eChapters

Among beans, the most popular bean is French bean and it has wider distribution and larger gene pool. Various names are associated with cultivars viz., Snap bean, salad bean and green bean and all these names associated are with beans of vegetable types. The names haricot bean, dry bean and navy bean are applicable to pulse types. String bean, dwarf bean and pole bean applicable to growth forms. It is known as Rajmah in Hindi, Tingalawari in Kannada and Fras bean in Punjabi. Cultivars preferred for Canning, frozen and freeze-dried are having round pods. Fresh market cultivars are flat or oval shaped. Yellow pod cultivars are also grown. Generally fresh market cultivar yields higher in temperate region than in tropical region. Beans are said to be antidiabetic and good for bladder burns, cardiac, carminative, diuretic.

Origin and Distribution: Phaseolus vulgaris was domesticated in Central America about 7000 years ago and it is also thought to be domesticated in Brazil and Northern Islands and was introduced to Europe in 16th century. Vavilov (1951) reported that Phaseolus vulgaris originated in South Mexico and Central American centre of origin. The first cultivar has been selected in Peru. From Peru it spread to Europe and to Asia. Wild species P. aboriginus in North West Argentina is considered as the wild progenitor of French bean. Based on growth habit, crop can be classified into pole type, semi pole type and bush type. Former varieties are more string types. American origin of P. vulgaris is questioned by De Candolle (1584). Southern part of Mexico and Central America are considered to be primary centre of origin. While secondary centre lies in Peru-Bolivian-Ecuador of South American continent. In Europe, French bean spread rapidly in 16th and 17th centuries and reached England by 1594. From Europe, it was introduced to India during 17th century (Simmonds, 1976).

1. Achabal Garden, Anantnag, J&K

Also known as “The Place of the Princes”.

It was the work of Noor Jahan and built in 1620.

It was known for its gushing water.

The design was an adaptation of the traditional Persian Char Bagh.

It has three terraces with central water stream which is largest spring in Kashmir.

There are two walkways on either side of the stream.

It has varieties of fruit trees and surrounded by trees of Cheenar.

Garden Features

In order to break the monotony and to enhance the beauty, any garden should contain components of varying nature. Some features are not only essential but also an important part of the visual design. Besides this, any garden feature allows to discover and save the creative ideas on a wide sheet of natural green carpet. Following are important features.

1. Arbour

It is a recessed or somewhat enclosed area shaded by trees or shrubs that serves as a resting place in a wooded area. In a more formal garden, an arbour is a small structure with vines trained over lattice work on a frame, providing a shady place. A true arbour includes a bench sheltered underneath for seating, which distinguishes it from a trellis. There are different types of arbours such as archway, wood, plastic, metal, etc. Arbour can be developed at several locations of the garden such as entrances at the main gate, pergola area, patios area, pathway entrance, pool area, etc.

Definition: Annuals are the group of plants which complete their life cycle in one season or in one year.

Annuals are commonly known as seasonal as they complete the process of life like germination, growth, flowering and seed formation in one season and finally the plant wither out. Annuals are widely used for garden decoration, cut flower and pot plants. They are frequently grown as bedding plants and in rock gardens on the sides of lily pool and in shrubberies. Annuals are planted in the winter, summer and rainy season and die in a season or within a year.

Introduction

The chrysanthemum is one of the most beautiful and perhaps the oldest flowering plant. It is commercially grown in different parts of the world. Chrysanthemum is commonly known as Guldaudi. In Dutch cut flower auction, chrysanthemum ranks second after rose. It is preferred practically due to vast range of shapes and sizes of flowers, brilliance of colour tones, long lasting floret life, diversity of height and growth habit of the plant, exceptionally hardy nature, relative ease to grow all the year round and versatility of use.

It is one of the most important traditional flowers of India mainly used as a potted plant, loose flower, cut flower and as border plant in the garden. Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium inflorescences are of considerable importance in the manufacture of pyrethrin insecticides.

Introduction

In modern garden, dahlias are extensively used for exhibition, garden display and decoration. It can be grown in any form in the garden; in beds, in borders or even in mixed borders along with other plants. It grows well in pot also. For border purpose dwarf growing type are preferred, while in pots usually large flowering dahlias are grown. The long stemmed flowers of various forms and colours are used in flower arrangement. Dahlias make excellent cut flowers, which typically last about a week in the house and are also used in making garlands.

The tubers of dahlias contain appreciable amount of insulin and fructose and small quantities of phytin and benzoic acid which are of medicinal and nutritional value.

Introduction

National Gene Banks are now entering into an era of increased activity and responsibility, particularly for managing their own indigenous germplasm activities extending from collection to actual use of the genetic variation in crop improvement programmes. However, these tasks must be achieved with limited resources in best possible time frame. The core collection offers a potential opportunity to meet these challenges. Recognising that the sheer size of a germplasm collection could deter its use, Frankel (1984) proposed that it could be pruned to a ‘core collection’, which would represent, “with minimum repetitiveness, the genetic diversity of a crop species and its relatives”. The core collection consist of a limited set of accessions derived from a germplasm collection, chosen to represent the genetic spectrum in the whole collection, and including as much as possible of its genetic diversity (Brown, 1995). The remaining accessions would not necessarily be discarded but would be managed as a ‘reserve collection’. The proposal, the rationale, purposes and general principles of core collections have been critically examined (Brown, 1989 a and b). As to the size of a core collection, sampling theory of selective neutral alleles in finite populations indicate that about 10 % drawn randomly from the whole collection was relatively efficient in retaining its allelic variation (about 70 % retained). The core collection concept has attracted considerable discussion and debate in the past and has met criticism in many areas. Most of these concerns appear to arise from misuse or misunderstanding of the core approach and a number of core collections have been established during the past decade.

