eChapters

Evapotranspiration is the combination of two separate processes named evaporation and transpiration. Evaporation accounts for the movement of water to the air from sources such as the waterbodies and soil. Transpiration accounts for the movement of water within a plant and the subsequent loss of water as vapour through stomata in its leaves. So evapotranspiration is a bio-physical process.

Evaporation

The change of state of water from liquid to the vapour and its diffusion into the atmosphere is referred to as evaporation. During evaporation, water molecules absorb energy which gives them the motion required to escape from the surface of liquid and become a gas. Since a certain amount of energy is consumed in the process of evaporation, the remaining liquid is cooled by an equivalent amount. Thus, the process of evaporation is always accompanied by a cooling effect.

As evaporation proceeds, the surrounding air becomes gradually saturated with water vapour and the process will slow down and might stop if the wet air is not transferred to the atmosphere. The replacement of the saturated air with drier air depends greatly on wind speed. Hence, solar radiation, air temperature, air humidity and wind speed are meteorological parameters to be considered when assessing the evaporation process.

In agrometeorology, evaporation is defined as the maximum possible loss of moisture from a wet, horizontal, flat surface exposed to weather parameters, which exist in the vicinity of plants. Evaporation is an essential part of the water cycle. It is the primary pathway through which water moves from the liquid state back into the water cycle as atmospheric water vapour. The oceans, seas, lakes and rivers provide nearly 90 per cent of the moisture in the atmosphere via evaporation, with the remaining 10 per cent being contributed by plant transpiration. A very small amount of water vapour enters the atmosphere through sublimation, the process by which water changes from a solid (ice or snow) state to a gaseous one, bypassing the liquid phase.

Weather and climate have great influence on farm animal production. The environment in which an animal lives is referred to as its habitat. A habitat includes both biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) components of the animals’ environment. Abiotic components of an animal’s environment include temperature, humidity, oxygen, wind, soil composition, day length and elevation. Knowledge of how potential environmental stressors (ambient temperature, humidity, thermal radiation, air speed, etc.) can directly and adversely affect animal performance, health and wellbeing is also required for a successful animal farming. The indirect consequences of weather include their impact on feed quality and availability.

Birds and mammals are warmblooded (endotherms or homeotherms), possessing a thermoregulatory system that maintains a stable body temperature and uniform internal environment (homeostasis) by converting food energy into heat. All metabolic processes generate substantial heat and much of this is retained within the body of homeotherms by insulating layers of fat, feathers or fur. Dairy cattle, like other warmblooded animals, function most efficiently in environments where they can maintain their body temperature at around 38° C. Tissue and cellular metabolism and the underlying biochemical reactions that sustain life and productive functions need body temperature to be maintained within very narrow limits. Relatively small increases in body temperature result in the breakdown of body protein and a significant depression in production.

Climate change, particularly global warming has complex impacts on domestic animal production system affecting feed supply, challenging thermoregulatory mechanism resulting thermal stress, emerging new diseases due to change in epidemiology of diseases and causing many other indirect impacts. So, climate change will have farreaching consequences for dairy and meat production, especially in vulnerable parts of the world where it is vital for nutrition and livelihoods. Due to poor availability of good quality feed and fodders in India, animals are generally maintained on poor quality grasses available in the pastures or are stallfed, mainly on crop residues. India is already deficit in feed and fodder. These shortages would be further aggravated by the adverse effects of global warming on fodder crop production.

Climate, soil, input and management factors influence the crop yield. Weather is the most important natural input that affects the agricultural production and productivity. The agricultural activities starting from the land preparation to harvest and post-harvest storage are greatly influenced by the weather. The effects of weather on crops may be direct such as those of precipitation, solar radiation, humidity, temperature, etc., or indirect such as those of pest, diseases, weed competition, etc. Thus, the success or failure of a crop is determined by the prevailing weather conditions. Although influence of weather conditions on yield is well established, the quantitative assessment is not always straight forward and simple. The quantitative assessment of the effect of weather on crops is an important application of agrometeorology. The relationship between weather and crop production has been understood through crop weather modelling and study on this aspect through a systematic approach started a century ago. The aim of developing crop weather models is to ensure better utilisation of resources and hence a more environmental friendly and sustainable agriculture.

A model is a schematic representation of the conception of a system or an act of mimicry or a set of equations, which represents the behaviour of a system. Its purpose is usually to aid in explaining, understanding or improving performance of a system. Agricultural models are mathematical equations that represent the reactions occurring within the plant and the interactions between the plant and its environment. However, it is a difficult task to represent any system completely in mathematical terms because of the complexity of the system. Universal models do not exist for the agricultural systems and agricultural models are built for specific purposes and the level of complexity is accordingly adopted. Different models are developed for different subsystems and several models may be built to simulate a particular crop or a particular aspect of the production system. Crop weather models may be defined as a simplified representation of the complex relationships between weather or climate on one hand and crop performance such as growth, yield or yield components, on the other hand by using mathematical and/or statistical techniques

Flowers are classified into three groups- self pollinated, often cross pollinated and cross pollinated- based on the extent of cross pollination which ranges from nil to 5 percent in self pollinated, 5-12 percent in often cross-pollinated and more than 12 percent in cross pollinated flowers. The information on extent of cross pollination is important to decide appropriate breeding methods to develop and improve the crop, to maintain genetic purity of seed, and to decide safe isolation distances from varieties, related species and related genera of the crop.

3.1 Autogamous (Self pollinated) flowers

When the egg in a flower gets fertilized by its own pollen, it is, referred to as autogamy. In statistical terms, it is, explained as the probability that egg gets fertilized by its own pollen as one. The coefficient of inbreeding which also measures the probability of selfing is also one in such crops. The genetic structure of autogamous flower is homozygous. The reasons for autogamy in flowers are essentially homomorphism, cleistogamy and chasmogamy. Homomorphism refers to uniformity in placement of essential floral parts, androecium and gynoecium e.g. Aster (double flowered), Balsam, Bells of Ireland, Carnation, Clianthus, Benghal dayflower (Commelina benghalensis), Gypsophila, Lupine, Salvia, Saponaria, Sweet pea and Sweet William. In autogamous ornamental crops, cross pollination in nature is almost negligible. Autogamous pollination may be of three types viz., autogamous selfing: refers to origin of pollen from anthers of the same flower; geitonogamous selfing refers to pollen from different flower on the same shoot or genet, and xenogamy, crossing refers to pollen from different flower on a shoot from another genet.

