eChapters

Introduction

The food processing sector is highly fragmented industry, it widely comprises of the following sub-segments: fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products, beer and alcoholic beverages, meat and poultry, marine products, grain processing, packaged or convenience food and packaged drinks. A huge number of entrepreneurs in this industry are small in terms of their production and operations, and are largely concentrated in the unorganized segment. This segment accounts for more than 70% of the output in terms of volume and 50% in terms of value. Though the organized sector seems comparatively small, it is growing at a much faster pace.

The food processing industry can be classified into three categories: organized (25%), small scale (33%) and unorganized (42%) (Source: FAIDA/ Minstry of Food Processing Industries). The share of food processing in total manufacturing is only 9% in India.

Introduction

An agricultural project is defined as an investment activity where financial resources are expended to create the capital assets with an anticipation of benefits over time. In other words, it is an activity where money is spent to realize the expected returns and requires planning, financing and implementation as a unit. In fact, the whole complex of activities using resources to gain benefits constitute the agricultural projects. The agricultural project may include projects such as irrigation, dairy, poultry, piggery, rural credit, social forestry, land reclamation/leveling, rural development projects, etc. Moreover, the dividing line between an “investment “ and a “production” expenditure is an agricultural project.  For instance, the fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, etc. are called investments where returns are realized over the service period of asset. Likewise, the plantation of fruit crops though constitute an investment yet the paddy transplanting as production expense, i.e., the difference exists in time span to grow plants.

Role of Ministry of Micro Small & Medium Enterprises

Engage in promotion & development of MSME’S in the country through framing proper policies and schemes.
Implementing policies and schemes through its attached office DC, MSME, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi. 

ABSTRACT

Maharashtra ranks second in terms of area under tree cover, however, still large chunk of land is lying without use or are underutilised because of their degradation status. Such degraded lands can be put to use through agroforestry. Agroforestry is being adopted in this state in one way or the other by raising trees on farm bunds, around cattle sheds etc. since earlier times. New innovative technology has now been developed by all the agricultural universities of state. The paper provides detailed information of different agroforestry systems which have been developed and practised in the state.

INTRODUCTION

Maharashtra is the third largest state of India having the geographical area of 307,713 km², which constitute 9.4 per cent of the country’s geographical area. The human population of the state is 96.75 million (9.4% of country’s population) of which 57.6 per cent is rural and 42.4 per cent is urban. The average population density is 314 persons per km². The tribal population is 9.3 per cent of the state population. The state supports livestock population of 36.4 million, which is 7.7 per cent of the country’s livestock population. The state rank second amongst all the state/UTs in terms of area under tree cover and third in term of recorded Forest Area (Anon, 2001).

ABSTRACT

Assam has been divided into six agroclimatic zones on the basis of soil, climate, terrain and vegetation. It comprises of Brahmaputra plain zone to Hill zone. The paper deals with the traditional agroforestry systems prevailing in all these agroclimatic zones along with the research activities which are going on in Assam. Salient research achievements with respect to tree-crop compatibility are given at the end of the chapter. Impact of agroforestry research on farmers of Assam in terms of adoption is also given.

INTRODUCTION

Assam, one of the eastern states of India, lies between 240 N and 28018’ N latitudes and 8904’ E and 960 E longitudes. The state is surrounded by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh in the north, Nagaland, Manipur and a part of Arunachal Pradesh in the east, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya in the south and West Bengal in the west. The state is endowed with abundant fertile land and water sources with a total geographical area of 78,523 km² with population density of 318 per square kilometer.

ABSTRACT

In the state of Meghalaya, forests are being degraded by age-old practice of shifting agriculture by native tribes and other human activities. Agroforestry has a great potential both from the point of view of restoration and maintenance of soil fertility and to increase agriculture production. The traditional system of agriculture in the state is primitive, labour intensive and dependent on rainfall. The proportion of space occupied by the tree and crop components in the traditional system largely depends upon factors like soil types, plant species and crop arrangements. The common traditional systems practiced in the state may be grouped under agrisilviculture, agrihorticulture, silvihorticulture, pastoralsilviculture and pastoralhorticulture. Agroforestry systems can play an important role in soil conservation and improvement in moisture and nutrient levels through efficient cycling of nutrients, which in turn would enhance agriculture production. The analysis of different agroforestry systems in the state of Meghalaya suggests that further improvement of the existing systems may yield high productivity and make them more sustainable.

INTRODUCTION

Agroforestry is an ideal scientific approach to tackle the problems of degraded lands and to bring about eco-restoration and maintenance of soil resources. The significance of tree based land use systems in general and agroforestry in particular, has been realized in improving the economy of farmers having small land holdings (Chauhan and Dhyani 1990, Beer et al 1990, Fisher 1990, Dhyani and Tripathi 1999). The fertility of soils can be improved under the influence of tree cover, which checks erosion, contributes to accumulation of organic matter content, adds nitrogen through symbiotic N-fixation by leguminous or actinorrhizal trees and continuously replenishes the nutrients through effective recycling mechanisms. It offers a practical means of achieving greater outputs and at the same time maintains soil fertility that ultimately helps in increasing productivity of agricultural crops and trees.

ABSTRACT

Andhra Pradesh is predominently an agrarian state, where 70 per cent of the people live in rural areas. Andhra Pradesh has 7 Agroecological zones spread over in coastal Andhra, Telangana and Rayalaseema regions with varied climatic situations. The existing agroforestry systems in costal Andhra are Mango-based Agrihorticulture system, Betelvine-sesbania system, Borrasus flabellefer, Glyrecidia boundary plantations, Eucalyptus, Causarina and Subabul block plantations. Besides Neem, Tamarind and jamuns are also found in isolated manner. In Telangana region, Custard apple based Agrihorticulture system, Mango based Agrihorticulture system, Boundary plantations of Neem, teak, Jamun etc., are present. Eucalyptus based Agrisilviculture system is propagated by ITC, Bhadrachalam in Khammam and elsewhere in the state. In Rayalaseema region in all the districts tamarind, mango and sweet orange based agroforestry systems are prominently seen. The betelvine - sesbania system alone is fetching an income of 100 crores/year to the states’ exchequer. The common trees and tree systems available in the state are : Azadirachta indica, Tamarindus indica, Acacia nilotica, Pithecellobium dulce, Parkinsonia aculeata, Pterocarpus santalinus, Dalbergia latifolia and many others.

