eChapters

Introduction

The biggest issue that humanity is currently facing is climate change. due to the increasing use of conventional energy sources. As a result, people all around the world are turning to affordable, clean renewable energy sources. These energy sources include biomass, tidal, solar, and wind energy. All of these energy sources, meanwhile, come with a unique set of challenges (Jeyasubramanian et al., 2021)particulate matter, carbon monoxide, etc. which influence a lot of environmental issues that are hazardous to all living beings including humans. One of the useful methods of using crop residues is in the form of biochar obtained after employing thermo-chemical routes. Apart from the crop residues, the carbon rich contents obtained from forest, animal compost, waste plastics, etc., can be heated in oxygen starved atmosphere, that left char having enriched carbon and trace amount of minerals finds extensive applications in agriculture, especially to make soil more fertile, as a carbon sequestration agent, increases crops yields, etc. This review focuses on the synthetic strategies adopted to obtain biochar, and the numerous applications in various fields. Further, the interactions involved in between the host–guest molecules are explained using computational studies like Density Functional Theory, Artificial Neural Network analysis, Machine Learning methods, and Visual MINTEQ program.

2.1 Loose Smut of Wheat

The disease is prevalent in all the wheat growing areas in the world. However, it is a serious problem in humid and sub-humid areas. The incidence of the disease is comparatively more in cooler and humid parts of northern India as compared to the drier and tropical parts of the country. Being a simple interest disease epidemiologically, this is a threat to the cultivation of wheat for seeds. The disease is therefore, dreaded by seed growing agencies who have to treat the seeds with costly chemicals.

INTRODUCTION

Plant diseases need to be managed for maintaining the quality and abundance of food, feed, and fiber produced by growers around the world. Different approaches may be used to prevent, mitigate or control plant diseases. Beyond good agronomic and horticultural practices, growers often rely heavily on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Such inputs to agriculture have contributed significantly to the spectacular improvements in crop productivity and quality over the past 100 years. However, the environmental pollution caused by excessive use and misuse of agrochemicals, as well as fear-mongering by some opponents of pesticides, has led to considerable changes in people’s attitudes towards the use of pesticides in agriculture. Today, there are strict regulations on chemical pesticidal use, and there is political pressure to remove the most hazardous chemicals from the market.

We do not know when intercropping began nor why early civilizations fostered its use. Whether by design or accident, intercroppinq dominated early agriculture and is still practiced in many areas of the world. With the advent of “modern” agriculture, intercropping began disappearing from many areas. This shift was driven primarily by mechanization and specialization. Despite pressures to abandon intercropping, it has survived and flourished Inereasing interest in sustainability and environrnental concerns have drifted attention back to intercropping as a means of better utilization of resources while preserving the environment.
Through intercropping, farmers can achieve the full production of the main crop and also an additional yield (bonus) associated with an increased plant population of the second component. Hence, intercropping can increase incomes obtained by smallholder farmers in areas where labor is not shortage, through reduction of economic risk and market fluctuation resulting from growing a single crop which is more prone to natural hazards and helping the farmers in better utilization of land by having more than one crop produced per unit area. Though all intercrops produced higher productivity, the farmers could better use the appropriate population of component crops in intercropping systems in order to maximize yield of both crops as well as total productivity. It is, therefore, important to support intercropping systems with appropriate agronomic practices such as timely irrigation, pest protection and the likes to sustain the cropping system in the countries where labor is not problem for proper management in general even though sometimes sole cropping may became more productive.