Abstract: Crossandra, traditional flower crop of India, produce beautiful flowers in remarkable range of colours of almost all the year. Flowers are ideal for garland making and hair adornments. Only few species are cultivated across the world. Improvement is focused on drought tolerant ornamental types for landscape/ container use, better keeping quality, heavy yield and vivid range of flower colours, long spikes, earliness and big flower size. Breeders have created mutant cultivars and F₁ hybrids having valuable traits. Lack of fragrance and meager seed set require biotechnological interventions.

Abstract: Gaillardia, commonly known as ‘Blanket flower’, is excellent for cut flower, mixed borders, edging and bedding plants. Huge quantum of variability exists in this crop in India. Currently, there are many interspecific hybrid cultivars and open pollinated varieties available in the market. Biparental inbreeding depression has complicated the progress of crop development. Traits of interest to flower breeders for crop transformation include, plant architecture, flower morphology (colour, size, quality), attractive seed heads and drought stress.

Abstract: Hollyhocks are seed propagated garden annuals with numerous hybrid phenotypes, series (single and bicoloured Halo series), Spotlight, Carter’s Double, Double Triumph, Giant Double Powder Puff, Halo Bush (tricoloured), Halo Mixed (eight colours) and cultivars are available in the world market. Unusual plant height, delayed flowering compared to other winter annuals handicap its popularity. While little genetic information and trait heritability has been established for this crop, breeding continues to produce new variants for commercial production. Gene pool of hollyhock exhibits great diversity. Breeding objectives with high priority include dwarf stature (2 feet height), compact growth, double and large flowered inflorescence, precocious flowering and resistance to leaf rust disease.

Abstract: Lotus, aquatic economic flower, associated with religion, art, and culture, is native to India. Most cultivars are diploid, seed and vegetatively propagated. Lotus is cross pollinated and progeny can segregate widely for traits due to heterozygosity. Low seed set often pose significant challenge to breeders. Breeding efficiency remains unknown. Flower breeders have created new colours with interspecific hybridization including yellow, pink, white and rose colour changing to creamy yellow. Traits of interest for crop transformation include environmental adaptation to stressful condition, low seed tannin, and flowering (colour, size, timing, etc.). Genetics of characters is unknown. Future breeding and genetic studies are needed for further transformation of this crop.

Abstract: Calendulas, popularly known as pot marigold, are admired for their ornamental value. The leaves, seeds and flowers are source of oil, pigments, dye, flavonoids, and ingredient in cosmetics, human, and animal medicines and dietary composition. Currently, there are intraspecific hybrids in the market. Traits of interest to flower breeders for crop transformation include plant architecture, flowering, flower colour and size, large and bold seed with high oil, pest and virus resistance.

Keywords: Calendula, intraspecific hybridization, mutation, molecular marker.

Abstract: Verbena, popular annual is suitable for landscapes, hanging baskets and ground cover as bedding type. Due to seed propagation and out crossing, progeny can segregate widely for traits due to heterozygosity. Important traits for landscape use include flower colour and extended bloom time, large and highly showy flowers, plant architecture (matting habit), environmental adaptation to stressful condition (heat tolerance) and disease resistance. Genetic information and trait heritability is almost unknown for this crop. The use of interspecific hybridization, polyploid, breeding for disease resistance and mutation breeding are presented. Tissue banks and genetic evolutionary race history have been maintained. Transgenic plants have been developed.

Keywords: Phylogeny, breeding, F₁ hybrids, transgenic.

1. INTRODUCTION

Leaf and soil analysis are the tools to estimate the fertilizer needs of fruit crops. Leaves are selected for analysis because:

• Leaf is the principal site of plant metabolism.
• The changes in nutrient supply are reflected in the leaf composition.
• The changes are more pronounced at certain stages of development.
• The concentration of nutrients in the leaf at specific growth stages are related to performance of the plant.

Spices are non-leafy parts (e.g. bud, fruit, seed, bark, rhizome and bulb) of plants used as a flavoring or seasoning, although many can also be used as a herbal medicine. They are those plants, the products of which are made use as food adjuncts to add aroma and flavour or they are derived vegetable substances which are used for seasoning the food imparting distinctive flavour and fragrance that gives zest or piquancy for enjoyment. The term ‘spice’ originated from the Latin word ‘species’, meaning of specific kind. A closely related term, ‘herb’, is used to distinguish plant parts finding the same uses but derived from leafy or soft flowering parts. For example Black pepper, Ginger, Turmeric, Chilli, Cinnamon, Nutmeg etc. Spices are generally composed of fiber, carbohydrate, fat, sugar, protein, gum, ash, volatile (essential oils), and other nonvolatile components. All of these components impart each spice’s particular flavour, colour, nutritional, health, or preservative effects. The flavour components (volatile and nonvolatile) are protected within a matrix of carbohydrate, protein, fiber, and other cell components. When the spice is ground, cut, or crushed, this cell matrix breaks down and releases the volatile components (Raghavan, 2007).

Any crop improvement programme primarily depends on the amount of genetic variability available and the extent to which the economic traits are heritable. A wide survey of genetic variability and a thorough understanding of the genetic makeup of the crop with the biometrial tools is very much indispensable for initiating an effective breeding programme.

Effectiveness in breeding programme depends upon three main factors viz., (i) the extent of genetic variation available, (ii) heritabiity of the variation and (iii) intensity of the selection pressure that can be applied. As most of the characters of economic importance and related characters which influence the performance of the economic character in a given set of environment are highly influenced by the environmental conditions, the heritable (genotypic) variation usually masked by non-heritable (environmental) variation and thereby creates difficulty in exercising the selection. Hence, it becomes necessary to partition the overall variability into heritable and non-heritable components to enable the breeders to plan for proper breeding programme.

The estimates of mean, variance and standard error are worked out by adopting the standard methods of Panse and Sukhatme (1961). Usually, randomized block design is the choice of the statistical design. Various genetic parameters are worked out from the mean squares. Assessment of genetic variation is usually made through the computation of genotypic variance and genotypic coefficient of variation. The proportion of the total genetic variance expressed as percentage of total phenotypic variance has been used as a measure of genetic variability of heritability in broad sense.

