lilium.

The genus Lilium (Lilium spp.) is a herbaceous flowering plant normally grown from bulbs, about 110 species world over belongs to lily family Liliaceae. It is native of the northern temperate regions. The species in this genus are the true lilies while the other plants with lily in the common name are related to the other groups of plants. Lilies are usually erect leafy stemmed herbs. The majority of species form tunicless scaly underground bulbs from which they produce flowers. The large flowers have three petals along with three sepals, look like petals.

Abstract

Chitin has been ranked at second position after cellulose as the most abundant natural biopolymer. Chitin has similar chemical structure to that of cellulose with 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-b-d-glucose (NAG) monomers attached via ß (1–>4) linkages. Chitosan is the deacetylated (to varying degrees) form of chitin, which, unlike chitin, is soluble in acidic solutions. Therefore, Chitosan, a copolymer of glucosamine and N-acetyl glucosamine, is amongst the most copious biopolymers on earth and finds wide range of biomedical and industrial applications. It has been approved in 1983 by USDA as a feed additive. Chitin basically is obtained from prawn/crab shells and chemical treatment of chitin produces chitosan. Since supplies of seafood waste are seasonable and variable, so fungi can be used as alternative source for chitosan. The unique physicochemical properties of chitosan provide great potential of its utilization in food industry especially dairy industry such as production of dairy products, dairy waste water treatment, extension of shelf life of dairy products etc. In recent years, exotic synthetic compounds are losing their appeal, thus application of chitinous products in dairy as well as processing aids has received considerable attention. The modified chitosan with greater functional properties has increased application in different dairy foods. This chapter focuses on the fundamental uses of chitosan and their derivatives in a variety of dairy industry applications.

Abstract

Consumers increased response to new products with high sensory, organoleptic and nutritional potentials has impelled a search for new substitutes to processing methods. For several years, thermal processing was the main technology for producing safe products with long shelf lives, although in most cases losses of fresh flavors, vitamins, and some physicochemical characteristics were the price of safety and long-term stability. Pulsed electric field (PEF) processing as a non- thermal technique has been proven to inactivate microorganisms with minimal losses of flavor and food quality, possibly making it the answer to present-day consumer demands. In addition, the low processing temperatures used in this non- thermal technology allow the process to be nutrient preserving, energy efficient, which translates into lower costs and fewer environmental impacts. In this chapter, the the configuration of various PEF equipment, their electric configuration and recent application of this technique in processing of foods have been discussed in detail.

1. Introduction

Conservation agriculture (CA) strategies and practices have been developed and promoted to reduce risk and improve natural resource conditions, as well as address the combination of low yields, production risks and poor natural resource conditions. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), CA is an approach to managing agro-ecosystems for improved and sustained productivity, increased profits and food security while preserving and enhancing the resource base and the environment. It is based on enhancing natural biological and ecological processes above and below ground. Interventions such as mechanical soil tillage are reduced to an absolute minimum, and the use of external inputs such as agrochemicals and nutrients of mineral or organic origin are applied at an optimum level and in a way and quantity that does not interfere with or disrupt biological processes (FAO, 2008). 

The role of mechanization has of late earned considerable significance in Indian agrarian sector following the unprecedented hike in labour cost, migration of agricultural labour to the urban localities for better remuneration and most importantly, the rising concern of rural youth today for more comfort as well as social dignity and status. Furthermore, mechanization has been extremely supportive to enhance the efficacy of the vital inputs to agriculture such as high yielding seeds, fertilizer, water, pesticides etc resulting in higher production and productivity. One more significant contribution of mechanization is timely completion of various operations with qualitative and quantitative competence apart from reduction in drudgery; thus motivates the farmer to dare for higher initial investments in anticipation of rich dividends over a period of time.

Aonla or Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis Gaertn), belongs to family Euphorbiaceae, is indigenous to Indian subcontinents (Morton, 1960). It has become an important commercial fruit crop in India, due to its hardy nature, suitability to various waste lands, high productivity, nutritive and therapeutic values (Singh et al., 2003). In its processed form, is very popular among the social elites (Singh, 2012). As an indigenous fruit, it has extensive adaptability to grow in diverse climatic and soil conditions ranging from plain lands to hills. The climate ranging from hot tropical plains to humid subtropical mid-elevation hills has been found suitable for its cultivation. It is successfully raised in arid, semi-arid, coastal and warm temperate conditions. Similarly it grows well in saline, alkaline and degraded as well as in sandy, red and clay soils (Singh, 2012).

It is not merely a source of nutrients and medicines but its cultivation is also highly remunerative for small and marginal farmers. Traditionally, aonla has been a common crop of forest or household, but during the last decade or two, unprecedented expansion has been witnessed in the sphere of aonla cultivation across the country, utilizing the wasteland. Many small and big orchards have been established. This has resulted in efficient utilization or resources culminating in increase in farmers’ income and nutritional security coupled with enhanced employment and better utilization of wastelands.

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale), is an evergreen tree in the family Anacardiaceae. It is grown for its edible fruits (nuts). Cashew originates from North-East Brazil (Salam and Peter, 2010). As a fast growing woody perennial, is characterized by spreading branches. Cashew trees can reach a height of 12 m and have an economic lifespan of 25 years. A Canopy of cashew develops irregular if not checked properly. In later stage, its canopy shape and size become difficult to manage (Nalini et al., 1999). Manipulation of canopy size and shape by means of pruning and training for its containment and better yield was not felt as a necessary orchard management technique for cashew. Majority of the older plantations are of seedling origin of non-descript material and have poor genetic potentiality. They have become senile. Such plantations can be rejuvenated provided they are managed properly and not very old (Gurupasand et al., 2012). If the plantations are of improved varieties having good genetic make-up such plantations can be rejuvenated by limb pruning or if they are genetically low yielders they need to be top-worked by beheading and grafting with better material for improving the yield performance.

