eBook Chapters

1. INTRODUCTION

Admitably except for water and milk, no other beverage has earned such universal acceptance and esteem throughout the ages as wine. The aesthetic postures of wine can be gauged by the quotations like ‘wine is the most healthful and the most hygienic beverage (Louis Pasteur)’, ‘wine is a chemical symphony (Amerine). Man has been preparing and consuming since time immemorial a large variety of alcoholic beverages, ranging from mild stimulants to highly intoxicants liquors. Amongst the mild stimulants are the wines which have long association with human artistic, cultural and religious activities.

Grapes and wines are of immense importance to us and their sheer magnitude of production and associated investment, employment, enjoyment, tax revenue collected and the economic contribution is a justifiable. These play a major role in economics of major wine producing countries like Italy and France. Wine and brandy refer to the fermented by-products of grapes, member of genus Vitis notably the cultivars of V.vinifera L. as per the European definition. However, here these terms may also refer to the fermented by-products from any fleshy fruit or flower. Compared to the grapes, industry producing wine from other fruits is very small. Do these have any role to play especially in nutrition, health and economy of the horticulturally developed countries or are simply mild intoxicants consumed? Such queries at one or the other time may baffle the thinking of an inquisive reader. An attempt has been made here to discuss briefly the historical aspects, role of wine in the context of nutritive and therapeutic value, present status of Indian Wine Industry, research status and future strategies. Emphasis on its role in developing the horticultural industry would also be laid.

India is a second largest producer of fruits and vegetables after China. These share are 10% and 16% respectively in total world production. Horticulture crops occupy 23.548 million ha and production is estimated around 260.063 million tones. Total area of fruits, vegetable, plantation crops, spices, loose flower and aromatic plant are 7012, 9083, 3606, 3092, 218 and 537 thousand ha, respectively and production are 79400, 156445, 16388, 5786, 1421 and 622 thousand tones, respectively with productivity are11.32, 17.22, 4.54, 1.87, 6.59, 1.19 thousand tones per ha, respectively (2012-2013). The total productions of cut flowers are 74305 Lakh stem (2012-2013). The annual horticulture export volume is 2733145 metric tonnes (2010-2011) with total exported value of Rs 696461 lakh. In terms of volume, fresh fruits & vegetables comprised about 76 % of exported horticulture produce followed by processed fruits & vegetables (23 %) and floriculture & seeds (1%). After that losses found 20-30 % in fruit and 30-40 % in vegetable while harvesting to consumption in India. It’s due to the perishable nature of horticulture commodity, non availability of appropriate post harvest infrastructure transportation, inadequacy of the market or lack of processing.

India is a major horticulture producer, even though processing is less than 2 %. This is very low as compare to 80 % of Malaysia, 78 % of Philippine, 70 % of Brazil and 30 % of Thailand. The most of developed country 40-60 % fruits and vegetables utilize in processing.

Proper handling, packaging, transportation and storage reduce the post harvest losses of fruits and vegetables. For every one percent reduction in loss will save 5 million tons of fruit and vegetable per year. Processing and preservation technology helps to save excess fruit and vegetable during the glut season. The technology has become a necessity to improve the food safety and strengthen nations food security. The technology helps to boost export of agricultural commodities in the form of preserved and value added products.

Human beings came into existence 1 million years ago. Insects which constitute 70-90% of all animals present in this world came into existence 250- 500 million years ago.Insects are highly specialized group of invertebrates belonging to phyla arthropoda characterized by having a bilateral symmetrical body covered by Exoskeleton chitin; with jointed appendages provided with independently movable muscle and inserted in to special pockets of exoskeleton; with a haemocoelic body cavity containing the circulating blood in which are bathed the internal organs; with a dorsal heart and decentralized ventral nerve cord; and with tracheal system for respiration; metamorphosis direct or indirect.

The insects are bilaterally symmetrical tracheate Arthopods is which the body is divided into head, thorax and abdomen. A single pair of antennae is present and head also bears a pair of mandibles, a pair of maxillae,. The thorax possess three pairs of legs and usually two pairs of wings. The abdomen is devoid of any ambulatory appendages and the genital opening is situated near the posterior end of the body. Post embryonic development is rarely direct and metamorphosis usually occurs.

Insect definition

Insects (from Latin insectum, a calque of Greek ?ντομον [éntomon], “cut into sections”) are a class of invertebrates within the arthropod phylum that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae.

Introduction

Agroforestry denotes a sustainable land and crop management system that strives to increase yields on a continuing basis, by combining the production of woody forestry crops (including fruit and other tree crops) with arable or field crops and/or animals, simultaneously or sequentially, on the same unit of land and applying management practices that are compatible with the cultural practices of the local population. In Jammu and Kashmir, agroforestry systems have been practiced since centuries and passed from generation to generation. These systems were built on the foundation of protecting and planting trees. These systems in the past have made the hill people self- sufficient and well- nourished.

Class- Arachnida
 •Class Arachnida includes scorpions, spiders, ticks and mites.
 •Antennae, wings and compound eyes are absent.
 •Body divided into head, thorax and abdomen.
 •Mouth is small and adapted for suck blood or tissue fluids of host.
 •Most of the members have poison glands or claws for paralyzing the host before sucking.
 •The first and second pair of appendages is known as chelicerae and pedipalps, respectively.
 •The first six segments of body are termed as prosoma and rest segments as opisthosoma.

Introduction

India has a coastline of 8,118 km, with an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 2.02 million sq km and a continental shelf area of 3,72,424 km², spread across 9 maritime States and seven Union Territories, including the islands of Andaman and Nicobar, and Lakshadweep. India represents 2.5 percent of the world’s landmass and supports a population of over one billion people. India is also one of 17 mega-biodiverse countries in the world, with 7.8% of the recorded species of the world, including 45,500 recorded species of plants and 91,000 recorded species of animals. The marine ecosystem is extremely diverse, attributed to the geomorphologic and climatic variations along the coast. The coastal and marine habitat includes near shore, gulf waters, creeks, tidal flats, mud flats, coastal dunes, mangroves, marshes, wetlands, seaweed and sea grass beds, deltaic plains, estuaries, lagoons and coral reefs.

