eChapters

High-pressure processing (HPP) is a novel method for non-thermal preservation technique of food that inactivates harmful pathogens and vegetative spoilage microorganisms. HPP is an alternate, non-thermal food processing method, wherein the food is subjected to a very high pressure range from 100 -800 MPa (1MPa = 145.03 Psi or 10 Bar). HPP is also referred as High hydrostatic pressure processing, Ultra high-pressure processing, Hyperbaric processing and Pascalization (Rao et al., 2014).

8.1. Biofloc aquaculture

Among the innovations in the field of aquaculture, biofloc technology (BFT) has attracted great attention due to its ability to foster the goals of sustainable aquaculture (Khanjani et al., 2022a). If implemented correctly, BFT capitalizes on the existing organisms in water to significantly reduce water use and environmental impact and increase biosafety at farms (Avnimelech, 2012).

Abstract

Rural indebtedness is an old problem in India. In the 19^th century commercial banking was absent in rural areas and farmer were entirely in the hand of usurious moneylender. Since the British rule, the central government has been trying to extend institutional lending to the rural agriculture sector. To provide credit to the agricultural sector, a multi-agency approach involving co-operative banks, scheduled commercial banks, and RRBS has been used in India. Adequate and timely loan availability at reasonable rates is the basis for agricultural finance policy. The institutional structure for agricultural lending has improved over time in terms of scope and reach. India’s higher education institutions have been focusing their efforts on advancing agricultural finance.

Definition

Fracture of humerus bone and femur bone are generally categorised under higher level fracture.

Methods Used For Fracture Repair

These level fractures are repaired appropriately by intramedullary pinning and Thomas splint application.

Only pinning or only Thomas splint are not the method for its repair as the distal fragments of bone get tourqed by pinning only and the fracture fragments get distracted by simple Thomas splint application.

Hence after pinning a humerus or femur bone, the limbs are kept immobilised perfectly by Thomas splint application.

When pinning as well as Thomas splint application are not possible the fractured bones are kept immobilised with fevicol gum bandage only. So for this purpose modification of velpeau sling is generally adopted and animal is restrained within limited space for 21 days.

Definition

Any fracture or discontinuity in bony structure like scapula and pelvic girdle present above the shoulder joint and hip joint respectively are called as highest level fracture.

Aim

To know the method of repair of highest level fracture.

Procedure

As there is no satisfactory method of external immobilisation till date, generally animal is kept under restricted movement. Sometimes application of charge (glue bandage) externally may give some satisfactory result.

INTRODUCTION

According to analyst firm Gartner, Big Data is at the portion of the hype cycle called the "peak of inflated expectations." The business world is awash with all sorts of claims about the magic of Big Data and how it will transform industries by increasing productivity and profits and opening up opportunities that nobody even knew existed. But this will only happen if companies are able to hire enough people who actually understand what Big Data is, how to collect it, and preserve it. Computing and analytical skills are also required to get Big Data to reveal its hidden secrets and visualise it in novel ways. And there unfortunately, is the rub. There are just not enough data scientists, people with the required skills to satisfy this unmet demand. The shortfall in Big Data experts is set to rise and in the UK alone, one digital industries employer body has predicted there will be a need for 69,000 of these experts in the next five years. This claim is not original. Back in 2011, McKinsey & Co was claiming a US shortfall in Big Data experts of 140,000 - 190,000 by 2018.The shortfall in Big Data experts is being manifested in a number of ways. The first and most obvious is through recruiters casting an ever-widening net in their search for appropriate talent. There is some agreement that Big Data analysis and data visualisation requires skills in computing as well as statistics and mathematics. This has meant that university graduates with statistics, computer science and engineering have been the main source of potential employees. Lately this has widened to include subject areas such as astrophysics and computational chemistry.

INTRODUCTION

Assam is a heartland of indigenous groups. Since hundreds of years, many indigenous groups have been living in the state, maintaining their originalities in every sphere of life with difficulties. The tribal-indigenous groups constitute almost 12.4% of the total population of Assam. (Sentinelassam.com). Fishing is one of the major livelihood option of many indigenous fishers as the state is blessed with huge water resources with about 3.91 lakh hectare of water area in the form of rivers, beel, derelict water bodies and ponds and tanks. Besides swamps and low-lying areas, two major rivers and their tributaries have a high growth potential for fishing and could play a pivotal role in the socio-economic development and employment generation in the state. Indigenous fishers have developed a close and unique connection with the water resources and its environment in which they are depended for generation to generation for their livelihood. They have generated unique system of knowledge, innovation and skills relating to the uses and management of fishing activities. Over centuries, people have learnt how to get food and to survive in different environment. Farmers are very keen to observe the problems arising during fishing and seek solutions to adjust to their local environmental conditions. They continuously adapt and manage their fishing systems and in this way, they develop a rich storehouse of practical knowledge on their situation.