10.1 Introduction

The agriculture sector is also transforming through technological intervention and advancements drastically to improve several processes and crop and livestock production systems. These advancements have resulted in minimizing operation and production costs, reduction of environmental impact and optimization overall production cycle. The major issue in the agriculture sector is human-intensive operation and non-availability of sufficient labor on time. The on-field task like fruit harvesting, intra-row weed control which is supposed to be more difficult to perform by the traditional machinery and manually. This has made to think to introduce the autonomous tractors and robotics platform in field operation. Timely activities and treatment play an important role in agriculture and agriculture production. The farmers generally face many problems in performing the task on the field due to various limitations. The cost is one of the main parameters which need to keep the farmer in a competitive market and reduce the cost of operation as low as possible. Also, the growing population demand more and more food which put pressure on the agriculture sector to raise crop production. In this situation, agriculture robots can play an important role to address the challenges in the farms. A robot can professionally perform the task and can automate the tasks which are difficult for manual labor. These are used in the agricultural lands and they are also completely autonomous. These robots are used in several applications in agriculture and can also work autonomously.

The robotic system has been widely used in industrial production and warehouses in an almost controlled environment. In the early 1960s, the agriculture and forestry sector initiated research into driverless vehicles with a focus on automatic steered system and autonomous tractors. Robotics has made an impact on agriculture and forestry since past few years. The purpose of minimizing the damage to the growing zone of soil tends to cater to the application of automatic vehicle guidance. The interest in the development of robotics system in agriculture has led many experts to explore the possibilities to develop more rational and adaptable vehicles based on a behavioural approach.

Abstract

Goat farming was the important part from the economy point of the view; especially in the Mediterranean and Middle East region where goat is also called as “Cow of poor man”. Goat milk have unique compositional characteristics like, lower ethanol stability, higher content of short- and medium-chain fatty acids. It is a rich source of calcium, phosphorous, chlorine, and vitamins. It is highly digestible and has a mild laxative effect. Along with these, who are suffering from anemia, osteoporosis and malabsorption, they should consume Goat milk. Goat milk is a functional and nutraceutical property as it both nutritional and additional health benefit such as easily digestible, boost immunity and metabolism, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic to consumer this lead to increasing demand for goat milk and derived dairy products. Goat milk can be used to manufacture a wide variety of products, including fluid, fermented, frozen, acid coagulated, and dehydrated milk products.

The aim of this chapter is to highlight the physical and chemical properties, nutritional and health benefit of Goat milk. Goat milk based some popular products are also discussed in order to provide some basic information regarding the value addition of Goat milk.

Abstract

Sheep milk is one of the superior quality of dairy foods and it is also considered as nutritional powerhouse. The beneficial role of sheep milk results from its fatty acid, immunoglobulin and non-immune protein contents. Apart from different dairy products and functional foods; this milk is used in anti-ageing and cosmetic soap preparations. In India Sheep make a valuable contribution to the livelihood of the economically weaker sections of the society. In our country the major portion of sheep milk is consumed as fluid milk and in certain areas converted into ghee and dahi.

A garden has a number of elements which give shape to its breath-taking view. Both animate and inanimate elements are included to achieve a beautiful garden The living elements are lawns, rock garden, water garden, sunken garden, hedges, edges, shrubs, topiary, flower bed, specimen plants, pergola and arches, while the inanimate elements, also called as adornments, are stones, road, footpaths, seats, lamps, lanterns, steps, bridges, huts, swings, fountain, cascade, bird bath, clock tower, umbrellas, sculptures etc.

The bael (Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr.) is indigenous to India and it is also called as Baelpatra, Bengal quince (John and Stevenson, 1979), Indian quince, golden apple, holy fruit, bel, bilwa, bela, maredoo and other dialectal names in India. Hindus used the leaves to worship Lord Shiva (Bilwa Patra) and keep them on Shivling and they consider it is very auspicious and to get the blessings of Shiva. The fruits form a vital ingredient of holy offerings to the God and Goddess through holy pyre (haven). In history, the mention of bael tree is traced to Vedic times (C 2000 BC. to C 800 B..) within the Yajur Veda.

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., Syn., Artocarpous integrifolia L.) is an evergreen tree species. Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a close relative of jackfruit. It belongs to Moraceae family along with fig and mulberry. It is a tree borne fruit crop species producing biggest size fruit among fruit crops. Jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh and Indonesia (Matin, 2015). In southern India, Jackfruit received a respected status symbol. The state government of Kerala declared it as the state fruit of Kerala to promote the ‘Kerala Jack fruit’ and its value-added products as a brand, highlighting its organic and nutritious qualities among people.

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) is a tropical evergreen tree species of Leguminosae family. It is a very versatile plant species which can grow easily up to 1500 m above sea level and found in abundance in the Indian subcontinent and African continent. The name Tamarindus indica was given by Linnaeus in the eighteenth century, inspired by the Arabic name “Tamar-ul-Hind”, meaning ‘date of India’. Tamarind is known by different vernacular names in different languages. In India, tamarind grows naturally in forest and also develops unattended on wastelands. Therefore, it is suitable to grow along the roads, in agroforestry as multipurpose tree species or as fire breaks for forest margins.