A. Answer the following Question

1.    Why availabilityof bacterial protein is low?

Ans: Because, bacterial protein is protected by cell wall (mucopeptide polymer) which are resistant to enzymatic action.

2.    What is isoelectric pH?

Ans: The pH at which an amino acid exists in solution as a zwitter ion is called isoelectric pH that is the pH at which the amino acid is electrically neutral and has no tendency to migrate towards either electrode.

3.    What is ketogenic amino acid?

Ans: Ketogenic amino acid refers to those amino acids which give rise to acetyl CoA and consequently the potential fatty acids producers. e.g. leucine

4.    Why chicks require higher level of arginine?

Ans: Since they do not have urea cycle and feathers are very high inarginine.

5.    Why chicks require high level of glycine?

A. Answer the following questions

1.    What is omega carbon atom?

Ans: The methyl carbon atom at the distal end of the fatty acid chain is called omega carbon atom

2.    Why mammals can not synthesize essential fatty acid?

Ans: Because of their inability to introduce double bond between the 9th carbon atom and the terminal methyl group of the fatty acid chain.

3.    What is acid value?

Ans: It is defined as the number of milligram of KOH required to neutralize the free organic acids in 1 gm of fat.

4.    What is saponification number?

Ans: It is defined as the number of milligrams of KOH required to neutralize the free fatty acid and saponify the esterified fatty acids in 1 gm of fat.

5.    What is iodine number?

A. Answer the following question

1.    What is Gross Energy?

Ans: Gross energyistheamount of heat givenoffwhen a substance is completelyburntor oxidizedtooxidationproducts like carbon dioxide,waterandothergases ina bombcalorimeter containing 25-30 atmospheric oxygen psi.

2.    What is BTU?

Ans: It istheamount of energyas heat required toraise temperature of 1 pound of water by 10F

3.    What is Heat Increment (HI)?

Ans: The increase in heat production after the ingestion of feed when the animal is in a thermoneutral environment is known as heat increment.

4.    Why digestible energy (DE) is called apparent DE?

Ans: It is calledapparent because thefaecalenergyincludes energy of undigested feed; microbial cell residues spent digestive enzymes and abraded intestinal mucosa (FEm).

5.    WhyME values are higher in non-ruminants than ruminants?

A. Answer the following questions

1.    What isdigestibility?

Ans: The portion of a feed or any single nutrient of feed which is not recovered in faeces i.e the portion which has been absorbed by the animal is called digestibility.

2.    Whatis digestibilitycoefficient?

Ans: When the digestibility is expressed in % then it is called digestibilitycoefficient.

3.    Why digestibility of ash is not calculated?

Ans: Digestibilityfor ashisnot calculatedsince mostof the minerals are re-excreted in the gut and it does not contribute to the energy content of food.

4.    Why digestibility of carbohydrate is overestimated?

Ans: This is because there are losses of ingested carbohydrate as methane and carbon dioxide. But these losses are not counted.

5.    Why digestibility of crude protein is underestimated?

A. Answer the following questions

1.    Why protein requirement for maintenance in cat is high?

Ans: It is due to the inability of the nitrogen catabolic enzymes in the cat’s liver to adapt to changes in dietary protein intake.

1.    Why arginine is dietary essential in cat?

Ans: Because, cat is unable to synthesize ornithine which is an arginine precursorwithin theurea cycle. Aminoacid glutamic acid and proline is precursor of ornithine in the intestinal mucosa of all mammals.However, an enzyme thatis required in the pathway, proline-5-carboxylate synthatase is absent in cat’s intestinal mucosa. In the absence of dietary arginine, a high catabolism of protein generates a load of ammonia that cannot be detoxified by its incorporation to urea and hyper ammonia develops.

2.    Why taurine is dietary essential in cat?

1. Introduction

Osmotic dehydration is a useful treatment of dehydration compared to the other dehydration processes, as other dehydration processes bring adverse and irreversible changes in physical and nutritional status of food material. Recently in many studies it was found out that since plant membranes are semi-permeable in nature, not only moisture but transfer of solute from osmotic solution to the food material also takes place. Another kind of transfer which was also noticed is the leaching of micronutrients from the cells of food to the osmotic solution, but the amount being very low, this transfer can be neglected. (Mayor et al., 2006). The mass transfer kinetics was studied for different food materials (Hawkes and Flink, 1978). Effect of different variables such as pressure and temperature were also studied (Rastogi and Niranjan, 1998). The effective diffusivities for both water loss and solute gain can be calculated by using various methods which gives the rate of diffusion of solute and moisture for the food material. The finding of solute gain and leaching of micronutrients pointed the requirement of maintaining the osmotic dehydration process, which could be done by maintaining the process variables of osmotic dehydration. Impact of various process variables on osmotic dehydration and their best levels at which maximum water loss and minimum solute gain could be obtained had to be calculated out. For this purpose, optimization of process variables through response surface methodology (RSM) could be best utilized (Uddin et al. , 2004). RSM is a statistical tool which gives the random combinations of input variables to give the best output result as required. Various works have been done on optimization of process conditions of osmotic dehydration taking different samples of foods. In this study, bamboo shoot species (Bambusa balcooa) was taken as sample for osmotic dehydration to optimize the process variables for osmotic dehydration of bamboo shoots using salt as osmotic agent followed by calculation of effective diffusivity of water and solute during osmotic dehydration of bamboo shoot.

1. Introduction

Cherry peppers (Capsicum frutensis var. cerasiforme) which is locally known as dallae khorsani, is one of the important cash crops of Sikkim and Darjeeling hills. They are small, round shaped, fleshy and heavily seeded. They are green in color in early stage of fruiting and turn red when fully matured. It is an excellent source of vitamin A and C, which are important antioxidants (Howard et al., 1994). Cherry peppers are an ideal size for pickling or brining. Its hotness ranges from moderately mild to very high.