Technologies for cultivation of crops are changing over the years. Adherence to the principles of conservation, high input-use efficiency and higher productivity with optimum inputs and the very idea of crop production as a business venture; all these are leading to increased adoption of high technological (high-tech) crop production practises.

Besides diversities and advantages in hills, the communities sustain largely on subsistence farming due to following constraints A.Natural constraints in hills There are large number of Inherent limitations in hill agriculture like, remote areas, vulnerability, marginality , eroded soil and short growing seasons. These Inherent constraints can be judged by the use of unsustainability indicators of hill agriculture which further showed increased in soil erosion rates from sloping farmlands , leaving of agricultural land due to decreasing soil fertility, appearance of stones and rocks on the cultivated lands, reduction in forest and grazing areas and more emphasis on monocropping that widened the cycle of inadequate food production and lead to food insecurity and increasing unemployment and frustration (Table 3) (Shrestha, 1992). These natural constraints are.

Pulses occupy an important place in hill agriculture. They are complementary to cereals in production and consumption being an important source of protein and nitrogen fixing ability which helps in improving soil health. Thus, cultivation of pulses has a positive relationship with our environment, human health and food security. Pulses produced in the hills are famous for their cooking quality, taste and flavour.
 
Himachal Pradesh has emerged as a model hill state in which agriculture is a dominant economic activity and major source of employment and income to the rural people. Being a hilly state, agriculture is practiced on about 10% of the geographical area. Out of which nearly 80% is rainfed. During the last three decades, the farming scenario has changed significantly. The area under fruits, vegetables and cereals has increased tremendously at the cost of pulses and oilseeds. There is, therefore, an urgent need to reverse this trend as pulse cultivation will not only increase soil health but save precious foreign exchange.

ABSTRACT

Plants play an important role in human survival and contribute to sustainable development as they are the major source of different bioactive compounds such as taxol, digoxin, reserpine and vinblastin used directly as drug and medicines for human diseases. As plants are basic need and requirement for living, they are used as herbal remedy, and known to produce lead compounds for semi synthesis of higher activity or lower toxicity. Indian Himalaya regions are repository of more than 8,000 plants species and out of which 50% are endemic and unique due to thepresence of morphological and chemical structure of peculiar characters. Most of the plant used in Indian traditional system of medicines such as Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha or Amchi described for different formulations and ethnomedicinal applications had distributional range restricted to the hills and the valleys of Himalayas. Hence, in this communication, an attempt has been made to present economic plants of Himalayan origin used as ethnomedicine, wild food plants as vegetables, herbal teas, homemade soups, wild salads, chutney, underground snacks, alcoholic drinks, nutrients as burnt powder and other human usages. Besides, this unique Himalayan plant has potential to be used as wild source for the development of new drugs and medicines which can sustain future to human survival and had the ability to produce medicine against deadly diseases. It is estimated that 80% of the world population uses traditional medicine made from herbal botanicals to cure disease and illness. It is of the record that 122 compounds obtained from ethnomedicinal plants is globally used as drugs. This indicates that tribal knowledge on plants and drug discovery cannot be separated, and newdrugsfor uniquedeadly diseases can be discovered only from ethnobotanical leads. More than 5,000 species reported from Indian Himalayas are of ethnobotanical values and they are used as medicine or wild food by different tribal communities. It can be concluded that Himalayan tribals are endowed with strong culture associated with botanicals and have age-old tradition with respect to the use of wild plants as food and medicine. Plants provide a real substitute for the primary health care systems in hills and valleys, and definitely going to serve as jewel for mankind in near future to come.

Morphological characteristics

Plant is terrestrial glabrous herb attends height of 20-25 cm. Tubers slightly flatten ed, palmately divided into 3-5, finger like lobes. Flower stalk upto 90 cm Long, erect, hollow, leafy throughout or the lower portion bear few sheathing scales. Leaves are 4-6, cauline, leaf blade oblong to linear lanceolate, 8.0-15.0cm x 1.5-3.0 cm in size, base sheathing, apex obtuse or acuminate.

Floral characteristics

Inflorescence is raceme, 5.0-15.0 cm long, crowded with many flowers. Flowers are purple and the bracts green, narrowly lance shaped, lower bract longer than the flowers, upper slightly shorter. Flowers are about 1.8 cm long, including the curved spur. Sepals and petals are nearly equal. Three of them form a hood and the two sides spread outwards. The lip is rounded and shallowly 3-lobed, spotted dark purple. Spur straight, cylindrical, nearly as long as the ovary; column very short; anther adnate to its face, cells diverging; pollinia 2, caudicles attached to 2 small globose, viscid glands enclosed in a minute pouch overhanging the broad, 2-lobed stigma.

