eChapters

Since ancient times, agriculture is an outdoor or open field production of crops. Open field production is climate and weather dependent. In fact, growth and development of crops under a particular set of climate parameters defines geographical location, productivity and production period of different crops. The magnitude of impact of climate and weather on agricultural productivity and quality of produce is appreciated by farmers and the scientific community, including horticulturists. Abiotic and biotic factors govern crop production potential and quality of products. Among the major constraints in production of horticultural crops are temperature (hot or cold), sunlight duration and quality, water deficiencies or excesses, atmospheric moisture (relative humidity), weeds, deficiency of nutrients, heavy winds, carbon dioxide and host of diseases and insect pests. There are ecological optima for obtaining production potential of each of the crops. Deviation from these conditions results in yield losses partially and sometimes totally. However, near optimal climatic conditions could be created by controlling the climate with the help of greenhouse using

The article is the Inaugural address delivered by Dr. R.S. Paroda at Indian Society for Protected Cultivation (ISPC-registered in March 2012), New Delhi on 21 March 2013 in a seminar ‘‘Advances on Protected Cultivation’’ at NASC, Complex, Pusa, New Delhi different protected structures/methods/devices and such cultivation under controlled environmental conditions is termed as as protected cultivation.

Greenhouse refers to a structure which provide relatively better environment for plant growth. The goal is to create congenial temperature and relative humidity in desired range. The greenhouse covered with polythene sheet, also called as polyhouse, has polythene sheet (UV stabilized 200 micron LDPE sheet) as covering over a relatively rigid frame (made of GI pipes, angle iron, boomboo or wooden) which entraps the solar energy to increase the temperature and provide light for plant propagation. A normal greenhouse has four basic components: 1) frame made from rigid material like GI pipes, wood or bamboo; 2) glazing material, which is transparent to provide enough light for plant propagation; 3) climate control system, which may be natural ventilation or forced ventilation using fans with or without cooling pads, shading nets, pigment painting, etc. and 4) plant growing medium (soil or artificial media like cocopeats) with needful arrangement for supplying inputs (water, fertilizers, pesticides, etc.). The design of greenhouse involves structural design of frame with enough climate control mechanism. It mainly depends on shape, size, material of frame, local climatic conditions, wind pressure, and desired height from crop production point of view. Fabrication of greenhouse should be such that it provides enough structural stability with wind pressure and other factors, perfect joints, anchoring of polythene, and minimum hindrances in crop production practices.

Tomato varieties produced 50% in plastic house cover more than what they produce in open air (Diez et al., 1985). Nevertheless this production increase is not, by itself the reason for the use of protected cultivation which requires higher expenses. The key factor is the cost increase of final product obtained during off-season, which created an interesting margin in spite of high production costs. The effect of cost of seed in total cost is negligible, which permitted the use of hybrid seed. The new hybrids have brought about production increases which can be calculated to be over 50% more than what the greenhouse varieties produced with the cost of hybrid seed giving an effect on total production costs of only 6-7%. So that under these circumstances, production increase associated with hybrids is certainly very advantageous, apart form other benefits to be derived from hybrids.

Kerala has a tropical humid weather characterised by high rainfall and humidity. The intense rainfall during June-September is a limiting factor for vegetable cultivation. High cost of labour, rapid urbanisation, small size of holdings and quality conscious consumers are some of the factors favouring protected cultivation in Kerala. Rain shelters and modified naturally-ventilated polyhouses are recommended structures for protected cultivation of vegetables. The important vegetables grown are cucumber, yard long bean, Capsicum, okra, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower and leafy vegetables. The conventional saw-toothed structure has been modified to suit Kerala weather by making variation in height and improving the roof and side ventilation so that temperature variation inside the structure is only 1°C compared to the ambient. The Kerala Agricultural University has also developed an ad-hoc package for protected cultivation of vegetables, considering the soil and weather parameters and is providing necessary technical support to growers and extension officers. The technology for large-scale production of virus-free vegetable transplants in pro-trays has also been standardized. There is a growing demand for quality, disease-free seedlings and technology can be scaled up into a profitable agri-entreprenurial model. Open field precision farming through fertigation and mulching is profitable compared to conventional system of cultivation. Besides maximising water-and nutrient-use efficiency of the crop, this technology offers scope for mechanisation in vegetable cultivation saving human labour requirement by almost 50%. Rain shelters are useful for year-round production of vegetables in homestead for small growers.

Green energy can be classified as any form of energy resource that results in zero greenhouse gas emissions and zero toxic byproducts. These constitute the alternate source of energy such as Solar, Bio, Hydrogen, Wind, Water etc. Renewable Energy is energy that is not depleted or expen- ded. Previously the pressure to reduce CO2 emissions dictated the energy sourcing. With recent findings from experimental evidence, global warming may not be attributable to CO₂ emissions in relation to other over-weighing causes. However the pressures to develop renewable sources continue since the cost of Oil is increasing in many countries. It is desirable and a necessity to develop renewable non-toxic energy resources. The global economy and welfare of all earth depends on it even if CO₂ is not the cause of global warming (GW). There are some factors not in the control of even the most technologically advanced society. These are solar activity such as sun spots which have huge and tremendous influence on the Earth’s climate. However we should strive not to cause any undue imbalances in the proportion matter and composition of Earth’s atmosphere. Although CO2 is a small contributor to GW in comparison to H₂O, we still have responsibility to maintain the right balance of the gases in the atmosphere by not causing undue changes to the Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen cycles! We are far way off from a Oil-free technology. Most transportation is still petrol driven.

Symbolic to its nomenclature, ’PULSE’ (P = people, U = umbrella, L = livestock, S = soil and E = energy) is a superb group of agricultural crops extending an energy umbrella to people (as a major source of dietary protein), livestock (as a green nutritious fodder and feed) and soil (as a builder and restorer of soil fertility through biological N₂ fixation). On account of these qualities, pulses have occupied a unique position in the Indian farming system. Crop diversification with greater inclusion of legumes is essential to alleviate declining factor productivity, input use efficiency and increasing cost of cultivation for realizing sustainable use of natural resources. Pulses are increasingly becoming a component of the intensive cropping systems as intercrop, substitute crop or catch crop. In upland situations, pulses play an important role as intercrops and ensure more income and efficient use of resources. While analyzing the reasons of low productivity of pulses in various parts of the country, it is observed that non availability of high yielding disease resistant varieties, cultivation on marginal and sub-marginal lands under deficit moisture and fertility and poor pest management are the major constraints in realizing optimum yield potential.