Importance of Study

The detailed studies on the coastal and marine biodiversity of the Indian mainland are lacking, and so these habitats and the biodiversity are represented poorly. It is obvious that the biodiversity is distributed widely among different associated habitats and conserving a single area would never support all the important species and ecological processes worth protecting. Furthermore, biodiversity can only be conserved by preventing habitat loss and by restoration. The importance of any single species in the functioning of an ecosystem may not be high, but protection of a mosaic of habitats will certainly preserve diversity among the species of conservation importance. Also, to achieve the Biodiversity Aichi Targets with reference to the marine environment are to preserve ecologically sensitive areas and maintain the health of the marine environment by protection, sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources.

Plant name         Cultivars

Amaranthus        NBRI, Lucknow: Amar Kiran, Amar Mosaic, Amar Parvarti, Amar

Tricolor                Prithu, Amar Raktabhy, Amar Suikiran, Amar Summer King, Amar

                            Summer Queen, Amar Tarang

1. Father of agronomy is -Peter Decresenzi.
2. Dr. Biwant Rajis the founder of Relay cropping.
3. The Indian Institute of Farming System Research is located at - Modipuram, Meerut, U.P.
4. Scientific study of mixed cropping was firstly done by -La-Flitze (1928).
5. Relay cropping concept was derived from -Relay race.
6. Natural Resource Management is an example of Sustainable Agriculture.
7. Cropping System is a component of -Farming System.

The 73rd and the 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, 1992 enjoin upon the states to establish a three-tier system of Panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels and Municipalities in the urban areas respectively. States are expected to devolve adequate powers, responsibilities and finances upon these bodies so as to enable them to prepare plans and implement schemes for economic development and social justice.

These Acts provide a basic framework of decentralisation of powers and authorities to the Panchayati Raj/Municipal bodies at different levels.

The 73^rd and the 74^th Amendments to the Constitution of India are the new chapters in the democratic decentralization process in India.

The arid zone eco-system of Rajasthan is very fragile and is prone to serious imbalance even with the slightest disturbance due to mismanagement of resources. Among the eastern margin of the mean annual rainfall is 500 mm, while in the western most part it is 100 mm. The rainfall is monsoon driven. It comes between June and September (in 9-21 short spells). Large coefficient of variation (40-60%) and erratic distribution during the monsoon are characteristics features of the rainfall, leading often to prolong drought and failure of rainfed crops (More and Samadia, 2007). Temperature as low as 4.4° C, and as high as 50° C has been recorded in Western Rajasthan. Farming system and cropping system approach for sustainable use of farm resources and reduced risks have been successfully demonstrated in perennial horticulture. There is great pressure of livestock on available feed and fodder, as land available for fodder production has been decreasing. The requirement of dry and green fodder by 2025 would be 1170 mt and 650 mt while supply is expected around 411.3 mt and 488 mt deficit will be 64.87 % green fodder and 24.92 % dry fodder (Table 1).

Multiple cropping includes both inter and sequential cropping systems and here the main objective is to utilize the available resources effectively in a given environment. Number of indices are available for assessing land use and the yield advantage of crop mixtures compared to pure stands. These indices not only reflect the difference in criteria used to appraise advantages often encompassing aspects of quality or values as well as yield, but also reflects the different reasons for which an assessment is made.

1. Rotational intensity (RI): Crops are grown in a recurring sequence on the same piece of land with sufficient diversity and intensity. Crop rotations to control erosion/ to improve or maintain soil fertility and to manage weeds, insects and disease. Lower values of rotational intensity indicate mono cropping and higher values of rotational intensity indicates more rotation.

The original divisions of the class insecta are a matter of dispute and it is not easy to decide which division to use many, different original order and groups are recognised by different experts and which one is best will no doubt remain problem. The words taxonomy, systematics and classification have been used alternatively for the same subject by various scientists. However Simpson 1964 has attempted to segregate these. According to him classification is the order of animals into groups on the basis of their relationship that is association of contiguity similarity or both. Systematic is the scientific study of the kinds and diversity of organism and of any and all relationships among them, while taxonomy is the theoretical study of classification including its bases, principal procedures and rule. All animal species are segregated into small and large groups on the basis of their comparative similarities and dissimilarities. The largest group is called phyllum as followed by class, order, family, genus-species and sub-species respectively. The Phylum, class, order, genus, species etc. The division of class insecta into primitive wingless insects, the apterygota and the secondary winged-insects the pterygota and included some orders. The class insecta may be divided into two subclasses.

    1.    Control points are the points in the food processing chain where it is possible to control or remove hazards.

    2.    Critical control points are the control points in the processing chain where it is essential to a hazard, usually because there is no later step at which to establish control.

    3.    Preventative measures are the actions and activities needed to remove hazards or control them by reducing them to acceptable levels.

    4.    Critical limits for critical control points are measurements such as temperature and time, that must be met, or characteristics such as appearance and texture. Critical limits need to be validated.

    5.    Monitoring is the regular measurement or observation of a critical control point to ensure it is not beyond its critical limits.

    6.    Take corrective action to bring the process back under control before the problem (‘deviation’) leads to a safety hazard. Consider proper management (disposition) of any adversely affected product.

    7.    Verification procedures are tests and programmes that make sure the HACCP system working properly

    8.    Record keeping and documentation systems must meet the needs of the business and be adequate to show that the food safety programme is working.

In this chapter we will cover all the basics libraries and some frameworks of machine learning, deep learning and computer vision. We will discuss all about their use with an example and instruction which will states the commands to install to those libraries for building any project in our system. So let’s begin

What is a Library?

Library is an aggregate of features and methods that allow you to take many actions without getting your own code written.

For instance, the libraries that you have to know are if you work with data, numpy, scipy, pandas, etc. They have very simple data processing functions that save you time for small tricks.