Due to its high moisture content (about 85% w. b. ), shelf life of cherry pepper is limited to 7 - 10 days. This makes it rare and costly during the off season. Hence, preservation of cherry peppers is of considerable importance both to the farmers as well as to the consumers. Drying is one of the oldest methods for preservation of cherry peppers to make it available throughout the year. To increase shelf life of chilies, drying up to 10 % moisture content (dry basis) is required which is accepted in export market.

For drying chillies, sun and hot air drying are the most common drying method used. However, due to the prolonged drying time of 16-48 h, the quality of the dried chillies is reduced (Kim et al., 2002). Many researchers paid more attention to innovative techniques such as short and medium-wave infrared radiation drying (SMIR) which not only maintain product quality, but also increase the drying rate. Moreover, infrared drying could save up 50% energy compared to convective drying (Nowak & Lewicki, 2004). The ability of infrared radiation to penetrate and heat the inner layers results in higher rate of heat and mass transfer (Ginzburg, 1969).

1. Introduction

Biopolymers nowadays are grabbing a nice place in packaging industries replacing synthetic polymers. The most important advantage of biopolymer over synthetic polymers is that they are biodegradable and can be developed from agricultural or food processing wastes. Among the wide variety of materials currently used in food packaging, polymers have taken a major share because of their versatility and advantageous performance (Valdés et al., 2014). However, most polymers used for food packaging are not biodegradable or compostable and therefore represent an increasingly serious end-of-life disposal problem worldwide. Although food package stability during the shelf-life of the product is an advantage, it turns into a disadvantage when the packages enter the post-use phase.

1. Introduction

Citrus is a common term and genus (Citrus) of flowering plants in the Rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus fruits are non-climacteric and respiration slowly declines and the production and release of ethylene is gradual. India ranks sixth in the production of citrus fruits in the world. Citrus wastes typically are about 45- 50% of the weight of citrus original and the percentage of waste to 30-50% for vegetables and fruits in general. Natural colour plays a significant role in determining the degree of consumer acceptance of the product. In addition, carotenoids (vitamin A precursor) have high nutritional values which are important for human nutrition.Francis and Isaksen (1988) stated that carotenoids play a very important role for extraction as for protection of health against cancer, cardiovascular and eye disease and as anti-oxidant. Carotenoids play important roles in human nutrition through their provitamin A activity, but also by acting as antioxidants, for prevention of age-related macular degeneration or skin protection against UV radiation. The antioxidant capacity of carotenoids was proved for pure compounds as well as for plant extracts and food. The main objective of this research work is extraction, determination and identification of natural colorants from different citrus wastes (citrus peel). Also to study the effects of pH and oxygen on the stability of extracted pigments and determination of the specific carriers for the extracted pigments using solid matrices (starch, dextrin, arabic gum and flour).

1. Introduction

Milk is considered to be an adequate source of valuable macro nutrients, fat, protein, lactose. Vitamins and micronutrients making it a wholesome food. It can serve as an excellent carrier product for extra nutrient and if enriched or fortified it can satisfy the nutritional needs of the population. Soybean is an excellent source of low cost protein and has been an important nutritional component and medical investigation have revealed the great potential of soy foods for lowering blood cholesterol levels and the incidence of heart disease and cancer. The dry soybean contains roughly 40 % protein, 20% oil and 35% soluble (sucrose , raffinose, stachyose, etc. ). Aqueous extract of soya is an ideal substitute of animal milk for people suffering from allergic, gastrointestinal and other diseases peculiar to elderly people liu et al. (2004). Soymilk obtained by aqueous extraction from whole soybeans is a well known food product that is growing in popularity in many areas of the world (Hauman,1984). Soy milk is low in fat, carbohydrate, calcium, phosphorus, and riboflavin, but high in iron, thiamin, and niacin in comparison with cows’ milk. Soy milk contains higher amount of protein than buffalo milk and is deficient in sulfur containing amino acids. Soya milk is used in various products like paneer, yoghurts , cheese, tea and coffee whiteners , shrikhand, rasogolla and various indigenous milk sweets, confectionary, etc (Kale et al., 2012, Chang et al., 2005) also reported that intake of fermented soymilk improves the ecosystem intestinal tract by increasing the amount of probiotics. During the last years, soy beverages consumption has gradually increased due to their significant concentration of health promoting compounds, such as iso flavones.

1. Introduction

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. ) a member of the family Moraceae is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world. India is the second biggest producer of the fruit in the world and is considered as the motherland of jackfruit. The jackfruit is native to parts of South and Southeast Asia and is believed to have originated in the rainforests of Western Ghats of India and is cultivated throughout the low lands in South and Southeast Asia. Major jackfruit producing countries are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. There are 100-500 seeds in a single fruit (Sidhu, 2012). It is composed of rind, edible bulbs of yellow-flesh and seeds. The ripe fruits are eaten or processed into snacks and canned products. Seeds make up around 10 to 15% of the total fruit weight (30-365/ fruit) and have high carbohydrate and protein contents (Ocloo et al., 2010). Mostly the seeds, rind and strands are discarded as waste. So, the seed, rind and strand flour can be an alternative intermediatory product, which can be stored and utilized, both for value addition and to blend with other grain flours without affecting the functional and sensory profile of the final product.

1. Introduction

Banana is having number of species and belongs to genus Musa of the family Musaceae. Bananas are produced in large quantities in tropical and subtropical areas. World production of Musa in 2003 was estimated at 102 million MT of which about 68% was classified as bananas and 32% as plantains (FAO, 2003). For growing banana need special climate and they are mainly produced in developing countries P (Zhang et al., 2005). The crop is of major importance to the people in the growing. The largest producer of banana is India (27%) and other countries are Ecuador, Brazil, Indonesia, Philippines and China etc. Ecuador (42. 3%), Colombia (24. 7%), Philippines, Dominican Republic, Belgium, Italy, Peru, France, Netherland, Germany are the top exporter countries in 2009.

Banana is a botanically a berry require a warm, humid, frost-free climate with optimum temperatures between 22 and 31°C. In several report it was found that banana plant die in ground level at below temperature -2°C. Primary component of the aroma of fresh bananas is isoamyl acetate which is also called as banana oil. Banana is highly energetic food and rich in potassium, sodium, phosphorus, chlorine, magnesium, sulphur, silicon, calcium; and the vitamins: A, B1, B2, C and B3 (niacin). Banana helps in lowering cholesterol, enhances liver function, regulate heart rhythm and disease, decrease the risk of stroke, regulate Bowel movement, helps keep blood pressure under control and helps in weight loss.