Arid regions lie under the category of wastelands which are not being used to their fullest potential therefore, it almost barren. Hot arid regions are sparsely populated with human and animal population and experiences various biotic exploitation of the already very poor resources base. The scarcity of water poses biggest hindrance in limits the crop productivity as climatic factor. Yet, nature has bestowed the arid region fruits with characteristic qualities. Some fruit crops can grow successfully in such type of regions. Among these crops, cardia most suitable crop for cultivation under such type of arid climate. Some regional names of cordia are Pidar, Ponugeri, Maruvilli, Geduri, Spistan, Bhakar, Borla, Kalo Bohori (Nepali) etc. It is growing not only all over Asia but also nearly whole of the globe especially in tropical environment. In Indian sub-continent, it is growing from east Myanmar to west Afghanistan. It is grown in arid region and having numerous utilities. It is found in a variety of the forest of Rajasthan to moist deciduous forests of the Western Ghats and Tidal forest of Myanmar. In Maharashtra, it grows in moist monsoon forests also. In Rajasthan, its commercial plantations are being done in Pali, Sirohi, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jalore districts.

Now, it is becoming popular as monoculture cultivation as well as under agroforestry system in arid region. It does not grow gregariously but is found growing singly in moist shady ravines and valleys. In areas with annual rainfall less than 500mm, it thrives along streams and depressions where moisture is available. The hot arid zone stretch 32 M ha or 0.32 million square kilometer long covering Rajasthan (62%), Gujrat (20%), Andra Pradesh (7%), Punjab (5%), Haryana (4%), Karnataka (3%) and Maharastra (0.4%). In these area fruits selection for cultivation must be cope up that their maximal growth period coincides with the period of water availability in the soil. Few of the xerophytes characteristics are: deeper root system, deciduous nature, reduced foliage, sunken of covered stomata, waxy coating or hairiness on leaf surface which minimize the evapotranspiration and makes plant adaptive to the hostile climate. These qualities are found in cordia plant which can grow in this area without any problem after management of some agro-techniques.

Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) is a tropical tree crop of industrial importance which is mainly cultivated for its latex. It is also known as ‘Para Rubber’ tree, a commercial source of natural rubber. Rubber latex is a milky white liquid, a suspension of rubber particles (cis-1,4–polyisoprene) known for its elastic properties produced in specialized cells called laticifers which have to be coagulated to obtain the rubber. Rubber was introduced by the British in India for commercial cultivation and became an established industry. The rubber industry is divided into two sectors: tyre and non-tyre of which automotive tyre sector is the single largest sector of rubber consumption.

Genetic purity (GP) is a crucial seed quality factor. Several steps and precautions are involved in achieving the desired levels of genetic purity in the seed. Right from the choice of genetically pure seed for seed production up to final packing of the seed produced, at any stage, genetic purity can get affected. Field inspection and postharvest checks help in verifying conformity to seed quality standards especially genetic purity. Wherever seed characteristics are clear, examination of samples in the quality assurance laboratory for other distinguishable varieties (ODV) gives an idea of the genetic purity status. Among the several methods available for GP assessment, Grow Out Test is one.

In this context, some basic principles and procedures and guidelines relating to GOT are presented with more of information in tabular forms. In brief, the aspects covered include objectives, principles, kinds of GOT, genetic purity standards, procedure, main factors for observations, evaluation, and recording and reporting. Table 4.1 gives the submitted sample size for GOT; and Table 4.2 shows the minimum number of days required for evaluation from sowing and Table 4.3 deals with maximum weight of submitted sample and minimum weight of working sample for GPM, GOT and ODV.

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria, 2n = 2x = 22, family Cucurbitaceae, monoecious, cross-pollinated but genetically behaving like self-pollinated crop), is grown primarily in India on large scale for consumption as cooked vegetables. Bottle gourd is considered to be one of the earliest species of plants to be domesticated by humans. Bottle gourds are regularly grown and consumed in various parts of the world, particularly Asia. Fruits of bottle gourds are harvested young and used as a vegetable. The mature, dried fruits have been used throughout the world for making storage jars and utensils and hence the name bottle gourd. Shoots and leaves are also cooked and eaten. Lately, bottle gourd juice is also becoming popular in India as a health drink. Other countries growing bottle gourd on limited scale are Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Tropical Africa, Colombia and Brazil. After seed scooping, the hard rind is used as containers also. Seeds are used for oil extraction and oil is used as cooking oil.

During 2017-18, India produced 27 lakh tons (2.7 million tons) of bottle ground from 1.60 lakh ha (0.16 million ha) and this translated into a productivity of 17 tons/ ha (Horticulture Statistics at a Glance-2018, MAFW, 2018). Top six states producing bottle gourd on significant scale are Bihar, UP, Haryana, MP, Odisha, and Pujab, production being in the range of 135,000 to 650,000 tons.

Essentials for Quality Product Preparation

Plant ripened red tomatoes should be selected. Yellow and green fruits on processing yield dull colour and turn brown due to oxidation.

Never use iron equipment for processing. Lycopene oxidizes and turns brown when comes in contact with iron. It also forms black compounds with the tannins present in tomatoes or the spices which are used for product preparation.

Avoid prolonged heating and cool immediately to avoid over-cooking.

Green Revolution has increased food grain production by four fold since 1950–51 with the adoption of HYVs, intense input use, extensive tillage, burning of residues and irrigation. The intense cultivation has lead to degradation of natural resource such as soil, water, vegetation etc. In this context, globally conservation agriculture (CA) has opened a new paradigm as it has potential for higher resource use efficiency, water productivity and climate change mitigation through its key principles. Total area and percentage of total area under no tillage practised as part of conservation agriculture in different continents is given in Table 92.

Green manure is defined as fresh organic matter/undecomposed plant material/ real organic matter, natural plant food added to the soil for the purpose of supplying plant nutrients.

CLASSIFICATION OF GREEN MANURES

Nonlegumes: Rape seed, buck wheat, niger, rye, oats and maize

Legumes:

Grain legumes: cowpea, mungbean, pigeon pea, soybean, khesari (Lathyrus sativus)

Dual purpose legumes: cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba). pillipesara, Sesbania speciosa.

