eChapters

Natural rubber, cis-l,4 polyisoprene, produced in the milky cytoplasm (latex) of specialized cells called laticifers in certain plants is one of most important biological macromolecules, which is used as an industrial raw material for the manufacture of a variety of products. Natural rubber is found in the latex of over 2000 species of plants belonging to 311 genera under 79 families. However, Hevea brasiliensis, also known as Para rubber tree after the Brazilian port of Para, is the only commercial source of natural rubber mainly because of its abundance in latex, quality and convenience of harvesting. Hevea was first used as a source of rubber by the French.

SYNOPSIS

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal or fish origin. Plant foods are the most abundant sources of nutrition on earth. Only plants contain powerful substances called phytochemicals, which protect us from cancer, heart disease, and an array of other serious illnesses.

Introduction

Humans have inhabited the earth for nearly 2 million years. For over 90 per cent of this period, the maximum population numbered about 200,000 and the growth rate was only about 0.01 percent per year. The use of fire and the development of tools were the first major changes affecting human population growth which increased to about 5 million individuals about 100,000 years ago. The population remained fluctuating about this mean value for the next 90,000 years depending upon the food supply. Up to this time people were hunterer-gatherers and depended exclusively on the natural ecosystem for their food. Then about 10,000 years ago, humans began to cultivate crops for food. With established agriculture came an increased and stable food supply. This contributed to an increased growth rate of the human population (Dhaliwal et al., 1998).

Social civilization of the Neolithic settlements of primitive human communities contributes substantial initiation of cultivation and an approach towards conservation of useful plant species for sustainable food habits. Several archaeological attestations confirm that Homo sapiens at the end of the Paleolithic period had knowledge on many useful plants derived from food gathering techniques. Growth of human populations beyond the size that hardly supports hunting and gathering for food materials may perhaps be the probable reason that forced the Neolithic primitive nomadic communities for settlement and emergence of crude forms of cultivation.

Arsenic
General Information

    1.    Exists in elemental form (-3), trivalent As+3 and pentavalent As+5 oxidation states
    2.    Arsenic is an essential element for rats, chicks, mini-pigs and goats
    3.    The second most important pollutant for livestock. 

Source

Inorganic form is used in paints.
Pasture near smelters may be contaminated. 
Industrial effluents released into nearby water body.
Insecticides (arsenic trioxide, lead arsenate).
 

This family Enterobacteriaceae belongs to the order Enterobacteriales. The family comprises 25 genera. Among them there are 10 genera consistently found pathogenic for animals, birds and human. These genera are mentioned below (first 10 are consistent pathogenic).

SUMMARY

At present, Indian agriculture faces a severe challenge for the future in view of growing demand for food for meeting the needs of nation’s ever growing population. At the same time, resources are gradually shrinking and the productivity of some resources is already being utilized threatening the sustainability and leading to environmental degradation which necessitates judicious and sustainable management of natural resources, particularly soil and water. Of 142 m ha arable land, nearly 96 m ha (67%) is devoted to rainfed farming, which contributes about 44 % of the total production. Overexploitation of water resources, unequal access to water and adverse impacts on ecosystem services are among the major issues impacting sustainable use of water resources. Crop production in rainfed areas is generally affected by chronic drought, ephemeral drought, and apparent drought. In order to increase production, farmers have two options, either to use extensive systems (horigental) or intensive systems (vertical). There is a meager scope for extensive system in India and the remaining intensive system is the only option for the farmers as well as policy makers. Hence, optimizing soil water management is crucial to enhancing agronomic productivity and meeting the food needs of the growing population with rising standards of living under rainfed area.

INTRODUCTION

Wheat has served as a source of staple food to the mankind since times immemorial. The production of wheat in India got a fillip after green revolution. Wheat production in India has increased by over ten times in the past five decades and India has become the second largest wheat producer in the world. Today, wheat plays an increasingly important role in the management of India’s food economy (Gandhi, et al., 2001). Wheat, primarily the winter cereal of Indo-Gangetic plain, is a major contributor to the agricultural economy of India, occupying nearly 25.9 m ha area with 71.8-mt production (Anon., 2003).

India is also second most populous country with one billion people. Demographers indicate that by 2012 India’s population will reach 1.2 billion. With this ever increasing population, there is also an increase in the demand for food grains. Depending on the rate and nature of economic growth and given the population growth rate about 4 or more per cent, annual rate of growth in the demand for wheat is likely to increase in the near future.

Ice cream over the years has come to acquire an easy acceptance as a healthy, nutritious and hygienic food for the aged, sick, growing children and adults. Its popularity, as demonstrated on all types of occasions is growing fast and its potential appears to be unlimited.

Gone are the days when the word “Ice Cream” was synonymous with strawberry and vanilla flavours or the innocuous orange. Ice cream is available in many forms, flavours and packages. Today, there are exotic variations to titilate the palate, such as Jingle Bells, Goody goody Gum Drops, Champagne Snowballs, Mr. Frost, Tutty Fruity, Butter Scotch, etc, waiting to launch customers on a gastronomical voyage.