Introduction

Gerbera is one of the most important commercial flowering crops growing in the world as a cut flower as well as garden decoration, which belongs to family compositae and native in South Africa and Asiatic region. Presently, its demand and utility are rising up continuously in India both in urban as well as rural areas throughout the year. Peoples prefer this flower, because of its unparallel diversity in colour and long vase life; whereas farmers took this crop in relation to high margin of profit and long post harvest life over some others flower. Now, people are showing their keen interest towards use of this flower in their daily life and for celebrating a colorful festival. As per report of NHB (2014), total crop area is 820 hactors, where flower marketed of 3.96 and 17.84 MT of loose and cut flowers respectively. The prime producing states in India for gerbera flower production are Karnataka, Maharastra, Assam, Uttrakhand, Telangana, Tamilnadu and West Bengal. There are some constrains identified in gerbera cultivation under protected situation, like initial investment is too much, protocol of the technology is very much restricted, regular supervision is an essential and all local festivals regulates quantity of consumption etc. However, before adopting this technology for implementation as taking part of business, users should upgrade their knowledge by seeing and believing at different production centers. Details about latest technology are summarized under mentioned, which may be helpful to the students and farmers to some extent for ready references.

Abstract

Agro-food industries generate a large amount of by-products and wastes. These byproducts and wastes have a negative impact in terms of the environmental concern due to the increase of pollutant disposal, and industrial sustainability because of high costs related to their management. These byproducts and wastes are rich in minerals, sugars and proteins. The composition and characteristics of wastes from different food processing industries vary and rely upon the production technique and the nature of the product. India is the second largest producer of rice/paddy in the world and the utilization of rice bran is gaining importance. However, a small fraction of these have been utilized. In case of fruits and vegetables, industrial processing of potato generates between 70 and 140 thousand tons of peels worldwide annually. Moreover, 37% of world’s total annual production of banana is shared by India. Hence, to minimize the disposal fees and trash collection new policies and methods have been developed for handling and treatment of wastes and byproducts. This chapter envisages the status of different agro-food industrial byproducts and wastes for the development of different food and non-food products.

Abstract

Tremendous hike inworld population has increased thrust on the limited resources which has considerably affected the viability of the food. The emerging challenge for policy makers and food scientists is to put forward viable solutions. Utilization of underutilized crops/plants that act as good sources of starch could be explored in a better way for the sustenance of the limited sources like food crops/plants. The demand for starch and the foods containing starch has been increasing continually. Since, the starch in its native form has certain limitations in its functional properties to be used for different applications. Therefore, it becomes important to explore certain technologies which could be used for modification of starch. Among different technologies gamma irradiation ensures food safety while inducing physicochemical changes of the components. Although, the chemical modifications have been used widely so far but the concerns related to the chemical residues left are diminishing their demand. Hence, the physical processes particularly the gamma irradiation process has emerged as an efficient alternative with some benefits over other process like eco-friendly, economical, reliable and safe for altering the physico-chemical and biological characteristics of the product. Gamma Irradiation of starch has been successfully employed for the achievement of some desired physico-chemical, biological and functional properties of the foods and other related items. In this chapter, valuable impact of gamma irradiation on the physico-chemical, biological and functional properties of starch has been summarized.

Gender relates to socially assigned roles and responsibilities attributable to men and women. Gender roles are played by both women and men, which are not determined by biological factors, but by the socio-economic and cultural environment or situation (Mollel and Mtenga, 2000).

Women from poor households engage in a variety of income earning activities. In some cases, these activities supplement the contribution by males, while in others they are the primary or the sole source of household livelihoods (Kabeer 2003). Women are twice as likely as men to be involved in agricultural activities (Odame et al., 2002). According to Fernando (1998), activities, resources and opportunities of people are significantly influenced by gender that is, by the socio-economic and cultural dimension of being male or female. Moreover, different types of activities are generally allocated to women and men within the family with a view for subsistence production and marketable production. In most of the societies, tasks related to child bearing and care and maintenance of the household (cooking, fetching water and firewood) are assigned to women.

Pulse production is an integral part of food production, which helps in ensuring nutritional security by way of providing plant protein in human diet. In spite of several efforts, lots of people in third world countries suffer from nutritional deficiencies due to lack of balance diet. The women folk are the most sufferers, who are deprived of taking adequate quantity of protein rich food that helps in growth and development of human body.

Ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk), is an ancient fruit crop of India. It is relished for its sweet and sour fruits. The fruits are nutritious containing high amount of vitamins like C, A and B complex. The genus Zizyphus belongs to the family Rhamnaceae, consisting of 40 species of tropical and subtropical regions of northern hemisphere (Yadav et al., 2005). The one Zizyphus jujube (Chinese jujube) and the other Zizyphus mauritiana (Indian ber) are the two important species grown widely in temperate, tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The ruggosa and nummalaria are other important species.

PRESENT STATUS

Ber, a popular fruit, is being grown as almost commercially important fruit crop. It has better adaptability in marginal soils in arid region of subtropics. It is mainly grown in India as well as different countries in central Asia, China and Taiwan. It has been truly called as poor man‘s fruit/poor man‘s apple. Ber can suitably be grown almost in all the parts of north Indian plains in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. Seedling ber trees are found extensively growing widely in arid and semi arid areas.

Sapota or sapidilla or bully tree or chiku (Manilkara achras (Mill.) Fosberg) is a delicious tropical fruit crop, was introduced from tropical America. Among lesser-known fruits, area expansion and production of sapota have been observed spectacular. During as the area under sapota is fast increasing and this crop is attaining the status of major fruit crop.

PRESENT STATUS

India is considered to be the largest producer of sapota in the world, though it is considered to be a minor crop in India (Bal, 1997). The area under sapota in India during 2000-01 was 69,400 ha with a production of 6.74 lakh tonnes, while during the year 2012-13, it was 164000 ha with a production of 14.95 lakh tonnes (ICAR-DataBook 2014). The area under sapota is increasing so rapidly owing to a wider range of adaptability. In many regions, cultivation of sapota is preferred over mango (Bal, 1997). The important sapota growing states are Maharastra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Haryana. Recently, our country has made a beginning in export to Middle East countries.

