eChapters

Introduction PCR is an important molecular tool used widely in different applied research fields such as Infectious disease diagnosis, clinical medicine development and gene cloning etc., (Fang et al., 2008). Among different amplification methods, PCR was the first to be developed and has been the method of choice for its simplicity, easier methodology, extensively validated standard operating procedure and availability of reagents and equipment’s. However, it also has a good number of limitations such as advanced equipment, high cost, sensitivity to certain classes of contaminants and inhibitors requirement of thermal cycling etc. (Fakruddin, 2011). These limitations of PCR allowed to develop the alternative methods such as loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) (Notomi et al., 2000), nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) (Compton, 1991), self?sustained sequence replication (3SR) (Guatelli et al., 1990), rolling circle amplification (RCA) (Lizardi et al., 1998) etc., most of these techniques are isothermal that don’t require thermal cycler. These methods have many advantages over PCR in terms of speed, cost, scale or portability.

Introduction

Nucleic acid based diagnosis is highly specific, sensitive and rapid method widely used in health management. The detection is mainly based on structure and sequence of bases of nucleic acid which are unique to an organism. In recent years, nucleic acid based diagnosis is becoming common and popular in fish and shell fish health management. Commonly employed nucleic acid based diagnosis are DNA hybridisation and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Nucleic acids are made up of nitrogen bases. The primary sequence of bases in DNA or RNA have regions which are unique for a particular organism or gene. The sequence of DNA is composed of a series of four phosphorylated bases Adenine (A), thymidine (T), guanidine (G) and cytosine (C). Pairs of bases (A=T, or G=C) can form hydrogen bonds, which cause opposing strands of DNA to form a semi-stable bonding (hybridization or annealing) to one another. If the opposing strands of DNA match exactly, then the familiar double helix form of DNA results. In the following example, the opposing strands in (1) will form a double stranded, tightly bonded structure, and the DNA strands are described as complementary. In (2) the strands are non-complementary (opposing A=T and G=C base pairs do not line up) and the two strands will not bond.

DNA Hybridisation

The basic principle in DNA hybridization is that, if a strand of double helix of DNA is separated from its complement (by heat) it will bind (reanneal or hybridize) only to its complementary strand (or to a duplicate of its complementary strand). Two complementary RNA structure will hybridise in the same manner. Inaccurate and mismatched bindings will be unstable and fall apart.

The binding of one DNA strand to another is in some respect is analogous to binding of antigen and antibody. However, in the case of nucleic acid bindings, the precise molecular nature of binding (base pairing) is known and can be easily manipulated by choosing DNA strand of appropriate length and by incubating the strands in appropriate salt concentration, temperature. The stringency (faithfulness of the match) of hybridisation can be precisely defined and as a result coincidental cross reaction is virtually eliminated.

Nucleic acid extraction from clinical samples is the first step to be followed in molecular detection of cancer. Nucleic acids are the starting material for all downstream molecular diagnostic tools. Quality of test results largely depends upon the quality of starting material. Thus utmost importance should be given to the extraction protocols to isolate good quantity and good quality nucleic acids from patient samples.

Basic principle: The basic principle of nucleic acid extraction is to disrupt cell membrane and nuclear membrane to release and precipitate nucleic acid in the solution. Following precipitation,removal of other cellular contaminates such as protein, lipids, polysaccharides etc is performed to obtain a good quantity and quality of nucleic acid.

DNA Isolation Protocol
Introduction

Most of the all procedures involved in molecular biology experiments require the purified form of nucleic acid. It forms a fundamental requirements for genome characterization, gene mapping and for identification and isolation of gene for genetic engineering. The most important step involved in removal of proteins which is carried out in different ways. The following protocol is one of the most commonly used protocols in animal, plant and microbial samples.

The search for the chemical basis of genetic material began about one and half century ago. Soon after discovery of Mendelian principles of segregation and independent assortment in 1865, Friedrich Miescher (1844-1895) published a method for separating cell nuclei from the cytoplasm and from these cell nuclei, he extracted an acid material termed as “nuclein” which had unusually large amount of phosphorous. Miescher concluded that this substance was unique and was just not comparable with any other group known at that point of time. Later on nuclein, now named as “nucleic acid” was found to be associated with various proteins and the combined entities were termed as “nucleoproteins”.