It is uncertain how long ice cream has been produced, however, the International Association of Ice cream Manufacturers (1966) traces the beginnings of ice cream and frozen desserts to iced drinks enjoyed by Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C. down through the years Nero in the first century A. D., Marco Polo in the 13^th century through Italy and France to England in 1643-1649, and to America around 1700. From a very old writings it has been learnt that the Chinese liked a frozen product made by mixing fruit juices with snow, what we now call water ice. It is believed that ice cream evolved from iced beverages and water ices that were popular in the medieval period. This technique later spread to ancient Greece and Rome, where the wealthy, were partial to frozen desserts.

After disappearing for several centuries, ice creams in various forms reappeared in Italy in the Middle Ages, most probably as a result of Marco Polo returning to Italy in 1295 after a 16-17 year stay in China, where he had learnt to appreciate a frozen dessert based on milk. There is no gainsaying the fact that the true origin of ice cream cannot be proclaimed with a fair measure of certainty but, all the same, the Italians claim that Benaroo Bountalenti, a resident of Tuscany, invented ice cream in the early 1300s. From Italy ice cream spread over Europe during the 17^th century, and for long remained a luxury product for the royal courts. Italian ice cream was very popular in London around 1870.

WHO defines Disaster as “any occurrence, that causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of health and health services, on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community or area”

1.    Fruit Crops
    
2.    Spices
    
3.    Masticatory Crops
    
4.    Vegetables
    
5.    Plantation Crops
    
6.    Tuber Crops
    
7.    Medicinal Plants
    
8.    Ornamental Plants
    
9.    Future Prospects
        
References

Abstract

Solid waste, the creation of human being, is taken today the shape of a Demon to kill its creator by polluting breathing air, drinking water and essential food materials. It spreads different infectious killer diseases if not disposed off timely. Municipal authorities are spending lakhs of rupees to collect and transport solid wastes to dump-yard. Presence of both biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes together in dustbin makes the disposal problematic and Municipal workers handling solid wastes suffer injury and disease infections. Municipal authority can clear about 50 percent of solid wastes either by dumping in low lying areas or by burning in open places causing unwanted environmental pollutions. Incinerations with electric producing facility, pyrolysis, dumping in properly built concrete landfills, Pelletization are scientific techniques for solid waste management. But recycling as resource materials is the best economical approach. Since non-biodegradable wastes can be sold to scrap dwellers for further processing it offers income opportunity. Biodegradable wastes can be converted to good quality vermicompost, which is also a marketable product and fetch good income. Different activities during recycling of solid wastes offer employment opportunities to literate & illiterate, skilled & unskilled, male & female, young & old workers. The present ‘Treatment at the end of pipe’ approach is to be changed by ‘Treatment at source’ approach.

1.    A series of activities involved in moving the agricultural goods and services from production point to ultimate consumers is known as–

(a) Agricultural marketing

(b) Agricultural selling

(c) Marketing

(d) Agricultural finance

2.    The study of all the activities, agencies and policies involved in the procurement of farm inputs by the farmers and the movement of agricultural products from the farm to consumers is known as :–

(a) Personal selling

(b) Agricultural marketing

(c) Rural marketing

(d) None of these

A carbohydrate is a large biological molecules, or macromolecules, consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen : oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water); in other words, with the empirical formula C_m(H₂O)_n (where m could be different from n). Some exceptions exist; for example, deoxyribose, a sugar component of DNA, has the empirical formula C₅H₁₀O₄. Carbohydrates are technically hydrates of carbon; structurally it is more accurate to view them as polyhydroxy aldehydes and ketones.

The term is most common in biochemistry, where it is a synonym of saccharide. The carbohydrates (saccharides) are divided into four chemical groups: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. In general, the monosaccharides and disaccharides, which are smaller (lower molecular weight) carbohydrates, are commonly referred to as sugars. While the scientific nomenclature of carbohydrates is complex, the names of the monosaccharides and disaccharides very often end in the suffix -ose. For example, grape sugar is the monosaccharide glucose, cane sugar is the disaccharide sucrose, and milk sugar is the disaccharide lactose.

Microscope

A microscope can be defined as an optical instrument consisting of a lens or a combination of lenses for getting magnified images of minute objects. A simple microscope is essentially an ordinary magnifying lens held on an adjustable stand. It can give magnification up to 20 times the size of the object.

A compound microscope consists of two separate lens system, the objective and eye piece (ocular) mounted on a holder known as body tube and with adjustment for illuminating the objects. It gives much greater magnification (100 to 1500 times) when compared to a simple microscope.

