eChapters

Introduction

In recent past vegetable cultivation took enormous turn over because of increased population, inflow of tourists and increased per capita income in the Bay Islands as well as India. Population in these islands is increasing due to immigration of people from main land and the land area is limited.

Introduction

Marketing as we know plays an important role in the proper utilization of any crop irrespective of its type and variety. Unless and until producer is not able to market his crop efficiently, he will not get the remunerative price for his produce. For the past few years marketing part is getting more attention than production as giving 100 per cent to the production side only will not pay much to the farmers. Proper distribution of the product to its proper place where demand is more and that too in time is also important. Government is also encouraging the farmers for marketing of their produce in a right and effective manner. No doubt every crop is in need of efficient marketing but fruits because of more perishable in nature require advanced marketing facilities.

Meaning of Marketing

Marketing is an important function of management. Marketing makes the economy strong. Production is meaningless unless the goods and services are exchanged for money. Marketing is related with movement of good from producer to consumer.

Various people have defined marketing differently. A majority of people consider it as selling while some people prefer to call it shopping. Similarly, some people call it merchandising. All these meanings of marketing are partially correct.

Marketing is the sum total of all those activities which move goods and services from the producers to the consumers.

Introduction

Agriculture, in most developing countries is the major industry. More than 50 percent of the labour is working in this sector and its industrial and commercial branches. In these countries, also more than 50 percent of the households‘ incomes are spent for low quality and value foods. Inefficiency of the agricultural products marketing system is the starting place of these problems.

In the recent years, rural markets have acquired significance in developing countries like India and China, as well as the overall growth of the economy has resulted into substantial increase in the purchasing power of the rural communities. On account of technological change during 1966-67, rural areas are consuming a large quantity of industrial and urban manufactured products. In this context, a special marketing strategy i.e. rural marketing has taken place. Sometimes, rural marketing is mystified with agricultural marketing the later denotes marketing of agricultural commodities of the rural areas to the urban consumers or industrial consumers, whereas rural marketing involves delivering manufactured or processed inputs or services to rural producers or consumers or rural marketing determines the carrying out of business activities bringing in the flow of goods from urban sectors to the rural regions of the country as well as the marketing of various products manufactured by the non-agricultural workers from rural to urban areas. Also, when we consider the situation of developing countries, there is a picture that comes out, huge market for the development products as well as the labour support.

Cotton, the traditional and important commercial crop has been in cultivation in India for more than five thousand years. Though synthetic / man-made fibre has made inroads, cotton deserves the prime position not only in India but also in the world. The Northern hemisphere accounts for more than 90% of the total world production. Whereas countries like China, US and India together account for 50% of the production in the world. In India, cotton farming provides livelihood for over 4 million farm families. Various allied activities like ginning, spinning, weaving, textile processing, garment manufacturing, marketing etc., provide employment to several million people.

Abstract

In semiarid climates, a significant component of recharge to basin aquifers occurs along the mountain front. In this scenario Mountain Front Recharge study has been carried along the foothills of Courtallam ,Tamil Nadu. A total of 53 groundwater samples were collected along the foothills and measured for major cations and anions using standard procedure. Saturation index (SI) of carbonate minerals like Aragonite,Magnesite, Calcite and Dolomite,LogpCO₂ and Ionic strength obtained from WATEQ4F output. pH plays a significant role in the saturation index of the minerals. Most of the Carbonate minerals shows undersaturation  with the pH range 7.5. Positive relationship between SI and HCO₃ is noticed. A sharp increase of pCO₂ values towards the foothills region suggests that the groundwater has been recharged by, acquiring longer flow path during its infiltration into deeper level near foot hill region. The SI of these carbonate minerals was spatially distributed to identify the areas of higher SI and also it is compared with the water level fluctuation to understand the recharge process along the foothill region as well as riparian zone.

Abstract

A total of 30 groundwater samples were collected in four different seasons (Pre Monsoon, South West Monsoon, North East Monsoon and Post Monsoon) from the coastal aquifers of Kalpakkam region of Tamilnadu. The samples were collected covering the seasonal and lithological variations to infer the influence of natural geochemical processes and anthropogenic sources on the groundwater chemistry. The collected samples were analysed for the parameters like EC, pH and Major ions. The saturation index of silicates and carbonates shows that state of saturation to over saturation, but the sulphate minerals is dominantly under saturated. In the inverse modeling three models are obtained using PHREEQC and the error percentage is noted as 7.45%.