Pineapple i.e. Ananas comosus (L.) Mer. belongs to the Bromeliaceae family, which has around 46 genera and 1700 species, mainly cultivated in the tropical and sub- tropical regions. It is ranked third in production of tropical fruit after banana and citrus. The pineapple market has been growing extensively due to the attractive aroma compounds and nutritional values as well as huge demand and competitive retail prices (Ali et al., 2020). But, several sanitary problems have been reported in pineapple and they are considered as the main constraints for low yield of that crop in several producing areas. Significant yield losses have been caused by infestation of different pests like mealy bug, fruit borer, mites, scale insects, as well as with different nematode species (Pires de Matos, 2017). The crop lifecycle phases, soil, climatic variables and crop management practices influence the pest infestation intensity. In order to prevent severe crop losses, an integrated approach comprising prophylactic, biological, cultural, mechanical and need-based chemical steps is most appropriate for controlling pineapple pests and maintaining their population below the threshold level. This chapter deals with globally important pests of pineapple with their nature of damages and effective control measures in depth.

Plant diseases are classified on the basis of type of pathogenic or non- pathogenic causes of the disease. The classification is based on the plant pathogenic organisms as follows.

PARASITES

They include both biotic and mesobiotic agents. The diseases are incited by parasites under a set of suitable environment. Association of definite pathogen is essential with each disease.

i. Biotic agents: They are also called as animate causes. They are living organisms. Biotic agents include:

Plant diseases are classified on the basis of type of pathogenic or non-pathogenic causes of the disease. The classification is based on the plant pathogenic organisms as follows.

A. Parasites

The diseases are incited by parasites under a set of suitable environment. Association of definite pathogen is essential with each disease. They include both biotic and mesobiotic agents.

Biotic agents: They are also called as animate causes. They are living organisms.

INTRODUCTION

Insect pests cause variable and complex problems for potato farmers. Insect pests account for 16% of the crop losses of potato worldwide, and reductions in tuber yield and quality can be between 30% and 70% for various insect pests. India has a greatdiversity of insect pests that attack potato. Thesepests can damage potato plants by feeding on leaves, reducing the photosynthetic area and efficiencybyattacking stems, weakeningplants and inhibitingnutrient transport, and by attacking the potato tubers destined for consumption orfor use as seed. In India, approximately 60 billion rupees (US$1.2 billion)worth of potato tubersare lost annually due to pest damage, which accountsfor 10–20% of total production (Chandel et al., 2013). The potato pests are grouped into soil pests, foliage feeders, sap feeders, and storage pests. Inseed production, aphids and whiteflies are of greatest concern. In ware production, the key pests may be insects which attack tubers, such as tubermoth, whitegrubs, and cutworms. In some situations, foliage feeders suchas noctuid moths and coccinellidbeetles are also important.The Potato cyst nematode (PCN) (Globodera spp.) and root knot nematodes (RKN) (Meloidogyne spp.) are amongst the most economicallyimportant nematode pests of potato. Cyst nematodeshave amazing adaptation for long term survival in the soil, even in the absence of a suitable host whichmakesthemchallenging to the farmers, scientists and policy makers. They are subjected to stringent quarantine and/or regulatory procedures, wherever they occur and presents a serious threat to domestic and international commerce in potatoes. RKNs are prevalent all over the world and can cause significantcrop loss in both warmand cool climatic conditions, depending on their species. In this chapter, the current information on biology, ecology and management of the major potato pests is discussed in the Indiancontext.

The immediate objective of the programme was to achieve rapid increase in food grain production to meet the food grain requirement of the country. The programme was implemented in the district having potential irrigation facilities with less prone to natural hazards. Integrated and intensive approaches were adopted to solve the problems of agriculture production in the areas which were more responsive to such production effort. The programme sought to achieve rapid increase in the level of agricultural production through a concentration of financial technical, extension and administrative resources. In the long run it aimed at a self - generating break through in productivity and raising the production potential by stimulating the human and physical process of change.

IADP was a demonstrational programme which showed how to increase production more rapidly on one hand and a path finding experimental programme which facilitated the development of new innovations, new ideas and procedures for wider adoption in agriculture development.

One of the major drawbacks of IADP was its neglect of the equity aspect of the development. Even though this drawback, the spectacular results in improved production yield obtained in IADP, prompted Government to extending the benefit of the programme to other districts of the country with less cost and reduced staff strength. This resulted in launching of the Intensive Agriculture Area Programme (IAAP) in 1964.

Mole

A mole is defined as the amount of chemical substance containing exactly 6.022 140 76 × 10₂₃ numbers of constitutive particles such as atoms, ions and molecules. This number is a fundamental constant named Avogadro’s number in honor of Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro. This constant is properly reported with an explicit unit of “per mole,” and rounded version being 6.022 × 10₂₃/mol.

This definition has been adopted since November, 2018 revising the old definition based on the number of atoms in a sample of pure ₁₂C weighing exactly 12 g. Thus, as per the definition, 1 mole of any element contains the same number of atoms as 1 mole of any other element. However, the mass of 1 mole of a particular element is different from that of another element.

Molar mass

Molar mass of an element (or compound) is the mass in grams of 1 mole of that substance, a property expressed in units of grams per mole (g/mol).

Abscission: The shedding of leaves, flowers or fruits as a result of formation of layer of loosely adhering cells at base that breaks apart readily.

Accent: It is created in the garden to avoid the monotonous view. Mostly unusual object like tall fountain, tree, statue etc are used to create the effect

Acre: A unit of measurement of land area equivalent to 4840 square yards or 0.4047 hactare.

Acropetal: Developing sequentially from basal to the apical position.

Acrylic: It is a glassy thermoplastic that is incorporated in rigid plastic to enhance wither ability.

Aestivation: The use of high temperature to promote flowering.

After-ripening: Physiological changes that take place within a dormant seed or bud during dormancy or It is a type of embryo maturation which enables germination of seeds.