Distribution

This attractive terrestrial orchid grows in damp pastures of Himalayas from Kashmir to Nepal at the altitude of 2500-5000 m MSL.

ABSTRACT

Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. is a perennial rhizomatous herbaceous plant, commonly called as kuth had a wide application in drug discovery programme and indigenously known for its medicinal usage in Indian system of medicine. Wide distribution of this species recorded from Himalayas and Indo-Mynamar hotspot biodiversity regions. This species is traditionally used for treatment of several seasonal diseases happen to occurs in hilly and mountaneous regions. It has been scientifically validated that this species possess various biological activities such as anti-microbial, anti-cancer, anti-arthritic, anti-convulsant, anti-oxidant, angiogenesis effect, hepatoprotective, gastro-protective, anti-obesity, and anti-inflammatory due to the presence of various bioactive principles such as costunolide, germacrene, lappadilactone, isodihydrocostunolide, cynaropicrin, linoleic acid, cyclocostunolide, alantolactone, isoalantolactone, sesquiterpene-saussureamines and several others in minor quantities. This species naturally grows in wild and mostly collected from the wild for its herbal usages, and this wild collection activities put S. costus under threatened and critically endangered categories, hence there is need for the development of agrotechnology for cultivation in large scale. This species has the potential components for developing new molecules in future for drug development. The present communication provides traditional usages, phytochemistry, therapeutic potentials, and future perspectives of S. costus. This baseline information provided in this article will be helpful in future for research to be carried forward in drug discovery programme using this plant species.

With the sharp development of urban and industrial growth, the area under agriculture is declining year by year. On the other hand, human and animal population is increasing at a very fast rate. So, to meet the growing demand of food and fodders, a vertical increase in yield is required. Crop productivity per unit area can be enhanced with the manipulations of some agronomist practices such as sowing the crops at appropriate time, selection of suitable field for raising a crop, adoption of best planting techniques, use of appropriate seed rates, adoption of proper irrigation schedule, proper and need based application of fertilizers, adoption of zero till technology, green manuring, mulching, addition of well decomposed farm yard manure, timely and proper weed management, selection of recommended crops and crop varieties, proper control of insects and pests, adoption of marketing tips etc.

Tomato

Tomato, a warm season vegetable, requires a long season to produce a profitable crop. The optimum range of temperature for its cultivation should be 21–24ºC. The mean temperatures below 16ºC and above 27ºC are not desirable. The minimum, optimum and maximum soil temperatures for seed germination are 10º, 30º and 35ºC, respectively. Maximum seed germination occurs at 24ºC. Maximum fruit setting occurs at night temperature of 15-20ºC. Flowers fail to set fruit below 13ºC and beyond 38ºC. Formation of red colour due to lycopene is inhibited when temperature exceeds 32ºC. Lycopene is highest at 21-24ºC, while its production drops off rapidly above 27ºC. Tomato plants are highly susceptible to high rainfall areas if proper drainage is not available.

It is grown in many types of soil from sandy to heavy clay. A well-drained fairly fertile loam soil with a fair moisture-holding capacity is ideal for growing its good crop. It prefers a soil having a pH of 6.0 - 7.0. Application of liming is beneficial if it is cultivated in acid soils.

It can be grown almost round the year. The planting seasons vary from place to place. In northern India, for spring summer crop, it is sown in November and transplanted in second fortnight of January. In area, where frost does occur, it is sown in July-August and transplanted in August-September. In hilly areas, it is sown in March-April and transplanted in April-May.

• Harmony is the principle of landscaping.

• Texture is an important element of landscaping.

• Blue is a primary colour.

• Green in a secondary colour.

• Garden furniture is a tangible item.

Indication

Necrosis, Gangrene, Extensive injury of nerve of hind limb.

Malignant neoplasm

Frost bite. Burns

Incurable peripheral vascular disease.

Hip joint is a ball and socket joint which involves cotyloid cavity of os-coxae and head of femur. Hip dislocation can be corrected by external immobilization of the area with POP cast and keeping the animal in a mobile sling for several weeks.

The dislocation involves cotyloid cavity and head of femur and the affected limb deviate outward. (Fig.1)

The fracture site is immobilized extending joint below and joint above level initially with plaster of Paris.(Fig.2)

Cloth bandage is applied over it for support involving joint above and joint below which should not be too tight or too loose.(Fig.3)

Second layer of cloth padding is provided over the first layer to provide more strength and further immobilization.(Fig.4)

Final immobilization is done by application of rubber belt or suspensory bandage. (Fig.5)

At the end the entire animal is kept in mobile sling for proper immobilization for some weeks and housed in limited space(Fig.6)

Histiocytoma is more common in younger dogs below two years of age. It is also observed in all age groups.

Gross examination

Grossly, histiocytoma appears as light pink, smooth to firm, raised round (Figure 77) masses. Alopecia and ulceration are also observed.

