eChapters

Abstract

As part of the Enterprise Information Portal (EIP) project, an Enterprise-wide Geographic Information System has been implemented through which Intranet / Internet users enjoying different access levels can quickly search for, locate and visualize geoscientific information generated by Geological Survey of India (GSI). The proposed system will provide real-time response to information needs and will use secure Internet technology to deliver information to bonafide users. It consists of an application that will enable data owners to load new data sets, update/replace existing data sets in a highly secure environment, load and maintain metadata about their data sets in a Data Catalog and a subsystem that will query, search, locate and display geoinformation stored in the centralized Geodatabase.

Enterprise GIS has been deployed primarily using a relational database, a spatial database engine tool, an Internet Map server tool, and integrating the existing ArcGIS desktop GIS clients. The approach is to import data from distributed data sources into the centralized repository using a customized extraction-transformation-loading (ETL) tool, thereby making appropriate structural changes to ensure homogeneity at various levels, and load into the main Geodatabase.

While delineating the functionalities of enterprise GIS solution an earnest attempt was made to accommodate the diverse needs of the organization, including its processes, activities, products and the whole gamut of users at different levels from the field geologist to the decision makers. An effort was also made to standardize various data automation processes and to iron out the heterogeneities existing in legacy data. Ultimately, GSI aspires to create a seamless geospatial database for the entire geographic extent of the country, which can be easily shared by the geoscientific community.

Fats are rich sources of energy. Fats provide 2.25 times more available enrgy than carbohydrates. Fats also increase the palatability and reduce the dustiness of feed. Fats and fatty acids decrease the heat increment in the body. Fatty acids are also involved in number of physiological functions of the body. Recently, considerable interest has been shown on studies pertaining to dietary supplementation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in animal feed and their role in animal health and production.

Phytobiotics are plant derivatives such as herbs, plant extracts or spices and have a wide range of activities such as stimulation of feed intake, growth and endogenous secretions in the gut. They act as immunomodulators resulting in decreased mortality and also have coccidiostatic, anti microbial, anthelminthic and anti-inf lammatory activities. Phytobiotics also possess hepatoprotective and hepatogenic properties, which tone up liver resulting in increased nutrient utilization and better performance. Herbs like Achyranthes aspera (Prickly Chaff Flower, Devil’s Horsewhip, Apamarga), Andrographis paniculata (Green chirayta, King of bitters, Kalamegha), Azadirachta indica (Neem), Boerhaavia diffusa (Spreading Hogweed, Punarnava), Eclipta alba (False Daisy, Bhringaraj), Ichnocarpus frutescens (Black creeper, Utpalagopa), Terminalia chebula (Black myrobalan, Haritaki). These herbs have hepatostimulant, hepato-protective, immunomodulatory and antioxidant activities (Sadekar et al., 1998; Manu and Kuttan, 2009; Michels et al., 2011, Dash et al., 2007). Further, they optimize digestion and metabolism resulting in better protein utilization, improved mucosal function and reduced cost of metabolic deamination. Andrographolide and 14-deoxy-11, 12-didehydro-andrographolide isolated from Andrographis paniculata inhibits free radical activities and lipid peroxidation. Inhibition of lipid peroxidation in meat prevents free radical production thereby preserving meat composition, colour and improvement in shelf life. In addition, it has been studied that a herb Terminalia chebula helps to reduce stress (Selvakumar et al., 2007).

Introduction

Seeds are regarded as carriers of new technology and serve as basic catalytic input for enhancing the agricultural production. Hence the timely availability of quality seeds of the right variety in adequate quantity decides the strength of an agricultural economy. The intensive crop improvement programmes have resulted in the development of large number of hybrids and high yielding varieties in many important crops. Today, the Indian seed industry is the fifth largest seed market in the world, accounting for 4.4 per cent of global seed market. In terms of global trade, India is almost self-sufficient in flower, fruits and vegetables and field crops seeds (Anonymous, 2015). Economy of crops depends on good crop variety. Farmers choose these verities based on good quality traits and satisfactory yield. Thus, it is always essential to do fidelity check of all plant variety. The genetic purity is one of the most important aspects of quality control. Seed quality includes good germination, purity, seed health and vigour. With the increase in seed industry, there has been a refinement in the techniques used for testing genetic purity or genuineness of seed purity. Methods for testing genetic purity include different morphological, chemical, biochemical and molecular markers. Under PPV & FR Act, DUS (distinctiveness, uniformity, stability) testing procedure is performed with morphological descriptors. However, in agriculture, biotechnology has found applications in checking of true to type of clones and variety identification programs using molecular and chemical markers. Markers that reveal polymorphisms at the protein level are known as biochemical markers, while DNA markers reveal polymorphisms at the DNA level.

“Hydrology is the science that treats the waters of the earth, their occurrence, circulation and distribution, their chemical and physical properties, and their reaction with their environment, including their relation with living things. The domain of hydrology embraces the full life history of water on the earth.” (Federal Council for Science and Technology, “Scientific Hydrology”, Washington, 1962)

This definition puts in a nutshell what is most often inadequately done before undertaking exploitation of water resources. In short, it is the scientific inputs that are likely to be missed while planning water resources management projects. It is the “full life history of water” part of the above definition that is of specific relevance to the theme of this book, Isotope Hydrology.

Conventional hydrology is strong on measurement and quantification of different parts of the hydrological cycle (Fig.1.1), be it precipitation, run-off, evaporation, transpiration, infiltration, groundwater dynamics etc. Through chemistry and isotopes, we try to understand the processes themselves in order to delineate the history of that part of the hydrological cycle that is being studied. For example, if we are measuring river flow, we would like to know the contribution of different components; base flow, rainfall run-off and snow melt, if any.

Let’s see what we know and what do not know in the conventional hydrological practice. We know surface waters evaporate, form into clouds and precipitation occurs under favourable weather conditions. What we often do not know is the source of moisture, oceanic or inland.

