eChapters

Oil palm is a major source of edible oil globally and plays a crucial role in meeting the dietary needs of millions of people. India has been focusing on expanding oil palm cultivation to reduce its dependence on imported edible oils. Oil palm can yield high oil compared to other vegetable oils. Palm oil production rate depends on post-harvest handling, and milling and extraction processes. After harvesting, some quality changes occur in oil palm fresh fruit bunches which leads to reduce the oil quantity and quality. With proper handling of post-harvest bunches and adapting best extraction methods can increase the oil yield and quality. Palm oil alone has the potential to make India sustainable in edible oil production.

Introduction

Oil palm (Elaesis guineensis Jacq.) originated in the tropical rain forest of western Africa and is now being cultivated in more than 45 countries around the world especially tropical regions i.e., Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Nigeria, Columbia, and Ghana. This crop was introduced in India during the early 1990s, to meet the demand and to attain sustainable edible oil production in India due to its high oil-yielding capacity compared to other vegetable oil crops. It produces two distinct oils, i.e., palm oil and palm kernel oil. Palm oil is derived from fleshy mesocarp of the fruit and palm kernel oil obtained from the kernel of stony seed.

India is bestowed with varied climatic conditions and a variety of horticultural crops are produced. It is estimated that 20-30% of the produce is lost before consumption because of various reasons including improper storage and this is where the need of processing for preservation arises. There are various ways of preserving the produce and various ways to process it.

Preservation is defined as methods of extending the shelf life of the produce in its original form or in a different usable form. The basic principle of preservation involves strategies which aim at reducing the spoilage. The horticulture produce is spoiled by microbial infection or infestation. Prevention of microbial damage can be achieved by keeping the produce away from microbes, by removing the microbes, obstructing the proliferation and by killing the microbes. Infestation in the harvested fruits may lead to other microbial infection and spoilage due to rotting.

Post Harvest Technology

Introduction

The demand for edible oil has grown with the increase in world population. Improvement in living standards have made the population increase the consumption of oils and fats. It also has become more discriminating with respect to the oil quality. Oil producers, have to meet the increasing demand for edible oil, and improve product quality and variety as these have become major factors in the market-place.

Agriculture has been tuned through selective seed breeding and improved crop production practices to take care of the increasing demand. The emphasis has been to improve yield per hectare or tolerance to climatic variations. The ability to modify seed through traditional breeding and biotechnological approaches promises a revolution in agriculture. Using various approaches, not only quantitative improvement but also the qualitative changes especially fatty acid changes have been brought about. Customer support is needed for the genetically modified crops. A lot of controversy exists at present in accepting genetically modified crops. This aspect has to be studied in depth and needs to be resolved at the appropriate level as quickly as possible.

A prerequisite for the production of top quality oils and meals is a high quality raw material. Some attempts have been made to improve the physical characteristics of oils and meals through genetic, agronomic as well as through post production handling and processing technologies. The harvested quality grain should not be damaged during transportation, storage and processing. To produce a crude oil, the industry uses a number of processing steps, the application of which depends on the type of seed and the scale of the operation.

The purpose of Post Harvest Technology of oilseeds is to recover the maximum quantity of good quality oil and also make the deoiled cake useful as food or feed. Oil in oilseeds is located in spherosomes, which are the oil bodies (Salunkhe et al, 1992). When seeds are broken into small particles and the cells get ruptured the oil becomes available and is easily extracted. From the time of harvest, till the seeds are fed to the oil extracting machines, various processes are carried out to make good quality of oil available to the consumer apart from providing remunerative prices to the producer, namely, the farmer. The various steps involved in the oil extraction are proper harvest, drying, storage, seed cleaning, heat treatment and different types of machinery. The basic objective of every step in the post harvest technology is to minimize losses and to sustain or improve the quality of the product.

Procurement is acquisition of goods and services.
Procurement includes:
• Planning the acquisition
• Planning the contracting
• Requesting proposals 
• Selecting a vendor
• Administering the contract
• Closing the contract 

Planning the acquisition

It is based on goals of an enterprise acquisition varies – depends on what, when and where to produce. Based on these factors acquisition requirements are arrived.

1. At times of distress sales

a) Marketed surplus < Marketable surplus

b) Marketed surplus > Marketable surplus

c) Marketed surplus = Marketable surplus

d) Zero marketed surplus

2. For durable goods, under normal pricing conditions

a) Marketed surplus < Marketable surplus

b) Marketed surplus > Marketable surplus

c) Marketed surplus = Marketable surplus

d) Zero marketed surplus

Introduction
The sun is the primary source of energy for all life on Earth. The primary energy source for the majority of ecosystems is limited to this one. Photosynthesis is performed by green plants, certain types of algae, and microorganisms. They utilize solar energy to fuel chemical reactions that combine basic inorganic components to create intricate organic chemicals. Elements undergo a cyclical process as they move through the different compartments of an ecosystem.
Photosynthesis is the process by which solar energy is captured and transformed into food in the form of chemical energy. Food comprises fundamental elements such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and other necessary elements, along with stored energy. The components present in the food undergo recycling. The flow of energy and nutrients begins with the producers, then moves to the consumers, and ultimately returns to the producers through the activity of decomposers. Energy, in contrast to materials, is not subject to recycling. Food traverses the food web, resulting in energy dissipation. Typically, just a mere 10% of the energy accumulated in a certain trophic
level, such as the producers, is effectively passed on to the subsequent trophic level, such as the herbivores. This is referred to as the energy pyramid. Ultimately, the energy available in the trophic level becomes so depleted that it cannot sustain any higher trophic levels. Consequently, the presence of fourth order consumers in any ecosystem is extremely rare.
The biotic component, often known as the life component of the environment, encompasses a diverse array of plants, animals, and bacteria, which form interconnected communities.