Appendices
    
I.    Released Varieties/Hybrids in Aromatic Crops from KAU
     P. Skaria Baby, P.P. Joy, Samuel Mathew, Ancy Joseph and Ragina Joseph 
    
IIa.    Released Varieties of Fruit Crops in India
    T. Radha
    
IIb    Released Varieties of Arid Fruits
    S.K. Sharma
    
III.    Released Varieties of Ornamental Plants
    P.K .Valsala Kumari 
    
IVa.    Released Varieties of Coconut
    P. Maheswarappa
    
IVb.    Release Varieties of Cocoa
    P. Maheswarappa
    
IVc.    Released Varieties of Plantation Crops
    P. Maheswarappa
    
Va    Released Varieties of Spices from Kerala Agricultural University (KAU)
    Asha Sankar 
        
Released Varieties of Spice Crops Through All India Coordinated Research Project on Spices
    K. Nirmal Babu
    
Vb    Released Varieties of Spice Crops Through All India Coordinated Research Project on Spices
    K. Nirmal Babu
    
VI    Released Varieties of Vegetables from KAU
    T.R. Gopalakrishnan
    
VII.    Research and Educational Infrastructure in Horticulture in India
    P.G. Sadhan Kumar and S. Nirmala Devi
    
VIII.    Important Websites in Horticulture
    T. Pradeepkumar 
    
VIIIa.    Horticulture Institutes in India
    T. Pradeepkumar 
    
IX.    Vital Statistics on Horticultural Crops
    National Horticulture Board, Gurgaon, Haryana
    
X.    Nutritional Values of Horticultural Crops
        Indian Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad

I. General information

1. Common names of trees

• Acacia nilotica – Black babool, Indian gum-Arabic tree
• Acacia auriculiformis – Golden shower
• Adansonia digitata – Baobab, Monkey bread
• Adenanthera pavonina – Red sandal wood, bead tree, red wood
• Ailanthus excelsa – tree of heaven, paradise tree
• Albizia julibrissin – Pink siris, silk tree

Introduction

The intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) which takes account of on historical, psychological, social , physical and economic and political perspectives of climate change in its report, released in November 2014 said that the Working Group I contribution to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) considers new evidence of climate change based on many independent scientific analyses from observations of the climate system, paleoclimate archives, theoretical studies of climate processes and simulations using climate models. Climate change is not controversial as naysayers and some media would convey. After decades of careful observation, collection of data, and tracking of changes in the climate system, there exists a solid, scientific consensus that human-caused climate change is a reality (Michael, 2012). In their report, the NCSE 2015 says that there is substantial scientific agreement about the occurrence, causes, and consequences of climate change. Yet due to the inherent complexity of the topic and the social controversies surrounding it, confusion and doubt often persist. Here, we need to develop the workforce, education, and training for climate-smart Agriculture. The following are some interventions.

Moniliformis means ‘like a string of beads’ signifying the arrangement of flowers on the spike. The tree is native of tropical Australia. It is valued for afforestation and beautification. It grows in warm climate under both dry and moist atmosphere. It is a medium-sized, thornless, quick growing, evergreen tree of 13 to 15 m height.

Leaves: True leaves are present only in early seedling stage. The apparent leaves are the modified midrib called phyllode, leathery, sickle-shaped, tapered at each end, up to 18 cm long and 6 cm broad; nerves parallel.

R is a software package / language / environment for statistical analysis and graphics.

It Reads Any Type of Data *.txt, .csv, .dat, etc.), You can also scrape (collect) data from websites and execute SQL queries It Supports Large Data Sets. Reproducibility.  R allows you to add comments to your scripts to make it clear to you and others on what you’re doing as data and analysis are separated in R. As R is fully free you can use the latest version on any / as many computers so you and your student can work on the same version. You can use R on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Unix. Anyone (Including You) Can Contribute Packages to the Community to Improve its Functionality.

You can download R from : http://cran.r-project.org. R has a command line interface and that is a huge hurdle for many users, but believe us you will find that using a command line is also easy. However we strongly recommend the R Studio text editor for working with R scripts (http://www.rstudio.com/ide/download).

INTRODUCTION

Zantedeschia is commonly known as Calla lily. The other names are Arum lily, Aroid lily, Lily of the Nile and Pig lily. They are mainly grown for their attractive, large flower spathes, which are usually produced in the spring and summer and also for their variegated and spotted foliage. They are grown in large quantities by commercial growers because they are commonly used for decoration in Easter and throughout the spring and early summer months. It grows very well in open conditions in warm climate. Regular gardeners may have their bloom in winter, spring or early summer depending upon the temperature conditions maintained in the greenhouse.