Non grain legumes: sunnhemp, dhaincha, pillipesera (Phaseolus trilobus), stylosanthes and desmodium.

At this moment, the majority of energy is obtained from fossil fuels and requires switching over to alternative energy sources is the need of the hour. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable energy source and also have seriously negative impacts on the environment. The use of fossil fuels cause excessive global climate change because emissions of greenhouse pollutants and the formation of compounds CO_x, NO_x, SO_x, C_xH_y, ash and other organic compounds that are released into the atmosphere. The increase in greenhouse gas emission will result in global warming, climate change, environmental degradation and health problems.

Biofuel, any fuel that is derived from biomass - that is, plant or algae material or animal waste. Since such feedstock material can be replenished readily, biofuel is considered to be a source of renewable energy, unlike fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas.

Mushrooms are good as nutritious food for all ages and under all conditions of health. The mushroom is a fleshy, space-bearing organ of non-green edible fungi. Its fleshy nature of mushroom is responsible for its main attraction to human being as a source of food. Like other fruit and vegetables, mushrooms are soft textured and highly perishable in nature. Mushroom are potential sources of nutrients. They can convert nutritionally valueless substances into high fat and protein food. Mushroom proteins are comparable to muscle protein in nutritive value. Being a good source of vitamins and proteins it is considered be a distinct food. The digestibility of protein in these is 72-83%. Mushrooms are edible fungi; assume considerable importance in human diet as they are good source of non starchy carbohydrate, dietary fibre, minerals and vitamins-B and essential amino acids. Mushrooms are popular their delicacy and flavour rather that food value. However, it is now a well-established fact that they are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals (Vijaya Khader, 1988). The vitamins in mushroom are well retained during cooking, canning, and dehydration. The White button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus), Shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes), Pleurotus species (Pleurotus osteatus, P. flabellatus, P. sajor caju etc.), Paddy straw mushrooms (Volvariella volvacea), Winter mushrooms (Flammulina velutipis), Jew’s ear mushrooms (Auricularia polytricha) are commercially cultivated species of mushroom. In India, mainly three species viz., white button, oyster or dhingari and paddy straw mushrooms are commercially cultivated at large scale.

A large number of people in developing countries have traditionally depends on products derived from plants, especially from forests, for curing human and livestock ailments. Additionally, several aromatic plants are popular for domestic and commercial uses. Collectively they are called medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). About 12.5% of the 4,22,000 plant species documented worldwide are reported to have medicinal values. With dwindling supplies from natural sources and increasing global demand, the medicinal and aromatic plants, will need to be cultivated to ensure their regular supply for processing and value added products.

The term “Medicinal and Aromatic plants” generally denotes those non-aromatic and aromatic plants, which are used for medicinal, perfumery, dye and cosmetic purposes. They are rich in secondary metabolites and are potential sources of drugs. Generally the whole plant roots, stem, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, gums and oleoresins, etc. are used.

India has been considered as treasure house of valuable medicinal and aromatic plant species. Ministry of Environment and Forests have identified and documented over 9500 plant species considering their importance in the pharmaceutical industry. In the present context of ‘back to nature’ in health care, it is relevant that these valuable plant species are not only preserved but also their cultivation developed in order to meet the entire demand of the domestic industries as also to exploit the bright prospect for export. Shift from collection to cultivation of medicinal & aromatic plants will also ensure purity, authenticity and sustainable supply of raw materials required for herbal drugs, including polyherbals.

Food technologies now have more sweeteners from which to choose than ever before. With the obesity epidemic and the public attention it currently receives, plus the increasing interest in foods with added benefits sweeteners that allow for consumer appealing labeling are of particular interest. These sweeteners fall into basic categories, those that are essentially calories free, often referred to as low-calories or intense sweeteners, and those, which are significantly reduced in calories, which may be referred to as reduced calories-sweeteners, bulk sweeteners, or sugar replaces. These sweeteners when used alone or in combination may permit such labeling as ‘low-calories’, ‘reduced-calories’, ‘light’ ‘sugar-free’ and ‘dose not promote tooth decay’.

The ideal sweeteners does not exist, it would be at least as sweet as sucrose and provide the same properties to a product as sucrose, with processing parameters similar to those of sucrose so that existing equipment can be used. It would be colourless, odourless and noncariogenic, with a clean, pleasant taste and have immediate onset and not much lingering. Solubility and stability are important. The ideal sweetener must be compatible with a wide range of food ingredients because sweetness is but one element of a complex food flavour system. Even sucrose is not perfect, being unsuitable for some applications.

Introduction

The resource conservation technologies (RCTs) is primarily focussed on resource savings through minimal tillage, ensuring soil nutrients and moisture conservation through crop residues and growth of cover crops, and adoption of spatial and temporal crop sequencing. These practices have long been practised by the farmers in the Indo Gangetic Plains (IGP) but it got eroded in recent times due to various geo-socio economic- political reasons. This region (10.5 million ha) comprises of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal and have major share in production of rice and wheat due to adoption of green revolution technologies followed by area expansion. It has been reported that rice-wheat system has strained the natural resources of this region (Swarup and Singh, 1989; Kumar and Yadav, 1993; Lal et al., 2004). In present scenario there is little scope to meet future target by earlier approaches like area expansion and intensive use of natural resources. Therefore, RCTs can be regarded as energy, water and labour efficient system to sustain soil health and production environment and produce more at less cost (Jat et al., 2012; Gathala et al., 2011b).