Lentil is one of the most nutritious cool season food legume and ranks next only to chickpea. It is grown throughout the northern and central India for grains, which are used as dal (wholeor dehulled) andin various otherculinarypreparations. Lentil contains about 25% protein, 0.7% fat, 2.1% mineral, 0.7% fibre and 59% carbohydrate. It is a rich source of phosphorus and carotene. It is generally grown as rainfed crop during rabi season after rice, maize, pearl millet orkharif fallow. It is also grown as intercrop with barley, linseed, mustard and autumn planted sugarcane. In North-eastern parts of the country, lentil is also cultivated as paira crop with rice in which seeds of lentil are broadcast in the standing crop of rice 7-10 days before its harvest. It is grown on a wide range of soils from light loamysand to heavy clay soil in northern parts and moderately deep black soils in central India.

To set up a soil-testing laboratory the minimum requirements are as follows:

8.1 Laboratory floor area

Minimum four rooms are needed. They are as follows:

1. Office room, floor size: 18’x 12’

This room is used for registration of the soil samples received, recording recommendations along with soil test results in laboratory book and in report sheet, their dispatch, accounts etc.

Introduction

In view of the accepted importance of analysis, the workload on soil, plant and water testing laboratories has increased considerably in recent years. Therefore, analytical methods have needed to be accelerated through the automation of instruments. Almost all instruments either contain inbuilt computers or can interface directly with micro processors, thereby simplifying instrument operation and providing versatility for the analyst. Most operations can be performed through keyboard commands. This type of instrument automation enables:

ABSTRACT

Shivaliks are highly fragile ecosystem of Himalayas threatened by problems like soil erosion, loss of tree cover, decreased productivity of fuel, fodder and food, to name a few. These problems are further being complicated due to ever increasing anthropogenic pressure. Maintenance and enhancement of soil fertility is not only vital for food security and environmental sustainability in the Shivalik hills, but all over the globe. Agroforestry is frequently proposed as a solution to problems of land and water degradation as well as an answer to shortages of food, fodder and fuel in the Shivaliks, and the same holds true for Jammu Shivaliks. Substantial environmental benefits accrue from planting trees. Suitable tree crop combinations as well as their management practices need to be worked out. Growing of trees and grasses in agroforestry systems such as agrihorticulture, silvipastoral, agrisilvipastoral are specially suited for Shivalik hills keeping in view their role in soil and water conservation. Additional agroforestry component i.e, animals can further hasten the ameliorative effect of agroforestry. In all, combination of trees, crops and/or animals on the same unit of land holds great potential for contributing to sustainable land use system which can help in conserving soil and water besides providing innumerable socio-economic benefits.

ABSTRACT

Survey and research trial conducted for the selection of promising tree based farming system in Paonta valley region of H.P. have been summarized in the manuscript. Tree based farming innovations with intercropping, their planting technology and geometry around field/ farm, pure plantation , block plantation of trees grown with agricultural/fruit crops for better productivity per unit of land have been suggested for improving socio-economic condition of the regional farmers.

ABSTRACT

The paper discusses the problems of soil and water erosion in the Shivalik foot hills and suggests strategies for improved land use planning and the role bamboo species can play in mitigating the problems. The paper also discusses the various bamboo species of the Shivalik foothills, their regeneration, planting practices, management and utilization pattern in detail.

Soil is defined as the thin layer of earth’s crust made up of disintegrated and decomposed rocks, complex mineral compound, organic matter, water/air and living organism like bacteria, fungi, insects and worms and serves as the natural medium of growth of plants.

• It provides nutrients, moisture, anchorage (support) and provides air to root system.
• There are different soil groups found in varied regions of India.
• Each group differs from other in physical and chemical properties.
• The variation in behaviour is mainly due to the nature of the parent material from which the soils are formed.
• Parent materials are Igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks.
• Physical properties like structure, texture, colour, water holding capacity, depth etc. are to be noted. Chemical properties like the presence of various plant elements, pH, EC, CEC, acidic or alkaline, etc. are considered.

Harvesting: “Removal of entire plant or economic parts after maturity from the field" is called harvesting. It includes the operation of cutting, picking, plucking or digging or a combination of these for removing the useful part or economic part from the plants / crops. The portion of the stem that is left in the field after harvest is called as stubble. The economic product may be grain, seed, leaf, root or entire plant.

Harvest Index: (H.I): It is the ratio of the economic yield to the total biological yield expressed as percentage.

H.I = Economic yield / Biological yield x 100

Time of Harvesting: If the crop is harvested early, the produce contains high moisture and more immature ill filled and shriveled grains. High moisture leads to pest attack and reduction in germination percentage and impairs the grain quality.

Late harvesting results in shattering of grains, germination even before harvesting during rainy season and breakage during processing.

India shares 17.4% of the world population, while its land is only 2.4% of the total geographical area of the world. Naturally, the pressure on the land is often beyond its carrying capacity. Therefore, the productive lands, especially the farmlands in India are in the constant process of various degrees of degradation and are fast turning into wastelands. At present, approximately 63.85 million hectare area of the land is lying as wastelands in India (NRSA, 2005). Out of these lands, about 50% lands are such non-forest lands, which can be made fertile again if treated properly. In the last 50 years India’s lush green village forests and woodlots have been deforested to the maximum. To restore this ecological imbalance by developing the degraded non-forest wastelands, Government of India had created the Department of Wasteland Development during July, 1992 under the Ministry of Rural Development, which has been subsequently reorganized and renamed Department of Land Resources, with a broader mandate.

National Wasteland Development Board was established in 1985 mainly to tackle the problem of degradation of lands, restoration of ecology and to meet the growing demands of fuelwood and fodder at the national level. The Board was reconstituted in August, 1992 and was made responsible for development of wastelands mainly in non- forest areas in totality by involving local people at every stage of development. It aims at creating a scenario where the Government acts as a facilitator and the people at the grass root level become the real executioner of the programme. The degradation of environment in the fragile Indian subtropical ecosystem is basically attributed to the following factors.