Nucleic acids were first discovered in 1868 by Friedrich Meischer. Nucleic acids are high molecular weight polymers that are present in our cells. They store and transfer genetic material from generation to generation. Knowledge of how genes are expressed and how they can be manipulated is becoming increasingly important for understanding of nearly every aspect of biochemistry. These macromolecules p ass on information for cellular growth and reproduction. All the genetic information in the cells is called the genome. Every time a cell divides, the information is copied and passed on to the new cells.

Nucleic acids like proteins occur in all living cells. They device their name because of their primary occurrence in the nucleus and acidic nature. Deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA), one of the two nucleic acids is a major component of chromosomes. Small amounts of DNA are also found associated with chloroplasts and mitochondria.

Nucleic acids were first discovered in 1868 by Friedrich Meischer. Nucleic acids are high molecular weight polymers that are present in our cells. They  store and transfer genetic material from generation to generation. Knowledge of how genes are expressed and how they can be manipulated is becoming increasingly important for understanding   of nearly every aspect of biochemistry. These macromolecules pass on information for cellular growth and reproduction.  All the genetic information in the cells is called the genome. Every time a cell divides, the information is copied and passed on to the new cells.
 
Nucleic acids fall into two main classes according to the type of sugar they contain: the Deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) and Ribonucleic acids (RNA). Some sections  of  the  DNA  called  genes contain the information to make a protein. RNA translates the genetic information in the DNA to the ribosomes, where the synthesis of proteins takes place.

Introduction

The nucleic acids are the molecular depots that are responsible for continuity of life by transfer of hereditary information from one generation to next. The sequence of nitrogenous bases containing programmed instruction determines the structure of every cell constituent and eventually every protein. In 1869, Friedrich Miescher, Swiss chemist, isolated an unknown phosphate-rich substance from pus cells named as nuclein, which was quite different from other organic substances like carbohydrate, protein, and fat. Altmann in 1899 ascertained that the nuclein also had some acidic characteristics and changed its name to ‘nucleic acid’. Later, nucleic acid was also isolated from salmon sperm nuclei as DNA-protaminecomplex. In 1953, James D.Watson and Francis H.C. Crick constructed the model of three-dimensional double helix structure of the DNA molecule which could successfully explain DNA replication.

Nucleic acids are polymeric macromolecules, or large biological molecules, essential for all known forms of life. Nucleic acids, which include DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid), are made from monomers known as nucleotides. Each nucleotide has three components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. If the sugar is deoxiribose, the polymer is DNA. If the sugar is ribose, the polymer is RNA. Together with proteins, nucleic acids are the most important biological macromolecules; each is found in abundance in all living things, where they function in encoding, transmitting and expressing genetic information—in other words, information is conveyed through the nucleic acid sequence, or the order of nucleotides within a DNA or RNA molecule. Strings of nucleotides strung together in a specific sequence are the mechanism for storing and transmitting hereditary, or genetic, information via protein synthesis.

The term nucleic acid is the overall name for DNA and RNA, members of a family of biopolymers, and is synonymous with polynucleotide. Nucleic acids were named for their initial discovery within the nucleus, and for the presence of phosphate groups (related to phosphoric acid). Although first discovered within the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, nucleic acids are now known to be found in all life forms as well as some nonliving entities, including within bacteria, archaea, mitochondria, chloroplasts, viruses and viroids. All living cells contain both DNA and RNA (except some cells such as mature red blood cells), while viruses contain either DNA or RNA, but usually not both. The basic component of biological nucleic acids is the nucleotide, each of which contains a pentose sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), a phosphate group, and a nucleobase. Nucleic acids are also generated within the laboratory, through the use of enzymes (DNA and RNA polymerases) and by solid-phase chemical synthesis. The chemical methods also enable the generation of altered nucleic acids that are not found in nature, for example peptide nucleic acids.