Major emphasis is given upon the RCTs components like zero/reduced tillage, direct seeded rice, crop residue management and crop diversification. However, other RCTs like site specific nutrient management, leaf colour chart, laser land leveller, nutrient use efficient genotypes, integrated crop and pest management provide options to the farmers as per their resource endowment.

Introduction

Plants possess complex, systematic and specific mechanisms to cope up with abiotic as well as biotic stresses in the existing environment. ‘Do plants respond to sound ? How can plants perceive sound without a hearing organ?’- are interesting queries among the scientific community. Responses of plants to different factors such as temperature, moisture, light, wind, pests and microbes are well understood. However, information on the effects of audible sound frequencies on plants are still lacking. Recent evidences suggest that audible sound stimulation can contribute to better plant growth and improved quality of plant produce. It also represents a new trigger for plant protection. Sound is an acoustic energy in the form of a mechanical wave which transmits through gases, liquids and solids. Acoustic spectrum consists of three regions, infra sound (less than 20 Hz), audible region (20-20,000 Hz) and ultrasound (greater than 20,000 Hz). Infra sound and ultrasound are used in clinical diagnosis and therapeutics.

Research on plant responses towards different stimuli started during 1880s by Charles Darwin. In 1848, Dr. Gustav Theodor Fechner, a German experimental psychologist, suggested that plants are capable of feeling emotions and that one could promote healthy growth of plants with talk, attention, attitude and affection. Later, J. C. Bose (1926), famous Indian botanist and physicist, made several studies on the effect of sound vibrations on plants. According to him, a plant treated with care and affection gives out a different vibration than a plant subjected to torture. In addition, Bose found that plants grew more quickly in pleasant music and more slowly in loud noise or harsh sounds. He also noticed that plants can “feel pain and understand affection” based on variation of cell membrane potential under different sound frequencies. Retallack (1973) also described several experiments involving plants and music.

According to G.C. Ainsworth (1973) the fungus is free-living, parasitic or mutualistic, saprotrophs, necrotrophs or biotrophs and devoid of chlorophyll. Cell wall composition very variable, majority contain chitin and glucans, reserve materials glycogen, oil and mannitol, characteristic disaccharide and trehalose. Some yeast-like but majority with thread-like filaments, hyphae, branched profusely to form the vegetative mycelium on which spores are produced, asexually or sexually, free on hyphae or enclosed in complex reproductive structures. Separated mainly on morphology of the latter.

2.1 Divisions: Myxomycota

These are wall-less and quite unusual organisms only included in the fungi as mostly studied by mycologists. Possess either a plasmodium, a mass of naked, multinucleate protoplasm, which feeds any ingesting particulate matter and moves by amoeboid cells. Both of slimy consistencies hence slime molds. Four classes:

2.1.1 Class: Acrasiomycetes (Cellular slime molds)

Assimilative phase, free living amoebae which aggregate to form a pseudoplasmodium before reproduction.

INTRODUCTION

The contribution of the church in the field of the health services has been well appreciated by all sections of the people as well as by government. Quite a few church personnel are fully involved in public health services, nutritional programmes and hygiene and sanitation programmes. There are mobile clinic and awareness programmes run in the rural areas. In the field of medical care the contribution of the Christianity is meritorious. The healing mission received some priority in the agenda of the missionaries and churches. Health centers run by Christians originally meant to serve the poor. Many of well equipped and well established hospitals render service in rural areas and slums others do not reach. Educational service of the Christianity has been a highly valued service to the nation.

CHRISTIAN MISSION HOSPITALS IN INDIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO TAMIL NADU

From the middle of the nineteenth century, the mission world in Britain began to change. There were many missionaries who held university degrees. They provided a wholly new context to evangelism by their emphasis first upon the importance of education and later, by being the pioneers at least in Asia and Africa, of Western scientific hospitals, organized by missionaries, ultimately developed. The full-fledged teaching hospitals were without doubt a high point of missionary achievement. American medical missionaries who were in Sri Lanka prior to the mid-nineteenth century did not belong to the artisan or mechanic class or other lower middle-class groups. John Scudder, a physician, grandfather of the founder of the Vellore College, left for the East in 1819 and worked first in Sri Lanka before moving to India. John Scudder’s father has been described by one of his biographers, as a ‘gentleman of the old school’ and his mother it is said was a ‘lady of high culture’.

INTRODUCTION

The 21^st century has witnessed the emergence of information revolution in a dramatic way that has shaped the human lives in a new direction. Information revolution has not only made tremendous changes in the social-economic and political life of the people but also given a dramatic boost for scientific community for its right uses in their research and academic work. The society has experienced a fast change. McGarry has presented the relative rapidity of such changes in saying that progress is at glacial speed. The striking changes in the information society are also depicted by Alvin Toffler in his three books. He advocated that the chief agent of transformation of society is information and its related technologies. Moreover, it is acknowledged that information and knowledge become the principal generators of wealth in the form of educational institutions, research and development organizations, scientific establishments and information dissemination agents.

With agriculture in the present century moving rapidly away from an artisanal, labour- extensive, traditional activity towards a sophisticated, information-intensive sector of the global economy, access to information and modern communication technologies has become a necessity for the farmers of the global sphere especially in developing countries. The agriculture of the future will entail more efficient and sustainable production systems, making optimal use of land, water and other natural resources. Sustainable food production will rely more and more on agricultural information management and communication technologies.

The City of Kumbh: Temporary Township and its major concern

From antiquity Allahabad has been regarded as a centre of pilgrimage [Table 9.a.]. The number of pilgrims visiting the city during Kumbh shows a steady rise, a clear indication of its popularity over the years. The official record shows 25 lac pilgrims in 1906, the first Mela of twentieth century, the number rose to 30 lac in 1918 and by 1930 recorded an increase of nearly 60%. There was a decline however due to the World War II, in 1942.

