eChapters

Abstract

“Darjeeling Tea” as a global brand brings attention to the Darjeeling District and creates a global imaginary which obliterates the dark colonial history, existing exploitation of the workers and the natural resources of the region. The global brand name is protected under the certification trademarks which has a geographical indication. Thus only tea from the 87 tea plantations can be called Darjeeling Tea. There is an increasing trend towards Darjeeling Tea going organic and fairtrade. This trend is critiqued with questions of how green and fair can a monoculture plantation get. Within this imaginary, small farmers’ tea offers an alternative paradigm based on equity and diversity. This paper explores the alternative by highlighting the (United Development Organization) journey of a small farmers collective Mineral Spring SanjuktaVikashSanstha.

ABSTRACT

With the developing world still depending on agriculture to a great extent and rural people depending on it for their livelihood, it comes as no surprise that family farms have been the focus of development in recent times. Family farms have been legacy for most of the farmers and along with it being principal livelihood option for many, the increasing need of agricultural extension services for these farms become more important. But at the same time, the huge gap between the number of famers or farm households and the extension personnel is a reality. And to bridge this gap, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can play a significant role. Another purpose it serves is making agriculture attractive to the young people engaged in farming, mostly by compulsion. ICTs like web portals, mobile phones and social media are the most popular and most widely used and can enhance the interaction among researchers, extension personnel and farmers. The youth today are hooked to the internet and their 1^st major activity on the web is social networking. Also, mobile phones are the most popular form of ICTs as has been proven by the sheer number of subscribers worldwide. And these tools, used appropriately, can change the whole structure of agricultural communication. ICTs can be an important part of communication strategies, connecting the youth to peers and professionals. It is true that the ‘apps won’t plough the fields’ but they will definitely help the youth do the job better. ICTs can prove to be a great catalyst in engaging agricultural community in family farms making agriculture attractive and sustainable again.

Key words : CAVD, Drug Design, Bioinformatics, CADD, Co-factor, Vaccinology, infectious diseases, Jenner, immunity, Molecular modeling, Immunoinformatics, Antigen, Antibody, Live Vaccine, Alive Vaccine, Protein-peptide, Enzyme, Tools for Vaccine design,
 
Vaccine – Prevention is Better than Cure

A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins or one of its surface proteins. The agent stimulates the body’s immune system to recognize the agent

Establishment of databases and data warehouse; knowledge discovery from database/data warehouse (KDD) and development of the mechanism of dissemination of knowledge on information networks as per requirements of user groups is gaining importance now a days. Since there is a large number of data collection agencies and equally diverse resources for which the information is collected, it is easy to visualize the heterogeneity of information. The problem is compounded by the fact that there are no common standards that are applied in data collection. Designing data warehouses to integrate the collected information poses a formidable challenge to any data warehouses architect. In order to use the information for planning and decision-making level, data have to be integrated and aggregated properly.

Everyone on this earth wishes to have a healthy life free from all ailments, stress and strain. But it is a common observation that some of us are more susceptible to diseases and fall victim of many infections while others have the capacity to resist many such infections. They are not so much susceptible to diseases. Is there anything which distinguishes them from others? An organism is made up of organs and organs systems. Like many other organ systems, in the body there is a system which is concerned with the protection of the body from infections.

Like any other organ system in the body, immune system comprises of various organs and cells. The major component of the immune system is the lymphocytes which constitute lymphoid system. The lymphoid organs are classified into two categories: primary and secondary lymphoid organs.

Primary lymphoid organs: These are the organs where B and T lymphocytes undergo maturation. Bone marrow and thymus are the primary lymphoid organs. These are the organs where lymphocytes differentiate, proliferate, get selected and mature into functional cells.