Zantedeschia is an excellent cut flower and last a long time in water. There are various species, which produces different coloured flowers. The flower spathes of calla or arum lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) are white, the spathes of the yellow or golden callas (Z. elliottiana) are yellow, whereas the pink calla (Z. rehmannii) produces lavender red, rose red, violet red or pink spathes. The white arum (common calla) forms large colonies in marshy areas ranging from the coast to an altitude of 2250 m above mean sea level. Thus, they may exist in humid, salt laden air at the coast and freezing, misty mountain grassland at high altitudes and as a result, are very versatile in the garden. The leaves of the calla are very interesting in that they contain water stomata, which can discharge excess water by a process known as guttation. This prevents logging and enables calla lily to grow in wet conditions.

Mango (Mangifera indica)

1. Mango hoppers

(i) Amritodes atkinsoni (ii) Idioscopus niveosparsus and (iii) I. clypealis

Order - Hemiptera

Suborder - Homoptera

Family - Cicadellidae

Nature of damage. Three different species of hoppers are found to cause damage to mango trees. During some years, especially during the months of November-February, when the mango trees come to flowering, the pest appears in large numbers. During the other months, the pests are seen in much lesser numbers in an active form, while the other insects hibernate under the bark of the trees. Even in the peak period of pest occurrence, after a few heavy showers, the number of insects is considerably reduced.

During the cold season, when the trees put out the flower spikes, thousands of hoppers, young and adults appear in large numbers, pierce, suck and feed on the sap from the tender shoots, flower stalks, flowers and buds. This drain of the sap causes the buds and flowers to dry, wither and they are shed in large numbers, as a result fruit production may go down by 25-60 per cent. When a severely infested tree is approached, thousands of hoppers hop or fly about and make a rustling noise, as they dash against the foliage. The hoppers exude a sweet, sticky fluid excretion and this fluid thrown out by myriads of these insects after feeding on the tree sap, wets the soil underneath the trees and on the surface of the leaves of the trees. In case of severe infestation, the fluid may fall down in drops. The secretion attracts scores of flies, bees and other insects, which come to feed on the secretion. The infested tree presents a sickly appearance. The trees get devoid of buds and blossoms. The leaves appear shiny and are covered by ‘sooty mould’, a fungal disease. Thousands of caste skins of the nymphs are found on the shoots and leaves. The continuous damage caused to the trees year after year by the pest makes them loose their vigor gradually and eventually leads to severe reduction in their yielding capacity.

Life cycle of the pest. The female hopper inserts spherical, pale whitish eggs singly into the plant tissues through slits made in the young shoots, flower stalks and flower spikes. The eggs hatch in 4-6 days and the young nymph hatching out of the egg looks quite similar to the adult. The nymphs are very active and move about rapidly along the flower spikes and shoots, suck and feed on the plant sap. They are smaller in size, wingless and unable to fly or jump. The young ones moult their skin a few times during their growth and become adults in 10-15 days. The adult hoppers are small insects, about 3.0 mm. in length with a wedge-shaped body. The head is broader and the body gradually narrowing backwards. The legs are well developed, especially the hind legs. The general color is light greenish-brown. They are extremely active and can fly and hop around. They have a tubular, sucking mouthpart by which they puncture the tender plant parts and floral parts. The adults of Idioscopus clypealis are smaller, with two black spots on the prothorax and a few black spots on the front portion of the head, while those of Idioscopus niveoparsus are slightly bigger with three black spots on the prothorax and whitish, distinct cross bands on the light brownish forewings. The adults of Amritodes atkinsoni are bigger than the other two species, about 5.0 mm. in length, with two black spots on the prothorax. Two or more generations may appear during the flowering season of mango trees (Fig.71).