7.1 Introduction

Agriculture production and farm incomes in India are frequently affected by natural disasters such as droughts, floods, cyclones, storms, landslides and earthquakes. Susceptibility of agriculture to these disasters is compounded by the outbreak of epidemics and man-made disasters such as fire, sale of spurious seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, price crashes etc. All these events severely affect farmers through loss in production and farm income, and they are beyond the control of the farmers. With the growing commercialization of agriculture, the magnitude of loss due to unfavorable eventualities is increasing. The question is how to protect farmers by minimizing such losses. For a section of farming community, the minimum support prices for certain crops provide a measure of income stability. But most of the crops and in most of the states MSP is not implemented. In recent times, mechanisms like contract farming and future s trading have been established which are expected to provide some insurance against price fluctuations directly or indirectly. But, agricultural insurance is considered an important mechanism to effectively address the risk to output and income resulting from various natural and manmade events. Agricultural Insurance is a means of protecting the agriculturist against financial losses due to uncertainties that may arise agricultural losses arising from named or all unforeseen perils beyond their control (AIC, 2008). Unfortunately, agricultural insurance in the country has not made much headway even though the need to protect Indian farmers from agriculture variability has been a continuing concern of agriculture policy. According to the National Agriculture Policy 2000, "Despite technological and economic advancements, the condition of farmers continues to be unstable due to natural calamities and price fluctuations". In some extreme cases, these unfavorable events become one of the factors leading to farmers suicides which are now assuming serious proportions.Agricultural insurance is one method by which farmers can stabilize farm income and investment and guard against disastrous effect of losses due to natural hazards or low market prices. Crop insurance not only stabilizes the farm income but also helps the farmers to initiate production activity after a bad agricultural year. It cushions the shock of crop losses by providing farmers with a minimum amount of protection. It spreads the crop losses over space and time and helps farmers make more investments in agriculture. It forms an important component of safety-net programmes as is being experienced in many developed countries like USA and Canada as well as in the European Union. However, one need to keep in mind that crop insurance should be part of overall risk management strategy. Insurance comes towards the end of risk management process. Insurance is redistribution of cost of losses of few among many, and cannot prevent economic loss. There are two major categories of agricultural insurance

4.1 Introduction

The developed or commercially available models can be applied for any water bodies such as fresh water lakes, ponds, rivers, estuaries and marine ecosystems. The predicted results can be compared with proved with field data and existing approved models and applies to the other such ecosystems. In this chapter, we can discuss about modeling of water bodies, water quality model, spatial discretizafion, modeling pollutants and toxicants, concentration modeling, hydrodynamic mixing zone analysis.

4.2 Modeling of Water bodies

The need for predictive water quality modeling has arisen largely as a result of increased eutrophication of lakes throughout the world (Forsberg, 1987; Canfield and Hoyer, 1988). The most common modelling approach is exemplified by the development and application of steady state, input-output models. Generally, nutrient concentrations are calculated from net inputs and chlorophyll a concentration is predicted by correlation with the limiting nutrient, most often phosphorus (Dillon and Rigler, 1975; Canfield and Bachmann, 1981; OECD, 1982).

Factors that can also influence phytoplankton biomass, such as light, climate, biological interactions and internal loading of nutrients, are not considered. Further more, the assumption that a lake is a continuously mixed system is very restrictive and only applicable at discrete times of the year. As a result, the shortcomings of such approaches include an inability to make predictions in the face of varying physical and biological conditions, and a failure to offer insights into the determinants of changing water quality.

5.1 Introduction

The water quality modeling methodologies are started from conceptual models such as defining the problem in a particular region of interest like fresh water ecosystem, coastal ecosystems, ocean ecosystems, the following methodology can be studied carefully for water quality modeling.

Identification of problems in the region of interest

Monitoring of field data using standard methods like APHA, USGS, BIS etc.

Evaluation of primary data for the toxins, higher amount of concentration from the ambient conditions

Processing of primary data to secondary data

Based on the primary data and secondary data, suitable modeling software can be used. If the temperature of the region is higher than the ambient, it should be used Qual2E, MIKE21 etc.

Modeling results can be compared with field data for calibration and validation.

17.1. Introduction

Throughout human history, the coastal plains and Lowland River valleys have usually been the most populated areas over the world (Wolanski et al., 2004). At present, about 60% of the world’s population live along the estuaries and the coast (Lindeboom, 2002). This is degrading estuarine and coastal waters through pollution, eutrophication, increased turbidity, overfishing and habitat destruction. The pollutant supply does not just include nutrients; it also includes mud from eroded soil, heavy metals, radionuclides, hydrocarbons, and a number of chemicals including new synthetic products.

The impact on estuaries is commonly still ignored when dams and irrigation farming are proposed on rivers. In addition, estuaries are often regarded as sites for future development and expansion, and have been increasingly canalized and dyked for flood protection, and their wetlands infilled for residential areas.

All these factors impact on the biodiversity and productivity and hence, the overall health of estuaries and the ecosystem services they provide to humans. They increasingly lead humans away from the possibility of ecologically sustainable development of the coastal zone. Integrated coastal zone management plans are drawn up worldwide but, in the presence of significant river input, most are bound to fail because they commonly deal only with local, coastal issues, and do not consider the whole river catchment as the fundamental planning unit. It is as if the land, the river, the estuary, and the sea were not part of the same system. When dealing with estuaries and coastal waters, in most countries land-use managers, water-resources managers, and coastal and fisheries managers do not cooperate effectively due to administrative, economic and political constraints, and the absence of a forum where their ideas and approaches are shared and discussed (Wolanski et al., 2004). 