Many materials can be applied to the soil as source of plant nutrients but the term fertilizer is often used to refer to relatively soluble nutrient sources with a high analysis or concentration. Commercially available fertilizers supply essential elements in a variety of chemical forms but many are relatively simple inorganic salts. Advantages of commercial fertilizers are their high water solubility, immediate availability to the plants, high concentration and low price per unit of nutrient, and the uniformity and accuracy with which specific amounts of available nutrients can be applied. Since they are relatively homogeneous compounds of fixed and known composition, it is fairly easy to calculate precise application rates and attain relatively consistent performance. This is in contrast to organic nutrient sources, which are a much greater challenge to manage because of their variable composition, variable nutrient availability and patterns of nutrient release that are greatly affected by temperature, moisture and other conditions that alter biological activity.

The solubility of commercial fertilizers can sometimes be a problem since soluble nutrients may move out of farm fields when applied in excess or large rains occur soon after fertilizer application. Soluble nutrients can be lost by leaching on well-drained soils and through tile outlets or in runoff on poorly drained soils. Denitrification can cause large losses of nitrate-N from water-saturated soils in wet springs.

Increasing soil cation exchange capacity by increasing organic matter reduces the movement and loss of some nutrients, although not nitrate-N (an anion). Management practices that synchronize nutrient availability with crop demand and uptake also minimize losses. Both application timing and the amount of fertilizer applied are important. Splitting fertilizer application into several small applications rather than a single large one is especially important to limit nitrogen leaching on well-drained sandy soils. Split nitrogen applications can also reduce nitrogen losses in runoff or from denitrification on poorly drained soils. Excess nutrient applications can be eliminated or at least significantly reduced by soil testing on a regular basis, setting realistic yield goals and fertilizing accordingly, accounting for all nutrient sources such as legumes, manure and other amendments and using plant analysis as a monitoring tool for the fertilizer program.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. National Agriculture Scenario

Agriculture is the most important sector of Indian Economy, contributes 23 per cent of national GDP, accounts for 11 per cent of exports, and 50 per cent of billion depends on it. Interestingly India feeds 16 per cent of population with 2.4 per cent of global land.

In the last five decades, there has been a steady and spectacular transformation of Indian agriculture from the food deficit to food sufficient status. Diffusion and adoption of modern technologies, high yielding varieties, dedicated efforts of farmers, extension personnel and scientists and also programmatic support of central and state governments have all contributed significantly from 50 million tonnes in 1950-51 to land mark achievement of 230.67 million tonnes of food production in 2008-09.

Abstract: Gladiolus, commonly known as ‘sword lily’ is native to South Africa. Most members of genus are heteroploids. It has pivotal place as cut flower with novel phenotypes (Grandifloras, Primulinus, Butterfly, Miniature, Face Ups, Orchideola), cultivars available on world market. Modern types are evolved through conventional breeding and very few through mutation breeding. Their continued popularity has warranted extensive breeding and development of fragrant, winter hardy and disease resistant cultivars. Breeders have reported close linkages in variety of traits. Cross pollinating nature coupled with high heterozygosity makes heredity transmission unpredictable. Future crop idiotypes are proposed to continue transformation of this important crop during the next millennium.

1. INTRODUCTION

Medicinal plants constitute considerably a large component of natural vegetation. Several of these species are in great demand for domestic consumption as well as for commercial use by the herbal industry. About 800 species are estimated to be in trade with a turnover of Rs.4000 crores per year. This high demand by the herbal industry has put enormous pressure on the wild populations leading to destructive collection of the produce as maximum species of medicinal plants are wild.

A medicinal plant is as any plant which contains substances that can be used for therapeutic purposes or which are precursor for chemo- pharmaceutical synthesis. The medicinal plants are useful as a drug or therapeutic agent, having different medicinal values in form of active ingredient. Medicinal plants may therefore be defined as a group of plants that possess some special properties or virtues which make them important as drugs, therapeutic agents and for medicinal purposes.

Medicines from India are used by about 60 per cent of the world’s population. These are not only used for primary health care not just in rural areas in developing countries, but also in developed countries as well where modern medicines are predominantly used. While the traditional medicines are derived from medicinal plants, the herbal drugs are prepared from medicinal plants only. Use of plants as a source of medicine has been an ancient practice and is an important component of the health care system in India. There are about 45,000 medicinal plant species in India, with concentrated spots in the region of Eastern Himalayas, Western Himalayas, Western Ghats and Andaman & Nicobar Island. India is the largest producer of medicinal herbs and is called the botanical garden of the world. In rural India, 70 per cent of the population depends on the traditional type of medicine, the Ayurveda. Ayurveda and Kabiraji (herbal medicine) are two important forms of alternative medicine that is widely available in India. It is estimated that about 80,000 species of plants are utilized in some form or other by the different systems of Indian medicine. Many herbs and spices are used in Indian cooking, such as onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, clove, cardamom, cinnamom, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, fennel, ajowan (ajwain), anise, amchur, bay leaf, hing (asafoetida) etc. Ayurvedic medicine uses all of these either in diet or as a medicine.

