eChapters

1. The nucleus seed in cereals is produced by

   a) Ear to Row method

   b) Plant selection

   c) Progeny selection

   d) Head selection

2. Foundation seed is the progeny of

   a) Truthfully Labeled seed

   b) Foundation seed stage I

   c) Nucleus seed

   d) Breeder seed

Shrubs are main filler plants of the gardens and have wide range of variation with regard to growth, leaf texture and flower (shape, size and colour). They continue to bloom all most round the year and help to keep the gardens presentable. These are the reasons for selecting shrubs for plantation in every type of garden. The way shrubs influence general landscape with their exquisite shape, size, foliage, flower and fragrance are incredible. In residential and small gardens, there may be limited room for planting trees but accommodating shrubs is never a problem as they occupy small space. Similarly, large parks and gardens are also ideal place where the shrubs can be fully utilized in various ways.

Classification

Availability of shrubs is large in numbers. Selection of right type as per design of the garden, is an important task as these are main filler plants of the gardens. Basic knowledge on growth habit and flowering is necessary for their judicious use. Therefore, shrubs have been classified on the basis of height, growth habit, foliage, flower colour, fragrance etc. for facilitating proper selection.

Techno economic feasibility of livestock enterprises under different conditions

The technical and economic feasibility part examines the possible technical and economic aspects of a proposed livestock project. In this chapter we would be studying techno economic feasibilities of various livestock based enterprise

1. Technical and Economic Feasibility of a Dairy unit

2. Technical and Economic Feasibility of a Goat Farm

3. Technical and Economic Feasibility of a Pig Farm

4. Technical and Economic Feasibility of a Feed unit

15.1 Introduction

Color of food is the most sensitive part of any commodity as it is the one of the organoleptic characteristic to be noticed and one of the main ways of visually assessing a food before it is consumed. The people associate certain colors with certain flavors and the color of food can influence the perceived flavor in anything from confectionary to beverages. For this reason, food manufacturers add dyes to their products. Sometimes the aim is to simulate a color that is perceived by the consumer as natural, such as adding red coloring to glace cherries, but sometimes it is for effect, like the green ketchup that was launched by Heinz in 2000. If the flavor of a food product is inconsistent with the color, the flavor can often be perceived incorrectly, for example an orange flavored drink colored green could be perceived to taste of lime. In addition, the color of a food substance is important indicator of its freshness. While all of us are aware that food with bright or unnatural colors likely contains food coloring but only few people know that natural foods such as oranges and salmon are sometimes also dyed to mask natural variations in color. The color variation in foods throughout the seasons and the effects of processing and storage often make color addition commercially advantageous to maintain the color expected or preferred by the consumer. Some of the primary reasons include:

Post Harvest Technology

Introduction

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

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

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

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

Introduction

Seed certification is a legally approved system for quality control of seed multiplication and production. Seed certification procedures are designed to ensure physical and genetic purity, freedom from other crop seeds, objectionable and other weed seeds and designated diseases with good germinability of the foundation and certified seed. Seed certification is done by the State Seed Certification Agency of the concerned state (SSCA) notified under section 8 of the Seeds Act, 1966 or by National Seed Corporation (NSC), where State Seed Certification Agency does not exist. The General Seed Certification Standards are applicable to all crops, which are eligible for certification, while field and seed standards are applicable to individual crop, constituted as the minimum seed certification standards. The word ‘seed’ or ‘seeds’ as used in these standards also includes all the propagating materials. Seeds or propagating material, which does not meet the standards of seed certification prescribed in the Indian Minimum Seeds Certification Standards, 2013 (Gunasekaran and Trivedi, 2013), are not certified by the Seed Certification Agency. The general seed and field standards for various crops are given at the end of this chapter.

Role of Biotechnological Approaches

In our fore-going chapters, we have studied variety of plant products such as alkaloids, glycosides, volatile or essential oils, gums and mucilage and oleoresins with varied role to play to the plants as well as to human.Knowledge of plants and knowledge of healing have been closely linked. It is well established that industries have many direct and indirect effects on human population. Increased stress is most evident at the same time health awareness goes parallel in the recent times. Most of the natural plant products are compounds biosynthetically derived from primary metabolites such as amino acids, carbohydrate metabolic intermediates and fatty acids. These secondary metabolites are the major sources of pharmaceuticals, food additives, fragrance and pesticides.

