eChapters

Dry areas specially arid and semiarid regions are characterized by harsh climatic condition with limited natural resources like fresh water and vegetation. Soil which is most important component for agricultural production is also problematic in this region due to high salt content. Further, these regions face dual water problems: very low rainfall and poor quality of available water. Most of the available groundwater in these areas has high salt content, which further enhance salt content in soil after irrigation with this water. Salinity of soil is one of the most severe abiotic factors limiting agricultural production in arid and semiarid regions of the world. Term ‘salt-affected soil’ refer to soils in which salts interfere with normal plant growth, and is broadly divided into saline, saline- sodic and sodic soil, depending on amounts of salt, type of salts, amount of sodium present and soil alkalinity. Excessive soluble salts in the saline soil limit the ability of plant roots to absorb soil water even under wet soil conditions, while high sodium content in sodic soil reduce the availability of Ca, Mg, other micronutrients and finally deteriorate physical condition of soil. Poor physical structure of soil results in difficult to till, poor seed germination due to soil crusting and restricted plant root growth. Due to the poor physical structure, sodic soils are also susceptible to wind and water erosion compared to saline soils. All these negative impact of salt accumulation on the soil finally affect growth and yield of the crops. As per estimates of ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal, crop production loss to country due to sodicity is around 11.18 million tonnes while due to salinity is around 5.66 million tonnes. Furthermore, the area under this category is rising due to secondary salinization caused by faulty management of irrigation water, seepage loss, impeded drainage, rapid rise of water table causing water-logging. Certainly, these soils and saline water threaten the livelihood security of farming community. The area under cultivation is decreasing due to diversion of agricultural land in to other uses to meet needs of rising population and as such, agriculture has to make best use of poor quality land and water resources to meet the food demand. Therefore, management of salt affected soil become necessary for ameliorating negative impact and enhancing agricultural production in these regions. Each type of salt-affected soil has different characteristics and thus required different strategies for management.

Energy and food are the two main requirements for human civilization; however the demands for these two resources are increasing in a fast rate. Development of any region is reflected in its quantum of energy consumption. In this context, the situation in arid region is difficult. People burn firewood, agricultural waste and cow dung cake for cooking food causing damages to the fragile eco-system of arid zone. There is inadequate electrical power supply and hence villagers of remote arid areas are unable to derive general benefits. The kerosene is used for lighting and fast depleting diesel oil is used for running agricultural machinery including pumps. In this context solar energy is considered to be one of the promising sources in India.

About 12% of electricity production capacity in India is met through renewable energy sources. In India, national solar mission was launched in November 2009 with a target of 4000 MW grid and 1000 MW off-grid electricity generation from solar energy by the end of phase II (2013-2017), whereas these targets are 20,000 MW and 2000 MW, respectively by 2022. The target has been revised in 2015 to a total grid connected solar power generation of 1,00,000 MW comprising of 40,000 MW roof top generation and 60,000 MW grid connected solar power plants (Resolution of MNRE, Govt of India, No. 30/80/ 2014-15/NSM dated 1^st July 2015).

According to FAO estimates, about 50% total geographical area in India is under various degraded hazards and about 2.1 million ha of land is getting degraded and deforested annually (Sehgal et al. 1998). Out of that underground water in arid and semi-arid areas is saline or sodic in nature. While spices, medicinal and aromatic plants may be a boon for these areas, which not only withstand under adverse conditions but also could be productive and helps in mitigating these problems. However, other crops are remain less or unproductive in these areas.

Spices are low volume and high value crops and have tremendous export potential, which is witnessed by several invasions faced by this Indian peninsula during ancient time. Medicinal and aromatic plants have an equally market potential with the world demand of herbal products growing at the rate of 7 per cent per annum (Aishwath and Tarafdar, 2007). Seed spices and aromatic plants are the natural source of flavour, perfumes and fragrance widely exploited by essential oil industries in the world. Owing to considerable diversity of edaphoclimatic conditions ranging from temperate to tropical and arid to sub- humid that prevails in India and an array of medicinal and aromatic flora occurs in wild state. Many exotic essential oil bearing plants, including mints, citronella, geranium, patchouli, lavender and chamomile have been naturalized in India. As the country has emerged as one of the main producers of seed spices and some of the essential oils, theses plants are significant foreign exchange earners. Some of the aromatic plants especially grasses can sustain both biotic as well as abiotc stresses, even in the areas unsuitable for conventional crops (Aishwath et al., 2008). Most of the seed spices crops are seasonal crops and comes up well with limited moisture and nutrients. Therefore, under utilized natural resources can be utilized profitably by crop diversification.

Introduction

The animal husbandry and agriculture are the major resource of income for the farmers and directly affects the economic conditions of farmers. Livestock sector plays a vital role for livelihood food security in India. Buffalo plays an important role in dairy industry and contribute 49 per cent of total milk production in India (BAHS, 2017). Murrah is one of the best buffalo breeds in the world and also widely used for up-gradation of non-descript buffaloes in India. Murrah buffalo have poor thermoregulation mechanism compared to other domestic ruminants in tropical countries and are more prone to heat stress due to very less sweat glands, jet black colour and thin hairs on body surface (Das et al., 1999; Khongdee et al., 2013) which reduce the ability of cutaneous evaporation and largely responsible for its low productivity and consequently reducing the reproductive efficiency (Gudev et al., 2007). India continues to be the largest milk producer in the world since 1997. Milk production has increased from 165.4 million tonnes (2016-17) to 176.4 million tonnes (2017-18) (DAHD, GOI). The demand for milk is increasing at a very fast pace due to exponential population growth and the gap in the production and supply is increasing. Out of 300 million bovines, only 88 million are in milk leaving large unproductive animals including 84 million males (19th Livestock census, 2012). If the gap of production and supply is to be bridged, the large number of constraints that affect reproductive efficiency and productivity of dairy animals must be addressed effectively. One important factor that can contribute to the productivity of animals is qualitative production and quantitative adequacy of semen doses for A.I.