AONLA

Emblica officinalis Gaertn

F: Euphorbiaceae

Aonla is one of the most important minor fruits of Indian origin, which is predicted to be the ‘fruit of the 21^st century’ even though it existed from time immemorial. It is also called as ‘Indian gooseberry’, ‘amla’, ‘nelli’, ‘amlaki’, ‘amali’, ‘ambala’ and ‘amalakamu’ in different parts of India. This species is indigenous to tropical SouthEastern Asia precisely the Central and Southern India. The crop is seen in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and China. In India, aonla is being cultivated on a commercial scale in northern parts comprising Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

ABSTRACT

Supercritical fluid extraction technology specifically employing carbon dioxide as an extracting solvent under supercritical conditions have gained tremendous importance in the commercial applications as well as academic fields. The basic advantage is its operation above pressure and critical temperature. The most convenient things are variations of pressure, temperatures, batch time, flow rate and fractionation of important constituents of essential oils, herbs and petrochemicals. In the recent times most of the researchers have studied the Organic synthesis under supercritical conditions with the improved yield and reaction selectivity. The chapter also describes the thermodynamics also.

Soil Classification

Soil classification deals with the systematic categorization of soils based on distinguishing characteristics as well as criteria that dictate choices in use.

Soil classification is grouping of objects in orderly and logical manner into classes based on the properties of soils (differentiating characters) for the purpose of studying and identifying them. The soil individuals are grouped into classes of the lower category (soil series) which are grouped into classes of higher categories (soil orders). The lower categories are defined by large number of differentiating characters and higher category by a few differentiating characteristics.

For soil resources, experience has shown that a natural system approach to classification, i.e. grouping soils by their intrinsic property (soil morphology), behaviour, or genesis, results in classes that can be interpreted for many diverse uses. Differing concepts of pedogenesis and differences in the significance of morphological features to various land uses can affect the classification approach. Despite these differences, in a well-constructed system, classification criteria group similar concepts so that interpretations do not vary widely. This is in contrast to a technical system approach to soil classification, where soils are grouped according to their fitness for a specific use and their edaphic characteristics.

Abstract

In developing countries, about 80 percent of the world population depends on traditional medicines for their primary healthcare as estimated by World Health Organization. In a recent floristic survey undertaken in Chithara Village Panchayat recorded a very rich diversity of wild medicinal plants. Based on extensive literature search, of the total 272 plants, 96% species were known to have marginal to outstanding medicinal properties and uses. Among the plants, ten species namely, Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst., Cannabis sativa L., Cissampelos pareira L., Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt, Eclipta prostrata (L.) L., Euphorbia hirta L., Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit., Justicia adhatoda L., Solanum americanum Mill. and Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal were found to be very important as they possess medicinal properties for curing a large number of diseases in traditional system of medicines in India and other parts of the world. The whole plants including root, stem and leaves are utilized traditionally for curing various ailments such as abdominal pain, cold, cough, diarrhoea, dysentery, inflammation, fever, rheumatism, sexual disorders, skin diseases, respiratory diseases etc. These plants are also reported to contain numerous important phytochemicals such as alkanes, amino acids, flavonoids, organic acids, polyphenolic compounds, polyphenols, steroids, tannins, terpenes etc. which qualifies their various medicinal properties. Plants are reported to yield potent drug such as vasicine and vasicinone (by A. vasica), bacosoids (B. monnieri) and withanolides (W. somnifera). The paper provides the details of traditional medicinal usages and chemical constituents of ten high value medicinal plants recorded from the study area.

Agriculture has been very successful in addressing the food and fiber needs of today’s world population. However, there are increasing concerns about the economic, environmental and social costs of this success. Integrated agricultural systems may provide a means to address these concerns while increasing sustainability. Integrated agricultural systems have multiple enterprises that interact in space and time, resulting in a synergistic resource transfer among enterprises. In an integrated agricultural system, management decisions, such as type and amount of commodities to produce, are predetermined. Full integration of agricultural systems at the producer or community scale may help in slowing or reversing some of the detrimental environmental and economic problems associated with specialized industrial agriculture. Modern agriculture requires intensive inputs.

Soil is a living, dynamic ecosystem that nurtures plants. Soil is responsible for Sustaining plant and animal life below and above the surface, Regulation water and fertilizer/pesticide runoff, Storing and cycling nutrients. But, the natural soil balance was disturbed by man due to agricultural activities to get food. The intensification of agriculture leads to soil erosion, which leads to creation of unproductive soils.

In agriculture, soil erosion refers to the wearing away of a field’s topsoil by the natural physical forces of water and wind or through forces associated with farming activities such as tillage. As a result of improper cultivation practices, deforestation and overgrazing aggravates the problem of soil erosion.