Nucleic acids are complex, chain-like polymers consisting of nucleotides as their monomers. Due to this characteristic, they are often referred to as polynucleotides. The largest molecules present in the biological system are nucleic acids. The two main types of nucleic acids are DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid). The bulk of DNA is confined to the nucleus and some cell organelles like mitochondria and chloroplast. RNA is found in both the nucleus and cytoplasm. In 1869, Johannes Friedrich Miescher isolated a substance from the nuclei of the pus cell (leukocytes). The extracted material was named nuclein, which contained an unusually large amount of phosphorus; in addition to proteins, and devoid of sulfur. Richard Altman later named the nuclein as nucleic acid. These organic molecules are found in living cells and play a crucial role in transmitting genetic information from one generation to another.

Nucleotides

Nucleotides serve as the fundamental constituents of nucleic acids. Nucleotides have flat planar and heterocyclic origin. Nucleotides are small molecules composed of three components:

1. Nitrogenous base,

2. Pentose sugar and

3. Phosphate group.

Procedure

Place a portion of your RNA sample (approximately 40 mg, hydrated) into a heavy walled Pyrex test tube. Add 1.0 ml of 1 N HCl and seal the tube.

Heat the tube in a boiling water bath for 1 hour.

Cool the tube, open it and place the contents into a centrifuge tube. Centrifuge the contents at 2,000 RPM in a clinical centrifuge to remove any insoluble residue. The supernatant contains your hydrolyzed RNA.

Prepare Whatman filter paper No. 1 for standard one-dimensional chromatography.

Using a micropipette, spot 20 µl of your hydrolyzate onto the paper, being careful to keep the spots as small as possible (repeated small drops are better than one large drop). Allow the spots to completely dry before proceeding.

Place the paper chromatogram into your chromatography tank and add the solvent (acetic acid:butanol:water). Allow the system to function for an appropriate time (approximately 36 hours for a 20 cm descending strip of Whatman #1). Remove the paper and dry it in a circulating air oven at 40° C for about 2 hours.

Locate the spots of nucleotides by their fluorescence under an ultra-violet light source. Expose the paper chromatogram to a UV light source and outline the spots using a light pencil. The order of migration from the point of origin is guanine (light blue fluorescence), adenine, cytilic acid and finally, uridylic acid.

After cafefully marking the spots, cut them out with cutters and place the paper cut outs into separately labeled 15 ml conical centrifuge tubes. Add 5.0 ml of 0.1 N HCl to each tube and allow the tubes to sit for several hours to elute the nucleotides from the paper.

Leaves are alternate in distichous arrangement; lamina long and linear and leaf sheath covering the internodes; ligule membranous and auricle claw shaped. The inflorescence is a spike and florets are borne on rachis node. Each spikelet has three florets. In two row barely, lateral spikelets become sterile.

Agathi is a fast growing tree upto 10m. tall. Branching is drooping. The stem bark is deeply furrowing forming cork like plates. Leaves are compound, pinnae, 20 to 30 cm. long glabresence to pubescent. Leaflet oblong rounded 18 to 24 pairs of leaflets that are green to dark green mostly, bitter free. Inflorescence is a raceme 4 to 7 cm long and bearing 2 to 5 flowers that are white, red, yellowish and pink. Flowers are 5 to 10 cm long, 3cm wide, curved calyx bell shaped 2 cm long, 2 lobed, fine teeth like serration, fleshy. 

Crop improvement is a continuous process. Crop improvement aims to genetically enhance, enrich and empower the crop plants with superior performance, enhanced yield level, higher quality of food, nutritional, fodder, energy produce and adaptability to climate change and crop growing environments. The intrinsic virtues of the improved cultivars could be sustained mainly through the production of the quality assured seeds endowed with genetic capabilities. The quality assured seed delivery system is through the seed chain from the basic seeds through Nucleus-Breeder-Foundation-Certified seed. Quality seed production system need to be based on genetic, breeding and seed technological protocols including field and laboratory testing to ensure very high genetic purity, true to type and superiority.

In mathematics, we use different type of digits called numbers. These numbers may be real, natural, rational, irrational, composite and complex, imaginary, perfect, positive and negative integers, whole number, prime and co prime numbers and even-odd numbers and make students confused. Therefore the concept of numbers should be very clear to the students so that they may answer the questions easily.

