eChapters

Abstract

Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f) Nees (Family: Acanthaceae) is one of the most popular and valuable medicinal plants with high trade value. It is out mentioned in various systems of medicine since ancient times in Indian, Malay, Chinese and Thai. Andrographis paniculata is native to Southeast Asian countries i.e., India, China, Taiwan and Sri Lanka. In India it is distributed from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam to Mizoram and also cultivated throughout the country. The plant being used as Ayurvedic medicine in various diseases. The principal chemical constituents are lactones, diterpenoid and flavonoids. Andrographolide, neoandrographolide are the principle secondary metabolites of Andrographis paniculata with more than 80 compounds reported till now. Modern studies revealed that Andrographis paniculata has an extensive range of pharmacological activities such as hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antimalarial, antimicrobial, antidiarrhoeal, anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), anti-oxidant and anti-pyretic. Therefore, such plants need value addition for product development.

Abstract

Protected cultivation of horticultural crops especially vegetables provides the best way to increase the productivity and quality of vegetables especially during off-season, which also fetches better market price. Yield of some of the vegetables like tomato, capsicum and cucurbits can be increased manifold compared to their open field cultivation. Irrigation management is an important aspect of protected cultivation technology for improving the input use efficiency such as water and nutrients for the cultivation of crops under protected environment such as polyhouse, net house, poly tunnels and nursery production. Various other techniques such as use of mulch can be used to further enhance the water and nutrient use efficiency along with improving the quality of produce and precise resource savings. Automation further reduces the manual intervention and increases the input use efficiency.

‘Chili’ (European literature) word derived from ‘Chile’ which means any pepper in Mexico and Central America. Peppers are an important constituent of many foods adding flavor, colour, vit.C and pungency and therefore indispensable to the world food industries. China, Mexico, Japan, Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan and India are major producers.
 
Origin:  The cultivated chilli is of South American origin. Authorities generally agreed that capsicum originated in the new world (America) tropics and sub tropics. Pepper pods are there from 2000 year old burials in Peru. Decandolle concluded no capsicum was indigenous to the old world (Europe), peppers unknown in Europe until 16th century. Chilli was introduced into Spain by Columbus on his return trip in 1493 and cultivation spread from Mediterranean region to England by 1548 and to central Europe by close of 16th century. Portuguese carried capsicum from Brazil to India prior to 1885 and cultivation was reported in china during late 1700’s.

All capsicum species have 2n = 24. Polyploids with 2n = 36, 48 and  aneuploid 2n = 25 reported

Resistance

The intensive and continuous use of herbicides over the last five decades has resulted in the development and evolution of weeds resistant to the normally phytotoxic chemicals. Although herbicide resistance was reported as early as 1957 against 2, 4-D from Hawaii the first confirmed report of herbicide resistance was against triazine herbicide in common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) was reported in l968 from U.S.A. Over the years, more than 150 weed species have been identified as having developed biotypes resistant to at least one or more herbicide classes. Resistance to at least 15 classes of herbicides have been noted. Moreover, the area of land infested with resistant weeds is increasing rapidly. Reports of evolution of newly resistant biotypes continue to emanate from all over the world, including developing countries, e.g., India, where extensive use of herbicides in grain crops began only in the late 1970s. These reports indicate that herbicide resistance problems are accelerating and, consequently, management of weeds is becoming increasingly more difficult and complex.

The phenomenon of herbicide resistance in plants, especially in weeds, is analogous to the evolution of changes that arise in insects and pathogens in response to the continuous use of insecticides and fungicides. Herbicide resistance is the result of selection for traits that allow weed species to survive specific herbicide usage, which would otherwise cause mortality. Herbicide resistance contributes a trait of resistance within the plant species to a herbicide and resistant weeds are those plant species that express the genetic variation required to evolve mechanisms to escape control. Like other crop pests (insects, pathogens, etc.) with reference to pesticides (insecticides, fungicides, etc.), herbicide-resistant weeds are the result of intensive selection pressure in weed populations.

Generally, resistance is defined as the ability of a plant species to withstand the phytotoxicity of a chemical. This is the trait normally found in crop plants, as against weeds, thus forming the basis for herbicide selectivity. Crop resistance to a herbicide is often different from the one that exists in the phenomenon of herbicide resistance in weeds.

Herbicide resistance in the context of weeds is defined as a characteristic of the weed species to withstand a herbicide dosage substantially higher than the wild type of the same plant species can withstand. It is the inherent or acquired ability to withstand the dosage of herbicide normally used for satisfactory weed control. Resistant weed populations are unharmed by a concentration of herbicide that completely kills all unselected populations. This herbicide concentration is the one that in field practice produces an effective kill.

Herbicide susceptibility represents the other end of the scale, encompassing natural variability in sensitivity to herbicides within the unselected populations. Tolerance, on the other hand, indicates reduced susceptibility (or conversely enhanced resistance) which may sometimes result from selection by herbicides. It is a response rather less than 100% survival accompanied by zero reduction in growth at herbicide concentrations, which normally give 100% Kill of susceptible biotypes. Tolerance may also be considered the natural or normal variability of response to-herbicides that exists within a species and can easily and quickly evolve.

The analysis of land use patterns has long been one of geography’s basic concerns. At first, it might appear as if agricultural land use is little affected by relative location, once the factor of a suitable market has been acknowledged. Indeed, the farmer does adapt his land use to site conditions, climate, land forms, and soils.

However, the effects of the market situation cannot be disposed of as easily as all that. Johann Heinrich Von Thunen (17831850), a German economist and estate owner of the early 19th century, developed a theory of agricultural location that is still worth considering.

This model is based on an econometric analysis of his estates in Mecklenburg, near Rostock in Germany. Most of the data used in explaining his theory were obtained by him through practical experience. He attempted to construct a theoretical model of land use pattern, giving a particular arrangement of towns and villages in a situation experienced in Mecklenburg.

The main aim of Von Thunen’s analysis was to show how and why agricultural land use varies with the distance from a market.

The study of crop combination regions constitutes an important aspect of agricultural geography as it provides a good basis for agricultural regionalization. The crops are generally grown in combinations and it is rarely that a particular crop occupies a position of total isolation other crops in a given area unit at a given point of time.

The distribution maps of individual crops are interesting and useful for planners, but it is even more important to view the integrated assemblage of the various crops grown in an area unit.

For example, the demarcation of India into the rice region or wheat region does not explain the agriculturally significant fact that very often the wheat region also has a rice crop and vice versa, or wheat is often grown with gram, barley, mustard, lentil, peas and rapeseed.