Application of biotechnology know how helps to synthesize the novel molecules and also could be beneficial to enhance the production of secondary metabolites. Classical definition of biotechnology states that it is “The use of living organisms or their products to enhance our lives and our environment.” The word Pharming is commonly use to describe genetically engineered plants or livestock to produce medically useful products –predominantly protein drugs. Plants or animals are genetically engineered to contain genes capable of producing a biologic or drug compound. Therapeutic proteins are designed to treat illness includes serum proteins, cytokines, growth regulators, anti coagulants, antbiotics, lysosomal enzymes and plant secondary metabolites.

Formulation of meat and sea food products requires various ingredients which are commonly known as food additives. Food additives are those non-meat ingredients which are used to enhance colour, flavour, aroma and texture of the meat and sea food products. These food products can fulfil the demand of modern consumers. As per the definition of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food additives are those substance which are used to provide a technical effect in foods. The use of food additives has become more prominent in recent years, due to the increased production of prepared, processed, and convenience foods. Additives are used for flavour and appeal, food preparation and processing, freshness, and safety. These additives can be classified as curing ingredients, extenders and binders, flavour enhancers and other additives. For the formulation of different products both raw materials and ingredients should be of food grade and sound hygienic strength. In the starting of this chapter we will discuss about ingredients used then the specific formulations will be discussed for better understanding of meat and sea food processing.

Curing Ingredients

Curing agents such as salt, phosphate, sugars, nitrite and nitrate, sodium ascorbate and erythorbate etc. have traditionally been used in various meat formulations from long back. The details of these ingredients have already been discussed in chapter-8 of this book. So we will try to discuss other ingredients which are relevant for meat and sea food products other than these ingredients. Cure accelerators such as ascorbates and erythorbates are used to speed the curing process. They also stabilize the colour of the final product. The examples are ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid, sodium erythorbate, citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, glucono delta lactone (GDL) etc. Glucono-delta-lactone (GDL) acts as a curing accelerator in meat and meat products. It is permissible up to 1% in sausages and up to this level it lowers the pH about 0.5 thus inhibits the growth of spoilage micro-organisms. GDL also facilitate the cured colour development.

Abstract: Carnation, is one of the commercial flower crops of the world. There are many forms of carnations, which are excellent for cut flowers, bedding pots, edging and rock gardens. The history of crop improvement and development is highlighted. Their continued popularity has warranted extensive breeding and development of novel phenotypes particularly standards (Sims), sprays, midis, annual, picotees, perpetual, chabaud, malmaison, multiflora, microcarnations, etc. Continuous breeding and improvement of carnation focus on floral fragrance, floral doubleness, dwarf stature, high growth rate, floral colour, reduced calyx splitting, floral longevity and disease resistance. Ample genetic information and trait heritability has been established for this crop. Molecular genetics techniques are valuable tools aiding modern carnation breeders. Numerous genes have been identified and being used to create transformants. Wonderful results achieved through interspecific hybridization, mutation and polyploid breeding are discussed. Poor pollen production, inbreeding depression, linkage between traits, limited gene pool, inadequate seed production, reproductive barriers often pose significant challenges to breeders. Crop ideotypes prescribe numerous traits for incorporation by flower breeders and geneticists, including straight stem, symmetrical flower shape/ form, early/ uniform flowering with high productivity, enhanced shelf life and resistance to physiological disorders and various diseases.

A. Diseases

1. Anthracnose

Hemp anthracnose is caused by two different fungi, viz., Colletotrichum coccodes (=C. atramentarium) and Colletotrichum dematium (Saccardo, 1882; Cavara, 1889).

i) Anthracnose (Colletotrichum coccodes)

Occurrence & severity status

The anthracnose disease occurs on many plants, including hemp (Cannabis sativa). The disease causing fungus is well-studied and it is an important pathogen responsible for black dot disease on potato. The fungus is an unspecialized pathogen, infecting a wide range of host families. It is most common in Canada and commonly regarded as a minor pathogen or secondary invader, but the fungus may seriously affect yield where intensive cropping without rotation occurs. It primarily affects the growth rate of plants and diminishes harvest. Moreover, it becomes fatal occasionally. Hoffman (1958, 1959) reported heavy hemp losses in central Europe. Conversely, Gitman (1968b) considered the pathogen was of little importance in the USSR.

Horticulture word derived from Latin word: Hortus meaning ‘Garden’ and cultura means ‘cultivation’.

Father of horticulture: Thomas Andrew Knight, John Lindley, Liberty Hyde Bailey.

1^st artificial hybridization in fruit crop in world: T. A. Knight.