Globally soil erosion has reached a level that endangers the sustainable supply of food for the growing global population. It already threatens food production and ecosystem service delivery and therefore, there is a pressing need to address this threat. This is especially true in India where, in a total area of 328 million hectares (m ha), 121 m ha is undergoing soil degradation, 68% of which is attributed to water erosion. Water erosion rates range from 5 t ha^–1 yr^–1 in dense forest regions to rates in excess of 80 t ha^–1 yr^–1 where erosion is most severe, such as in the Shiwalik mountainous region. India’s average soil loss has been estimated to be 15t ha^–1 yr^–1; however, given the limited coverage of measurements, this should be treated with caution. In the light of the serious threat that soil erosion poses in the country, there is a pressing need for a systematic nationwide assessment of land degradation due to erosion using appropriate techniques. The area under ravine soil erosion is highest in UP to a tune of 12.30 lakh hectares and lowest in Maharashtra to a tune of 0.20 lakh hectares

Introduction

Mustard and rapeseed crops were grown since 3000 BC in the Indus valley and their use has been mentioned in the Ayurveda Simhata. Use of mustard oil is recorded in the last few centuries of the pre Christian era.

The global production of rapeseed-mustard is at 72 million tons (USDA), while that of the oil is 24 million tons. Currently China is the largest producer of mustard in the world. China, India and Pakistan grow about 90% of the world production of mustard. Rapeseed and mustard form the third important group of oilseed crops in the world after soybean (Glycine max) and palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq).

The word ‘rape’ and ‘mustard’ have been derived from the word rapum meaning turnip and European practice of mixing the sweet ‘must’ of old wine with crushed seeds of black mustard (Brassica nigra L. Koch) to form a hot paste, respectively (Hemingway 1976). Among the seven edible oilseeds cultivated in India, rapeseed-mustard (Brassica spp.) contributes 26.2% in the total production of oilseeds. In India, the rapeseed-mustard group is the third most important edible oilseed after soybean and groundnut, sharing 27.8% in the India’s oilseed economy. In India rapeseed and mustard are grown during the post-rainy winter season over an area of 7.49 million ha. Around 20% of the total area under rapeseed-mustard in India is totally under dryland cultivation subject to vagaries associated with dryland agriculture.

Introduction

Cultivated sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), has originated in India (Bedigian,1984; Bedigian et al., 1985; Bedigian and Harlan,1986) and is considered to be the oldest oilseed crop known to man (Ram et al 1990). Archaeological records indicate that it was known and used in India for more than 5,000 years and is recorded as a crop in Babylon and Assyria some 4,000 years ago (Borchani et al., 2010). Sesame crop is being grown in many parts of the world. Sesame seed is an important source of edible oil and is also widely used as a spice and condiment. The seed contains 50-60% oil which has excellent stability due to the presence of natural antioxidants such as sesamolin, sesamin and sesamol (Brar and Ahuja 1979).

Sesamum indicum L., belongs to the family Pedaliaceae, which contains sixteen genera and sixty species under the generic name Sesamum. The other species related to sesame viz., Sesamum angustifolium, Sesamum radiatum and Certotheca sesamoides (false sesame) are cultivated in Africa. The fact that the crop is cultivated in India from times immemorial is testified by the excavations of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro of undivided India (Watt,1966). The crop was introduced into Brazil by the Portuguese (Weiss, 2000).

World production of sesame seed didn’t show any marked increase for the past three decades, although sesame oil is used largely in Asia and Africa. The current world production of sesame stands at 6.1 million tons as in the year 2016. The sesame production declined world over since the crop had to face a tough competition against other oilseed crops (Weiss, 2000). Most of the world trade on sesame revolves around the seed. The shipments of seed cake and oil are negligible.

Introduction

Safflower belongs to the family Asteraceae, which is also called Compositae, the aster, daisy, or composite family of the flowering-plant order Asterales.tribe Cardueae (thistles) and subtribe Centaureinae . With more than 1,911 genera and 32,913 accepted species of herbs, shrubs, and trees distributed throughout the world, Asteraceae is one of the largest plant families. The species of the family are annuals and perennials of worldwide distribution, consisting of ornamentals, vegetables and spice or medicinal plants.

The genus Carthamus L., contains about 25 valid species distributed from Spain, North America and West Asia to India. Many are indigenous to the Mediterranean region, but only one viz., Carthamus tinctorius L. (safflower) is cultivated for oil. Safflower is a diploid species (2n=24). The probable origin of cultivated safflower is the area bounded by the Eastern Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf.

Safflower is grown as edible oil crop in pots, as strip crop, on field borders or around home-steads in the tropical Asia, Africa, Russia and China. Safflower is more drought resistant than other oilseed crops and can yield well on drylands, exploiting sub-soil moisture. (Lovelli et al., 2007). Safflower is also salt tolerant and can be grown on soils affected by some degree of salinity (Bassil and Kaffka, 2002).

The safflower plant has a history of long domestication, initially for orange red dye obtained from florets of the plant. The plant was identified as growing in Egypt in 2000 BC, introduced from Euphrates (Weiss, 2000). Safflower oil has unique variation in fatty acid composition (Knowels, 1969). In general, linoleic acid is the dominant fatty acid ranging from 70 to 78% in local types. In improved types oleic acid ranges from 70 to 75%.

9.1 Multiple Choice Questions

1 Which insect order is close related to Diptera?

a) Hymenoptera b) Orthoptera

c) Plecoptera d) Zygentoma

The soils which owe characteristics that they cannot be economically used for the cultivation of crops without adopting proper reclamation measures are known as problematic soils. Different kinds of problematic soils viz., Physical, chemical and biological problematic soils exists and pose problems of crop production.