18.1 Introduction

The farmers have limited resources and a number of enterprises/or enterprise combinations of crops and livestock to choose from. So, the question is how much of what to produce and with what technology. In other words, what combination of enterprises should be produced is expressed as.

Product

Anything that possesses utility is described as goods. A product is both what a seller sell and what a buyer has to buy. 

According to Phillip Kotler: A product is anything that can be offered in a market for attention acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical objects, services, persons, places, organisation and ideas.

According to Stanton: A product is a set of tangible and intangible attributes, including packaging, colour, price, manufacturer’s prestige, retailer prestige and services which the buyer may accept as offering satisfaction or wants or needs.

The floriculture has become an important sector all over world. In India, floriculture has been associated with culture and heritage since very ancient time. In recent decades there has been increasing in demand of floriculture products with increasing income. It is souring industry in Asian countries including India. Floriculture is an emerging area with great potential both in the domestic as well as export market.In India, commercial floriculture is ongoing development but have a long tradition of various types of flowers.Floriculture was being cultivated in 3.5 lakh hectares in the country and 250 varieties of flowers exist in the country.Besides potted plants, roses, carnation, orchids and chrysanthemum are important cut flowers, which are popular in our country. In the increasingly competitive international cut flower and pot plant market, new and novelty ornamental plants plays an important role in stabilization and expanding market share. Always novelty has been considered as an important attribute in ornamental industry. The consumer choice is also changing for product quality level depending upon purpose of purchase, as well as for higher levels of services and a wider and deeper assessment suggesting product diversification. The increasing pace of agricultural transformation in India has been characterized by widening share of commercial crops in the overall basket. Among others, horticulture has shown great promise because of the availability of high-value domestic and international market against the low production base so far. Understandably, it has received special attention of policy-makers and being termed as the sunrise industry within agriculture. India, with its varied agro-climate is ideally suited for growing several types of flowers in different seasons. Although traditional ornamental crops will continue to play key role in the floriculture trade, a distinct trend towards increasing the share of new crops is clearly evident in recent years often referred to as ‘specialty flowers’, these are cut flowers, which are not widely known and also grown in small pockets but have high prospects in the international market. There are over 60 types of new ornamentals, which have been reported to hold potential for commercial utility. Some progressive growers in India have already initiated the process of introducing new ornamental crops in their fields.These new products normally fetch high prices than the traditional crops for a certain period, but quite often the prices drop when market is saturated. By that time new products should be ready to enter the market. In this context introduction of new ornamental crops is therefore continuous effort.

1. Introduction

Product development is a basic activity in the food industry. Each company has a product mix, often including hundreds of products, which are constantly evolving - old products dying, products reaching maturity, products contributing to rapid growth and new products being introduced.

In the food industry, just as any other industry, product and process development is considered a vital part – indeed the lifeblood – of smart business strategy. Failure to develop new and improved products relegates firms to competing solely on price which favours the players with access to the lowest cost inputs (land, labour etc). Product and process development (commonly referred to as product development) is systematic, commercially oriented research to develop products and processes satisfying a known or suspected consumer need. Product development is a method of industrial research in its own right. There are essentially four basic stages in the model product development process.

Introduction

Having decided to become an agri-preneur, the next task is to decide what business to venture into, the product or range of products that shall be taken up for manufacture and in what quantity. This may sound simple, it is the hardest and the single most important decision one will take in this whole business of setting up a small-scale enterprise. As the old saying goes “well begun is half done”, and if the decision to select a product is right, basically enterprise will do well, if not there are likely to be troubles ahead. One of the reasons why many small scale units become “sick” is that no serious thought is given by the entrepreneur before starting the unit on whether there is reasonable chance of succeeding in the product selected.

Even after one has taken a correct decision, all sorts of things can happen and upset the plans, but in such cases, one can retrieve the situation, provided the product selected is intrinsically sound. There could be factors beyond control and one must be prepared to face them.

1. What does the term PLC stands for?

a) Product long cycle

b) Production life cycle

c) Product life cycle

d) Production long cycle

2. Which of the following is not the stage of Product Life Cycle?

a) Introduction Stage

b) Peak stage

c) Decline stage

d) Mature stage

3. When a new product enter into the market with higher quality and new features better than its competitors, those products are known as__________

Nutraceutical is a broad term which represents any substance extracted from food sources with additional health benefits alongside the good nutritional value already present in them. The nutraceutical term was originated by Stephen De Felice in 1989.