For a comprehensive and clear understanding of the agricultural mosaic of an agroclimatic region and for the planning and development of its agriculture, a systematic study of crop combinations is of great significance.

In recent years the concept of crop combination has engaged the attention of geographers and agricultural land use planners. The studies made so far in this field range in approach from topical to regional and vary in extent from small areas of minor political units to the entire country.

Although the efforts to develop hill agriculture were initiated in early fifties, planned development programme came to be evolved only in the late sixties. The phenomenal increase in food grains called the ‘Green revolution’ bye passed these hilly regions because of paraphernalia of constraints. Furthermore severity of soil erosion and soil degradation is much more and widespread in hill agriculture due to fragile ecosystem and its impact on plains through downstream sedimentation and flooding. Because of these constraints, traditional agriculture cannot be the lead sector for development. Thus the country faces the challenge of promoting livelihoods to minimize migration through local employment and income generation, and to enhance the quality of life of people living in villages. The positive features of these hilly areas are that they are rich in biodiversity, have enormous potential for tourism, a suitable climate for high value crops that can be harnessed for a development strategy.

In order to improve the existing system and to harvest newer opportunities in the hill agricultural system, a proper understanding of the composition of agri-horti-silvi-pastoral farming system and livestock based farming system is necessary. There is a considerable scope for development of agro-ecological zone specific farming along with horticultural interventions in the hill agriculture. At the same time there is an urgent need to give top priority to land use pattern, soil and water conservation and environmental sustainability. Agri tourism can be exploited in hill agriculture. What Hill agriculture needs is the appropriate technology, emerging markets, investment and risk cover.

Introduction

Genetic resources are the building blocks for new varieties. The Indian gene centre is floristically extremely rich. Most of the tropical and sub-tropical fruits believed to have originated from Hindustan and Indo Malaya-Region. Hindustani gene centre possess a rich diversity of 152 crop plants distributed in different agro-ecological regions of India (Arora, 1985). The Indian sub-continent is one of the centers of origin and diversity of vegetables crops. Around 80 species of major and minor vegetables occur in wild forms (Choudhury, 1967, Seshadri 1987). Among the 118 genera belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family Cucurbita, Cucumis, Citrullus and Lagenaria genera are of great importance. There is tremendous genetic diversity within the family, genera and even within species level. The adaptation range varies from tropical and subtropical regions to extreme arid desert and in temperate regions from Tarai belts to higher altitudes. Extreme germplasm collections are maintained at different centers of the world which represents valuable resources for breeding even in wild form, primitive cultivars, landraces/ folk varieties/ farmer’s selection in a much localized pockets. Now we have very good strains for highly nutritive value, multiple disease resistant and extended shelf lives from our local material through intensive breeding.

Indigenous plant germplasm are adapted component of plant biodiversity. Such adapted components are more valuable resources either as a cultivar or as a parental line in hybridization programme. It might be also a putative material for biotechnological treatment for tolerance to biotic, abiotic factors or nutritional and quality components. Indigenous germplasm can be basically of two types, one which has been domesticated and subjected to human intervention, the other one may be called wild plants or wild relatives and still in the process of evolution without the human intervention. Biochemically the cucurbits are characterized by bitter principles, called cucurbitacins. Great variety of cucurbits contains bitter principle in portion of the plant at some stage of development. Cucurbitacins are tetracyclic triterpenes having extensive oxidation level. Bitter principals found in roots differ from those in fruits. Seedlings specially radicals contains cucurbitacins which are considered primary. The pollen also carries bitter principles and hence when bitter pollen fertilized non-bitter ovule the resulting fruit will be bitter known as metaxenia effect. Cucurbits are consumed in various forms i.e. salad (cucumber, gherkins, longmelon), sweet (ash gourd, pointed gourd), pickles (gherkins), deserts (melons) and culinary purpose. Some of them (e.g. bitter gourd) are well known for their unique medicinal properties. In recent years, abortifacient proteins with ribosome-inhibiting properties have been isolated from several cucurbit species, which include momorcharin (from Momordica charantia), luffaculin (from Luffa operculata), trichosanthin (from Trichosanthes kirilowif) and beta-trichosanthin (from Trichosanthes cucumeroides). Among these, Trichosanthin is of particular interest because its ribosome-inhibiting properties have been found to be effective in inhibiting the replication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), indicating its potential as a therapeutic agent for AIDS. In cucurbits three conditions are found (i) fruit and vegetative parts bitter (ii) fruit not bitter but vegetative parts bitter (iii) bitterness absent in both vegetative parts and fruits. Hence some kind of co-evolutionary relationship between cucurbits found and they are very helpful during evaluation of germplasm.

The growing chemicalization of milk presents a great challenge to the dairy industry. A number of chemical compounds get entry into milk, intentionally or un-intentionally, through their direct or indirect usage for crop, animal; or dairy husbandry practices, as environmental contamination. Several of these contaminants may be naturally present on grazing grass or use as pesticides for green fodder or they may get entry through use of compounded animal feeds. These eventually get excreted into milk as residues and pose problems to food safety. The risk of health hazards arises from veterinary drugs, residual pesticides, heavy metals, detergents and micotoxins etc. It is therefore, become necessary to detect these contaminants in order to make food safe for human consumption.

Detection of Aflatoxin M 1 in Milk

Material requirements : Glass column(30 cm x 1 cm), Silica gel (63-200 µg particle size), volumetric flasks, beakers, micro pipette, HPLC equipment fitted with C 18 column(25 cm x 4.6 mm) and fluorescence detector.

Reagents: Sodium chloride solution (400g in 1000ml water), acetonitrile/water mixture (25:75), sodium sulphsate, chloroform, toluene/acetic acid mixture (9:1), acetonitrile/diethyle ether/hexane mixture (1:3:6), chloroform/acetone mixture (8:2), n-hexane and aflatoxin standard ampule.

Preparation of stock solution : Transfer contents from 2.5ml or 0.5ml ampoule, quantitatively, to 25ml or 50ml volumetric flask respectively. Rinse ampoule with small quantities of chloroform and collect rinsing into flask. Makeup the volume with chloroform, mix well and store at 5º C or below. These solutions will contain 1 µg per ml aflatoxin M1.

Working solution : Transfer 0.5ml of stock solution to a 10ml conical flask. Evaporate contents to dryness using inert gas. Dissolve residue in 10ml of acetonitrile/water mixture. Prepare series of dilutions containing 0.0025, 0.005, 0.01 and 0.025 µg/ml aflatoxin. Similarly treat 5ml of stock solution to give a concentration of 0.5 µg/ml.