ABSTRACT

Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taub, knownas ’Flameof the Forest’is used in Indian traditional system of medicine, such as Siddha Ayurveda, and Unani due to its medicinal properties. It is used in treatment of diabetes, diarrhoea, sore throat and reported to possess several biological activities such as anti-asthmatic, anti-diabetic, antifertility, anti-tumor and osteogenic. Recent studies revealed the phytochemicals responsible for osteogenic activity in the bark of B. monosperma. An ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed for identification and simultaneous quantitation of bioactive compounds from B. monosperma. Validation of the developed method was performed according to international conference on harmonization guidelines. Quantitative interpretation showed significant variations in the content of bioactive compounds in different parts of the plant and samples collected from three geographical regions. Principal component analysis was also used to study the quantitative variations of markers.

ABSTRACT

The present communication deals with the impact and contribution on livelihood sustainability based on forest resources and sacred places in nine fringe villages of Pangolakha Wild Life Sanctuary (PWLS), located in Sikkim Himalaya. Populations density in villages varies from 23 at Nayabusty and 274 at Padamchen. Populations were categorised under three age groups viz. minor (15-25 yrs), major (26-36 yrs) and elder (over 36 years). Approximate by 27.6% populations had minimal primary education. Agriculture is the main activity in Suvaneydara (86.7%), Agamlok (85.3%) and in Nayabustyy (82.3%). Villagers in Padamchen (12.5%) and in Nathang (12.5%) are either dependent on Government job (38.2%) or seasonal flow of tourist (25%). The educational qualification in these villages is classes 5 to 10 standards. 91.1% of people rely on forest resources. About 70% of the villagers depicts that forest cover of the region is improving. The availability of fodders (70%) and fuel woods (60%) are still in abundance. People depend on tirja (private), khashmal and goucharan areas for grazing and fuel wood collection. Forty nine economical economically by valued plant species belonging to 46 genera and 35 families were documented. Subtropical ecosystems had high number of plant species. Poaceae was the dominant family (17%). Tree life form is abundant (51%). Total 24 species are harvested for edible purpose, 24% are freely sold in the local haats (market) for their livelihood sustenance. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of nine villages with respect to forest resources indicated the village specific use pattern of plant resources. Indigenous inherent knowledge of local plants is decreasing in Lingtam. PWLS and its adjoining villages have important places with religious importance, heritage sites managed by the people. It was observed that exploitation of plant resources, lack of maintenance and fast changing concept of traditional ethics among youths, plant resources were degraded and in regenerating stage.

1. Introduction

Viruses are a unique group of infectious agents. They are distinct in their simple, acellular organization; however, they are the connecting link between live and dead. Viruses are also the perfect example of obligate intracellular parasitism. Despite their simplicity, plant viruses are extremely important and drawn attention of researches because they can be used as model to study the disease establishment and progression mechanism, reproduction inside the host and trilateral host-virus-vector relationships. Their small genome also gave liberty to extensively understand the genome evolution caused by the genetic exchange or recombination. As a consequence, this will help in the development of facile methods for management and control of new emerging viruses and their strains.

This chapter is written for the beginners and students of virology subject to provide the fundamental knowledge about the origin, history of plant virology, the general features of plant viruses, their structure, shape and size, mode of spread and development of their management strategies. Besides this, the new development of non-conventional methods for developing virus-resistance in plants has also been explained for enhancing the quality and production of commercial crops in the country.

Plants are used for many purposes apart from food such as industrial products like perfumes, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, food additives, cosmetics and also for rectifying the side effects of allopathic medicines, etc. Interest was taken in the chemical constituents of plants in the very early days of modern science. Plants were used for very many purposes besides providing food, such as for treating medical ailments and for dyeing in textiles.

To the agricultural chemists, any biological organism is ultimately constituted from the elements like C, H, O, N, P, Ca, Mg, S etc. Two or more elements combine to form complex organic compounds such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, enzymes, alkaloids, glycosides, organic acids and many more complex compounds. These biomolecules can be classified into two main major metabolites. (1) Primary metabolites and (2) Secondary metabolites.

6.1 Introduction

All separation procedures depend mainly on some physical characteristics of the compounds. It is relatively easy to separate compounds that have significantly different physical characteristics by simple techniques such as solvent extraction. If the various compounds are similar to each other in their molecular size, any slight difference in any one of their physical properties is exploited to achieve separation. The separation and purification of plant constituents is mainly carried out using one or other, or a combination of chromatographic techniques: Paper Chromatography (PC), Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), Column Chromatography (CC), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPTLC), Optimum Performance Laminar Chromatography (OPLC), Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). One further technique, which has fairly wide application in phytochemistry, is electrophoresis.

Food packaging is an essential technique for preserving food quality and minimizing food wastage. It is a scientific technique of containing food against physical, chemical and microbiological contaminants. In addition package also display the product in most appropriate manner and provide product information to the consumers while at the same time allowing convenient handling and efficient distribution. The packaging of meat and meat products are particularly important because meat is highly nutritious food and provides good medium for the growth of micro-organisms. Meat and meat products are also susceptible to bacterial growth due to their high water activity. Exposure of meat and meat products on atmospheric temperature and sunlight leads to various types of deteriorative changes. For example when cut meat surfaces exposed to ambient air provide excellent breeding grounds for most bacteria. Minced meat is even more at risk due to the large exposed surface area. Packaging provides protection of food against external and internal factors but once food gets deteriorated it can not be controlled by packaging. For this reason rigorous hygiene in all processing and pre-packaging steps is vital for packaging of perishable food items like meat and meat products.

Sun is the prime source of energy injected into the earth’s atmosphere. The sun is the nearest star to the earth. It is a hot ball of glowing gases at the heart of the solar system. Its radiant energy is practically the only energy source to the earth. Very small and insignificant quantities of energy are available from other sources such as the interior of the earth, the moon, and other stars. Without the sun’s intense energy and heat, there would be no life on earth.

The mean distance of the sun from the earth, also known as one astronomical unit (1 AU), is approximately 1.496 × 10⁸ km, though the distance varies as the earth revolves round the sun in an elliptical orbit. At this average distance, light travels from the sun to earth in about 8 minutes and 19 seconds. The energy of the sunlight supports almost all life on earth by photosynthesis, and drives earth’s climate and weather. The minimum sun-earth distance is about 0.983 AU and the maximum is approximately 1.017 AU. The earth is at its closest point to the sun (perihelion) on around January 3 and at its farthest point (aphelion) on around July 4.