Father of vegetables: L. H. Bailey.

1^st book in horticulture: Fruit growing in India: W.B. Hayes (1945) & related to litchi.

Export growth of fresh fruits and vegetables in term of value is 14% and of processed fruits and vegetables is 16.27%.

Contribution of horticulture sector to agriculture GDP (2013-14): 29%.

India is largest producer of Coconut, Cashew, Tea and Spices.

India is bestowed with a wide range of agro-climatic and soil conditions. Therefore, almost all types of fruits can be grown in one or the other parts of the country. India is the second largest producer of fruits next to China. In India, fruit crops occupied 6.5 million hectares and it produces 96.75 million metric tonnes of fruits. India has exported fruits worth Rs. 4817.35 crores (692.01 USD Millions) (National Horticulture Board).

Improvement of fruit crops is difficult because of long gestation period, high heterozygosity, scanty information on inheritance pattern, often cross pollination, excessive fruit drop, parthenocarpy and less number of seeds restricting the availability of hybrid seedlings for evaluation. Even though, planned hybridization and clonal selections have been attempted in a number of fruit crops and these efforts have resulted in the development of promising varieties (mango, grape, guava, papaya, sapota, banana, etc). However, systematic and dedicated efforts are still required for the development of ideal varieties through modern tools in fruit crops.

In future, search for desired gene, critical study of inheritance pattern and use of biotechnological tools require due attention in combining ideal characteristics in varietal improvement programme of fruit crops.

The greenhouse technology is all about the controlling of ambient climatic factors to create a favourable ‘micro-climate’ for the crop growth. The magnitude of such control may differ from minimal to maximum. It may control single (like rain) to multiple aspects (like rain, temperature, humidity, sun-light, wind, carbon-di-oxide, etc in combination). It can simply be done by manipulating natural factors using the suitable/appropriate design of the greenhouse or can be done in complex form by using/installing different devices and packages (may be software) with necessary automation in a specifically designed greenhouse.

It is a vast subject and very difficult to have a thumb-rule for such climate control mechanism due to seasonal climatic variations and most importantly due to the inter-relation effect between each and every climatic factors. Thus, it should be given sufficient space to maneuver the mechanism designed for a specific greenhouse targeting a specific crop.

Ways to control these climatic factors in a greenhouse

There are two basic ways to control the climate inside greenhouse.

Primarily, through a suitable design of the greenhouse itself, the inside microclimate can be controlled, obviously up to a certain level. Through manipulation of the design, particularly the naturally ventilated system, the rain water, temperature, humidity, CO_2, wind, etc can be controlled up to a certain level in favour of the crop.

Secondarily, by introducing equipments, tools, devices, etc we can control the micro-climate of a greenhouse. In most cases, it can take care of a number of climatic factors, like temperature and humidity, sun-light and temperature, etc simultaneously to provide a crop-wise micro-climate inside.

Frequently we use both the basic controlling methods, in combination, to achieve the required climate control system in a particular greenhouse.

We have already discussed about the different climatic factors that affect the crop micro-climate. Now we will discuss the basic control mechanism of each and every climatic factors and the related technology that can be utilized for greenhouse.

Improved Varieties of Tuber Vegetables

A. POTATO

The basic philosophy of nutrient management should be to apply fertilizers at rates to ensure high fertilizer use efficiency so that the amount of unutilized fertilizers is reduced to environmentally acceptable levels. Leaching of nitrate into public drinking water supplies has become a national problem. There is no realistic alternative but to use increasing quantities of inorganic fertilizers for maintaining food supplies in order to feed the increasing population. Used properly, fertilizers can, in fact, lead to better environment because greater vegetative growth and higher crop yields leave large quantities of residues in the soil, thus reducing erosion; absorb more carbon dioxide, a major source of green house effect and lessen the need to bring marginal and forest land into cultivation. The declining or stagnating yield trend in India has been attributed to multiple nutrient deficiencies and imbalance of nutrients. Therefore, the most widely recognized alternative is integrated nutrient management (Trehan et al., 2008).

Soil test based fertilizers is the maintenance of soil fertility and plant nutrient supply to an optimum level for sustaining the desired productivity through optimization of the benefits from fertilizers, organic manures, green manures, bio-fertilizers, non-conventional sources and crop residues. Soil test based fertilizers  aims at maximization of the use efficiency and minimization of the avoidable losses of nutrients from all the sources such that triple objective of maximization of crop yields, sustenance of soil, water and air quality and improvement of socio-economic conditions of farming community is accomplished.