Abstract

A study on the Subsurface groundwater discharge (SGD) in the coastal Cuddalore region of south east India has been carried out. Measurement of surface water Radon, Water level, Electrical Conductivity (EC) and pH for a total of twenty four hours, by hourly interval the measurement has been calculated and promote correlated with tidal values calculated by WX Tide 32 software. The SGD measurements were made by using a modified seepage meter. The study reveals a match with water level variation and tide with minor variation due to influx of surface water. Saline discharges, fresh groundwater discharges and surface water mixing processes were identified along the coast. Lower SGD (37.24 – 79.16 cm/day) were observed during fresh groundwater discharge.

India occupies second position among the silk producing countries of the world, next only to China. Sericulture as a farm enterprise is highly suited to rural poor, especially small and marginal farmers and other weaker sections of the society, since it requires low investments but provides good and quick returns at individual family level. Several socio-economic studies have established that cost-benefit ratio in sericulture is highest compared to agricultural crops. Though there are limitations to the number of broods that can be raised per year in Himalayan region due to ecological conditions, net returns from sericulture activities are quite remunerative and effectively supplement the rural economy through part-time employment opportunities and utilization of local resources.

Introduction

Ever since its discovery, silk as a unique product of a plant-animal interface, continues to reign supreme despite the onslaught of natural and man-made textile fibres, because it is exclusive and the most beautiful of all textile fibres. It is associated with comfort, festivity and fashion.

Sericulture has established itself as an economic activity with a rural-base. It presents an intriguing example of an agro-industry whose potential to act as a safety-net for the poor in rural areas is unquestionable. From “Soil to Silk” activities, sericulture creates around 6 million person-years of incomegenerating opportunities. It generates employment @ 11 man-days per kg of raw silk production in a year in associated upstream and downstream activities. Sericulture is thus a labour-intensive cottage industry in all its phases, namely, host plant cultivation, silkworm rearing, silk reeling, and other post-cocoon processes such as twisting, dyeing, weaving, printing and finishing.

African agriculture is in crisis, and Africa’s farmland is losing its fertility at an alarming rate. Farmers grow the same crops in the same fields year. They don’t fertilize, and they don’t terrace their fields. When the soil wears out, the clear a new piece of land (wwww.npr.org). N. Kozana Diamini Luma, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission has emphasized that ‘the year 2014 – the year of Agriculture in Africa’ will be used as an opportunity to accelerate the drive for food security. The major thrust for that has to be on ensuring that the farmers make their profession on economic activity that generate wellbeing for all in a sustainable manner (1, 2).

Large quantities of crop residues are produced and if properly used, they can provide cost effective means for supplying organic matter, plant nutrients and improved soil health. The highly lignocellulosic nature of crop residues indicate their potential role in maintaining soil organic matter and enriching the soils with N-rich microbial biomass resulting from decompositions. However, their indiscriminate handling often burning leads to decline in soil health, air pollution and overall loss. Since most crop residues find use as feed and fuel, efficient recycling of the remaining amount can have very significant and positive effect.

The recent earthquake in Nepal brings back memories of 26th January 2001. While the nation was busy in celebrating Republic Day, an earthquake shattered Gujarat especially Kutch and Saurashtra regions. A large number of buildings and houses collapsed within moments. Thousands were injured and many lost their lives and many more became homeless.

Kutch received quick responses from all over the world and a large number of individuals, institutions, government and semi-government bodies, professional experts, religious and social organizations etc. sprang into action to bring back some normalcy in the lives. However, long-term rehabilitation program based on scientific planning is most vital after such disasters.

All agriculture universities have three main Directorates – Education, Research and Extension. Of the three, I have often observed that Extension Department comes in for maximum criticism. ‘Loose links’and ‘need to do much more in transfer of knowledge and technology’ are frequently emphasized at various levels – especially in meetings with farmers groups.

This is understandable – as it is said that less than 10% - often less than 6%, of lab scale knowledge and development reach the farmers fields in developing countries and even in many ‘developed’ counties. The situation is much more challenging when we consider a large population of small and marginal farmers – who as we saw can play extremely important role in eco-agriculture. A large percent of such farmers – women and men are practicing eco friendlyagriculture without realizing it. Their ‘ignorance’ can be converted in to advantage and new opportunity. The age old extension practice of reaching farmers through meetings, visit , seminars, camps, demonstrations all have limitations and need to be ‘scaled up’. New developments in information and communication Technology offer a great opportunity for a big jump in reaching the unreached. Again to alarge population of ‘Green Revolution’ – there is a new hope and opportunity.