The main objective of any cropping system is to utilize available resources efficiently viz., land, water, solar radiation by maintaining stability in production in order to obtain higher net returns. The efficiency is measured by the quantity of produce obtained per unit resource used in a given time. The objective of traditional agriculture was to increase the production by two means

1. By increasing area under cultivation
2. By increasing the productivity per unit area of the crop

But two more dimensions are added to modern agriculture

1. To increase the production per unit time
2. To increase the production per unit space

In the traditional cropping systems, mixtures and rotations were developed by the farmers over years of experience by trial and error to suit specific ecological and sociological conditions to attain yield stability, whereas modern scientific cropping has three pillars viz.

Biointensive IPM incorporates ecological and economic factors into agricultural system design and decision making while addressing public concerns about environmental quality and food safety. It provides suitable guidelines and options for the effective management of pests and beneficial organisms in an ecological context in a holistic self-sustaining manner. The flexibility and environmental compatibility of the Biointensive IPM strategy make it useful in all types of cropping systems particularly in an agro-biodiversity rich ecosystem.

Introduction

Banana (Musa sp; family: Musaceae) is the second most important fruit crop in India next to mango. Its year round availability, affordability, varietal range, taste, nutritive and medicinal value makes it the favorite fruit among all classes of people. It has also good export potential. Banana evolved in the humid tropical regions of South East Asia with India as one of its center of origin. Modern edible varieties have evolved from the two species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana and their natural hybrids, originally found in the rain forests of S.E. Asia. During the seventh century AD its cultivation spread to Egypt and Africa. Banana and plantains are grown in about 120 countries. Total annual world production is estimated at 86 million tonnes of fruits. India leads the world in banana production with an annual output of about 14.2 million tonnes. Other leading producers are Brazil, Eucador, China, Phillipines, Indonesia, Costarica, Mexico, Thailand and Colombia. In India banana ranks first in production and third in area among fruit crops. It accounts for 13% of the total area and 33% of the production of fruits. Production is highest in Maharashtra (3924.1 thousand tones) followed by Tamil Nadu (3543.8 thousand tonnes). Within India, Maharashtra has the highest productivity of 65.70 metric tones /ha. against national average of 30.5 tonnes/ha. The other major banana producing states are Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Assam.

Introduction

Medicinal plants are known to Indian traditional healers since time immemorial. The plants were collected from the wild and were used in many preparations of wellness products. India is endowed with diverse group of medicinal plants accounting for more than 8000 species which are being used in more than 10,000 herbal products. Ninety percent of herbal industry’s requirement of raw materials is meted out from the natural ecosystem-forests-resulting in ruthless exploitation and destruction of its natural habitats (Mathivanan et al., 2016). Medicinal plants are cultivated or found in the wild throughout the country and are used for various purposes including traditional herbal remedy (infusion, tincture and decoction) and extraction of phytochemicals for homoeopathic and ayurvedic drugs, cosmetics, neutraceuticals/dietary supplements, functional foods and aroma therapy oils (Nagpal et al., 2004). The large scale cultivation of medicinal plants may face the problem of sudden appearance of large populations of insect pests in a single crop. Like other plants, medicinal plants too have to bear the devastating effects of injurious insect-pests, which are not only harmful for the plant but also, deteriorate the quality of the produce, thus hampering its medicinal value.This chapter discusses major insect-pest and their eco-friendly measures in medicinal plants so that a package of practices can be recommended for an easy adoption even by small and marginal farmers and gardeners in India.

Introduction

From avian species alone approximately 20 mycoplasma serotypes have been isolated and characterised. Out of them, three serotypes (M. gallisepticum, M. meleagridis and M. synoviae) are most typical and pathogenic. A serotype M. iowae causes low hatchability in turkeys. Mycoplasmas are bacteria that lack cell wall and belong to the class Mollicutes. Although they have been considered extracellular agents, scientists admit nowadays that some of them are obligatory intracellular microorganisms, whereas all other mycoplasmas are considered facultative intracellular organisms

The disease is worldwide in distribution and remains the major parasitic problem in the poultry industry. The problems occur principally in poultry maintained on deep litter.

Etiology

Coccidiosis of all classes of poultry is caused by one or more of the many species of coccidia of Eimeria species. In chickens nine main species are encountered. Eimeria tenella, E. necatrix, E. maxima, E. acervulina, E. mitis, E. mivati, E. hagani, E. brunetti and E. preacox.

Introduction

Progress in plant biotechnological research has opened many avenues for basic and applied research in the field of crop plants. Plant tissue culture is an important component of biotechnology that involves in the improvement of crops. Besides this, plant tissue culture provides a good system for many basic studies in plant breeding, plant physiology, genetics and cell biology. Further, manipulation of cells through the modern technique of genetic engineering may lead to an introduction of new gene(s) to a host plant and the techniques of genetic engineering rely on plant tissue culture techniques. The regeneration of plants through plant tissue culture and their subsequent acclimatization and delivery to the field possesses many problems to make tissue culture technology a viable alternative proposition. The successful development of encapsulation technique for preparation of plant propagules in a nutrient gel has initiated a new line of research on artificial seeds. Application of this technology has been well recognized in several agronomically important crops and forest trees. Artificial seeds make a promising technique for propagation of transgenic plants, non-seeds producing plants, polyploids with elite traits and plant lines with problems in seed propagation.

To mimic the natural seeds, the embryos from cultures are encapsulated in a nutrient gel containing essential organic/inorganic salts, carbon sources, plant hormones and antimicrobial agents and coated completely to protect the embryos from mechanical damage during handling and to allow the development and germination without any undesirable variation. When looking at the history of synthetic seed technology, a wide number of encapsulating agents have been tested in time for their capacity to produce beads like, potassium alginate, sodium alginate, carregeenan, agar, agarose, guargum, polyox, gelrite, sodium pectate, carboxymethyl cellulose, nitrocellulose, ethylocellulose, polyethyleneamine (Kersulec et al., 1993), chitosane (Tay et al., 1993), tracanth gum etc. have been tested as hydrogels (Table 3.1), out of which alginate emasculation was found to be more suitable and practical for synthetic seed production. Some plants exudates of arabic (Acacia senegal), karaya (Stereculsia sp.), or seed gums of gaur (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), tamarind (Tamarindus indica) or microbial products like dextran, xantham are also being used for encapsulation.

In this chapter we will look at the Expert system which can guide and assist an individual once it is provided with the enough Knowledge to do so. Here we will discuss about expert system and its architecture with proper steps of making an expert system in any field by several tools which are available to do so. For expert systems the most important is Knowledge Engineering which is the collection of Knowledge from an expert and Engineering it in such a form that a machine could understand it.