McManus’ Method for Glycogen (PAS)
Tissues fix in 10% neutral buffered formalin and process for routine paraffin sections
Protocol
1) Deparaffinise the paraffin sections with two changes (10 minutes each) of xylene.
2) Descending grades of ethanol from absolute to 50% solution (2 minutes each).
3) Hydrate the sections with distilled water 5 minutes.
4) 0.5% Periodic acid solution for 5-6 minutes.
5) Rinsing in distilled water.
6) Schiff’s’s reagent or Coleman’s Feulgen solution for 10-15 minutes.
7) Washing in running tap water for minimum 10 minutes until pink colour develops.
8) Counter stain with Harris’ hematoxylin for 2-3 minutes to stain nuclei.
9) Washing in running water for 2-3 minutes.
10) Quick dip in ammonia water to develop blue colour of the nuclei.
11) Washing in running tap water for 5 minutes.
12) Dehydrate in ascending grades of 90% to absolute ethanol (one minute each).
13) Clearing in xylene, two changes of 30 minutes each.

1. Introduction

Human activities significantly lead to deterioration of ecological systems, affect individual organisms, and disrupt natural ecosystems. The rise in foreign compounds, such as heavy metals and pesticides, in aquatic ecosystems due to human activities has spurred extensive global research efforts (Wester et al., 2002). The Union’s Water Framework Directive (WFD) mandates monitoring programs to assess water body health. In environmental studies, understanding the impact of contaminants on aquatic life requires a multifaceted approach (Ullah and Zorriehzahra, 2015). Biomarkers that observe biological responses at various levels offer crucial insights into the presence and bioavailability of toxicants, complementing traditional methods (Yancheva et al., 2016). These indicators, termed early warning signals, are vital for evaluating exposure, effect mechanisms, susceptibility to contaminants, and enhancing predictive models (Yancheva et al., 2016). Integrating biomarkers into ecological studies provides a holistic understanding of environmental stressors and their implications in aquatic organisms.

2. Why is fish used as a model organism in ecotoxicological studies?

According to the Water Framework Directive (WFD), fish serves as a crucial indicator of river ecological status (Ullah and Zorriehzahra 2015). Their diverse sizes, ages, trophic levels, and sensitivity to various toxicants make them excellent indicators of water contamination (Wester et al., 2002). Fish adapt their metabolic functions in response to environmental changes, which makes them valuable in toxicological research. Monitoring sentinel fish species is a widely accepted method for assessing toxicant accumulation and its impact on human health (Wester et al., 2002). Fish, with their developed osmoregulatory, endocrine, nervous, and immune systems, are preferred to invertebrates in toxicological studies. Fish can absorb toxicants through both waterborne and dietary exposure, allowing the evaluation of contaminant transfer through the food chain. Key tissues for ecological, toxicological, and pathological studies in teleost fish include the gills, liver, and kidney because of their high metabolic activity and tendency to accumulate toxicants (Wester et al., 2002).

A protein that is deposited in various tissues of body called amyloid. Amyloidosis is a disorder of protein folding, in which normally soluble proteins accumulate in the tissues as abnormal insoluble fibrils (or filaments), thus disrupting their function The deposited proteins, generically known as amyloid, damage the structure and function of the tissues and so cause serious disease which is often fatal when it affects major organs. There are several techniques to observe the amyloid which is as follows.
Highman’s Congo Red Technique
Tissues fix in 10% neutral buffered formalin and process for routine paraffin sections The formal saline is a better choice
Protocol
1) Sections to water, removing pigment where necessary.
2) Stain in Congo red solution, 5 minutes.
3) Differentiate with the alcoholic potassium hydroxide solution, 3-10 seconds.
4) Wash in water, stain nuclei in alum hematoxylin and differentiate blue.
5) Dehydrate, clear, and mount.
Observations
Red : Amyloid, elastic fibers, eosinophil granules: Blue : Nuclei
Chemical reagents
Immerse in alkaline sodium chloride solution for 20 minutes.

Pituitary
Herlant (1960) Pituitary Stain I
Tissues fix in 10% neutral buffered formalin or Zenker formol and process for routine paraffin sections
Protocol
1) Deparaffinise the paraffin sections with two changes (10 minutes each) of xylene.
2) Descending grades of ethanol from absolute to 50% solution (2 minutes each).
3) Hydrate the sections with water 5 minutes (remove HgCl2 if present).
4) Stain in erythrosine for 5 minutes.
5) Rinse briefly in distilled water.
6) Stain in Mallory II for 5-10 minutes.
7) Rinse briefly in distilled water.
8) Stain in acid Alizarine blue for 5-10 minutes.
9) Rinse briefly in distilled water.
10) Treat with phosphormolybdic acid for 5-10 minutes.
11) Rinse briefly in distilled water.
12) Differentiate in 70% ethanol

Histomoniasis is a protozoan disease.