Animal protein has a great importance in human health by providing essential amino acids. It is supplied by the milk, meat, fish, eggs etc. Specifically meat has a prime position in the human’s diet particularly for those who are non- vegetarians. As per Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommendations a normal human being requires 60 gram protein in a day with the net protein utilization (NPU) of 65. In ideal cases 30 to 50 percent of daily protein intake should be from animal sources to get optimal range of amino acids. In present scenario human beings all over the globe are getting 29 gram of protein while developing countries have 15 g per day availability and developed nations are getting 60 grams protein per day per head. However, in India availability of protein is only 10 grams/day/head.

Ante-mortem examination includes all procedure or tests conducted by a competent person on live animals for the purpose of judgement of safety, suitability and disposition. It is an integral step to be performed by qualified veterinarian during conversion of animal to carcass for wholesome meat production. The animals are examined for cruelty due to overcrowding or suffocation or any other inflicted injuries and stress during transportation or otherwise, because it not only directly affects the quality of meat but also downgrade the carcass. Ante-mortem inspection ensures that only healthy animals are slaughtered and wholesome meat reaches to the consumers. A complete record of the ante-mortem inspection of all animals received in the abattoir should be maintained to ascertain that animal’s health status at the time of slaughter. Antemortem examination not only ensures the health animals entry into slaughter house but also assist in postmortem examination. It is also important to make a decision on certain diseases based on symptoms because they may not show the postmortem lesions for final judgment. Ante-mortem inspection has twofold functions as it enables veterinarians to protect public health and to assess the welfare conditions in which the animal is placed.

Humane slaughter is an act of killing the food animals in such a way as to cause the minimum stress or distress to the animal. To achieve this objective animal must be rendered insensible instantaneously and remain insensitive to pain until there is a complete loss of brain responsiveness due to exsanguination. The unconsciousness in animals is induced by stunning procedures which are varying in number. The method of stunning primarily based on species, breed, age, sex, kind and mental state of animals. Stunning is essential to safeguard the feelings and anxieties of animals. It facilitates maximum bleeding from the animals because animal becomes unconscious after stunning. To make animal unconscious before bleeding is not only essential for animal welfare point of view but it is legislation in many countries.

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point is a comprehensive food safety system of food which starts from production to the ultimate consumption. HACCP monitors each and every step of production process, identify the specific hazards, implement the effective control programme and also verify the procedure. However, it is not a zero risk programme and there is possibility of risk of hazards in the process but the theme of programme is to minimize the risk of hazards upto a level which will be considered as safe. Thus HACCP programme is termed as risk management tool. It involves the management of all types of hazards like microbiological, chemical and physical.

The sanitation word is derived from a Latin word sanitas, meaning “health.” In true sense sanitation is the creation and maintenance of hygiene and healthful conditions in abattoir or meat processing plant. So that produced food provides full nutrients with minimal contaminations and hazards to the human health. It creates the aesthetic environment in the workplace which ultimately enhances the work efficiency and satisfaction to the workers. It helps in maintenance of clean environment, less pollution, proper waste disposal and improves ecological balance. It is a prerequisite of food safety, good hygienic practices and total quality management.

Abstract

In Cyprus the National Agricultural Research System is mainly under the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment (MANRE). One of its departments, namely the Agricultural Research Institute (ARI), is the only recognized public institution engaged exclusively in applied agricultural research, covering the wider domain of crop and animal production. Another department of the MANRE, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has as its main mission the development of the agricultural and livestock sector through the education and guidance of the farmers, the planning and the implementation of development programmes. 

Theophrastus gave the name “ORCHIDS” to the group of bizarre plants on the basis of the resemblance of paired underground tubers of these plants to masculine anatomy. This resemblance was also responsible for the mistaken belief that the orchids posses aphrodisiac properties and eating of underground tubers might “provoke venus” and they may be get male children. The appreciation of orchid beauty has a very long history in both the Western and Eastern cultures. Much of this is attributed to the diverse form and structure of orchids and the large number of species in the orchid family. Orchidaceae is amongst the most diverse family of the flowering plants consisting of 35,000 species under 880 genera (Kumar and Sheela, 2007, Fay and Chase, 2009). Orchids belong to the highest level of organization and are distinguished by the complicated biology of reproduction with long developmental cycle (Vakhrameeva et al., 1991, Sherif et al., 2012). They are beautiful and exotic perennial herbs grown in both north and south hemispheres. They exhibit an incredible range of diversity in size, shape and colour of flowers. Its flowers have lustrous, translucent petals rich in variegated colors and fragrances. Generally Orchids can grow at different elevations (Kumar and  Sheela, 2007).