Introduction

One of the pioneering fields of AI study is Expert Systems (ES). It is proposed by researchers in the computer science department of Stanford University. An expert system is a computer system which emulates a human expert’s decision-making skills. Expert systems are developed by reasoning through information structures, representing laws, rather than through traditional procedural code, in order to overcome complex problems.

Expert Programs use professional expertise systematically to address human expert problems. An expert is an individual with experience in a specific field. The expert has expertise or special credentials which most people do not learn or care about. An expert can solve or solve problems more effectively than people can solve. Expert System actually emulates all these qualities of expert and solve the problem in a better way and fast.

Today, Expert System (ES) is used in the fields of finance, research, engineering, technology, medicine and many others where there is a well-defined problem area. The fundamental principle is that an expert method should also define the steps to illustrate why a problem can be solved. Unless an individual can justify his reasoning for Expert System.

The estimation of digestibility by feeding trials with sheep or other ruminants is laborious and requires large quantities of feed. Therefore, the chemical composition of feedstuffs are used to predict digestibility by making use of established mathematical relationship between digestibility and composition. However, since the relationship between digestibility and chemical composition varies with the type of feedstuffs, for each group of feedstuffs, mathematical equations will have to be developed by relating chemical composition with in vivo digestibility. In spite of this, the errors associated with this approach of predicting digestibility is large. This has led to the development of techniques that would mimic digestive function of the ruminant in the laboratory.

In vitro methods of feed evaluation using rumen fluid and/or digestive enzymes are the most widely used techniques in ruminant feed evaluation.Although,the technique adopted in different laboratories differ, the principle of the technique is essentially a partially simulated rumen environment in vitro by incubating rumen fluid anaerobically in buffered medium at 39°C for variable period of time. Currently the most commonly used rumen in vitro techniques are,

Now we have to learn how to enter numbers and text, how to edit any erroneous entry and then how to do simple calculations. Open empty excel spread sheet by clicking on the start menu in the window tool bars, click on Programs and then click on the Excel menu item.

6.1 Entering Numbers

Numeric entries are constant, can be integers, decimal fractions, integer fractions and scientific nations which can be entered by typing the number in the active cell [cell which can be made active by clicking the mouse on the cell.

Wilt

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lentis

Economic Importance

• The disease is present in countries such as India, Jordan, Nepal, Pakistan, Syria, Turkey, Russia, France, Hungary, Ukraine, Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Canada, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay etc.
• It may cause 5-10% yield losses but sometimes severe damage may result complete crop failure under favorable conditions.

An electron impringing on a solid surface may be scattered once, several times, or never. When an incident electron beam bombard atoms of the sample, secondary electrons (SEs) and backscattered electrons (BSEs) emerge from the sample surface. Multiple scatterings occur if the dimension of the material is greater than approximately twice the mean free path of the electrons. This scattering may be elastic or inelastic. A pear shaped volume (interaction volume) is formed as shown in Fig. 1 and this volume of excitation increases with increase in the beam voltage (electron energy) and decreases with the increasing specimen density (ion atomic number).

Information on the avifauna of an area is a prerequisite to assess the status of birds and the habitat quality with specific attention to indicator species including the rare, endangered and endemic species. Birds are one of the best indicators of the health of an ecosystem. They are highly mobile and easily observed indicators of change in the environment (Holmes et al., 1986). Many wetland species also play a role in the control of agricultural pests, while some species are themselves considered pest of certain crops. After fish, birds are probably the most important faunal group that attract people to wetlands. Loss of wetland habitats through direct and indirect modifications and non-sustainable harvesting of water birds for human needs have led to decline in several water bird populations and a number of species (Jin-Han Im et al., 2001).

Some of the most catastrophic declines of birds have taken place in the last few decades and the list of threatened species in the Asia- Pacific region has expanded rapidly to include species from a large range of water bird groups. While decline of some populations has been well documented, the fates of many others remain unknown. It is vital to understand the underlying causes in population changes and to attempt to control these trends in order to prevent key component of biodiversity of wetland habitat from being lost. The number of water birds using a particular habitat is related to types and quality of habitats, abundance and availability of food and level of disturbance. Monitoring of water birds can thus provide valuable information on the status of wetlands and can be a key tool for increasing the awareness of importance of wetland and conservation values. In this chapter, the status, occurrence and species composition of avifauna recorded from Kole wetlands are elucidated.

Tropical forest bird community

Species richness at Silent Valley and Mukkali were similar. Most of the birds at Silent Valley were sighted with in a distance of 4m during the census. At Mukkali this distance was up to 9m. Yellowbrowed Bulbul was the most common and dominant species found at Silent Valley. Most common species found at Mukkali was Black Drongo and dominant species was Jungle Babbler. A total of hundred and thirty-seven species of birds were recorded from the study area. There is no significant difference in bird species richness between years during monsoon and summer seasons at Silent Valley. But a significant difference in species richness is obtained between years in both seasons, at Mukkali.

Four endemic and threatened species of birds were recorded from the study area. This shows the conservation value of the study area. Total number of birds sighted in each month showed significant difference at Silent Valley and Mukkali. This is due to the movement of birds influenced by the climatic and other parameters. Overall density of birds was high at Silent Valley (1122 birds/km²) and low at Mukkali (780 birds/km² ). This indicates the ability of tropical evergreen forest to harbour more birds than tropical moist deciduous forest. The number of individuals/km² recorded is comparable to other tropical forests in the world and from this observation we can also conclude that the study area is supporting a rich bird community.

Coastal areas are defined as the interface or transition areas between land and sea, including large inland lakes. Coastal areas are diverse in function and form, dynamic and do not lend themselves well to definition by strict spatial boundaries.

Economic importance of coastal areas

Many of the world’s major cities are located in coastal areas, and a large portion of economic activities are concentrated in these cities. The coastal zone is an area of convergence of activities in urban centres, such as shipping in major ports, and wastes generated from domestic sources and by major industrial facilities. Many of the world’s most productive agricultural areas are located in river deltas and coastal plains, which contribute for national economic growth.

Life on Earth is dependent on microorganisms for many essential services. Microbes are intimate partners in global agriculture by way of mobilization of nutrients, antagonism against pathogens and exploitation of plant- microbe interactions and optimization of plant microbiome allows farmers to apply less chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and improving plant growth and yield for sustainable development.