1 Human and Animal Interactions in the Ecosystem
1.1 Evolution

It is proved that humans and animals share common ancestors as per evolution process. Thus, it is likely that, animal capacities are similar to humans, but these capacities differ only in degree. Furthermore, if the capacity for a particular feeling gives an adaptive advantage to an animal, then this provides supportive evidence for its existence. The presence of very similar neurological structures in other animals constitutes some sort of evidence that they can have the same sorts of mental states as humans. In the process of evolution depending on the favourable and unfavourable environmental factors, few organisms may die and few organisms might multiply. The relationship between biotic and abiotic components helps in the formation of ecosystem. In this ecosystem each and every organisms have equal chance to survive. The evolution process is well explained by Darwin’s theory.

Animal welfare organizations are those organizations which are volunteered to help people to protect their animals. It is concerned with the health, safety and psychological wellness of animals. They have a deep understanding of needs of animals and thus help animals in distress. The types of stake holders depend on what type of animals are reared.

Productivity measures, such as rate of growth or reproduction have traditionally been used as indicators of biological functioning. If this is regarded as closely related to animal welfare, then high productivity should be evidence for a high state of welfare. In some cases, selection for production has pushed animals to the point where basic biological functioning and body maintenance is compromised. Therefore, Production measures are always misused.  Productivity of the group is a different measure than productivity of the individual. Such group overall is performing poorly but that productivity from a few outstanding individuals makes average productivity look high. Similarly specific individuals who are performing very poorly may be overlooked if average group performance is high. Although commercial organized dairy farms are very limited, but welfare issues are always there in both small and large farm. Some of the important issues in the organized farms are discussed below.

In India, the cow is a worshipped as symbol of wealth, strength, abundance, altruistic giving and full of earthly life. Cows are traditionally treated as a sacred animal. Dairy products are extensively used in India and are one of the most essential nutritional components of meals.
 
The laws governing cattle slaughter is shown in entry 15 of the State List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, meaning that State legislatures have exclusive powers to legislate the prevention of slaughter and preservation of cattle. Some States allow the slaughter of cattle with restrictions like a “fit-for-slaughter” certificate which may be issued depending on factors like age and gender of cattle, continued economic viability etc. Others completely ban cattle slaughter, while there is no restriction in a few states. Prohibition of cow slaughter is a Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Article 48 of the Constitution.

3.1 Introduction

The concept of nanoscience was first described in 1959 by physicist Richard P. Feynman in a lecture to the American Physical Society and it was Japanese researcher Norio Taniguchi who coined the term nanotechnology in 1974 to describe precision engineering with tolerances of a micron or less. Eric Drexler in 1986 in his book Engines of Creation, brought nanotechnology into the public domain.

10.1 Introduction

A single-walled carbon nanotube (SW-CNT) is a nano scale tube formed by a cylindrical shell of single atomic layer of carbon atoms. Nanotubes have diameter of a few nm and length up to 100 nm so that they form extremely thin wires. The atomic structure of SWCNT can be formed by wrapping a stripe of single atomic layer of graphite sheet al.,ong a certain direction, and this direction determines the diameter and chirality of the nanotubes. Experimental and theoretical studies have found that these nano-meter sized CNTs have novel electronic properties, which can be metallic or semiconducting, depending on their radius or chiralities (Mintmire 1992, Hamada 1992, Saito et. al., 1992, Rao 1997, Wildoer 1998 and Odom et al., 1998).

Tumours of mammary gland are the second most common tumours of female dog representing approximately 30-50% of all tumours. Chemotherapy is a kind of treatment that uses drugs to attack cancer cells. The importance of chemotherapy has been emphasized and reported that survival could be prolonged after chemotherapy in cancer patients. Clinical trials of the combination of selective COX-2 inhibitors with chemotherapy in patients with a number of cancers have been initiated and preliminary results are encouraging. The introduction of immunohistochemistry and newer techniques like nucleolar organizer region (NOR) staining have improved the objective of diagnosis of cancer. Silver stained nucleolar organizer region (AgNOR) count is considered to be valuable prognostic marker for canine malignant lymphomas and other canine tumour. This study is designed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapeutic agent-Methotrexate with or without COX-2 inhibitors-Meloxicam and also to study the potential clinical application of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) as prognostic indication in canine mammary tumours.