Many microbes have ability to attach to various surfaces forming three dimensional extracellular matrix within which embedded the microbes grow and multiply forming thin layer structure called biofilm. Biofilms may form on living or non-living surfaces and can be prevalent in natural, industrial and hospital settings (Hall-Stoodley et al., 2004). Biofilm mainly consist of three components - bacteria, matrix and surface. Extracellular matrix generally composed of extracellular polymeric compounds such as extracellular polysaccharides, proteins, phospholipids, DNA, teichoic and nucleic acids, and other polymeric substances hydrated to 85 to 95% water and polysaccharides (Hall-Stoodley et al., 2004).

The problem of insect-pest, disease and weed is acute in case of all the crops and especially so in case of commercial crops. Pesticides, fungicides or chemicals are meant to control harmful pests such as insects, nematodes, diseases, weeds etc. However, excessive use of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides not only leave residues in soil, water and air but also have adverse effects on the non-target organisms such as pollinators, parasitoids, predators and wild animals. This has adversely affected the ecological balance resulting in pest resurgence, development of resistance in the pest species, diseases and environmental pollution.

Azolla is a free-floating water fern that floats in water and fixes atmospheric nitrogen in association with nitrogen fixing blue green alga Anabaena azollae. Azolla fronds consist of sporophyte with a floating rhizome and small overlapping bi-lobed leaves and roots. Rice growing areas in South East Asia and other third World countries have recently been evincing increased interest in the use of the symbiotic N2 fixing water fern Azolla either as an alternate nitrogen sources or as a supplement to commercial nitrogen fertilizers. Azolla is used as biofertilizer for wetland rice and it is known to contribute 40-60kg N/ha per rice crop. The agronomic potential of Azolla is quite significant particularly for rice crop and it is widely used as biofertilizer for increasing rice yields. Rice crop response studies with Azolla biofertilizer in the People’s Republic in China and in Vietnam have provided good evidence that Azolla incorporation into the soil as a green manure crop is one of the most effective ways of providing nitrogen source for rice.

11.1 Global Warming

Definition : Global warming is defined as an increase in the earth’s temperature due to the use of fossil fuels and other industrial processes leading to a build-up of green house gases (CO2, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons) in the atmosphere.

11.2 Who Coined the Term Global Warming?

The principle of global warming was first put fourth by S. Arrhenius in his paper on “the influence of carbonic acid in the air upon the temperature of the ground” in 1869. This concept gained ground in the late 1980s and early 1990s when it was found that the earth’s temperature had warmed over the past century, because of increased carbon dioxide emission.

4.1. Digestive System of Rabbit

The digestive system of rabbit includes:
    A.    The digestive tract 
    B.    Its associated glands
The digestive system breaks down the complex molecules into the simpler one so that it is readily absorbed from gastro intestinal mucosa.
 
A. The digestive tract (gastro intestinal tract/ alimentary canal)

The digestive tract is essentially a tubular structure for the ingestion and digestion of food. In an adult (4 to 4.5 kg) or semi-adult (2.5 to 3 kg) rabbit the total length of the alimentary canal is 4.5 to 5 m. It commences from mouth and terminates in anus. G.I.T is divided into following parts:

Introduction

India ranks third in sheep population and accounts for 6.13 % of world population (FAO, 2009) with 71.56 million sheep to its record as of Livestock Census 2007 (DAHD, 2012). Out of 71.56 million sheep, 3.73 million are crossbred and 67.83 are indigenous. Sheep husbandry is backbone of rural economy in India. It is important as it helps in sustaining the livelihood of rural poor in difficult terrains characterized by sparse vegetation, marginal land and a high incidence of poverty. These breeds were developed following domestication and natural and artificial selection over the past 12,000 years.