1. Introduction

King chilli belongs to the genus Capsicum and species chinense, which is world famous for its heat content. King chilli measures 60 to 85 mm (2. 4 to 3. 3 inches) long and 25 to 30 mm (1. 0 to 1. 2 inches) wide with a red, yellow, orange, or chocolate color. The plant came into limelight when it was announced as the hottest chilli in the world in 2006 (Baruah et al., 2014). The people of the North-eastern India use the fruits of King chilli in different food formulations like flavouring curries due to its high-quality fragrance and pungency and also for various medicinal treatments like rheumatism, arthritis, gastritis, ankylosing spondylitis, digestive diseases (Sarwa et al., 2012) and to reduce chronic congestion (Raktim and Changkija, 2009). It is also used as a bird, animal and insect repellent as well as a biochemical pesticide. The extremely hot or burning sensation of chilli is due to the presence of capsaicinoids found only in Capsicum (Hoffman et al., 1983).

In northeastern India, King chilli has been cultivated in a traditional manner since time immemorial and there exists a considerable amount of genetic variability among the landraces (Raktim and Changkija, 2009). The pharmaceutical applications of capsaicinoids are attributed to their analgesic, antiarthritic, anticancer and antioxidant properties. In fact, capsaicin has been at the centre of intense research for elucidating the basis of its pharmacological properties and exploiting the therapeutic potential (Prasad et al., 2005). It has also been reported that capsaicin inhibits the growth of prostate cancer cells (Mori et al., 2006). The antioxidative capacity of chilli is higher than ginger, garlic, mint and onion (Shobana et al., 2000), which may play an important role in the process of chemoprevention (Yu et al., 2002).

1. Introduction

Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae sp. ), a high altitudinal, thorny, temperate, deciduous, dioecious, actinorhizal shrub or small tree belonging to the Kingdom-Plantae, Clades-Angiosperms, Eudicots and Rosids, Order- Rosales, Family-Elaeagnaceae and native to Eurasean Countries like India, China, Russia, Nepal, Pakistan, etc. (Barik et al., 2016). SBT is having tolerance towards a wide group of pests and insects, can grow in extreme nutrient deficient conditions and temperature range of -40 °C to 40 °C. It contains more than 190 reported invaluable phytochemicals and has the potential for multidimensional use as food, fodder, medicine, fuel, and conservation of soil and bio diversity (Qinxiao and Hongyan, 2003; Barik et al., 2016). SBT berries, leaves, stem and root barks also contain nutrients and bioactive compounds which mainly include lipids, sugars, amino acids, organic acids, fatty acids, carotenoids (β-carotenes, lycopene, zeaxanthin), tocopherols (α β, γ, δ), sterols (ergosterol, campesterol), Vitamins (A, C, E and K), phenolic and flavonoid compounds (gallic acid, caeffeic acid, ferulic acid, isorhamnetin, kaemferol, quercetin, myricetin) and isoprenols (Tiitinen et al., 2005; Anderson et al., 2009; Barik et al., 2016). All these studies are primarily based on the prominent SBT species Hippophae rhamnoides. However, Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae salicifolia) of North East India is an underutilized non-conventional plant and its potential is not yet fully explored. Very scanty literatures are available on the identification, documentation and preliminary qualitative phytochemical characterization of SBT from North East India (Basistha et al., 2010; Pradhan et al., 2015). But there is no any report on systematic qualitative phytochemical characterization of all the plant parts of SBT from North East India in general and SBT of Arunachal Pradesh in partcular.

Introduction

There are manypeople all over the world who have a certain level of sensitivity or intolerance towards milk and milk products. The reactions to milk which involve the immune systemare termed as milkallergy, whereas, difficulty in the digestion of the milk and milk products is known as milk intolerance. Milk intolerance occurs due to malabsorption of milk sugar (lactose) in intestine, a condition in which lactose is not digested into its monomers (galactose and glucose) due to lower activity or insufficiency of lactase enzyme. Inability to digest lactose, which is a disaccharide present only in milk, is specifically known as lactose intolerance. However, hypersensitivity involves the adverse immune reaction(allergic reaction) inthe body causeddue to the ingestion of milk proteins. Milk and milk products are major source of basic as well as essential nutrients and cannot be skipped from the diet of the individual. It is a rich source of calcium,which is essential for the growth and reformationof bones. The decline in calcium may lead to thin, fragile bones that break easily, a condition called osteomalacia or osteoporosis in women. Thus, it is a matter of concern for both children andadults whoare allergic or intolerant towards milk and milk products and not getting enough calcium and other nutrients in diet. This chapter would provide more insight about milk intolerance and milk allergy/hypersensitivity and how to deal with it.

Introduction

Spectacular accomplishment in every sector has enabled India to be amongtop achieving nations. However, every section of the society is not benefited by these achievements and problem of malnutrition still remains unresolved. Malnutrition is a common problem faced by underdeveloped and developing countries suchas Philippines, Nepal, Sudan,Tanzaniaand Indiasincelongback. Malnutrition includes undernutrition(wasting,stunting,underweight),inadequate vitamins or minerals as well as overweight, obesity and resulting diet-related non communicable diseases(NCDs). As per the latest report of World Health Organization, 52 million children under 5 years of ageare wasted, 17 million are severely wasted and 155 million are stunted, while 41 million are overweight or obese (WHO, 2018). More than 50% women of marriage age are suffering from anemia. If women are malnourished at the time of pregnancyand delivery, the babybornface theproblems such asphysical retardation,sensitive tocommon infections, reduced cognitive abilities, reducedmental development, etc. As per the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, starting from the date of conceiving a child, the first 1000 days are a critical window from nutrition point ofview.Unfortunately, inseveral regions of developingcountries includingIndia, neither the mother nor the babyis provided with the right quantity and qualityof food during this window period. Therefore, it is important for the policymakers to identifymalnutrition at an earlystage for timelyplanningand implementation of various intervention strategies at the community, village, and district level. NitiAyog, Government of India (GoI) (previously known as Planning Commission), in an effort to eliminate malnutrition,regularlyplans several short and longtermnutritionalprogrammesand policies.In thischapter,we willdiscuss some of these policies launched since independence and their impact in combatingmalnutrition.