India has 2.4% of land area of world and 8.1% global species diversity. India has 7500 km long coast line in nine states and three union territories. About 14% of Indian population (17 crores) lives in coastal area. In 10.78 million ha of coastal ecosystem, rice is the major coastal crop. Coastal rice accounts for 15% of total area and production of India. Coconut, cashew, areca nut, spices, plantation and fruit crops are the other important coastal crops. The east coast in four states (Tamil nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal) and one union territory (Pondicherry) has sandy coast and plains with medium to high rainfall (100-250 cm), and hot humid climate. It has marshy lands and mangroves. The west coast in five states (Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat) and two union territories (Diu and Daman, Dadar and Nagarhaeli) has fertile sandy plains with high rainfall (250-300 cm) and hot humid climate suitable for horticulture and plantation crops. Western Ghats near west coast is a hot spot with high biodiversity. ICAR established the Central Coastal Agriculture Research Institute (CCARI) at Goa in 2015 to carry out research on coastal agricultural crops.

Soil salinity in coastal regions is not only a soil type character, but also due to low quality irrigation water. The plant associated microorganisms “Plant microbiome” play a significant role in conferring resistance to soil salinity. The endophytic bacteria- rhizobium, rhizobacteria- azospirillum, azotobacter, phosphobacteria, PGPR bacteria, cyanobacteria, symbiotic fungi- ecto and endo mycorrhiza, alleviate the impact of soil salinity. Minimal microbiome for plants is the key determinant of plant health and productivity. The plant- microbe interactions are of three types: (i) Positive: Beneficial organisms- nitrogen fixers, phosphobacteria, mycorrhiza; (ii) Negative: Harmful organisms - plant pathogens; (iii) Neutral: Transient organisms. Millions of microbes inhabit plants, form complex ecological communities to improve plant growth, crop quality and productivity.

Email can be a wonderful tool for delivering feedback to students. Once a basic understanding of feedback’s role in learning has been established, one can begin to focus on how best to take advantage of the pedagogical functions of the com- munication medium. There is little doubt that email is changing how we commu- nicate and learn. For example, in an investigation of the effectiveness of email as a communication and instructional aid between instructors and students, Yu and Yu (2002) found “empirical evidence supporting the usefulness of e-mail as a prom- ising aid to promote student cognitive growth pertaining to computer knowledge and skills”.

Tao and Boulware (2002) suggest that email communication benefits teachers by “identif[ing] instructional focus and tak[ing] advantage of instructional moments to fit the developmental needs of their students in authentic situations”. They also find that email motivates learners, encourages authentic communication and cre- ates new learning opportunities.

Introduction

Global fisheries produced roughly 171 million tons of fish, with an estimated sale value of US$ 362 billion, generating over US$143 billion in exports in 2016. Around 60 million people across the world are employed in fisheries and aquaculture, with the majority in the small scale capture fisheries sector of developing countries (FAO, 2018). India has an annual harvestable potential of 4.414 mt. and with 9.9 lakh active fishers, the sector provides livelihood to nearly 4.0 million people including the post-harvest sector (Sathiananthan, 2017). The estimated value of marine fish at landing centre level was Rs. 48,381 crores and at retail level was Rs. 73,289 crores during 2016 (CMFRI, 2017). Seafood exports from the country reached 1.38 million tons valued at $7.1 billion in 2017-18 (MPEDA, 2018). The fishing fleet of the country includes 1, 94,190 fishing units consisting of 72,559 (37.31%) mechanized, 71,313 (36.67%) motorized and 50,618 (26.03%) artisanal craft (CMFRI, 2010). The mechanised sector contributed 82% of catch followed by motorised (17%) and non-mechanised (1%) sectors in 2016 (CMFRI, 2017).

The development of marine fisheries sector in India occurred in three phases. In the first phase (up to 1965-66) fishing was mainly done by using non-mechanized indigenous craft and gear. The second phase (up to 1985-86) witnessed increased mechanization, improved gear materials and introduction of motorized country craft. In the last phase (after 1986) there was intensification of mechanization, motorization of the country craft and multi-day voyage fishing (Sathianandan, 2013).

The craft and gear technologies in marine fisheries sector vary based on the types of fish caught and nature of fishing ground. The economics of different production technologies in the mechanised, motorised and non-mechanised categories were analysed based on the size of boats and capacities of engines and gear. The economic indicators developed in different coastal states helps for micro level investment decisions as well as for developing macroeconomic policies for the fisheries sector.

Introduction

The better quality of life for the Indians who in majority depend on agricultural would be impossible by keeping the rich tradition of Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) aside (Das, et al., 2002). According to Farrington and Martin (1988), ITK is based on knowledge, beliefs and customs which are internally consistent and logical to those holding them but at odds with the objectively deduced findings of formal science”. Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) is the knowledge that the indigenous and local community accumulates over generations of living in local environment. It encompasses all forms of knowledge, experience, technologies, know-how, skills, beliefs and practices. These are also termed as “indigenous knowledge”, “people’s knowledge” “traditional knowledge” or “local knowledge” and are limited within a community. It is unique to a given culture, location or society.

Fishermen all over the world use some kind of traditional knowledge. ITK provides valuable insight into sustainable aquaculture, because it passes through considerable adaptation, up gradation and modification over a period of time and carried on from one generation to another as a family technology. Naturally, ITK fits well to a particular environment rather than modern technological knowledge. This knowledge has been developed outside the formal education system and refers to the large body of knowledge and skills which includes variety of fish culture practices, when and where to catch, how to process fish with a cost effective methods, and how to maintain their environment in a state of equilibrium. ITK is collective in nature and is often considered the property of the entire community, and does not belong to any single individual within the community.

Introduction

The Food Security is one of the most important dimensions of livelihood security of household (Rahman and Akter, 2010), because all efforts of the family members are directed towards fulfilling the family need including food. Food security defined as “access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life”. Food security includes at a minimum: (1) the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, and (2) an assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (Anderson, 1990). It is also an indicator of sustainability of any vocation be it fish, crop, livestock production or combination of it. In case of Tripura very little study has been made in this aspect. Therefore, in this paper it is attempted to assess the status of food security of fish farmers of Tripura, using Index of Food Consumption (IFC) and Clustering Technique.