16.1 Introduction

It is well known fact that planners as well as end user’s have to consider any resources as technology from economic point of view. Therefore, it is important to have techno – economic analysis of each energy source option. In the feasibility study of particular energy option, three tier judgement approaches is required, which include technical feasibility, economical viability and social acceptability. Hence in the rural energy planning programme one has to considered techno socio economic analysis of an individual energy option. Since in integrated rural energy planning, locally available energy resources are used, presuming that it is socially recognized. Hence in the IRPE project, the need and scope of techno economic analysis in terms of economic analysis of different technical feasible options, before between “economic” and “financial” analysis should be kept in mind. An economic analysis is needed to verify that a particular energy source will provide “net benefit” to society as a whole, before its final integration in the energy context, while a financial analysis integrated in the energy practices. In simple wards, a financial analysis is concerned with goods and services, money inflow and outflows and the transfer of payments. An economic analysis also considers the social benefits and costs of goods and services which are not traded in a market.

ABSTRACT

Education begins at home, then in community and finally in the educational institutes. At present 90% of the children in the age group of 6-14 years are receiving free primary education. Education policy of the 11^th plan states that there should be free and compulsory secondary education for all. To meet this goal, additional schools have to be set up to cater to the 30 million students. To teach the 30 million students atleast one million teachers would have to be trained to ensure the 1:30 teacher– student ratio. How do we plan to meet this target?

The projected target has to be met by developing innovative teaching methods in the institutes of higher learning. These methods have to be technology based, as well as community based regional approach. Emphasis has to be given to Liberal Education where there has to be a close interaction between the teacher and learner. The Open and Distance Learning isone such System which can be compared to Liberal Education– where there is flexibility in time and pace of learning for the learners. Reforms and innovations have to be brought in this system of education with utmost caution so that there is no compromise on quality and ethics, since every age has its own ethical environment.

Ethics in this context means traditions and culture of the small communities. This is more so in the North Eastern Region where there is an intimate connection between large and small communities. This region is rich in its community based values, bioresources and cultures. Need based Vocational and Professional courses have to be designed for enriching the region with human resources infused with sophisticated skills, resulting in the economic growth for the region. This method is envisaged to take care of the social challenges, traditions and cultural ethos.

Distance Education coupled with Information Communication Technology plays a pivotal role in meeting the requirements of today’s knowledge society by cutting across the barriers of time and geographic isolation.

ABSTRACT

Exploitation of genetic resistance available in the local germplasm provides a rational solution to most deadly purple blotch disease problem associated with onion production in India. Keeping this in view, efforts have been made to characterize the identified sources of resistance available in the local germplasm. Three lines namely, MS-65-268, PBR-287 and Arka Kalyan-704 that were identified as resistant after screening, were subjected to Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis for their precise identification and estimation of genetic relationship among them. Highly susceptible variety Arka Niketan was also included in the study for better interpretation. A total of 160 ten- mer random primers were used in the analysis, out of which, 41 exhibited polymorphism among the accessions. Out of these DNA profile with 5 primers namely, OPB02, OPB13, OPC09, OPC12 and OPF08 distinguished the three resistant accessions clearly from the susceptible one. On an average of 2.65 polymorphic, 11.65 monomorphic and 14.3 total bands were produced per primer. The amplified PCR products were of the range from 300 bp to 2 kbp and were consistent, unambiguous and repeatable. Further genetic dissimilarity analysis based on the Ward’s method using minimum variance algorithm and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of these genotypes using the data generated from RAPD markers revealed high genetic diversity. Dendrogram clustered these four genotypes into two main clusters containing two each. PCA also confirmed high genetic dissimilarity. The least genetic dissimilarity (40.0%) was between PBR-287 and MS-65-268 where as the maximum (65.0%) was found between genotypes Arka Niketan-709 and MS-65-268.

INTRODUCTION

A parasite is an organism which exploits another organism for the purpose of staying alive. Some parasitic relationships are harmless, while in other cases a parasite can damage or even kill its host. The word is borrowed from the Greek word ‘‘parasitos’’, meaning “one who eats at the table of someone else.” In case of exotic carps parasites causes a great loss by reducing economy. Some, cannot live once their host dies, while others can continue thriving on dead hosts until their nutrients are consumed. Parasites live inside a host are called endoparasites or internal parasites. Ectoparasites live outside the host, and are generally more capable of switching hosts. A parasite preys on other parasites, is called epiparasite (Anderson, 1974).

Silver Carp

The silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish, a variety of Asian carp native to north and northeast Asia. It is cultivated in China. Pound for pound, more silver carp are produced worldwide in aquaculture than any other species. Silver carp are usually farmed in polyculture with other Asian major carps, or sometimes Indian major carps or other species. It has been introduced to, or spread into via connected waterways, at least 88 countries around the world.Introduced in india in 1959 at the pond culture division of CIFRI. In India in 1963 breed sucessfully by hypophysation. The silver carp is a filter feeder, and possesses a remarkably specialized filtration apparatus capable of filtering particles as small as 4 µm. The gill rakers are fused into a sponge-like filter, and an epibranchial organ secretes mucus which assists in trapping small particles. A strong buccal pump forces water through this filter. Silver carp, like all Hypophthalmichthys species, have no stomachs; they are thought to feed more or less constantly. Silver carp are thought to feed largely on phytoplankton; they also consume zooplankton and detritus. It is used in controlling water quality, especially control of noxious cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), microcystis .