Since the wide introduction of organochlorines and other synthetics in early 50’s farmers have heavily relied on the chemical pesticides for pest control. Over emphasis on chemical control has caused serious imbalances in the agro-ecosystem. The enormous quantities of chemicals, poisonous to microbial life, that fall on earth gets mixed up well with soil. Some problems like non-target effects of chemicals as well as latrogenic diseases are being experienced. Coupled with these, the increasing awareness of impeding pollution, health hazards and development of resistance have intensified the search for alternative strategies.

In the present investigation, the attempts have been made to test the stability and pest management efficacy of the plant extracts of some Indian medicinal plants, namely, Datura stramonium, Ricinus communis, Vitex trifolia and Nerium indicum. In the earlier chapters detailed methodologies and the results have been elaborated. This chapter embodes the comprehensive inter- and intra-comparative results and discussion on the basis of selected plants, extraction media, pest species and bioassay followed by conclusions.

The hot sterilized water extracts of R. communis were found to be more stable (i.e. 20 days to start the fermentation). In overall study the plant extracts were stable or viable means active for three to four weeks only. In most cases, the activity of cold and hot water extracts was found to be increasing with fermentation however the decrease in the activity of some extract was also observed.

The highest mean anti-fungal activity was reported for R. communis extracts followed by D. stramonium and N. indicum aqueous extracts, whereas no any anti-fungal potency was reflected by V. trifolia against test fungi species. R. communis and N. indicum extracts, the cold water method extraction showed greater positive effects in terms of mean anti-fungal potency as compared to the hot water extracts. The water extraction of D. stramonium was found to be more effective in anti-fungal activity study.

WATER IS VERY SPECIAL IN BIOLOGY

Most abundant chemical of life

Special properties:

I. WALL COMPONENTS – CHEMISTRY

The main ingredient in cell walls are polysaccharides (or complex carbohydrates or complex sugars) which are built from monosaccharides (or simple sugars). Eleven sugars are common in these polysaccharides including like glucose and galactose. Carbohydrates are good building blocks because they can produce a nearly infinite variety of structures. There are a variety of other components in the wall including protein, and lignin. Let’s look at these wall components in more detail:

A. Cellulose: β1,4-glucan (structure provided in class). Made of as many as 25,000 individual glucose molecules. Every other molecule (called residues) is “upside down”. Cellobiose (glucose-glucose disaccharide) is the basic building block. Cellulose readily forms hydrogen bonds with itself (intra-molecular H-bonds) and with other cellulose chains (inter-molecular H-bonds). A cellulose chain will form hydrogen bonds with about 36 other chains to yield a microfibril. This is somewhat analogous to the formation of a thick rope from thin fibers. Microfibrils are 5-12 nm wide and give the wall strength - they have a tensile strength equivalent to steel. Some regions of the microfibrils are highly crystalline while others are more “amorphous”.

ALL MOLECULES MOVE CONTINUOUSLY BY SIMPLE DIFFUSION

Heat energy causes molecules to move randomly (sometimes called Brownian motion)

If the concentration of molecules is different in 2 regions (this produces a concentration gradient), diffusion will cause molecules to move from a region of high concentration to one of low concentration

The higher the concentration gradient the more rapid the net diffusion

Diffusion evens out the concentrations so they are equal everywhere (maximum entropy)

If 2 different substances have the same concentration gradient, usually one will move faster than the other

Differences in speed between molecules with the same concentration gradient are given in terms of diffusion constants

A substance with a high diffusion constant moves faster than one with a low diffusion constant

In general, large molecules move slower than small molecules

Diffusion across a membrane is called permeability, and membrane diffusion constants are called permeability constants

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a rapid way of amplifying (duplicating) specific DNA sequences

Method was devised by Kary Mullis of Cetus Corporation, Emeryville He recieved a $20,000 bonus and later a Nobel Prize

DNA heated to high temperature is not destroyed; separates into single strands, but reforms helix when cooled

PCR Method:

DNA to be amplified is put into solution containing:

WHAT IS PLANT?

A. Definition - by most definitions, a plant:

is multi-cellular;

is non-motile

has eukaryotic cells

has cell walls comprised of cellulose

is autotrophic; and

exhibits alternation of generations - has a distinctive diploid (sporophyte) and haploid (gametophyte) phase.

Agriculture continues to be the occupation and way of life for more than half of the Indian population even today. Sustainable prosperity of this class-the farmers, the landless agricultural labourers holds the key for improving the overall human resource development scenario in the country. Indian agriculture had been on traditional lines till the first waves of Green Revolution gave a sudden boost to the production and productivity of major cereals in the assured irrigated areas. Quick dissemination of technological information from the agriculture research system to the farmers in the field and reporting of farmers feed back to the research system is one of the critical inputs in transfer of agricultural technology. The information and communication support during last 50 years has mainly been conventional. The extension personnel of the departments of agriculture disseminated the technological message to the farmers through personal approach. This approach has not been able to reach and satisfy majority of the farmers who are spread across the whole country with varied interests. This gap remains a challenge for the Extension System even today.

To reach over 110 million farmers, spread over 500 districts and over 6000 blocks is an uphill task. The diversity of agro-ecological situations adds to this challenge further. The success of Green revolution was mainly achieved due to concerted homogenous extension strategy. Farmer’s needs are much more diversified and the knowledge required to address them is beyond the capacity of the grass root level extension functionaries.

There are basically two aspects of extension: the education function which aims to help farmers gain knowledge, acquire skills and change attitudes for their own benefit; and the communication function which transfers information about suitable technologies to farmers and growers and offers them alternative solutions to improve their situations. The aim is to transform the information into knowledge timely and accurately to create an environment for farmers to use it. IT will be indispensable in transferring information between research and extension organizations.