Data and Methodology

This study was undertaken in Tripura state and study area comprises 6 Rural Development Blocks viz. Bishalgarh, Melagarh and Mohanpur of West Tripura district; Hrishyamuk, Rajanagar and Matabari of South Tripura District. From these blocks a sample of 105 fish farmers was selected using stratified sampling method for gathering the primary data. The pretested, semi structured survey schedule was administered to collect the data during 2010.

Introduction

Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic organisms, has been the agro industrial activity with the highest growth rate worldwide in the last four decades. From 1970 to 2008 the production of aquaculture organisms grew at a rate of 8.3% per year, compared to less than 2% of fisheries, and 2.9% of livestock (Luchini et al. 2008). In India, aquaculture feed market was valued at USD 1.20 billion in 2017 and is expected to register a CAGR of 10.4% during the forecast period (2018-2023). Indian feed mills have the capacity to produce 2.88 million metric ton. Andhra Pradesh is the largest feed consuming state in India (Anon. 2017). The growth in production has been faster for fed species than for non fed species indicating that adoption of feed based aquaculture as the major driver of aquaculture production growth (FAO, 2016). However, the demand for aquaculture feed in the country will touch to 7 million tons by 2017-18. Hence, there is wide gap in demand and supply of feed. The feed cost is a major production cost in aquaculture in India yet feeding of fish is still mostly guesswork, each fish producer following different guidelines (feed charts) or adopting different practices. Feeding too much leads to feed wastage, a pure economic loss, and greater waste output. Feeding too little results in less growth and this also represents an economic loss. In intensive and semi intensive aquaculture, natural foods are not sufficient to meet our overall nutritional requirement of the fishes for their survival and faster growth. Hence, the good quality supplementary diet which contains all required nutrients in recommended quantity were recommended by many aquaculture scientists for the better production. It is further opined by the researchers that it is economical to prepare supplementary feeds by using locally available ingredients. The dietary carbohydrates are usually quantitatively the largest constituent of diet (40-55% W/W) particularly in feeds for carps, the most dominant group of fishes with respect to not only world aquaculture but also Indian Aquaculture. The rice bran, corn, and wheat are the conventional carbohydrate sources in India. In North East Region of the country none of these items are produced locally in sufficient quantity (Kumar et al. 2018). Due to less of local production of these ingredients, cost of feed which generally constitute about 40-50% of total cost of production, increase tremendously in NEH region due high transportation cost. Hence, for development of ideal feed for carp based aquaculture in North East Region, optimization of feed cost is very important to make the fish production cost effective and more profitable.

Introduction

Horticultural crops comprising of fruits, vegetables, flowers, medicinal and aromatic plants, and mushrooms play an important role in meeting the livelihood, nutritional security and socio-economic development of farmers. India’s horticulture production (287 mt) surpassed food grain output (265 mt) fifth year in a row in 2016-17 (First Advance Estimates, 2016-17). Horticultural crops together contribute around 30.4% to the agricultural GDP from nearly 14% of the total cropped area, and contribute nearly 37% to the export of the agricultural commodity from the country (Anonymous, 2015). Fruits and vegetables are an important part of the human diet and a major source of biologically active substances such as vitamins and secondary metabolites. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, with a combined production of 260.7 million metric tons (91.7 million metric tons of fruits and 169 million metric tons of vegetables) during 2016-17.

Rapid growth in horticultural production has been accompanied by heavy use of pesticides thus causing major concern over health effects. Heavy pesticide use occurs, in part, because numerous pests attack horticultural crops, including the fruit itself, reducing market value and yield on high-value crops. Pesticide use raises safety concerns for agricultural workers who apply pesticides. Concern is particularly high in flower production because of heavy spraying in enclosed conditions. Potential food safety risks from pesticide residues are also a significant issue for importers of fresh fruits and vegetables and a market-risk factor for exporters who may have shipments detained or rejected if residues exceed allowable limits (George et al., 2003).

The increased use of chemical pesticides on horticultural crops has raised a number of economic, ecological and health concern. Economic concerns arise from the over reliance and use of chemical pesticides which increase the costs of production. Indiscriminate use of pesticides has resulted in ecological problems of common pests developing resistance, elimination of natural enemies and other beneficial arthropods, and environmental pollution. Human health concerns focus on risks from shortcomings in protective clothing, large deviations from recommended doses/situations, and excessive run-off into the soil and water sources. These concerns are exacerbated by poorly regulated internal markets for pesticides that have fostered usage of banned or outdated products; creating a situation that if not stopped will negatively impact on horticultural exports to countries with more stringent regulatory requirements for fresh crop produce. Meeting these food safety requirements has become a major challenge for the fresh produce export sector of many countries. To ensure and maintain export compliance, grower and consumer safety, and environmental integrity; farmers, government and development partners are developing programmes designed to improve pesticides usage, regulation and management on horticultural crops (Karungi et al., 2011). In this chapter, major important horticultural crops grown in India have been selected to illustrate trends in pesticide usage and regulation, and the development and application of alternative pest management practices through farmer participation and training.

Introduction

Vegetables are important constituents of Indian agriculture and play important role in nutritional security due to their short duration, high yield, nutritional richness, economic viability and ability to generate on-farm and off-farm employment. Vegetables form an integral part of staple diet in India where 42% population is vegetarian and vegetables are sources of daily requirement of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Our country is blessed with diverse agro-climates with distinct seasons, making it possible to grow wide array of vegetables. The role of vegetable cultivation in the country’s nutritional security, poverty alleviation and employment generation is becoming increasingly important. There are vast opportunities available in export sector, which need to be harnessed to their fullest ability. Vegetable crops have high yield potential and calories per unit area compared to that of cereals in the shortest time. Additionally, vegetable cultivation creates employment in rural sector, as it is a labour intensive farming practice. Vegetables are good source of ready farm income, besides being rich in health building substances, especially protective nutrients (Kalia, 2010 and Meena et al., 2016).