Introduction

Livestock plays an important role in the sustainable livelihood of poor people of rain-fed agro-ecosystem, because of inherent risk involved in the crop farming due to uncertainty of rainfall and occurrence of recurrent droughts. They provide income and increased economic stability, and often the most important “cash crops” in small-scale mixed farming systems. Livestock sector in India is highly livelihood intensive and most rural households own livestock of one species or the other and earn supplementary incomes from them. Livestock holding is less iniquitous than land holding and income from livestock is more equitably distributed. The sector contributes 25.6 per cent of the value of output at current prices of total value of output in agriculture, fishing & forestry sector and in GDP, it was 4.11% in 2012-13 (19^th livestock census, 2012) therefore, development of the livestock sector is the critical pathway to rural prosperity

As per the 19^th livestock census, the total livestock population consisting of Cattle, Buffalo, Sheep, Goat, Pig, Horses & Ponies, Mules, Donkeys, Camels, Mithun and Yak in the country is 512.05 million numbers in 2012. The total Bovine population (Cattle, Buffalo, Mithun and Yak) is 299.9 million numbers in 2012 which shows a decline of 1.57% over previous census. In percentage basis distribution of livestock were: 37.28% were cattle, 21.23% buffaloes, 12.71% sheep, 26.40% goats and 2.01% pigs. The corresponding figures as per the 18th Livestock Census were 37.58%, 19.89%, 13.50%, 26.53% and 2.10%. The number of milch animals (in-milk and dry) in cows and buffaloes has increased from 111.09 million to 118.59 million, an increase of 6.75%. The number of animals in milk in cows and buffaloes has increased from 77.04 million to 80.52 million showing a growth of 4.51%. The Female Cattle (Cows) Population has increased by 6.52% over the previous census (2007) and the total number of female cattle in 2012 is 122.9 million numbers. The Female Buffalo population has increased by 7.99% over the previous census and the total number of female buffalo is 92.5 million numbers in 2012. The buffalo population has increased from 105.3 million to 108.7 million showing a growth of 3.19%. The total sheep in the country is 65.06 million numbers in 2012, declined by about 9.07% over census 2007. The Goat population has declined by 3.82% over the previous census and the total Goat in the country is 135.17 million numbers in 2012. The total poultry population in the country has increased by 12.39% over the previous census and the total poultry in the country is 729.2 million numbers in 2012. The total number of animals in milk in the country is 116.77 Million numbers.

The extreme weather events being experienced at a greater frequency now a days are due to accelerated climate change caused mostly due to global warming. Global warming is basically a change in the climatic conditions of the Earth, brought about by a considerable rise in the near-surface temperature of the planet. Earth’s surface and the troposphere become warmer due to absorption of infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface by Green House Gases(GHGs). The important green house gases include carbon dioxide(CO₂),methane(CH₄) nitrous oxide(N₂O), chloro-?uoro-carbons(CFCs), ozone(O₃) and water vapour(H₂O). Various climate models predict major changes in our weather patterns, environment, and way of life in absence of efforts for substantial reductions in GHG emissions. The CO₂ gas concentration of atmosphere has increased to 385 ppm as against the normal concentration of 300 ppm. The atmosphere contains only 1 % of the total global carbon pool. The undesirable changes can be reversed by increasing soil and eco system carbon pools, increasing mean resident time(MRT) of sequestered carbon and decreasing GHG emission to atmosphere.

5.1 INTRODUCTION

A GIS database without single error is reliable for decision making. There are various possible sources of errors in GIS. If an error is not removed during scanning, the final output will also have that error. Besides whatever the work has been carried on wrongly scanned map it will add to errors because the source map itself's erroneous. This is like garbage in garbage out proverb. If wrong data is taken for analysis it will only result in wrong output. Hence it is important to remove error at every stage of GIS work. It is important to locate the sources of errors so that due care may be taken while handling a project.

5.2 ORIGINAL SOURCES OF ERRORS

All the equipments which give attributed data and spatial data will give errors. Before going to field or before collecting data all the related instruments should be calibrated properly. Also the instrument should not cross the permissible error. Besides these while using data from diversified sources errors pertaining to those instruments are mixed to give a different result. When very good accuracy is desired data should be collected from high end equipments. Even if one adds the data from a comparbly less accurate instrument to the data of many accurate instrument is then the result obtained finally will not reliable enough. Global Positioning System (GPS) is available with mm accuracy to meters accuracy. Also surveying with suitable map projection and datum is important; otherwise the result will be wrong. Survey instruments posses some inaccuracy and when a person is using it he should have the accuracy over the instrumental like rain gauge, water level recorders which give attributed data which should be checked for instrumental inaccuracies and method of data collection before using it. Likewise satellite and aerial sensors miss some data and some error are inherent. Such errors should be removed before moving ahead. Errors are resulted due to map reduction, enlargement, data editing and computation method adopted. At the same mapping instruments also possess inaccuracies. When after certain interval a person is going for survey, the registered object may have been changed. Many new features might have come up. Hence the established control points are changed and if the wrongly placed control points are taken for survey then the result itself will be wrong. If proper resolution is not available in the instruments, then the instruments may not capture the minute details which are required.

5.1 Introduction

A theoretical system is what we construct in one mind’s eye to model the empirical system. Theories and models provide the researcher concepts, definitions’, variables and hypothesis that may be tested by analyzing relevant data (Bhatia, 1990). A theory emerges from the research and so does a particular research pursuit from the theory. The theory is a set of interrelated constructs, definitions and propositions that present a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relations among variables, with the purpose of explanation and predicting the phenomena (Kerlinger,1973). A researcher seldom conducts research without any concern for theory. A theory provides major orientation to research by helping to define the type of data to be collected and theory emerges from facts (data) collected during research. Theory and facts are not opposed but intervened, the theory is not speculation and scientists are concerned with theory as well as facts (Anonymous, 2011). It is possible to conduct evaluation without paying any attention to theory and forms of evaluation, but such evaluation studies lack internal validity because these are not based on the rigorous evaluation research methodologies (Campbell and Stanlay,1966). According to Alkin and Christie (2004), evaluation has grown on three pillars of orientation i.e. research orientation, decision making orientation and assessing worth. The field of evaluation research can be defined as “the use of scientific methods to measure the implementation and outcome of programmes for decision-making purposes” (Rutman, 1984). The concept of evaluation research has been an issue of debate among academicians. The academicians consider that evaluation research differs from both basic research as well as applied research (Douglah, 1998).

Abstract

The J&K state, like other Himalayan states, is endowed with varied climates and agro-climatic situations and has the potential for improvement in a horticulture sector. Focus on selective issues based on the niches of the areas , strengthening the on-going programs of different developmental departments, site specific issues, backed up with latest technologies need to be identified which can have tangible and immediate impact on the farm economy. The horticulture section is doing well in Jammu and Kashmir state when compared with others food crops, since it fetches good price because of its nature of seasonality. The estimation of the potential profits can be drawn by the fact that a farmer producing wheat of 1 kg gets 10 times higher prices for the same produce in horticulture section. Considering this high potential, the concept of doubling farmer’s income can work magically with horticultural crops. There is a need of shift from traditional crops and cropping patterns. Technological interventions are required to strengthen the conditions of cold storage, adoption of farming system approach, instead of cropping system approach, incorporating element of diversification, promotion of cultivation of high value crops, efficient post-harvest management, value addition etc. popularization of technologies and schemes to achieve targeted growth in horticulture. Strengthening water resources through rainwater harvesting, soil moisture conservation and efficient utilization of stored/conserved rain water (micro-irrigation, fertigation). Promotion of niche commodities based on agro-ecological situations will benefit promotional efforts in horticulture development with increased benefit cost ratio.