The number system mainly into classified into 8 types.

1.1 Introduction to Numerical Method

There are three types by which problem / system can be solved and are analytical methods, graphical methods and numerical methods.

Analytical methods: This approach or methods are used to find the exact solution of simple problems / systems rather than complex systems. It provides the behavior and characteristic features of a particular system, but can only be used for systems which can be approximated through use of linear models. Another limitation is in the case of practical problems, consisting of complex and nonlinear equations / processes, as analytical methods cannot handle properly.

Graphical methods: This approach or methods are used to find the approximate solution of problems / systems through drawing of graphs for each of the equation and then check for the intersection of graphs. Intersection of graphs represents solution to system of equations, and no interaction or parallel lines of graphs represents no solution. This is not useful because of non-precise nature due to graphs drawing through hands, which also makes the process tedious. Another limitation is its viability for problems involving three or lesser dimensions.

Numerical methods: This approach or methods are used to find the approximate solution of problems / systems in a simpler way involving a large quantity of long arithmetic calculations, as compared to analytical methods. Numerical methods are the techniques by which mathematical problems are formulated to find the solution through arithmetic operations.

4.1 Introduction

Numerical differentiation is the process of computing the function’s derivative values from the given set of numerical values when the actual form of the function is not known.

Similar to the numerical interpolation, a number of formulae for differentiation are derived in this chapter and are

1. Derivatives Based on Newton’s Forward Interpolation Formula: This is used to compute the derivative for some given x lying near the beginning of the data table.
2. Derivatives Based on Newton’s Backward Interpolation Formula: This is used to compute the derivative for a point near the end of the data table.
3. Derivatives Based on Stirling’s and Bessel’s Interpolation Formula: This is used to compute the derivative for some point lying in the middle of the data table.
4. Derivatives Based on Newton’s Divided Difference Formula: This is used to compute the derivative for some point when the data table is not equi- spaced.

Abstract

Groundwater flow modeling in hydrological sciences is one of the main tools used to assess the resource potential in terms of quantity and to predict the future impacts under different stresses/scenarios. This case study is prepared to present the  groundwater flow model for the Osian-Mandore pilot area with 12 villages of Mandore Block and 21 village of Osian Block in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. The spatial model parameters and spatio-temporal fluxes were acquired and processed using remote sensing, GIS and Groundwater flow modeling interfaces. MODFLOW software was used to model the groundwater flow system in three interfaces PMWIN 5.3.0, Groundwater Modeling System and Visual MODFLOW. 

7.1 Introduction

A Scottish mathematician David Gibb was firstly introduced a term ‘Numerical Integration’ in 1915. Like numerical differentiation, numerical integration is also a very useful tool for scientists and engineers especially when they have an experimental data for different variables without knowing any mathematical relationship between them. Beside it, there are also many other situations where it plays an important role for integrating the functions like:

Problem 1: Prepare a lay-out plan of model kitchen garden for a family having five (5) members. Calculate the total amount of vegetable required per year and area of the same kitchen garden. Give the suitable crop rotation and show by diagrammatic representation.

Ans.: Total amount of vegetables required annually

Problem-Recommended dose of N:P:K for bearing mango tree 1.0 Kg N: 0.87 Kg P and 1.66 Kg K annually per plant. Available fertilizers are urea, DAP and MOP for supplying of NPK respectively.

So, for an orchard of 1 hectare area, the total number of plants is 100 if spacing is 10m x 10m

Problem- Calculate the amount of farm yard manure, urea, single super phosphate and murate of potash for one hectare tomato crop which require 100, 60, 60 kg ha N, P, K respectively. 1/3 quantity of nitrogen should be given through farm yard manure and rest through chemical fertilizers

Problem- Prepare a layout plan for establishing on ideal mango orchard near Varanasi city in 2ha area under high density planting. Calculate the number of plants needed for planting and amount of DAP and sulphate of potash heeded or planting. Also mention the name of cultivars for this region under HDP (200:100:200 NPK g/plant)

Problem-Prepare of a layout plan of orchard for 10 ha. area which is situated on the highway. The dimension of the orchard is 3:2. Calculate the areas under each crop which will you grow and also write their suitable variety along with their suitable diagram. Also fulfill the following information about orchard

1.     A fruit juice at 20°C with 10% total solids is concentrated in a single effect evaporator that is operated at a vacuum to allow the product moisture to evaporate at 80°C and steam with 82% quality is supplied at 169.06kPa. The desired concentration of the final product is 45% total solids and the concentrated product exits the evaporator at a rate of 300kg/hr. Calculate the steam requirement for the process when condensate is released at 90°C. The specific heat of liquid feed is 4.05 kJ/kg°C and of concentrated product is 3.175 kJ/kg°C.