Introduction

Multiplication and perpetuation of plants through sexual and asexual means at desired quantum and quality is one of the important aspects of successful horticultural development. For successful propagation, stock production and growth of plants some facilities in the nursery, field or greenhouses are required for mass multiplication of the saplings. Horticultural crops included annuals, biennial and perennial crops so careful planning is require for the quality and genuinely. We known the various methods of propagation i.e., seed, cuttings or grafting and budding can be used for faster and true to type sapling production (Aldriance and Brison, 2000). Plantlets propagation mainly depends on season in open conditions, but for round the year material multiplication require hi-tech propagation structures like greenhouses, cold frames low polyethylene tunnels, sun tunnels, shade houses (lath houses), tissue culture facilities, hot frames and net house (Singh et al., 2003; Ratha Krishna et al., 2014). Field management for mass multiplication of saplings require partial modification and refined in nursery beds preparation (raised bed in high rainfall area and sunken bed in arid region), mother bed preparation (bed with mixture of media, where generally seeds are sowing in enclosed area and all viable and vigours seedlings at early stage may be shifted in poly bags for further growth) and poly bag nursery (saplings of horticultural crops are produced in poly bags of 150-200 gauge and different sizes i.e., 25 x10 cm (ber, khejri), 15 x10 cm (phalsa and pomegranate, karonda) and 30 x17 cm (kinnow, mosambi, aonla, sapota, mango) etc. Propagated plants should be healthy, vigorous and free from disease, weed, insect-pests as well as grafted plants should be equal in size of scion – rootstock, proper in shoot: root ratio and appropriate in morphological standard of scion according to varieties and species.

Introduction

Under arid and semi-arid regions of the world, major problems are salinity, alkalinity and calcareousness, which seems further aggravate with changing climate scenario. Besides that most of the developing countries lies in this zone with flanging population resultant shrinking down of land resource and good quality of irrigation water. Globally area under saline/sodic soils is about 953mha covering 8% of the land surface. Resent estimates indicate that 6.7 mha area in India is affected by soil salinity and alkalinity and about 25% of ground waters are sodic and/or saline in the country. There are two important approaches for utilizing saline, alkali or calcareous environment. The first one is to modify the environment so as to suit the plant or modifying the plant or substitute the plant species so as to suit the environment. First approach has been used more extensively because it enables the plants to respond better not only to water but also to other production inputs and also not far sustainable. However, second option is cost effective and most sustainable.

Accumulation of excessive salt in root zone leaves adverse effect on general agricultural crops and or crop failures sometimes, while crop diversification using seed spices are the option for such conditions. Most of the seed spices particularly cumin, fennel, dill, fenugreek, ajwain, celery, anise, caraway and coriander (and their cultivars) have some degree of salinity and alkalinity tolerance. However, among the seed spices, cumin is having high degree of salinity tolerance. In case of sodic or calcareous environment, fennel is most tolerant followed by dill as well as these crops are the remedy for such degraded environment by bringing down the sodicity and calcareousness. In some cases, germination, growth, yield and quality of seed spices improved by saline sodic environment. Besides eco-friendly use of these soils, phytoremediation of saline, sodic and calcareous soils by seed spices seems most sustainable.

Introduction

The hot arid regions of India are spread over 32 million ha (0.32 million Sq.Km.) in the state of Rajasthan (61%), Gujarat (20%), Andhra Pradesh (7%), Punjab (5%), Haryana (4%), Karanataka (3%), and Maharashtra(0.4%) which are characterized by hostile agro-climatic conditions and fragile eco-system. Out of total hot arid area of the country (India), more than 60% area falls under the state of Rajasthan which covers 12 districts viz., Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner, Churu, Sikar, Jhunhjunu, Naguar, Jodhpur, Pali, Jalor, Sriganganagar, and Hanumangarh of the state. In general, the hot arid region of Rajasthan receives very low rainfall, varies from 100 mm annun^-1in north-western district of Jaisalmer to 450 mm per annum in the eastern boundaries of arid district of Rajasthan. The potential evapo-transpiration varies from 2063 mm in Jaisalmer to 1503 mm in Sikar districts of Rajasthan. The rainfall is very erratic and often experienced prolong drought. The ground water table is very deep and often brackish in nature. The extremes of temperature having severe winter during December-January with temperature as low as -4 °C and very hot summer during May-June with temperature as high as 48-50 °C is another important characteristic of the hot arid regions. The solar radiation is very high. Atmospheric vapour pressure deficit reaches as high as 30 mb during summer (May-June). The wind velocity in June is very high which leads to heavy wind erosion and formation of sand dunes. Some time strong sand storms of very high speed (60-0 km h^-1) with huge amount of sand particles also occurs. The soils are coarse textured with low silt, clay and humus content and water holding capacity is very low and infiltration rate is very high. The soil fertility is very poor having low organic carbon (0.02-0.06%).

1. Introduction

During the last decade, considerable attention has been focused on the involvement of oxygen free radical (OFR) in various diseases. Molecular oxygen, while providing an efficient energy from ingested food, results in free radical and peroxide by-products, which have high intrinsic toxicity. Numerous physiological processes in living organisms occasionally produce free radicals, reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) as by-products. Their broad ranges of effects in biological systems have drawn the attention of many experimental works. ROS have been implicated in the pathophysiology of several clinical disorders, including ischemia, reperfusion injury, myocardial infarction, rheumatoid arthritis, neurodegenerative, atherosclerosis, acute hypertension, hemorrhagic shock and diabetes mellitus (Hemnani and Parihar, 1998).

Oxidative stress occurs in a cell or tissue when the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated exceeds the antioxidant capability of the cell (Simic and Jovanovic, 1986). Although humans and other organisms possess antioxidant defense and repair systems to protect against oxidative damage, these systems are insufficient under certain conditions to prevent the damage totally (Chang and Miles, 1982). Hence, the oxygen free radicals mediated damage to protein, DNA and other biomolecules accumulates during the lifetime of organisms. Many synthetic antioxidant components exhibited toxic or mutagenic effects that have directed the attention to the naturally occurring antioxidants in recent years. A multitude of natural antioxidants have already been isolated from different plant materials such as oilseeds, cereal crops, vegetables, fruits, leaves, roots, spices and herbs (Ramarathnam et al., 1995).