Abstract

Climate models predict a global average increase of air temperatures in the range of 14^°C by 2100 (IPCC 2014) - a pace exceeding that of past climatic modifications. Change in temperature is expected to influence species occurrence and distribution with up to 37% of all extant species “committed to extinction” due to climate change. These predictions, however, do not include species interactions and evolutionary change which will significantly alter the fate of species. It is therefore important to improve our understanding of host-parasite interactions and subsequent evolution in response to environmental changes in general and temperature changes in particular. Globally livestock production systems are estimated to account for around 18% of emissions. The need of hour is to draw on recent advances in climatology and epidemiology of various parasitic diseases to consider how environmental changes linked with urbanization and climate change can alter the biology of hosts, pathogens and vectors. Climate change is leading to unusual flare-up of diseases, outbreak recurrences, range expansions, or invasion into novel territories and ecosystems, concomitantly with vector or host range shifts. Higher temperatures increase the invertebrate metabolic rate, egg production amount, and feeding frequency, reducing the duration of the development periods and impacting on the number of generations per year and population abundance effecting livestock and human health and socio-economic transformation

Abstract

The future food grain demand in India is projected to increase beyond 300 million tons by 2025. There are only two ways to meet the increasing food and other agricultural demands of the country’s rising population either expanding the net area under cultivation or intensifying cropping over the existing area. The net sown area of the country has risen by about 20 per cent since independence and has reached a point where it is not possible to make any appreciable increase. The option left is go for high cropping intensity for ahead of present of 137%. A major share of this increase is likely to come from increasing the number of crops produced per year on a given land using improved crop cultivars. Research indicates that maximum intensity of 400-500% is possible provided situation fulfills the requisite factors such as irrigation facilities, short duration varieties, mechanization and agrochemicals are available. The objective of increasing the cropping intensity will be achieved only by the inclusion of short duration varieties of cereals, identification of pulses and oilseed crops that can fit well in the cropping systems of different agro-ecologies that will ultimately improve crop productivity per unit of land making the efficient utilization of resources and will meet the objectives of crop diversification leading to food and economic security of the nation.

1.1 General

Renewable technologies are considered to be clean sources of energy. The optimal use of these resources minimize environmental impacts, produce minimum secondary wastes, and are sustainable based on current and future economic and social needs. Sustainable development requires methods and tools to measure and compare human activities’ and its environmental impacts for various products. Renewable energy sources (RES), which include biomass, hydropower, geothermal, solar, wind, and marine energies, supply 14% of the world’s total energy demand. Renewable resources refer to primary, domestic, and clean or inexhaustible energy resources. Large-scale hydropower energy supplies 20 % of the global electricity need. Wind power in coastal and other windy regions is a promising source of energy.

Renewable energy resources can make a decisive contribution to the economic, social and sustainable development of rural regions in developing countries, yet the consumption of fossil fuels is dramatically increasing along with improvements in the quality of life, the industrialization of developing nations, and the increase of the world’s population. It has long been recognized that excessive consumption of fossil fuel leads not only to a diminishing fossil fuel reserves more quickly, but also has a significant adverse impact on the environment. Such impacts result in increased health risks and the threat of global climate change. Changes to improve environmental conditions are becoming more politically acceptable globally, especially in developed countries. Society is slowly moving towards seeking more sustainable production methods, minimizing waste, reducing air pollution from vehicles, generating distributed energy, conserving of native forests, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing consumption of fossil fuel to meet out current energy demands, however, has sounded alarms over regarding potential energy crisis. This has generated a resurgence of interest in promoting renewable alternatives to meet the developing world’s growing energy needs. Excessive use of fossil fuels has caused global warming from carbon dioxide emissions, therefore, promoting renewable forms of clean energy is eagerly required. To monitor the level of these greenhouse gas emissions, an agreement that has fulfills the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol was create with overall pollution prevention targets.

7.1 Introduction

A greenhouse is quasi-permanent structure, covered with a transparent or translucent material, ranging from simple homemade designs to sophisticated pre-g\fabricated structures, wherein the environment could be modified suitable for propagation or growing of plants. Materials used to construct a greenhouse frame may be wood, bamboo and steel or even aluminum. Covering can be glass or various rigid or flexible plastic materials. Depending on the covering material, different terminology have been used in the context of greenhouse structures as mentioned below:

Glasshouse: A greenhouse with glass as the covering material is called glasshouse

Polyhouse: It is a greenhouse with polyethylene as the covering material.

15.1 Introduction

The oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface and it acts a natural collector and store of solar energy. On an average day, 60 million sq. km. of tropical seas absorb an amount of solar radiation equivalent in heat content to about 245 billion barrels of oil, if this energy could be trapped, large scale renewable source becomes available especially for tropical countries. The energy available in the ocean is clean, continuous throughout the year and renewable.

Renewable energy contribution to the available energy resources is very important to the country as it is presently facing an energy resources crunch. Out of the total installed capacity of approximately 370.106 GW as on March 2020, Renewable Power Plants including hydro-electric plant contribute 35.86 % of total installed capacity. However, with the present increase in demand, more attention is required to extract the renewable sources so that at least 50 to 60 % share for the total energy requirement by the renewable energy sources.

There are various forms of ocean energy such as Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), Wave Energy, Tidal Energy, Salinity Gradient Energy, Offshore Wind Energy, Marine Currents, Marine Biomass Conversion. Among these, the first three forms are likely to be technically viable for the future.

More recently Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India hasdeclared Ocean Energy as renewable energy, and clarified to all the stakeholders that energy produced using various forms of ocean energy such as tidal, wave, ocean thermal energy conversion among others shall be considered as renewable energy.

MNRE reported that, the total identified potential of tidal energy is about 8000 - 9000 MW, with about 7000 MW in the Gulf of Cambay in Gujarat, about 1200 MW in Gulf of Kutch and less than 100 MW in Sundarbans. Primary estimates of wave energy potential along Indian coast are about 5 – 15 MW/m, so that theoretical estimates are around 40 – 60 GW. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) has a theoretical potential of 180,000 MW in India subject to suitable technological evolution. As of date, there is not any installed Ocean Energy capacity in India.