18.1. Determination of Available Micronutrient Cations (Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn) in Soil

The available micronutrient cations (Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn) can be estimated in a single extraction with diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) as proposed by Lindsay and Norvell (1978). DTPA has the excellent property to combine with free metal ions in the solution forming soluble complexes. The stability constants of metal-DTPA complexes make DTPA as a most suitable extractant for simultaneous complex formation with Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn. In calcareous soil DTPA extractant may result overestimation due to excess dissolution of CaCO_3, thus releases occluded micronutrient cations which are not plant available. To avoid this excessive dissolution of CaCO₃, DTPA is buffered at pH 7.3 using triethanol amine (TEA). At this pH major part (3/4^th) of TEA is present as HTEA⁺ (protonation) and exchanges for Ca and Mg ion from the soil exchange site. This increases concentration of Ca and Mg in the solution phase and suppresses dissolution of CaCO₃. The DTPA has the capacity to complex each of the micronutrient cations 10 times of its atomic weight and it ranges from 550 to 650 ppm depending on the micronutrient cation.

The amount of cation in the extract is determined on an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The experimental condition such as shaking time, DTPA concentration, pH and temperature during shaking influence the amount of Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn extracted. Increase in shaking time and temperature markedly influence the extractability of these cations.

4.0. Introduction

Quality is a measure of the degree of excellence or degree of acceptability by the consumer. By quality, one can differentiate the individual unit of a product from the other units and can determined the degree of acceptability of the individual unit by the consumer. The quality may also be defined in term of end use and may vary depending upon consumer’s perception and need. According to USDA Marketing Workshop Report (1951) “quality is the combination of attributes or characteristics of a product that have significance in determining the degree of acceptability of the product to the user”. For industry, quality is a measure of purity, strength, flavour, colour, size, maturity, workmanship and conditions or any other distinctive attributes of the product.

According to Code of Federal Regulations “Quality is the inherent properties of any processed product which determine the relative degree of excellence of such product and includes the effect of preparation and processing and may or may not include the effects of packaging or added ingredients/ additives”.

Introduction

Food security at the national level refers to the capacity of a country to provide sufficient food for its population, and will depend on such factors as food production in relation to the population, food aid and within-country food distribution. The ability to withstand emergencies arising from drought, floods, and such other calamities, also fall in its purview. While many definitions of household security exist, they agree on a household’s ability to get sufficient food to the household. Gillespie & Mason (1991) gave a more lucid account and defined household level food security as access to food that is adequate in terms of quality, quantity, safety and cultural acceptability, for all household members. Two main factors determining household food security are income generated by the members of the family from the avenues available and food prices in operation at the given point of time. The cost of achieving and maintaining food security is important.

Food security takes into account only the nutritional requirements of the individuals in the society, which is basic to all the living beings for keeping the body and soul intact. Our needs go beyond this and necessarily include fiber and shelter, not only to be called civilized but also to face vagaries of weather. Once we add these dimensions to the food security then it can be termed as livelihood security. In this century, many driving forces are added in the process of evolution of strategies. Loss of biodiversity, global climatic change and information dissemination are some of the major factors that drive the rate of livelihood changes and determine the direction of its evolution.

7.1. Sustainability in Agriculture

Sustainability essentially means meeting the needs of present generation without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs. The concept used by FAO to convey the meaning of sustainability necessarily rely on management and conservation of resource base in relation to orientation of technological and institutional changes to ensure satisfaction in meeting human needs. Sustainability normally covers the meaning of conservation of natural resources. The natural resources are land, water, forest and livestock. The maintenance of these resources suffers due to low or no maintenance because of absence of infrastructure and inadequate finance. Apart from these constraints, poor management ability is also responsible for degradation of natural resources. To equip the people, in general, poor managerial ability has to be upgraded through multidisciplinary program, appropriate technology and establishment of peoples’ organizations. To work on sustainability as defined for maintenance and conservation, the people in general ought to develop a positive perception to work before the program is initiated. The perception directs action of individual in a positive manner. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the perception of people about the concept of sustainability, particularly in the field of agriculture.

Introduction

R is one of the most popular platforms for data analysis and visualization currently available. It is free, open-source software, with versions for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems. R is a language and environment for statistical computing and graphics, similar to the S language originally developed at Bell Labs. It’s an open source solution to data analysis that’s supported by a large and active worldwide research community. But there are many popular statistical and graphing packages available e.g. Microsoft Excel, SAS, IBM SPSS, Stata, and Minitab etc., however R has many interesting features so why it is mostly followed by researchers and academicians. Few of the major features of R are given below:

Introduction

Quantum Geographical Information System (QGIS) is an open source GIS environment. The software package is available freely in web https://www.qgis.org/en/site/forusers/download.html) and can be installed in a variety of computer platform e.g. Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android etc. Latest information on QGIS is available inhttp://www.qgis.org/en/site/. Basically, the QGIS GUI is divided into five areas: (i) Menu Bar, (ii) Tool Bar (iii) Map Legend, (iv) Map View and (v) Status Bar. QGIS allows users to define a global and project-wise coordinate reference system (CRS) for layers without a pre-defined CRS. It also allows the user to define custom coordinate reference systems and supports on-the-fly (OTF) projection of vector and raster layers. All of these features allow the user to display layers with different CRSs and have them overlay properly. QGIS has support for approximately 2,700 known CRSs. Definitions for each CRS are stored in a SQLite database that is installed with QGIS. The CRSs available in QGIS are based on those defined by the European Petroleum Search Group (EPSG) and the Institute Geographique National de France (IGNF) and are largely abstracted from the spatial reference tables used in Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL). For Post GIS layers, QGIS use the spatial reference identifier that was specified when the layer was created. For data supported by OGR, QGIS relies on the presence of a recognized means of specifying the CRS. In the following sections, few basic GIS analysis using example spatial data from arid western India is discussed. However, readers are advised to go through different tools and functions available in QGIS after installation of the system in personal computers.