1. Introduction

Fruits and vegetables in fresh form in general contain very high water content, with the fast rate of metabolic activity, including respiration rate, which may vary with the fruit type. Accordingly, the storage life at room temperature is considerably less, to expect acceptable quality. A range of transformational changes occur in various features of the fruits and vegetables, such as color, flavor, texture, structure, sweetness, sourness, pungency, astringency and so on. Phenolic browning of mushrooms, intensive softening of papaya, coloration and softening of ripe banana, softening of pear and jackfruit , flavor transformations of mango, banana and jackfruit after ripening, their color and texture transformations, are classic examples of post-harvest changes in fresh commodities, over a course of storage period at room temperature. These physical and sensorial perceptions of fresh commodities over a length of storage period are based on the range and multitude of operations of physical, chemical and bio-chemical reactions occurring in various constituents of the fresh fruit or vegetable such as moisture, pigments, vitamins, pectin, cellulose, hemicelluloses, phenolics, lignin, sugars, flavor compounds, amino acids, fatty acids and so on. In order to increase the storage stability, the fresh fruits and vegetables are processed and converted into various products such as juice, RTS beverages, jam, jelly, marmalade, fruit spread, dehydrated, spray dried powder, frozen stored, fruit cereal flakes, canned, candied, fruit bar and so on. Based on the nature of processing, the original form, shape, size, texture and structure are transformed, however with due maintenance in storage acceptability. A number of external factors are applied to achieve this product range such as heat, air velocity, pressure, radiation, chilling, freezing, vacuum impregnation etc. The ultimate quality of the final product is essentially an interaction between and amongst the various chemical constituents so characteristic of each fruit or vegetable under study, and a sum total of positive and negative reactions related to sensorial acceptability of the product. This quality is again a function of the storage period and the conditions of storage. Consumers in modern days are more health conscious to choose between consumption of fresh or processed fruits and vegetables. For trade over distance and time and particularly for geographic regions not producing a particular fruit or vegetable, it is of utmost importance to process the fresh produce. Enzymatic transformations in color, texture and flavor deserve utmost attention to ensure acceptable quality of the processed product, in particular over the course of storage period or until consumed after transportation and marketing. Microbiological quality of the product in final form is a most vital factor of consumers' health and this is dependent on water activity, sugars and protein / amino acid contents. In this regard, additives and preservatives come into picture. Strict regulations are imposed on their use, type and concentration over a storage period, for healthy consumption. Accordingly, this chapter would deal with several examples of processing conditions influencing the quality of the product, that emanates. Processing involving chemical, bio-chemical, engineering, bio-technological and microbiological methods to achieve a product are vivid, varied and different to different species / variety of fruits or vegetables to target different products.

Studies on Volatile Fatty Acids Production and Kinetics of VFA Pool as Determined by Using “Isotope Dilution Technique”

(Method of Krishna and Ekern, 1974a,b and c)
Details of Experiment
Materials
    (i)    Animals : Two fistulated sheep of Dala Texel breed weighing about 72 and 76 kg are selected. 
    (ii)    Experimental Diet :
        Basal Diet : Two experimental sheep are maintained on 1.1 kg early cut timothy hay per day. The ration is divided in four equal parts and offered four times a day during the preliminary period of about twenty days. One day before infusion of labelled VFA, the sheep are fed regularly at one hour interval (1.1 kg hay divided in equal parts) to help in increasing the mixing rate of rumen ingesta. The animals are given water adlibitum but they are not allowed to drink water during infusion. Digestible energy and metabolizable energy (ME) of the basal diet is determined by conducting a separate metabolism trial on the same sheep.

Buffaloes have been classified in two main categories namely riverine and swamp buffaloes depending upon variation in their habitat and genome structure. Riverine buffaloes are generally large in size mostly with curled horns and are mainly found in India, Pakistan and some of the west Asian countries, prefer to enter clear water and have 50 (2n) numbers of chromosomes and are primarily used for milk production and also used for meat production and draught power. Swamp buffaloes are stocky animals with marshy land habitats and have 48 (2n) numbers of chromosomes. They were primarily developed for draught power in paddy fields and haulage and are also used for meat and milk production. Swamp buffaloes are mostly found in south east Asian countries and also in north eastern states of India.

Abstract

India, ranks first in marigold production among the loose flowers followed by chrysanthemum, jasmine and tuberose. Today, there is huge demand for natural colours of marigold, calendula, hibiscus, Petunia etc.in the international market.
 
A study on primary data was done to examine the production and marketing cost and profitability of marigold flowers. Data were collected through multistage sampling technique from farmers of Bhaderwah tehsil of Doda district in Jammu And Kashmir State.

Abstract

In this paper we studied the economics of marigold flower in Eastern Uttar Pradish Floriculture has assumed a definite commercial status. Its potential as a viable agribusiness has also been recognized. Diverse agro-climatic conditions permit perennial production in one part of the country. This sector provides employment to millions. Floriculture was practiced only on small farms but now a few large ones have been set up. The collected information were analyzed and presented in tabular form. Making small size mala on small and large farms were higher than the large size mala. There return per Rupee of investment were estimated that the  1.66, 2.08 and  1.84, in the account of small size, large size farms and overall, respectively. The percentage of total marigold produce sale indifferent marketing channels indicated that 90 per cent produce sold in II marketing channel where as next 10 per cent marigold flowers sold directly to the consumer i.e. channel I. The retailer’s level the marigold flowers were sold to the consumers in different forms such as flower basket, bouquet and in other farms as demanded by the buyers. The marketing cost and marketing margin (Price spread) may differ from the channel to channel. The marketing cost and margins also depend upon the form in which the product reaches the ultimate consumers.