16.1 Fuel Cell

Fuel cell is an electrochemical device that convert chemical energy of a reaction directly into electrical energy. The basic physical structure of a fuel cell consists of an electrolyte layer in contact with a porous anode and cathode on either side. A schematic representation of a fuel cell with the reactant or product gases and the ion conduction flow directions through the cell is shown in Fig. 16.1

Abstract

Food security to the increasing population on one side and the increasing export of food grains on the other side has lead to the immediate attention on to raise the food production in our country. The decreasing land availability for agriculture due to the increased degraded lands and use of agricultural lands for non agricultural purposes has still worsened the situation. In order to match with the food requirement from decreasing agricultural lands, Indian agriculture has been pushed towards indiscriminate use of farm inputs exploiting the non renewable natural resources without any concern to the environmental ill effects leading to further degrading of the situation. Even though the concept of sustainability is age old, the importance is felt recently. Sustainable use of resources at farm level can magnify the effect of conserving non renewable resources and reducing ill effects on the environment at state level and to the country. Sustained farm production is a key to manage our resources and environment. Adoption of new information technologies with the conventional agronomic practices to increase farm production is made inevitable due to our past experience. The advancement in the technology tools like Remote Sensing, Geographic Information System, Global Positioning System and Decision Support Systems have paved way for better and effective management of crop production at farm level. 46 Geospatial Technologies for Natural Resources Management

A systematic approach of management involving advanced technologies and conventional agronomic practices through understanding the factors like soil variability, weather parameters and crops that contribute for the sustainable farm production is need of the hour. The spatial and temporal variability of the farm production parameters are to be studied and mapped in relation to historical data of the farm for successful site specific management. Site specific management tools may improve decisions related to site conditions, thereby reducing the aspect of uncertainty in the management system. This approach of farm management using advanced technologies viz., Remote Sensing, Geographic Information System, Global Positioning System, Variable rate technology, crop production modeling and Decision Support System can enable sustainable farm production with beneficial effect on the environment in future.

Keywords : Remote sensing, GIS, Sustainable Farm production, Site Specific Management

Abstract

The present study discusses the cropping pattern changes in Andhra Pradesh agriculture will leads to crop diversification and crop concentration using with Geographical Information System (GIS). Crop data were compiled for the triennium ending period 1980-81, 1990-91, 2000-01 and 2004-05 from various statistical abstracts of Andhra Pradesh. For measuring the crop diversification indices, we have used the Herfindahle index and for crop specialization is measured by using the Location quotient method. The level of crop diversification in the some districts of the state in the eighties is very high. However with the advent of green revolution, there had been a moderate crop unification or crop concentration in the eighties. This trend of crop unification is found to be reversed after 1990-91, though the magnitude of the change is not very striking. The crop diversification is observed to differ across the districts. The level of crop diversification is high in the agricultural backward regions of Rayalaseema and Telangana districts and low in the agriculturally progressive Coastal Andhra districts. During the period 1990-91 to 2004-05, the major trends in crop concentration are increase in the concentration of rice in the districts where it is popularly grown and decline in the concentration of coarse cereal crops, pulses and oilseeds. The concentration of spice crops and fruits and vegetables are also on an increasing trend, which they are popularly grown in their respective districts.

Keywords : Cropping Pattern, Diversification, Location Quotient, Andhra Pradesh, GIS

Abstract

The rapid development and integration of spatial technologies viz., Geographical Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS) along with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) provide functional alternatives to revolutionize the conventional entomological approaches like surveillance, spatial/temporal distribution of insect populations, pest distribution mapping and predictive modeling. Application of these technologies for insect problems is well established in the fields of forest, range land, medical and agricultural entomology elsewhere. Nevertheless, in India its field relevance in agricultural entomology is still limited owing to lack of proven field prototype studies and collaborative efforts among stakeholders. It’s time to gain real momentum to integrate these progressive technologies to formulate sustainable integrated pest management programs.

Key words: GIS, Remote Sensing, Insect Populations, Field Applications

Abstract

Soil quality assessment has been recognized as an important step towards understanding the long term effects of land management practices within agricultural watersheds. Potential soil quality issues include continued high rates of erosion, losses of organic matter, reductions in soil fertility and productivity, as well as chemical and heavy metal contamination. This case study addressed the spatial variability of soil properties and its quality at the watershed level using geostatistical methods. Soil samples from the 0- to 20-cm depth were collected on a 100- by 100-m grid across an 88-ha watershed at Sakaliseripalli village in the Nalgonda District in Andhra Pradesh State, India. Geostatistical analysis showed that most of the soil parameters were moderately spatially dependent. An assessment framework, that included a minimum data set, linear scoring technique, and additive indices, was used to evaluate the soil quality index (SQI). Through principal component analysis, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable Na percentage, DTPA-extractable Zn, available P, available water, and dehydrogenase activity have been emerged as the most important indicators for evaluating soil quality. A kriged map of SQI was prepared for the watershed. The SQI was found to be higher in irrigated systems than under rainfed conditions. In the study, potential soil loss calculated using the Universal Soil Loss Equation and crop yield were identified as the quantifiable management goals; the results indicated that soils having higher soil quality indices were more productive and less erosion prone.

Keyword : Principal Component analysis, SQI, Watershed, Geostatistics, Potential soil loss

Abstract

Agroforestry is an integrated self-sustainable land use management system that is not only capable of producing food from marginal agricultural land but also capable of maintaining and improving the quality of environment. It plays a vital role in achieving integrated rural and urban development. But reliable data on number of trees and area under agroforestry is not available as methodology for estimation of even area under agroforestry is not yet standardized. In this paper, a methodology for estimation of number of trees under agroforestry using high resolution satellite data has been proposed and estimation of number of trees as well as area under agroforestry in Ludhiana district of Punjab State has been done using the proposed methodology. Land use/land cover map of the district has also been generated using ERDAS IMAGINE software. It has been observed from the accuracy assessment that the estimates of number of trees as well as area under agroforestry obtained using the proposed methodology under this study are very reliable. Therefore, the proposed methodology may be replicated for estimating number of trees as well as area under agroforestry in other parts of the country.

Keywords: Agroforestry; Estimation of number of trees, Area estimation; Remote Sensing; GIS

Abstract

The sustainable management of plant genetic resources is of great concern as increasing population and rapid technological strides are putting enormous pressure on this country’s nutritional and food security. Management of plant genetic resources at national level generates and uses enormous data and analysis of these data is crucial to the effectiveness of PGR management process and can add significantly to the value of genetic resources. A GIS is a database management system that can simultaneously handle data representing spatial objects and their attribute data. GIS allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts. It can play an important role in the management of large and complex PGR datasets. The article analyses the potential uses of GIS in plant genetic resources management in India covering various activities such as germplasm exploration and collection, characterization and evaluation, plant health management, documentation and conservation.