The term extension is more recent in origin, and was first recorded in Britain in the 1840s in the context of ‘university extension’ or ‘extension of the university’. James Stuart, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, who gave several lecturers to women’s associations and working man’s clubs in the north of England during 1867-68, is considered as father of extension. The term extension was derived from the practice of British universities of having one educational programme within the premises of the university and another away from the university buildings. The programme conducted outside the university was described as “extension education”. The expression connoted an extension of knowledge from the university to places and people far beyond. But, the term ‘Extension Education’ was formally used for the first time in 1873 by Cambridge University of England to describe system dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge to rural people where they lived and worked. Within a short time, the idea had spread to other parts of Britain, Europe and North America. Extension work is an out of school system of education in which adults and young people learn by doing. It is a partnership between the government, the land-grant institutions, and the people, which provides services and education designed to meet the needs of the people (Kelsey and Hearne, 1966). The meaning of the term ‘extension’ has changed over time, and has different meanings to different countries. The term ‘’Agricultural Extension” was adopted in 1914 when the United States Federal Smith-Lever Act of 1914 formalized a nationwide cooperative federal-state-county programme and gave operational responsibility for this to the land grant colleges and Universities. In the beginning, agricultural extension was concerned primarily with the improvement of agriculture, using conventional teaching methods. As time went on, home economics, youth programmes and rural community resource development were included. Agricultural extension spread to tropical Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and Latin America following the involvement of the United States of America (USA) in bilateral AID programmes after the Second World War.

Participation means the involvement of the stakeholders in all the activities. In a true sense of participation, the farmers are involved in identifying the problems they face, prioritising the problems, determining ways to overcome them, designing realistic plans by themselves or with others to achieve the goals, and carrying them out. Participation puts emphasis on people’s involvement in decision-making processes, implementation of programmes, sharing of benefits of development programmes and involvement to evaluate such programmes. Community participation is an active process by which beneficiary or client groups influence the direction and execution of a development project with a view to enhancing their well-being in terms of income, personal growth, self-reliance, or other values they cherish. Community participation concerns the engagement of individuals and communities in decisions about things that affect their lives. Sometimes you have observed that some people do not want to be involved in decision making process and remain aloof, but it is our responsibility to create a situation so that everyone should have the opportunity to associate with the programme. We should not force people to participate in the project/programme which they perceive that it will affect their livelihood. In that case, we have to create awareness among the people regarding the beneficial effects of the programme. Solutions devised and fulfilled by the people and community in need are far more likely to prove successful than those imposed from outside.

Introduction

For human beings, the three most important necessities for their survival are food, clothing and shelter. among all of these food is the top most priority. Food safety and Standards defines food into 8 categories (Nutraceutical, Heath Supplements/Dietary Supplements, Food for special medical Purpose, food for Special Dietary Use, Novel Food, and Functional food) in regulation, 2016. A growing trend of health products, concept of food as medicine, associated public interest and consumers demand leads to a progressive research interest in functional foods and nutraceuticals development. Abnormal lifestyle, food habits (consumption of junk food) and low physical activity creates an exponential growth in a number of chronic diseases; obesity, cardio-vascular syndromes, osteoporosis, arthritis and cancer (Das et al., 2012) among the developing and developed countries. While nutraceuticals and functional foods are becoming an alternative affordable system to reduce the risk of disease through prevention in spite of high tech therapies and costly medicines.

The current survey showed that worldwide revenue of functional foods is projected to increase from about 300 billion U.S. dollars in 2017 to over 440 billion dollars in 2022. Also according to the International Food Information Council (IFIC), health benefits achieved from functional food components may provide benefits far beyond than basic nutrition. Products like dietary supplements containing vitamins, functional foods such as sports drinks or products fortified with probiotic play a major role in the market rise (www.statista.com).Indian and Chinese traditional foods, recipes, spices and diversified ingredient market is well known around the world from centuries. Hence, a double-digit growth rate is also experienced in Asian nutraceutical and functional food market. Another reason for the growing trend in consuming functional foods is education and proper health awareness. Furthermore, people are more concern about the optimization of health-promoting capabilities in their diet using dietary supplement and fortified foods. While, food product based industries are marketing health supplements using scientific facts and the relationship between diet and health. Government, non-government organizations (NGOs) and web-based online information also play a key role in promoting and trending food based health products.

Introduction

Military personnel’s are deployed for operation in adverse climatic conditions like desert, cold (arctic) and high altitude regions. Stressful and challenging living conditions have affected the outcome of many battles, campaigns and wars. Acclimatization to the environmental condition is a very essential stage of deployment. The time for acclimatization is restricted/limited for the effective operation towards the purpose of deployment. The performance of the military personnel in various deployed regions depends on the nutrition provided by the food consumed. The operational rations are designed to provide the essential nutrition to enhance their performance during training and/or operational situations.

Nutrition requirement of military personnel is different from that of the civilians. The nutrition requirement also varies with the kind (sedentary or continuous work) and region (plain, desert or high altitude) of deployment. The environmental stress caused by extreme heat, cold, etc. also influences the nutrient requirement/ intake. The insufficient dietary nutrient intake affects the immune function, pace of recovery from illness and injury and also the physical performance (Tharion et al., 2005).

The operational ration is also designed in such a way that it provides to the military personnel the required nutrition from the build in nutrition reserves during certain operational situations. Considering the vital criteria for nutritional requirement, the menu for the military personnel is designed. The chapter discusses the past, present and future of the army operational ration (AOR) in various countries of the world and the influence of advances in food processing methods in AOR menu.

Introduction

International agricultural setup has appeared as it now taking all out consideration and agricultural heritage, crop voyage, crop classification and its significances. International cooperation has contended a big role in developing and strengthening the research system in Asian country. several developed countries like USA, UK, USSR, Canada, Australia, Japan, many European countries; Charitable establishments, etc.; altruist and Ford Foundations; varied International Agencies like FAO, UNDP, UNESCO, World Bank, etc.; and also the International Agricultural Research Centres below the consultatory cluster on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) System have contributed extensively to the explanation for agricultural RESEARCH in Asian country. Spectacular achievements in increasing the food production have raised the country’s image significantly, and also the bilateral arrangements have modified from the erstwhile donor-donee standing to relationship of equal partnership in research. The reciprocity and mutuality of interests with the less developed and in addition because the technologically advanced countries square measure the essence of international co-operation. The government has approved ICAR, motor-assisted by the board of directors of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), to enter into bilateral cooperative agreements with many countries and agencies. The mode of collaboration ordinarily follows the pattern of: (a) exchange of germ-plasm of plant and animal origin; (b) exchange of scientific and technical information; (c) visits of scientists and experts; (d) coaching of scientists; and (e) infrastructure development.