There is no plant in this world which is uneconomical/not useful. Medicinal plants have been considered as important therapeutic aid for alleviating aliments of human kind. The WHO estimates that 80% of people living in developing countries rely almost exclusively on traditional medicines for their primary health care needs. Aromatic plants are used for essential oils - volatile material extracted from plants or plant parts usually by stream distillation and used in flavours and fragrances for food, soap, detergents, perfumes, lotions etc. Spices are the dry part of a plant such as roots, leaves and seeds which impart to food a certain flavour and pungent stimuli. Spices contain variable amount of fat, protein, carbohydrates, fibres, minerals and vitamins.

The primitive people were living as part of the environment along with other f lora and fauna in a perfect synchrony. Prior to industrialisation the people were living in an environment friendly manner without causing much damage to natural resources. During the time they were making good progress and were building huge structures which are of technical excellence even today. Post industrialisation the whole scenario changed very fast. The population increased many fold, people started making more goods than required to have a market hold to earn more – the human greed increased beyond limit.

14.1 Introduction

Indoor air pollution causes significant health problems for the two billion people worldwide who rely on biomass fuels for their cooking and heating needs. Over the last 30 years awareness of the environmental and social costs of using traditional fuels and stoves has grown. At the same time, studies of the problem have resulted in proven strategies to reduce both fuel use and harmful emissions. Unfortunately, the local stoves currently available do not always represent the best designs that modern engineering can offer. Although open fires are often used wastefully, carefully operated open fires can be fuel efficient and clean burning when tested in the lab. In many situations, cooks are not overly concerned with fuel use, and studies have shown that when fuel is plentiful three-stone fires can use an excessive amount of wood to cook a small amount of food. But in other places where fuel is scarce, open fires can be carefully controlled so that fuel efficiency rivals many first generation improved cook stoves.

Modern cook stoves are designed to clean up combustion first. Then the hot gases can be forced to contact the pot and increasing efficiency without increasing harmful emissions. Fires can be clean burning when expert cooks push the sticks of wood into the fire as they burn, metering the fuel. The open fire can be a hot fire useful when food or drink needs to be prepared quickly. The energy goes into the pot, not into the cold body of a stove. The open fire can burn wood without making a lot of smoke; hot fires burn smoke as it is released from the wood (Fig.14.1). Unfortunately however, many fires used for cooking are built emphasizing simplicity of use and are wasteful and polluting. Modern stoves score higher when tested than even the most carefully operated fire in the laboratory.

Fruit production is gaining momentum in the country. With the production about 90.18 million tonnes of fruits from 6.30 million ha in 2015-16, India is the second largest producer of the fruits in the world after China. During the past three decades, international trade in fruits has seen a rapid expansion.The newer markets are now opening for Indian produce e.g. Japan and USA have opened the route for Indian mangoes. At domestic level, the increase in demand of fruits for consumption both in fresh and the processed form has been evident. The income and livelihood security from this sector are increasing. The government has also supported the horticulture sector particularly area expansion and productivity enhancement of fruits through technological interventions like drip irrigation, fertigation, emphasis on integrated nutrient management, production of high quality planting material etc. Selection of an ideal variety and availability of plant material from a reliable source is the basis for achieving high yield and quality uniform produce. Lack of clonal uniformity not only leads to the problems in crop management but also the differences in maturity may cause delay in commercial picking. A number of improved fruit crops’ varieties have been developed during past few years, which ranged from the high yielding to stress resistant to high quality produce. In fruits and plantation crops more than 150 high yielding varieties suitable for various purposes have been developed. A list of some popular cultivars and new cultivars in major fruit crops has been given here (Table 1).

Introduction

Three hundred million poor people in Asia depend on livestock for their livelihoods and there are opportunities for improvement in livestock related livelihoods due to the rapid and dynamic changes that the livestock sector in Asia is undergoing (Njuki et al. 2010). Piggery farming has been recognized as one of the profitable venture among the rural masses. This venture has proved to be one of the most important livelihood option. Generally the pigs are reared for pork, considering the increasing trend of pork consumers in India; Piggery farming will certainly take a industrial form of livelihood in India in future. There are more than 12.8 million pigs in our country, out of which approximately 14.5% are graded and of exotic variety. There are 120 pig breeding farms in the country whereas pigs of exotic breeds are maintained. China ranks first in the world in pig rearing where number is around 300 million or 1/3 of the world pig population.Pig production is basically an enterprise which is able to convert inedible or inferior quality food into the food rich in animal protein. Pig is considered a machine because they convert grain, pasture and other low quality feed into Pork which is used as human food (Rahman, 2008) . Despite the fact that pig rearing is a profitable enterprise most of the progressive farmers even today hesitate to adopt it due to prejudice sentiments in our society against pig farming. For many others there is religious taboo against pig. A majority of meat eaters also and cheap source of protein. Pork as a source of animal protein is gaining popularity in India and pork products will be in greater demands in years to come. The high carcass yield attracts the farmers because of the better returns within the shortest possible time. High fertility in pigs assumes income to the rearer round the year. To bring about improvement in the productivity of pork and other piggery products extensive crossbreeding programme has been taken up to develop animals of large size, better feed conversion efficiency, high dressing percentage and better quality pork. Pig keeping also contributes to socio-cultural obligations and risk diversification and converts existing resources and low value waste products into high-value animal source food for home consumption and/or sale (NEPED, 2008).

Abstract

Vegetable crops are inherently rich sources of various health-promoting nutrients and thus they play an important role in balancing our daily diet. Being excellent source of vitamins and minerals, vegetables have a relatively variable nutrient content per unit of energy. These nutrients can be increased by proper selection of vegetables in our diet. Whereas their intrinsic quality maintains human health, the extrinsic quality has significance in determining acceptability by the consumer. Vegetables also have medicinal properties. These diversified and highly nutritive crops are of great importance in alleviating hunger and malnutrition. The present production of vegetable crops is, however, not enough to meet per capita daily dietary requirement as per dietitians’ recommendations. The vegetable production, therefore, need to be almost doubled by 2025 to meet requirement of ever increasing population from diminishing land, water and other natural resources. Although, there has been a trend of increase in production and productivity of vegetable crops since liberalization of seed trade in 1988 by Government of India, yet it has not been commensurate with the requirements. Compared globally, we are far behind in productivity of vegetable crops in spite of being second largest producer after China.