The sun makes up about 99.86% of the mass of the entire solar system. The visible disk or photosphere has a radius of 6.599 × 10⁵ km, and the solar mass is 1.989 × 10³⁰ kg. The sun is a completely gaseous body. The chemical composition (by mass) of the outer layers of sun is 71 per cent hydrogen, 26.5 per cent helium, and 2.5 per cent heavier elements like oxygen, carbon, neon, and iron among others. Since the sun is not a solid body, different parts of the sun rotate at different rates. At the equator, the sun spins once about every 25 earth days, but at its poles the sun rotates once on its axis every 36 days.

Temperature is the physical property of an object that quantitatively expresses the hotness or coldness. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot. When a heat transfer path between them is open, heat spontaneously flows from bodies of a higher temperature to bodies of lower temperature. If no net heat flow occurs between two objects, the objects have the same temperature which are then said to be in ‘thermal equilibrium’. Temperature plays an important role in all fields of natural and applied sciences. Most of the weather parameters are dependent on it, directly or indirectly. It has important role to play in the development and growth of all living organisms in all stages of their growth.

Atmosphere receives the heat energy from the sun and its temperature increases. Due to different amount of heat energy receipt at different places, the air temperatures at different places also vary. The variation in air temperature basically results into air motion, so as to equalise the energy content of the different regions of the earth. Thus, atmospheric temperature is one of the basic elements of weather and climate.

In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, food processors, retailers and restaurants. Requirements vary from country to country, and generally involve a set of production standards for growing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping organic certification ensures:

• Avoidance of synthetic chemical inputs (e.g. Fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, etc) and genetically modified organisms;
• Use of farmland that has been free from chemicals for a number of years (often, three or more);
• Keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail);
• Maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products and
• Undergoing periodical on-site inspections.

In some countries, certification is overseen by the government, and commercial use of the term organic is legally restricted. Certified organic producers are also subject to the same agricultural, food safety and other government regulations that apply to non-certified producers.

Abstract: Gerberas are popular seed and vegetatively propagated flower crop with numerous phenotypes, series and cultivars available on the world market. Crop improvement is currently focused on bicoloured mini gerbera, semi-double and spider type forms, and hybrid cultivars with expanded colour range to boost productivity and profitability. Application of genetic engineering techniques and tools are aiding in modern gerbera breeding. The need for new cultivars remains strong as production system become more specialized and new markets develop. Breeding objectives with high priority include cut flower cultivars highly resistant to diseases, tolerant to low temperature, and floral longevity.

Abstract: Water lily, bulbous ornamental, constitute element of aquatic gardens. A variety of flower colour, flower forms, modes of reproduction and leaf sizes exist in Nymphaea. This species is a complex hybrid group. A wide range of polyploidy (including aneuploidy, trisomy, polysomaty), polymorphism and heterozygosity exists within the cultivars of water lily. Genetic information and trait heritability is almost unknown for this crop. Breeders have created synthetic water lily hybrids. Low fecundity, limited fertility, reproductive barriers, low seed set, relatively low elemental (founding) species among elite germplasm often pose significant challenges to flower breeders. Breeding objectives with high priority include tolerance to drought, year round flowering and lower seed tannins. Future breeding and genetic studies are needed to further transform this crop.

Keywords: Nymphaea, correlation, sterility, interspecific hybridization polyploidy.

Seed yield is the foremost important attribute and is the end product of many complex component characters which singly or jointly influence the seed yield. Seed yield does not possess gene per se as such. It is the interaction phenotype of the harmonious understanding, mutual adjustment and manifestation of its component characters. As most of the component characters are polygenic, they are greatly influenced by the environment. So, the selection of genotypes based on yield as such is not likely to be effective. The information on the strength and direction of association of the component characters with seed yield and also among themselves will be very useful in formulating an effective breeding programme for seed yield improvement in a given time. Correlation studies provide about the magnitude and direction of genetic association between the seed yield and its component characters.

Correlation coefficients provide the measure of association between two characters. But, they do not provide the causal basis of such association. Further, correlation between seed yield and its component characters are often misleading due to the inter-relationship that exist among the component characters and the operation of size symmetry and component compensation that thwart the breeding progress. The direct contribution of each component to the seed yield and the indirect effects it has through its association with other components cannot be differentiated from mere correlation studies. This is how, it became necessary for a plant breeder to have information on the direct and indirect effects of these components on the seed yield to identify the key characters for improvement.

Abstracts

To ensure safe food and adequate sanitation programs, the equipment used for processing of food products must be designed, fabricated, constructed, and installed according to sound hygienic design principles. This ensures the equipment can be adequately cleaned and sanitized, and that surfaces are resistant to daily exposure to corrosive food products and cleaning/sanitizing chemicals. This chapter focuses primarily on fundamental principles of hygienic design, which protect the product from microbial, chemical, and foreign-body contamination. This is followed by a discussion of general aspects of hygienic construction and design of food equipments, the selection of materials of construction and specification of surface finishes, fabrication, installation and cleaning and sanitization. Quality of raw materials or foods ingredients, proper processing, packaging and storage of finished products decides the quality of the food products. Planning for plant and equipment layout, its design, services (water, air, refrigeration, steam), waste disposal etc. are some of the critical factors, which contributes to quality. In addition, the food processing equipment must comply with strict standards and regulations, which are necessary for securing the quality and safety of the food products to the consumers.

9.1 Introduction

Solar energy can be directly converted into electrical energy through photovoltaic route. Energy conversion devices which are used to convert sun light into electricity by use of the photovoltaic effect are called solar cells. The advantages of solar cells are:

1. They are reliable, convenient and durable.
2. It is green, sustainable and pollution free technology.
3. Directly solar radiation can be converted into electricity (conversion of global solar light by flat plate photovoltaic).
4. Maintenance cost is quite low therefore suitable even in isolated and remote area, since no moving parts are involved.
5. Solar cells are quite compatible with almost all environments, respond instantaneously with solar radiation.
6. Considerable expected lifetime i.e. 20 years or even more.
7. No distribution system is required, because they are decentralized source of energy and located at the place of use.

INTRODUCTION

Fish culture as a hobby or business is well established in India. Increased interest in fish culture has also increased awareness and experience with parasites that affect fish health, growth, and survival. Information provided in this chapter is intended for the novice fish culturist as a guide to common parasites of freshwater fish. Identification of parasites and their basic treatment is included; however, any herbal treatment alone or biological cum chemical treatment may be choosen for eradication purpose (Das et al., 1995a).