Sugar confectionery and chocolate includes candies (sweets in British English), candied nuts, chocolates, chewing gum, bubble gum, pastillage, and other confections that are made primarily of sugar. In some cases, chocolate confections (confections made of chocolate) are treated as a separate category, as are sugar-free versions of sugar confections. The words candy (US and Canada), sweets (UK and Ireland), and lollies (Australia and New Zealand) are common words for the most common varieties of sugar confectionery. Confectionery depends on numerous ingredients which have been discussed in detailed in this chapter

The art of confectionery manufacture date back to over 3000 years as per Egyptian records. Traditionally honey, boiled and concentrated sugar cane juices have been used in confectioneries. In modern times, alternative sweeteners from sources like corn and starches constitute an integral part of confectionery manufacture.

Owing to the huge variation in finished products as well as raw materials in food sector, Quality control has an extremely important role to play. Quality control aims at controlling variation to within a tolerable level by taking corrective actions. Statistical and non-statistical techniques are employed to measure, analyze and control variation in food products. Statistical process control, acceptance sampling and visual inspection are widely used in food and allied sectors.

Maintenance of quality and manufacture of a standard confectionery should involve a very close control of raw materials, instrumentation, and statistical analysis of finished product. Statistical evaluation with respect to finished product includes weight control, sensory evaluation and packaging tests. The quality standards are set by the quality control departments. Chemists may undertake preliminary analysis through visual inspection. Visual inspection is usually combined with sampling. This gives an idea of variation, cleanliness, infestation etc. in the sample.

Edible oil scenario

Vegetable oil or edible oil is the main source of energy in humans and it also supplies nutrients for growth and maintenance of human body. Edible oil demand in India has been increasing progressively since last one decade, primarily due to population growth, improved standard of living and also changes in food habits. Presently, the area under oil seed production is between 26 and 27 million ha with an average yield of 1000 to 1100 kg ha^-1. This accounts to 7.5 to 8.0 million tonnes of vegetable oil production locally, as against the current demand of 22.5 to 23 million tonnes per annum.

Introduction

In the post-world trade organization (WTO) era, the fantastic imagination of “one world for self-reliance”, has been shattered by the Corona induced calamity and the expansionists approach of a few rouge nations. Though the global welfare and peace has always been part of Indian traditional philosophy, approach and the concept of self-reliance, the practical boundary of self-reliance in its present context, starts from the country level itself. The idea of self-reliance at multiple levels (individual, family, society, and nation) has driven human civilization for most of its efforts, inventions and actions across the world.

A very high dependency of a large number of population on the natural resources in the developing world calls for proper management of natural resources for self-reliance. Since the early days of civilization, natural resources in the form of land, soil, water, biodiversity and climate have remained the very basis of supporting and sustaining life of human beings, plants and animals on the earth. However, in recent times intensive use and over-exploitation of pristine resources have robbed them of their legendry resilience. To effectively tackle the complex problems and to fulfil basic needs of livelihood, food security, poverty, employment, equity and environmental services, efficient and judicious utilization of natural resources for enhanced and sustained productivity is a matter of serious concern for policy makers, planners, scientists, conservationists and environmentalists.

Introduction

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) absorb long-wave radiation emitted from the Sun and the Earth’s surface, and radiate it back to Earth’s atmosphere, creating the greenhouse effect. Gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) occur in traces but play crucial roles in controlling the temperature of Earth’s atmosphere. The natural as well as anthropogenic activities have major impacts on the GHGs emissions that include continuously increasing concentration of CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O in the atmosphere. The heat-trapping properties of these above mentioned GHGs are well established. Different GHGs have different warming potential (radiative forcing) on the global climate system due to their different radiative properties and lifetimes in the atmosphere. Changes in the atmospheric concentrations of GHGs modify the energy equilibrium of the climate system which leads to subsequent climate change. They affect the absorption, scattering and emission of radiation within the atmosphere and at the earth’s surface. Globally agriculture is estimated to account for 10%–20% of anthropogenic GHG emissions (Smith and Olesen 2010). Share of contribution of these gases towards global warming are different such as CH₄ 20-25%, CO₂ 40-50% and N₂O 5-10%; with present pace of increment every year 0.41, 0.42 and 0.25%, respectively IPCC, 2019.

Mango is most important of all fruit crops in terms of are coverage and production, besides its socioeconomics providing livelihood to million of people in India and it is acknowledged as the king of fruit of this country. The greatest tribute of this esteemed plant was paid by Emperor Akabar (1556–1605) who established the Lal Bag (a mango orchards having one lakh plants) in Darbhanga (Bihar) when large orchards of fruit trees were unknown. In Ain-I-Akbari, a master piece of Persian literature, written by the great chronicler Abul Fazal (1590 AD) during the region of Akbar. Popularity of mango among the consumers is increasing due to its delicious flavour and much higher nutritional and therapeutic values. Thus, mango is now appreciated and spreading across the globe. It is grown in more than 90 countries. Washing of mouth and hand are necessary after eating the fruit so, it is also known as bathroom fruit.

Area and Production

India is the single largest producer of fruit, accounting for 49.6 per cent of area and 49.1 per cent of the total world production. Mango occupies 23.13 million hectares area in India. Amongst the major mango-exporting countries India, Mexico, Brazil and Pakistan accounted for 3.5, 1.4 and 3.3 per cent of total area under mangoes in the world respectively. The productivity of mango is highest with 13.6 tonnes/ha in Brazil and 7.0 tonnes/ha in India which is much lower. India contributed about 45.7 per cent of total mango production (35.71 million tonnes) in the world, making it the most important mango producing country. Andhra Pradesh ranks first as it produces about 27 per cent of total mango production and Uttar Pradesh is ranked second in production (23.9%) with productivity of13 tonnes/ha. At present the varieties like ‘Alphonso’ grown in Maharashtra and Gujarat and ‘Dashehari’ in U.P. are exported to countries viz. Afghanistan, Bahrain, France, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore and U.K. Mango nectar and pulp has great scope to European and American market.

1.1. Mushroom

Fruiting body of fungus appears above ground and contains spores.

