eChapters

House Plants refer a group of ornamental plants, both foliage and fowering, used for decoration of house interiors besides verandahs, corridors, porch, stairs, window sills etc. These are of various categories namely trees (juvenile), shrubs, herbs, bulbous, rhizomatus and other shade loving plants. House plants are generally grown in pots and displayed for making interiors delightful and cosy. In addition, such arrangements enhance the architectural beauty of the buildings. These are easily shifted from one place to another as per display plan. Moreover, option of changing the whole lot with a new set provides opportunity to create a new look of the site.

Foliage type house plants with their exquisite leaves, colour, variegation and uniqueness add grandeur to the interiors. On the otherhand, flowering ones having a spectrum of flower colour, are added attraction for beautifying relatively lighted areas of house. House plants are also grown as bedded plants in the gardens where ground space is available.

Successful growing of house plants depends on right selection of species considering climatic conditions, proper placement and maintenance. The main purpose is to make interiors decorative and lively. In addition to the aesthetic effect, house plants make the interiors more humid and cool. Besides, they absorb pollutants and supply oxygen. In cities, space for outdoor gardening attached to the house has almost vanished due to non-availability of land and high cost. As a result, popularity of growing house plants has increased manifold. Display of house plants is also a regular practice in other places like offices, institutes, banks, hospitals, factories, hotels etc. as these create an ambient working atmosphere besides beautification.

Soil is a living system and soil fertility is the key to agricultural productivity. Any input that destroys this living system and undermines soil health basically undermines the agricultural productivity. The maintenance of the fertility of soil is the primary step in any permanent system of agriculture.

Fertile land and sufficient water are vital for sustaining agriculture and livelihoods. Fertility of a soil is defined by its ability to provide all essential nutrients in adequate quantities and in the proper balance for the growth of plants – independent of direct application of nutrients – when other growth factors like light, temperature and water are favorable. This ability does not depend on the nutrient content of the soil only, but on its efficiency in transforming nutrients within the farm’s nutrient circle.

In transformation of nutrients soil organisms play a key role. They break down biomass from crop residues, green manures and mulch and contribute to build up of soil organic matter, including humus, the soil’s most important nutrient reservoir. They also play an essential role in transferring nutrients from the soil organic matter to the mineral stage, which is available to plants. Soil organisms also protect plants from disease and make the soil crumbly.

A fertile soil is easy to work, absorbs rainwater well, and is robust against siltation and erosion. It filters rain water and supplies us with clean drinking water. It neutralizes (buffers) acids, which pass through contaminated air to the soil surface, and decomposes pollutants such as pesticides rapidly. And last but not least a fertile soil is an efficient storage for nutrients and CO₂. In this way a fertile soil prevents the eutrophication of rivers, lakes and oceans and contributes to the reduction of global warming.

In the context of biological agriculture soil fertility is thus primarily the result of biological processes, not of chemical nutrients. A fertile soil is in active exchange with the plants, restructures itself and is capable of regeneration. The biological properties can be observed in the soil’s conversion activity, in the presence and the visible traces of the organisms in it. The communities of microorganisms are robust and active at the right moment. In the self-regulating ecological equilibrium animals, plants and microorganisms all work for each other.

It is the responsibility of farmers to understand soil ecology to the point that they can create or restore the conditions for a robust balance in the soil. If a soil does not regularly bring good yields, farmers should investigate the reasons for it.

6.1. Line × tester analysis

A successful approach of crop breeding programme depends on the proper choice of best parents for hybridization and the ideal selection adopted in the early generation. But, the selection of parents for hybridization programme is relatively tough in the case of complex traits like yield and their components as they governed by large number of quantitative genes which are influenced by environments and seasons. Thus, breeders often meet with difficulty to fix in advance the desirable parents which will give superior progenies. In such a situation, knowledge on the nature of gene action on such complex quantitative traits of economic importance is necessary to plan and adopt appropriate selection techniques (Simmonds, 1979) and breeding methodology.

Combining ability analysis gives useful information regarding the selection of parents in terms of the performance of the hybrids. This analysis elucidates the nature and magnitude of various types of gene action involved in the expression of quantitative traits (Dhillon, 1975). Thus, the knowledge of combining ability serves as an useful tool for the selection of plants for hybridization and further exploitation. Combining ability consists of general and specific combining ability.

Sprague and Tatum (1942) defined general combining ability (gca) as the “average performance of a line in hybrid combinations” and specific combining ability (sca) “as those cases in which certain combinations do relatively better of worse than would be expected on the basis of the average performance of the lines involved. The general combining ability provides an indication of the importance of genes of largely additive in nature, while specific combining ability indicates the importance of non-additive gene effects.

Several biometrical techniques are available to estimate the general combining ability of parents and specific combining ability of hybrids. Among them, line × tester analysis is extensively used both in self and cross pollinated crops. The advantage of line × tester analysis is that a large number of inbred lines can be evaluated than diallel analysis. Besides, it provides additional information on the performance of the specific hybrids on gene action in contrast to top cross or polycross. The line × tester analysis is an efficient biometrical approach for assessing the combining ability of parents and hybrids (Kempthorne, 1957).