Introduction

Our soil resource is generally taken for granted for many uses. Most people don’t realize the importance of the resource and that it is fundamental for farming/agriculture. Without high quality soils, agriculture production cannot be achieved on a sustainable basis to meet ever growing demand. Thus, conservation agricultural practices are capable of improving soil health by increasing organic carbon, aggregation, improving infiltration and minimizing erosion losses.

Introduction

After the Second World War, isotopes have become available in sufficient quantities for use in different fields of scientific research. There has been tremendous increase in the number and scope of applications of these new tools and agricultural research is no exception. During the last quarter of a century, the use of isotopes and radiations has become one of the important tools in the solution of practical problems in the area of soil-plant nutritional studies throughout the world. In India, these studies were initiated as early as 1955 with the establishment of the Radiotracer Laboratory at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. The use of these nuclear tools got further fillip in our country with the establishment of the Nuclear Research Laboratory at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi in 1968 as a UNDP Project on Nuclear Research in Agriculture, operated by the Joint FAO/IAEA division of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Also, the agriculture division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai and the special radioisotope laboratories established by several agricultural universities had made significant contributions to the use of isotopes and radiations in agricultural research.

Metals

Metals are ubiquitous in the modern industrialized environment. Heavy metals like cadmium, iron, molybdenum, lead, nickel, tin and zinc are present in the environment in trace concentrations. These metals are universally present in soil, water, air and biota (Freedman, 1995). Global anthropogenic heavy metal inputs to ecosystem through air, water and soil have increased substantially world wide over last century (Nriagu, 1996).

Air

Estimation of Total Suspended Particulate Matter (TSPM) and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM)

Requirements
Instrument

High Volume Sampler (HVS) APM 415-411 (Envirotech Instrument India), Respirable Dust Sampler (RDS) APM 451 (Envirotech Instrument India) with midget impinger containing absorbing solution were used.

Abstract

Modern world is experiencing energy insecurity because of extreme population pressure and depleting energy resources. Fossil fuels though have highly applauded for contributing to today’s development, are non renewable energy and debated for not sustainable. This has posed serious challenges to the scientific fraternity for finding the suitable alternatives. A cheap, eco-friendly, sustainable or renewable type of energy is visualized for development with added advantage of mitigating green house gases.

Abstract

Cancer is a potent disease causing nearly 6 million deaths per year worldwide. There are a number of cancers such as skin, brain, lung, breast, stomach, colon and blood cancer caused due to number of factors like unbalancing of hormones, smoking etc. Cancer could be treated by chemotherapies or through irradiation therapies.

Abstract

Refractance Window (RW) drying is a relatively new drying technology. This method is carried out by spreading a thin film of food slurry on a conveyor belt made up of a transparent polyester material. The slurry is thermally heated as it moves along the conveyor belt, resulting in rapid drying of the product. RW drying is similar to Drum Drying, but conducted at lower temperatures (95–97^ºC) and without direct contact with the heat source. RW drying offers low operating costs with excellent retention of color, flavor and nutrients.

Abstract

Most dryers operate at low thermal efficiency. The development of models and control systems offers an opportunity to improve dryer operation and efficiency. Dryer control is very important and with deeper understanding of the drying concept, new “smart” dryers can be made more reliable and more cost-effective than classical dryers. This chapter will provide an overview of necessity of control and safety measure in food drying system, and terminology related with drying control system. Different control strategy includes conventional and advanced techniques implemented in drying operation are reviewed  here and simple outline of intelligence control system in drying technology are briefly described in succeeding section. Various hazards in drying process and risk and safety management will also be discussed.