Introduction

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) is the most widely grown type of millet and it is an important staple food grain crop for millions of people in arid and semi arid regions of the world. Pearl millet is very well adapted crop to growing areas characterized by drought, low soil fertility, and high temperature. It is also performs well in soils with high salinity or low pH. Because of its tolerance to difficult growing conditions, it can be grown in areas where other cereal crops, such as wheat or maize, would not survive. Physiologically, it is a C₄ plant which imparts it potential to grow under hot and dry climatic conditions. Among cereals, it is highly responsive to fertilizers and has highest water use efficiency. Pearl millet is being grown as dual purpose crop for both grain and fodder in dry areas like Rajasthan where animal production is complimentary with crop production. Pearl millet is also a good source of important essential minerals for human health like Fe and Zn hence it is useful to alleviating malnutrition.

In enhancing  the food production there appears to be two solutions, viz., horizontal or vertical increase in production.  In the vertical expansion of production varieties are important. High yielding, high starch and value added varieties suitable to each region/ cropping system play vital role in enhancing vertical production.  Therefore varieties especially value added consumer preferred ecologically adaptable ones hold the key and is very much true in tuber and root crops which have a significant role in supplementing the food and nutritional requirement in rural and semi urban population of India.

India ranks third after China and Canada in the world in production of edible oilseed crops. Average yield of rapeseed-mustard in the world is 2043 kg/ha. Average yield of European Union, Canada and China is higher than India. Higher yield in these countries is due to cultivation of long duration varieties suitable for their local climatic conditions. Duration of favorable climatic condition to grow rapeseed-mustard is shorter in India as compared to EU, Canada and China, which enforces cultivation of short duration varieties (130-145days). Rapeseed-mustard contribute one third in the production of edible oils in India. These crops ranks second in area and production after soybean. Total area and production under these crops is 5.80mh and 6.28mt respectively. It is necessary to mention that total water requirement of these crop is 80-240mm, which is very low as compared to other crops. These crops pay higher return by utilizing low inputs, thus, are highly remunerative for the farmers.

Rapeseed-mustard group of crops are mainly cultivated in irrigated areas where at least one irrigation facility is available and only 24.0% of area is under rain-fed situation. Five states of India namely, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal contribute 82.00% and 85.67% in total area and production, respectively, under these crops. In Madhya Pradesh 53.2% of total area is irrigated with average yield of 1006 kg/ha, however, 76.6% of total area of country is irrigated even then average yield is only 1083 kg/ha. The lower average seed yield can be attributed to (i) cultivation of very short duration and low yielding B. rapa genotypes in Eastern and North-Eastern states; (ii) susceptibility of varieties to different pests; and (iii) high temperature stress at seedling and reproductive stage. Out of total area under these crops, Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) is grown over more than 80% area. Cultivation of Indian mustard has also been taken up in non-traditional areas of southern states of India viz., Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh, recently. This has become possible due to its higher average yield, tolerance against different biotic and abiotic stresses, availability of varieties with 100-152 days maturity, and non-shattering behaviour.

Protected cultivation was introduced in India during 1985 but its progress is slow during the last 25 years due to lack of suitable varieties and hybrids for protected cultivation. Presently, area under polyhouse in India is 2000 ha, therefore, knowledge of polyhouse vegetable production technology of tomato and cucumber with intervention of drip irrigation and fertigation along with suitable varieties will be quite effective for enhancing their productivity. Therefore, it is imperative to develop hybrid seed and production of suitable varieties/hybrids at affordable prices to small and marginal farmers to achieve the targeted production potential of vegetable crops. Keeping in view some genotypes were isolated and pure line and hybrid breeding programme were adopted for improvement of these genotypes. After three years of multilocational testing at tarai, midhills and higher hills under polyhouse condition, four genotypes were identified and released. They are: Pant Parthenocarpic Cucumber 2 (1,755 q/ha) and Pant Parthenocarpic Cucumber 3 (1,605 q/ha) of cucumber and Pant Polyhouse Hybrid Tomato 1 (1,616 q/ha) with average fruit weight of 130-140 g and Pant Polyhouse Tomato 2 (1,291 q/ha) of tomato with single fruit weight 100-105 g. These genotypes were released by Uttarakhand State Variety Release Committee during May 2011 for commercial cultivation.

Introduction

Plants are responsive to the applied Non-scheduled caste, which constitute most of the vital macromolecules and metabolites related to its vegetative and reproductive cycle. The applied fertilizer N enhances crop productivity per unit area, as agricultural soil deficient in N worldwide. The fertilizer application is thus considered essential to meet the requirement of the burgeoning population, particularly in the developing countries (Abrol et al., 1999; Chanda and Sati, 2005). The farmers practicize heavy dressing of N-fertilizers in crop fields for high productivity, which has resulted into world including Indian sub-continent and China have resulted into the excessive use of N-fertilizers intending to maximize crop yield. Decrease in the organic fertilizer input and depletion of micronutrients in intensive cultivation zones have caused a decline or stagnation in the crop productivity, which  has been attempted with a further loading of soluble chemical fertilizers (Maleshwar, 2003; Kumar and Yadav, 2003; Anonymous, 2004; Chanda and Sati, 2005; Abdin et al., 2006).

Abstract

Sunflower seeds of variety PSFH- 67 were obtained from the PAU seed farm. These seeds were cleaned with commonly used seed processing equipment. Samples were divided into 2 parts. One part was kept as such for taking the observations of feed (control) and the remaining part was passed through specific gravity separator for its refinement. The various fractions obtained were recovery (heavier, healthy seeds), middlings (intermediate, under size) and rejections (lightweight seeds, wevil eaten, foreign matter). The respective percentages of each fraction were computed. These graded fractions as well as the feed were packed in 2-kg cloth bags and stored under ambient conditions. Different quality parameters viz. moisture content, physical purity, percent germination, thousand grain weight and vigour index were recorded at 30 days interval from Jan, 2010 to Apr. 2010. The physical purity, moisture content, thousand grain weight, percent germination, root length, shoot length and vigour index were found to be higher in recovery and minimum for rejections while moisture content was highest for rejection compared to all other fractions. The physical purity remained more or less constant throughout the period of storage. The thousand-grain weight showed a rapid decrease during first month thereafter it remained constant. There was continuous decrease in percent germination with the period of storage irrespective of the treatment.