Key words : plant genetic resources, germplasm, conservation, documentation, DIVA-GIS,

Abstract

The social and economic development of any state is interlaced with the manner of its natural resource management. The unplanned use and overexploitation of resources are results in various kinds of land degradation, biomass deterioration and siltation of tanks. In addition, the low per capita availability of land, erratic and uneven distribution of rains, undulating topography, improper management, traditional cropping programmes and recurrence of droughts having cumulative effect leading to low productivity and high risk particularly in dryland farming. Further, developing dry land agriculture through sectoral approach did not bring in the desired results, as the efforts were not integrated. However, in nature all the resources are inter-linked and thus, the integrated developmental approach is the best solution for optimal development of any area. Further, development based on administrative units such as district, taluk, block and village have resulted in imbalance and sometimes, no overall development in some areas. Considering this, natural resources management through Geo- informatics tools like, remote sensing, GIS, GPS and other sensor based techniques are the possible ways for making agriculture sustainable. The paper mainly highlights theimportance of application of latest technologies in agriculture along with some field level case studies.

Keywords: Remote sensing, GIS, Watershed, CAPE, Precision agriculture

Abstract

GIS in marine fisheries has taken off much later than its application in land. But the strides made in this field since 1990’s has been quite significant, as many serious mapping studies and modeling initiatives have been recorded. With the third dimension added to the 2D spatial data, the marine GIS have all the ingredients of making it a fertile domain for research for decades to come. Most of the studies and products pertaining to GIS in fishery management had been revolving around mapping of habitats, geo-referencing of catch and effort data and modeling linking oceanographic and biogeochemical factors with living resources. Satellite remotely sensed information like ocean colour can act as a surrogate to fish biomass. Further remotely sensed SST, wind and other parameters can be effectively modeled to predict fish abundance, their habitat and related aspects. This manuscript pours into the various products and outputs based on GIS in marine fisheries around the world and the Indian initiatives.

Key words: GIS, marine resources, oceanography, primary productivity and climate change

1.0 Introduction

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been one of the most prolific scientific enhancements in recent past, which by virtue of out of box expansion of traditional database concept have opened up an entirely new vista of knowledge and opportunities. It’s probably one such unique application where information collation and analysis happen hand in hand resulting in palpable mining of data in perspective. A formal introduction to GIS would define it as a collection of computer hardware, software, data and personnel designed to collect, store, update, manipulate, analyze and display geographically referenced information. By virtue of its conceptualizations, there are no single GIS; systems can be assembled in an infinite number of ways. This is one such field, which probably always seeks the frontiers of innovations in the fields of ICT and modeling.

Indifferent stage: Primordia are present for both sexes (gonads and mesonephric and paramesonephric ducts), although genetic sex is determined at fertilization.

Gonads : are structuarally indistinguishable prospective testis and ovaries. The first sign of gonadal development is a swelling called the gonadal ridge on the medial side of the middle part of the mesonephros. It enlarges due to arrival of primary germ cells. Cells of mesonephric tubules invade the ridge to form clusters and besides surround germ cells resulting in gonadal cords.

The primordial germ cells of these gonads arise from the endodermal cells of the yolk sac. These migrate to the gonadal ridge through the dorsal mesentry. Migration of primordial germ cells from the yolk sac endoderm into the gonadal ridges initiates testicular (if SRY gene is present) or ovarian development. The primordial germ cells form the sex cells, called gonadal blastema. The somatic blastema (non-germ cell) forms the other parenchymal elements of the gonads. The germ cells are capable of amoeboid-like movement.

Cardiovascular system consists of heart and blood vessels which include both arteries and veins. Blood vessels formation occurs in two stages i.e vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. Splanchnic mesodermal cells lining the yolk sac form clusters, referred to as blood islands. Vasculogenesis, the formation of blood vessels from blood islands of of Pander, commences during the third week of gestation in domestic animals first in yolk sac and later in the allantois.Development of blood vessels involves a complex series of events during which endothelial cells differentiate, proliferate, migrate and become organized into vascular network. Angiogenesis describes budding and sprouting of new vessels from existing vessels. This process a fundamental requirement for embryological development, continues postnatally.

Somites are derived from paraxial mesoderm and they are located lateral to the developing notochord and neural tube. During the third week of gestation in domestic animals, the outlines of somites first become visible and in the fifth week of gestation the somite formation is completed. Somites differentiate into sclerotome, myotome and dermatome. They form skeletal, muscular and dermal elements i.e, vertebral column, muscles and dermis respectively.

The connective tissue, cartilage and bone all differentiate from mesenchyme which arises chiefly from mesodermal somites and lateral layer of somatic mesoderm while connective tissue of alimentary canal and lower respiratory tract is derived from splanchnic mesoderm. Mesenchyme is a spongy meshwork composed of branching cells spaces between which are filled by ground substance. The supporting tissues, connective tissue, cartilage and bone are derivatives of mesenchyme in which ground substance is gelly like, stiff and firm respectively.

Maize is the only cereal crop which is being used as human food, animal feed and as a source of large number of industrial products. In Odisha traditionally maize is a Kharif season crop and second most important crop next to paddy during Kharif season in terms of both area and production. The Rabi maize is cultivated under irrigated condition, and accounts only 7% of total area and production of the State. While only 24% of the Kharif maize area have irrigation facilities. Irrespective of the season, it is that is the fourth most important food grain crop with respect to area in the state which is next to rice, mungbean and urdbean. Even though maize is grown as a sole crop in the state but, some farmers are also adopting maize based inter-cropping and the major recommended/adopted inter-crops are arhar, cowpea, yam, runner bean, greengram and blackgram. The comparative analysis of compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of area, production and yield of the major crops is the state was done for the years 2004-05 to 2013-14. The CAGR study of major crops revealed that no other major crop including rice has the impressive growth rate a like maize in the state (Fig. 1).