The Mineral Kingdom presents a dazzling floral-display in the form of natural crystals. This is what makes mineralogy a very fascinating subject both for an amateur as well as an expert. Unless one visits the celebrated Lechuguilla cave in New Mexcio, USA it will be difficult to visualize the breathtaking beauty that crystals present. This, over 160 km cave is lined with gigantic as well as delicate gypsum crystals- as thin as human hair to several centimetres across and 6 m long . Crystals come in all shapes, sizes and colours. Their beauty and regular shape has not only attracted the scientists but made them objects of magical and mythical powers in many cultures of the world.

The study of crystals - including their growth, structure, classification by form and their physical properties forms the subject of crystallography. As of today one can’t think of this subject without x-ray crystallography, however, this being not in your syllabus only an introduction will be presented in the last chapter, while the entire section will be devoted to fundamental aspects of crystal morphology.

The section comprises four chapters. Chapter I describes and introduces the theme, presents a brief historical background of the development of the subject and gives some fundamental definitions. Chapter II presents the morphological elements including symmetry elements( plane, axes and centre of symmetry), parameters, indices, notation of crystal faces and other related aspects which are the basis for dividing crystals of all shapes and sorts into six or seven systems and several sub-types. This chapter will help you understand as to why mineral galena belongs to cubic system, while gypsum is monoclinic, or as to why an octahedron is represented by a symbol (111) but a cube with (100). Chapter III describes the seven systems and their sub-types and ends with an account of twinning- a curious feature quite often encountered among crystals. The section ends with a preliminary idea about stereographic projection and x-ray crystallography.

Design and Construction of a greenhouse involves five distinctly different aspects viz. (a) Basic form or type, (b) structure/designs, (c) covering materials and its fixing, (d) foundation and constructional detail, and (e) crop-support, irrigation and drainage planning.

All the above aspects are interlinked. To have a clear idea, these individual aspects are discussed separately.

4.1. Basic Forms of Greenhouse

Before considering anything about construction, one should finalize the form of construction. There are different forms of greenhouses for different climatic and crop situations. These types of structures are planned according to the requirement of farmer/promoter and obviously according to the purpose. Now we will describe, in brief, some of the important form or type of greenhouses.

4.1.1. Greenhouse covered with transparent and impervious material

These structures are covered with water/rain impermeable transparent materials which allow necessary solar radiation for optimal growth of plants. Simultaneously it protects crops from temperature-fluctuation, rain, wind, and creates a favourable situation in respect of CO₂ and humidity. This covering is also used to prevent the re-radiation of heat energy and conserve the heat generated in daytime to raise night temperature inside.

7.1. Introduction

Cultivation of crop is one of the most important aspects on which the success of a greenhouse depends. Principally it is similar to that of open field cultivation; but it is a completely different proposition in comparison. In greenhouse it needs (1) high precision technology, (2) special management, and (3) high qualityinputs. A special crop husbandry is extremely necessary, integrating all these three aspects, for successful greenhouse cultivation.

Why special crop husbandry? – Ancestors of each and every crop of modern time once grew out of its own in wild, without any human intervention. Gradually it has been domesticated or brought under cultivation by progressive alteration of its natural growing and reproduction process. Even the genetic nature also altered gradually. Till recent past these development of domestication process has been restricted principally on reproduction, planting, nutrient supply, water supply, and plant protection aspects. Interestingly most of these aspects are still very much supplementary in nature, as a good percent of it is still dependent on nature and its growing system.Actually, we cannot confer any significant change, physically or genetically, in their adaptation against the natural elements like rain, sunlight, temperature, humidity, gas supply, etc. However, we try our level best with a compromising note on local climate.

Hence there is ample scope to go for complete alteration of their growing habit/ practices in relation to each and every aspect of the climatic elements. It is a very difficult job, because, for a small change in any individual aspect of plant growth, all the other aspects are affected. Thus, one has to make a proper and holistic balance of alteration of all the growth aspects for each and every individual domesticated plant, we call as crop.

2.1 Introduction

Consider two linear equations in two variables i.e., x and y, such that equations are

India has emerged as the largest producer of milk in the World. This has boosted the confidence of producers, planners, dairy entrepreneurs and scientist alike. India has poised to play a major role in global dairy market in coming decade. The rapid growth of science and technology has positive impact on our life style and with strong trend of urbanization several demographic changes are likely to occur. There going to be ever increasing demand on the role of milk and milk products for human health. Accordingly, the demand for higher standards of milk products in terms of hygiene and safety of dairy products is to be followed. The competitiveness for the export of milk products among different dairy industry has increased in recent times due to GATT agreement. The biggest challenge before Indian dairy industry is the quality and safety of milk products indented for human consumption. Legal standards are made to have control over quality of food offered for sale and to safe guard the consumer form health hazards. It is therefore, imperative to determine different parameters that define product quality and safety. The purpose is to ensure production and distribution of products within well defined and accepted standards. This chapter deals with various parameters of product testing in order to maintain requisite prescribed standards.