History

Video conferencing uses telecommunications of audio and video to bring people at different sites together for a meeting. This can be as simple as a conversation between two people in private offices (point-to-point) or involve several sites (multi-point) with more than one person in large rooms at different sites. Besides the audio and visual transmission of people, video conferencing can be used to share documents, computer-displayed information, and whiteboards.

Simple analog videoconferences could be established as early as the invention of the television. Such videoconferencing systems consisted of two closed-circuit television systems connected via cable. During the first manned space flights, NASA used two radiofrequency (UHF or VHF) links, one in each direction. TV channels routinely use this kind of videoconferencing when reporting from distant locations, for instance. Then mobile links to satellites using special trucks became rather common.

This technique was very expensive, though, and could not be used for more mundane applications, such as telemedicine, distance education, business meetings, and so on, particularly in long-distance applications. Attempts at using normal telephony networks to transmit slow-scan video, such as the first systems developed by AT&T, failed mostly due to the poor picture quality and the lack of efficient video compression techniques. The greater 1 MHz bandwidth and 6 Mbit/s bit rate of Picture phone in the 1970s also did not cause the service to prosper

ABSTRACT

An Expert System also called a Knowledge Based System is a computer program designed to simulate the problem-solving behavior of an expert in a narrow domain or discipline. In agriculture, expert systems unite the accumulated expertise of individual disciplines, e.g., plant pathology, entomology, horticulture and agricultural meteorology, into a framework that best addresses the specific, on-site needs of farmers. Expert systems combine the experimental and experiential knowledge with the intuitive reasoning skills of a multitude of specialists to aid farmers in making the best decisions for their crops. The various expert systems were developed since evolution of Artificial Intelligence. This paper compares the availability of various expert systems in agriculture for last 30 years.

Introduction

Agricultural production has evolved into a complex business requiring the accumulation and integration of knowledge and information from many diverse sources. In order to remain competitive, the modern farmer often relies on agricultural specialists and advisors to provide information for decision making. Unfortunately, agricultural specialist assistance is not always available when the farmer needs it. In order to alleviate this problem, expert systems were identified as a powerful tool with extensive potential in agriculture.

Introduction

Precision farming is one of the most scientific and modern approaches to sustainable agriculture that has gained momentum in 21^st century. Consider this situation: ‘A farmer goes to his field with his GPS (Global Positioning System) guided tractor. The GPS senses the exact location of the tractor within the field. It sends the signal to a computer on the tractor, which has a GIS, storing the soil nutrient requirement map in it. The GIS, in consultation with a Decision Support System, decides what is the exact requirement of the fertilizer for that location and then commands a variable rate fertilizer applicator, attached with the tractor, to apply the exact dose at that precise location. And all this is done within a second, before the tractor moves further.’ Sounds like an excerpt from a scientific fiction. But this is what precision farming (PF) means to the large growers of the US or European countries. Hence, the first thing that comes to mind is that, this system is not for developing countries, especially India, where the farmers are poor, farming is mostly subsistent and the land holding size is small. But, this is far from the truth as this approach has a large potential for improving the agricultural production in developing world. This article is an attempt to explain the possibility of adopting PF in India and the role of satellite based remote sensing in facilitating that.

Introduction

Information technology is rapidly changing the use of Geographic Information Systems (GISs) from the classic desktop applications into the business service market. With the ubiquitous computing, the settings change dramatically and the classic GIS market will change drastically in the coming few years.

Till mid 90’s, the architecture of GIS focused on a standalone (static) environment. This architecture has been changed to move GIS applications from workstations into mobile GIS applications.

Mobile map applications is not a conventional GIS modified to operate on mobile devices, but a system build using a fundamentally new paradigm(Maguire,2001).

In this paper, we will discuss the integration of XML (eXtensible Markup Language) and J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) to build a mobile map application running on 2.5G and 3G mobile devices such as Nokia series 60.

PCR Principles and Procedure

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique that allows the generation of large amounts of a single DNA sequence from a mixture of sequences; the fragment generated can be designed to contain specific starting and ending positions based on the needs of the experiment. PCR is used to amplify specific regions of a DNA strand (the DNA target). This can be a single gene, a part of a gene, or a non-coding sequence. Most PCR methods typically amplify DNA fragments of up to 10 kilo base pairs (kb), although some techniques allow for amplification of fragments up to 40 kb in size.

A basic PCR set up requires several components and reagents. These components include:

India is blessed with a coast line of 8118 km with an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 2.02 million square km and a continental shelf of 0.506 million sq. km. The inland water resources includes 191024 km of rivers and canals; 2.05 million ha of reservoirs; 2.254 million ha of ponds and tanks; 1.3 million ha of oxbow lakes and derelict waters; and 1.24 million ha brackish waters. India has an estimated fish production potential of 8.4 million tons, of which the marine sector forms 3.9 million tons and the inland sector 4.5 million tons. As against this, the current fish production is 5.96 million tons i.e., 2.89 million tons from marine sector and 3.07 million tons from inland sector (Vannuccini, 2003). The per capita fish availability in India is 4.7 kg/year (Laurenti, 2002).

1.1 Introduction

Since 1990s optoelectronics and fiber optics technology underwent significant advances due to innovations in the telecommunications, semiconductor and consumer electronics sectors. The developments of compact disk (CD) players, laser printers and the high performance and reliable optical fiber communication are the result of these advances. The optical fiber sensor technology is a direct outgrowth of the revolutions taken place in optoelectronics and fiber optic communication industries. Many of the components associated with these industries are used for optical fiber sensor applications. In the beginning the main hurdle in the development of sensors was the cost of components such as optical sources and detectors. With the time, components prices are falling and the improvements in fiber, laser and photodetector technology have taken place. It is expected that as the time progresses the optical fiber sensors will replace the conventional devices for the measurements of various physical, chemical and biological parameters such as rotation, acceleration, electric and magnetic fields, temperature, pressure, acoustics, vibration, position, strain, humidity, viscosity, pH, glucose, heavy metals, gases, viral infection, pollutants etc.

4.1 Introduction

Apart from an optical source, the optical detector is another important component of the optical fiber sensor. The optical detector converts the optical signal to an electrical one. The signal is then processed either to record or display. There are various kinds of optical detectors but the commonly used in sensors are semiconductor diodes. In some of the cases photomultiplier tube has been used. In this chapter we shall describe the basic principles of optical detectors and their operational characteristics.