Introduction

GIS (Geographical Information System) based mapping takes cogence of three major geometrical dimensions, point, line and polygons and in GIS these three features correlate their relationship through a concept called Topology. Among the various applications where covariate processing requires specific attention, the landuse/ land cover and Digital Elevation Models/surfaces or terrains are the major area of interest. Use and processing of data for these covariates carries importance as accuracy of both these aspects would influence the derivatives extracted out of them further. For example, if landuse is improperly defined, the site for which planning is proposed may not sustain, similarly, point data/elevation data in case of DEMs would decide the exact topography of any landforms for their further utilization. For their use in GIS, while DEMs depend upon point data, the landuse/ land cover will be taken care by polygons. For the purpose of the study, we are going to discuss about these two covariates in the following paragraphs.

Generally, Covariate (covariable) (koh-vair-iãt) in statistics is defined as a continuous variable that is not part of the main experimental manipulation but has an effect on the dependent variable. In other words, as per ANCOVA (Analysis of covariance) definition: a covariate is a control variable.

Introduction

In India, hot arid ecosystem covering an area of 31.7 million ha lies at north western part of the country and 62% of this area falls in western Rajasthan covering 12 districts i.e. Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Hanumangarh, Sri Ganganagar, Bikaner, Barmer, Pali and Sirohi. The major landforms in arid western Rajasthan are dune and inter-dune plains having sandy to sandy-loam textured soils. Temperature remains high for most part of the year reaching up to 42-45°C during prolonged summer months (April to July), whereas annual rainfall is very low and highly sporadic (100-400 mm) mainly occurs during August and September. Annual potential evapotranspiration ranges from 1500-2000 mm. Loss of fertile top soil from denuded soil surface through wind erosion is frequent during summer months. The region is subjected to frequent occurrence of droughts, once in every three years, which further intensifies the process of desertification (Samra et al. 2006). Shorter growing period, sandy soils, very low available water capacity, inadequate nitrogen and phosphorus availability are the major constraints. Soils are prone to severe wind erosion, terrain deformation and nutrient depletion. The region is mostly mono cropped and double cropping is being practiced extensively in canal and tubes well command area. Extensive fallowing in the past even in very good rainfall years because of uneven undulating topography and severe windstorm are the cause of concern. Ground water is deep and is usually brackish, declining at alarming rate due to excessive withdrawal for irrigation and other purposes. The region, however, sustains on perennial vegetation of Prosopis cineraria, Tecomella undulata, arid shrubs and grasses, which are rich resources of fodder for animal because cropping is affected by vagaries of monsoon. During last two to three decades, a 2 to 3-fold increase in irrigated areas with cultivation of both kharif and rabi crops has been recorded and most of these increments are resulted through conversions from rainfed areas, grazing lands and sand dunes into irrigated areas.

Concept and Definition

Desertification is a major problem in the drylands of India, affecting the way of life for its inhabitants. The problem is more severe in the arid lands in the northwestern part of the country. There have been a few numbers of definitions of the word “Desertification”. However for simplicity of its origin and meaning we would refer to two of the frequently used ones; (1) proposed in 1991 by UNEP: “Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting mainly from adverse human impact and (2) prepared for the Earth Summit at Rio, held in June 1992, for inclusion in Agenda 21, as “Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from climatic variations and human activities. (Anonymous 1992).

Comparing two of these initial definitions, it would show that first one indicated desertification as a state of natural resources like soil and vegetation, mainly resulting from human activity while the second one included climate as a major cause. However, it reduced the emphasis of human activities as being the primary responsible factor and tried to link the possible impact of climate change on desertification. But the simplicity of the 1992 definition of desertification helped researchers to bring in sharp focus on the special environmental and socio-economic problems of the drylands.

So over the years, the key words that explains the term “desertification” has been changing or are being amended for specific purposes. This would at least mean that the problem of desertification is still debated world-wide, and its impact is not limited to some nations/regions as was presumed and discussed in first of UNCCD platforms. Therefore, as a precaution and combating this process, few catchy words like non-sustainable management, productivity, over-exploitation of natural resources, dryland livelihood, droughts are found to surround the word desertification. Earlier, some, people equated desertification with advancing boundaries of the existing desert and in India, examples of expansion / contraction of geographical boundary of Thar desert was a public debate among various researchers and planners. In the same time, some of the definitions tried to broaden its geographical scope so that greater populations suffering from adverse effects of land degradation would benefit out of various remedial measures.

Protected cultivation of vegetable crops refers to creation of favourable environmental conditions around vegetable plants, offsetting or minimizing the detrimental effects of prevailing or expected to prevail abiotic and biotic factors. In open fields, vegetables face several abiotic and biotic stresses, resulting in lower or poor or no yield. This condition is altered by using different protected structures for cultivation and/or nursery production. Vegetables which are transplanted using seedlings should be produced by raising seedlings under protected conditions. Protected conditions ensure production of healthy seedlings. The use of healthy seedlings ensures better and higher production of vegetables both under protected conditions and open field conditions. Nursery grown in nursery trays can be transported long distances and can wait till field is ready or human resources is available for transplanting. Structures are ideal for production of plug plants/transplants in different sizes of portable trays.