Introduction
 
Sugarcane is an important cash crop of India. Since 1930-31 the area of sugarcane in the country has increased by about 4.3 times and production by about 9.8 times because of the rise in productivity of sugarcane by about 2.28 times, however, during the last decade there is no perceptible increase in productivity of sugarcane in the country. The domestic demand of sugar is around 22-23 million tonnes annually whereas the production of sugar in India is about 26 million tonnes annually. Data on nitrogen use efficiency of sugarcane from 1998-99 to 2013-14 in India is depicted in Fig. 1 and 2 show a decreasing trend (Anonymous, 2015). However, the escalating price of fertilizers in the market has become a cause of concern to sustain the productivity of the crop.

1. Prelude

Indian agriculture has experienced spectacular changes in the recent period, manifesting large-scale commercialization and diversification. They broadly include cultivation of new crops and varieties, increase in the share of area under cash crops, large scale spread of livestock activities and fisheries, pursuance of high tech in the areas of aquaculture, bio-technology, horticulture, processing etc. India currently is the second largest food producer. If we look critically the resources available with the country we can say it has the potential to be the world’s number one producing over 600 million tons of food products.

Flowering is the most important phenological event in the phyotogerontology, as it is the key factor contributing to fruit production and profitability to the orchardists. Under favourable growth conditions the timing and intensity of flowering greatly determine the quantum of production. However, several times there are very contrasting florigenic events where despite prolific flowering, resultant fruit set remains low leading to low yields. Therefore understanding of the various external and internal factors involved in flower induction in mango is crucial for developing suitable orchard management practices to achieve regular and high yield.

In India, land is limited and shrinking whereas the human and animal populations are increasing. The land and man ratio has fallen rapidly in the past half century from 0.34 in 1950 to 0.14, and is projected to be 0.10 in 2025. Horticultural crops however, have shown substantial growth acceleration (Table 1).The area devoted to fruit production increased 50 per cent, while the vegetable growing area increased 20 per cent. Grape, an export crop, currently at 43,000 ha, increased by 70 per cent. The value of horticultural crops grew at an average of 7.5 percent during the 1990’s. High yield and quality in horticulture can only be ensured through rational blend of commercial fertilizers and organic nutrient sources.

Touch Screen Kiosks
 
A touch screen is a device, which allows users to control a Personal Computer by simply touching the display screen by finger or pin. This type of input is suitable for a large number of computing applications. Most PC systems use a touch screen as easily as other input devices such as track balls or touch pads. If a touch screen computer system is installed at the kiosk it is known as touch screen kiosk. It may be Just like ATMs or modern plasma TV set which are developed as information kiosk and the information are made available to the users. A visitor can see the visuals and interact with kiosk to get the desired information. He can elicit the expert information by pressing keys or touching icons. Users can also follow the method of application of any technology through seeing of clippings at touch screen kiosk. In the touch screen kiosks, information is made accessible in the form of images, voice, video, graphics and texts. A large number of touch screen kiosks have been established by Indian railway, government offices, Banks and private companies where by touch of finger users can get access to various services (G2C and B2C) offered by the organization or company.

Abstract

Alleviating plant salt stress and remediating saline soils are of great economic interest. Beneficial microbes such as arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), etc. are associated with many plant species including trees. These beneficial microbes can cope up with salinity and help the plants to survive in such soils. Diversity status of beneficial microbes from the samples collected from different salt affected areas was investigated by many researchers. They screened and identified the efficient PGPR isolates isolated from saline areas for plant growth hormone (IAA) production and phosphate solubilization. The significance and highlights of the recent research as well as the past understanding of beneficial microbes and their role in reclamation of saline areas is discussed in this paper.