Introduction

India is the largest producer of vegetables in the world after China, contributes over 13% to world vegetable production and occupies first position in the production of cauliflower, second in onion and third in cabbage. Amongst vegetables, India is the largest producer of Ginger and Okra and ranks second in Potatoes production (10%), Onions, Cauliflowers, Brinjal, and Cabbages, etc. During 2012-13, India exported vegetables worth  1516.33 crores. The average productivity of vegetables in the country is 17.61 t/ha.

Metabolic disorders are classed as illness associated with a failure in one of the body hormone or enzyme systems, storage disease related to lack of metabolism of secretory products because of the lack of production of a specific enzyme, or the failure or reduced activity of some metabolic function. There are numerous genetic, metabolic disorders in poultry but these are rare in commercial poultry. In poultry it is usual to include under the heading of metabolic disorders those conditions associated with increased metabolism, rapid growth rate or high egg production that result in the failure of a body system because of the increased work-load on that organ or system. Metabolic disorders that result from an increase production of, or deficiency of or failure in the production, synthesis, or transport of an enzyme, hormone or secretary mechanism. Metabolic disorders that result from high nutrient intake, rapid growth, high metabolic rate, pulmonary or systemic hypertension, and high egg production or a rapid increase in egg production. Other conditions that could be classed as metabolic disorders related to: (a) management defects; (b) nutritional deficiency or excess; (c) infectious agents; (d) toxins.

Definition
Production and operations management is the process of conversion of inputs into outputs, using physical resources, so as to provide the desired utility/utilities —of form, place, possession or state or a combination thereof—to the customer while meeting the other organizational objectives of effectiveness, efficiency and adaptability. It distinguishes itself from the other functions such as personnel, marketing etc. by its primary concern for ‘conversion by using physical resources’. Figure 1.1 describes a generalized concept of production system. It takes resource inputs and processes them to produce useful outputs in the form of goods or services.

Centuries before Greece and Rome were discovered, sailing ships carried Indian spices, perfumes and textiles to Mesopotamia, Arabia and Egypt. It was the lure of these that brought many seafarers to the shores of India. Emperors, kings, senators and the aristocracy transformed spices into the mostly highly prized commodities of ancient trade routes The story of Indian Spices is more than 7000 years old. By the 1400s, when navigational equipment had improved to the point that long-haul sailing became possible, European rulers set out to change the balance of world trade by funding spice-hunting missions of their own. Christopher Columbus who, in searching for a quick route to India, reached the Americas. Vasco de Gama was the first to surround Africa, and with a crew led by Ferdinand Magellan, fully circumnavigated the globe.

India is known as the food basket of the world. It is the second largest producer of fruit till now after China, but its contribution to the Global market of fruit processing is just 1per cent. This is due to the fact that there is deficiency of skilled manpower, poor cold storage facilities, inefficient post-harvest management and minimal technological interventions.
Deficiency of the skilled manpower: In-spite of market size of US dollar 181 billion, expenditure on food and food products being 21per cent of India’s GDP and more than 31per cent share of wallet by consumers, there is resultant apprehension about the emergency emerging skill shortages due to mismatch between the demand for specific skills and available supply. Shortage of skilled, Semi- skilled and unskilled workers has emerged as a critical factor impacting the competitiveness of Indian food industry. Efficient man-power is one such critical element to improve to foster the growth. As the food industry advances and adopts various levels of automation the demand of skilled manpower will increase phenomenally. Hence if, the Indian food industry must achieve projected growth target set and become globally competitive, the need to develop and train the human resource efficiently would be essential.

1.    A farm is a

(a) Producing unit

(b) Consuming unit

(c) Both of a & b

(d) None of these

2.    Farm is a_________unit.

(a) Economic

(b) Social

(c) Decision making

(d) All of these

Functional Areas

In any business organization, the commonly identified functional areas are production, marketing and finance. In recent years, the personnel and materials that go into the production process, packing process and marketing process have gained importance and given due importance by treating them separately as personnel and materials management.

Organization functional areas are

• Production Management
• Marketing Management
• Financial Management
• Personnel Management
• Materials Management

The above functional areas are not watertight compartments. The decisions/actions taken in one functional area affect the other functional area. The decisions in production and marketing are influenced by the actions on such matters as volume, terms and conditions of loan. The quantity, quality and timely availability of materials also has a bearing on production and marketing decisions. The labour motivation towards work and supervising ability/skill of supervising personnel also affects production and marketing.