Phosphorus, an essential element, plays a central role in cell metabolism and reproduction. It is a structural component of energy transferring molecules (ATP, ADP and AMP), nucleic acids, coenzymes, phosphoproteins, phospholipids and sugar phosphates. In soils, the phosphorus does not occur as abundantly as nitrogen or potassium. The total phosphorus in an average arable soil is estimated to be about 0.05% (by weight) with an average of approximately 1100 kg P ha-1 (range 200-2000 kg P ha^-1). But only a meager proportion (only ~0.1-1.0%) of it is available for use by plants and microorganisms because phosphorus has poor solubility and gets fixed in soil. Not only the native inorganic phosphates but even the added soluble phosphates of fertilizers and manure readily combine with the cations present in soil solution to form low solubility products. Fixation reactions in soils allow only a small fraction (10-15%) of phosphorus fertilizer to be taken up by the plants in the year of its application.

Biotechnological research started in early seventies with some impressive discoveries in the field of genetics, microbiology, biochemistry, biology and chemical bioengineering. The amalgamation of these sciences particularly integration of their basic principles and applied aspects gave rise to a new field, completely diverse and versatile in nature, what we call today ‘biotechnology’. Originating from research laboratories in universities, biotechnology rapidly captured the attention of industries as the number of its potential products increased. This newly developed frontier science later found broad application in medical science, pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, veterinary sciences and chemical industry for the welfare of mankind. Biotechnology by definition means ‘any technique that uses living organism or a part thereof to make or modify a product, to improve plant or animal or to develop microorganisms for specific purposes’.

Food Science is one of the ancient sciences and the genesis originates to the very beginning of human civilization. The advent of food science was associated with practice and observation by humans before establishment of scientific concepts. The ancient man knew that roasting or smoking of meat improves the edible quality and digestibility. As a consequence, he started practicing the same much before the reasons for the same could be established. Many of the modern preservation concepts had their origin in prehistoric period itself as humans could use techniques such as dehydration, fermentation and pickling to their advantage to improve the sensory attributes of the products and also to enhance their shelf life. Humans during the Pre-Neolithic period about 2,50,000 years before used fire for cooking meat. During the Paleolithic period humans not only roasted food but also developed grinding, pounding and drying. During the Mesolithic era, humans were desperate for food and got involved in extensive hunting and fishing. During the same time domestication of animals took place and animal husbandry became a reality (Stewart and Amerine 1982). The Neolithic period made qualitative changes in the food habits of humans and they changed from a food gathering and hunting society to one of food production (Heizer and Elsasser 1980).

INTRODUCTION

For thousands of years fermentation processes were largely natural phenomena exclusively identified with food preservation throughout the world. Fermentations can play a significant role in meeting the ever growing food requirements of world population providing benefits in the form of innovative food products with improved nutritional value and food quality along side better safety. Fermentations can be used to address a large variety of food related problems and in the development of processes to meet the demand for food. In the wake of estimations made by international organizations that global food demand and population would increase by two-fold by the year 2050, much emphasis has been placed over the ways and means to increase food production and preservation.

L - Ascorbic acid : It is a white crystalline compound with a slightly acidic taste. It is readily soluble in water, alcohol, glycerin, propylene glycol and is insoluble in oils, fats, ether, benzene, chloroform.

Lab coat : A loose white coat with deep pockets that is worn in a laboratory or medical office.

1.1 Introduction

‘Cucurbits’ is a term coined by Liberty Hyde Bailey for cultivated species of the family Cucurbitacae. During this current century the term has been used not only for cultivated forms, but also for any species of the family Cucurbitacae. Cucurbits are frost sensitive, predominantly tendril-bearing vines which are found in subtropical regions around the globe. A few numbers of species those are native to or cultivated in temperate climate are prolific seed producing annuals or perennials that live for one season until killed by frost (Robinson and Decker-Walters 2004). Other vernaculars applied to the family Cucurbitacae and several of its members are ‘gourd’, ‘melon’, ‘cucumber’, ‘squash’ and ‘pumpkin’.