Mangroves Definition

A mangrove is tree, shrub, palm or ground fern, generally exceeding one and a half meter in height that normally grows above mean sea level in the intertidal zone of marine coastal environment and estuarine regions of the tropical and subtropical coastlines (Duke 1992). The mangrove is also defined as assemblages of salt tolerant trees and shrubs. Mangroves are taxonomically heterogenous and more related to environment than terrestrial or aquatic plants.

The term ‘mangroves’ is used to define both a group of plants and a community. To avoid confusion, Macnae (1968) proposed the term ‘mangal’ for the mangrove forest community, and the term ‘mangroves’ for the plants. Other terms for the mangrove forest community are coastal woodland, oceanic rainforest, intertidal forest, tidal forest, blue carbon forest, mangrove forest, and mangrove swamp.

Generally, mangrove species are grouped into two types: Exclusive and Non-Exclusive. The exclusive species are limited to the mangrove habitat, and they are also referred to as strict mangroves, obligate mangroves or true mangroves. The non-exclusive species are mainly distributed in a terrestrial or aquatic habitat, but they also occur in the mangrove habitats and they are referred to as semi-mangroves, back mangroves or mangrove associates. Tansley and Fristch (1905) are the first to introduce the criteria to classify mangrove species into true mangroves and mangrove associates. Tomlinson (1986) used rigid criteria to distinguish true mangroves from mangrove associates. In his criteria, true mangroves possess all or most of the following features:

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN LIVESTOCK ENTERPRISES

GENDER AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY: The women and men enjoy equal status in the law of the constitution, though there exists a wide difference as looked upon by the society. This gender gap is a socially constructed attribute as being male and females are assigned roles and responsibilities in respect to one’s gender. Gender disparity is a serious concern in all sectors and must be addressed immediately for the development of the country. To address gender issues, it is imperative to understand different fundamental gender concepts to deal with it effectively.

Gender: Gender identifiers social relations between men and women. Gender refers to the relationship between men and women, boys and girls and how this is socially constructed. Gender roles are dynamic and changed over time. Gender determined, what is expected, allowed, and valued in a man or woman in a different context.

Sex: Sex identifies the biological difference between men and women, such as-women can give birth and men provide sperm. Sex roles are universal. These are universal, obvious and generally permanent. It is what, we are born with and does not change over time, differs from place to place.

Introduction

The livestock occupies a significant niche in the social fabric of the Indian subcontinent from the dawn of civilization. During the initial days of civilization, animals served human society in many ways. The livestock is not only producing high biological value products i.e., milk, meat but also provide manure for maintaining soil health, draught power for crop production, wool and fiber for apparel industry, low cost means of transport in rural and desert areas, companion for sports and of course a "readily disposable asset" for any kind of emergency expenditure. Hence, livestock represents one of the major driving forces for the growth of the rural economy. As a result, the livestock industry becomes one of the niche sectors of the national economy to propel faster growth along with securing the livelihood of millions of people. During the twentieth century, balanced ration was the key focal point of animal nutrition research either for enhancing the productivity or managing the livestock economy through interventions of knowledge in the areas of improvement of poor quality roughages, bypass protein, bypass fat, mineral supplements, complete feed blocks, vitamins, area specific mineral mixture, feed additives such as antibiotics, ionophores, hormones etc. However, during the beginning of the twenty first century, several issues appeared pertaining to the livestock sector such as feed quality and safety, designer animal products, healthy animal products, ecological treatment for digestive disorder, organic animal production, residues of antibiotics, hormones and heavy metals in accordance with the consumer preference and awareness. In the light of concerns on "transfer of antibiotic resistance genes from animal to human", several nations have imposed bans on application of antibiotics as feed additives. Keeping in view the above perspective, research is underway around the world to find alternatives to antibiotics to guard the gastrointestinal of animals without compromising productivity or product quality of livestock.

Sources of agriculture/ Livestock finance
Finance for agriculture can be obtained from formal and informal sources Formal sources
Credit co-operatives
Commercial banks
Government
Regional Rural Banks
Informal sources
Money lender
Friends and relatives
Traders
Landlords
3 R’s OF CREDIT
To estimate the rationality of a loan, it is essential to know credit analysis.

Behavior can be defined as an expressed course of action produced in organisms in response to stimulus from a given situation. Alternatively, behaviour may be defined as the response by the animals to internal and external stimuli. Behaviour is a significant indicator of the health of animals. The goal of all behavioral responses is common i.e. to survive and reproduce.

The primary function of cardiovascular system is to maintain blood circulation so that normal exchange of fluid, electrolyte, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrient
and excretory and secretory end products can take place between tissue and blood. Failure of circulation to any degree interferes with the transport and
exchange mechanism.

A healthy life is ensured by having access to safe, nutritious and balanced food. World health organisation (WHO) ensures its contribution in developing food safety systems that are sustainable to reduce health risks from farm to consumer. Thus, safe food, its quality and consumer protection are the priorities of this organisation (FAO and WHO, 2021)