8.1 Black Pepper Breeding

Black pepper (Piper nigrum L., family:Piperaceae), known as the ‘King of Spices’ and “Black gold”, is one of the important spices since time immemorial and perhaps the oldest spice regarded globally. It is a perennial climber grown for its fruits that are used as spice with plethora of medicinal properties. Black pepper is also very important in traditional medicine (Ravindran, 2000). However, it is mainly valued for its characteristic pungency and flavour, as an ingredient in food preparations and also as a condiment.

Genetic Resources

World’s largest collection of black pepper germplasm is maintained by the Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) at Kozhikode, Kerala, containing local cultivars, wild forms collected from the area of origin and related species. At present there are about 3466 accessions, consisting of 1266 wild relatives, 2062 cultivars, in addition to 9 exotic collections maintained in India. These collections were characterized and evaluated to estimate the genetic diversity for various yield and quality characters. Cultivar diversity is one of the principal components of diversity in black pepper. The cultivars are evolved directly from the wild P. nigrum.

7.1 General

The major portion of water in a crop field gets lost through evaporation and transpiration. Evaporation is the process by which water is changed from the liquid state to vapor state. It takes place from the adjacent soil, water surface or from the surfaces of leaves of the plants. Transpiration is the removal of water vapour through plant body. Evapotranspiration(ET) is the sum of evaporation and transpiration. The process of evaporation and transpiration goes on simultaneously and difficult to separate them in a crop field.

The term consumptive use is used to refer evapotranspiration together with the water used in the metabolic activities of the crop plants. The actual amount of water used in metabolic activities is insignificant (less than 1% to ET). Therefore, the consumptive use and evapotranspiration are often used as synonymous term. It includes the water consumed by the plants

As water consists of two positively charged hydrogen ions and a single negatively charged oxygen ion, water is arranged as a polar molecule having positive and negative sides. This molecular polarity leads to water’s high dielectric constant (ability to withstand or balance an electric field). Water is able to dissolve many substances because the polar water molecules align to shield each ion, resisting the recombination of the ions.

1. Education 1.1. Some Landmarks of Agricultural Education Including Vegetable Science Year Landmarks 1952 Indian Council of Agricultural Education (ICAE) set up (worked up to 1964 under ICAR). 1958 First ‘Deemed University‘ status bestowed on Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI). 1959 Chief of Agricultural Education and ex-officio Secretary to ICAE appointed. 1960 Emergence of SAUs, starting with Pantnagar, based on the recommendations of Joint Indo-American Teams. 1965 Standing Committee on Agricultural Education replaced the Education Panel. 1965 ICAR reorganization with four Divisions including Agricultural Education 1966 ICAR developed Model Act for Agricultural Universities in India.

This chapter analytically represents the results of the empirical research study with the appropriate discussion on the basis of analysis.

6.1. Results of data collected from moringa growers of Tamil Nadu

6.1.1. Visualisation of descriptive statistics

This Table-6.1 presents 18 independent variables (x1-x18 ) and 5 dependent variables (y1-y5 ) in terms of their descriptive statistics viz. Minimum, Maximum, Range, Mean, Standard Deviation (S.D.), Variance and Co-efficient of Variation (C.V.).

of moringa growers, the maximum years of experience is 44 years and the minimum years of experience is 3 years. The Range of this variable x1 was found to be 41. The mean value of experience was found to be 16.033 years, with the Standard Deviation of 8.324 and Variance of 69.289 for the total distribution taken for the study.

Statistics has originated as a science of statehood and found applications slowly and steadily in Agriculture, Economics, Commerce, Biology, Medicine, Industry, planning, education and so on. Sir Ronald A. Fisher, (1890 – 1962), who is called “the Father of Statistics”, drew many solid conclusions

1.2 Definition

Statistics is the science which deals with the collection of data, organisation of data (or) classification of data, presentation of data, analysis of data and interpretation of data, which are known as the statistical methods.

“Statistics is the science, technology and art of creating new knowledge.”

–RA Fisher.

“By statistics we mean, aggregate of facts affected to a marked

extent by multiplicity of causes numerically expressed enumerated or

estimated according to reasonable standard of accuracy collected in a

systematic manner for a predetermined purpose and placed in relation

to each other.”

– Professor Horace Secrist

Number line

Every real number occupies a position on the number line and conversely,

every point of the line can be matched with a real number.

Absolute value

The absolute value of modules of a number is equivalent to the value of that

number ignoring the sign. For example, the absolute value for -1 is 1, and the

absolute value of +1 is also 1.The absolute value is defined by the symbol

?x?.

The chemicals, which can destroy pests or prevent their occurrence by their chemical action are known as ‘Pesticides’. Pesticides include ‘insecticides’, acaricides’, ‘nematicides’, rodenticides’, molluscicides’ etc., which are used to destroy insect pests, mites, nematodes, rodents, slugs and snails respectively. Pesticides have been used even before the time when man never knew how to read and write. Even before 200 BC, several substances were known to control pests. Sulfur, arsenic poisons, fluorine poisons, as well as some plant extracts and oils were used to control pests. However, these substances could destroy only a few specific pests only to some extent.