Fungi are network of fine microscopic threads collectively known as mycelium.

Fungi are the part of the plant kingdom and don’t contain chlorophyll and root system.

Mushroom comes under sub division Basidiomycotina, order – Agaricales.

This chapter describes the components to design the mobile platform. The UN estimates the world population will rise from 7.3 billion today to 9.7 billion in 2050. The world will need a lot more food, and farmers will face serious pressure to keep up with demand. Agricultural robots can be used to increase the production yields for farmers in various ways.

3.1 Role of Robots in Agriculture

A challenging problem in Mechanical Engineering and robotics is the design of a mobile robot. The robot must successfully traverse through its environment, including rough terrain, grass, hills, etc. For correct positioning of the robot, the wheels of the robot must have good traction and never lose contact with the ground. For improved manoeuvrability the robot must also be able to rotate around a centre point as close to its centre of mass as possible. All of these factors have been considered in the design of a second generation outdoor de- mining robot.

A rectangular frame for the robot allows the easier positioning and accessibility of parts within the robot, which is useful in the development phase. Having the wheels up front helps the robot drive onto a slope. A circular frame for the robot would allow the robot to rotate around its true centre, such a frame, with the wheel axle running along the diameter of the frame would need support at the front and back of the robot.

Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) is one amongst the commercially important cut flowers traded worldwide. The genus Dianthus has about 300 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbs of which Dianthus caryophyllus is the most important species commercially. The genus Dianthus in Greek means ‘Flower of Zeus’ or ‘Divine Flower’. Linnaeus chose the species name, caryophyllus, after the genus of Clove, as the fragrance from carnation is reminiscent of clove. It is genetically a quantitative long day plant based on its photoperiod requirement (Blake, 1955). The Dianthus species are adapted to the cooler Alpine regions of Europe and Asia and are also found in Mediterranean coastal regions. Carnations were the first flowers to be cultivated on commercial scale in high altitude areas of tropics for export to Europe and North America.

It is cultivated throughout the world. The largest growing areas of carnation are in Bogota and Colombia. Carnation is also grown in Italy, Spain, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Canary Islands, France, Holland, Germany, Israel and USA. In India, main production areas are located around Pune and Bangalore. It is also being grown in Solan, Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Chamba, Sirmour, Bilaspur and Hamirpur districts of Himachal Pradesh. As per the State Department of Horticulture - Himachal Pradesh, carnation occupied 44.07 hectares out of 705.77 hectare total area under floriculture in the state during 2018-19. The acreage of carnation is still expected to increase because of the favourable climatic conditions for its cultivation in different parts of Himachal Pradesh and other hilly states of the country.

In India, depending upon the regions, there is a wide difference in temperature, light intensity and humidity which not only affect the yield and quality of the flowers but also limit their availability for a particular period of the year. To produce quality flowers, carnation needs to be grown under cover, that is, in greenhouse which provides the plants with the optimum condition of light, temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide for proper growth and to achieve maximum yield of best quality flowers. Though, there are different types of the greenhouses, naturally ventilated polyhouses are preferred in mild climate in which temperature is reduced by ventilation (Ryagi et al., 2007).

Gladiolus, commonly known as ‘Sword lily’ which derives its name from latin word Gladius meaning sword shape foliage. The name gladiolus was originally given by Pliny the Elder (A.D.23-79). It is an important florist crop, cut flower in the domestic and international flower trade. It is relatively easy to grow, suitable for cut flower, pots, hanging basket, bedding and exhibition. An engrossing cut spikes bear a large number of florets on rachis, which exhibit various sizes, forms, with smooth, ruffled, deeply crinkled or laciniated tepals. As a genus it was first proposed by Tournefort and which was accepted in botanical litreture by Linnaeus through his description “Species Plantarum” in 1753 and “Genera Planterum” in 1754. The gladioli are said to be cultivated since the days of ancient Greece. The genus Gladiolus, at present comprises with 255 species (Mishra et al.,1995; Goldblatt and Manning,1998) with wide distribution occurs in Central Europe, Mediterranean region, Central and South Africa are primary centre of origin. Campbell and Bower (2003) mentions about one more species Gladiolus scabridus- a new species 1978 from the mountains of northern Kwa Zulu- Natal and southern Swaziland, restricted to well- drained rocky habitat and where it is endemic. This species has enormous commercial potential have large number of pink flowers. So now number of recorded gladiolus species are more than 260. The gladiolus was brought into cultivation first during Greek period. Gladiolus has been documented in literature since 1578, as evidenced from the record Lyte’s Nievve herbal. This was first time introduced in France and soon after spread to England, Germany, Holland and North America. In India, its cultivation dates back to 19^th century as mentioned in the ‘Firminger’s Manual of Gardening in India (1863)’ that Mr. Charles Gray of Conoor grew some gladioli from corms and seeds at his garden. The European Union gladiolus importing countries are Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Spain, France, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Italy and Portugal.

Flower arrangement is the art of using plant materials and flowers to create an eyecatching and balanced composition or display. Among all art forms, flower arrangements today take as prominent a place. The art engages ones personal involvement in welcoming guests and bringing cheer to the surroundings. It is rightly said, “Flowers are the music of the ground. From earth’s lips spoken without sound. “Professionally designed floral designs, arrangements or artwork incorporate the elements of floral design: line, form, space, texture, and color, and the principles of floral design: balance, proportion, rhythm, contrast, harmony, and unity.

Composition of Arrangements

There are a few compositions of flower arranging that should be considered. Once we understand these we can create so many different styles and our floral designs will have that professional look.

Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Forecasts based on temperature and precipitation is important to agriculture. Agricultural production is highly dependent on weather, climate and water availability, and is adversely affected by weather and climate related disasters. In many developing countries where rainfed agriculture is the norm, a good rainy season means good crop production, enhanced food security and a healthy economy. Farming in many parts of the world, especially in the arid and semiarid regions is risky, because climate is highly variable. A timely seasonal forecast of favourable conditions could permit farmers to adjust cropping patterns and input use in order to benefit fully from these conditions. Under rainfed conditions, even a less reliable, but earlier forecast may be more valuable than an accurate but late forecast.