The potential for significant economic losses from decay caused by postharvest pathogens is greater than is often realized. Harvesting and handling, and the attendant costs for labor and postharvest chemical treatments, can increase the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables several fold from the field to the consumer. Therefore, any produce lost in storage is worth more economically than an equivalent amount lost in the field. Considering economics and the problem of world hunger, it is imperative to understand the importance of postharvest disease and to continually strive to reduce postharvest losses from pathogens. In recent years, many international organizations have identified the necessity of reducing postharvest food losses as an important worldwide goal. While postharvest losses vary from season to season, an average loss of 10% to 30% after harvest is an average estimate. Significantly higher losses are not uncommon in developing countries. The extent of these losses justifies increased research efforts in postharvest pathology (Carl E. Sams, 1994). Chemical treatments and irradiation have effectively reduced the number of microorganisms on various commodities. However, consumer fears associated with chemical residues and the effects of ionizing radiation on fresh produce are forcing the development of alternative protection methods. Also, many pathogens have developed resistance to several commonly used chemicals, while other decaycausing microorganisms currently cannot be controlled by chemicals. Therefore it is better to seek control strategies that will supplement or replace current disease control methods.

The livestock sector in India is experiencing fast growth in the present era and plays an important role in the Indian economy. Livestock contributes nearly 25% to the agricultural sector output and growing at an annual rate of 4.3% higher than the growth in agricultural sector as a whole (2.8%). Milk production that had been hovering around 20 million tones in 1960’s increased to 102 million tonnes in 2007-08. The egg production also increased from 0.1 billion to 1.0 billion in the last 25 years. Besides production of milk, meat, etc livestock make important contributions to crop production by supplying draught power and dung manure.

Animal husbandry in India is largely a rural activity. Rapid growth in livestock production is desirable not only to sustain agricultural growth, but also to reduce rural poverty especially when a majority of the land holdings are small. Fifty-eight percent of rural households have land holding of less than 2 ha and another thirty two percent have no access to land. Number of these households is likely to increase due to further fragmentation of land holdings. Livestock are thus an important source of income for small farmers, marginal farmers and landless agricultural labourers in the rural areas of the country. Products like milk and eggs are steady source of cash income, and live animals are important natural assets for the poor, which can be easily liquidated for cash during emergency. Smallholders and landless together control 75% of the country’s livestock resources, and are capable of producing at a lower cost because of availability of sufficient labour with them. These smallholders earn nearly half of their income from livestock sector.

The entrepreneur as a person brings in overall change through, innovationfor the maximum social good. Human values remain sacred and inspire him to serve society. He has firm belief in social betterment and he carries out this responsibility with conviction. In this process, he accelerates personal, economic as well as human- development.

• Pathogen attacks the crop at all stages of crop growth.
• Symptoms appear on leaves, nodes, rachis, and glumes. On the leaves, the lesions appear as small bluish green flecks, which enlarge under moist weather to       form the characteristic spindle shaped spots with grey centre and dark brown margin (Leaf blast).

‘Plant disease management’ involves the integration of various measures adopted to protect the plants by preventing them from contact with the pathogenic organisms, preventing the growth of the pathogens causing diseases, preventing sporulation of the pathogens and spread of diseases, destroying insect vectors responsible for transmitting diseases and such other prophylactic and curative measures. The ultimate aim of these measures is to avoid large-scale occurrence of diseases, reduce the severity of diseases and minimizing the losses caused by diseases. In disease management, importance should be given to control all the diseases attacking a particular crop at a particular time, especially those which occur in severe form in all the seasons and cause extensive damage to the crop and yield loss. Each and every crop is subjected to attack by one or more than one diseases. At the same time the control measures for controlling each of the disease may differ. In this respect a knowledge of the pathogen causing the disease, the symptoms of the disease, mode of infection and spread of the disease, the growth stage at which the crop is attacked, interaction between the host (crop) and the pathogen and weather conditions favorable for the occurrence and spread of the disease is absolutely necessary, so as to adopt suitable control measures to combat the disease and to minimize the damage to the crop, and reduce the yield loss.