Advances in the invention of pesticides

The invention of many of the present day pesticides started only after 1867. ‘Paris green’, a synthetic chemical was the first pesticide used to control the ‘Colorodo beetles’ of potato. Up to 1939, only a few inorganic chemical compounds and plant poisons were used as pesticides. Only after the Second World War much advances were made in chemical research. After the invention of DDT in 1939, a revolution had started in the field of pest control. Following the introduction of DDT, several other pesticides were identified and introduced for pest control. In 1941, BHC was invented by the British and French scientists. During the same period, organophosphorus pesticides were invented by the German scientists and parathion, malathion, demeton etc. were introduced.

Origin of Fowl

Domestication of poultry seems to have been undertaken in south-east Asia. The chickens were brought to India by 1000 BC, and later on they spread north, westwards and reached Greece by 525 BC. By the beginning of Christian era, the birds were already popular in West Asia and East Europe, and then gradually reached South Africa, Australia, Japan, USSR and USA.

Red Jungle fowls are the ancestors of the present-day poultry breeds. There are four known species of wild fowl and they belong to the same genus “Gallus” meaning a cock. The four species are as follows:

The Red Jungle fowl is supposed to be the main contributor for the development of modern-day poultry and is widely distributed throughout Burma, China, India, Philippines, Sumatra and Thailand. The plumage (colour of the feather) of females resembles that of Brown Leghorn, the males have orange red feathers in hackle, wing bow and saddle regions, while the breast is black. Eggs are buff (off-white) in colour. The legs are slate (dark bluish grey) coloured. The comb is all red.

Life is fundamentally a complex interplay of chemical interactions and reactions. Chemistry examines the composition and properties of matter, the interactions between chemical components, and the mechanisms by which complex structures are formed. Biological chemistry, or Biochemistry, delves into these principles within the context of living systems, highlighting the intricate relationships between molecular structure and function. Understanding fundamental chemistry and its application to anatomy and physiology is crucial because the human body is composed entirely of chemical substances. Basic chemistry encompasses the study of matter, its various states, and energy in all its forms. In order to understand the basic chemistry of living let us start from the scratch of learning and remembering everything that we have learnt so far. Matter and Its Properties Anything with mass and occupying space is referred to as matter. Solid, liquid, and gas are its three main states. Mass, distinct from weight, represents the quantity of matter in an object and remains constant regardless of location. In contrast, weight depends on gravitational force. 

Biochemistry: An Overview of Biomolecules Biochemistry is a branch of science that delves into the chemical composition and interactions of cells and organisms. It focuses on the molecular structures found within biological systems, their chemical characteristics, functions, and the reactions they undergo. By studying these molecules, biochemists gain insights into the fundamental processes that sustain life. Properties of Biomolecules General Characteristics Biomolecules are fundamentally organic compounds, sharing similar properties with typical organic molecules. They obey the same physical and chemical principles, undergo similar reactions, and adhere to universal physical laws. However, their complexity and biological specificity distinguish them from simpler organic compounds. Composition and Structural Features The backbone of biomolecules is predominantly composed of carbon, which forms four covalent bonds, often exhibiting a tetrahedral geometry. Carbon skeletons can exist in diverse forms like linear,

ABSTRACT

Plasmids are circular, double-stranded DNA molecules which replicate autonomously from the chromosome of the host organism. Plasmids are found in many bacterial species and often confer upon the host cell phenotypic characteristics such as resistance to antibiotics, resistance to heavy metals, ability to produce particular protiens, conjugative (mating) ability and ability to degrade xenobiotc compounds. One of these degradative plasmids may encode a complete catabolic pathway (such as toluene to pyruvate, formate and acetaldehyde) or partial degradative steps, such as octane to octanol. In this later case, the remainder of the pathway may be encoded by chromosomal genes, by genes of other plasmid present in the host, or by other microorganisms. Many degradative plasmids possess a broad host range, especially among the gram-negative bacterial species.

There are different mechanisms which may be involved in the evolution of aromatic pathways in general and in the process of adaptation of microorganisms to xenobiotic substrates in particular. Gene transfer, the occurrence of plasmids in bacteria in the natural environment is an important pool of genetic information residing on plasmid vehicles may flow among indigenous microorganisms. Since many examples of self-transmissible plasmids that carry genes for degradation of aromatic or other xenobiotic compounds are known, and their role in spreading these genes to other microorganisms is well characterized. Early, studies of TOL, NAH, and SAL plasmids revealed strong homologies among these plasmids in regions both inside and outside the catabolic gene clusters. Plasmids, pJP4, pAC25, and PSS50, catabolic plasmids carrying genes for chloroaromatic degradation, have strongly homologous plasmid backbone that determine replication and transfer function. Furthermore, the chlorobenzoate plasmid p51 was also shown to be homologous to pJP4 outside regions of the catabolic genes. These observations suggest that a few common self-transmissible ancestor replicons (includes origin of replication and replication gene) may have been involved in acquisition and spread of different catabolic genes. DNA

8.1 Introduction

After knowing when to irrigate and how much to irrigate, next important thing is how to irrigate the crop field. Methods of irrigation play a very crucial role in deciding how to irrigate the crop fields since all the crops do not require same methods of irrigation. Depending on the sources of water available for irrigation, type of crop to be irrigated, quantity and quality of water to be applied and other economic considerations, methods of irrigation will vary. Irrigation water may be applied to the crops by flooding it on the field surfaces as surface irrigation, by applying it beneath the soil surface as subirrigation, by spraying it under pressure as sprinkler or overhead irrigation or by applying it in drops around the root zone of the crop as trickle irrigation. The commonly used methods of irrigation are described in schematic diagram as follows:

Nitrogen ranks fourth element in cell composition after C, H and O. It forms main components of amino acids, the building blocks of peptides and proteins. Besides, it is present in the genetic material of cell as well as in the chlorophyll and cell wall in the form of chitin and mucopeptides. Plant growth in soil is often limited by less supply of nitrogen, therefore a major nutrient limiting factor in crop production. About 26 x 10⁶ Mg N is globally applied to soil each year to enhance crop productivity.

Indian seed market is one of the largest in the world and entire supply is through almost locally produced seed. The value of currently marketed seed (excluding the major share of seed saved and used by the farmers) is about USD1 billion (Rs.4500/crore). Of this, roughly a third includes the traded seed making the seed business worth about Rs. 1500 crore. This figure is likely to touch Rs. 4500 crore (USD 1 billion) crore mark by 2010. In comparison to about USD 1 billion seed business in India, the worldwide market of seed is worth about USD 21 billion. The global pesticide market is worth USD 35 billion. These values, however, are much smaller in comparison to global sale of pharmaceuticals worth USD 466 billion.

Summary

Biodiversity (the variety of living things) is fundamental to ecosystem structures and functions, and provide the broad spectrum of goods and services that humans derive from natural systems such as food (e.g. fish), protection from disasters such as cyclones, storms, floods (e.g. mangroves) or maintenance of water quality. Species (biodiversity) respond to climate change either staying or moving out or dying out. For example, the rise of temperature as a consequence of climate change may cause some species to (a) stay in the same environment since they can tolerate to adapt to changes; or (b) may cause some species to move out in a suitable environment (e.g. some species to move pole ward, some up in elevation) or (c) some species (fish) to go deep to increased depths in the oceans to escape heat or warming or (d) may cause some species to die out or get extinct (species with restricted distribution, longer generation time will not be able to migrate or adapt to climate change). A pattern of range shifts such as pole wards and upwards has been documented in hundreds of species of plants and animals and is one of the strongest signals of biotic changes from global warming. These shifts result from two processes: cold-edge expansion and warm-edge contraction. There is now abundant evidence for local extinctions from contractions at the warm edges of species’ ranges or warm edge contraction because the species may have already reached the limits of their climatic tolerance. Investigations conducted reveals that many terrestrial and aquatic species are shifting their geographic ranges in response to rapid changes in temperature and precipitation regimes. For example, many terrestrial organisms are currently shifting in latitude or elevation in response to changing climate. It has been estimated that plants and animals have recently shifted to higher elevations at a median rate of 11.0 m per decade, and to higher latitudes at a median rate of 16.9 km per decade.

The term enzyme was coined in 1878 by Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhne to designate these biological catalysts that had previou-sly been called ferments. As they quicken most of the chemical reactions occurr-ing in the body, the enzymes have been designated as the “manifestations of nature’s impatience”.

C    :    Cytosine.
C domains    :    The constant regions of the polypeptide chains of immunoglobulin molecules are made up of one or more constant domains or C domains of similar structure; each immunoglobulin chain also has a single variable or V domain.

P    :    Phosphate.

p    :    Pico (10^-12).

P&S    :    Permanent and stationary.

PO    :    Per oral; by mouth (see also IV; IP;).

PA    :    Postero-anterior; pulmonary artery.
   
PAC    :    P1-derived artificial chromosome.

INTRODUCTION

Cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale L.), in the current global scenario, has attained the status of economically important crop with considerable export potential. Ancient sea route traders have been responsible for the spread of cashew from Brazil, its native, to other parts of tropical and sub tropical regions. In the rainforest areas with hot and humid regions of North east Brazil that the people from the long past knew to roast and use the cashew kernels. The owning of cashew trees meant the wealth, prosperity and social status of the family even in those days around 1500 AD in Tropical American region. The commercial importance of cashew nuts was not aggressively known at the time of its initial introduction into Asian and African countries.

Appendix-'C'    :    Damage Prevention and Rehabilitation by Retrofitting
    
Appendix-'D'    :    Dos and Don'ts While Constructing Buildings
    
Case Study    :    Bhuj Earthquake 26th January, 2001
            Eyjafjallajoekull (Iceland) Volcano - 2010

1.    The term “macroeconomics” has been derived from a Greek word?

(a) MICROS

(b) MIKROS

(c) MAKROS

(d) MACROS

2.    Who coined the term ‘macro economics’?

(a) A. Smith

(b) Samuelson

(c) A. Marshall

(d) Ragner Frish

Proteins are large biological molecules, or macromolecules, consisting of one or more chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within living organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, replicating DNA, responding to stimuli, and transporting molecules from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily in their sequence of amino acids, which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their genes, and which usually results in folding of the protein into a specific three-dimensional structure that determines its activity. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain derived from the condensation of amino acids. The individual amino acid residues are bonded together by peptide bonds and adjacent amino acid residues. The sequence of amino acid residues in a protein is defined by the sequence of a gene, which is encoded in the genetic code. In general, the genetic code specifies 20 standard amino acids; however, in certain organisms the genetic code can include selenocysteine and, in certain archaea-pyrrolysine. Shortly after or even during synthesis, the residues in a protein are often chemically modified by post translational modification, which alters the physical and chemical properties, folding, stability, activity, and ultimately, the function of the proteins. Sometimes proteins have non-peptide groups attached, which can be called prosthetic groups or cofactors. Proteins can also work together to achieve a particular function, and they often associate to form stable protein complexes.