INTRODUCTION

Strelitzia is known as Bird of Paradise. The uniquely shaped flower of this exotic tropical resembles a head of bird and due to its brilliant orange and blue colour and unusual form, it resembles not any bird but a bird of paradise. Its another common name, Erane flower is another bow to its exotic avian shape. Fantastically handsome flowers aside, this is also a very attractive foliage plant resembling the related heliconia in vegetative appearance. Due to the brilliant colour and unique appearance of the flower, it is exceptionally popular as a cut flower which appears periodically throughout the year. Therefore, it is cultivated in different countries for cut flower production to supply it in local and export markets. Commercial production of cut bloom is done in California, Hawaii, Israel, France, South Africa and Japan.

Bird of paradise occupies a place of pride in the garden and is an important choice for landscaping. It is grown in backyard and also for mass effect. Plants of strelitzia can be used in the landscape in a low growing ground cover to enhance the beauty of garden. They serve well anchoring island beds when surrounded by lower growing annuals or ground cover. It can also be used in shrub borders and adaptable beauty is perfect for home and commercial interiors.

INTRODUCTION

Gloriosa is commonly known as glory or gloriosa lily. Gloriosa lilies have assumed an important place in flower trade and are widely grown for cut flower and tuber production both in USA and Europe. Gloriosa lily is the national flower emblem of Zambia. Their cut flower stems last well in summer heat and their buds take lon time to open after picking. The bright vibrant and intense, red, gold, lemon and pink flower colours and the lush green leaves of gloriosa lilies bring a sense of the tropics or festivity to room. They combine well with many other flowers from roses to heliconias. Gloriosa blooms make perfect posies for the office desk, bedside cabinets or small tables and shelves. The stiff stems of gloriosa and their ability to hold their form out of water for a longer time make them ideal for out of water floral installation work. They are light climbers and are suitable for training on low walls or trellis. With proper trailing they can also be grown in pots. Its flowers are fascinating and its tubers and seeds have great medicinal value. The tubers are rich in alkaloids. Colchicine has been obtained from various plant parts viz., young leaves, flowers, old leaves, tubers, seeds and stems.

INTRODUCTION

Liatris is a group of versatile and popular wild flowers of North America. It is commonly called as Blazing Star or Gay Feather and can be found growing in dry or damp places, uncultivated fields, thin woods or sunny locations. It is suitable for herbaceous border, wild gardens, cut flower and dry flower. Liatris spp. take up minimal space and are suitable for even very small gardens. Long floral spikes of liatris create a mesmerizing effect when arranged in bouquets as well as when grown in gardens.

One of the reasons for such popularity of liatris as cut flower is its ease of culture, durability, long season of bloom and the most important thing being its unusual mode of blooming. Unlike most other flowers produced in spikes, liatris open from the top to downward, i.e. basipetally. Liatris grow about 60-180 cm in height, stiff, erect and hardy perennials having linear (long and narrow) grass like leaves. The flowers are purple or white, lavender to mauve, composed of multiple florets which are arranged in a wandlike spike covering top one third of the stem. With increasing popularity, their demand as a cut flower crop for both greenhouse and outdoor production has increased. Purple varieties are in greater demand. Liatris spicata, L. aspera and L. pycnostachya are the major commercial species.

INTRODUCTION

In many cultures, fresh cut flowers are deeply symbolic, conveying the message of nature to man. In recent times revolutionary changes have been seen in Indian floriculture sector which is due to the introduction of various annuals from abroad. Snapdragon too is the one of the relatively recent introduction in the field of cut flowers. Now-a-days, snapdragons are usually grown as annuals, though traditionally they are cultivated as perennials. Due to its curious shape of flowers, which resemble a dog, rabbit or dragon, it is popularly called as snapdragon, dog flower, bunny rabbit or bunny mouth. Snapdragons are one of the most popular and widely grown garden annuals. It is ideally suited for beds, pot, edging, window boxes, herbaceous border and rock gardens. Tall cultivars can be used among the shrubs, at the background of the annuals like hollyhock, larkspur, etc. in mixed borders or with herbaceous plants. The intermediate cultivars are very useful for bedding and potting purposes. Both these types are excellent for cut flower production. The dwarf cultivars are good for edging and bordering formal beds. The dwarf hybrids are suitable for covering the patches in rock garden. They are used in floral arrangements and in bouquets too. Their production for cut flower purpose began with the introduction of a winter flowering cultivar Chevoit Maid, followed by several F₁ hybrids with desirable cut flower qualities. The F₁ hybrids are grown all the year round. Flowers have good keeping quality, as they remain fresh for 6-7 days. Snapdragon has also been reported to have medicinal importance. It has diuretic and astringent properties and have been employed for the treatment of scurvy, liver tumor and ulcers.

INTRODUCTION

Stock or Gilly flower is an annual or biennial plant flowering in terminal clusters. It exists as both single and double forms and is valued for fragrant flowers that can be used as fresh or dried cut flower. Stocks are a most valuable race of garden plants for they are easy to grow and can be in bloom during the greater part of the year. They are excellent pot plants for the greenhouse in winter and spring and provide good cut flowers. Flowers are well arranged on a long column and the colours are variable from white to rose, crimson, purple, yellow, mauve, pink, etc. Seeds of stock are aphrodisiac, bitter, diuretic, expectorant, stimulant and are used as tonic. An infusion has been used in the treatment of cancer and when mixed with wine, it has been used as an antidote to poisonous bites. The highly fragrant flowers are used as a garnish, especially with sweet deserts.

Flower growing, once used to be a gardener’s activity has today transformed into an astounding business proportion. Globally, more than 140 countries are involved in cultivation of floriculture crops. The global floriculture trade stands at US $ 60 billion with an annual growth rate of 10-15%. But the picture is not all that rosy. The extensive use of pesticides especially in greenhouse grown crops is threatening workers health and safety, besides disturbing environment and may also affect consumers health.