P rotected cultivation technology envisages immense promise, especially for high-value crops against various biotic and abiotic stresses. The climatic parameters stress conditions like unusually low and high temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind velocity comes under abiotic stresses. The present climate change scenario dealing with various biotic and abiotic stress conditions poses serious threat to agricultural production throughout the world. It is estimated that due to one-degree rise in temperature during rabi season, wheat production declines by 4-5 million tonnes in India. Similarly due to prevailing low temperature and frost like conditions, especially in Northern India, several million tonnes of horticultural crops like tomato, brinjal etc. got wasted every year. Protected cultivation technology deals with following types of protected structures :

Floriculture industry comprises of cultivation and trade of cut and loose flowers, potted plants, foliage and bedding plants, and dried flowers under open field as well as protected conditions. Globally, more than 145 countries are involved in cultivation of floricultural crops. Though the art of growing flowers is not new to India, protected cultivation is relatively new in India. Enormous genetic diversity, varied agroclimatic conditions, versatile human resources offer India a unique scope for diversification into new avenues which have not been explored to a greater extent. India also has a strong dry flower industry, which contributes a major share to the overall trade. Other segments like fillers, potted plants, seeds and planting material, turf grass industry and value-added products also contribute a share in overall growth of floriculture industry.

Cut flower production is a growing business in most of the Asian countries. Technology for production is well-known and it has been utilized to the maximum in many countries. As a consequence, cut flowers are commercially produced in larger quantities in these countries, resulting in surplus quantity during normal periods of blooming. On the other hand, such prices are much higher during the periods of needs such as certain special occasions, or off-season.

India is the second largest producer of vegetable crops with a total production of 146.5 million tonnes (2010-11). More than 60 vegetable crops belonging to, Solanacious, Cucurbitaceous, Leguminous, Cruciferous (cole crops), root crops and leafy vegetables are grown in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions. The demand of vegetables will be 225 million tonnes by 2020 and 350 million tonnes by 2030. A larger quantity of quality seed of vegetable crops will be required in order to achieve the demands of vegetables. The limiting factors which reduce seed yield under open field condition are biotic and abiotic stresses, requirement of isolation distance and generation system of seed multiplication etc. These problems can be effectively managed when we go for seed production under protected structures.

Cost-effective farming systems for spices cultivation for increasing production and productivity in different agro ecologies have been developed.

An organic package for production of black pepper, ginger and turmeric by applying farmyard manure, vermicompost, ash, rock phosphate, Azospirillum sp. and phosphobacteria and Trichoderma sp. and Pseudomonas sp. as biocontrol agents for disease control was developed. Further, a foliar spray of 1% solution of complex fertilizer 19 : 19 : 19 (N : P : K) during spike initiation period (April second week, May first week and May fourth week) during lean cropping season under irrigated condition enhanced black pepper (cv. Panniyur I) yield by 20–25%. Soil application of zinc up to 10 kg/ ha or foliar spraying of ZnSO4 (0.25%) and Borax (0.2%) twice (60 and 90 days after planting) was recommended for higher yield and quality for turmeric in zinc and boron deficient soil.

Among all the treatments, sprinkler and drip irrigation methods caused early sprouting; early flowering with increased plant height and more number of leaves and flowers/plant as compared to the control (rainfed). Also, stiga fresh weight, dry weight, length and saffron yield were improved in sprinkler and drip irrigation methods over the control. Raised beds resulted in early sprouting, early flowering with increased plant height and more number of leaves and flowers/plant.

India has witnessed a phenomenal increase in foodgrains production since Independence and from a food deficit state producing about 51 million tons in 195051 it become food surplus country with a record harvest of more than 250 million tons in 201112. This particular year also saw a remarkable record production of pulses at about 18.1 million tons. However, to meet the increasing demand of the continuously rising population about 23 million tons of pulses have to be imported every year costing the country about Rs.3000 crores in foreign exchange. Despite the changes in the dietary habits in which the large middle class has moved away from traditional cereals towards high value dairy, meat, fruits and vegetable products, pulses in India are still considered an important source of proteins, particularly for the poor. Pulses are not only an excellent source of protein (2040%), carbohydrates (5060%) and minerals (24%) but also provide calories almost equal to that of cereals energy to the tune of 300 to 540 Kcal/ 100g (Ofuya and Akhidue, 2005). Thus, pulses play an important role in achieving food and nutritional security for small and marginal farmers. However, the per capita availability of pulses has been declining over the time – it has declined from 60.7 gm/ day in 1951 to about 32 gm/day in 2010 – mainly due to stagnant production (except in recent years), rising demand for consumption and other uses. Pulses not only are used for consumption, but also play an even greater role in maintaining and enhancing soil fertility through nitrogen (N₂) fixation. Though the estimates of Nfixed by pulses depends on crop species, soil type, agroclimatic zone and crop management practices, it was reported that early, medium and long duration pigeonpea varieties fix 7, 55 and 69 kg/ ha¹, respectively, in Vertisols of Patancheru (Kumar Rao and Dart, 1987). Pulses ^N2 are grown not only as sole crops but also as intercrops and the biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) of pulses substantially benefits the associated or succeeding crops in terms of nitrogen contribution (1668 kg/ N₂ ha¹ for succeeding cereals). Thus on a conservative estimate, the BNF (@46 kg/N₂ ha¹) by pulses, excluding the intercrop area, alone amounts to 1.06 million tons annually.

The Arid Legume includes clusterbean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.); moth bean (Vigna aconotifolia (Jacq) Marechal; cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) and horse gram (Macrotylom uniflorum (L.) Verdc). In India, these are grown extensively as rainfed crops in Rajasthan, Orissa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, M.P. and to a limited extent in other states covering a total area of 51-80 lakh hectares (Table1). Most of the production comes from harsh environments where both biotic and abiotic constraints prevail limiting the production.