PREVENTION

This section will discuss ailments that affect the fish kept in our aquariums. We will simply not call them diseases because most are not true diseases but a response to some sort of stimuli such as poor tank water management or the presence of actual parasites. A list of the most common ailments, the reasons behind them and the appropriate action needed to “fix” the problem is given in this Chapter.

If you maintain good water quality, keep the right kind of fish together, feed good quality food and monitor all your water properties you will rarely have any problems. A few common sense precautions when you purchase new fish can save you a lot of trouble.

Phosphorus in soil present both in inorganic form and organic form. The inorganic P can be divided into different pools. The major active inorganic forms are: P bound to aluminium (Al-P), iron (Fe-P), calcium (Ca-P) and silicate minerals and relatively less active forms are occluded and reductant soluble forms of P. On the other hand the principal organic P compounds present in soil are (i) inositol phosphate, (ii) phospholipids, (iii) nucleic acid and other unidentified esters and phosphoproteins.

15.1. Determination of Available Soil P

The availability of soil P to plant varies greatly depending upon the reaction, minerological composition and amount of the soil colloid. Very little P is present in the soil solution except in recently fertilized or sodic soils. The type of phosphate ions present in the soil solution depends on the soil pH. In soils of neutral to slightly alkaline pH, HPO₄^2- ion is the dominant form. In slightly or moderately acidic soils, both H₂PO₄^- and HPO₄^2- ions prevail. At strongly acidic soil H₂PO₄^- ion tends to dominate, while above pH 9.0, the PO₄^3- ion becomes more important than H₂PO₄^-.

8.0. Introduction

Food additives are the substances not normally consumed as a food by itself and contain or not contain nutritive value but are added to food to improve freshness, sensory and keeping quality of food. So, a food additive is defined as a substance or a mixture of substances other than the food stuff incorporated in food either directly or indirectly as a result of any phase of production, processing, storage or packaging to improve or maintain the nutritional value, enhance quality, consumer acceptability and facilitate the preparation of materials e.g., acid, alkali, bleaching agents, emulsifying & sterilizing agents, flavours, colours, nutrient supplements, clarifying agents, humectants, chemical preservatives etc. Every food available in the market or at home contains food additives. So, now the question arises that whether additives are safe from consumption/toxicological point of view or not? What are the facts or fictions, if additives are to be used in the food preparation? These are the most important questions to be answered and discussed before their use in food industry.

Introduction

Food being the foremost basic need gets the priority in expenditure of people, especially poor class. Access to food demands affordability, which depends upon the twin factors namely, income of the people and prices prevailing in the country. Slower growth in income than prices would undermine the purchasing power, resulting in inadequate access to food and calorie consumption. Foodgrains account for about four-fifth of the calorie intake of the poor and an increase in cereal prices could significantly reduce the calorie intake of the poor, as it is sensitive to cereal prices.

Introduction

Geostatistics is a branch of statistics that deals with the analysis and modelling of geo-referenced data. Its main aims are to quantify spatial variability and to create maps from point observations. Of course there is much more to geostatistics than just that and indeed some of the other uses of geostatistics are addressed in this chapter too, but the emphasis is on the assessment of spatial variability and geostatistical interpolation.

The first step of geostatistical interpolation is to quantify the spatial correlation structure of the variable of interest. This can be done by examining the observations and how these vary in space. Next spatial interpolation makes use of the quantified spatial correlation to derive optimal predictions at unobserved locations and create a map. The interpolation error is quantified as well, which helps to design optimal spatial sampling schemes that balance data collection costs and map accuracy. All this will be explained in this chapter, but in order to do so we first need to explain the statistical theory that underlies geostatistical interpolation followed by representation of the spatial correlation structure, the basics of geostatistical interpolation (‘kriging’), kriging extensions and spatial stochastic simulation.

Crop protection research has brought out tangible and effective methods to suppress various pests in major agro-ecosystems. Indigenous knowledge in this regard has been tested and validated for its suitability.

Among the 137 Phytophthora isolates collected from bud rot/fruit rot affected coconut gardens in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, four isolates from bud rot affected gardens were identified as P. nicotianae and one as P. capsici. Since, P. nicotianae is found associated with bud rot disease of coconut in three districts representing three states, it is expected that this may emerge as a major pathogen of coconut. Further, placing Trichoderma coir pith cake in the innermost leaf axils of coconut palm in disease endemic areas just before the onset of southwest monsoon (May-end) and thereafter at two months interval was found to be very effective in the management of bud rot disease of coconut.

Guar [Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.], internationally known as guar, is extremely drought hardy, deep rooted, summer annual legume of great economic and adaptive significance. Virtues of guar effectively match with low and erratic rainfall pattern and high ambient temperature habitats of arid regions. The crop may thrive very well in rainfall range of 250-450 mm with 3-4 spells, temperature range of 25-40°C, RH values of 50-65%, longer days with 8-9 hr sunshine, particularly at maturity. Guar is ideally suited to light to medium textured soils, with no water logging conditions. The crop tolerates less inputs and restricted after care, matching with the arid farmers’ livelihood conditions. It is grown for grain, vegetable, fodder, cattle feed and green manure purposes, mainly in rainfed habitats of Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat and to some extent in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. This crop has recently been introduced in non-traditional regions of Annantpur, Kadappa and Chittoor dry region of Andhra Pradesh. Only duringcurrent summer season of 2012, guar has been successfully cultivated with 4-5 irrigations in parts of Chattirgarh and Vidarbha and in non traditional summer seasons of Rajasthan. The cultivation in non-traditional regions and seasons have increased possibility of two crops in rainy and summer seasons. Even though, guar is cultivated on marginal lands, with marginal inputs in these regions, yet it has occupied the status of international, export oriented cash crop. The same has been due to presence of natural polysaccharide galactomannan gum content in seed endosperm. The gum content has wide industrial uses. Almost 80-85% guar gum produced in India is exported and rest is used for inland commercial demands. Of late, increasing demands of guar gum for USA alone to the tune of 5.0 lakh tonnes annually has led to sky rocketing prices resulting in economic benefit of Rs. 1.0 lakh to 1.5 lakh/ha in 90-100 days only. Hence, guar is rated as a source for providing livelihood security to arid farmers in practical reference. Relevant information on guar have been provided in this chapter.