The agro-food & slaughter house animal by-product industry generates large amounts of waste that contribute to environmental contamination and leads to pollution. Animal byproduct production, as part of the meat and poultry processing chain, is huge. Animal fat waste constitutes some of the most relevant waste and the treatment of such waste is quite costly because environmental regulations are quite strict. Fossil fuels remain the main source of primary energy accounting for over 80 % of worldwide energy consumption. The continuous consumption of non-renewable resources is leading to their fast depletion while causing the accumulation of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. Also, energy demands are expected to rise by over 25 % by 2040, which claims for a shift toward the use of renewable and carbon-neutral fuels to ensure environmental and economic sustainability. About millions animals (cattle, sheep, pigs and goats) and poultry (mainly chickens and turkeys) were slaughtered various parts of countries. Such a high number of slaughtered animals produces enormous amounts of waste animal residue including fats that need to be treated to reduce pollution or recycled to

1. INTRODUCTION

Colour affects every moments of our lives, strongly influencing the cloths we wear, the furnishing in our house and garden, and the appeal of foods. Not only this, colour aids the recognition of food and also has psychological appeal on the enjoyment of food. It is also one of the first characteristic perceived by our senses and help in determining acceptability, judging the quality and basic aesthetic value of food. Addition of colour to the food ensures the uniformity and intensifies the naturally occurring pigments in our food. To achieve this, historically natural or bio-colours have been used extensively till the end of 19^th century, when synthetic colours called ‘coal tar dyes’ were developed that acquired a widespread acceptability. But unfortunately, these are not totally safe for human consumption; for example high levels of erythrosine intake causes thyroid tumors, while Ponceau 4R, tartrazine and sunset yellow were found to be allergic. Many dyes used as colourant have been proved to be carcinogenic. The consumer wants to see the food looking natural as the synthetic colours have been proved to be carcinogenic to humans. Thus, increasing consumer awareness for natural products with almost no chemical additive and certified dyes (which was earlier considered safe) has necessitated the need to exploit food colourants of natural origin. Natural colours are generally extracted from materials of biological origin like fruits, vegetables, seeds, roots and microorganisms, and are often called as ‘Biocolours’. Microorganisms like Rhodotorula, Sarcina, Chromobacter have been proved to be a good source of biocolour.Colour has also been successfully produced from microorganisms using apple pomace as a base for the growth medium of biocolour producing microorganisms.

Introduction
Fossil fuels are finite and as population growth drives energy demands, the need for renewable energy solutions has become paramount. Among the many ways of producing biofuels, the use of algae has emerged as a promising source. Algae particularly, microalgae are photosynthetic organisms that can convert CO2 into fuel compounds. This innovative way of using microalgae to produce biofuels can address both sustainability as well as the depletion of fossil fuels.
1.1 Microalgae as energy source
Microalgae can be used over conventional biomass as they have several advantages. One of the biggest advantages is their rapid growth rate. They are easy to grow and multiply very quickly. Other benefits include high oil yield and their adaptability to different growth conditions. They also use CO2 to grow making them carbon neutral. Conventional biomass obtained from sugar bagasse or corn needs a lot of resources for a small yield, such as land, water, and electricity whereas microalgae do not require these high investment costs or land. However, the advantages of microalgae do not stop with biofuel production. Researchers have established the use of microalgae across various industries. Commonly, spirulina has been used as a source of protein surpassing protein content per 100 g compared to other protein-rich sources. Similarly, various other microalgae have been used for extracting vitamins, and essential fatty acids, and some are also used as feed for livestock. In recent years, microalgae have also been used in cosmetics for their antioxidant, collagen-boosting properties that can lead to anti-aging benefits. In the supplement industry, microalgae have been used in research as alternatives to mainstream ingredients. Microalgae also have other environmental benefits as they can be used to treat wastewater due to their ability to degrade pollutants and excess nutrients that concentrate in water bodies. With these benefits at hand, they can also be used as an excellent input for the production of biofuels (Razzak et al, 2022; Ramaraj et al, 2015). The figure below shows the various applications of microalgae such as the production of proteins, carbohydrates, biofuels, materials production, etc.

Objective: Production of Chocolate.
The major ingredient of chocolate is cocoa mass, which is mixed with sugar, and in case of milk chocolate, also with milk powder. The conching process then follows, which is important for the development of full chocolate flavour. Melted cocoa butter is added, the chocolate mass becomes liquid and is cooled, tempered and poured into moulds to form chocolate products.
Mixing of ingredients
Sugar, cocoa mass and milk powder are intensively mixed forming a dry powder. This powder is pre-ground in various types of mills and then finely ground in a 5-roll refiner. The size of particles in chocolate is between 15- 70 mm (average 25 mm). Small operators use vertical ball mills. Optimum flow properties are required for further processing. The yield value required differs according to the potential use (e.g. hollow moulding or enrobing). The particle size affects both the yield value and the plastic viscosity. In order to reduce recipe costs, the most expensive major constituent (i.e. fat) should be used in the smallest possible proportion which will give correct flow characteristics.

Introduction

Currently, the agricultural industry is expanding exponentially. Improved economic growth and rapid population growth have spurred investor interest in the agricultural industry. The World Bank estimates it to be worth $3 trillion. With the urbanization and industrialization of the agricultural sector, the amount of waste generated has also increased, causing many environmental problems. About 5 million metric tons of biomass are produced annually from agriculture. These agricultural wastes become breeding grounds for pathogenic microorganisms if not properly treated and recycled, it is noteworthy that this agricultural waste can be used as substrates for the synthesis of valuable product or as raw material for renewable energy production.