1. Central Fertilizer Quality Control & Training Institute (CFQC&TI) is situated at

a. Mysore           b. Karnal

c. Faridabad        d. Coimbatore

1.1 Introduction
Irrigation is the artificial application of water needed to the crop field. It is the process of uniformly wetting the root zone depth. The wetting may be done over the land surface or below of it. The application of water in excess to the requirement or accumulation of water in crop field due to rain or unplanned seepage is not considered as irrigation. However, irrigation is supplemental to rainfall. Irrigation water is considered as single most important input for crop production.

Kautilya or Chanakya - probably the world’s first Management Guru who was well known for his management models and strategies - is not the first strategist or author to write the Arthashastra. There were lot of gurus - purva acharyas - and leaders before him. Chanakya studied them all and compiled them into one book known as Kautilya’s Arthashastra. The book was written centuries ago when the country was ruled by kings. But Chanakya had so much wisdom and foresight that, each time you read it, you will discover something new, something different.

The world has changed so much since he wrote the book. We are in the digital age now. But the basic principles haven’t changed. They are eternal. Even almost 2300 years later, we all want the same thing - we want to live a healthy life, a life that has quality. And Chanakya tells you exactly how to do that.

Across the globe, leadership is a subject of serious discussion, study, and research. Universities now have centers of leadership. Many times, in an organization, the members become specialized in their particular field and department but they miss out on the complete picture. The leadership ideas of Chanakya give an insight into some strategic sutras which are simple and easy to understand yet powerful and impactful when applied. Chanakya’s futuristic and time tested sutras relating to Philosophy and Ethics, Thought leadership, Qualities of a leader and Power and Responsibility, etc. will be explored in this chapter.

1. Ethyl alcohol content in alcoholic beverages is determined by Pyknometer Method or SG (Hydrometer) Method (after distillation). %Alcohol (v/v) = 8610.6 – (16584 x SG) + (7973.3 x SG 2)
2. 1 ml of 0.05N NaOH is equivalent to 0.00375 g of tartaric acid.
3. Volatile acidity of alcohol drinks is measured in terms of as acetic acid. 1 ml. of 0.05N NaOH is equivalent to 0.003g of acetic acid.
4. Esters in alcohol drinks is expressed as ethyl acetate gms. per 100 liters of abs. alcohol. 1 ml. of 0.1N NaOH is equivalent to 0.0088g of Ethyl acetate.
5. Esters in Higher alcohol drinks is expressed as Amyl alcohol gms. per 100 liters of abs. alcohol.1 ml of 0.1N NaOH is equivalent to 0.0088g of Amyl alcohol.
6. The concentration of Higher alcohol g/100L is determined by spectrophotometer method using p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde solution by reading the % T or Absorbance (OD) of developed colour of samples and series of standards in spectrophotometer at 530/535 nm against reagent blank as reference.

Vegetable refers to the edible parts of plant such as leaf, root, stem, fruit, rhizome, corm or seeds consumed directly or after cooking. Vegetables are an important constituent of balanced diet taken for good health. Vegetables are good source of dietary fibre, protein, essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Hence, vegetables play a vital role for human health. In urban areas, vegetables can be grown in the backyard, rooftop and terrace. Harvesting vegetables from own garden has a separate satisfaction. The vegetables produced in home gardens are of superior quality as those do not contain any harmful toxic substance. Growing vegetables in the home premises will reduce the daily expenditure of a family. In urban areas, vegetable can be taken in small patches in the backyard to fulfil the family requirement. In absence of surplus land area, it can be grown in pots, containers or polythene bags placed on the rooftop or terrace. Some vegetables can also be grown on the rooftop in a specially prepared bed with shallow depth of soil. In this chapter, discussion is made for cultivation of vegetables in small patches.

Introduction

Organic substances consumed for nutritional purposes can be called as “food”. Food contains biomolecules, like, protein, lipid and carbohydrate, inorganic minerals as salts, and organic substances, such as, vitamins, emulsifiers, acids, antioxidants, pigments, polyphenols and flavour-producing compounds. They can be of plant or animal origin. Depending on the durability in terms of suitability of consumption, foods can be perishable, semi-perishable and non-perishable. Food spoilage occurs due to chemical, microbial, or physical actions. eventually affecting its nutritional values, colour, edibility and texture (M. Rahman, 2007).

Nitrogen is the most important plant nutrient for increasing crop productivity. A few prokaryotic microorganisms are able to fix N2 directly mediated by enzyme nitrogenase. Annual biological nitrogen fixation (Table 96) is estimated to be around 175 million metric tonnes per year of which about 139 million tonnes (79%) are accounted for by terrestrial fixation (Burns and Hardy 1975).

The nitrogen fixers involved are metabolically diverse but the process is similar and depends upon (1) nitrogenase (Nase) enzyme complex (ii) a high energy requirement (ATP) (iii) anaerobic conditions for nitrogenase activity (iv) source of strong reductant.