Etiology

Histomonas meleagridis.

Hosts

Mainly disease of turkey but has also been reported in chickens, peafowl, grouse, quail and gallinaceous birds.

Mammary tumours arise from the ducts are called as ductal or ductular carcinoma. Some include other tissues such as the myoepithelium and connective tissue between the glands. These have a number of different names including carcinosarcoma, carcinoma or sarcoma in benign tumour, complex adenocarcinoma and malignant mixed tumour. Tumours are also classified by the type of epithelial growth because this influences the probability of recurrence. Tumours that only have myoepithelium or connective tissue are called sarcomas.

• General considerations

 • Scope

 • Microscopic examination techniques

 • Smear

 • Vital staining

• Routine histopathological techniques of sectioning

 • Collection of tissues

 • Fixation

 • Washing

 • Dehydration

 • Clearing

 • Impregnation

 • Casting of blocks

 • Trimming

 • Section cutting

Histopathology is a critical diagnostic method used to examine tissue structure and detect pathological changes caused by infectious agents in fish. In India’s rapidly growing aquaculture sector—encompassing economically significant species such as rohu, catla, tilapia, pangasius, and ornamental fish— histopathology plays a pivotal role in disease surveillance, diagnosis, and research.
As fish farming intensifies across major aquaculture states like Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, advanced diagnostic techniques like histopathology are becoming increasingly important. These techniques enable early detection of diseases and support efforts in biosecurity and sustainable fish farming.
The process begins with the careful collection of tissues from fish suspected of disease. Key organs examined include gills, liver, kidney, spleen, heart, intestine, and muscle, which are commonly affected in systemic infections of bacterial, viral, parasitic, or fungal origin. Fish samples are collected from ponds, tanks, cages, or RAS units and transported under chilled conditions—preferably on ice—to laboratories such as ICAR-CIFE, state fisheries universities, or certified private centers.
Tissue dissection is conducted under aseptic conditions. Samples are immediately fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, the most commonly used fixative in India, to prevent autolysis and maintain cellular architecture. Fixation typically takes 24–48 hours, depending on tissue size and thickness.
After fixation, tissues are processed through graded alcohol dehydration, clearing in xylene (or substitutes), and embedding in paraffin wax. These steps are often performed using automated tissue processors available in regional laboratories. Once embedded, tissues are sectioned at 4–6 microns using a rotary microtome and mounted on clean slides.

  Term anesthesia by Dr Oliver Wendell Holmes (1886).
  Anasthesis (Greece Word) – absence of sensation.

History of Animal Anesthesia
  Paracelsus (1540) produced ether and reported it to have a soporific effect on fowl. 
  Sir Humphrey Davy (1800) suggested that N₂O might have anesthetic property. 
  Chloroform was discovered by Liebig in 1831.
  Dr. Horace Wells (1844) discovered the general anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide. 

Surgery : The branch of medical science which deals with the treatment of injuries, deformities or disease condition by manipulation or operations with the hand. The term surgery is derived from a Greek word – Chirurgia. 
Cheir – Hand 
Ergon – Work 
Veterinary surgery : Veterinary surgery is the surgery which is practiced on animals. 

INTRODUCTION

In biology, fertility is de?ned as capacity to produce off-springs; however, in Soil Science a ?ne difference is made between a fertile and a productive soil. Soil Productivity is the ability of a soil to produce a crop using the entire spectrum of its physical, chemical and biological attributes, while Soil Fertility refers to the capacity of a soil to supply all essential plant nutrients in the desired amounts. Thus, soil fertility management is basically the nutrient management. To put it in simple words, a productive soil is always fertile, while a fertile soil may not be productive for a variety of factors, such as lack of adequate moisture in drier regions or lack of adequate air due to water-logging for most upland crops. Of late, a term ‘ Soil Health’ has been introduced. Soil Health is an assemblage of chemical, physical and biological parameters that closely relate to native or acquired production capacity and sustenance of ecologically important regulatory role (Katyal et al., 2016). It is measured against prede?ned parameters of soil’s status of fertility, compact ability, erodibility and biology. This again tends to relate soil fertility to nutrient content, availability and management.