Introduction A functional food is a food that provides alimentative beyond their actual nutritional value & are claimed to have an extra function by the addition of new ingredients or more of already present ingredients into it. Functional food have also become a part of our everyday daily diet & are told to offer potential various health benefits other than the widely accepted nutritional effects among them. (Roberfroid MB 2009). Many bioactive active compounds are contained by them like roughage, OS, vitamins, inorganic elements, & bacterium probiotic, having scented whiff, relish & fineness, which sustain the balance & balance of the enteric system. Functional may also be said as artificer‘s foods, NC, restorative foods, curative food, & super food etc because of the roles & functions they perform. (Wlodzimierz Grajek et al., 2008). There are many utilitarian sequels of functional food & beverages with added bug & probiotics on the health of humans which are increasingly promoted & recommended by the nutritionists & other we-being professionals. (Aditya Chaudhary 2019). For a time being, the most salient & over & over again used functional foods amalgam are probiotics & probiotics, or they altogether called as symbiotic‘. he dwell Microbes or foods microbes, which are beneficial for human, are probiotics. (Armachius James &Yousheng Wang 2019).

Introduction

Floriculture is a fast emerging, rapidly expanding industry in the present scenario. The importance of flowers has been realized throughout the world and now it has been developed into an intensive form of agriculture. Flowers play an integral role in life of each and every human being. They are the part and parcel of day to day activities. There is common saying with flowers that a man is born with flowers, live with flowers and dies with flowers. This shows the importance of flowers in our lives since time immemorial. The flowers create an atmosphere of beauty, happiness and harmony. With the fast changing lifestyles, floriculture can become a lucrative business in India in view of low labour cost, varied agro climatic conditions and large collection of plant wealth.

Among flowers, loose flowers hold an important place in terms of high demand for usage in various religious and social ceremonies. They are mainly used for worshipping, making floral garlands, floral decorations in wedding, religious functions, interior decoration, self adornment etc. The earlier trend of using flowers for aesthetic value is changing slowly into business with the realization of its vast economic potential as value addition of flowers by drying, extraction of essential oils, colouring pigments, antioxidants etc. is also gaining importance.

In India, mostly loose flowers dominate the domestic market. Marigold, jasmine, tuberose, crossandra and china aster are the major loose flowers grown in India. Production technology of these flowers is described as:

Pectin
Pectin is a component of nearly all fruits and vegetables and can be extracted and used in food processing to form the characteristic gel in jams and marmalade. The richest sources of pectin are the peels of citrus fruits such as lime, lemon, orange and passion fruit or the pulp of apple (known as ‘pomace’ after juice has been extracted). Commercially, pectin is available as either a light brown powder or as a dark liquid concentrate. It is stable if stored in cool, dry place and it will lose only about 2 per cent of its gelling power per year.
There are two main types of pectin:
• High methoxyl (HM) pectin that form gels in high solids jams (above 55% solids) in a pH range of 2.0-3.5; and
• Low methoxyl (LM) pectin, which do not need sugar or acid to form a gel, but instead use calcium salts.

5.1 PRODUCTION METHODS OR DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLANTS PRODUCED IN THE NURSERY

The different types of plants produced in the nursery include plants in plastic bags, bare-root plants, stumps, pseudo estacas, root trainers, copper coated trainers and jiffy pellets.

The most common production techniques may not always be the best. Bare-root plants and pseudo estacas are easy to transport to the field, but their survival and growth are usually very poor. Plastic bags are cheap and easily available, but they result in coiled roots and are heavy to carry to the field. Root trainers, copper coated trainers and jiffy pellets are alternative systems which may have higher initial costs for the nursery. However, the farmer will receive the benefit of fast growth and high survival in the field

India is the second largest producer of vegetable crops with a total production of 146.5 million tonnes (2010-11). More than 60 vegetable crops belonging to, Solanacious, Cucurbitaceous, Leguminous, Cruciferous (cole crops), root crops and leafy vegetables are grown in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions. The demand of vegetables will be 225 million tonnes by 2020 and 350 million tonnes by 2030. A larger quantity of quality seed of vegetable crops will be required in order to achieve the demands of vegetables. The limiting factors which reduce seed yield under open field condition are biotic and abiotic stresses, requirement of isolation distance and generation system of seed multiplication etc. These problems can be effectively managed when we go for seed production under protected structures.

Introduction

Under arid and semi-arid regions of the world, major problems are salinity, alkalinity and calcareousness, which seems further aggravate with changing climate scenario. Besides that most of the developing countries lies in this zone with flanging population resultant shrinking down of land resource and good quality of irrigation water. Globally area under saline/sodic soils is about 953mha covering 8% of the land surface. Resent estimates indicate that 6.7 mha area in India is affected by soil salinity and alkalinity and about 25% of ground waters are sodic and/or saline in the country. There are two important approaches for utilizing saline, alkali or calcareous environment. The first one is to modify the environment so as to suit the plant or modifying the plant or substitute the plant species so as to suit the environment. First approach has been used more extensively because it enables the plants to respond better not only to water but also to other production inputs and also not far sustainable. However, second option is cost effective and most sustainable.