In about 340 B.C., Aristotle described weather patterns in Meteorologica. Later, Theophrastus compiled a book on weather forecasting, called the Book of Signs. Ancient weather forecasting methods usually relied on observed patterns of events. This experience was accumulated over the generations to produce weather knowledge. However, not all of these predictions prove reliable, and many of them have since been found not to stand up to rigorous statistical testing. Two officers from of British Royal Navy, Francis Beaufort and Robert FitzRoy formed the basis for all of today’s weather forecasting knowledge by middle of 19th century. A terrible storm in 1859 inspired FitzRoy to develop charts to allow predictions to be made, which he called ‘forecasting the weather’, thus coining the term ‘weather forecast’. The ‘Weather Book’ which FitzRoy published in 1863 was far in advance of the scientific opinion of the time. By the early 20th century, scientists had begun to believe that weather forecasting could be predicted based on mathematical methods. Computers were first used to create surface analyses in 1992 and by 1998 digital imagery were used for satellite, radar and surface observations, encompassing nearly every factor of weather interpretation. Modern technology, particularly computers and weather satellites, and the availability of data provided by coordinated meteorological observing networks, has resulted in enormous improvements in the accuracy of weather forecasting.

Grape is an important fruit crop grown mainly under tropical climatic conditions in India. It has spread on an area of 137 thousand ha with a production of 2951 thousand MTduring 2018-19. Famous Indian medicine scholars, Sasruta and Charaka in their medical treatises entitled ‘Sasruta Samhita’ and ’Charaka Samhita’, respectively, written during 1356-1220 BC, mentioned the medicinal properties of grapes. Native spp. resembling Vitis lanata and Vitis palmata grow wild in the northwestern Himalayan foothills. Indigenous varieties known as ‘Rangspay’, ‘Shonltu White’ and ‘Shonltu Red’ are grown in Himachal Pradesh even today. Cultivated grapes are believed to have been introduced into the north of India by the Persian invaders in 1300 AD, from where they were introduced into the south (Daulatabad in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra) during the historic event of changing the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad by King Mohammed-bin-Tughlak. Currently Mahrashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are the major grapes growing states of India.

However, the higher production of grapes is constrained by the incidence of several diseases and pests. The important diseases of grapes causing economic losses have been listed below and discussed in detail in the chapter.

Introduction

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L) belonging to family Brassicaceae, is an herbaceous annual or biennial plant which is cultivated for its edible flower heads being are used as vegetable or salads. The broccoli plant has a broad green stalk, or stem, that give produces thick, leathery, oblong gray-blue to green in color leaves. The plant produces large branching green flower heads covered with numerous white or yellow flowers. Broccoli can be annual or biennial depending on the variety. Broccoli is a rich source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and has a reputation as super foods (Hatanaka and Ware, 2020).

It is admitted that they are susceptible to a numerous of serious diseases that leads to reduction in yield. Thus, it is the utmost requirement to control such biotic stressors in order to obtain desired quality and decent yields. The most important diseases and its control measures are being portrayed in this chapter for both home gardener and the commercial producers for cruciferous vegetables particularly broccoli (Mani et al., 2020).

Shrimp culture, a subset of aquaculture is slowly emerging as one of the major and fastest-growing food production sectors in the world. Shrimp that were once caught from the wild are now being cultured using modern aquaculture methods. Thanks to international institutions such as the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) etc., who have the encouraged the production of shrimp that fetch huge returns on investment within a short period. Third world countries are also impressed by the potential of this sector to provide food security and to earn huge foreign exchange to redress their debt burdens.

Commercial shrimp farming developed in India on account of the government’s policy to promote shrimp culture because of its potential to utilise the vast saline tracts along the coastline, provide employment opportunities to coastal rural population and to earn valuable foreign exchange. After the liberalisation of the Indian economy in 1991, development of shrimp culture gained greater momentum. Individual entrepreneurs were also encouraged to take up shrimp farming with both financial and technical support.

The market for shrimp is growing by leaps and bounds as they provide a cheap source of protein at only a little above half the cost of producing animal protein. The unique attraction of shrimp being a ‘high-value commodity’ has led to revolutionise its production, currently known as the ‘Blue Revolution’. The revolution has expanded its wings to the coastal areas of Odisha and is becoming one of the most sought out livelihood. The exponential increase in income leading to a dramatic change in the standard of living has lured the people to opt for shrimp culture. In almost all the coastal districts of the state (Odisha), shrimp culture is prominent now.

In this chapter, an attempt has been made to review some of the earlier studies related to shrimp farming and its socio-economic and environmental impacts. The related pieces of literature are classified into the following five categories.

Shrimp Pond Management

Economic Impact of Shrimp Farming

Social Impact of Shrimp Farming

Impact of Shrimp Farming on Environment

Acts and Policies Relating to Shrimp Farming

3.1. Paddy

3.1.1. Thrips: Stenchaetothrips biformis (Thripidae: Thysanoptera)

6.1. Fungicides

Fungicide originated from two latin words viz., fungus and caedo.

Word caedo means to kill.

Fungicide is a chemical agent which has the ability to reduce or prevent the damage caused to plants and their products.

Physical agents like ultra violet light and heat should also be considered as fungicides.

Antisporulant and fungistatic compounds do not kill the fungi, they are included under the broad term fungicide

Introduction

Cyanobacteria are often called “blue-green algae”, this name is convenient for talking about organisms in water that make their own food, but does not ref lect any relationship between the cyanobacteria and other organisms called algae. Cyanobacteria are relatives to bacteria, not eukaryotes, and it is only the chloroplast in eukaryotic algae to which cyanobacteria are related. Some cyanobacteria are aquatic and photosynthetic, that is, they live in water, and can manufacture their own food. They are quite small and usually unicellular, though they often grow in colonies large enough to see. In fact, it may surprise you then to know that the cyanobacteria are still around; they are one of the largest and most important groups of bacteria on earth (Berry et al., 2008). The great contribution of cyanobacteria is the origin of plants chloroplast with which plants make food for themselves is actually a cyanobacterium living within the plant’s cells. Sometime in the late Proterozoic or in the early Cambrian, cyanobacteria began to take up residence within certain eukaryote cells, making food for the eukaryote host in return for a home. This event is known as endosymbiosis, and is also the origin of eukaryotic mitochondrion (Issa et al., 2002).

ZINC (Zn)

Chandler et al., (1932) deduced the requirement of zinc by plants while working solution for little leaf or “rosette” on peach. Zinc plays significant role in assimilation of NO₃ and for synthesis of tryptophan. Involved in biosynthesis of indole acetic acid which is responsible for f lowering and fruiting, it is an activator of several enzymes (triphosphate dehydrogenase and tryptophan synthetase), involved in photosynthesis and nitrogen metabolism.