Like other biological macromolecules such as pollysaccharides and nucleic acids, proteins are essential parts of organisms and participate in virtually every process within cells. Many proteins are enzymes that catalyse biochemical reactions and are vital to metabolism. Proteins also have structural or mechanical functions, such as actin and myosin in muscle and the proteins in the cytoskeleton, which form a system of scaffolding that maintains cell shape. Other proteins are important in cell signalling, immune responses, cell adhesion, and the cell cycle. Proteins are also necessary in animals’ diets, since animals cannot synthesize all the amino acids they need and must obtain essential amino acids from food. Through the process of digestion, animals break down ingested protein into free amino acids that are then used in metabolism.

Origin & Distribution of Cattle

All types of domestic cattle belongs to class Mammalia, subclass Ungulata, order Artiodactyla, suborder Ruminantia, family Bovidae, subfamily Bovinae, tribe Bovini, which includes genus Bos. The aurochs or urus (Bos primigenius) is the probable ancestor of most of the present day Bos taurus and Bos indicus cattle. The humped Bos primigenius namadicus were the forerunner of today’s zebu cattle while humpless Bos primigenius primigenius gave rise to modern European cattle. Both category of cattle possess the same number of chromosomes (2N=60). Other related animals in the Bovini tribe include the gaur cattle (Bos gaurus), banteng (Bos banteng), kouprey (Bos sauveli) of South and East Asia, bison (Bison bison) of North America, European bison (Bison bonasus) and the yak (Poephagus mutus) of central Asia. According to Payne & Hodges (1997), domestication of aurochs (Bos primigenius ) took place first probably on the lower mountain slopes in the region of western Asia known as the ‘fertile crescent’. They suggested that the first domestic cattle were humpless (Bos taurus) Hamitic Longhorn type and were domesticated around possibly 9000 BP (years before the present i.e. 1950). About 2000 years later the humpless (Bos taurus) shorthorn type evolved or was developed in the region and these two types of humpless cattle are believed to the ancestor of Bos taurus. Humped (Bos indicus) zebu cattle were domesticated in the northwest arid areas of the Fertile Crescent around c. 5000 BP.

Nutritional Quality of Edible Oils

Fats improve the taste and flavour of foods. Fatty foods satiate a hungry person fast because fats remain in the stomach for a longer period than either protein or carbohydrate (sugar) foods. Fats also carry essential vitamins like A, D, E and K. They also provide the body with essential fatty acids. Thus, fats have a very important role to play in human nutrition.

Spectrum of Fats and Oils

It is not just the butter and ghee that provide us the necessary fats. Vegetable oils, meat and fish too add fats in our diet. There is an array of vegetable oils available to human beings. They are groundnut, rapeseed, sesame, sunflower, safflower, soybean, niger, cotton seed, coconut, palm and rice bran oils. Ghee(butter fat), however, is the main animal fat utilized widely. The quality and composition of these oils vary as also the preference of people.

1. Introduction

Pear is among the oldest of the world’s fruit crops, figuring in both Bible and the tales of Homer. They are by far the most important of the deciduous tree fruits, are widely grown in temperate and increasingly, in tropical regions, and figure prominently in world trade. The fruit is primarily grown for the fresh fruit market, which is much more remunerative than that for processing.

Pear (Pyrus communis, Rosaceaea family), is a deciduous fruit, grown under a wide variety of climatic regimes, ranging from cold dry temperature hilly conditions to warm humid subtropical conditions. It is grown in many places of India like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Utter Pradesh. Sandy pear plants were brought to Amritsar by travellers from China who settled at Harsha Chinna village near Amritsar about 2,500 years ago. The Kashmir valley represents one of the major Pear (Pyrus communis.L.) growing areas of the world. Pear was introduced in India from China. The time at which Pear was introduced to Kashmir is not precisely known, however Yukteshwar Kumar writes in his book “A History of SinoIndian Relations” that peach and pear came to India during the early years of the Eastern Han period (25 AD to 220 AD). This pre historic fruit has been under cultivation both in Europe and Asia for about 3000 years (Hedrick et al., 1921). Between 16^th and 18^th centuries, many European writers travelling Kashmir noted fantastic royal gardens of the Mughals, mentioning the abundance of peach, pear, plum and cherry trees, with fountains spouting cold, icy water. Pear (Pyrus communis. L), originating from the German word ‘peer’ meaning fruit, is a fascinating fruit steeped in rich history. This fruit is known as ‘tang’ in Kashmiri language. Low chill requiring pears are being cultivated in plains of North India. Cultivars requiring high chilling hours (900-1000) are cultivated at higher hills of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Majority of the Pear production is actually limited to Kashmir however, low chilling cultivars grow in subtropical regions.