ABSTRACT

Mining is an important activity for economic development. However, it is associated with land degradation, pollution of air and water, droughts, floods, land slides and land slips, silting of reservoirs, chocking of bridges and disruption of communications are some of the very serious environmental hazards. The need of the hour is to scientifically extract the mineral coupled with adopting mechanical and vegetative measures to rehabilitate the mine spoils. In the present paper effect of mining on natural resources has been detailed, also techniques adopted and standardized for rehabilitation Sahastradhara mined area of Dehra Dun valley over two decades have been clubbed.

ABSTRACT

Fodder availability is a serious concern during winter season in hilly areas as land for growing fodder crops is hardly available unlike plains. Bhimal as an agroforestry species is being cultivated in the Himalayas since long, however, genetic improvement of the species was hardly undertaken in the past barring a few reports on tree improvement of the species. Seeds were used to be usually collected from crooked trees which are easy to climb or swept from the forest floor. Since agroforestry systems have great promise to improve the productivity of both agricultural and tree crops, therefore, keeping that in view, seven provenances (I.C. Bhaintan , I.C. Chamba, I.C. Katkor, I.C. Malas, I.C. Nauni, I.C. Naur, I.C. Tachla) were collected from different regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and evaluated for 10 years (1995-2004). Significant differences in the productivity potential of Bhimal provenances were noticed and the high yielding fodder provenances identified (I.C. Bhaintan , I.C. Chamba and I.C. Malas), yielding as high as 35 q ha^-1 thus fodder productivity could be increased to 25% by planting high yielding provenances. Likewise high yielding provenaces (HYPs) for fuelwood and fibre were identified which can increase the productivity potential of the agroforestry system. In 2005, more than 1200 saplings of HYPs were multiplied in a polyhouse and planted at different elevations in the Himalayas under prevailing agroforestry systems. Differential responses of HYPs in respect of growth and productivity at different locations have been monitored. The rooting behaviour of HYPs was also investigated and it was found that all the three provenances viz., I.C. Bhaintan, I.C. Chamba and I.C. Malas have high soil binding characteristics, thus revealing that apart from production, this tree species plays an important role in soil conservation. Further, high regression of soil binding on above ground biomass and specific root length was recorded among these provenaces. Looking at the performance of such provenances on the farmers’ fields, the demand of high yielding provenaces is increasing. Unlike Eucalyptus, Bhimal had the minimal effect on the performance of field crops and the overall system productivity of the Grewia optiva based agroforestry system was profitable along with insurance against aberrant monsoon conditions.

Abstract

Rise in global energy demand has led to an increase in consumption of fossil fuels. In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness about the consequences of pollution and global warming caused by burning of fossil fuels. This has led to an increased interest in the search for sustainable energy. Transportation sector is a major consumer of world’s energy resources. n-Butanol is one of the most promising alternative bio-fuels which has various advantages over other biofuels. The microbial n-butanol is produced by anaerobic conversion of the substrate to n-butyric acid and subsequently utilized to form n-butanol. The present chapter explores the scope of bacterial butanol production as need of the hour and its use as an alternative biofuel.

Abstract

The normal human microbial flora comprises of both aerobes and anaerobes at various sites. Anaerobes are recognised as pathogens causing simple abscesses to life threatening human infections like gas gangrene. They are also incriminated in a large number of mixed bacterial infections and their diagnosis and specific therapy is important for better patient outcomes. The emergence of Clostridioides difficile as an important pathogen causing antibiotic associated diarrhoeas and its emerging resistance to antimicrobial agents has brought anaerobic microbiology into the forefront. Unfortunately, anaerobic clinical microbiology is difficult to practice with long turnaround time, difficult to grow pathogens, new genera and species being discovered based on 16S rRNA sequencing methods and increasing incidence of antimicrobial resistance being reported in anaerobes. This chapter delves into the important aspects required to improve utilization of anaerobic microbiology services and the variety of human infections we encounter in clinical practice due to anaerobic bacteria.

2.1 Introduction

Biomass store solar energy in the chemical form and it is most precious and versatile resources on earth. Biomass, unlike fossil fuels, is a renewable energy resource that is available where the climatic conditions are favorable for plant growth and production¹. The term biomass is used for all organic materials which are combustible in nature, mainly plant and animal origin present in land and aquatic environments. Biomass is considered carbon neutral, because the amount of carbon it can release is equivalent to the amount it absorbed during its life time. There is no net increase of carbon to the environment in the long term when combusting the lignocellulosic materials. Therefore, we can say that biomass is a renewable source of energy and can play vital role in responding to concerns over the protection of the environment and the security of energy supply^2,3.

Biomass energy accounts for about 15% of the world’s primary energy consumption and about 38% of the primary energy consumption in developing countries⁴. Furthermore, biomass often accounts for more than 90% of the total rural energy supplies in developing countries⁵. It is the main source to meet out domestic energy in developing countries⁶. The efficient use of fuel wood is much more eco-friendly than the use of efficient and conventional fuels like kerosene and liquefy petroleum gas (LPG). LPG emits 15 times more CO₂ per kg than wood, and kerosene emits nearly 10 times as much. CO₂ is the prominent candidate for global. It is commonly assumed that biomass fuel cycles based on renewable in nature and greenhouse-gas (GHG) neutral because the combusted carbon in the form of CO₂ is soon taken up by re-growing vegetation⁷.

Introduction

Agricultural pests cause considerable yield losses throughout the world. In ancient times, farmers had to manage pest problem to safeguard their basic needs, and as a response, the farmers use to practice and develop cultural and mechanical pest control strategies based on their field experience. Over a period of time, these practices have become a part of their production management system. Pest management practices began to change in later stages of the 18^th century. Introduction of pesticides in agricultural ecosystems 1950’s contributed substantially in raising agricultural productivity and they become an integral component of intensive agricultural ecosystems. At the same time, environmentalists raised their concerns on deleterious effects of pesticides on environment, human health and non-target organisms. Excessive use and abuse of pesticides leads to the problems like resistance, resurgence and residues (Beaument, 1993). One of the deleterious effects of over use of pesticides is the death of effective predator and parasitoids. This ultimately leads to the imbalance in the agroecosystem. Concerns about the negative effects of pesticides led to research and promotion of alternative pest control practices – Integrated Pest Control or simply IPC. This new concept called Integrated Pest Control (IPC) and later Integrated Pest Management (IPM) was stimulated by symposia organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in 1966 and the International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC) in 1967. IPM made a paradigm shift in the philosophy of pest control, from pest eradication to pest management. Instead of single tactic control, emphasis was placed on the use of a combination of available tactics in a compatible manner keep the pest below economic injury levels. Consequently, a more integrated approach of pest control was advocated considering the natural mortality factors. IPM is a complex system approach that comprises judicious use of cultural, physical, mechanical, biological, host plant resistance, regulatory and chemical methods.