Arid Legumes as a group of pulses are extremely important in the common vegetarian diet of the people in the area of its cultivation. They also offer a new dimension as they have become foreign exchange earners through export opportunities. For example, clusterbean (guar) contains 30-35 per cent guar gum and India is a world leader in the export of this commodity and earns more than Rs.1100 crores annually (Mathur and Henry, 2009). Similarly, moth bean is gaining great industrial importance because of Bikaneri Bhujia industry which is heavily based on this crop (Singh and Henry, 1985). Cowpea is very important in Dahi bada industry and making curry preparation while horsegram is a minor pulse and is utilized by the poorest of the poor in its growing areas as well used for kidney stone treatment (Henry et.al., 2006; Vishwanatha et. al., 2006). Clusterbean and moth bean together account for 3.5 million hectare areas in the great Indian Thar Desert and play a very important role in the economy of the desert farmers. Similarly, cowpea and horse gram are grown mostly in marginal and sub-marginal lands under rainfed situations with no inputs applied by the farmers. These two pulses are grown in various areas in the country and easily adapted to various conditions.

Crop production broadly depends on the fertility of the soil where a crop is raised. There are several factors like the kind and quality of seed, climate, water supply, and plant protection measures etc. that affect the crop production. Among these factors, the fertility status of the soil largely determines the ultimate yield even if all these factors are optimum for crop production. A clear distinction should be made between soil fertility and soil productivity. Soil fertility deals with the inherent capacity of soil to provide nutrients in adequate amounts and in proper balance, for the growth of specified plants when other growth factors such as light, water and temperature, and the physical condition of the soil are favourable. Soil productivity is concerned with the capability of soil to produce a specified plant or plant parts or a sequence of plants under well defined and specified systems of management inputs and environmental conditions, viz. climatic conditions. It does not mean that a fertile soil is always productive. A fertile soil, under a bad management system, may be unproductive for a crop. In this book, plant nutrient elements and their available forms, functions and deficiency symptoms are briefly described for the better understanding of soil testing and fertilizer recommendation.

4.1 Sampling and Preparation for Analysis

The determination of nutritional need of crops is an important aspect of nutrient management of any plant analysis programme. The need of fruit plants for mineral nutrients differ from those of annual crop species in a number of ways, many of which are related to the perennial nature of tree crops. In perennial tree crops, there is a need to supply nutrients both for ultimate fruit production, the fruits and the vegetative organs, which persist from year to year. The need for leaf analysis in perennial horticultural crops and forest trees has proved its superiority over soil diagnostic methods. This is essentially because of their deeper root system and the fact that nutrients supplied in one year may have its effect on both the nutrition and crop production in following years. However, it is largely being used not as an alternative method to soil testing, but as a supplement to soil testing. Results of foliar analysis are usually interpreted using the critical nutrient level (CNL) approach. Accurate interpretation of foliar analysis using the CNL approach is possible only when sampling is restricted to the same growth stage at which standard reference values have been established (Beaufils, 1971, 1973). The general purposes of plant analyses are:

ABSTRACT

Tree component of agroforestry systems produce large biomass of varying nutrient concentration to serve as alternative to inorganic fertilizers under integrated nutrient management or organic farming. Additionally, agroforestry systems proved effective in conserving soil and rainfall and brought down soil loss up to 0.2 t ha^-1 and runoff up to 1.8 per cent of rainfall. Introduction of grasses in aonla conserved up to 31 cm of rainwater, 28 q ha^-1 of soil, 11 kg ha^-1 of N and 2 kg ha^-1 of K₂O. Conservation coupled with ameliorative capacity of agroforestry systems helped in building organic carbon and nutrients and improving soil physical, chemical and biological properties.

ABSTRACT

Among the challenges of 21^st century, to make the food supply sustainable, the impact of climate change is largely unconceivable. The climate on earth has increased by 0.74° C over the past 100 years. Best estimate for low scenario of global warming is 1.8°C and for high scenario is 4°C. Last decade recorded the hottest in the century and 2009 has been rated hottest since 1900. Retreating glaciers have been confirmed in various parts of the world. Further, the current greatest challenge is to perceive the biological impact of such climate changes. Efforts have been initiated by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to assess the impact of climate change on biological systems across the globe. Since 1950’s, the change in carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere is being monitored. Almost a decade later, computer models were employed to assess the possible impact of change in temperature and enhanced CO₂. By the 1980’s consensus was almost achieved on possible doubling of atmospheric CO₂ concentration due to emission from fossil fuels and rise in the global temperature. Since then quantitative estimates on the biological impacts of climate change have been taken up by scientific community world wide. Presently, ample of evidence on impact of climate change from marine to terrestrial environment, from species to communities, ecosystems and hierarchies have been gathered for both flora and fauna (Walther et al., 2002I). Parmesan and Yune (2003) reported that meta-analyses of 334 species and global analyses of 1,570 species revealed highly significant and regular patterns of change in relation to observed warming with more than 95 per cent confidence, as fingerprints of climate change.

The word 'social forestry' was coined by Westoby and used in the ninth Commonwealth Forestry Conference at New Delhi in 1968. In India the term was first used by the National Commission on Agriculture, Government of India in 1976, to denote tree raising programmes to supply firewood, small timber and minor forest products to rural population. Prasad (1985) defined social forestry as forestry outside the conventional forests which primarily aims at providing continuous flow of goods and services for the benefit of people. This implies that the production of forest goods for fulfilling the needs of the local people is social forestry. Thus, conceptually it deals with the people to produce goods such as fuel, fodder, small timber, etc. to meet the needs of local community particularly the underprivileged section (Shah, 1988).

Management approaches to soil, including problems of soil degradation and low soil fertility, have recently undergone major changes. The earlier concept was to concentrate on achieving high levels of production from the more fertile areas, leaving the marginal lands for extensive use only. Steeply sloping and highly drought-prone areas were mostly left without any cultivation as production from these areas was hardly cost effective. Soil constraints were to be overcome by inputs like improved crop varieties, fertilizers, chemical control of pests and diseases, and the use of irrigation.