11.1 Biodiesel Chemistry

Biodiesel is a mixture of methyl esters of long chain fatty acids like lauric, palmitic, stearic, oleic and so on. It is produced by the transesterification of animal fats and vegetable oils – all of which belong to a group of organic esters called triglycerides. Typical examples are rape/canola oil, soyabean oil, sunflower oil, palm oil and its derivatives, etc. from vegetable sources, beef and sheep tallow and poultry oil from animal sources and also from used cooking oil. The chemistry is basically the same irrespective of the feedstock. The chemistry of biodiesel is given in Fig. 11.1.

15.1 Fuel Cell

Fuel cell is a electrochemical device that convert chemical energy of a reaction directly into electrical energy. The basic physical structure of a fuel cell consists of an electrolyte layer in contact with a porous anode and cathode on either side. A schematic representation of a fuel cell with the reactant or product gases and the ion conduction flow directions through the cell is shown in Fig. 15.1

ABSTRACT

Genetic improvement of crop plants through conventional plant breeding has made tremendous contributions to the breakthrough in the global agricultural production. Recently, an array tools and techniques in the field of molecular biology has become available for supplementing the conventional genetic approaches. Consequently, new integrated approaches are being designed. One of the approaches employs molecular markers for genome mapping, gene tagging and marker assisted selection (MAS). With the complete sequencing of whole plant-genomes and a large number of random cDNAs in many different crop species, newer opportunities are emerging. This presentation is an attempt to briefly describe the current applications of molecular markers and to highlight their future prospects.

Molecular markers

Molecular markers are heritable differences in nucleotide sequences of DNA at corresponding position on homologous chromosomes of two different individuals, which follow a simple Mendelian pattern of inheritance. These differences are detected employing two basic techniques: (a) Southern blot hybridization and (b) Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) is the first molecular marker system to be conceived and developed. It is based on the southern blot technique. Markers such as random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), sequence tagged site (STS) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) are generated by enzymatic amplification of DNA by extension of oligo nucleotide primers and therefore, are based on PCR. Single/simple nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers are based on DNA sequence differences as revealed by sequencing and assayed by various techniques.

ABSTRACT

Of the total production of the crop yield, only 63 per cent is available for human consumption. The remaining is lost in more or less equal proportions to weeds, pests and diseases. Prior to genetic engineering, the exchange of DNA material was possible only between individual organisms of the same species. In the field of agriculture for instance, farmers have continuously modified naturally occurring species through seed selection and controlled breeding. With the advent of the recombinant DNA technology, it has however been possible to identify specific genes associated with desirable traits in one organism and transfer those genes within and beyond the boundaries of species into other organisms.

1. Genes for herbicide resistance

Modern agriculture has developed a range of effective herbicides to tackle the effects of weeds on crop yield. Some of the most useful of these are broad-spectrum herbicides because they are active against a wide range of weeds. However, these can only be used at times when the crop is not itself vulnerable to herbicide action. The development of herbicide-resistant crops therefore offers the opportunity to spray crops at the most effective time to kill weed species without damaging the crop plants. By definition, herbicides are much more toxic to plants than to animals. Therefore, it is not surprising that they generally affect ‘plant-specific’ biological processes. The herbicidal activity of many herbicides has been found to result from the specific inhibition of a single enzyme/protein. The following are four distinct strategies for engineering herbicide resistance: i. Overexpression of the target protein, ii. Mutation of the target protein, iii. Detoxification of the herbicide, using a single gene from a foreign source and iv. Enhanced plant detoxification.

ABSTRACT

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is an important crop in the tropics and subtropics for export of fruits and above all, for local consumption. Cultivation of papaya faces with problems due to its heterozygosity, dioecious nature and susceptibility to a large number of viral diseases. Crossing between two hermaphrodites will produce the highest ratio of fruit bearing female trees, which is of homozygous dominant andromonoecious types which are always letha l due to po st fertilization barriers leading to their abortion. The gynodioecious varieties of papaya have the M1M1 forms while selfing and hence for explant selection , gynodioecious varieties like Sunrise solo and CO7 were prefered Embryo culture is one of the earliest forms of in vitro culture applied to solve practical problems and is probably the tissue culture techniques that has proven of greatest value to breeders. Ovule culture is practised in a case when small (or) young embryos that abort at early stages of development and are difficult to isolate. This necessiates the development of a protocol for initiation, multiplication and regeneration of ovular callus of papaya.

ABSTRACT

Centella asiatica (Linn.) previously Hydrocotyle asiatica belongs to the family Apiaceae.It is commonly called gotu kola and is rich in triterpene glycosides such as asiaticoside and madecassoside. Health claims range from enhanced memory and longevity, to the treatment of leprosy. It is also used in the treatment of various skin diseases, ulceration, chronic rheumatism, malaria, fever, epilepsy and enlargement of glands. Inspite of its wide range of uses,it is still collected from the wild and commercial cultivation is lacking. A good tissue culture protocol therefore would be useful for commercial propagation and thereby saving the plant from extinction. Of the various explants, nodal segment gave the best response. For direct shoot regeneration from nodal segments, BAP 2.0 mgl^-1, and BAP 1.0 mgl^-1 with Kinetin 1.0 mgl^-1 was found optimum. Callusing was observed in nodal segments and leaf bits when 3.0 mgl^-1 NAA along with 0.3 mgl^-1 BAP was used. ½ MS medium supplemented with IBA 0.5 mgl^-1 and NAA 0.2 mgl^-1 induced rhizogenesis of the regenerated shoots. Rooted plantlets survived well in a combination of pot mixture (1 sand: 1 soil: 1 FYM) and Vermiculite in the ratio of 1: 1.