1.1. Definition of Small-scale Enterprises

According to Shonekan’s keynote address at the Faculty of Business Administration Conference (1992), captured with the theme: “Management of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Nigeria.” He said,

“While it is difficult to have one universal definition of SMEs since there are usually many non-constant factors and variables, the spin-off industries are usually small or medium scale. In practical terms, SMEs constitute the bedrock of our national economy. They are our industrial feedstock, the engine of production for the bigger industries. The thriving economies of the world have a record of carefully structured SMEs. In Japan for instance, the bulk of manufacturing is at the small and medium scale levels. This situation also obtains in the ‘Asian Tigers’ (i.e. Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, etc).”

19.1. Remedies to Combat Unemployment in Nigeria

(a) Rural development

One way of stemming the rural-urban drift, and thus control the resulting unemployment in our urban centers, it for the government to develop the rural areas. Not only should amenities be provided, but jobs should be created in the rural areas to stem the exodus. Fortunately, the Babangida administration seemed to have realized this with the huge amount allocation for the development of rural areas in the 1986 and 1987 budgets.

(b) Population control

Government must intensity the effort to control population growth Nigeria already has a huge population and with an estimated growth rate of about 3 percent annually, this can only compound the unemployment in the face of inadequate resources. It is therefore advocated that the government should renew the family planning campaign to check the population growth.

In the area of pharmaceutical discovery, screening methods continue to play a major role in drug discovery. The screening process is simply testing molecular entities (compounds/natural products) for activity to advance those that exhibit the desired activity. This process has evolved over time in both the testing methods and in the degree of testing. Originally, the screening was done entirely by dosing animals and studying their responses. Then came test tube experiments and now, testing is conducted either with cell lines or with purified proteins in miniaturized test tubes called microplate wells. Screening by microplate has allowed the degree of testing to increase from a very small selected set of compounds to libraries, which contain thousands of test substances. Technological improvements in many areas of science and information technology have led to the evolution of screening methods from time consuming, animal dosing studies to high throughput screening (HTS) methods that have the potential to generate very large datasets of information in a very short time. Today, developments in bioinformatics have opened up the possibility of virtual (in silico) screens for targets where there is sufficient knowledge of the target or of its ligand. High throughput screening has become a pivotal part of drug discovery for identifying potential lead molecules for specific disease targets. The success of screening is measured by several factors including the throughput and costs of the assays, but ultimately by how many of the HTS hits progress forward through the drug discovery pipeline. Miniaturization of assays by conversion from 96- to 384- to 1536- wells to well-less platforms, such as microarrays and the utilization of automated equipments are methodologies implemented to increase the throughput and reduce the cost of the screen.

Wilt

Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vasinfectum

Economic Importance

• Wilt is one of the major diseases of cotton, found wherever this crop is grown like Mexico, African countries, France, Italy, Yugoslavia, India and West Indies.
• In India, the disease was first reported from Nagpur by Evans in 1908.
• It appears in almost every cotton tract of the country. However, it is more or less absent in the loamy soils of Indo Gangetic plains and sandy loams of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other States.
• In affected susceptible varieties yield losses exceed 45-50%.

The safety of the food supply suitably remains a high main concern for industry stakeholders, regulatory agencies and patrons. With the surfacing of new safety challenges and issues, companies are establishing and upgrading programs to reduce risk factors. These programs are constantly monitored for reliability, repeatability, reproducibility and effectiveness. Due to the health and safety risks posed by chemical, microbiological and environmental contaminants, analytical methods are progressively more becoming a pride and joy of food safety programs. Innovative analytical approaches are being developed in response to budding food safety issues. To monitor for known issues only the established and officially approved methods are used often. Oftentimes, new analytical methods are developed, improved or modified quickly in response to issues, such as melamine contamination, which are unforeseen. In such instances, accurate data derived from sound, validated analytical methods are required to facilitate industry stakeholders and regulators to make sound methodical decisions.

Through research, industry has improved a host of analytical methods in recent years, resulting in higher sensitivity and accuracy for difficult-to-detect contaminants, detection of contaminants in new matrix classes for grades. These advances have been made in the face of changing set of laws, more painstaking method-validation standards and end user demands for safe, quality products. Further to this, this spirit of innovation will continue to be fundamental in industry’s efforts to ensure the safety of the comprehensive food chain.

Introduction

Food is any substance or a product obtained from nature, which contains nutritive and non-nutritive components that help to maintain or improve the health of an individual if consumed in optimal amount (Sukhneet and Malhotra, 2014). Globalization of food production and procurement makes food chains longer and more complex and increases the risk of food safety incidents. Infections and diseases arising from contaminated/adulterated food remain threats to global public health (Havelaar et al., 2015; Luo et al., 2019). The WHO reports shows that every year foodborne diseases cause the death of 33 million people including many children (WHO, 2019). Food safety is linked to the presence of foodborne hazards in food at the point of consumption. Since food safety hazards can occur at any stage in the food chain it is essential that adequate control be in place. Therefore, a combined effort of all parties in the food chain is required to deliver safe food products to the final consumer. Effective and harmonized food safety systems shall manage and ensure the safety and suitability of food in each link of the supply chain.