The symbiotic process is known to be one of the important contributors to the nitrogen cycle both from agricultural and ecological points of view. The soil bacteria of the genus Rhizobium colonizes and forms nodules on the root of leguminous plants such as clover, lucerne (alfalfa), pea, chickpea, pigeonpea, beans, groundnut, Vigna species etc.

The nitrogen uptake in legumes by some unknown process was demonstrated through agronomic experiments by J.B. Boussigault in 1838 which was opposed by Liebig and others. However, Hellriegel and Wilfarth’s experiments (1886-88) clearly showed that the growth of non-leguminous plants, barley, oats etc. was directly proportional to the amount of nitrate supplied while in case of leguminous no such relationship existed and growth of the leguminous plants picked up in some cases after the seedling stage. Beijerinck (1888) isolated the bacterium from the root nodules in pure culture which lead to study their morphological characteristics and physiology.

RICE (Oryza sativa)
Fungal diseases
1. Blast
Symptoms: All above ground parts (leaf, leaf sheath, culm) of the plant are affected. There are three type of blasts (leaf blast, node blast, neck blast)
Leaf blast: Eye or spindle shaped spots on leaves (margin is dark brown and centre becomes ashy) and leaf sheath are observed. Several spots appear on the leaves cause blightening.

Technology Assessment and Refinement
What is Technology Assessment?
Technology assessment serves as a method or tool for forecasting future technological needs. It helps in envisioning or predicting potential technological developments required by users and in identifying areas where existing technologies can be improved. In agriculture, evaluating a technology means understanding its worth or effectiveness. This evaluation can be done by researchers, farmers, or other relevant stakeholders. The knowledge obtained from such evaluations is essential for creating new technologies, improving existing ones, and ensuring their successful adoption by end users.
The approach to technology assessment varies depending on who is conducting the evaluation, the purpose behind it, and the specific characteristics of the technology being assessed. It is commonly defined as the organized and intentional use of knowledge, skills, and experience to carry out a task or deliver a service that contributes to the well-being of society.
Technology Assessment: Definition and Objectives
According to Strasser (1972), technology assessment is a structured approach to planning and forecasting that identifies various options and associated costs. It considers not only economic factors but also environmental and social impacts, both internal and external to the technology being evaluated. The assessment places emphasis on analyzing both the positive and negative consequences of technologies. As such, institutions involved in the development, refinement, and dissemination of agricultural technologies have a significant stake in conducting technology assessments.

Nematodes and insects probably have influenced the shape of each other’s evolution from as early as the Devonian (409 million years ago). Over the course of their shared history, nematodes have established many different types of associations with insects.
2.1 Evolution and Types of Insect–Nematode Associations
The majority of nematodes associated with insects (Rhabditida, in particular) are not true parasites, but have established only phoretic relationships. These phoretic nematodes usually are referred to as insect “associates.” Nematodes in phoretic relationships with insects usually rely on their host to transport them to food resources or improve their chances of finding a mate (or both) (Adams and Nguyen, 2008). Bacterial feeding soil nematodes often are found associated with insect cadavers and incorrectly inferred to be contributing factors to insect pathology. However, it has been proposed that nematode parasitism in some groups may have been initiated by necrogenous nematodes. Early stages in the evolution of insect parasitism may have involved necrogeny (feeding and reproducing on the bacteria of decaying insect cadavers). The association with decaying environments or insect cadavers may have become successively more intimate, as the nematodes began to utilize other saprophagous insects for transportation to new sources of food. Eventually, the nematodes could have changed from being passengers to parasites, invading and feeding on the tissues of their hosts.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide sufficient information in order to arrive at a valid conclusion after the study has been completed. The chapter deals with the results and discussion of the study. In this chapter, tables and models are frequently utilized to provide support and supplement the materials that are presented in the text. It is helpful to interpret the findings of the study in the appropriate context and to relate them to other studies that are relevant to the topic at hand through discussion.

Nematodes and insects probably have influenced the shape of each other’s evolution from as early as the Devonian (409 million years ago). Over the course of their shared history, nematodes have established many different types of associations with insects.
2.1 Evolution and Types of Insect–Nematode Associations
The majority of nematodes associated with insects (Rhabditida, in particular) are not true parasites, but have established only phoretic relationships. These phoretic nematodes usually are referred to as insect “associates.” Nematodes in phoretic relationships with insects usually rely on their host to transport them to food resources or improve their chances of finding a mate (or both) (Adams and Nguyen, 2008). Bacterial feeding soil nematodes often are found associated with insect cadavers and incorrectly inferred to be contributing factors to insect pathology. However, it has been proposed that nematode parasitism in some groups may have been initiated by necrogenous nematodes. Early stages in the evolution of insect parasitism may have involved necrogeny (feeding and reproducing on the bacteria of decaying insect cadavers). The association with decaying environments or insect cadavers may have become successively more intimate, as the nematodes began to utilize other saprophagous insects for transportation to new sources of food. Eventually, the nematodes could have changed from being passengers to parasites, invading and feeding on the tissues of their hosts.
i. Facultative Parasitism: Nematodes that are facultative parasites can infect a healthy insect and receive nourishment at the expense of its host, yet retain the ability to complete its life cycle independent of its