ABSTRACT

In last twenty years, molecular biology has revolutionized conventional plant breeding techniques in many areas. The use of molecular markers in conventional breeding techniques has also improved the accuracy of selection and allowed breeders to produce varieties with combined traits that were difficult before the advent of DNA technology. Among vegetables, onion (Allium cepa L.) is the most important cash crop of India. Onion productivity in India is much lower (11.38 tones / ha.) compared to other countries (44.1 tones / ha. in Japan). Purple blotch disease (PBD) caused by Alternaria porri (Ellis) Ciferri decreases the yields by up to 50 percent. Genetically resistant onion varieties are the most economical, simple and eco-friendly mode of disease management. The advent of mo- lecular markers provided the opportunity to understand the genetic resistance more pre- cisely. In this paper we present our successful efforts in developing PCR based markers linked to purple blotch disease resistance, so that such markers can be easily integrated into PBD resistance breeding program in onion. Onion germplasm was screened for PBD resistance. Line PBR 287 was identified as a good source of resistance and the genetics of inheritance of resistance in this line was worked out. The protocols for isolating good quality DNA and PCR amplification conditions were standardized. 37 polymorphic mark- ers were identified between resistant and susceptible parents. Crosses were made between resistant and susceptible parents. Parents, F₂ and individual F₂ progenies were subjected for analysis of genetics of resistance and RAPD marker analysis. F₂ individuals segregated in 3:1 ratio for resistance. DNA from resistant and susceptible F₂ individuals was pooled separately for Bulked Segregant Analysis (BSA). BSA identified one RAPD marker of 900bp being linked to resistance. Further Chi-square test for detecting the deviation of segregation of this 900bp marker confirmed segregation with classical Mendalian ratio 3:1 for a monogenic trait. Identified marker is of great practical utility to the plant breeders to screen large number of populations for purple blotch disease resistance at the early stages of the crop even in absence of the pathogen.

ABSTRACT

The investigation aimed at to examine the diversity among nineteen wild and cultivated germplasms of the genus Vigna namely, V. trichuriensis, V. hainiana, V. radiata, V. aconitifolia, V. minima, V. sinensis, V. radiata var. sublobata, V. radiata var.setulosa, V. umbellata, and allopolyploid of BR3x T9 at DNA level follwing Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. Ten random decamer primers were used in amplification reactions, five of that were reproducible and clear. The five primers constituted 55 bands of, which 9 are polymorphic. The similarity index based on 0 and 1 matrix of banding was calculated and dendrogram following UPGMA was constructed. The germplasms formed altogether 4 clusters on the basis of 0.375 linkage distance. The first and second cluster consisted of single genotype of V. hainiana. and V. minima respectively. The third cluster comprised wild and cultivated types of V. sinensis. The 4th cluster on the otherhand, consisted of genotypes belonging to V. radiata, V. radiata var. sublobata, V. mungo, V. radiata var. setulosa, V. trichuriensis and allopolyploid of BR3 and T9. The wild forms of different species were found to exist in the same cluster as their cultivated form. The three mungbean genotypes namely B105 (V. radiata), B1 (V. radiata) and BR3 (V. radiata )are crossable within themselves and they belonged to the cluster -IV.The intercluster cross between different clusters would like to generate new genotypes with wide variability. Based on limited range of accessions tasted in the present investigation, the approach holds promise for the classification of Vigna germplasm, identification of Vigna and marker assisted breeding in Vigna.

ABSTRACT

Amajor goal of plant biotechnology is to develop effective and lasting means to reduce crop losses due to stress caused by biological organisms. In Indian context, fungal diseases are rated as the most important factor contributing to yield losses. Although, conventional programmes towards development of disease resistant cultivars have been successful , they suf fer from limitations of human health consequences, potential degradation of environment etc. In this scenario, introduction of specific genes encoding for disease resistance through genetic engineering seems to be a viable alternative. Among the various genes that are induced in response to plant defense, chitinases are the most widely studied and used for development of transgenic crops. Keeping this in view, attempt was made to isolate chitinase genes from four fungal species viz., Trichoderma harzianum, Metarhizum anisopliae, Nomuraea rileyi and Alternaria solani by designing primers based on sequence information available in the database. RT-PCR was done using the RNA isolated from the fungal species using the designed primers. Amplified products were eluted, cloned into pTZ57R vector and sequenced. Characterization of sequenced cDNA was done using the BLAST (x) programme of NCBI site. The amplified product (261 bp) from T. harzianum showed 90 per cent homology to endochitinases from T. asperellum and T. viridae. Using this cDNA, full-length chitinase gene of 1556 bp from T. harzianum could be accomplished through RACE (Rapid amplification of cDNA Ends). In M. anisopliae the amplified product of 1500 bp matched the full length gene of 1500 bp and showed 99 per cent homology to M. anisopliae and 96 per cent homology to M. flavoviride. In other two fungal species, viz., Nomuraea rileyi and Alternaria solani, the amplified products did not show any homology to chitinase gene

ABSTRACT

There has been conscious effort to discover and apply biological pesticides for the control of insect predation. Insecticidal proteins/ genes from Bacillus thuringiensis have been deployed as sprays and through transgenic route for crop protection against insect attack and have been successful in protecting the crop damage and environment pollution. However, impending fear of development of resistance to Bt proteins by insects has prompted search for new insecticidal proteins. In this context we are exploring and analysing components of insect immunity as targets for restricting insect feeding behaviour. Insects encounter several microbes during different stages of growth and development. Incidental entry of these microbes elicits a host defense response, which mainly consists of a phenoloxidase (PO) pathway. The invasion of the microbe is recognized by a specific protein, which activates the PO pathway consisting of prophenoloxidase (PPO) & prophenoloxidase activating enzyme (PPAE). Understanding the mechanism of insect immunity will allow us to discover potential targets for inactivating the mechanism of immune action in insects and make them vulnerable to natural microbial infection.

An agronomically important polyphagous pest, Heliothis armigera (Bollworm) was chosen in the present work for studying the components of insect immunity. H. armigera is the most important insect pest of the developing world accounting for heavy damage on various crops including cotton, vegetables, tobacco, potato, groundnut, chickpea and pigeon pea. We have isolated full-length cDNA encoding prophenoloxidase (PPO) and a partial cDNA encoding PPAE from haemocytes of 5th instar larvae of H. armigera. The open reading frame (ORF) of PPO gene is 2.1 kb, which encodes for a 698 amino acid protein with a molecular mass of 77 kDa. Computer-assisted analysis revealed the presence of 60 amino acid long propeptide at the N terminus of protein and 2 copper binding motifs but no signal peptide was detected. The gene was cloned and expressed in a bacterial expression vector pET43b under the induction of IPTG. The SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the protein is expressing in the supernatant in its native form. The expressed enzyme is catalytically active on 4-Methylcatechol upon activation by cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC). The regulatory role played enzyme in insect immunity is being examined.