Gaston Dorren and Niala Maharaj, authors of “The Game of the Rose” noted that floriculture consumes more pesticides than any other agricultural sector. Floral workers suffer the brunt of the trade’s pesticide use. About 60% of Colombian flower workers (the sprayers and handlers) suffer from headaches, nausea, impaired vision, rashes and asthma, reports Pesticide Action Network, North America. A study published by the Netherlands ‘Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment’, reports that Dutch floral workers are exposed to pesticide concentrations of up to 60 times the amount considered safe.

Dr. Marion Moses of the San Francisco-based Pesticide Education Center says that many of the pesticides in use are highly toxic. “One of the chemicals widely used in greenhouses for flowers is temik (aldicarb), and that has caused serious problems”. Methyl bromide, an ozone destroyer and a category I acute toxin, among the most dangerous toxic substances known, is also heavily used in Latin America and the U.S. on flower crops. According to a 1997 EWG (Environmental Working Group) study, California-grown roses have 1000 times the level of cancer causing pesticides as comparable food products. Consumers are buying roses that, toxicity levels suggest, should be handled by workers wearing protective gear. Testing the leaves and petals of roses from California, New Hampshire, Colorado, Canada and Colombia, EWG found two probable human carcinogens, three Category I pesticides (the most hazardous) and three neurotoxins at up to 50 times the amount allowed in food.

Several attempts have been made to detect the biopotentials of microorganisms with reference to their ability to produce various enzymes with a view to use them in industrial processes and bioremediation applications. Enzymes are increasingly used as a new route to synthesize food ingredients such as flavours, emulsifiers, sweeteners, food additives, nutrients. With the advent of genetic engineering, a wide range of enzymes has become available on a large scale and this has increased the scope of enzyme technology.

MICROBIAL ENZYMES: Enzymes are proteinaceous complex organic catalysts of biological origin and vital constituents of cells. Microbes produce a variety of enzymes, intracellular and extracellular enzymes. Most of the microbial enzymes produced for commercial usage are extra cellular enzymes. Extracellular enzymes are secreted outside the cell and hydrolyze polymeric substances. Amylases and proteases are enzymes of economic importance. At present over 60 enzymes are in commercial use, of which three-quarters are hydrolytic enzymes. Commercial production of microbial enzymes utilizes a variety of fungi, yeasts and bacteria. The composition of the medium, genetic stability of the microbial strain and physical and chemical factors of fermentation influence the production of a particular enzyme.

Enzymes catalyze a variety of reactions during processing and preservation of food products and form a large group of processing aids. Food industry utilizes enzymes in the production of bakery items, dairy products, fruits and vegetables juices and products, tenderization of meat, modification of oils and fats, flavour production and preservation of food products. Enzymes have also found use in the manufacture of ingredients like glucose, high fructose syrup, citric acid, colour and flavour constituents.

15.1 CONTAMINATION

Milk is sterile at secretion in the udder, but contaminated by bacteria when it leaves the udder of a healthy cow. Milk is subject to contamination from the animal and adjacent areas. Bacteria found in manure, soil and water may enter milk from these sources. Certain diseases may be transmitted through milk, from a cow. It is essential that cows producing milk should be free from any contagious or infectious disease. Bovine tuberculosis comes from consumption of milk of tuberculous cows. Tuberculosis, brucellosis, mastitis and actinomycosis are the human disease transmitted through milk. The disease producing bacteria may find their way into milk and cause infectious diseases in children and adults.

COMMON BACTERIA IN MILK: The common bacteria found in milk are: Rickettsia, Coxiella burnetii, lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, aerobic rods, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, anaerobic bacteria, Clostridium butyricum .

Sources of Microbial contamination: Milk contains relatively few bacteria when it leaves the udder of a healthy cow. Milk is subject to contamination from the animal udder, skin and adjacent areas barn yard, milk utensils, milkers. Bacteria found in manure, soil and water may enter milk from these sources.

Fungi cause diseases in plants and animals and in such diseases, the fungi actively grow and invade the body of their hosts. There is another means by which fungi can cause harm is growing on stored food material that we consume and produce toxic metabolites referred to as mycotoxins (means fungus poisons). Food is particularly susceptible to fungal infections at almost every stage of storage or production. Mycotoxin is toxic substance produced by a fungus. The term is restricted to toxins produced by fungi growing in human foods or animal feeds. The growth of the fungi in food grains leading to physical spoilage of grains and toxin production is a serious problem in developing countries. Their occurrence in food and feed has both economic and health implications, as the toxic effects in human beings, animals and other living systems were well established. The effects of poisoning by mycotoxin are referred to as mycotoxicoses.

Yeasts

Yeasts are non filamentous, unicellular fungi that are typically spherical or oval. Like molds, yeasts are widely distributed in nature; they are frequently found as a white powdery coating on fruits and leaves.

A five-kingdom classification system fails to classify viruses because they are not considered to be living. They neither reproduce independently nor utilize energy

General properties of virus

Viruses differ fundamentally from other classes of microorganism in that:

1.They are ultramicroscopic disease-producing entities.

2.They are simple in structure, basically composed of nucleic acid wrapped up in a protein coat.

3.The genome nucleic acid is either DNA or RNA , either single stranded or double stranded, but never both

4.Viruses have no metabolic activity of their own and lack enzyme systems and other constituents fundamental for independent growth and multiplication.

5.They do not posses ribosomes, nor transfer RNA and enzymes required for synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins.

6.Viruses are incapable of growth and division.

Despite widespread occurrence and its potency to inflict heavy causalities and damage to economy, generalizations could not be made to define “drought” – leave alone characterization, development of predictive model and common mitigation measures. Regional variation, be it definition or symptoms or causative factors or consequences and mitigation measures is the hallmark of drought. This chapter is an attempt to present a review on characteristics of drought for the benefit of devising mitigation and reclamation measures.

INTRODUCTION

“Drought” denotes the meteorological, agricultural, environmental, climatic, social, economic and political consequences of a gap between the water availability and demands for the needs of domestic, irrigational, industrial, commercial and recreational consumption in an area over extended period of time. As these demands vary from region to region and depend on too many parameters such as quantum of rainfall, geological and soil characteristics, land use, population, economic activity, climatic conditions, population and culture, drought conditions of an area may not have characteristics of some other region.