The association of weeds with field crops was started when ancient man started cultivating plants as crops commercially. However, type of weed flora went on shifting with the passage of time, due to changing climatic conditions, cropping pattern, agronomic practices, crop cultivars etc. When crops are cultivated invariably a variety of volunteer undesirable vegetation come up simultaneously which competes with the crop for all growth factors viz., nutrients, soil moisture light, space etc.

Definition of Weed

Weed is a plant that originates under a natural environment and in response to imposed and natural environments, evolved and continues to do so as an interfering associate with our desired plant and activities.

Weed is a plant growing out of place. They are unwanted not useful, persistent and prolific, effectively competing with the beneficial and desirable crop plants for space, nutrients, sunlight, and water, interfere with agricultural operations and thereby reducing the yield and quality of produce.

Weeds are unwanted and undeserved plants that interfere with the utilization of the land and water resources and thus adversely affect crop production and human welfare. Thus a plant out of its place or a plant growing where it is not desired is a weed. This definition was given by Buchholtz in 1967. E.g. Bajra is a weed in pulse, pulse is a weed in bajra, tomato is a weed in brinjal field. Weed is defined as the unwanted, undesirable plant growing out of their proper place which interfere with the utilization of natural resources, prolific, persistent, competitive, harmful and even poisonous in nature and can grow in adverse climatic conditions (Jethro Tull: Father of Weed Science).

Weediness: Weediness is defined as the state or condition of a field, flower beds, lawns and so forth in which there is an abundance of weeds.

Weeds are plants that are unwanted in a given situation and may be harmful, dangerous or economically detrimental. Weeds are a serious threat to primary production and biodiversity. They reduce farm and forest productivity, displace native species and contribute significantly to land and water degradation. The costs of weeds to the natural environment are also high, with weed invasion being ranked second only to habitat loss in causing biodiversity decline.

Introduction

Recent advances in food technology have made our lives virtually easier and efficient. Changing lifestyle has led to the emergence of packaged food that provides convenience to the consumers. The authentic packaging of food implements consumers with the role of communication, containment, convenience, and protection. Any typical food package provides us with the information about the product and its nutritional fact, thus an efficient way of marketing/ branding. It protects the food product from the external environment and adulteration, thus keeps it safe. It allows the consumers to relish the food as per their convenience (reheating and direct consumption) and holds the product of any size, shape and restrains during handling and transportation (Robertson, 2006).

Food packages can be altered or modified according to one’s requirement with features like single-serving dishes and portability. However, traditional packaging is lacking adequacy to meet unending consumer demands and product intricacies. Therefore, a contemporary concept of packaging with higher proficiency is needed to meet various consumer requirements. For instance, a packaging that can - enhance product’s shelf-life with lesser or no preservatives, that maintains freshness, that meets permissible regulatory requisites and enables tracking throughout the product life-cycle. Emerging technologies like smart packaging have the expertise to invigilate a product and its milieu and pursue any modifications into these. Moreover, smart packaging helps in gaining global market recognition, and meets international food safety standards. In recent years, there has been rapid development in food packaging that includes active packaging, intelligent packaging, or smart packaging. These are the technologies that deal with the packaging of food, beverages, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. Moreover, these terminologies are apparently identical but, each has a different function to deal with and is as follows:

A. Multiple Choice Questions

1. While studying the history of domestication of various cultivated plants were recognized earlier:
   1. Centers of origin
   2. Centers of domestication
   3. Centres of hybrid
   4. Centres of variation
2. The quickest method of plant breeding is:
   1. Mutation breeding
   2. Hybridization
   3. Selection
   4. Introduction

Wheat also known as bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em. Thell, 2n = 6x = 42, family Poaceae formerly Gramineae or grass family, a self-pollinated crop), second only to rice as source of calorie has been grown on 218 million ha with production of 765 million tons globally during 2019-20. Top five countries, namely, China (135 million tons), India (103 million tons), Russia (77 million tons), USA (51 million tons) and Canada (34 million tons) account for 65% of the global production. Other major countries growing wheat are Ukraine (28 million tons), Pakistan (26 million tons), Australia (24 million tons), Argentina (21 million tons) and Turkey (18 million tons). Wheat is eaten by 2.5 billion people in 89 countries and distributed from Scandinavia to South America and across Asia. Global annual wheat trade is worth USD 50 billion.