Deficiency results in poor growth of the terminal bud. Decrease in stem length resulting in resetting and whorling of leaves. Zinc deficiency disorder in rice is called khaira. Common when zinc availability is < 0.7 ppm. White bud in maize and malformation of fruits, reduction in water uptake. Interveinal chlorosis often with necrosis and pigmentation and reduced leaf size in broad leaved crops known as little leaf and malformation of leaves.

The crops which are known to respond for zinc application are maize, rice, soyabean, castor, onion, barley, wheat, potato, sorghum and cotton

Much of the post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables in developing countries is due to the lack of proper storage facilities. While refrigerated cool stores are the best method of preserving fruits and vegetables they are expensive to buy and run. Consequently, in developing countries there is an interest in simple low-cost alternatives, many of which depend on evaporative cooling which is simple and does not require any external power supply. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world after Brazil and China respectively. Storage of fresh horticultural produce after harvest is one of the most pressing problems of a tropical country like India. India’s total fruits and vegetables production is lost during harvest, storage, grading, transport, packaging and distribution in a year which reduces the growers share. Due to their highly perishable nature, about 20-40% of total fruit and vegetable production go waste during various steps of the post-harvest chain, smooth transport and insufficient cool storage space/ facility at farmer’s level and high cost of refrigerated storage so further enhances loss of fruits and vegetables. Temperature and humidity play major role in storage of fruits and vegetables Temperature can be controlled by using energy consuming methods such as air-cooling, hydro-cooling, vacuum-cooling, chilling, ice cooling, freezing, etc.

Introduction

Since the last century, nutritional science has made a remarkable contribution to the biological sciences through identification of diverse nutrients and their sources, functions, requirement, deficiency symptoms and their remedial measures etc. The advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies together with bioinformatic tools identified the presence of 100 trillion of microorganism belonging to all forms of life in the gastrointestinal tract. In fact, the whole gut microbial consortia are considered as a virtual organ in human and animals and is responsible for the development and functioning of series of essential physiological activities including digestion, absorption, metabolism, immunity, homeostasis, brain and gut development, resistance against disease etc. According to the modern scientific dogma, the human being is in fact a “Superorganism”, carrying consortium of numerous symbiotic Eukarya, Bacteria, Archaea and Viruses. The gut microflora has been co-evolved with human and presumed to maintain an intricate balance among different microbial communities. Upon introspection about the functionality of the gut microflora, it is amply clear that a few of these microorganisms have the ability to make healthy state; while other members are responsible for health-related problems including food poisoning, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, indigestion, inflammatory bowel disease, predisposition to colon cancer, compromising immunity, allergy etc.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus var. sativus L., 2x = 2n = 14, normally monoecious, cross-pollinated) is a member of the economically important family Cucurbitaceae which includes squash/pumpkin (Cucurbita ssp.), watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai], melon (Cucumis melo L.) and gourds. After tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and watermelon, cucumber and melon are cultivated more widely than any other vegetable species globally accounting for about 2.5 million ha and producing 43 million tons giving a productivity of over 17 tons/ha under field and greenhouse culture. Production of cucumber is the second largest of all cucurbits, where China, Iran, Russia, Turkey and the United States represent about 75% of the world production.

During 2017-18, India produced 1.25 million tons of cucumber from 0.08 million ha (80, 000) area resulting into a productivity of close to 16 tons/ha (MAFW, 2018). Top ten cucumber producing states in India in the same period are Haryana (17000 ha), MP (9500 ha), Karnataka (8300 ha), Assam (6900 ha), Maharashtra (4500 ha), Andhra Pradesh (4400 ha), Bihar (3900 ha), Punjab (3600 ha), Kerala (3400 ha) and UP (3300 ha).

ABSTRACT

Malting is the process accompanied by restricted sprouting of cereals in humid atmosphere along with controlled set of conditions. It is a process of soaking, germination and drying that causes changes to the microstructure of grains. Malting causes changes in functional and nutritive value of grains. Malting results in increase in protein content, mineral availability, in vitro protein digestibility, oil absorption capacity, water absorption capacity, water solubility index and fall in level of antinutritional factors, viscosity and bulk density. The malting conditions are significantly affected by varietal difference, maturity of grains and structural composition. Therefore, optimum malting conditions should be determined for grains in order to avail the health and nutrition benefits.

3.1. What is weathering?

Weathering may be defined as the transformation process of solid rocks, involving the disintegration and decomposition of rocks and minerals, into soil.

There are different types of weathering: physical, chemical and biological.

3.1.1. Physical weathering

In physical weathering the chemical composition of the weathered products remains same as that of the parental rocks. It is involved in fragmentation of rocks into comparatively smaller sizes. It does not transform the parental rock into a newer one that may differ from the parental rock in chemical composition. The process is totally physical in nature. But this is also true that physical weathering encourages chemical weathering, and both may be carried out simultaneously because physical weathering promotes more surface area of parental rocks for more interaction with agents of chemical weathering.

10.1. Introduction

The soils possessing characteristics that are not suitable and economical for crop growth are termed as Problem soils. These characteristics may be of physical, chemical and biological. For cultivation of crops in these soils, it is necessary to follow specific management interventions and proper reclamation measures. Frequently we come across another term, ’degraded soil’. Degraded soil is also a problem soil. However, there exists a hair-line difference between problem and degraded soil. Problem soils refer to the soils in which the inherent soil characteristics, obtained from its genesis, pose problems for their optimal use, while degraded soils are developed due to anthropogenic activities by unwise management interventions.

10.2. Types of problem

Mainly there are four types of problem that may exist in soils: physical problems, chemical problems, biological problems and nutritional problems as a result of physical, chemical and biological constraints in soils.

Introduction

Water and food security are the key challenges under climate change as both are highly vulnerable to continuously changing climatic patterns. Climate change has resulted in increases in globally averaged mean annual air temperature and variations in regional precipitation and these changes are expected to continue and intensify in the future. The projected changes in climate patterns over India include increase in surface temperature, variations in rainfall, increasing occurrence of extreme weather events like floods and droughts, rise in sea levels and impact on the Himalayan glaciers. Sectors of the Indian economy are most likely to be impacted by such changes in climate are those dependent on natural resources, namely agriculture, water and forestry. The likely impacts such as reduction in food production, water scarcity, loss of forest biomass Climate change is expected to bring more intense and more frequent extreme weather events including droughts and floods in India. The global atmospheric concentration of carbon di-oxide CO₂ for increased from preindustrial value of about 280 ppm to about 410 ppm at the present (2021). The global increase in CO₂ concentration is primarily due to fossil fuel use and land use change. Atmospheric methane was 1803 ppb in 2011, this is 150% greater than before 1750. Atmospheric nitrous oxide (N₂O) was 324 ppb in 2011, this is 150% greater than before 1750 (Table 1). These increase in GHGs have resulted in warming of the climate system by 0.74°C between 1906 and 2005.