India is emerging as a major stakeholder in the global horticulture scenario accounting for 10.00 % of the world production of fruits. This has been made possible due to concerted efforts of scientists and progressive farming community. In recent years, there is considerable awareness about the nutritional security and food safety. Underutilized fruit trees not only provide nutrition and income security to the people but can also ameliorate the harsh environment of the semi-arid and arid region. Jamun has been named as diabetes fighter for its hypoglycemic (lowering blood sugar) properties.The minor fruits like bael, karonda, khirni, mahua, tamarind, mulberry, pilu, chironji, phalsa and wood apple have tremendous scope for their proper utilization. These fruits are nutritionally rich in bioactive compounds and some of these are of great medicinal value, processing quality and other uses. They have a growing demand in local as well as export market and for processing besides diversification in agriculture in the wake of global changes in weather conditions.

ABSTRACT

Commercially valuable plants are one of the main sources of economy. Growth, development and yield of these plants are severely affected by various environmental factors, which depend on dynamic fluctuations in different parameters. To counteract these responses, plants try to adapt evolutionarily but one form of adaptation is never going to suffice the simultaneous attack of multiple stresses. Crossing and plant breeding approaches came to practice, which is quite beneficial but requires lot of screening and is manpower consuming. In recent era new approaches have been developed combining recombinant DNA technology with tissue culture techniques to obtain improved varieties with specific desired traits. This method had an edge over other technologies but it still carries lot of complications. It is evident that genes do not act alone but act cooperatively and remain in continuous influence of other factors. So to target a particular gene for improved variety development requires a lot of detailed micro-details. In this communication, an attempt have been made to discuss mainly how transcription factors (TFs) have been targeted for this purpose. TFs in many occasions act as master regulators or central players of a particular pathway. This is attained by their ability to interact with multiple cis-elements present in the promoters of downstream stress or metabolism responsive genes. This behavior sometime leads to occurrence of some unwanted traits, which should be kept in mind to develop transgenics. Here, we focused mainly on important TF families such as ERF, WRKY, NAC and bHLH. We have been an attempt to analyzed how these TFs influence growth, yield and stress response of commercially valuable plants such as rice, wheat, tomato and cotton. This section will help to understand the genetic manipulation of plants can be targeted for improved variety development.

Abstract

Study was undertaken to investigate the toxicity of heavy metals on the structure and function of ectomycorrhizal fungi and their ability to colonize the pine seedlings. Ectomycorrhizal fungi were isolated, cultured and multiplied on MMN medium. Six heavy metals (Cd, Ni, Zn, Pb, Cu and Al) were selected and different concentrations viz; 0 ppm (control), 10 ppm, 50 ppm, 100 ppm, 200 ppm and 500 ppm were used for treating the seedlings. The study was continued for one year. Different growth parameters were measured. Factors such as soil moisture, pH and soil organic carbon on ectomycorrhizal colonization were also analyzed. The mycorrhizal colonization was more in those seedlings having lower concentration of heavy metal treatment. Statistical data analysis has shown that the heavy metals had negative correlation with mycorrhizal colonization. High concentration of metals were toxic to external mycelium, which ultimately resulted in reduction of ectomycorrhizal development. The accumulation of metals in the fungal mycelium and protecting root against metal toxicity was an important factor.

Maize is a miracle crop and is popularly known as “Queen of Cereals” due to its very high yield potential. It’s a leading crop worldwide in terms of area, production and productivity and is suitable to diverse agro-climates. Its extent of adaptability is unmatched by any other crop. Due to this adaptability to diverse climates, maize had been grown by many generations in different parts of the world. Earlier, the primary utilisation of maize was focused towards human consumption and even today it is a staple food of many underprivileged societies especially in African countries and certain tribal pockets in India. It is playing an important role as a cheap source of carbohydrate in daily meals due to high productivity and wider adaptability. With the passage of time the productivity increased due to conscious selection towards high yield by farmers and researchers. This enhanced production and productivity opened new doors of utilisation of this wonderful crop. Maize found its place as a feed crop for economically important anima ls like chicken and swine. This shift towards feed industry got encouragement by change in the food habits of people. Looking at the recent consumption pattern of maize as a food crop displays declining trend. As per a NSSO survey (2014) maize consumption in rural areas in India has seen a decline of around 35% from 3.7 kg/year in 2004-05 to 2.4 kg per year in 2009-10, and further declined to 1.56 kg during the year 2011-12. Continued efforts towards yield enhancement and decline in human consumption made its way to utilise surplus maize in economically viable industrial products. Maize is a crop where every part of its plant can be utilised to produce food and non-food products. Oil, starch, glucose, dextrose and sorbitol are few important products produced by processing of maize grains. Apart from these, maize has been very widely used for production of ethanol which is used as a fuel in many developed countries. Direct utilisation of maize grains in poultry and other feed industries is on the rise with increasing demand of such foods. Maize oil is of high quality and is being widely used in developed countries. Maize is a major source of industrial starch which finds its way to diverse utilization such as food and beverage, pharmaceutical, textile, paper and other industries. Processing of maize is done by two ways- Dry Milling and Wet Milling. Wet milling produces starch, gluten and husk and Dry Milling produces corn meal, germ, grits and animal feed. Apart from these processed products, maize is also being developed to be utilised as a biopharmaceutical crop. Maize crop is being bioengineered to extract products of therapeutic and medicinal importance. Such a diverse utilisation of maize has generated a necessity to improve morpho-physiological traits which are important with respect to its industrial utilisation. In the present chapter, we will discuss various aspects of maize improvement for industrially important traits which will include oil, starch, methionine, biofuel and biopharmaceuticals.