Biological diagnostic methods rely on the transmission and amplification of the pathogen in indicator hosts that develop symptoms. These methods test the biological properties of pathogens and early successes in the control of intracellular pathogens were largely due to the diagnosis of the causal agents by biological tests. The sensitivity of biological/serological tests is usually determined by the minimum number of pathogen propagules required to initiate infection. Inoculation with fewer particles could lead to false negative results. Biological techniques for disease diagnosis and pathogen detection are usually highly accurate but too slow and not amenable to large-scale application. 

3.1 Introduction

A Massive increase in population, urbanization and industrialization have led to an increase in the quantity and composition of waste. The waste is increasing day by day and is estimated to reach up to 2.2 billion tonnes by 2025, according to the reports by World Bank. It becomes a necessity for every nation to fore look upon the waste management system for their respective countries. From the collection, segregation, transportation, disposal all have become an important criterion to deal with. Among the available disposal options; the easiest and environment friendly is “Recycling”. 

The fungi are present everywhere. They are in the soil and soil crust, in atmospheric air, in sea and pond water, rivers and water streams, and on the surfaces of almost all the material ,whether living or otherwise, on affected food stuff , vegetables and food grains, on body of human beings, animals, birds and fishes, on plant surfaces, on leathers and clothes in damp weather, on house walls and ceiling in damp conditions, on railway coaches and buses roofs having water leakage and dampness, in caves, on garbage and decomposing material etc. The fungal spores are present everywhere, however the fungal growth occurs where the congenial conditions for their growth is available.

Pongamia pinnata or Mellettia pinnata or Pongamia glabra or Derris indica (2n=2x=22) is a tropical ever green fast growing leguminous tree, with glabrous, glossy and deciduous leaves. The tree is native to India and South Asia and also found in Oceania.

Sonograms of animals suffering from different diseases are presented along with other investigations as case studies to provide a comprehensive picture of the disease.

2.1 Introduction in Plant Breeding

A. Define/Explain the followings

1. Plant breeding: Plant breeding is defined as the art, science and technology of improving the genetic make-up of crop plants in relation to their economic use for mankind.

Q. 1 Which type of gully is formed on flat land?
(A) U-shaped  (B) V-shaped
(C) L-shaped   (D) T-shaped

Paeonia emodi Royle. (Paeoniaceae): Eng.- Himalayan Paeony; HindiUdsalap; Kash.- Mamekh [W]. A shurby perennial, found in W. Himalayas from Kashmir to Kumoan at 2400- 3300 m altitudes. Flowers yellowish white with a bunch of orange-yellow stamens.

1. Genus - Pythium (Type species - Pythium aphanidermatum)

‘Pythium’ is a large genus comprising of more than 200 species. Species of Pythium are either terrestrial or aquatic. They are found world wide and most of them are plant pathogens on many economically important cultivated crops, as well as wild plants. They are facultative saprophytes and can live saprophytically in the soil and plant debris for indefinite periods in the absence of suitable hosts. Pre-emergence and post-emergence damping off of seedlings of numerous angiospermic plants, root rot, rhizome rot and fruit rot are the most common diseases caused by species of Pythium.

Pythium debaryanum, Pythium aphanidermatum, Pythium myriotylum, Pythium indicum, Pythium vexans and Pythium graminicolum are some of the most important plant pathogens, that cause damping off, seed decay, soft rots and root rots of many economically important crops, such as chillies, eggplant, tobacco, tomato, castor, potato, ginger etc.

Life cycle of Pythium

The mycelium of the fungi consists of slender, hyaline, coenocytic hyphae. The hyphae grow both inter- and intra-cellularly. No haustoria are produced.

Digestion is the process by which food is converted into substances that can be absorbed and assimilated by a living organism. In most animals it is accomplished in the digestive tract by the mechanical and enzymatic breakdown of foods into simpler chemical compounds. Digestion usually consists of two elements: a mechanical/ physical stage, e.g. mastication, churning, emulsification, in which no chemical bonds are broken and no enzymes are required; and a chemical stage requiring enzymes in which complex food molecules are broken down by hydrolysis into a state in which they can be absorbed.

Pulses are edible seeds of the family Leguminosae, sub family papilionaceae, and are integral part of Indian diet. Indians consume 30 per cent of the world’s pulses, but domestic production of pulses has not kept pace with population growth. Pulses are called “poor man’s meat” as pulses are rich in protein, which is double the protein content of wheat and three times that of rice. Globally, 190 mha of pulses contributes to 5-7 mt of nitrogen in soils.