Introduction

Horticulture is the science of cultivation, management, postharvest handling, value addition and marketing of fruits, vegetables, ornamental, aromatic and medicinal plants, spices and plantation crops. Looking to its important role in nutritional security, poverty alleviation and employment generation, it has rightly been emerged in form of horticulture industry and as one of the most significant sectors in the world. The production of fruits, vegetables and flowers has acquired much importance in recent times due to their increasing demand. Changing lifestyles of people across the globe, attempts to overcome the stressful lifestyle, inclination towards healthy and balanced eating habits have made people include fruits and vegetables in their daily diet. In the case of flowers, the demand for fresh flowers has steadily increased not only for decoration but also for many other purposes like essential oils, cosmetics, aroma therapy, dry flowers, pot-pourries, natural dyes, medicines, etc. Rising incomes and growing consumer interest in a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables year-round is stimulating international trade in horticulture.

Introduction

Citrus spp. grown in almost all the states of India. Citrus fruit, consisting of mandarin oranges (Citrus reticulata Blanco), sweet orange (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) and lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) are grown commercially in tropical, sub-tropical, arid, irrigated and mountainous regions in varying soil and weather condition. The citrus tree on the whole do well in dry climate, with a rainfall between 75 and 125 cm but certain species such as pummel and certain mandarin oranges thrive in heavy rainfall areas of Konkan, Assam and Coorg. It is grown almost all kinds of soil, varying from heavy black soil to shallow open soils. A hard substratum or a sticky impervious layer is very injurious. Soils having a high water table should be avoided. Although the citrus industry in India has faced many challenges, there has been a consistent increase in area and production owing to the awareness for sustained production (Table 1).

Introduction

In horticulture crops, plant materials has been  propagated through vegetative propagation methods for its superiority in growth as well as yield for centuries. Among vegetative propagation methods, micropropagation is most advance technique which made a significance in the horticultural crops to increase quality and yield. It can produce many plants from a single individual.

Mineral Nutrition and Nutritional Deficiency

The normal green plant is autotrophic that means it can synthesise all its organic substances; provided it is supplied with all the inorganic elements and growth under normal condition. The nutrition of green plant is therefore, solely inorganic. It is, in fact, commonly called mineral nutrition. Element absorbed from the soil by the roots are generally known as Plant nutrition or Mineral nutrients.

What is Precision Farming?

It is information and technology based farm management system to identify, analyze and manage variability within fields for optimum profitability, sustainability and protection of the land resource without disturbing the environment. It is basically means adding the right amount of treatment at the right time and right location within a field.

Introduction

India is the second most populous country in the world. The per capita cultivable land resource is shrinking day by day. To meet the food, fibre, fuel, fodder, and other needs of the growing population, the productivity of agricultural land has necessarily to be increased. It requires increased use of agricultural inputs like quality seeds, fertilizers, water, agro-chemicals, etc. in such a manner that do not create any environmental problems.

Plant needs different chemical elements to grow and thrive. The most important chemical elements include (i) carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which are basic life building blocks and are available in plenty from air and water (ii) nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which are the macro nutrients and affect the plant growth significantly (iii) sulfur, calcium, and magnesium as secondary nutrients and (iv) boron, chloride, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc as micronutrients in very small quantities.

Introduction

In India, concern for the protection of intellectual properties took place way back in 1911 through the Indian Design Act.  Since then laws (Indian Patent Act, 1970 and its amendments) were enacted for the protection of various intellectual properties. However, the subject matter of intellectual property did not receive attention in agricultural sector, although scientists and farmers have been developing new plant varieties for almost the entire part of our agricultural history.  The development of new crop varieties on a scientific basis began only in the last 50 years with advanced knowledge of genetics and plant breeding. The entry of genetics into plant breeding resulted in major advances culminating in the development of high yielding hybrids and varieties. Indian agriculture witnessed the arrival of hybrids and high yielding crop varieties in the 1960s, during the Green Revolution.

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, the 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.

Introduction

Marketing sector via value addition has gained momentum with the rapidly growing flora industry. It is the ultimate way to rescue the flowers from the huge postharvest losses. Value addition in form of floral craft increases the economic value and consumer appeal of floricultural commodities and serving as a linkage between growers and consumers, it directly emphasizes the utility of flowers and a necessity for marketing of flowers. Other forms of value addition in flowers like essential oils, tinting, flower-drying, natural dye, art of floral arrangements are gaining momentum and popularising in our country as well.