Maize is a miracle crop and is popularly known as “Queen of Cereals” due to its very high yield potential. It’s a leading crop worldwide in terms of area, production and productivity and is suitable to diverse agro-climates. Its extent of adaptability is unmatched by any other crop. Due to this adaptability to diverse climates, maize had been grown by many generations in different parts of the world. Earlier, the primary utilisation of maize was focused towards human consumption and even today it is a staple food of many underprivileged societies especially in African countries and certain tribal pockets in India. It is playing an important role as a cheap source of carbohydrate in daily meals due to high productivity and wider adaptability. With the passage of time the productivity increased due to conscious selection towards high yield by farmers and researchers. This enhanced production and productivity opened new doors of utilisation of this wonderful crop. Maize found its place as a feed crop for economically important anima ls like chicken and swine. This shift towards feed industry got encouragement by change in the food habits of people. Looking at the recent consumption pattern of maize as a food crop displays declining trend. As per a NSSO survey (2014) maize consumption in rural areas in India has seen a decline of around 35% from 3.7 kg/year in 2004-05 to 2.4 kg per year in 2009-10, and further declined to 1.56 kg during the year 2011-12. Continued efforts towards yield enhancement and decline in human consumption made its way to utilise surplus maize in economically viable industrial products. Maize is a crop where every part of its plant can be utilised to produce food and non-food products. Oil, starch, glucose, dextrose and sorbitol are few important products produced by processing of maize grains. Apart from these, maize has been very widely used for production of ethanol which is used as a fuel in many developed countries. Direct utilisation of maize grains in poultry and other feed industries is on the rise with increasing demand of such foods. Maize oil is of high quality and is being widely used in developed countries. Maize is a major source of industrial starch which finds its way to diverse utilization such as food and beverage, pharmaceutical, textile, paper and other industries. Processing of maize is done by two ways- Dry Milling and Wet Milling. Wet milling produces starch, gluten and husk and Dry Milling produces corn meal, germ, grits and animal feed. Apart from these processed products, maize is also being developed to be utilised as a biopharmaceutical crop. Maize crop is being bioengineered to extract products of therapeutic and medicinal importance. Such a diverse utilisation of maize has generated a necessity to improve morpho-physiological traits which are important with respect to its industrial utilisation. In the present chapter, we will discuss various aspects of maize improvement for industrially important traits which will include oil, starch, methionine, biofuel and biopharmaceuticals.

Vector data consists of points, lines and polygons with x, y coordinates known as vertices representing the geographic location i.e. latitude and longitude. Vector data depicts the shape of the spatial feature. Points consist of single x, y locations. Examples of points are tower location, sampling location, etc. Lines represent 1 – dimensional features like roads, streams, etc., and are composed of many or at least two connected points or vertices. Polygons denote 2 – dimensional features like boundaries with three or more vertices that are connected and closed. The vector data are represented in the following figure (fig. 5.1).

Ornamental pot plants should be potted in small pots according to the size of the plants. Any kind of pot/container which can hold medium and provide aeration is suitable. The most common container is the plastic or clay pots. Plastic pots should be preferred because it retains moisture longer than mud pots. Plants should not be disturbed frequently and re-potting done only when absolutely necessary.

Potting media

Different types of growing media may be used for ornamental pot plant cultivation, but it is crucial that it must retain a certain amount of moisture and be well draining. Different plants require different substrate in which they would thrive. Conditions of the plant experiences in nature should think before choosing the media. Tropical plants require more water naturally compare to subtropical and temperate ones. For irrigating with sprinkling can or hose, it is better to use materials that drain well and decompose slowly while for drip irrigation heavy potting material should be used. The most important thing is to match watering habits to the potting material. Growing conditions play a most significant role in deciding on a medium. If there is no problem in providing a constantly humid environment due to climate or if growing in a greenhouse, the moisture retention on thepart of media is less of a concern. Ambient temperatures play a role here, as well, as warmer temperatures tend to increase the evaporation of water and along with the drying rate of the medium. The personal tendencies and how much time might be spending to water plants is another significant factor in choosing a medium. The combination of potting materials that will work best for garden plants mainly on Plant structure and root structures:

Ikebana

Flowers are generally known as the symbol of beauty around the world. Many people stick flowers in vases to wreath their rooms, houses and other places. Japanese FlowerArrangement is essentially different from the Western style of flower arrangement. The western style involves symmetrical arrangement of flowering plants in a vase whereas, the Ikebana, which means “flowers kept alive”, is much more intricate, complex and asymmetric. This style of flower arrangement is one of the famous cultural traditions of Japan known around the world. Generally, all Japanese flower arrangement styles are lumped together as ikebana but we cannot say they are all the same. Ikebana is a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together. Though it is a creative expression, it has certain rules governing its form. The main rule is that all the elements used in construction must be organic, be they branches, leaves, grasses, or flowers. The artist’s intention behind each arrangement is shown through a piece’s colour combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines and the usually implied meaning of the arrangement. They arrange flowers to recreate nature in miniature to see individual flowers which have been left behind. Ikebana is like one of the ways to communicate with nature. Another aspect present in ikebana is its employment of minimalism. That is, an arrangement may consist of only a minimal number of blooms interspersed among stalks and leaves. The structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on a scalene triangle delineated by three main points, usually twigs, considered in some schools to symbolize heaven, earth and man and in others sun, moon, love & earth. The container is also a key element of the composition and various styles of pottery may be used in their construction. Over time, the ways and styles have changed but there is still the basic idea of ikebana remain same.

For plant analysis to be meaningful, collection of particular plant part(tissue) at the right stage of growth is very important. A research worker in soil fertility is generally interested in finding out the nutrient uptake by crop at different stages. The stage at which nutrient uptake is to be studied will vary with different crops. One may also be interested in collecting a plant sample when some abnormality is observed in the plants and a nutrient deficiency or toxicity is suspected. In such cases no time should be lost in collecting the sample otherwise secondary reactions that often take place in the mineral content of plants will conceal the real cause of deficiency or toxicity. In such cases only the affected plants are to be sampled as compared to general sampling technique described below.

For research projects each plot receiving differential fertilizer or some other treatment is to be sampled separately. For general advisory purposes one sample would be good enough for the entire field (not exceeding 2 hectares). One should, however, take care that the sample comes from a field or a part there of having a uniform stand. If a field is patchy and differences in stand and plant growth are obvious, each such area should be sampled separately.

There are manyreasons for using computerstoday. Word processing is area which has proved computers to be powerful than ever. There are many different kinds of word processors availabletoday, however, most share the same basic functions and do not require advanced computeror typing skills to use. These basicfunctions include typing, savingdocuments,openingdocuments, copying, pasting, cutting printing, checking spelling, etc. The commonly used word processors include Microsoft Word, ClarisWorks, Word Perfect, Word Pad, Apple Works, etc.

4.1 Microsoft Word

4.1.1 Introduction

Microsoft Word, or Word as it is commonly known, is a software application that allows the user to perform word processing. The word processing means the creation, input, editing, and production of documents and texts by means of computers systems. Microsoft Word allowthe user to format text with attributes such as bold, italics, font size, and margins. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite of applications and is a highly popular programme for the workplace.

Microsoft Word was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Versions were later writtenfor several other platformsincluding IBS PCs running DOS in 1983,the Apple Macintosh in 1984 and Microsoft Windows in 1989. The latest release is Word 2010.