Introduction

The semiarid and arid ecosystem is not only neglected in India but also the whole world in respect of socio-economic and scientific development. Middlefon and Thomas, 1997) reported the arid and semi arid covers 47% of land surface of the plant and home town to 1/3 of human population. Conventional plant breeding so far only increased the yield of crops grown under arid tropics at about half the rate achieved for crops grown in temperate regions (Turner, 2004, b). The major crop of other ecosystem are considered as under exploited crop of arid ecosystem. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), is one such crop, which was domesticated in ancient Peru, has become the most popular and widely consumed vegetable in the world today, for its rich flavor and high nutritional value (Vitamins A and C)

Mostly goats are reared in extensive small holder systems in developing countries. Goat breeding programmes in these environments have been limited, amongst other factors, by the non availability of pedigree and performance records for traits of economic importance. Cross-breeding and selection play an important role in increasing production in the goats.The development of breeding strategy for the improvement of goats should be based on genetic parameter estimates of economically important traits. Biological, cultural, statistical, socio-economical and management aspects should also be an important component of the selection process.

Goats were domesticated for the triple purpose of milk, meat and hair. Although the development of milk and hair producing animals did not go together, the development of meat and hair together worked very well and there are several breeds like Angora which in addition to providing fiber, are excellent meat animals too. The development of meat breeds was favored by natural selection. The characters which aided to this aspect were high fertility rates and the relatively more active life which goats were forced to lead in order to get enough of nutrition in poor agricultural lands, deserts etc. where these animals were domesticated. These animals were exposed to the vagaries of the environment resulting in decline in production traits such as milk, meat etc. But meat production was not. Most of the breeds of Asia and Africa are thus predominant meat breeds which have been improved little by conscious effort of breeders. Some of them still have slow growth rate and feed conversion efficiency. The preference for goat meat had eroded the dairy potential of Indian goats, as the fastest growing males are slaughtered for meat purposes and only poor animals are retained for breeding purposes. Careful selection and utilisation of breeding males can alleviate this problem to a large measure and animals for both milk and meat production can be developed.There are several goat breeds that have good potential for meat production. Generally, there have been limited planned selection and breeding programs carried out by animal scientists to improve rate of growth and carcass composition of goats. As a result, many goat breeds deposit less intramuscular and subcutaneous fat. In the past, domesticated meat animals were selected for heavier mature weight and greater rate of gain. Selection for such parameters usually resulted in undesirable characteristics because some of the animals had not only gained weight faster and were heavier at maturity, but also had more subcutaneous and intramascular fat. Since consumers currently prefer leaner red meat, the livestock industry is making significant changes to satisfy these demands. Goat meat has unique attributes which will be beneficial to the present day consumer. Goat meat has 10% more lean carcass than cattle. At the same time the fat content is lower by 47% than beef. These qualities of the goat meat need to be emphasized so that the general public can become aware of this useful product.

There is a high demand for arable land to meet food demand and end malnutrition due to the growth of megacities and the global urban population. To enhance yield per unit area, conventional agricultural practises result in agricultural intensification and land clearing for crop cultivation. It has been established that these behaviours have a negative effect on the ecosystem, including soil and water contamination. It is crucial to take into account the application of vertical farming technology which makes use of both horizontal and vertical space and utilises nutrients, water and time (off-season production with artificial illumination) more efficiently to create a larger yield per unit volume of area than conventional outdoor farming. Since microgreens are rich in phytonutrients and are easily harvested, it is being thought of to grow them utilising cutting-edge vertical farming technology. Forest area being turned over to agriculture causes deforestation, the depletion of natural resources like groundwater, loss of biodiversity due to the destruction of habitats, increased soil erosion and greenhouse gas emissions.

1. INTRODUCTION

India is principally an agricultural country with seventy per cent of its population living in villages and fifty nine per cent of the total work force dependent on agriculture for its daily bread. Almost 20% of the gross GDP is contributed by agriculture. A steep surge in production since late 1960s has made country self-reliant in food grain production with buffer stocks full to the brim. Since independence, 0.66% growth/ year in gross agricultural area combined with 2.67%/year increases in food grain production led to a net increase in per capita food grain availability from 395 g/ day to 475 g/ day. An outstanding achievement, as it happened despite an unabated population build up at a rate of 2.15 %/ year or 13 million more mouths to be fed every year. Not only in food grain production, the country has made revolutionary progress in milk, fish, eggs, fruits and vegetable production also (NAAS, 2004).

Needless to say that the economic growth of our country depends largely on the prosperity of the agriculture. The agricultural sector acts as a bulwark in maintaining food security as well as national security. The first and the foremost role of agricultural is its promotion of economic progress in the country by enlarging the savings of the rural sector and making them available for the development of industries. Gandhiji, the father of the nation called “Agriculture as the soul of India”. Also, agriculture has been termed as “The mother of all industries and the maintainer of human life standing at the need of all sciences and arts, indeed, at the head of civilization and progress”. The significance of agriculture in India arises also from the fact that the development in agriculture is an essential condition for the development of the national economy. Thus any change in the agriculture sector- positive or negative- has a multiplier effect on the entire economy (Rekha & Rangappa, 2010).

Over 70 years ago, Mahatma Gandhi made the following observations while addressing youth who wanted to serve rural India:

‘The fact is that the villagers have lost all hope. They suspect that every stranger’s hand is at their throats and that he goes to them only to exploit them. The divorce between intellect and labour has paralyzed our agriculture. The worker should enter a village full of love and hope, feeling sure that where men and women labour unintelligently and remain unemployed half the year around, he working all the year round and combining labour with intelligence cannot fail to win the confidence of the villagers’.