Abstract

Since the first oil well drilled successfully in 1859, crude oil has been a serious problem around world, including Indonesia. As a source of all petroleum products, crude oil is very complex component and divided into aliphatic, aromatic, resin and asphaltene. Petroleum products have been used for daily life and created large amounts of pollutants in environment and ecosystems around the globe. The pollutants should be treated by certain method; among them, bioremediation has several advantages to resolve the problem. In 2003, Ministry of Environmental (MoE) – Republic Indonesia was endorsed with a new regulation about biological treatment or bioremediation for crude oil contaminated soil (MoE regulation No. 128/2003). The most important to be noted in bioremediation process is the presence of microbes with certain metabolite capabilities. The degradation rate also can be improved and sustained by ensuring the adequate required factors. This article describes the removal of crude oil by utilization of microbial potentials, factors affecting biodegradation, and how they are applied in Indonesia.

Abstract

Ectomycorrhizal symbionts are important natural resources to revive degraded and deforested areas. Artificial inoculum of these mycobionts improves the growth of tree seedlings in nutrient poor soils due to the formation of extensive network of fungal mycelium responsible for the transfer of water and nutrients to the plants. Seedlings of tree species like, Pinus insularis, Quercus griffithii and Schima wallichii with ectomycorrhizae formed by Suillus bovinus, Boletus edulis and Scleroderma citrinum were studied in field condition. The study was conducted at two different stages of degraded sites. Results of the study indicated that seedlings with ectomycorrhizae were able to generate numerous lateral roots of greater length and thereby utilize water and nutrients more effectively than non- mycorrhizal ones The degree of mycorrhizal development varied in different host species with different fungal species. There was a strong relation between the colonization by mycorrhiza and the survival of seedlings. The study has suggested that mycorrhiza has a potential in reclamation of soil and reforestation of degraded land. S. bovinus., B. edulis and S. citrinum successfully colonized and promoted the growth of P. insulates Q. griffithii and S. wallichii respectively in reforestation programmes of degraded lands of Nagaland.

Tissue culture consists of growing plants cells as relatively on organized masses of cells on an agar medium (callus culture) or as a suspension of free cells and small cell masses in a liquid medium (suspension culture). In other words, In plant cell culture, plant tissues and organs are developed in vitro on artificial media, under aseptic and controlled environment. The procedure depends mainly on the concept of totipotentiality of plant cells (Haberlandt, 1902) which refers to the ability of a single cell to express the full genome by cell division.

Drying is the oldest known method of preserving food. Drying or dehydration is removal of majority of water contained in fruit or vegetable. Although preservation is the primary reason for dehydration, it also lowers cost of packaging, storing and transportation by reducing both weight and volume of final product. In addition, dried foods add variety to our diets. In the process of drying, sufficient moisture is removed to protect product  from  spoilage. Processing should be done in such a way that food value, natural flavour and characteristic cooking quality of fresh material are retained after drying.

Rose the ‘Queen of flower ’is undoubtedly the world’s most favourite and popular romantic flower. It occupies a prestigious position in cut flower industry and as a garden plant. For thousands of years, the rose has been a symbol of love, adoration, innocence and all other virtues. Countries like England adopted rose as their national flower. In India, rose adorned the gardens of not only the rich and the famous, but also the ashramas of the saints. Rose cultivation initially developed with the distillation of rose for essential oil. Today the importance of rose is in its value as a cut flower. It is one of the most important commercial flowers throughout the world. Roses are also used for preparation of rose water and ‘Gulkhand’ 

Abstract
 
Mention about the Great Himalayan river of Vedic Period (10000-8000 BC) is found in ancient Indian literature. The river called as ‘Saraswati’ in India and ‘Hakra’ in Pakistan, was flowing with full majesty through Thar Desert around 6000 BC and dried up during 3000 BC due to climatic and tectonic changes in Himalayan region. The relict of this lost river is still found as palaeochannels in this region. Large numbers of archaeological sites of Harappan civilization occur along the dry river bed. 