The occurrence and spread of diseases are very much influenced by the environment, host and the pathogen. When the environmental conditions are suitable for the pathogen and not quite suitable for the host, the incidence of the disease is liable to be more. Further, if the host plants are not maintained properly and are weak, then they are more vulnerable to attack by the pathogen and the disease incidence may be severe. When the inoculum of the pathogen is present abundantly, the chances of attack by the pathogen are also more. Taking these facts into consideration, plant disease management is depicted as ‘manipulation of the disease triangle’ (Fig. 60)

All control measures should be aimed at protecting the plants from becoming diseased and not at curing the plants after they have become diseased. The principal methods adopted for controlling plant diseases are broadly categorized under five different heads viz. :

Plants that are affected by various abiotic stresses react differently as a result such as the reduction in organ size or a change in the antioxidant enzyme system, and while drought and heat are often studied separately, in nature they often occur together, meaning it is essential to carry out joint studies. Furthermore, and related to the above when we consider high temperature stress, one must always consider the use of water and nutrients by the plant and other physiological functions. The effects of heat stress can also be analyzed by the technique that measures lipid peroxidation in polyunsaturated acids of the plasma membrane. The accumulation of metals in plants, affects the normal processes of plant metabolism. The study shows that there is a relationship between high metal contents in plants and their modified morphology: strong reduction of leaf thickness, modified parenchyma structure, and decreased mitochondria organization were ascertained, although toxic symptoms were apparently absent. Water-deficit stress has a significant effect on plants growth and development, with primary affects on plant structure, leaf morphology and cell ultrastructure. Physiological processes such as stomatal conductance, photosynthesis and respiration are consequently impaired with further implications on the metabolic functions such as carbohydrate and energy production as well as carbohydrate translocation and utilization.

Definition of farmer (National Policy for Farmers, 2001): A person actively engaged in the economic and/or livelihood activity of growing crops and producing other primary agricultural commodities and will include all agriculture operational holders, cultivators, agriculture labourers, share croppers, tenants, poultry and livestock rearers, fishers, beekeepers, gardeners, pastoralists, non-corporate planters and planting labours, as well as persons engaged in various farming related occupations such as sericulture, vermiculture, and agroforestry. It also includes tribal families/ persons engaged in shifting cultivation and in the collection, use and sale of minor and non-timber forest produce.

The scientific horticulture consists of the following divisions. Among them, which division has impact on environment aesthetically and functionally

A. Fruits         B. Flowers

C. Spices       D. Plantations

13.0 Introduction

Cucurbits belong to the family Cucurbitaceae, commonly known as the melon or gourd family. The term cucurbits was coined by Dr Bailey. From nutritional point of view, cucurbit seeds are valued for their high oil and protein contents. Seed proteins and methionine of cucurbits are higher than legumes. Vegetatively propagated cucurbits are pointed gourd, ivy gourd and chow-chow. Long day of 16 hours and high temperature result in maleness. Short day of 9 hours results in femaleness. They are widely distributed in the tropics and warm temperate regions of south, southeast and East Asia, Africa including Madagascar, and central and south America. Cucurbitaceae family is represented by about 117 genera and 825 species. The most common uses of cucurbits are as vegetables and fruits. They are valuable sources of vitamins and minerals. The important cucurbits that are cultivated commercially are cucumber, watermelon, musk melon, long melon, round melon, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, ash gourd, ridge gourd, sponge gourd, pumpkin, squash, snake gourd, pointed gourd, spine gourd, ivy gourd and chow-chow etc. Cucurbits are used as vegetable, salads, dessert and pickle, and for making of sweets.