The approach of use of newly developed high yielding crop varieties, improved agronomic management practices, use of chemical fertilizers, efficient water management and timely plant protection measures has been successful in achieving large increases in crop productivity in recent years. On the other hand, continuous application of fertilizers at higher rates leads to environmental problems. Yield responses to fertilizers have declined because of soil physical degradation and micronutrient deficiencies. Above all, large numbers of poor farmers simply can neither afford high levels of fertilizers and other purchased inputs, nor do they have the capital to take on the risk involved in their use. Increasing the area under irrigation has also run into severe constraints in the form of limits to available freshwater resources.

Agroforestry systems are not simply systems where trees and crops or animals give useful products to the farmers, rather systems where trees and crops and/or animals interact. Interaction literally means influence or mutual or reciprocal action. So component interaction refers to the influence of one component of a system on the performance of other component as well as the system as a whole.

In agroforestry systems, trees are grown in close proximity to crops and pasture. Their performance would largely depend on their ability to share various growth resources in a given environmental situation. Various interactions take place between the woody trees and herbaceous plants (crops or pastures) which is referred to as tree-crop interface. These interactions take place through the media of soil and microclimate and may exert favourable or adverse effects on the crop. Study of interaction helps to know how the components of agroforestry utilize and share the resources of the environment, and how the growth and development of any of the components will influence the others. Interaction occurs both above and below the ground and includes a complex set of interactions relating to radiation exchange, the water balance, nutrient budget and cycling, shelter and other microclimatic modifications.

The success of an agroforestry system relies heavily on exploitation of the component interactions. In an ideal relationship, production of trees as well as crops or grasses in combination could be comparable to their sole performance. Agroforestry could be even more advantageous if the production of associated components is increased due to influence of trees. This is possible because trees are capable of improving productivity of soil in many ways. A large number of trees are known to fix nitrogen symbiotically. Nevertheless, instances of crop inhibition in association of trees are not uncommon. Such inhibitions are primarily caused by shade effect as well as competition for belowground resources such as nutrients and water. In some cases inhibitory effect may also result from allelochemicals secreted by some of the tree species.

Farmers have been growing trees for different purposes for thousands of years. Tree species that are grown to provide more than one significant function are called multipurpose trees. These functions may be productive such as producing fuelwood, timber, fibre, fodder, food, medicine, etc. and/or protective such as soil conservation, shade, shelterbelt, microclimate amelioration, land sustainability, biodiversity preservation, etc. All trees are multipurpose; some, however, are more multipurpose than others. Tree species can be multipurpose in two ways.

1. A single tree can provide more than one function. For example, Gliricidia sepium is grown as living fences that provide fuel, fodder and green manure for agricultural crops - all at the same time.
2. Trees of the same species, when managed differently, can provide different functions. For example, Leucaena leucocephala is managed so that some trees will mainly yield wood while others mainly produce leaf fodder.

Farmers can grow multipurpose trees (MPT) in various combinations with other crops, as in agroforestry, in block plantations of trees or in naturally regenerating tree farms. In certain cases, multipurpose trees are grown and managed for only one purpose. For example, Gliricida sepium is grown only to provide shade in coffee plantations. The same species may be planted in some other places and is managed differently for a very different use.

Ecology of a place is influenced by a number of biotic and abiotic factors. An agroecological zone is broadly homogeneous in climatic and edaphic factors, but not necessarily contiguous, where a specific crop exhibits roughly the same biological expression. On the other hand, the characteristics of an agroecological zone influence the crops and cropping patterns of the zone. Thus, there are considerable variations in the types and management practices of agroforestry systems being followed in different agroecological zones.

AGROFORESTRY FOR HUMID AND SUBHUMID TROPICS

Humid and subhumid tropical regions have much variation in biological, social and economical parameters. The characteristics of humid tropics include high mean annual rainfall of more than 1500 mm, dry season of less than four months in a year and mean annual temperature of more than 22oC. Rainfall usually exceeds the evapotranspiration. However, demographic pressure has caused excessive deforestation and overgrazing which developed soil related problems like low soil fertility, low organic matter, high acidity and high rainfall erosivity. The agroforestry practices designed for this region should aim for improved fallows, soil fertility improvement and conservation, food production, etc. Thus, the common agroforestry systems in this zone are taungya, homegardens, alley cropping, plantation-crop combination, windbreaks, silvipastoral systems and various intercropping systems. Shifting cultivation is a common practice in tropics which should be discouraged as it causes environmental degradation and ecological imbalance, soil erosion and soil nutrient loss.

Economic analysis provides a rational basis for making decisions in allocating scarce resources among various options to achieve competing goals. If resources were not limiting, there would be no need for economic consideration.

PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Optimization criteria

The additional return obtained from using one additional unit of an input should be considered to optimize net income from several possible production options. If option ‘x’ gives a higher return to land than other options, then additional units of land should be allocated to option ‘x’.

10.1 Introduction

Biomass fuels are a potential source of renewable energy. One of the major barriers to their widespread use is that biomass has a lower energy content than traditional fossils fuels, which means that more fuel is required to get the same amount of energy. When combined — low energy content with low density -the volume of biomass handled increases enormously. Compaction or densification is one way to increase the energy density and overcome handling difficulties.

Densification means compaction of loose material or to increase density of loose biomass so that its volumetric efficiency can be increased. Densification essentially involves two parts; the compaction under pressure of loose material to reduce its volume and to agglomerate the material so that the product remains in the compressed state. The resulting solid may be a briquette, a pellet and a cube. It will be briquettes if roughly, it has a diameter greater than 30 mm. Smaller sizes are normally termed pellets though the distinction is arbitrary. The process of producing pellets is also different from the typical briquetting processes. The densified product can be developed in the cubical shapes as well.