Postharvest loss of fruits and vegetables is defined as “that weight of wholesome edible product (exclusive of moisture content) that is normally consumed by human and that has been separated from the medium and sites of its immediate growth and production by deliberate human action with the intention of using it for human feeding but which for any reasons fails to be consumed by human.” Not only quantity and quality but even the appearance of fruits and vegetables are affected, and their market value is reduced. Most ‘skin deep’ injuries such as ‘fly speck’ in apples do not affect the edible part. Some infections are not harmful as they occur on inedible parts and can be trimmed off before consumption ego Colletotrichum spots on the outer leaves of cabbage]. Fresh fruits and vegetables are perishable and highly prone to these losses because they are composed of living tissues. These tissues must be kept alive and health throughout the process of marketing. These are composed of thousands of living cells which require care and maintenance (Alao, 2000). The pathological rots are the most serious which is followed by mechanical injury. Pathological rots in combination with mechanical damage cause serious damage to the perishables. Environmental factors such as temperature, relative humidity and oxygen balance most especially during storage are also greatly responsible for damage also environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity are responsible for rendering fruits and vegetables susceptible for pathological attacks (Yahaya and Mardiyya, 2019). Fungi and bacteria are the major pathogens, which cause postharvest diseases in crops leading to about 30 % loss. Normally diseases will be more at improper temperature and relative humidity. Apart from causing disease, pathogens are also involved in ethylene production, which hastens the deterioration of the product.

Introduction

The biological systems on the earth are in a dynamic equilibrium. In this attempt to live comfortably man disturbs this equilibrium in many, one of which is the cultivation of crop plants to meet his requirements for food, clothing and shelter. Intensive and extensive n of crop plants provides not only better crops but also better ties for pests and diseases to attack these crops. The greater loss due to the pests and diseases, the greater the attempt to these damages. Bacteria are one of the important disease since time immemorial. Bacteria are found in every ble habitat. They are unicellular, but display a variety of ‘cal forms.

The present investigation on the botanicals  has been aimed at preparation of different types of aqueous extracts of locally available medicinal plants viz., Datura stramonium (Datura), Ricinus Castor), Vitex trifolia (Nirgudi) and Nerium indicum (Kanher); the study concentration and stability of these extracts at room temperature; and evaluation of their anti-bacterial activities. This study will be helpful to preserve and increase the pest management potency and efficiency of plant derived products.

1. Multiple Choice Questions

It all started after the famous lecture, “There is plenty of room at the bottom” given by Richard Feynman on December 29, 1959. Nanomaterials are intermediate between macroscopic solid and of atomic and molecular systems. Nanomaterials have certain properties which make them different from that of the bulk materials, including large fraction of surface atoms, high surface energy, spatial confinement, and reduced imperfections. Nanotechnology deals with various structures of matter having dimensions of the order of a billionth of a meter (Ray Unmesha. 2018). From the advent of nanotechnology, people realized that certain materials can exhibit different properties based on its size and shape.
 

Bio-fertilizers, as the name indicates, are the fertilizers of biological origin (Gupta, 2012). In strict sense, real bio-fertilizers are green manures and organics - materials of biological origin which are added to supply plant nutrients present in them. However, in restricted scope, the term ìbio-fertilizersî or ìmicrobial inoculantsî are preparations of living organisms in alone or in combination, which may help in increasing crop productivity by way of fixing atmospheric Use of Bio-Fertilizers in Sustainable Agriculture 175 nitrogen in soils, solubilizing of insoluble plant nutrients, stimulating plant growth or decomposing of plant residues. 

Important Points to Remember

• The word ‘Extension’ is derived from Latin roots ‘ex’ and ‘tensio’.
• The use of the term ‘Extension’ originated in England in 1866 with a system of University extension which was taken up first by Cambridge and then Oxford Universities.
• James Stuart is considered as father of University Extension.
• Dr. K.N. Singh is known as father of Extension in India.
• Agricultural extension operates within a broader knowledge system that includes research and agricultural education.

13.1 Biosafety

Biosafety is the prevention of large-scale loss of biological integrity, focusing both on ecology and human health. These prevention mechanisms include conduction of regular reviews of the biosafety in laboratory settings, as well as strict guidelines to follow. Biosafety is used to protect from harmful incidents. Many laboratories handling biohazards employ an ongoing risk management assessment and enforcement process for biosafety. Failures to follow such protocols can lead to increased risk of exposure to biohazards or pathogens. Human error and poor technique contribute to unnecessary exposure and compromise the best safeguards set into place for protection. The international Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety deals primarily with the agricultural definition but many advocacy groups seek to expand it to include post-genetic threats: new molecules, artificial life forms, and even robots which may compete directly in the natural food chain.