Accumulation of excessive salt in root zone leaves adverse effect on general agricultural crops and or crop failures sometimes, while crop diversification using seed spices are the option for such conditions. Most of the seed spices particularly cumin, fennel, dill, fenugreek, ajwain, celery, anise, caraway and coriander (and their cultivars) have some degree of salinity and alkalinity tolerance. However, among the seed spices, cumin is having high degree of salinity tolerance. In case of sodic or calcareous environment, fennel is most tolerant followed by dill as well as these crops are the remedy for such degraded environment by bringing down the sodicity and calcareousness. In some cases, germination, growth, yield and quality of seed spices improved by saline sodic environment. Besides eco-friendly use of these soils, phytoremediation of saline, sodic and calcareous soils by seed spices seems most sustainable.

1. INTRODUCTION

With diverse agro-climatic conditions, India produces a wide variety of horticultural crops and out of these crops and out of these apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) occupies a prominent position in India. It is processed into different products like juice, concentrates, wine, cider, canned slices etc. Apple processing is one of the major industries in countries of the world including India, where it is processed in different states like H.P, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand. Apple pomace is a left-over residue after juice extraction containing peel, seeds and remaining solid parts and represents about 25-35% of the weight of the fresh apple processed. At prasent, it is a waste and its disposal is a major environmental problem (Plate 1). Being precious natural resources its utilization is a challenge and opportunity to the scientists and technologists. It may be a good substrate for the pectin esterase enzyme, animal feed, citric acid, ethanol and biocolour production. It could be a good substrate for the production of microbial colours under SSF which otherwise require a costlier medium for its production. Different products using solid state fermentation of apple pomace forms the subject matter of this chapter. Here the efforts made to utilize apple pomace especially to explore the possibility of making value added products using Solid State Fermentation (SSF) have been summarized.

Principle

Unlike bacteria, which can be cultivated on an artificial nutrient medium, viruses rely on a living host cell for replication. Eukaryotic or prokaryotic host cells that have been infected with viruses can be used to produce viruses. Subsequently, the medium and cells can be collected and used as a virus source. The production of viruses usually consists of a two-step procedure: f irst, the growth of host cells, and then the production phase. Understanding the complex relationship between the host cell and virus is essential. Various crucial factors have been recognised, such as the concentration of host cells during infection and the multiplicity of infection (MOI).

Materials required

Equipment

a) Biosafety cabinet level 2 (B2)

b) Carbon Dioxide (CO2 ) Incubator (set to 37°C with a 5% CO2 in air atmosphere)

c) Refrigerated centrifuge

d) Refrigerator

e) Inverted Microscope

f) Micro pipettes(1-10 μl, 10-200 μl, 100-1000 μl)

g) -86°C/-80°C deep freezer

h) Autoclave

i) Hot air oven

j) Filtration Assembly

Abstract

The data on production performance of Banni buffaloes during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 were collected from the animals selected under project “In-Situ Conservation of Banni buffalo”. The data on 208 animals were analyzed and overall means ± SE for total lactation milk yield, lactation length, peak yield, days to attain peak yield, milk yield per day of lactation length, service period and calving interval were observed as: 2917.76 ±  54.77 lit., 292.19 ± 2.88 days, 14.86 ± 0.18 lit., 47.50 ± 2.92 days, 9.99 ± 0.14 lit., 87.13 ± 4.39 days and 380.87 ± 2.36 days, respectively. Present findings on production performance indicate Banni buffalo an valuable germplasm maintained under extensive production system and arid climatic conditions of Kachchh and holds the promise of raising milk production of non-descript and low producing buffaloes through up-grading and crossbreeding. Therefore, Banni buffalo can be use as improver breed for genetic improvement of non-descript buffalo population in semi-arid and arid regions of the state / country.

Classifications of cropping systems

Depending on the resources and technology available, different types of cropping systems can be adopted on farms and which are as below.

Mono cropping /single cropping: Mono cropping refers to growing only one crop on a particular land year after year or practice of growing only one crop in a piece of land year after year. Example, growing only crops during kharif in rainfed areas and this is due to lack of irrigation facilities and crops depend on rainfall alone.

Objective

To know about the production practices used in spices and condiments.

1. Mulching: Mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of soil.

Benefits of Mulching

1. Conservation of soil moisture
2. Improving fertility and health of the soil
3. Reducing weed growth
4. Enhancing the visual appeal of the area

Types of Mulching

1. Organic mulching: Organic mulches include bark nuggets, grass clippings, straw or salt marsh hay, compost and chopped leaves.
2. Inorganic mulching: Inorganic mulches include gravel, polythene and landscape fabric

According to the theory of production, the entrepreneur seeks to maximise his earnings. The goal of a proft-maximizing businessperson is to maximise production for a given amount of investment, or, to put it another way, to reduce expense.

Meaning of Production

Producing items and services with a market value is referred to as production in economics. It refers to the development of utilities. These services fall under the categories of form, time, and place utilities. The establishment of such utilities boosts the economy’s total production and redistribution of commodities and services. A commodity’s utility could rise for a variety of reasons.