This message is as relevant today as it was 60 years ago. Integrating brain and brawn in farm enterprises should hence be the purpose of agricultural education. (ICAR, 1997)

Abstract

Ongoing rise in human population and affluence, and socioeconomic imperatives continue to demand more efficient and productive use of global finite resources. This is particularly true with water which society has to share between its domestic, industrial, agricultural, environmental and recreational purposes. With greater concern for nature and environment, and the socioeconomic development more water must be allocated to non-agricultural uses. Increasing crop water productivity (WP) is a key response option conserves water, energy and soil while satisfying society’s increasing demand for crops for agricultural products. Improvements to crop WP help to meet rising demands for food from a growing, wealthier, and increasingly urbanized population, when at the same time there are pressures to reallocate water from agriculture to cities and to make more water available for environmental uses contribute to the urgency for achieving gains in agricultural water management. The papers in addition to the rationale and basic concept of crop WP, explore the techniques for crop WP increases.

Abstract

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

Introduction

Phosphorus (P) is a major nutrient in crop production, but is also a major constraint due to its low bioavailability in soils. It is 11th most abundant element on earth’s crust and a  vital component of DNA, RNA, ATP and photosynthetic system and catalyses a number of biochemical reactions from the beginning of seedling growth through to the formation of grain and maturity. Many factors influence soil P availability like type of parent material from which the soil is derived, degree of weathering and climatic conditions.

Introduction

Water retention is an important soil hydraulic property that affects how soil operates in an ecosystem and how it is managed. Hydrology, agronomy, meteorology, ecology, environmental protection, and many other soil-related professions employ soil water retention data. Some soil survey programs measure water retention. A soil survey can estimate water retention from other soil properties. However, these measurements are problematic during project design and in large-scale implementations (Rawls et al., 1991; Wo sten et al., 2001) since agricultural land needs rise periodically. Agriculture is using dry land. Food self-sufficiency and becoming a world food barn by 2045 necessitate agricultural land expansion (Mulyani and Agus, 2017). Water concerns afflict farming in this agroecosystem (Syam et al., 1996; Mulyani and Agus, 2017). Because of soil composition, much water stays in the earth. Tang et al. (2022).

For plant growth, soil water retention variables indicate how well the soil holds water. The dirt provides most of the plant’s water. Water in root layer dirt pores is absorbed by plants. Thus, soil water retention is the key factor affecting plant development and productivity. Plants can take in the soil pores’ water between the field capacity and the point where they always wilt. Field capacity occurs when the matrix potential and gravitational potential match. The most significant component for plant growth is soil water (Tang et al., 2022, Deng et al., 2016, Su et al., 2020). The soil’s physical features determine plant water availability. The amount of water available depends on clay minerals, organic matter, absorbed cations, soil texture and structure, and water availability. Thus, to prevent plants from experiencing water or groundwater stress, soil physical attributes must be investigated to determine groundwater availability (Kirkham 2023). Infiltration is crucial to groundwater availability. The amount of water that can penetrate the soil depends on its physical features, such as soil texture, organic matter, bulk density, porosity, aggregate stability/stability, and water content. Thus, soil water availability depends on its physical qualities, particularly its ability to absorb and transfer water. The physical properties of saturated soil affect how water travels through it, which affects runoff and infiltration (Sauer and Logsdon 2002).

Introduction

The Indian Thar Desert is a marginal zone for agricultural production. Scanty and un-even rain, extremes of high (March–October) and low (December–January) temperature condition for the prolong duration and in-together these factors creates an associated abiotic stressed environment that limiting choice of crops, quality of produce, productivity and production under hot arid agro-climate. Out of 9–12 mean rainy days/annum in the hot arid region of northwestern parts of Rajasthan, much of the rain often comes in only a few (1–3) heavy rainfall events during the monsoon season (June–September), which can be erratic and unpredictable. In kharif season, higher day temperature range (35–42°C) and prolonged drought periods in combination with sandy soil creates an environment where few crops can survive under rainfed situations. Here, the native crop-plants both annual and perennial can play an equally vital role for food and fodder especially when the livestock population is an important element of farming system. Further, horticultural exploitation with native crop-plant species in general is found to be potential and stable in the arid and semiarid areas which receive about 150–650 mm of rains.

Introduction

India is primarily an agriculture-based country, with the livestock sector being a vital component of its agricultural landscape. The meat sector plays a crucial role in providing livelihoods and jobs to rural and village populations. Slaughtering food animals not only yields meat but also generates valuable byproducts that can significantly benefit society. Typically, only one-third of an animal’s weight is meat; the remaining two-thirds consist of byproducts and waste, which must be effectively processed and utilized. Efficient utilization of these byproducts directly impacts both the economy and environmental pollution. The yield of animal byproducts can range from 50% to 60% of an animal’s live weight. According to statistics from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD, 2019), India saw the slaughter of 11.92 million buffalo, 3.05 million cattle, 50.86 million sheep, 97.19 million goats, 10.73 million pigs, and over 2.81 million poultry birds in 2018-19, resulting in the production of 8.11 million tonnes of meat.

An overwhelming proportion of plant material used for compounding herbal medicines and nutraceuticals is currently collected from the wild. With traditional health care systems gaining increasing popularity, the enormous amount of plant material extracted from the limited plant populations available in natural stands is a cause of justifiable alarm. The unscrupulous plunder of plant populations growing in the wild is pushing increasing number of important species to the endangered category and many to the verge of extinction. Also, unethical practices like adulteration and storage of medicinal plants under unacceptable conditions are rampant. All this is happening, when the consumer is becoming increasingly quality conscious and is demanding traceability of source material used for formulations and adherence to good practices for the entire chain of manufacturing process for herbal drugs and plant-based nutraceuticals. Clearly, solution to this problem lies in replacing the ‘collection from the wild’ paradigm to ‘production by cultivation’. An essential prerequisite for meeting this objective is a well thought out research agenda which not only tackles productivity enhancement goals for the targeted plant species but also addresses the validity of the entrenched notion among healers who use the traditional medical systems, that only material collected from the wild produces the desired results. The reason advanced in support of this argument is that phytomedicines are derived from plant populations growing in the wild under organic conditions and under their natural rhizosphere and rhizoplane. The associated soil-microbial complexes, and a variety of endophytic microorganisms, may be the initiators or modifiers of the production and expression of medicinal properties.