(a) 3.35 kg/s

(b) 3.25 kg/s

(c) 4.25kg/s

(d) 2.35kg/s

2.     A double effect evaporator is being used to concentrate fruit juice at 35000kg/hr. The juice has 10% total solids at 80°C and requires to be concentrated to 50% total solids. The saturated steam at 1.608 atm is available. What is mass flow rate of water vapors?

(a) 7.505 kg/s

(b) 8.505 kg/s

(c) 5.707kg/s

(d) 6.808.kg/s

Aim

To study the numerical problems on grain moisture content and equilibrium moisture content.

Problem 1

Five hundred kilograms of paddy at 22% moisture content (wb) is dried to 14% moisture content (wb) for milling. Calculate the amount of moisture removed in drying.

8.1 Introduction

In the fields like Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering and Economics; their laws and principles contains various parameters and their derivatives. The mathematical relationships of such parameters with their derivatives constitute the differential equations. In calculus, differential equations were firstly introduced by Newton and Leibnitz. Newton listed the three kinds of differential equations:

Man has tendency to classify everything in a hierarchical manner for example, ships may be classified on size, weight, what they carry or naval versus merchant or passenger. Any of these classification is as valid as any other.

But classification of biological species is unusual in that a predefined system exists i.e. the evolutionary relationships among organisms. But evolutionary relationships can only be estimated; and contrary to popular belief, even a good fossil record does not conclusively show the phylogeny or evolutionary tree of a group species.

Numerical taxonomy can be defined as “Numerical evaluation of the affinity or similarity between taxonomic units and ordering of these units into taxa on the basis of their affinities”. The term includes drawing of phylogenetic inferences from the data by statistical or other mathematical methods to the extent to which this should prove possible. The practice involves a number of fundamental assumptions and philosophical attitudes toward taxonomic work.

11.1 Introduction
Having explored the sophisticated statistical methods for analyzing meteorological data and the powerful visualization techniques for interpreting it, we now turn our attention to the very engine that drives modern weather forecasting: Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP). This chapter delves into the intricate science and technology behind predicting the future state of them atmosphere using mathematical models and supercomputers. The challenge of weather forecasting is immense. The Earth’s atmosphere is a chaotic, non-linear fluid system, constantly in motion, with interactions occurring across vast scales, from global circulation patterns to microscopic cloud droplets. For centuries, weather prediction relied heavily on empirical rules, human experience, and the interpretation of synoptic charts. While these methods achieved some success, they were inherently limited in their ability to accurately forecast beyond a day or two, especially for complex or rapidly evolving phenomena.
The visionary idea of predicting weather mathematically was first conceived by Lewis Fry Richardson in the early 20th century. He envisioned solving the fundamental equations governing atmospheric behavior using numerical methods. However, the sheer volume of calculations required made his manual attempts impractical, famously taking him weeks to produce a 6-hour forecast that had already passed. It was only with the advent of the electronic computer in the mid-20th century that Richardson’s dream began to materialize, marking the birth of modern NWP (Fig. 11.1).

9.1 Introduction Numpy

Numpy: is apython package which stands for “Numerical python”.

This was created in 2005 by Travis Oliphant.

Using numpy we can perform the following functionalities:

1. Mathematical and logical calculation on array.

2. Fourier transforms and routines for shape manipulation.

3. It has built in functions for linear algebra random number generation.

4. Used for scientific calculations.

5. It is faster than python list.

6. It is fast because it is associated with c programming.

NumPy is often called as an alternate for MatLab (a programming platform designed specifically for engineers and scientists for data analysis, developing algorithms, create models and application etc.)