Although the food industry has the prime responsibility of ensuring safe foods in most societies, the maintenance of a safe food supply is regarded as a responsibility of the government of that country. This responsibility has, over many years, led governments to adopt legislation, standards and regulations for food processing and to impose penalties when a business fails to meet the expectation. As with any legislation, an effective system for detecting failures to comply with the legal requirements increases compliance and hence, in this case, promotes food safety. Governments have an obligation to protect consumer health and this includes protection against food borne diseases. Food standards are therefore necessary to aid governments in protecting public health. However, the standards can only be effective when they are enforced through an efficient food control system. This therefore requires comprehensive legislation inspection, food monitoring and food borne surveillance. An efficient food control system must be supported by competent staff with good laboratory services. Political and institutional support and stability are also important elements.

Introduction

Food is a resource of vital importance and its safety in the whole chain, from producer to consumer, is a worldwide concern. In fact, as food trade expands throughout the world, food safety has become a shared concern among all consumers. This issue began to be taken seriously at a period where there is a significant increase of illness caused by infected food in both developed and developing countries. Unsafe food contains hazardous agents or contaminants that can make people sick, immediately or by increasing their risk of chronic disease. Contaminants can enter food at many different points in the food production process, and can occur naturally or as the result of poor or inadequate production practices. International competitiveness depends more on quality and safety concerns than on prices. Governments and local authorities intervene in the market place in setting technical regulations; and sanitary and phytosanitary measures. This encouraged food processing companies around the world to implement food safety management systems which guarantees the production and distribution of safe foods. Prerequisite Programs (PRPs) are considered as the integral part of food safety standards and audit schemes all over the world. It is essential to implement food safety programmes in every company to check the chances of illness or injury due to unsafe food.

Introduction

The conventional thermal processing technologies are dependent on high temperature to control the growth of pathogenic and spoilage causing microorganisms. However, the exposure to high temperature for prolonged time results in several biological, chemical and physical modifications leading to their sensory, nutritional and textural changes. Currently, consumers are more interested in minimally processed food products with improved safety and shelf life. In order to fulfill the market demand, innovative non-thermal food processing techniques to inactivate the microorganisms have been developed. These techniques retain freshness, nutritional value and sensory characteristics of food items without any significant thermal degradation.

Non-thermal technologies are used in interdisciplinary sciences, and in many other applied areas. The three main pillars related to the use of novel food technologies are food safety, quality and environmental impacts. Besides the food safety and quality dimensions, these non-thermal processing technologies have the possibility to shorten treatment time, lower energy consumption, and lower carbon footprint. Depending on the source of energy transfer, non-thermal technologies have different types of action. It includes inactivation of microorganisms in radical formation (plasma, ultrasound, ozonation, UV light, etc.); mechanical action through hydrodynamic effects, shock waves (ultrasound and plasma), electric and magnetic fields; or extremely high pressures that are causing disruption of the cell organelle.

The novel non-thermal technologies destroy the pathogens at room temperature as well as utilize less energy compared to conventional ones and have the potential of developing new food products having distinctive functionality. For optimizing the product quality, time for processing and also to inactivate the enzymes and bacteria, each of these techniques can be used either alone or in combination. The adverse effect of some technologies on the sensory, texture, and nutritional values of food could be overcome by using hurdle technology. Combination strategies are more efficient for improving the food quality and have the potential to ensure the microbial safety of foods. An overview of the effect of novel process technologies on the quality and safety of food is elaborated in this chapter.

Introduction

A food safety system revolves around different aspects, beginning right from the farm, where the food is created and transported to where the customers purchase, eat and dispose. This includes production, processing, distribution, preparation, marketing, access, consumption, and disposal. These processes need to have numerous resources like people, business, farms, communities, interventions, policies, and politics. All steps ought to be coordinated for an organisation to make progress. In today’s world of processed foods and industrial farming practices, ingredients and preparation procedures are typically uncertain. In order to reduce the confusion of consumers and to provide quick, straightforward identification of the commodities they’re searching for, many items are now “certified” by revered organizations.

Food safety certification is a third-party verification, to ensure that commodities, processes or systems in the food supply chain meet accepted food safety standards. It is distinct from different systems like supplier declarations, laboratory test reports or inspection body reports. Food certification is predicated on the results of tests, inspections and audits and provides confidence to the buyer as a result of an organization’s commodities or system are being completely evaluated against accepted national and international business standards by a competent third body.

Population studies have been traditionally used to monitor large scale, long term changes in avian population and to assess both habitat quality and the responses of birds to both management practices and natural and human caused environmental changes (Wiens, 1989). Species composition, abundance and behaviour of birds are known to vary seasonally (Morrison et al. 1980). Some species are permanent residents in an area, others occupy an area only during winter or summer months. In this chapter, seasonal variations of wetland bird community in the Kole wetlands are described in terms of species richness, abundance, diversity and density.

METHODS

Seasonal pattern

The study area has three distinct seasons viz. dry season (December to April) wet-I, the period of southwest monsoon (May to August) and wet-II, the period of northeast monsoon (September to November). Based on the arrival of migratory birds, the months are divided into migratory season (September to March) and non-migratory season (April to August). Occurrence of birds in each month obtained through the daily census data was used for the seasonality analysis. Monthly changes and seasonal changes of the community were analysed. Species richness, abundance, diversity indices of each season and also in migratory and non-migratory season were calculated and presented. Population fluctuations of 36 wader species in the four intensive study areas during three migratory seasons were estimated. Apart from these, detailed information on the population fluctuation of selected bird species was presented.

Habitat is the most valuable variable in ornithological studies as it provides food and cover essential for the survival of the population (White and Garrott, 1985). Habitat is an area containing or influenced by the suitable resources and environmental conditions that determine the presence, survival and reproduction of a population (Morrison et al., 1998). Cody (1985) described habitat as areas where an organism’s need for food and shelter are met. Habitat selection and use by birds is fundamental in understanding their biology and management and it has been one of the most well studied aspects of avian biology, particularly as habitats are altered by human activities (Pain and Pienkowski, 1996).

According to the optimal foraging theory, animals may use the areas offering higher food extensively (Stephens and Krebs, 1987). By using the most productive patches, birds may have a high ingestion rate, allowing to reduce the time exposed to predators and having more time to other activities. However, some authors have obtained contradictory results also. They have not found clear relationship between bird abundance and food availability (Wiens, 1984 and Herrera, 1988). The ability to exploit food resources is one of the most frequently suggested reasons for habitat selection by birds (Caraco, 1980) and would be expected to be primary basis for selection of foraging habitat.