Stomach

Horse

The stomach of horse is a simple stomach. It is ‘J’ shaped sac with its right part very much shorter than the left part. It is situated in the dorsal part of the abdominal cavity behind the diaphragm and liver mainly to the left of the median line. The parietal surface faces craniad and dorsad and to the left. It is related to the diaphragm and liver. The visceral surface faces caudad and ventrad and to the right. It is related to the small intestine and colon. Its lesser curvature is short and the greater curvature is extensive. The left extremity is called the saccus caecus. It lies ventral to the sixteenth or seventeenth rib. It is related to pancreas and terminal part of greater colon caudally and to the base of the spleen laterally. The right extremity is the pylorus. It is smaller and is continued by duodenum. The stomach is fastened by several ligaments which include the gastro-phrenic ligament, the gastro- pancreatic ligament, the greater omentum, the lesser omentum and the gastro-splenic ligament. The capacity of the equine stomach is about 8 to 15 liters.

The wall of the stomach consists of four coats, the serous, muscular, submucous and the mucous. The mucous membrane is clearly divided into two parts by sinuous ridge called the margo plicatus. The part which is towards the left extremity is nonglandular while that towards the right extremity is glandular.

Animal Biotechnology

Biotechnology is defined as “the application of biological organisms, systems or processes to manufacturing and service industries” (Coombs, 1984).

It is also defined as “the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents to produce goods and services” (Coleman, 1986).

Animalbiotechnologyis the application of scientific and engineeringprinciples to the processing or production of materials by animals to provide goods and services to human kind.

Abstract

Gender equity is more pronounced in livestock sector where more than 70% participation is from women side as compared to 33% in agricultural farming. About 75 million women are engaged in livestock sector. In India, livestock production is largely in the hands of women. In fact animal husbandry is becoming feminized. At present about 22% of milk and 2% percent of meat is processed into value-added products for trade while in developed countries it is above 90% and 60%, respectively. Traditional dairy products not only have established market in India but also great export potential because of strong presence of Indian diaspora in many part of the world. Value addition to dairy foods would provide health benefits to the consumers and improve the scale of economy in the dairy industry. Nearly half of the milk produced in India (50-55%) is utilized for the manufacture of value-added milk products but only 22% of the total milk produced is processed by the organized dairy sector. Conversion of surplus milk into indigenous milk products in and around production areas is least expensive and more profitable. Most of the animal farming activities such as cleaning of barn, washing of animals and hygienic maintenance, fodder collection, feeding, watering, and health care, management, milking, collection of dung for fertilizer and fuel, care of sick, pregnant and lactating animals, milking, household-level processing and value addition (ghee, curd, khoa, lassi and desi butter-making) are undertaken by women. However adoption of value-added livestock products as an entrepreneurship is scarce activity because of lack of training and financial liberties.

Abstract

84 per cent of the Indian rural women livelihood depends on agriculture. It is estimated that 52-75 per cent of the Indian women engaged in agriculture are illiterate. Prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women ranges between 50%-90%. From these facts it infers that ghost of food and nutritional security haunts the rural women health and prosperity. Female participation in the economic activities also determines the sex ratio because the work determines the worth in the society. It has been observed that in those families where women participate in economic activities, this problem is not severe as compared to those families which do not participate in economic activities. Diverse areas of entrepreneurship exists in rural India for women empowerment. This potential can be realized through policy and infrastructure support from the government and by strengthening proactive synergies among various farm and non-farm sectors activities. Although we are proud of the Indian women in the global arena yet we have peer into the atrocities against them in the name of female foeticide, gender inequality, sexual harassment, dowry system and many more evils with promotion of involvement in socio-economic enterprises, if rural transformation is to be achieved.

Tending is the term applied to pre-harvest silvicultural treatment of forest tree crops at any stage after initial planting or seeding. In other words, tending is the intermediate treatments that forest vegetation receives after establishment of regeneration and prior to final harvest of the stand. These tending operations can occur throughout the life of the forest stand, but do not include efforts directed at establishing regeneration. Tending operations play a fundamental role in the improvement of quality and stability of forest stands. Tending the trees after planting creates favourable conditions for both the plants’ survival and to stimulate a healthy, vigorous growth. Tending operations keep the plants from being suppressed by natural vegetation. It essentially covers operation on the crop itself and competing vegetation. Weeding, cleaning and thinning are important tending operations. Even improvement felling comes under tending operations but regeneration felling is not a tending operation. The major objectives of tending are to maintain sanitation, provide sufficient growing space, and more light, water, nutrients, etc. to the tree crops.

A series of efforts have been made to initiate the work on post harvest grain technology in India. The history of post harvest grain technology in India goes back as early as 1888 when COATS published several papers from Calcutta related to biology of stored grain pests. The first professional was appointed in the year 1905, known as Imperial Entomologist, Harold Maxwell Lefroy adorned with this post. Lefroy (1906) for the first time gave a tentative list of storage insects, which was further supplemented by Fletcher (1914). The problems of grain storage were discussed at the entomological meetings held at Pusa, Bihar in the years 1917, 1919 and 1923. The first step towards establishing an Institute in India was in the year 1950 when Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI) was established at Mysore (Karnataka) with a mandate to train personnel and evolve technology related to food processing and preservation. The Central Warehousing Corporation was set up on 2^nd March 1957 under the Agricultural Produce (Warehousing and Development) Act 1956. The Food Corporation of India was established on 1^st January 1965.

In India, the farmers in traditional bulk and bag storage for food, feed and seed stored about 65-70 per cent of the total food grains and seed purposes till next harvest. Rest 30-35 per cent are procured and stored by food grain organizations, like Food Corporation of India (FCI), Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), State Warehousing Corporations (SWCs), cooperatives, rural godowns and other state government agencies. In 1958, the Department of Food established a centre at Hapur known as Grain Storage Research and Training Centre (GSRTC) with the main objective to train the personnel of state government engaged in food procurement, storage and distribution. This centre was upgraded during 1968-1973 with the technical and financial assistance of UNDP and GSRTC and redesigned as Indian Grain Storage Institute (IGSI). The field stations at Ludhiana and Bapatla (later shifted to Hyderabad in March, 1979) were established in 1968-69. Subsequently, three stations were also established at Jabalpur (1980), Udaipur (1981) and Jorhat (1981).

Life cycle of nematode has six stages. The egg stage, first stage juvenile (J₁), second stage juvenile (J₂), third stage juvenile (J₃), fourth stage juvenile (J₄) and the adult stage.

The first four stages are the immature stages and are known as juvenile stages. The female lays eggs in soil or in plant tissues, singly or in groups as egg mass that hatch out into juveniles which are almost similar to adults appearance. The first moult occurs within the egg shell and the second stage juvenile comes out by rupturing the egg shells as J₂. In case of Xiphinema index, the juveniles are reported to emerge from the egg before the first moult. The juvenile cuticle is shed after each moult.