Important nurseries and seed merchants of Uttar Pradesh

1. Azad Nurseries, Laxmi Gate, Saharanpur.
2. American Seed Store, Ayodhya.
3. Ashoka Seed Farm (Regd.) Darwaja Road, Ayodhya
4. Beiz Nursery, Azmatgarh Palace, Varanasi.
5. Ganesh Bagh Nursery, Kamachchha, Varanasi.
6. Ram Das & Co. Kamachchha, Varanasi.

Purpose- One of the important operation for horticulture crops is raising of seedlings (vegetable, fruit trees, shrubs and flowering annuals). Seedlings are either directly planted as in the case of some vegetables, flowering annuals, shrubs and trees or may used as root stock as in the case of mango, citrus etc. For healthy and good stand of seedlings proper preparation of nursery beds is essential. Since large number of seedlings are raised in a consideration. The protection of seedlings from pest, diseases, strong sun and wind is very important. These factor will vary if seedlings are raised under Low Tunnel Polyhouse.

1. Introduction

India’s horticulture production has exposed multiple rises in the historical two decades and the country is ranking second in the world next to China. The horticultural crops viz., fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, plantation crops and medicinal and aromatic plants have become a vital motorist for economy development in numerous states in India. Horticulture contributes 30.4 per cent to GDP of agriculture, which calls for the need of research and technical backstopping in this sector. Horticulture is a division which has the potential to create multiple springs of income, thereby boosting the economic growth of a country. Horticulture can be undertaken as market driven cultivation of vegetables, fruits and flowers, as ecotourism, as therapeutic medicinal plant harvesting and as a part of multiple farming to accompaniment the main source of income.

A nursery is a place, where seedling, saplings, trees, shrubs and other plant materials are raised and sold out for planting in gardens and orchards. The prerequisites of a successful and remunerative fruit production are the availability of true-type, healthy and good quality planting materials. Nursery is, therefore, a place where one can produce true to type plants by gaining technical skill, maintaining plants property and by careful planning. Like orchard establishment, establishment of a nursery is also at permanent venture and any mistake made initially can’t be rectified easily in the later stages. Therefore, for establishing a nursery, due care in selection of site, plants to be raised and transportation facilitation etc. must be given.

Nursery

Definition: It is a small area or place where seeds are sown for getting baby plant to transplant in the main field. These baby plants are known as seedlings.

Generally, growing rootstock in fruit plants and small seeded vegetables like tomato, brinjal, onion, cole–crops etc are needed to raising nursery and further transplanting.

There are two types of nursery;

• Temporary nursery: This nursery is raised by soil in open condition.
• Permanent nursery: This nursery is raised permanently walled and often provided with overhead covering against rain or frost.

A well-managed nursery is essential for producing healthy, uniform, vigorous, and field-ready planting material. This chapter explains nursery planning, site selection, propagation structures, growing media, containers, trays, irrigation, fertilization, sanitation, pest management, hardening, and transplant quality assessment. Protected raising techniques using shade nets, polyhouses, insect-proof structures, and controlled environments are discussed for improving germination and seedling survival. Particular attention is given to biosecurity, disease prevention, substrate sterilization, water quality, and environmental control. The chapter also introduces quality indicators such as root development, shoot growth, and physiological fitness. Efficient nursery management reduces establishment losses and provides the foundation for productive and profitable horticultural enterprises.

Successful onion cultivation begins with vigorous, disease-free seedlings and their timely establishment in the field. Seed quality, nursery-bed preparation, growing medium, nutrition, irrigation, weed control and protection against pests and diseases determine seedling performance. This chapter explains conventional and modern nursery-management practices, including raised beds, plug trays, protected structures, soilless media, fertigation and climate-controlled production. It also discusses seedling selection, hardening, transplanting age, spacing and field establishment. Mechanized, robotic and precision transplanting systems are examined as solutions to labour shortages and uneven planting. Climate-resilient nurseries, sensors and automation can further improve transplant survival, resource efficiency, uniformity, productivity and sustainability.