ABSTRACT

Rapid optimization and improvement of papaya transformation necessacitates, a quick, non-destructive marker, which permits early detection of transformed tissue. We assessed the ability of a modified version of the green fluorescent protein gene (GFP) to act as the reporter. Transgenic papaya (Carica papaya L.) plants were developed using immature zygotic embryo as the expl ants and Agrobacterium tumefaciens as the transformation inducer. GFP gene (pBIN35Smgfp-ER) under the control of the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMV) 35S promoter was used as the reporter gene. Media P (modified MS basal medium with B vitamins supplemented with picloram 1 mg/l) and BN (modified MS basal medium with B vitamins supplemented with BAP: NAA 1:0.1 mg/l) supplemented with kanamycin (50 mg/l) were used for regeneration of transgenic papaya under selection pressure. GFP gene expression was detected at the juvenile stages viz. at early stages of somatic embryogenesis. 35S promoter driven GFP gene activity was also detected in the epidermis and the vascular tissues of the leaf petiole. Visualization under microscope and subsequent DNA analysis (Southern hybridization) showed that kanamycin resistant plants carried and expressed the GFP transgene. Expression of the GFP as green fluorescence served as a useful non-destructive indicator of successful transformation.

ABSTRACT

The black pepper, ‘the king of spices’ cultivation fetches foreign exchange worth millions of rupees annually, has been constrained by the quick wilt disease caused by the fungal pathogen Phytophthora capsici. Peptides with systematic variations in cationicity, hydrophobicity and amphipathicity were designed based on Chou-Fasmann parameters and sequential alterations of amino acids were tested for antifungal activity against Phytophthora. The antifungal properties of these biodegradable and ecofriendly peptide peptides were evaluated following in vitro microplate titre assay using Phytophthora zoospores. Two peptides LD1 and LD4 showed very low MIC value as compared to that of well-known antifungal peptides and standard chemical fungicides. Fluorescent staining technique using fluorescent brightener-28 and propidium iodide dyes has revealed that the site of action of the designed peptides is the cell membrane. These peptides showed very low haemolytic potential inspite of their potent antifungal activity. The in vivo evaluation of the peptides on fungi infected detached pepper leaves has demonstrated their high antifungal potential.

ABSTRACT

Biological lipids are chemically diverse group of compounds. Lipids serve two major biological roles namely a structural one as component of membrane, and storage function, particularly in certain seed tissues. Fats and oils are the principal stored form of energy in many organism, and phospholipids and sterols makeup about half of the mass of biological membranes.

An experiment was conducted to study phospholipids composition qualitatively as well as quantitatively in the roots of mung bean seedlings. Among the four solvents used for phospholipids isolation, solvent II (methanol) and solvent III (chloroform: methanol: NH₃ salt) were proved to be the major phospholipids eluting solvents. The results indicated that Phosphatidyl Choline (PC), Phosphatidyl Inositol (PI), Phosphatidyl Serine (PS), Phosphatidyl Ethanolamine (PE) and Di Phospho Glyceride (DPG) were present in significant amount in the roots of ten days old mung bean seedlings. These phospholipids were also identified by their Rf values using thin layer chromatography. Among all the phospholipids isolated, PI showed the minimum Rf value, whereas PS showed the maximum Rf value. On the basis of column chromatography, four fractions of phospholipids were isolated. The highest amount of phospholipids was found in fraction II and the lowest in fraction I. Fraction II and fraction III contained the maximum phospholipids. In the fraction II PC showed the highest content (μg g-1) and one unidentified phospholipids showed the lowest content (μg g-1), whereas in fraction III, PI showed the maximum content (μg g-1) and PS showed the minimum content (μg g-1).

Soil is a mass of large variability and thus its sampling is the most challenging problem for any soil analyst. Practically, soil sampling is a two step process which includes (i) collection of soil from homogeneous unit and (ii) processing which in turn includes drying, grinding, sieving, mixing, partitioning and storing.

1.1. Sources of Error in Soil Chemical Analysis

Different sources of error involved starting from soil sampling to chemical analysis of a sample can be divided into three main groups:

1. Sampling error : This error results from variability among the different samples drawn from same soil unit with respect to the objective of sampling.
2. Sub-sampling error : This error is due to variability introduced among sub samples of the same soil sample.
3. Analytical error : This error introduced due to variability from one chemical determination to another on same sub sample.

10.0. Introduction

Food processing is an important sector in agriculture, the scope of which has increased manifold that can help to prevent wastage of perishable commodities to a great extent. But, at the same time, food processing industries generate a large quantity and variety of food products, provide employment to a large number of people and uplift their economic status. The production, processing and preparation of food, all results in generation of huge quantity of waste material causing health hazards due to environmental pollution. The waste material may be in the form of leaf/ straw, waste during harvesting, food preparation waste, after processing waste, unused material as waste, food processing operation waste etc. The huge wastage of the food material is due to lack of control on such agri-economy practices. So, the disposal of waste material has become a challenge to the processors, as different agencies are pressurizing for an environment friendly treatment of waste material. The utilization of waste for the production of value added products is very important in the management of food processing waste. Different types of food industries wastes are: i) fermentation industry waste, ii) fruit and vegetable industry waste (Table 10.1) iii) Sugar and starch industry waste, iv) diary industry waste, v) meat processing industry waste, vi) coffee industry waste and vii) palm oil industry waste, viii) fish processing industry waste. So, there is great need to find out options which have positive values of food waste. The options having positive values are: i) minimization of the waste generation, ii) development of value added products. Most of fruit and vegetable wastes are a rich source of vital constituents like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, fibres etc. Mango seed kernel is rich in carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals; orange, melon and pumpkin seeds can provide fats and mineral matters. Apricot kernels are rich source of oil (45%) and proteins.

Introduction

The concept of food security having relevance at global, national, regional, state, household and individual level is well understood as a core issue over the last three decades in the world. The World Food Conference of 1974, organized in the wake of the world food crisis of 1972-74, was largely concerned with global food security. It was felt as the common responsibility of all nations that international approaches were needed to achieve the goal of improved world food security. The food security at national level means arrangements for providing physical supply of a minimum level of food during all periods including those having harvest failures. FAO (1983) had formulated that the basic concept of food security implied that all people at all times have physical and economic access to the basic food they need. The World Bank (1986) has modified this formulation to indicate that food security is access by all people at all times to enough food for an active healthy life.