Pulse means

P = PEOPLE (major source of dietary protein)

U = UMBRELLA

L = LIVESTOCK (green nutritious fodder and feed)

S = SOIL (builder and restorer of soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation and green manuring). E = ENERGY.

Vegetables are the largest important constituent of our daily diet as well as high value cash crops for small, marginal and large scale growers. These are rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre which are essential for our normal body functions, prevention of malnutrition and deficiency diseases. Vegetables also play key role in neutralizing the acids produced during digestion of fatty foods and also provide valuable roughages which help in movement of food in intestine.

Small amplitude wave theory was based on the premise that motions are sufficiently small to allow the free surface boundary condition to be linearized. Finite amplitude wave theories or Stokes’ higher order theories are similar as per the concept in which additional higher order terms that were neglected in the Airy’s theory are included. In general, the higher the order of the wave theory, higher will be the limiting wave height for which it would be valid.

A few months back when Sharad Deshpande was talking about some processing tomatoes, I said that there is a lot of history behind processing tomatoes. He said then why don’t you speak on the subject and I said why not. So that is how this talk happened. First, I thought I will speak on breeding tomatoes as its history is even more interesting than what has happened later. I had heard a story when I went to USA for the first time in 1982. I was with Dr Charlie Rick, the father of tomato genetics, in his lab in USDA, UC, Davis, California. He talked about how the processing industry happened, who bred the types suitable for processing, how 80 percent of processing tomatoes of the USA came from California, where we are today and what could be done in this area.

Salt affected soils can be defined as the soils containing excess amount soluble salts in their profiles in a proportion that adversely affect to soil properties and ultimately on crop growth. The soluble salts present in these soils are composed primarily with calcium, magnesium and sodium as cationic and chlorides sulfates and carbonates as anionic constituents along with the presence of potassium, nitrate and others as minor quantities. All soils invariably contain some soluble salts, but they cause harmful effects on crop growth only when accumulates in excess amount in soil solution or increase their concentration in exchange complex of the soil. Based on the presence of sodium salts and the predominance of sodium in the exchange complex, salt affected soils are classified into main categories of 1) Saline soils – contain excess soluble sodium in soil solution with little or no sodium content in exchange complex, 2) Alkaline (Sodic) soils – contain appreciable quantity of sodium adsorbed in exchange complex of soil but may or may not contain soluble sodium salts in soil solution. These soils are also divided into following types –

Multipurpose trees and shrubs are defined as all woody perennials that are purposefully grown to provide more than one significant contribution to the production and/or service functions of a land-use system that they occupy. In agroforestry systems, different species of trees and shrubs can be planted with many types of crops in a variety of patterns. Thus, it is required to know about the methods of propagation and nursery raising, planting and other silvicultural management practices along with the diverse uses of multipurpose trees and shrubs of tropical and subtropical areas before their selection for forestry and agroforestry activities. It is important to select the most suitable tree species since it is not easy to replace them once they have been planted.

Soil and water are the basic resources in drylands. Soil supports plant life by providing a medium for their growth and development. It is a non-renewable natural resource and susceptible to rapid degradation through various forms of erosion processes. Worldwide, around 52% of total productive land has been degraded by various kinds of degradation processes and almost 80% of the terrestrial land is affected by water erosion .Further, annually ~10 million hectares (Mha) of cropland becomes an unproductive at the global level due to soil erosion with an average rate of 30 t ha−1 year−1 soil erosion .In India, out of 328 million hectares of geographical area, 68 million hectares are critically degraded while 107 million hectares are severely eroded. Soil degradation in India is estimated to be occurring on 147 million hectares (Mha) of land, including 94 Mha from water erosion, 16 Mha from acidification, 14 Mha from flooding, 9 Mha from wind erosion, 6 Mha from salinity, and 7 Mha from a combination of factors (Battacharya et al., 2015).

Dryland agriculture limits the crop growth to a part of the year due to lack of sufficient moisture (Peterson et al., 2006). According to the Fourth five-year plan of India, dry lands are defined as areas which receive rainfall ranging from 375 mm to 1125 mm and with very limited irrigation facilities. Dry lands are economically fragile regions which are highly vulnerable to environmental stress and shocks. Degraded soils with low water holding capacities along with multiple nutrient deficiencies and depleting ground water table contribute to low crop yields and further leading to land degradation. In a country like India, 44 per cent of the total food production is supported by dryland agriculture, thereby playing a critical role in nation’s food security. With the increasing population, food production has to be increased. A real need to second green revolution has been envisioned, which can be achieved by improving the dryland agriculture.