Abstract

Land degradation is defined as human induced or natural process that negatively affects the lands to function effectively. It is temporary or permanent lowering of the productive capacity of land (UNEP, 1992). Several definitions of land degradation have been suggested by different authorities to express the degree of deterioration in potential of land in terms of physical, chemical and biological aspects. It has both environmental and economic consequences. The information on land degradation is needed for a variety of purposes such as to improve productivity levels in degraded lands through reclamation programmes, rational land use planning and also to bring more areas under cultivation.

Introduction

Agriculture contributes to 29.93% of India's GDP with a share of 27% of the world's agriculture production. India is ranked 6th in the world. In Rajasthan significant portion of economy of is agrarian. The agriculture sector of the state accounts for 22.5% share of agriculture in GSDP which is estimated to 18.39% in 2009-10. About 80% of the total population resides in rural area and largely dependent on agriculture as the source of their livelihood. The hot arid region of western Rajasthan occupies 61% of the total geographical area and 39.51% population of the state. During the last four decades the burgeoning human and livestock population and increased societal demands for land based products led to  significant expansion and intensification of agriculture by putting even marginal lands under plough, excessive exploitation  of ground water and importing of surface water for irrigation.

Abstract

Population of Rajasthan as per Census 2011 is 68,621,012 persons which is much higher than census 2001 that records 56,507,188. It includes 12 districts of Rajasthan. Western Rajasthan covers about 61% area of the total geographical area and 39.51% population of the total population of the Rajasthan. The growth rate of population is much higher than that of the Rajasthan State. In the census 1981 Western Rajasthan had registered a phenomenal increase of 35.48 per cent over 1971 population. Regional pattern of growth rate in western Rajasthan shows that extreme hot arid region district (Barmer) is on top having 32.55 per cent growth rate whereas Indira Gandhi Canal Region (Ganganagar) district has least population growth of 10.06 per cent only. In 1981, the average urban growth rate had been 54.52 per cent. In 2001, the rural density of population was 83 persons per sq. km.

Plant propagation is the science of generating new plants. Basically, in plant kingdom, the plants multiply themselves either asexually or by sexual means. In asexual propagation methods, plants use any of the vegetative part of the plant to produce offspring such as stem, root, buds, etc. The plants thus produced are having exactly the same genetic blueprint as that of the parent plant. However, in the sexual method of propagation, the specialized parts of the plants which have undergone meiosis takes parts such as pollen and ovule to produce seed which on germination produces the plants having characters encoded on its genome. Such plants may have a blend of characters of both the parents. The seed production is a complex phenomenon which takes place after fertilization (Bhatnagar and Johri, 1972).

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) is an important tree for social forestry, agro-forestry, wasteland development and dry land horticulture. The tree assumes great significance due to its various uses and capacity to withstand adverse agro-climatic conditions. The pulp of the mature ripe fruit has considerable export value in many parts of the world. The fruits are used for making processed products.

It is a common tree throughout the warmer parts of India, except where frost occures i.e. sub-Himalayan tracts and North-West Punjab. Rough estimates indicate that about 80,000 metric tonnes of tamarind pulp per annum is produced in India, bulk of which comes from the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and to a limited extent from Bihar. India is perhaps the main producer and consumer of this fruit in the world. In Maharashtra, the area under tamarind crop is around 13,186 hectare.

Cultivation of citrus holds promise in arid irrigated tracts. The major citrus fruits under cultivation in arid regions are acid lime , lemon, Kinnow, Mandarin hybrid, sweet orange and grapefruit .Acid lime and kinnow are widely grown. Citrus fruit are grown  through out country for its  nutritive and medicinal value (Chadha, 2001) . Citrus is world’s leading fruit crop. In India, it is cultivated in the states of Maharashtra, A.P., Punjab, Rajasthan, H.P., U.P., M.P., Karnataka, T.N., J&K., Odisha, Gujarat, Assam, & Sikkim, For obtaining quality plant material, propagation is an important aspect. Citrus is largely propagated   by budding except kagzi lime which is raised from seeds because of occurrence of polyembryony and sweet lime which is  commercially  propagated by stem cuttings. Kagzi lime and lemon can also be propagated by layering. In case of citrus the availability of proper plant material is very much essential.

Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill.) commonly known as Prickly pear or Tuna, which have been identified and established as vegetable, fruit and fodder crop and considered as an important fruit crop for semi-arid and arid regions.  In Indian arid and semi- arid regions, it is called Nagphani and produces small size fruits in which number of seed is available. It is grown wildly and unexploited. It is thorny plant and generally used for bio –fencing to protect fields from wild animals (Singh, 2000;  Pareek et al., 2001) . However, exotic cactus pear produces edible fruits and its tender cladodes can be used to prepare vegetable, salad, pickle and as animal fodder (Singh and Felker, 1998). Owing to the presence of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) pathway, cacti have about four to five times more efficiency of water to dry matter conversion than even C4 plants such as maize (Nobel, 1988). The species which produce edible fruits are Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill; O. megacantha Salm dyck; O. amyclaea Tenore; O.streptacantha Limaire; O. robusta Wandl; O. lindhaimeri Engelm . Fruits are rich source of sugar, vitamins and minerals, whereas its tender green cladodes are used as tasty and nutritious vegetable like lettuce and spinach (Rodriguez -Felix and Cantwell, 1988).

Introduction

The term probiotic is derived from Greek and means ‘for life’ as opposed to antibiotics which means ‘against life’. The history of probiotics began with the consumption of fermented foods which was first observed in ancient Greeks and Romans [1]. The term, probiotic, as is used today was first used by Parker in 1974. Parker defined ‘probiotic’ as substances and organisms which contribute to intestinal microbial balance. In 1989, the term was modified further by Fuller. Thus, probiotic is a live microbial supplement which affects the host’s health positively by improving its intestinal microbial balance. This definition was broadened to include mono or mixed culture of live microorganisms which benefits animals or man by improving the properties of the indigenous microflora [2]. Some authors have interpreted probiotics as microbial cell preparations or components of microbial cells that have a beneficial effect on the health and well-being of the host.

Introduction
 
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the functional foods because they can provide physiological benefits additional to nutritional and energetic, as for instance, antihypertensive, antioxidant or anti-inflammatory [1]. A functional food can be defined as a food that produces a beneficial effect in one or more physiological functions, increases the welfare and/or decreases the risk of suffering a particular disease. Furthermore, new types of products, derived from food, called nutraceuticals have recently been developed. These products, usually employed as food supplements, are marketed as tablets and pills, and can provide important health benefits.

Synonym : Hydrophobia, Lyssa, Jalatanka

This is an acute highly fatal viral disease of all warm blooded animals including man characterized by signs of abnormal behaviour, nervous symptoms (increased excitability and irritability), impairment of consciousness, ascending paralysis and death. The disease was variously known as lytta or lyssa coming from the belief that the disease was caused by a worm under the tongue (lytta) or hydrophobia, which describes the thirst and fear of water associated with the disease. The English name rabies derived from Latin word ‘Rabere’ which has been derived from Sanskrit word ‘Rabhas’  meaning raging, furious, savage, madness or   to do violence whereas Greek term hydrophobia is now specifically used  for rabies in man. The symptom hydrophobia (fear of water) is developed due to painful spasm of muscles of deglutition.

INTRODUCTION

Various procedures which are used for genetic improvement of crop plants are known as breeding methods. The breeding approaches that are more commonly used for genetic improvement of crop plants are called conventional breeding methods. Following conventional breeding methods were followed in improvement of crops.
    (A)    Plant introduction
    (B)    Pureline selection
    (C)    Mass selection
    (D)    Progeny selection
    (E)    Synthetic and composite breeding
    (F)    Pedigree method
    (G)    Bulk method
    (H)    Backcross method
    (I)    Heterosis breeding
    (J)    Clonal selection