There has been an increasing demand for horticultural crops more particularly fruit .With this, the demand for good quality planting materials has gone up and hence the nursery business has developed rapidly in the recent years in our country. Plant propagation aims at the reproduction of selected individuals or group of individuals, in this the basic principal of life impose certain requirements which must be met with in practices for successful propagation. Plants material of various fruit crops have not only to be raised efficiently and scientifically, for which skilled knowledge in raising and management of nurseries is needed, but also these have to be transported quickly from nurseries to place where these plants materials will be grown.

Availability of quality planting material is one of the most importanant requirement for increasing the production and productivity of any fruit crops. It becomes one of the great challenges for horticulturists to get the disease free quality planting materials of fruit crops from an efficient and reliable nursery.

Besides edapho-climatic constraints in the arid region, availability of genuine planting materials at the doorsteps of the farmer’s is one of the major challenges that come in the way of horticultural development at commercial venture. Though, establishment of nursery is considered as remunerative farming enterprise if managed properly, in arid region it is still confined in the vicinity of big cities. It is also interesting to reveal that in the state like Rajasthan, most of the private nursery men are not producing planting materials in their nurseries except for the fruits like ber, lasoda and  kinnow instead they are purchasing planting materials from the other states in bulk and selling them on higher rate to the farmers of the state. The main reasons for poor development of nursery in the arid region are; unfavorable edapho-climatic conditions and poor knowledge about innovations made in recent past for nursery management. Keeping these facts in view, there is a need to develop a long chain of hitech-nurseries coupled with Human Resource Development for mass multiplication of quality planting materials for fulfilling the demand of end users. Production of quality planting material is directly link with productivity of fruit crops (Bose et al., 1998; Brison and Adriance, 2000).

7.1 Introduction
A nursery is a place where plants are cultivated and grown until they reach a usable size. Nursery management has evolved into a commercial venture, with different types of nurseries including retail, wholesale, and private nurseries. Retail nurseries sell planting materials to the general public, while wholesale nurseries supply other nurseries and commercial landscape gardeners. Private nurseries cater to the needs of specific institutions or organizations. Since many horticultural crops are propagated in nurseries, the production of quality planting materials is vital, especially for orchardists whose success largely depends on the quality of these materials, as most fruit crops are perennial. To be a successful grower, it is crucial to consider several factors, including soil and climatic conditions, location, water availability, financial support, labor availability, marketing facilities, demand, and transportation systems. However, the production of quality planting materials plays a pivotal role in determining the success of horticultural ventures, as planting materials form the foundation of the orchard (Chadha, 2001; Singh & Negi, 2010).
7.2 Demand for Seedlings and Seeds in India
The availability of quality planting materials is one of the most important factors in the development of a sound horticulture sector. In India, there is an immense demand for quality seedlings and seeds at lower costs, offering scope for large-scale planting. The demand for quality planting materials exists across the country, as these materials contribute to sustainable fruit production systems (Swaminathan, 2007).
7.3 Seedling Supply Chain
The primary suppliers of perennial tree seedlings are departmental/ government and industrial nurseries, which produce seedlings and vegetative propagules for their own needs, as well as for public distribution to meet raw material demands. Farmers primarily produce vegetable and ornamental seedlings, benefiting from the availability of improved seeds and the low input requirements. The price of ornamental seedlings depends on factors such as 

Nursery management is indeed a very important operation in successful growing of vegetables especially those, which are raised through seedlings in properly managed nursery beds. Raising nursery from seed provides an easy and convenient way to nourish tender young seedlings in a well-managed small and compact area. The nursery area can be conveniently protected from natural hazards, seed borne diseases and insect-pests and can be well managed economically. Some of the vegetable seeds are very costly, for which it is necessary to raise nursery in the most-optimum conditions. In areas where land holdings are small (in hills), nursery raising helps in making economical use of land for about one month and provides enough time to mature for previous crop, harvesting, threshing and land preparation for next crop. Most of the vegetable crops like cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, eggplant, sweet pepper, hot pepper, onion, celery, parsley, lettuce, etc. can successfully be raised through seed by growing them in the nursery and then transplanting in the field.

“A vegetable nursery is a place or an establishment for raising or handling young vegetable seedlings until they are ready for more permanent planting.”