Artificial Insemination is a very important tool that caters to propagation of high-quality germplasm and breed improvement. It is also economical as it aids in breeding without the necessary to maintain the adult bucks cutting the input cost. However, the bucks maintained for production of semen and AI should be free of any diseases and in specifically venereal diseases. Venereal diseases are not so uncommon in livestock, and they cause a variety of symptoms including orchitis, abortions, still birth, vulvovaginitis etc., leading to infertility in breeding animals. Venereal diseases are infectious in nature and they are transmitted mainly through semen, feed-water, AI gun, artificial vagina, fomites etc. Due to venereal diseases, infertility, orchitis, epididymitis, vasculitis etc. occurs in bucks and leads to abortions and still birth in does (Ahmed et al, 2010; Beena et al, 2017), because they are directly linked with the economic output (Sharma et al, 2008; Azawi et al, 2010) and overall health of the animal affecting the productivity significantly (Menzies, 2011). To keep abortions and other venereal diseases at bay, it is important to raise disease free breeding bucks that deliver clean-semen for natural service or AI operation. Abortion rate between 2 to 5% indicates its endemic nature and abortion level exceeding 5% requires aggressive investigation (Menzies, 2011). Infectious agents that include viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites etc.; as well as noninfectious cause can lead to infertility in goats (Moeller, 2001; Szeredi et al, 2006; Smith and Sherman, 2009). Many infectious causes are known to mankind that leads to trans-venereal diseases in goats including Brucella melitensis, Chlamydiosis, Campylobacter spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Toxoplasmosis, Coxiella burnetii etc. There are numerous viruses such as

Abstract

In any extension organization, performance appraisal is critical for human resource management. Extension professionals or employees will have a better grasp of their roles and obligations, as well as recommendations on how to improve their performance, if the performance appraisal process is formal and well-structured. The Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) is also described as the project-planning matrix, is a planning, monitoring and evaluation technique for extension projects. The steps in the performance appraisal process are as follows: setting performance benchmarks, communicating standards to employees, evaluating actual performance, comparing actual to desired performance, discussing the results and making a conclusion. Critical Incidence Technique, confidential report, weighted checklists, visual rating scales, behaviorally anchored rating scales, forced choice approach, Management by Objectives (MBO) etc. are commonly used performance appraisal methods. The essential components of Logical Framework Analysis, on the other hand, comprise of hierarchy of objectives, objectively verifiable indicators, verification means and critical assumptions and risks. The logical framework isn’t a universal remedy for all development project problems, but it can help policymakers and financial agencies/donors to understand what a project is trying to achieve. Not only that, LFA may also describe in simple terms how the project will achieve its goal.

A conflict is a fight or a clash of interest, opinion, or even principles. Conflict can never be eliminated from the society; as there are different reasons of conflict. It may vary from personal, racial, class, caste, political, international and many more.

Conflict in a group often follows a specific course. Routine group interaction is first disrupted by an initial conflict within the group. It is often caused by internal differences of opinion, disagreements between its members, or scarcity of resources available to the group. Some of the common sorts of conflicts are:

• Inter-group conflict is conflict between two or more groups.
• Organization conflict is discord caused by opposition of needs, values, and interests between people working together.
• Role conflict involves incompatible demands placed upon a person in a manner that makes accomplishing both troublesome.
• Social conflict is the struggle for supremacy or autonomy between social classes.
• Conflict of interest is involvement in multiple interests which could possibly corrupt the motivation or decision-making.

Introduction

A community radio station is characterized by its ownership and programming and the community it is authorized to serve. It is owned and controlled by anon- profit organization whose structure provides for membership, management, operation and programming primarily by members of the community at large. Its programming should be based on community access and participation and should reflect the special interests and needs of the listenership it is licensed to serve.

While community radio is a form of public-service broadcasting, it has an approach that is different from conventional broadcasting. Its specific focus is to make its audience the main protagonists, by their involvement in all aspects of its management and programme production, and by providing them with programming that will help them in the development and social advancement of their community.

Panchayati Raj is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent. Panchayati Raj Institutions have been in existence in India for a long time. In the old Sanskrit scriptures, word 'Panchayatan' has been mentioned which means a group of five persons, including a spiritual man. In the Rigveda, there is a mention of Sabha, Samiti and Vidatha as local selfunits. These were the democratic bodies at the local level. The king used to get the approval of these bodies regarding certain functions and decisions.

After independence, as a development initiative, India had implemented the Community Development Programmes (CDP) on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti, the 2nd October, 1952.The National Extension Service followed the Community Development Programme as the vehicle through which idea of Community Development would be worked and to build up an administrative system which can tackle the welfare problems of growth at the local level. The Balvantray Mehta Study Team was appointed in January 1957 to study and to make report on the Community Development Projects and National Extension Service .The Team brought to focus the areas mentioned below:

11.1. Tea

11.1.1. Tea mosquito bug: Helopeltis theivora

Symptoms

• Adults and nymphs suck sap from buds, young leaves and tender stems.

• Punctures appear as reddish brown spots.

• Leaves curl up, badly deformed and shoots dry up.

Management

• Spray clothianidin 50 WDG 120 g/ha or thiacloprid 21.7 SC 375 ml/ha or thiamethoxam 25 WG 100g/ha or bifenthrin 8 SC 500 ml/ha.

12.1. Tea

12.1.1. Algal leaf spot: Cephaleuros virescens

Symptoms

• Leaves develop lesions that are roughly circular, raised and purple to reddish brown.

Management

• Removal of infected portions and spraying of Bordeaux mixture

• Improving soil nutrient status by application of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium

12.1.2. Brown blight, grey blight: Colletotrichum sp., Pestalotiopsis sp.

1. Introduction

Tuber crops are important group of crop species which produce tubers that are used for human food and animal feed. The popular tuber crops include cassava, sweet potato, greater yam, white yam, lesser yam, taro, tannia, elephant foot yam, yam bean, coleus etc. They contribute substantial amount of cheap energy coupled with high quality nutrition for more than two million people living in developing countries. Taro is one of the oldest cultivated tuber crop grown for its edible corms and leaves. It is an important tropical tuber crop, used as a staple food or subsistence food by millions of people in the developing countries in Asia, Africa and Central America.