If the material is compacted with low to moderate pressure (0.2-5 MPa), then the space between particles is reduced. Further, increasing the pressure will, at a certain stage particular to each material, collapse the cell walls of the cellulose constituent, thus approaching the physical, or dry mass and more, density of the material. The pressure required to achieve such high densities are typically 100 MPa plus. This process of compaction is entirely depending on to the pressure exerted on the material and its physical characteristics including its moisture content.

Introduction

Papaya is a tropical tree fruit crop that cannot tolerate freezing temperatures. It has commercial importance because of its high nutritive and medicinal value. Papaya cultivation had its origin in South Mexico and Costa Rica. Total annual world production is estimated at 6 million tonnes of fruits. India leads the world in papaya production with an annual output of about 3 million tonnes. Other leading producers are Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Indonesia, China, Peru, Thailand and Philippines. Papaya fruit are borne on peduncles attached to the main trunk of the papaya tree and are clustered, starting a few feet above the ground and extending up to a foot below the top of the plant adequate water is essential to the uninterrupted growth and production of papaya fruit. There is number of factors which affect quality and quantity of papaya production. Out of insect pest is one of the important factors to reduction of papaya fruit production. List of insect pests of papaya given as below:

Introduction

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) also known as lady’s finger or bhendi, belongs to family Malvaceae. Tender fruits are used as vegetables and thickening of gravies and soups, because of its high mucilage content. The roots and stems of okra are used for cleaning cane juice (Chauhan, 1972). In okra several pest may damage the tender fruit that leads to reduction in yield which can be controlled by holistic approach to develop sustainable agriculture. There are several ways among this the Biointensive integrated pest management (BIPM) is one of the best way to discourage the development of pest populations and keep pesticides free so that it makes economically justified to farmers, reduce risks to human health and the environment. Biointensive integrated pest management (BIPM) is essentially a component of integrated pest management which helps to reduce the dependence on chemical pesticides thereby preventing ecological deterioration. The major elements of this approach includes many factors viz., host plant resistance, use of beneficial organism, agronomic practices, biopesticides, parasitoids, predators, plant exudates etc.

Introduction

Biointensive integrated pest management (BIPM) is essentially a component of integrated pest management which helps to reduce the dependence on chemical pesticides thereby preventing ecological deterioration. The major elements of this approach includes many factors viz. host plant resistance, use of beneficial organism, agronomic practices, bio pesticides, parasitoids, predators, plant exudates etc. It also includes all other conventional non-chemical methods of pest control like use of botanical insecticides preferably plant based insecticides like Azadirachtin from Neem (Azadirachta indica), Rotenone from Derris chinensis and Derris elliptica, Nicotine from Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), Juvocimene 1 or 2 and Ocimin from Ocimum sanctum, Atropine from Datura stramonium, Annonine and Squamocin from Annona squamosa etc.

Deep learning emerged as a serious contender in the field from a 10-year explosive computational development. Deep learning is therefore a special form of machine learning, the algorithms of which are based on the structure and function of the human brain.

Machine learning VS Deep learning

Deep learning is arguably the most efficient form of machine learning. This is so important because they know the best way to solve the problem and how to fix everything. The following is a description of deep learning and machine Learning:

In this chapter we will talk about the tools which are required to make project in artificial intelligence. All this bellow discussed tools are uses python programming language for making any project in any respective field. We have discussed about how anyone can install and use the tools to built a real time project in artificial Intelligence.

Using Python IDE

To download and install Python visit the official website of Python https://www.python.org/downloads/and choose your version. We have chosen Python version as per requirement all the codes in this book were on python version 3.6 as you can see in the Fig. 7.1.

Introduction

In agriculture, plant diseases have always been a major problem, as they cause crop quality to decrease, resulting in yield. Plant disease has a range of effects from minor symptoms to serious damages in whole crop areas, which lead to high financial costs and significantly impact the agricultural economy, particularly in developing countries dependent on a single crop or on a few crops.

Various approaches have been developed to detect disease in order to avoid significant losses. Causal agents have been precisely defined by methods developed in molecular biology and immunology. However, for many farmers these techniques are inaccessible and require detailed knowledge of the field or substantial time and energy to be used. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, most farms in the world are small and family-owned in developed countries. Such families provide food for a significant proportion of the population of the planet. However, hunger and food insecurity are not rare and there is restricted access to markets and services. For the above reasons, a great deal of work has been undertaken in order to establish methods that are sufficiently reliable and available to most farmers. Where Plant disease is an essential factor contributing to a major decline in plant production quality and quantity. Plant disease identification and classification are a significant role in improving plant production and economic development.

There are manyreasons for using computerstoday. Word processing is area which has proved computers to be powerful than ever. There are many different kinds of word processors availabletoday, however, most share the same basic functions and do not require advanced computeror typing skills to use. These basicfunctions include typing, savingdocuments,openingdocuments, copying, pasting, cutting printing, checking spelling, etc. The commonly used word processors include Microsoft Word, ClarisWorks, Word Perfect, Word Pad, Apple Works, etc.

4.1 Microsoft Word

4.1.1 Introduction

Microsoft Word, or Word as it is commonly known, is a software application that allows the user to perform word processing. The word processing means the creation, input, editing, and production of documents and texts by means of computers systems. Microsoft Word allowthe user to format text with attributes such as bold, italics, font size, and margins. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite of applications and is a highly popular programme for the workplace.

Microsoft Word was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Versions were later writtenfor several other platformsincluding IBS PCs running DOS in 1983,the Apple Macintosh in 1984 and Microsoft Windows in 1989. The latest release is Word 2010.