The egg

The nematode eggs are oval in shape. The eggs are covered by three membranes, the external protein layer which is the secretion of uterus wall, the middle chitinous layer or the true shell secreted by egg itself and the inner lipid layer (vitelline layer). The chitin content in the egg shell vary in different species of nematodes.

The concept of gene has undergone several refinements since its discovery in 1866 by Mendel. Most genes encode one polypeptide and can be operationally defined by the complementation test. The complementation or cis-trans test provides an operational definition of the gene. It is used to determine whether mutations are in the same gene or in different genes. Intragenic complementation may occur when a protein is a multimer containing at least two copies of one gene product. The concept of gene has evolved from a bead on a string, not divisible by recombination or mutation to a sequence of nucleotide pairs in DNA encoding one polypeptide chain. The unit of genetic material not divisible by recombination or mutation is the single nucleotide pair. Historically several experimental developments have occurred to facilitate understanding of the structure and function of gene and these are briefly described in a chronological order as follows to have better understanding of the gene concept as it evolved. However, before discussing evidences supporting various gene concepts, it is better to summarize important stages in the evolution of the gene concept.

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out in okra consisting of 11 diverse genotypes (8 lines & 3 testers) and their 24 F1 hybrids. Phenotypic and genotypic correlation indicated positive association of average fruit length with average fruit weight while negative association between days taken to first flower with number of fruits per plant. The maximum positive direct effect on yield was due to number of fruits per plant followed by average fruit weight. The F₁ hybrid VRO-6 × Parbhani Kranti exhibits highest negative heterobeltiosis for days taken to 1^st flowering while D-1-87-5 × Pusa A-4 and Arka Abhay × Parbhani Kranti are earliest heterobeltiotic hybrids for days taken to 1st harvest. The hybrid Arka Abhay × Pusa A-4 represents highest heterobeltiosis for average fruit length, number of fruits/ plant and average yield. Among all parents, only Akra Abhay exhibits better GCA effect. The highest SCA effect for average yield observed in VRO-6 × Arka Anamika, while VRO-6 × Pusa A-4 for per cent infestation of YVMV. The cross Arka Abhay × Pusa A-4 incurred the highest net returns/ ha and B: C ratio (3.21) followed by that of D-1-87-5 × Parbhani Kranti and the parent Hisar Unnat gave the higher net returns/ ha with B: C ratio of 2.02 among the parents. These elite hybrids may be tested for yield and other quality traits under different agro-climatic conditions for commercial exploitation of hybrid vigour.

Abstract

Onion (Allium cepa L.) and garlic (Allium sativum L.) are important members of the family Amaryllidaceae. Bulbs, which are the edible component in both onion and garlic grow underground and are of nutritional and medicinal importance. These underground bulb vegetables are affected by many diseases caused by different microorganisms like fungi, bacteria, nematode and viruses causing huge economic loss. Stemphylium leaf blight caused by Stemphylium vesicarium, is the major fungal disease affecting their productivity of the edible bulbs adversely.The fungus primarily attacks the leaves but can affect bulbs in storage. Initial infection is characterised by appearance of small greyish white oval spots on the leaves. These spots are often surrounded by a yellowish halo with irregular margins. Fungal pseudothecia may over-winter in contaminated plant material or may survive in the soil having plant debris and ascospores are the primary inoculums in the following season. Spores require rain or persistent dew to cause infection. This disease can spread rapidly when environmental conditions are favourable for spore development. Suitable integration of more efficient treatments like fungicides, bio agents in combination with appropriate cultural control provide better management of the Stemphylium blight disease

1. pH meter

pH meter/electrode systems are the most common method of measuring pH in the biology laboratory. Although more expensive and more complicated to use than chemical indicators, pH meters provide greater accuracy, sensitivity, and flexibility. When used properly, pH meters can measure the pH of a solution to the nearest 0.1 pH unit or better, and they can be used with a variety of samples.

Agriculture Scenario

It has been seen since last few decades there is huge decrease in the production of the agricultural production. Three factors which can be held responsible for the increase of agricultural production per hectare:

1. Overall increase in efficiency due to the merger of farms and a more efficient redistribution of farm land.
2. More efficient cultural practises and better quality and availability of inputs (fertilizer, pesticides).
3. Genetic improvement of crops.

At this moment over 6 billion people need to be fed and it is expected that in the year 2050 more than 10 billion people will inhabit the earth (FAO, 1996). Moreover, demands per capita will rise when standards of living in developing counties improve. As a consequence there will be a huge increase in the demand for food, and production will need to triple in the coming 40 years. A continued effort to secure agricultural production in the future will therefore be vital. Reduction of losses caused by a-biotic and biotic stress will be a key issue. Scenario studies on world food security generally assume that a large increase in production will be achieved by genetic improvement of crop species and biotechnology. History has indeed shown a continuous increase in crop yields, resulting from plant breeding efforts. However, in the light of the speed at which the human population develops, and taking into account the expected reduction of available arable land due to climate change and human intervention, it may be necessary to accelerate the rate at which genetic improvement is achieved. Modern biotechnology provides new tools that can facilitate development of improved plant breeding methods and augment our knowledge of plant genetics. The knowledge that is obtained with these new tools can be used to contribute to an enhanced food security throughout the world.

Also Referred to as Microsatellites

SSR markers are based short sequences of nucleotides (2-6 units in length) that are repeated in tandem:

Di-nucleotide repeat: CACACACA

Tri-nucleotide repeat: ATGATGATGATG

It is believed that when DNA is being replicated, errors occur in the process and extra sets of these repeated sequences are added to the strand. Over time, these repeated sequences vary in length between one cultivar and another.

What are Retrotransposons?

The presence of mobile elements, capable of moving from one region of the genome to another, has been known and thoroughly studied since the 1950’s. These elements are capable of exciding and inserting themselves from one region of the chromatin to another, through their peculiar terminal repeat regions. This process is mediated by enzymes encoded by the transposon itself.

Retrotransposons are a class of mobile elements, widespread in plant genomes, where they account for a significant part of noncoding DNA. Barley, for example, contains thousands of copies of the Bare-1 element, dispersed throughout the euchromatic regions of chromosomes and exhibiting sequence identity higher than 95% to each other.

Unlike other classes of mobile elements, retrotransposons insert into the genome via an RNA intermediate, synthesized by their own reverse transcriptase, without the loss of the parental copy. Unique sequence properties show that retrotransposons of the Ty1-copia group are close to retroviruses, and their mode of integration in the host genome is also very similar.

The number and exact point of insertion of retrotransposons may differ from one individual to another and this can be exploited to characterize individuals, varieties or species, depending on how recent the transpositional event is. Furthermore, insertion of a retrotransposon is an irreversible event, a characteristic that can be helpful when tracing an ancestry.