Introduction

Farming system is complicated inter-related with soil, plants, animals, implements, power, labour, capital and alternative inputs controlled partly by farming families and influenced to varied degrees by political, economic, institutional and social forces that operate at several levels. The farm is viewed during a holistic manner. The farmers are subjected to several socio-economic, biophysical, institutional, body and technological constraints. Farming system conceptually may be a set of components or parts that are reticulate that act amongst themselves. At the centre of the interaction is that the farmer exercise management and selection concerning the sort and results of interaction. It’s the human setting that gives ample condition for development and utilization of a specific system. A farming system clearly is incredibly complicated system. Therefore, any agricultural technology compatible to a specific agroecological state of affairs and socio-economic environment might not be adopted by alternative farmers. Unless each natural and human environment is thought-about, agricultural analysis won’t end in relevant agricultural technology. The income from cropping alone in tiny and marginal farms is hardly ample to sustain the farmers’ family. With the decline in farm size (0.15 ha) because of explosion of population, it’d be more and more tough to provide enough food for the family by the tip of the century. Therefore, the farmer, to be assured of an everyday income for a good living (above the poverty line), a considered mixture of anybody or additional of those enterprises with agronomic crops ought to complement the farm income and facilitate in usage the farm residue/waste. The choice of enterprises should be supported the cardinal principle of minimizing the competition and maximizing the complementarily between the enterprises.

Rabbit domestication dates back no farther than the previous millennium. It were the Phoenicians who are said to have discovered the wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus of Southern Europe and North Africa when they reached the shores of Spain about 1000 B.C. In Roman times, the rabbit was still emblematic of Spain. The Roman spread the rabbit throughout the empire as a game animal. Like the Spaniards, the Romans also ate foetuses or new born rabbits, which they called laurices. It then becomes a practice that the rabbits were kept in leporarian, stone –walled pens or parks for hunting purposes. These leporaria ultimately paved the way for the development of game parks in the middle Ages. The monks ate laurices during lent because they were an aquatic dish. In France, only the lord of the manor could maintain a warren.

Natural farming in India is deeply rooted in ancient agricultural traditions that prioritized ecological balance and sustainability long before chemical-based farming became widespread. Traditionally, Indian farmers relied on natural cycles, indigenous seeds, animal manure, and mixed cropping to maintain soil fertility, preserve water resources, and enhance biodiversity—principles that form the core of present-day natural farming.
The modern natural farming movement drew global inspiration from Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer and philosopher who developed the “do-nothing” method. His philosophy advocated no plowing, no chemical use, and minimal human intervention, which resonated strongly with India’s Vedic agricultural practices. In India, Subhash Palekar further revived and adapted this approach into Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), a system using local materials such as cow dung, urine, and crop residues. ZBNF emerged as a grassroots response to the ecological damage and financial burdens caused by Green Revolution methods.
Natural farming has since gained international attention. Countries like South Korea, Brazil, and the Philippines have embraced similar ecological practices to address soil degradation and input costs. The FAO and other global bodies also support agroecological methods that mirror natural farming for sustainable food systems.

1.1 Introduction

With the rise in the global population, the demand for increased supply of food has motivated scientists and engineers to design new methods to boost agricultural production. With limited availability of land and water resources, growth in agriculture can be achieved only by increasing productivity through good agronomy and supported with an effective use of modern technology. Advanced agronomical methods lay stress not only on boosting agricultural produce through use of more effective fertilizers and pesticides, but also on the hygienic storage of agricultural produce. The detrimental effects of modern agricultural methods on the ecosystem have raised serious concerns amongst environmentalists. The widespread use of persistent pesticides globally over the last six decades has contaminated groundwater and soil, resulting in diseases and hardships in non-target species such as humans and animals. The first step in the removal of disease causing microbes from food products or harmful contaminants from soil and groundwater is the effective detection of these damaging elements. Nanotechnology can augment agricultural production and boost food processing industry through applications of these unique properties.

Water is essential for life and most of the civilization flourished on bank of rivers like Indus valley, Mesopotamia, May, INCA and also destroyed in lack of water. Scarcities and famines were the common phenomena of the world civilization. Systematic dry cultivation started around 1850 and improved techniques were started in use in USA. 

Introduction

It has been proved that libraries play a crucial role in education. Libraries have been collecting, preserving, and organizing knowledge since time immemorial. In the age of virtual information, libraries have been reinventing themselves as accessible and engaging learning spaces. Libraries existed in India during the ancient and medieval periods. The library is the primary requirement of the university. University libraries have a paramount role in developing university education in the country. The present chapter highlights the historical development of libraries, committees, and commissions on university libraries in India.

Research is the basics which have changed human life and surrounding environment what existed on earth million years ago into present form. As soon as man realized himself as a separate entity from other animals, he started thinking about himself, creatures co-inhabiting with him and the universe. In that sense, biological science is the oldest subject which fascinated man, though it was called natural sciences in ancient times. Perhaps, the first curiosity was about himself, his birth, death and alike matters. As soon as he realized mortality of life or faced death of his dear ones, he attempted to become immortal or ‘amar’. This is reflected by worshiping of ‘Asur ’(Hirnakashyap, Bhasmasur, Ravan etc) to ‘Brahma’ or ‘Shiva’ for receiving the blessings of becoming immortal . However, even God refrained to bless these personalities becoming ‘amar’ confirming the realization by all that life is strongly linked with death ; as such they were blessed with certain conditional ties which may lead their death. Eventually, they met with their death under specific circumstances (3). When God or His little part (Ansh) took birth on earth as incarnation, He also followed all the rules and regulations of cosmic laws. But He never tried to become immortal and left His body on the earth, after finishing His duties.