Nursery can be maintained either for personal or commercial purpose, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Seedlings raised for own planting will be true to type, sound and healthy. On the other hand, seedlings purchased from outside may not be true to type, vigorous and healthy and may not arrive at destination in due course of time.

Nursery

Nursery is a place where seedling, saplings or any other planting materials are raised, propagated, multiplied and sold out for planting. The prerequisites of a successful and remunerative fruit production are the availability of true-to-type, healthy and good quality planting materials. Setting up of a fruit nursery is a long term venture and requires careful planning and expertise, because mistakes committed initially cannot be rectified easily and may adversely affect the return from the investment. Thus, one should pay due attention on every aspects when nursery is to be established.

Introduction

Nursery is a place where seedlings, cuttings and grafts are raised with care before transplanting.

Advantage of Raising Seedlings in Nursery

1. It is very convenient to look after the tender seedlings
2. It is easy to protect the seedlings from pests and diseases
3. Economy of land usage (duration in the main field is reduced)
4. Valuable and very small seeds can be raised effectively without any wastage
5. Uniform crop stand in the main field can be maintained by selecting healthy, uniform and vigorous seedlings in the nursery itself.

In the nursery seedlings, saplings, cuttings and grafts are raised, propagated and multiplied under favorable condition for transplanting in the main field. In nursery, plants are nurtured by providing them with optimum growing condition to ensure germination.

Benefits of Raising Seedlings in Nursery

1. Tender seedlings are looked after very conveniently.

2. Seedlings canbe protected very easliy from pests and diseases.

3. Land can be properly utilised (duration in the main field is reduced).

4. Costly and small size seeds can be raised effeciently without any wastage.

5. Uniformity in the crop can be be maintained by selecting healthy, uniform and vigorous seedlings from the nursery.

Nursery

An area where the planting materials are raised for sowing or planting in garden or fields, in other words, the nursery industry involves the production and distribution of different kind of planting material.

Some of the vegetables sown directly in the field are Okra, Pea, Cowpea, Frenchbean Dolichosbean, Radish, Carrot, Bottle gourd, Bitter gourd, Ridge gourd, Spongegourd,Ashgourd, Muskmelon, Watermelon, Cucumber, Pumpkin, Roundmelon, Spinachbeet, Spinach, Coriander, Amaranthus, Lettuce, Fenugreek etc. Some vegetables are propagated through vegetative means like Colocasia, Ginger, Garlic, Potato, Sweet potato, Drumstick, Asparagus, Elephant foot, Pointedgourd and Ivygourd. But there are certain vegetables having very small seeds and first sown in the nursery for better care and to combat the main field. Such vegetables are Tomato, Brinjal, Chilli, Capsicum, Broccoli, Endive, Chicory, Cabbage, cauliflower, Khol-Khol, Kale, Parsley, Lettuce etc.

Raising of seedlings in the nursery beds is economic as well as easier to take care of young, tender seedlings against disease, insect pests and weeds. Better combat against biotic stress like bright sun, rains and low temperature and economisation by saving land, labour and capital to fetch higher market price.

Introduction

Management is the process of successfully accomplishing tasks with and through others. It is all about having more control and getting better results as a result of having more control. Many parts of nursery administration are unrelated to horticulture in any way. Nurseries, both wholesale and retail, are frequently managed by persons who have worked in a range of sectors. Nutrient management, disease control, irrigation management, insect pest management, and marketing management are just a few of the nursery management techniques that are necessary for a successful nursery output. A nursery manager and employees who spend a lot of time for potting plants, weeding plants, or conversing with clients may discover that they do not spend enough time for managing the nursery, resulting in a loss of control. Many activities are carried out during management, such as planning - need for planting material, provision of mother blocks, land area requirements, water supply, working equipment, growth structures, and input availability. Implementation - land treatment, biotic interference and soil erosion prevention, correct layout, input supply, and so forth. However, in a small nursery where several jobs are required, the manager must strike a delicate balance between the numerous responsibilities. Managers who are well informed can provide good management; thus, the first duty of every manager is to become knowledgeable about the company for which they are responsible.