Marginal and sub marginal lands are being brought under cultivation to meet the demand of human and livestock in terms of rising demand of 6F viz., food, fodder, fuel wood, fibre and fertilizer. These in lands are unable to sustain productivity. Cultivation on such lands leads to imbalance in the ecosystem. In order to meet the above said demands and to conserve the natural resources, a diversified land use system needs to be adopted in different agro-ecological regions of the country as an alternative to conventional cropping systems. Through this approach, the biological productivity and quality of resource base of degraded lands can be significantly enhanced. Land use systems which are alternatives to crop production are called by the term ‘Alternate Land Use Systems’.

9.1 General

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of biochar production, focusing on the environmental impacts of its production and utilization. LCA is a systematic approach used to evaluate the environmental burdens and benefits of a product or process throughout its entire life cycle. Biochar, a carbon-rich material derived from the pyrolysis or gasification of biomass such as agricultural crop residue, forest waste, unusual wood waste, etc., has gained significant attention as a potential sustainable solid waste management, carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas mitigation, and soil amendment solution. However, understanding the environmental implications of biochar production is crucial for its sustainable implementation. The LCA approach is employed to evaluate biochar production’s different system boundaries and environmental performance, encompassing various stages such as biomass feedstock cultivation, the biochar production process, transportation, application, and end-of-life scenarios. This chapter explores the key elements of LCA, examines the methodologies employed in biochar LCA studies, and critically analyzes the environmental impacts associated with different biochar production pathways.

Solid wastes, the unavoidable consequences of civilization, are the useless and unwanted heterogeneous solid materials discarded by human being. Human greed is the major factor in creation of unwanted solid wastes. With increase in human population and its demands, there is an increase in production of various types of wastes. When human being did not come to the earth there was very little wastes like tree leaves, animal excreta or dead parts which nature used to digest and produces something beautiful every time. Still there are certain remote areas free from wastes where human being could not reach due to inaccessible condition of terrain, forests and islands. Now–a-days wastes are found even in the top of Mt. Everest or in the interior of Antarctica.

• General considerations

 • Agglutination

 • Slide agglutination test

 • Tube agglutination test

 • Capillary tube agglutination test

 • Plate agglutination test

 • Hemagglutination test

 • Hemagglutination-inhibition test

 • Coagglutination test

• Nutritional diseases

 • Viral diseases

 • Prion, Mycoplasmal, Rickettsial, Chlamydial, Spirochaetal and Bacterial

diseases

 • Fungal diseases

 • Parasitic diseases

 • Toxic conditions

 • Miscellaneous conditions

A. Novel Dehydration Technologies

Dehydration, the process of removing moisture from food products, is crucial for enhancing shelf life, reducing weight and volume for transportation, and preserving nutritional value. Traditional dehydration methods, such as sun drying, air drying, and freeze drying, have been widely used for centuries. However, advancements in food technology have led to the development of novel dehydration technologies that offer improved efficiency, quality retention, and sustainability.1. Vacuum Microwave Dehydration

Vacuum microwave dehydration is a cutting-edge dehydration technique that combines the advantages of removing moisture from food products while preserving their color, flavor, texture, and nutritional content (fig 1).

In the context of a thesis, theoretical orientation refers to the conceptual or theoretical framework or perspective that informs and shapes the overall approach and analysis of the research (Natalie, 2022). It involves selecting and adopting a specific set of theories, concepts, or models that provide a foundation for understanding and interpreting the research topic. The theoretical orientation helps to guide the methodology, and provide a coherent framework for organizing and analysing the data.

Theoretical orientation in a thesis serves several purposes. It helps to establish a theoretical basis for the study, providing a context for the research and connecting it to existing knowledge and theories in the field. It also helps to guide the selection of appropriate research methods and data analysis techniques. The theoretical orientation shapes the overall structure and content of the thesis, ensuring that the study is grounded in relevant theories and concepts and contributes to the existing body of knowledge. By adopting a specific theoretical orientation, the researcher can provide a clear and systematic framework for understanding and interpreting the findings of the study. This orientation also helps to establish credibility and validity for the research, as it demonstrates the researcher’s awareness of and engagement with the existing theoretical perspectives in the field.