India faced a series of famines from 1857 to 1901, for which the government was forced to appoint some commissions. The Famine Commission of 1880 recommended the establishment of a separate Department of Agriculture at both the central and provincial levels. Based on such recommendations, the Agricultural Departments were established in 1981–1982, and some acts like the Land Improvement Act and Agricultural Loans Act, 1988 and Co- operative Act, 1904 were passed and development departments were established. As a protection measure, some irrigation projects were created. The Famine Commission (1901) also recommended for establishment of Agricultural Research Stations and Colleges. The Imperial Agricultural Research Institute along with an Agricultural College was established at Pusa Institute. As per the Government India Act of 1919, all departments connected with rural development to the major provinces and agricultural development became a State subject. Rural Development works were made provincial subjects from 1935. Various diversified efforts for rural reconstruction were made for the development of extension in India during the Pre- Independence and Post- Independence periods. These extension programs were launched in four stages as indicated below.

Stage I: Pre- Independence Extension

Stage II: Post- Independence Extension (1947–1953)

Stage III: Community Development and National Extension service (1953–1960)

Stage IV: Intensive Agricultural Development (1960 onwards)

Pre- independence extension in India

Between 1903 and 1946, eight important area- specific programs were implemented for rural development while the Grow More Food Campaign was implemented in the entire country to increase food grains production. The description of these programs/projects is given below in brief.

ABSTRACT

This paper provides an account on the origin of the concepts of IP, gradual development and their culmination at the TRIPS.

Introduction

Intellectual property rights form the most prominent and ever-expanding category of rights in the 21^st Century. It differs from other proprietary rights in many respects and prevails in most articles of law, which influence our daily life. The economic significance of intellectual property rights has made it a subject of global political interest. In the broader sense, the term “intellectual property rights” connotes different categories of rights such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, designs, plant varieties, semiconductors, geographical indications, trade secrets and data exclusivity with varying scope

Aquaculture is associated with the rearing, breeding, and harvesting of aquatic organisms in cages, tanks, ponds, or other simulated systems, and can be practiced in fresh water, brackish water, or marine water. The practice of cultivating aquatic species in a systematic manner dates back to before 1000 BC. Theories such as oxbow, catch-and-hold, concentration, and trap-and cropexplain how the transition from hunting to farming may have occurred along with the advancement of civilization. Along with rearing the aquatic species for nourishment, advanced techniques have led to the enhancement of economic value through the inclusion of pearl oyster farming. India is among the largest producers of fisheries and has become the world’s second largest producer of aquaculture fish. Globally, aquaculture diversity has reached a maximum value of 428 ± 11 species, of which 29 ± 1 will produce 80% of the global annual production. The total global aquaculture production has increased enormously, from 20 million tons in 1992 to more than 120 million tons in 2020. Fisheries and aquaculture have become essential foods providing commodities worldwide and an important means of nourishment for the poor. A temporal and geographical analysis of global aquaculture diversity reveals an original and hopefully enlightening vision of modern aquaculture and its perspectives.

This chapter attempts to travel the timeline and dissect historical perspectives of vaccination. Vaccine that protects and shields from numerous dangerous diseases (vaccine-preventable diseases; VPD) is an important area of research and development. Considering that vaccine has been very useful in successfully combating numerous infectious diseases in the past 200 years, they are considered as a historical turning point in the field of public health and medicines. Critical illnesses like the smallpox and wild polio (virus types 2 and 3) have mostly been eradicated as a result of mass immunisation programmes worldwide. Research, collaboration and widespread vaccination campaigns were necessary in vaccination efforts to control and ultimately eradicate infectious diseases. Biotechnological research has progressed to a level where producing recombinant vaccines is feasible. Research and development efforts on therapeutic vaccines are ongoing. Vaccine research in recombinant DNA/RNA technologies and therapeutic vaccinations for specific illnesses seem to be the future. This article offers a comprehensive history of vaccination since inception to its present forms, with future projections. Beginning with the variolation techniques in the early 17th century, it discusses the important turn of events from its discovery to the continued advancements and inventions till the covid-19 vaccine. Alongside the detailed core aspect, the chapter also describes the benefits of the one health approach with the zoonotic diseases in focus.