ABSTRACT

A plant grows in a highly competitive environment. It is continually being threatened by other plants encroaching upon the space from which it draws its sustenance, by microorganisms, by insects, avian, reptilian or mammalian herbivores. In order to survive, each plant must draw upon a complex of defenses, which may be physical, such as Spines or Leathery Leaves or Chemical. These defenses are passive, coming into action only when the plant is attacked which repel insects or the herbivores that attempt to feed on them. Plants protect themselves from insect attack by providing a multitude of repellent chemicals including toxic and bitter alkaloids and tannins. Non-specialist insects and other animals that attempt to feed on the plant may be repelled, injured through severe gastrointestinal malfunction or even killed. The cabbage, spinach, mustard etc. are well known for their mustard pungent flavor that deters most animals from consuming it. Even most medicinal plants like Cynanchum collialatum of the family Asclepediaceae have tannins or alkaloids like “cardenolides” that repel most animals and insects. All these plants have a basic enzyme “Myrosinase” which react with these specific tannins to produce the toxic metabolite, which repels insects and animals. But caterpillars of few insects are known to tolerate these toxic alkaloids (ex: caterpillar of Striped Tiger Butterfly-Danaus genutia) and in turn sequester the toxic alkaloids into their tissues making themselves non-palatable to their enemies. We hypothesize the analysis of possible roles of toxic alkaloids isolated from these butterflies as bio-insecticides

ABSTRACT

In vitro culture and cryopreservation techniques are complementary to ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources that are vegetatively propagated or having recalcitrant seeds. An in vitro germplasm conservation study has been conducted on Banana passionfruit (Passiflora mollissima), a plant used in rural medicine. Micropropagated plants survived up to 12 weeks in Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 0.5% sucrose. Cryopreservation experiments were carried out on the explants (apical and/or axillary buds), pre-treated with vitrification solutions, dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) and PVS2 (Plant vitrification solution-2) with or without desiccation treatment and frozen in liquid nitrogen (LN). The survival and regeneration of apical buds were higher than axillary buds when pre-treated with 15% DMSO. Treatment with 20 % PVS2 for 1 h followed by 100 % PVS2 for 20 min gave maximum shoot recovery (40%) from cryopreserved apical buds. Desiccation alone was not successful but combination of pre-treatment of PVS2 (20% for 1h and 100% for 20min) with 3 h desiccation gave 30% plant survival from frozen apical buds. Regenerated shoots were rooted on MS medium with 1.0 mgl-1 naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and 0.2 % activated charcoal.

ABSTRACT

The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of α-mangostin on cardiac markers against isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction in rats. Induction of rats with Isoproterenol (150 mg/kg body wt, i.p) for 2 days resulted in a marked reduction in the activities of cardiac tissue marker enzymes (LDH, CPK, GOT and GPT). Pretreatment with α-mangostin (200 mg/kg of body wt/day) orally for 6 days significantly prevented these alterations and restored the enzyme activities to near normal levels. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate the protective effect of α-mangostin on isoproterenol induced experimental myocardial infarction in rats.

ABSTRACT

An efficient and reliable micropropagation and mycorrhization techniques were established for a medicinal plant Solanum trilobatum L., using internodal explant. Callus formation occurred from both the cut ends of explants cultured on MS medium supplemented with 2,4-D (3.0 mg/l). Direct shoot and multiple shoot formation were noticed from the proximal cut end of explants on BA (2.0 mg/l) alone and BA (2.0 mg/ l) + NAA (0.5 mg/l). Root formation was directly induced from the basal cut end of explants cultured on IBA (1.0 mg/l). In vitro plantlet regeneration has been achieved on BA (2.0 mg/l) + IBA (1.0 mg/l). After 4 weeks, well-developed in vitro plantlets were hardened in plastic cups filled with sterile soil and vermiculite (3:1). During acclimatization, sterile Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) fungal spores were added for enhance the survivability of in vitro plants in the field condition. The level of biochemical changes and increased survivability were studied in 10 weeks old plants inoculated with spores of Glomus mosseae and Gigaspora margarita.

ABSTRACT

Indole alkaloids gramine, tyramine and tryptamine were isolated from the aerial part of Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. for the first time and their antimicrobial properties agains microbial pathogens were studied. Structures of the compounds were elucidated base upon the spectroscopic data such as ¹H-NMR, ¹³C- NMR and MS. The evaluations o the crude extract and the alkaloids for their efficacy in inhibiting the growth of huma pathogenic bacteria and dermatophytes were carried out in vitro. The crude extrac was effective in inhibiting the growth of all the tested microorganisms. Tryptamin and tyramine did not inhibit microbial growth when tested individually, but in combination the growth inhibition of Klebsiella pneumoniae was prominent. Gramin was the most effective one in inhibiting the growth of all the tested microbial pathogens

ABSTRACT

Nature provides a wealth of information on natural products with novel architectur and very high medical potential. Given the enormous medical and economic impac of natural product pharmaceuticals we have obvious reasons to improve the activitie of the existing compounds and to discover new metabolites. Although natural product are a proven source of drug candidates they exert powerful physiological effects in one form or other. Only a small proportion of these compounds satisfy the rigorou criteria set by the pharmaceutical company. Also the amount of active compound isolated from the natural products is so small that it is difficult to exploit it in an industrial level. So there arises a need to synthesise synthetic compounds which ma be tested for bioactivity from the easily available starting materials by a simpl methodology. The quest for finding new drugs against various diseases such as AIDS cancer etc. act as a motivating factor in designing synthesis of new materials. In thi way most of the compounds synthesized can be tested for bioactivity to be effectivel used to fi ht a ainst certain dreadful diseases.

We have synthesised some polycyclic heterocycles through cycloaddition methodology and explored the bioactivity of the products. These molecules have basic skeleton of the natural products and possess the biological properties of the natural products. Thus they may be termed as pseudo natural products. These compounds are screened for antifungal and antibacterial activities and are found to possess bioactivity.

Keywords : Heterocyclic compounds, antifungal activity, DMSO, pathogens, inhibition zone.

Abstract

Thermal properties of food are its ability to conduct, store and lose heat. These properties are inherent in food processing and preservation practices. Thermal properties are important for modelling processes, engineering design of processing equipment, sterilization and aseptic processing. Important thermal properties are thermal conductivity, specific heat and thermal diffusivity. These properties depend on chemical composition, water fraction and temperature.

Introduction

Thermal properties are involved in almost every food processing operation. It is essential to have knowledge of thermal properties of foods which is important in analysis and design of various food processes and food process equipment involved in heat transport. Thermal properties of food are greatly depending on composition, temperature and density of food. Thermal properties required for heat transfer calculation include specific heat, enthalpy, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity. Thermal properties of foods are related to heat transfer control in specified foods and can be classified as thermodynamic properties (enthalpy and entropy) and heat transport properties (thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity). Thermo physical properties not only include thermodynamic and heat transport properties, but also other physical properties involved in the transfer of heat, such as freeze and boiling point, mass, density, porosity, and viscosity. These properties play an important role in the design and prediction of heat transfer operations during the handling, processing, canning, storing, and distribution of foods.