In this direction, the conference on Environment and Development held in Rio (1992), the Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Nutrition held in Rome (1992), the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna (1993), the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo (1994), the World Summit on Social Development held in Copenhagen (1995), the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing (1995), the Habitat II Conference held at Istanbul (1996), the World Food Summit held in Rome (1996), etc. deliberated on various facets of food security like food security and sustainable development, right for nutritionally fit and safe food, population growth and food production, global measures to satisfy the food needs, campaign against hunger, women in food production, rural-urban linkages and so on.

Introduction

In India, per capita cereal consumption has been declining since the early seventies, despite a significant increase in per capita cereal production (Radhakrishna and Ravi, 1992 and Rao, 2000). Cereal consumption per capita per month fell from 15.35 kgs in 1970-71 to 12.70 kgs in 1999-2000 in rural area and from 11.40 kgs to 10.40 kgs in urban area during same period. It might be due to shifting of consumers’ choice from food to non-food items; from cereals to non-cereals within the food group and from course to fine cereals within the cereal group. The decline in cereal consumption has been higher in the rural area due to development of rural infrastructure and availability of job opportunities which ultimately helped in improving their level of income (Rao, 2000). Despite spectacular growth in food production during last 30 years the problem of malnutrition still persists across different regions in India because increase in food grain supply alone cannot conquer hunger and malnutrition.

The consumption pattern and nutritional status have also experienced a significant change during last two decades in Bihar. Cereal consumption per capita per month has declined from 476 gms in 1983 to 455 gms in 19992000. The situation is more alarming in poor households who constitute about half of rural population in north Bihar. There is lack of research on consumption pattern, nutrient intake and nutritional status based on household data, particularly in context of Bihar. In view of the above observations the present study is undertaken to analyze the consumption pattern and nutritional status of poor households in north Bihar.

• A machine is a device which receives some sort of energy and does some work.
• A rigid link is one, which does not undergo any deformation while transmitting motion.
• A flexible link is one which is partly deformed in a manner not to affect the transmission of motion.
• A structure is an assemblage of a number of resistant bodies having no relative motion between them.
• A turning pair has a completely constrained motion.
• Cam and follower includes higher pair.
• The lower pairs are self-closed pair.

For development of agricultural engineering machineries, materials and manufacturing techniques play a very important role. Functionality, efficacy, life span, economics and aesthetic of any machine or structure are affected severely by the material of fabrication process. The manufacturing processes discussed in this chapter also include the pretreatment to manufacturing and structural materials. Wood and some kind of ferrous alloys had been the choice of materials for fabrication of agricultural machines in past few centuries, whereas these materials along with mud, bamboo, some agricultural residues and some earthen materials were the materials of choice for agricultural structures. Engineering materials are available with wide range of properties and characteristics. There are many properties, which are inherent in the materials, and some of them can be changed during processing and manufacturing.

Measurement also forms a basic element of any control process. The measurement of discrepancy between the actual and desired performance of a system is central to any control process. Electronic instrumentation provides the solution to many and varied problems of measurement and control. It is often required to change or transduce a measurand into a corresponding electrical signal. The elements which changes/converts the physical variable in electrical signal are termed as sensors or transducers. For a measurement to be useful it must be reliable. That is where question of accuracy or uncertainty of a measurement arises. This may be dealt with clear understanding of measurand and measurement system.

• Spray Angle — The angle subtended at the final orifice by the edges of the spray pattern.
• Variation in discharge rate between first and last observation shall not be more than 5 percent.
• The volumetric efficiency requirement for roller vane type pump shall be minimum 80 percent.
• The volumetric efficiency of piston, plunger type pump shall be minimum 80 percent.
• If the droplet size is reduced from 2 mm to 1 mm, number of droplets produced will increase by 8 times from the same volume.

This chapter “Research Methodology” deals with methods and procedures followed in conducting the study. The chapter contains three parts. The first part deals with the sampling technique and the second part covers the empirical measures of different variables and last part describes details of data collection and statistical measures used in the study.

8.1. Ecological Soundness

Conservation of natural resources essentially means maintenance and improvement of ecological status and not permitting them for further degradation. The natural resources are soil, water, forest, mountain and animal resources. An attempt was made to find out whether the respondents adopt certain recommendations for preservation of these natural resources irrespective of source of advice.

i. Soil Health

Soil is considered as an important ingredient of ecological soundness of an area. Adoption of soil health measures, like adding of organic manures, following of crop rotations, use of balanced chemical fertilizers, green manure and bio- fertilizers are some of the recommendations to maintain soil health. While examining the adoption of these measures, the following results were obtained.

Introduction

Accuracy and uncertainty analysis is an important step in preparation of surface map through geostatistical techniques or digital soil mapping approach. It is because that we rely on a map based on how much accurate it is and the degree of uncertainty associated with the estimates while the map was prepared. Any stakeholder for a soil map especially policy makers is interested in accuracy and uncertainty of the map before taking suitable land management decisions involving soil map as an input. Again the level of accuracy and uncertainty depends on the properties for which the map has been developed. If the property of interest is sensitive to environment or human consumption, then the accuracy level should be very high while the uncertainty level should be very low e.g. heavy metal concentration in soil, quality parameters of water etc.

Introduction

Soil is one of the vital resource, and is the basis of the existence of mankind. Management of this resource including its conservation and utilization is of crucial importance. It is a base on which all life depends. In the recent past, with burgeoning populations and the national goals of seeking self-sufficiency in food and fibre production, this resource base is slowly being stripped. While natural systems often adapt to stress in a remarkable fashion, some relationships - once destroyed - can never be restored. Soil resources can be assessed and monitored through its spectral signatures gathered through remote sensing.

The term ‘remote sensing’ is commonly restricted to methods that employ electromagnetic energy (such as lights, heat, micro wave) as means of detecting and measuring target characteristics. Sensors acquire data as various earth surface features reflect or e mit electromagnetic energy (EM energy). Remote sensing is the technology that is now the principal method (tool) by which the earth’s surface and atmosphere (as targets or objects of surveillance) are being observed, measured, and interpreted from vantage points. Remote sensing of the earth traditionally has used reflected energy in the visible and infrared, and emitted energy in the thermal infrared and microwave regions to gather radiation that can be analyzed numerically or used to generate images whose tonal variations represent different intensities of photons associated with a range of wavelengths that are received at the sensor.