Introduction

Global warming is a phenomenon of climate change characterized by a general increase in average temperatures of the Earth, which modifies the weather balances and ecosystems for a long time. In fact, the averages temperature of the planet has increased by 0.8° Celsius (33.4°F) compared to the end of the 19th century. Each of the last three decades has been warmer than all previous decades since the beginning of the statistical surveys in 1850. At the pace of current CO₂ emissions, scientists expect an increase of between 1.5° and 5.3°C (34.7° to 41.5°F) in average temperature by 2100 (Solarimpulse foundation, 2018). Most of the several dozens of predictive models indicate that average temperature can increase by 1.7-5.3°C, as a result of doubling CO₂ concentration within next 60-100 years. 2.3°C is a value most often mentioned what means an increase by 0.3°C a decade.

Climate change has emerged as the most pressing global challenge of the 21st century and which is one of the largest and most complex problems, the developed community has ever faced. The impacts of higher temperatures, variable precipitation, and extreme weather events have already begun to impact the economic performance of countries and the lives and livelihoods of millions of poor people. India is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. It has one of the highest densities of economic activity in the world, and very large numbers of poor people who rely on the natural resource base for their livelihoods, with a high dependence on rainfall. By 2020, pressure on India’s water, air, soil, and forests is expected to become the highest in the world.

During the last few decades, the global agricultural production has risen and technology enhancement is still contributing to yield growth. However, population growth, water crisis, deforestation and climate change threatens the global food security.

Introduction

A recent study investigated the feasibility of sustaining current and increased per capita fish consumption rates in 2050, based on extensive data with respect to the changes in global and regional climate, marine ecosystem and fisheries production estimates, human population estimates, fishmeal and oil price estimations and projections of the technological advancement in aquaculture technology. The study concludes that meeting current and larger consumption rates is feasible only if fish resources are managed sustainably and fisheries management are effective (1). Aquaculture Farm Managers facing uncertainty has to make decisions every day. Some decisions have vital consequences for farm business, while others are not as crucial. These decisions mainly relates to seed, feed, fertilisers and regular water intake as management tools of farm. The choices made today may have an immediate impact on the aquaculture business or may take much longer to have an effect. These decisions may involve any facet of the farm business, including production, personnel or financing. The bottom line is that irrespective of the size or scope of any single decision, nearly all decisions may have important implications for the immediate and future success of the farm business. Because many decisions have such important impacts, farm managers need to analyze alternatives in a methodical fashion. Some alternatives can easily be analyzed, and a decision can be made quickly. In other cases, farm managers must take more time to recognize and evaluate all potential effects of that decision. To do this, farm managers need a framework for analyzing the relevant trade-offs. Agricultural economists are usually members of multidisciplinary teams, engaged in solving problems of fisheries. The economist applies economic concepts and tools to estimate economic profitability of a technology. This input can be made during any phase of the research process, technology development, testing and evaluation on farm. This paper will focus on partial budgeting as a tool that can be used by non-economists. This paper discusses on the concept of partial budgeting, a useful and easily implementable framework for such analysis.

The concept of origin of cultivated plants was first developed by A de Candolle and the geographic centres of variability were developed by Vavilov. He identified Asia as a major centre with “Indian centre” of North East region as primary or secondary centre of origin for many crop plants. Plant genetic resources are of great importance as they form the basic raw materials to meet the current and future needs of crop improvement programmes. A wider genetic base, thus, assumes priority in plant breeding research aimed at developing new varieties for increased crop production (Paroda, 1991). This diversity comprises of native landraces, local selections, elite cultivars and wild relatives of crop plants. The collection and conservation of this diversity in a systematic manner is the primary responsibility of all plant genetic resources institutes/centres. The mention of use and cultivation of fruits can be seen in epics like ‘Ramayana’. Plant genetic resources are thus our heritage, which need conservation for posterity. During the long period of domestication, utilization and cultivation, a wide array of fruit crop variability got generated by natural means and through both conscious and unconscious selection. Huge wealth of variability also got generated/adapted and diversified by crop introductions in the exotic environment or through migration of human population.

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam) is a multi-purpose tree species that provides food, timber, fuel, fodder and medicinal and industrial products. It is one of the species that has been brought into wider cultivation through a farmer-driven domestication process because its products meet the household needs of families with limited land, which require wood and animal feed to ensure family food security. Despite such vast potential and usefulness, jackfruit remains an underutilized fruit species and deserves to be given the necessary thrust for research and development. There is little progress on the genetic improvement of the species, including study on its reproductive biology, even though it demonstrated substantial use and importance. Therefore, a brief background on the reproductive biology of jackfruit is covered here before dealing with its genetic improvement.

Introduction

Plant growth and productivity are adversely affected by various abiotic stresses. Plants are frequently exposed to a plethora of stress conditions such as low temperature, salt, drought, flooding, heat, and oxidative stress. Various anthropogenic activities have accentuated the existing stress factors. All these stress factors prevent them from reaching their full genetic potential and limit the crop productivity. In the event of growing concerns of uncertainties in climatic conditions, the abiotic stresses have become the major threat to agriculture production worldwide (Bray et al., 2000). The plant responses to abiotic stress condition are believed to be complex in nature as these are the reflections of integration of stress effects and responses at various levels of plant organization. To provide tolerance against stresses, plants are equipped with several inbuilt physiological and biochemical mechanisms occurring at cellular level. An understanding of processes linked to these mechanisms is vital in optimizing the crop growth and productivity under stress conditions.

Introduction

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.; Family- Arecaceae) also known as Khajoor, Kharek is an ancient important fruit tree of semi-arid and arid regions of the world. It grows well under poor desertic soils due to its hardy plant characteristics and deep root system. It is also suitable fruit trees for growing under saline irrigation conditions. It is well known fact for date palm that its feet in the water and its head in sun. It requires dry hot climate for growth and development of fruits. In arid region, crop production is risky preposition, where date palm cultivation contributes in achieving food security, high nutritive value food, crop diversification, desertification control, higher income generation and foreign exchange earnings. It can be grown at such places where adequate irrigation facility is available besides other dry hot climate conditions (Chandra et al, 1992; Singh and Dhandar, 2007). Better returns from date plantation can be achieved through good management practices besides adequate marketing of produce. The quality produce and its marketing will help to increase the income from date palm cultivation.