Omics technologies based on genes and proteins involved in the nematode activities and the plant resistance responses are key factors to novel nematode management. Techniques such as next-generation sequencing of genomes and transcriptomes, RNAi, PIs, MAS, chemo-disruptive peptides and genetic transformation systems with reproducible results must be available within phytonematodes management strategies to enhance crop yields (Abd-Elgawad, 2022). Linking long-read sequencing to the use of high density genetic mapping can also support the detection and characterization of nematode-virulent genes. Progress in computational biology, bioinformatics, and analyzing the omics large-scale data can efficiently boost these techniques to offer accurate recognition of components and pathways engaged in nematode parasitism and plant response. Updated genome-editing devices will serve classical plant breeding and precisely translate how gene actions are linked to phenotypic performances. Yet, these methods must be cautiously used to avoid unwanted effects such as nematode virulence and pleiotropic impacts on qualitative and quantitative crop yields. Definite issues such as those related to the transfer of multiple disease resistance traits, gene original construct, and specificity of the virulent nematodes to the R-gene may arise in particular cases.

Fats and oils are one of the five essential ingredients of human diet. The four others are protein, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. In balanced diet, the requirement of oils and fats per person per day is around 35 gm. In India, the major source of oils and fats is of vegetable origin; butter from animal milk also serves as a fat, though. In the nine major oilseeds, which are groundnut, rapseed /mustered seed, soya been, seasam seeds, sun flower seed niger seed, castor seed and linseed, out of these   seven are essentially edible. Among these seven, by far the most important are groundnut,  rapeseed/mustard seed, and soya bean. These three edible oilseeds account for a little over 80% of-the-total production of nine oilseeds, which include even two non-edible oilseeds, namely castor seed and linseed. As a matter of fact, edible oilseeds as such contribute nearly 95% to the total production of all cultivated oilseeds together.

Introduction

In order to provide for the establishment of an effective system for protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders and to encourage the development of new varieties of plants it has been considered necessary to recognize and protect the rights of the farmers in respect of their contribution made at any time in conserving, improving and making available plant genetic resources for the development of the new plant varieties. Moreover to accelerate agricultural development, it is necessary to protect plant breeders’ rights to stimulate investment for research and development for the development of new plant varieties.

Lipids are a diverse group of chemical molecules. They are generally insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents. Lipids include long-chain hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, fatty acids, and their derivatives, especially, glycerides, phospholipids, glycolipids and sulfolipids. Other compounds like sterols, fatty acid esters of sterols, vitamins A, D, E, and K, carotenoids, and other poly-isoprenoids also are part of the lipids. Oils and fats are mainly triglycerides and neutral molecules. Those in the liquid state at ambient temperatures are called oils while those in the solid state are called fats. Lipids and lipid components have varied uses in the food and non food sectors. Vegetable and animal matter contain a variety of these constituents in different proportions. It is neccessry to evaluate the composition and quality of these constituents from the point of view of their utility.

Health care and preventive hygiene in rabbits are very important for the productivity of the rabbits and economical viability of a farm.

It is always better to prevent the disease rather than to get an animal treated, which is usually quite expensive. As such it is desirable that the rabbits are checked daily. The health and ailment signs can be recognized from the following things:

In recent years, there has been a considerable interest in the new technological interventions for enhanced livestock productivity in the Indian sub-continent, because of the increased demand for livestock products for human consumption. Bypass nutrients defined as a nutrients fed in such a form that provides an increase in the flow of the nutrient (s) unchanged to the abomasum, yet is available to the more important nutrient (high BV) should escape from the rumen or face minimum ruminal fermentation. The reasons for protecting different nutrients are based on their mode of utilization in the rumen. The literature on the effect of the bypass fat and protein on nutrient utilization, milk production and reproductive performance has been reviewed and presented in following subheads

3.1 Runoff

Runoff is one of the important parameter of hydrologic cycle. It is defined as that portion of precipitation which is not absorbed by the deep soil strata but finds its way into the stream after meeting the demands of evapotranspiration, interception, infiltration, surface storage, and surface as well as channel detention. It includes surface runoff received into the channels after precipitation occurs, delayed runoff that enters the stream after passing through the land surface, and other delayed runoff from the temporarily detained pits, depressions, swamps or detained as snow fall. It is thus the flow collected from the drainage basin and appearing at the outlet of the basin. The runoff process is demonstrated in Fig. 3.1 as flow chart. Details of the runoff process are discussed as below.

2.1  Write True/False

Q.1    From theoretical point of view, the most general method of estimation is the “Maximum Likelihood Estimation Method.”
Q.2    The method of “maximum Likelihood Estimation” was initially formulated by the statistician named as “C.F. Gauss.”