Introduction

Flowers are associated with mankind since the dawn of civilization. Flowers are required for all the functions, ceremonies, rituals and celebrations from dawn to the dusk. In India, flowers are mainly grown for cut flowers and loose flowers purpose. By using best postharvest techniques, we can preserve the flowers ranging from few days to few weeks, but drying or dehydration is a technique by which flowers can be preserved for months to years. India has rich biodiversity comprising of wide variety of ornamental trees, shrubs, climbers, etc. which are not being used as fresh or loose flowers but their branched, twigs, flowers, fruits, cones, stems, roots, bark, etc. can be dehydrated to preserve their beauty and for utilization in dry flower industry.

Introduction

Landscaping refers to art and science of proper utilization of garden forms, methods and materials for the overall improvement of the place in such a way that it blends with surrounding and creates aesthetics. It is an approach to enhance the appearance of land by altering its contours, and planting trees, shrubs, climbers and various ornamental plants for aesthetic effects. It is the prerequisite for the urban areas that are highly polluted and densely populated. The urbanites now-a-days are facing many problems relating to the health because of imbalance in the environmental conditions.In today’s world, with the rapid pace of urbanization and the growing concern for climate change led to the increasing trend of bringing nature back into cities. Removal of greenery and replaced them with buildings and paved streets increase the surface radiation and air temperature that result to drier and hotter environment for urban cities compared to the rural areas. In this context, the demand for planned and creative exterior landscaping increases which allows the man to re-create an aesthetic environment with breath taking life. Exterior landscaping is the means of bringing man closer to the nature. It is also referred as outdoor landscaping and has gained wide popularity now-a-days because of the expansion of the urban areas along with increase interest of people towards healthier and cleaner environment.

Dahi: It is the product obtained from pasteurized or boiled milk by souring, natural or by harmless lactic acid or other bacterial culture. It is also called Curd (Plate 68)

Dairy: It is a room, building, or establishment where milk is kept and butter / cheese is made or it is the department of farming / farm that is concerned with the production of milk, butter, and cheese or an establishment for the sale / and distribution of milk and milk products.

Curry leaf, Murraya koenigii (Linn.) is one of the most important plants exclusively known for its culinary and medicinal value. Leaves of the plant are widely used for flavouring food in Indian cookery. Leaves are also used in many Indian Ayurvedic and Unani prescriptions (Joseph and Peter, 1985). The whole plant including leaves, stems, flower, fruits and roots are used as tonic, stimulant, anti-flatulent, anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant (Khan et al., 1997) and anti-carcinogenic (Khanum et al., 2000). The plant is also used in curing digestive disorder, kidney disorder, burns and bruises, improving animal fertility, increasing shelf life of meat products, prevention of premature graying of hair and strengthening gums and teeths (Tara and Sharma, 2010). The plant is most widespread all over India and in some places it is grown wild. 

Dabbling ducks: Duck species that principally feed in shallow water by “tipping up” or dabbling on the surface.
 
Damping off: i) The wilting of young seedlings by certain fungi that cause decay of stem, or roots. The major diseases of germinating seeds are grouped under the single name ‘damping off’. It is caused by a number of separate fungi, mainly species of Pythium, Rhizoctonia and Phytophthora. The disease is expressed either by the failure of seedling to emerge or by the death of the seedling shortly after emergence. Protection from this is to allow the surface of the soil to dry before doing additional watering. Sphagnum moss spread thinly over the soil surface is also effective in reducing damping off. ii) A term used to describe the action of parasitic soil fungi, which cause rotting of seedlings before or soon after germination. This can sometimes be avoided by adding sand to the soil mixture to improve drainage, thus preventing the fungi from multiplying rapidly, or by using fungicides. Eucalypts and pine species are particularly susceptible to damping off.

F : Symbol for a generation; F₁ the first generation of a hybrid; F₂ the second; and so on.

F1 : The first filial generation of a cross between two individuals; parental generation (P₁) from which experiment starts.

F2 : The second filial generation of a cross between two individuals; the offspring resulting from crossing the members of the F₁ among themselves.

Flayer: The fragmentation layer in the forest floor, immediately below the litter layer, composed of fragmented, partially decomposed organic materials that are sufficiently well preserved to permit identification as to origin.