Introduction

Over the past few decades, soil resources have witnessed many changes driven by demographic pressure and climate change. It is necessary to have up to date soil information to monitor the state of soils health with time. Soil resource inventory provides information about the potentialities and limitation of soils for its proper utilization. Soil survey offers an accurate and scientific inventory of different soils, their properties and extent. An in-depth knowledge of the type of soils and their spatial distribution is a prerequisite for developing rational land use planning. Remote sensing is the science of obtaining information about the earth’s surface without actually being in contact with it. On the other hand, proximal sensing refers to remotely sensed measurements that are taken at the field or laboratory level. Both these processes involve an interaction between incident radiation and the targets of interest. Fundamentally, remote sensing data products are a representation of the functional response of objects to energy sources. These are typically spectra, which are acquired as a discrete series of reflectance measurements taken at different wavelength intervals, or bands. In the shorter wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (visible part), features can be detected by virtue of reflected solar energy, while in the longer wavelengths (microwave, thermal parts), sensing of emitted energy works. Conventional soil sampling, and subsequent laboratory analysis are generally time consuming and costly. In this context, remote sensing plays a crucial role for studying soil resources. The term remote sensing is generally used for airborne and space borne acquisitions, whereas proximal sensing refers to ground-based laboratory and field measurements. Advances in the quantitative disciplines like remote sensing and proximal sensing have laid the foundations for a spatial exploration of soil-system dynamics within a landscape context (Pennock and Veldkamp 2006).

Introduction

Soil is a dynamic natural body, characterized by high degree of spatial variability due to combined effect of physical, chemical or biological processes that operate with different intensities at different scales (Goovaerts 1998). Reports have shown that there is large variability in soil properties, crop yield, disease, weed etc., not only in large-sized fields (Godwin and Miller 2003,Vrindts et al. 2005), but also in small-sized fields (Bhattacharya et al. 2008). Therefore, knowledge of hydro-physical properties of soils is crucial for management practices for all kinds of agricultural practices for efficient utilization of input resources. Plant growth and development is highly related to soil hydro-physical properties, which not only depend on soil intrinsic textural and chemical characteristics (Hamza and Anderson 2005) but also on soil management.

Soil physical properties which change with the variation in soil structure include bulk density, total porosity, pore geometry (size distribution, shape, continuity and tortuosity), penetration resistance and aggregate stability, consequently affecting soil hydraulic properties such as water retention characteristics, plant available water capacity, infiltration capacity and saturated hydraulic conductivity. These soil properties are dependent on seasonal climatic conditions, management practices, crop development and biological activity (Reynolds et al. 2007). The hydro-physical properties of soils, i.e., water retention and water permeability in both saturated and unsaturated zones not only shape soil water balance but also decide the conditions for plant growth, development and yield. They also determine water availability for the plant root system and the transfer of water with chemical compounds dissolved in it into deeper layers.

Introduction

The life support systems of a country and socioeconomic development of its people largely depend on soils. The soils are the most valuable natural resources for the society. It caters the basic needs of mankind by producing food, fibre and timber. It is therefore essential to know the distribution and extent of different soils and their qualities, potentialities and constraints for sustainable utilization of this valuable natural resource (Shyampura and Sehgal 1995). Information on distribution, potential and constraints of major forest soils are essential to design most appropriate soil management systems in order to increase productivity of forests as forests also offer excellent potential for poverty reduction and rural economic growth in India. However, unlike agriculture lands forest soils usually draw less attention and are ignored in spite of the fact that they nourish the lungs of the Earth. Soil quality is the most important factor in forest management decisions. Soils will determine productivity of a particular forest and management strategy. Knowing about forest soils can serve as a basis for forest management decisions, including land acquisition, species selection for planting, site preparation requirements, watershed development, fertilization prescriptions, stand density/ composition, and harvest timing, as well as decisions affecting land ownership and use.

Introduction

High degree of spatial variability in soil properties is observed at different scales. This variability is generally originated from the combined effect of physical, chemical or biological processes operating with different intensities at different scales (Goovaerts 1998). Knowledge of this spatial variationof soil properties is important in several land management applications e.g. variable rate application of nutrient and water in agricultural production system, land suitability classifications, modeling water balance components at landscape scales, precision farming etc. The concept of ‘management zone’ was also evolved in response to this large variability with the main purpose in efficient utilization of agricultural inputs with respect to spatial variation of soils and its properties (Franzluebbers et al. 1996, Atherton et al. 1999, Malhi et al. 2001). Therefore, an appropriate understanding of spatial variation of soil properties is essential. The most important way to gather knowledge in this aspect is to prepare soil maps through spatial interpolation of point-based measurements of soil properties. Here, a case study is discussed where soil water retention at two critical levels e.g. field capacity (FC) and permanent wilting point (PWP) was spatially characterized through geostatistical approaches. Because these two soil moisture contents guide farmers to apply right amount of irrigation water at right time. The study was carried out at the experimental farm of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India (28°37′-28°39′ N, 77°8′ 30″-77°10′30″ E, 217-241 m above mean sea level). A detailed discussion of the study is available in Santra et al. (2008)

Introduction

Globally, the SOC pool of 1,550 Pg (1 Pg = 1015 g) to 1-m depth is about three times that of biotic and twice that of atmospheric pools (Post et al. 1982, Watson et al. 2000). In arid and semi-arid ecosystems, SOC contents show high degree of spatial variability due to patchiness of vegetation (Wiesmeier et al. 2009). The arid ecosystem might play a key role in mitigation of climate change effects through sequestering carbon in soils (United Nations 2011). Therefore, a suitable land use system having high C sequestration potential for arid ecosystem needs to be identified and promoted. However, the prevailing conditions of arid ecosystems normally does not support dense vegetation. Therefore, low carbon stock is expected in both above-ground vegetation and below-ground soil. Fruit trees are an integral part of arid farming system and played a significant role to improve the nutritional security and employment opportunity of farmers but also have potential role to increase carbon storage both in biomass and soil. To quickly assess the soil carbon restoration programmes, it is important to know how much soil carbon is stored in an agricultural farm through adoption of different land management practices. Therefore, reliable estimates of SOC pools are essential to establish the soil carbon sequestration programmes at different landscape scales.