This chapter addresses crucial terminology and concepts essential for effectively communicating the ideas of the current study. It lays the groundwork for empirical investigation and aids in the selection of predictor variables. Additionally, this section involves a scholarly and theoretical exercise that influences the operational definition and content of the research. It combines conceptual inputs, axiomatic inputs, logical discussions, and the pursuit of knowledge to construct a theory that aligns with the research objectives and designs.

In the context of a thesis, theoretical orientation refers to the conceptual or theoretical framework or perspective that informs and shapes the overall approach and analysis of the research (Natalie, 2022). It involves selecting and adopting a specific set of theories, concepts, or models that provide a foundation for understanding and interpreting the research topic. The theoretical orientation helps to guide the methodology, and provide a coherent framework for organizing and analysing the data.

Theoretical orientation in a thesis serves several purposes. It helps to establish a theoretical basis for the study, providing a context for the research and connecting it to existing knowledge and theories in the field. It also helps to guide the selection of appropriate research methods and data analysis techniques. The theoretical orientation shapes the overall structure and content of the thesis, ensuring that the study is grounded in relevant theories and concepts and contributes to the existing body of knowledge. By adopting a specific theoretical orientation, the researcher can provide a clear and systematic framework for understanding and interpreting the findings of the study. This orientation also helps to establish credibility and validity for the research, as it demonstrates the researcher’s awareness of and engagement with the existing theoretical perspectives in the field.

This chapter addresses crucial terminology and concepts essential for effectively communicating the ideas of the current study. It lays the groundwork for empirical investigation and aids in the selection of predictor variables. Additionally, this section involves a scholarly and theoretical exercise that influences the operational definition and content of the research. It combines conceptual inputs, axiomatic inputs, logical discussions, and the pursuit of knowledge to construct a theory that aligns with the research objectives and designs.

Alimentary canal of an insect is a tubular structure passing through the body that provides the special internal environment for the food to be mechanically and chemically disintegrated and brought to the vicinity of absorbent cells. Hence, it is involved in the transport of nutrients to the individual cells. It is concerned with ingestion, trituration (chewing), digestion, absorption of nutrient material into haemolymph and egestion of unused food materials. It is tubular structure, which extends from mouth to the anus. It is divided into three distinct regions, namely fore-gut (stomodaeum), mid-gut (mesenteron) and hind-gut (proctodaeum). The fore- and hind-guts are ectodermal in origin and the mid-gut is endodermal.

Longitudinal and circular (intrinsic) muscles are usually associated with each of these three regions and by means peristaltic contractions move the food along the alimentary canal. The functional stomach is the mesenteron usually a circular valve-like fold separates the cavities between stomodaeum and mesenteron is known as stomodael or cardiac valve, and the one closing the entrance to the proctodaeum as the proctodaeum or pyloric valve.

Fore-gut

An insect’s mouth, located centrally at the base of the mouthparts, is a muscular valve (sphincter) that marks the “front” of the foregut. Food in the buccal cavity is sucked through the mouth opening and into the pharynx by contractile action of cibarial muscles. These muscles, located between the head capsule and the anterior wall of the pharynx, create suction by enlarging the volume of the pharynx (like opening a bellows). This “suction pump” mechanism is called the cibarial pump. It is especially well-developed in insects with piercing/sucking mouthparts.

Order: Diptera
Sub Order: Orthorrhapha
Series: Nematocera
Family: Ceratopogonidae
Genus: Culicoides
Species: Culicoides oxystoma, C. imicola 
Common name: Biting midges or Biting gnats or punkies or No see-ums.
Hosts: Animals and man 
Distribution: Worldwide 
Morphology of fly

1. Size is 1-3 mm in length. They are the smallest blood sucking flies. They can easily pass through mosquito nets.

Ring Porous

• having vessels more numerous and usually larger in cross section in the springwood with a resulting more or less distinct line between the springwood and the last season’s wood— compare diffuse-porous.

• In some species (e.g. Oak (Red Oak, White Oak) Teak and ash elm, hickory), the largest pores are in the earlywood while those in the latewood are more evenly distributed and uniform in size.

• These woods typically have distinct figures and patterns, and the uneven uptake of stain (the large pores soak up more colour) make the figure more pronounced.

• These are also known as open-grain woods

Semi-ring porous or Semi-diffuse porous

• In some species (e.g. Butternut, Black Cherry, Black Walnut, Pecan, Tanoak), pores are large in the earlywood and smaller toward the latewood, but without the distinct zoning seen in ring-porous woods.

• Also, some species that are usually ring-porous (e.g. Cottonwood) occasionally tend toward semi-ring porous.