Botanical Name : Cocus nucifera Linn. 
Family : Palmae
Origin : South East Asia and Malaysia. 
Chromosome No :  2n = 32
Type of fruit : Drupe.
Type of Inflorescence : Spadix
Useable Part : Kernel

Chinese big leaf tea (Camellia sinensis var. macrophylla).
Chinese small leaf tea (Camellia sinensis var. bohea)
Shan tea (Camellia sinensis var. Shan)
Indo-China or Cambod tea (Camellia assamica subspecies lasiocalyx)
Indian tea (Camellia sinensis var. assamica)
Family:  Theaceae
Chromosome No.: 2n = 2x = 30
Origin: China (East and South Asia)
Useful Part: Bud and Leaves 

Citrus fruits are originated in the tropical and sub tropical regions of South East Asia, particularly in India and China. North East India is the native place of many citrus species. Citrus fruit has been cultivated in an ever-widening area since ancient times. Although oranges are the major fruit in the citrus fruits accounting for about 70 per cent of citrus output, the group also includes small citrus fruits (such as tangerines, mandarins, clementines and satsumas), lemons, limes and grapefruits. Citrus fruits are consumed as fresh fruit or utilized for preparing processed citrus products. Approximately one third of total citrus production is utilized for processing. India ranks sixth in the production of citrus fruits in the world. In India, it is primarily grown in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam and Gujarat. Citrus fruits have several beneficial health and nutritive properties. They are rich in Vitamin C and folic acid, as well as a good source of fiber. In addition they contain potassium, calcium, folate, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, phosphorus, magnesium and copper.

Water is a social requirement. Society now become aware about it’s dependence upon water and hence realized the importance of water in sustaining not only the development but also life. Water: too little, too much, too dirty; is general scenario in the world. But with increase in population water become limiting resource and is becoming scarcer and scarcer day by day. As water become scarcer commodity, the users (stakeholders) become more conscious regarding their share in water and ultimately this situation may lead to water conflicts. Earlier water related problems were generally tackled by hydro-engineers, but now in present climate changed scenario these problems go beyond the hydraulics and hydrology. Now a days politicians, ecologists, Non Government Organizations (NGOs), the media and the stakeholders etc are playing a crucial role in decision making in respect to water management issues. Now water projects are designed in reference to social context (Social context means cultural, economic, political, sociological, legal and other such aspects). When social factors are taken into consideration while tackling the water problems, it could not possible to satisfy all involved. Thus it is required to agree upon a compromise solution acceptable to all. Over recent few decades, information and communication technology (ICT) flourishes with great advances. It provides the ways to search for compromise solutions. In this chapter information, hydroinformatics, evolution of hydroinformatics and role of internet in hydroinformatics are discussed.

Data collection is a tedious and time consuming work, particularly from remote places. So many times the collected data is noisy. But data is the base for future planning and management of water resources. Planning based on noisy data could lead to failure. The modern data collection and subsequent control system i.e. telemetry and SCADA, are introduced in this chapter.

Modeling is heart of hydroinformatics. Simulation modeling became integrated part of modern science to justify feasibility of selected option among various competitive alternatives. Simulation modeling is a tool to evaluate the performance of a system, existing or proposed, under different configurations of interest and over long periods of real time. This chapter describes basic concepts, model simulation, model variables, modeling process, model performance etc. in brief.

Agronomic Research

Statistical tools are used in all branch of agriculture. It is mainly used for efficient planning of experiments and for interpreting experimental data. A good researcher should be aware of statistical techniques, which helps not only summarization of data but also interpretation of data.

10.1. Parameters Used in Statistics

Population

The aggregate or totality of all possible objects possessing the specified characteristic is called a population. Thus, a population may consist of all plants in a plot or field.

Sample

A portion of the population is known as sample. For statistical inferences about a population from a sample, it is essential that the samples are representative of the population.

Introduction

Origin of Water Bodies and Hot Arid Regions (Thar Desert) 

The origin of the hot arid regions (Thar Desert) is a controversial subject. Some consider it to be 4000 to 10,000 years old, whereas others state that aridity started in this region much earlier. Another theory states that area turned to hot arid zones (desert) relatively recently: perhaps around 2000 - 1500 BC. Around this time the Ghaggar-Hakra ceased to be a major river. It now terminates in the desert but at one time was a water source for the Indus Valley Civilization centre of Mohenjodaro. It has been observed through remote sensing techniques that Late Quaternary climatic changes and neotectonics have played a significant role in modifying the drainage courses in this part and a large number of palaeochannels exist.