Introduction

Climate change is a statistically significant variation in either the mean state of the climate or in its variability, persisting for an extended period (typically decades or longer). Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures. Eleven years from 1995-2006 rank among the twelve warmest years in the instrumental record of global surface temperature (since 1850). The 100-year linear trend (1906-2005) of 0.74 [0.56 to 0.92] °C is larger than the corresponding trend of 0.6 [0.4 to 0.8] °C (1901-2000) and over the 21st century average temperature of earth surface is likely to go up by an additional of 1.8-4°C (IPCC, 2007). This temperature increase can be attributed to the altered energy balance of the climate system resulting from changes in atmospheric concentrations of the green house gases (GHGs). Among the principal components of radiative forcing of climate change, CO₂ has the highest positive forcing leading to warming of climate. CO₂ has the least global warming potential among the major green house gases but due to its much higher concentration in the atmosphere; it is the major contributor towards global warming and climate change. Agriculture sector in India contributes 28% of the total GHG emissions (NATCOM, 2004). The global average from agriculture is only 13.5% (IPCC, 2007). In future, the percentage emissions from agriculture in India are likely to be smaller due to relatively much higher growth in emissions in energy-use transport and industrial sectors. The emissions from agriculture are primarily due to methane emissions from rice fields, enteric fermentation in ruminant animals and nitrous oxides from application of manures and fertilizers to agricultural soils (NATCOM, 2004).

Introduction

Since the dawn of the civilization when mankind started agriculture, soil erosion has been the single largest environmental problem and has remained so till date (Sullivan, 2004). This is so because removal of the topsoil by any means has, through research and historical evidence, been severally shown to have many deleterious effects on the productive capacity of the soil as well as on ecological wellbeing. Doran and Parkin (1994) captioned the impact of soil erosion in their popular maxim that “the thin layer of soil covering the earth’s surface represents the difference between survival and extinction for most terrestrial life”. Soil degradation implies decline in its capacity to provide ecosystem services (ESs) of interest to humans and useful to nature’s functions. Principal processes of soil degradation are erosion, salinization, nutrient and carbon (C) depletion, drought, decline in soil structure, and tilth. Examples of ESs provided by soil include ecological/supporting (biomass production, nutrient cycling), regulating (water purification and flow, C sequestration, temperature fluctuations), provisional (food, fiber, fuel, and forages), and cultural (aesthetical, spiritual, and cultural). Erosion-induced degradation diminishes soil’s capacity to provide ESs, and support ecosystem functions.

Although fertile top soils could be lost when scraped by heavy machineries (Ngwu et al., 2005), the key avenues of topsoil loss include water erosion and wind erosion. Sometimes erosion can be such gradual for so long a time as to elude detection in one’s lifetime, thus making its adverse effects hard to detect. Eswaran et al., (2001) propose an annual loss of 75 billion tons of soil on a global basis which costs the world about US $400 billion per year. A review of the global agronomic impact of soil erosion identifies two severity groups of continents and reveals that Africa belongs to the more vulnerable group (Biggelaar et al., 2004). Soil erosion by water seems to be the greatest factor limiting soil productivity and impeding agricultural enterprise in the entire humid tropical region. This is evident in many regions of Africa (Dregne, 1990), mainly in the humid and subhumid zones of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where population pressure and deforestation exacerbate the situation and the rains come as torrential downpours, with the annual soil loss put at over 50 t ha⁻¹ (FAO, 1995).

Introduction

The inevitability of detrimental effects of climate change is looming large not only on the sustenance of agriculture, but also on the survival and progress of mankind. Estimates by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reveal that the atmospheric concentration of GHG would exceed 680 parts per million (ppm) CO₂-equivalents by 2050, which is about 50% higher than baseline year 2010 (OECD, 2012). Additionally, global temperature is predicted to increase by 2°C within this period, resulting in meansea level rise and erraticweather conditions. Consequently, the catastrophic effects on food consumption pattern by the end of 2050 will create malnutrition in at least 290 million people. Agricultural crops provide 63% of the human protein, and additionally supply almost 100% protein to the livestock, which are the second major sources of protein in human diet. Altogether, the detrimental effect of climate change on agriculture would make about 300 million additional people malnourished. Add to that a 2.7 billion increase in human population by 2050, coupled with shortage of water availability that would affect 3.9 billion people by 2050, and one can easily perceive the grim scenario for our kind in not so distant future.

Introduction

Plant architecture is defined as a three-dimensional organization of plant body in terms of its size, shape position of leaves, flower organs and branching pattern. Earlier this was the only criterion for systematic and taxonomic classification of plant species and the best means of identifying them (Stecconi, 2006). Study of plant architecture emerged as a new scientific discipline some 30 years ago. The subject derives its base from earlier works on plant morphology (Halle and Oldeman, 1970) but currently it is integrated with several disciplines of plant sciences ecology and engineering. Modification in plant architecture causes alteration in primary and secondary growth. This occurs due to differences in phyllotactic arrangement, branching pattern and floral differentiation. Plant architecture can be modulated by various parameters like climate, agronomic practices and human interventions. Manipulation of plant architecture is a major area in plant science which is currently adopted for productivity improvement by breeders, agronomists, horticulturists and landscape managers. However, the basis for such manipulation lies in the knowledge of the basic architecture of plants and its significance.

1. Bone grafts

Bone grafting represents one of the earliest devised reconstructive approaches to the musculoskeletal system and remains among the most commonly used orthopedic procedures. Bone is the second most frequently transplanted tissue. The first recorded attempt to use bone graft is by the Dutch surgeon Job Van Meek’ren in 1668.

Definition

A graft is a living tissue that is transplanted to another site either within the same individual or into another individual for repair of a defect. An implant is a non viable material placed in a living system. Implants are composed of bone cement, metal or ceramic material. Grafts are structurally important for mechanical stability, but their use evolved to include the stimulation and enhancement of bone in response to injury.

Indications

Bone grafts are used, in general as framework, both to provide stability and to augment healing. It is used in the management of non union, delayed union, treatment of pseudoarthrosis, filling of osseous defects or cavities, arthrodesis, stabilization of spinal segments and addition of bone stock in total joint displacement.