India is facing with the issue of food production, especially the production of protein resources. The food production rate in India is insufficient to cope up with an alarmingly growing population. Protein deficiency is currently the most serious human malnutritional problem, with protein deficiency affecting about 30% of the world’s population. To cope up with the current situation, there is therefore a need for an all-out effort to increase food production especially the production of animal protein. Pisciculture has acquired primary importance in this context, and the culture of Indian major carps and their allies is now a common practice. For a long time, the culture of air-breathing fishes in the derelict water has remained neglected. Many such fishes, however, have become popular in the recent past, being rich in their food value.

The demand for fish as nutritious food is increasing day by day, as it is a good source of high quality-protein and lipid and is more palatable than vegetables. It is relished for its characteristic flavour due to high myofibrillar and low stroma protein, rich in essential amino acids particularly lysine and arginine (Kinsella, 1986). Fish proteins play a beneficial role in lipid and cholesterol metabolism by reducing triacylglycerol (=triglyceride) and phospholipid levels in plasma (Tsukuda and Arai, 1986). These proteins occupy an important place in human nutrition due to their high digestibility and growth-promoting value. Fish lipid has a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUSFAS), which reduce plasma cholesterol, and this helps in ischemic heart disease and arteriosclerosis (Kinsella, 1986).

The biocontrol use had almost completely disappeared due to the growth and success of the synthetic pesticide industry in the mid-1940s. The publication of Rachael Carson's 'Silent Spring' (Carson 1962) which condemned the use of agricultural pesticides and emphasized their harmful environmental effects on wildlife. Due to public outrage over this controversial book, there was a need for pesticide alternatives, which presents an opportunity for wider use of biological control (Barratt et al. 2010; Gay 2012).

Social civilization of the Neolithic settlements of primitive human communities contributes substantial initiation of cultivation and an approach towards conservation of useful plant species for sustainable food habits. Several archaeological attestations confirm that Homo sapiens at the end of the Paleolithic period had knowledge on many useful plants derived from food gathering techniques. Growth of human populations beyond the size that hardly supports hunting and gathering for food materials may perhaps be the probable reason that forced the Neolithic primitive nomadic communities for settlement and emergence of crude forms of cultivation.

History of Soil Microbiology

There is enough evidence in the literature to believe that microorganisms were the earliest of the living things that existed on this planet. Man depends on crop plants for his existence and crop plants in turn depend on soil and soil microorganisms for their nutrition. Scientists from the beginning studied the microorganisms from water, air, soil, etc. and recognized the role of microorganisms in natural processes and realized the importance of soil microorganisms in the growth and development of plants.Thus, microorganisms have been playing a significant role long before they were discovered by man. Today, the soil is considered to be the main source of scavenging the organic wastes through microbial action and is also a rich storehouse for industrial microflora of great economic importance.

Unlike soil science whose origin can be traced back to Roman and Aryan times, soil microbiology emerges as a distinct branch of soil science during the first half of the 19^th century. Some of the notable contributions made by several scientists in the field of soil microbiology are highlighted in the following paragraphs.

Anton Von Leeuwenhoek (1673) discovered and described microorganisms through his own made first simple microscope with a magnification of 200 to 300 times. He observed minute, moving objects which he called “animalcules” (small animals) which are now known as protozoa, fungi, and bacteria. He for the first time made the authentic drawings of microorganisms (protozoa, bacteria, fungi).

Development of Agriculture in the World and in India

Agricultural ecosystems will increasingly be called on to deliver food and fiber for a demanding and expanding global population. Until recently, increased production relied on expansion of the amount of land under cultivation and irrigation. Since World War II, production advances have relied on genetics and plant breeding, advances in fertilizer and pesticide use and improved cultural management (Matson et al., 1997). Since 1950, agriculture worldwide has expanded cereal production by an average of 2% per annum while population has increased by 1.9% per year (Borlaug and Dowswell, 1994).

Modern science-based agriculture had its beginnings in the late 19^th century with improved traction and tillage equipments. However, it was not until after World War II that the research findings that led to the modern-day productive systems in the United States and later in European and other developed countries. The expansion was directly related to the great demand for food to support the Allied war effort. Knowledge bases developed in plant genetics, physiology and pathology, along with a ten-fold increase in fertilizer use, advances in seed technology, weed control, irrigation and cultural methods allowed the development of the systems that dominate agriculture in many of the countries today. Corn or maize responded dramatically to the advances in production technology. Maize yield in the United States has increased more than 300 per cent over the past 50 years and continues to rise. Maize production technology has been delivered worldwide (Borlaug and Dowswell, 1994).

Worldwide, agriculture is the foundation of early human civilization. Humans transitioned from hunting and gathering to farming when they settled near rivers. As a consistent source of food, agriculture aided in human evolution. From then on, the economy has been sustained by agriculture. Among other things, illnesses and natural disasters frequently have an impact on agriculture. Such a state required advisory. This explains the existence of the agricultural extension domain. A social innovation, agricultural extension has been copied, altered, and developed over the years.