Crops belonging to family Cucurbitaceae are generally known as ‘Cucurbits’. It consists of a wide range of vegetables either used for salad purpose (cucumber) or for cooking (all gourds), pickling (West Indian gherkin) or as dessert fruit (muskmelon, water melon) or candied or preserved (ash gourd). As a group, cucurbits occupy the largest area in India and in other tropical countries. Its use is not primarily because of calories, minerals or vitamins since they are generally low to moderate in nutrients with a few exceptions like bitter gourd (rich in vitamin C- 96mg/100g), pumpkin (vitamin A 1600 IU/100g), Kakrol (high protein 3.1g/100g,), parwal and chow chow (calcium- 531 mg and 140 mg / 100 g respectively). From the nutritional point of view, cucurbit seeds are valued for their high oil and protein contents. Seed proteins of cucurbits are comparable to that of legumes and are richer in methionine.

The family Cucurbitaceae comprises about 117 genera and 825 species in warmer parts. Chakravarthy (1982) estimated 36 genera and 100 species in India.

Nematodes are invertebrate roundworms that inhabit marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments. They comprise the phylum Nematoda or Nemata, which includes parasites of plants and of animals, including humans, as well as species that feed on bacteria, fungi, algae, and on other nematodes. Four out of every five multicellular animals on the planet are nematodes. All nematodes may look alike, the smallest being scaled down versions of the largest. The phrase tube-within-a-tube is a convenient way to think of nematode body structure and also a term used to refer to a major trend in the evolution of triploblastic metazoa. It refers to the development of a fluid-filled cavity between the outer body wall and the digestive tube. The nature of this body cavity has led to the grouping of metazoa into three grades, acoelomate, pseudocoelomate and eucoelomate. Nematodes together with Rotifera, Gastrotricha, Kinorhyncha, Nematomorpha, Acanthocephala and Entoprocta are traditionally grouped together as pseudocoelomates on the basis of possessing a body cavity that is not formed from the mesoderm or fully lined by peritoneum.

Table 1: Descriptive statistics of the socio-economic and communication characteristics of the respondents in terms of Range (Minimum and Maximum), Mean, Standard Deviation (SD) and Coefficient of Variation (CV) of Alluvial Zone in West Bengal

Table 1 Represents the distribution of variables in terms of range i.e. maximum and minimum values, mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation for alluvial zone of West Bengal.

It has been found that for the independent variable age (x₁), the range lies between 82 and 27 years, where the oldest respondent is of 82 years and the youngest respondent being 27years old. The mean value of the age of the respondents in this study was found to be 51.49 years with a standard deviation of 12.42 in the dataset. Coefficient of variation for this variable was found to be 24.14 per cent, which indicates a high level of consistency in the distribution.

The pipe network in a drip system consists of a mainline, sub mains, laterals, and distributors. The layout of the pipes depends on the physical factors like shape and size of the area, topography and any other obstacles in the field. In any field there may be the scope of different layout of the pipes. The most economic one should be selected. In general, contour line is followed in laying the laterals in sloping land, sub main length usually be shorten in uphill and equally spaced laterals on either side of a sub main in a flat land provides good layout.

Hydraulic Formulae /Head Losses in Pipes

There are numerous equations for solving the head loss in pipes. The most commonly used are the Darcy-Weisbach, Hazen-William and Scobey’s.

Recent years have seen a rapid increase in the application of the various techniques of molecular, cytogenetical and serological approaches to problems in plant Nematology. The application of these approaches has been considered to problems of genetic variation and classical taxonomy. Two principal approaches are available. Firstly the use of “random” techniques which aim to sample the entire genome of the animaIs or populations of interest and which are mostly used in studies of genetic variation. Secondly “non-random “ techniques which target defined regions of the genome such as particular genes or gene products and are most frequently used in identification to species or sub-species level. The defined region ofthe genome may be the ribosomal genes, the mitochondrial genome or a conserved nuc1ear gene. Whilst analysis of these regions may allow information about taxonomic relationships to be gathered, focusing on one region of the genome imposes certain limitations on the experimenter.

Tea is the most important non-alcoholic beverage worldwide gaining further popularity as an important ‘health drink’. It is consumed as a morning drink by 2/3^rd of world population. Tea was used initially as a medicine and subsequently as beverage and now has proven to be a potential raw material for pharmaceutical industry. Tea is mainly consumed in the form of ‘fermented tea’ or ‘black tea’, ‘non-fermented’ or ‘green tea’ and semi-fermented or ‘oolong tea’ are also popular in Japan and China. Green leaves are also used as vegetables such as ‘leppet tea’ in Burma and ‘meing tea’ in Thailand.

In recent years the importance of VAM fungi for plant growth in most soils has been accepted and acknowledged by soil chemists, agronomists, horticulturists and farmers. Ever since it was shown that VAM could increase nutrient uptake and water uptake from soil in plants, researchers have been trying to extend and manipulate this effect of mycorrhiza in improving the growth and productivity in various groups of plants. Mycorrhizasts of the country have also explored the possibility of utilizing this tool for improving the performance of various crops including cereals, millets, pulses, vegetables, oilseeds and fruit crops. In addition, they have tried to explore the possibility of utilizing this biotool also for improving the growth of various types of trees including forest trees. Following account is related to the work done by the mycorrhizasts of the country on the effect of VA mycorrhiza on the growth and productivity of various groups of plants including cultivated crops.