Form Utility

If the physical form of a commodity is changed, its utility may increase. For instance, the utility of cotton increases, if it is converted into clothes. The other examples are processing of paddy into rice, wheat into four and butter into ghee.

2.1 Introduction

Dietary supplements from plant sources are sometimes referred to as phytopharmaceuticals. They are produced from fresh, dried or otherwise preserved plants or parts of plants. The active ingredients are usually not completely isolated but rather are obtained along with other naturally occurring components of the plant. These other components are often believed to influence the efficacy of the active ingredient. Sometimes the active ingredients are concentrated, and undesirable substances such as chlorophyll, tannins, or resins, are removed.

2.2 Cultivation

Most of the plants used for dietary supplements or medicinal purposes are cultivated, that is, grown in farms. Some, however, may be collected from the wild. Cultivation allows producers to have more control over quality and purity than does collecting plants from the wild. Cultivars (cultivated varieties) of a number of medicinal plant species have been developed to produce high yields of the desired constituents. Some plants that are grown commercially for medicinal purposes are propagated vegetatively (This means that new plants are grown from cuttings of old plants. Plants grown in this way are genetically identical to the parent plant). Some medicinal plants are grown from selectively bred hybrid seeds, while others are varieties of plants that are unchanged from their natural form.

Dietary supplements from plant sources are sometimes referred to as phytopharmaceuticals. They are produced from fresh, dried or otherwise preserved plants or parts of plants. The active ingredients are usually not completely isolated but rather are obtained along with other naturally occurring components of the plant. These other components are often believed to influence the efficacy of the active ingredient. Sometimes the active ingredients are concentrated, and undesirable substances such as chlorophyll, tannins, or resins, are removed.

Climate refers to the long-term pattern of temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind and other weather parameters within a geographical region. Human activities such as industrialization, urbanization, deforestation, land-use change and intensive agriculture have accelerated climate change by increasing greenhouse-gas emissions. Rising temperatures, irregular monsoon rainfall, droughts, floods, cyclones and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide now affect crop growth, development and productivity. Different crops and developmental stages vary in their tolerance to these stresses. Consequently, farmers are modifying cropping patterns, sowing periods and crop choices. This chapter examines the effects of changing climatic conditions on major agricultural crops and identifies suitable adaptation and mitigation measures.

Horticultural crops include fruits, vegetables, flowers, plantation crops, spices, aromatic plants and medicinal species. They contribute substantially to nutrition, farm income, employment, exports and livelihood security. However, their productivity and quality are highly sensitive to temperature, rainfall, humidity, drought, flooding, salinity and other climate-related stresses. Changing climatic conditions affect flowering, fruit setting, maturity, nutritional composition, pest incidence and postharvest quality. Annual and perennial crops respond differently depending on their location, growth stage and environmental requirements. This chapter examines the influence of major climatic factors on horticultural production and discusses adaptive practices required to maintain productivity, quality and economic sustainability under changing environmental conditions.

6.1 INTRODUCTION

Presently, pressure on productive land is greater than ever before and will be further more in years ahead. Per capita arable land is projected to decline from about 0.23 ha in 2000 to about 0.15 ha by 2050 (Lal, 1991). The global demand for food is projected to increase by 1.5 to 2 times due to ever increasing population and also due to demand for richer diets. On the other hand, volatility in the cost of agricultural inputs and the income generated from farm products leads to instability in the farm economy. Moreover, in conventional system, agriculture is practised for uniform application of fertilizer, herbicide, insecticides, fungicides, and irrigation, without considering spatial variability. In some cases, there is excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizer and pesticides, owing to air and water pollution but there are certain cases, where farmers hardly use any chemicals. Hence, to alleviate the ill effects of over and under usage of inputs, the scenario calls for the introduction of modern technologies to improve crop yield, provide information to enable better in-field management decisions, reduce chemical and fertilizer costs through efficient application, permit more accurate farm records, increase profit margin and reduce pollution.

Precision agriculture is a production system that promotes variable management practices within a field, according to site conditions. This system is based on new tools and sources of information provided by modern technologies. These include the global positioning system (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), yield monitoring devices, soil, plant and pest sensors, remote sensing, and variable-rate technologies for applicators of inputs. Precision farming is concerned with the management of variability in the dimensions of both space and time. Aspects of precision farming, therefore, encompass a broad array of topics, including variability of soil resource base, weather, plant types, crop diversity, machinery performance and most of the physical, chemical and biological inputs used in production of a crop. These are closely linked to the socio-economic aspects of production system. Success in precision framing is directly related to how well it can be applied to manage the space-time continuum in production system. Thus precision farming is technology enabled, information based, and decision focused. It is the integration of these technologies that has enabled farmers and their service providers to do things not previously possible, at level of detail never before obtainable, and, when done correctly, at level of quality never achieved before. In our country, vast data on various aspects like soil characteristics, climatic parameters, topographic features, crop requirement in terms of consumptive use and nutritional requirements have been generated and instruments needed for recording these parameters are also available. However, applications of precision farming as a package in the farmer’s field have received little attention, although some aspects of precision farming have been prasticed. This has been primarily due to lack of awareness about the potential for increasing productivity and improving the quality of produce with minimum use of inputs.