Introduction to GIS

QGIS (Quantum GIS) is an open-source Geographic Information System (GIS) software has been used to showcase various exercises pertaining to viewing, editing, analyzing, and printing of the geospatial data. QGIS helps to allow the users to easily access and manage geographic data stored in folders on local disks or relational databases available on the user’s network. QGIS supports raster, vector, and mesh layers. QGIS also allows using data from external sources with the help of web services such as Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service. QGIS is a constantly developing software as anyone can add new features or update existing tools. Newer versions of QGIS are frequently released on the official website. It is a cross-platform software that can be installed in Windows, Linux, and MacOS.

Black pepper, christened as “King of spices” and “Black gold” is the most important and the most widely used spice in the world occupying a position that is supreme and unique. It was the lure of Indian pepper that brought the western world to Indian sub continent.

The black pepper of commerce is the dried mature fruit of the tropical perennial climbing plant Piper nigrum. Pepper originated in the tropical evergreen forests of the Western Ghats. The Malabar coast of India was the centre of pepper trade from time immemorial. Black pepper was essentially a minor forest produce in the past, people collected it from forests where it abundened. Domestication of pepper appears to be a much later event. The recorded history shows that Arabs, followed by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British traders took pepper to all over the world and spread its use and cultivation. Initially black pepper was taken from the Malabar coast to the Indonesian islands, then it spread to various Pacific islands, South East Asian countries and later to tropical Africa and America. Currently, pepper is grown in about 26 countries, major being India, Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia and Srilanka. In India, pepper is grown mainly in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and to a little extent in Goa, Orissa, Assam and Andaman group of islands. Kerala is the original home of pepper. This state accounts for 95% of country’s area and production.

Environmental stress can disrupt cellular structures and impair key physiological functions. Drought, salinity, and low temperature stress impose an osmotic stress that can lead to turgor loss. Membranes may become disorganized, proteins may undergo loss of activity or be denatured, and often excess levels of reactive oxygen species are produced leading to oxidative damage. As a consequence, inhibition of photosynthesis, metabolic dysfunction, and damage of cellular structures contribute to growth perturbances, reduced fertility, and premature senescence. Responses to environmental stresses occur at all levels of organization. Cellular responses to stress include adjustments of the membrane system, modifications of the cell wall architecture, and changes in cell cycle and cell division. In addition, plants alter metabolism in various ways, including production of compatible solutes that are able to stabilize proteins and cellular structures and/or to maintain cell turgor by osmotic adjustment, and redox metabolism to remove excess levels of ROS and re-establish the cellular redox balance. At the molecular level, gene expression is modified upon stress and epigenetic regulation plays an important role in the regulation of gene expression in response to environmental stress.

Identification of DNA as the Genetic Material

Experiments with pneumococcus suggested that DNA is the genetic material

Hershey and Chase provided evidence that the genetic material injected into the bacterial cytoplasm is T2 phage DNA

RNA functions as the genetic material in some viruses Work Before Watson and Crick

Nucleotides are the building blocks of nucleic acids

Nucleotides are linked together to form a strand

In 1869, Miescher first isolated DNA and named it “nuclein.”

In 1902, Archibald Garrod linked heredity to enzyme (protein) defects. In 1909 he published a book entitled “Inborn Errors of Metabolism.”

In 1928, Griffith identified a “transforming factor” that transmitted infectiousness in bacteria.

In 1944, Avery, MacLeod and McCarty showed that the transforming factor was DNA)

In 1950, Hershey and Chase, using their famous “blender” experiment, confirmed that DNA, not protein, is the genetic material.

The work of chemist Phoebus Levene showed that DNA includes deoxyribose, nitrogenous bases, and phosphates, in equal proportions.

Chargaff s data showed that the number of purines equals the number of pyrimidines.

Using Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray diffraction patterns, Watson and Crick deduced that DNA is a double helix

Introduction

Soil is the main source of nutrients for the plants. Soil also provides support for plant growth in various ways. Knowledge about soil health and its maintenance is critical to sustaining crop productivity. The health of soils can be assessed by the quality and stand of the crops grown on them. However, this is a general assessment made by the farmers. A scientific assessment is possible through detailed physical, chemical and biological analysis of the soils. Essential plant nutrients such as N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S are called macronutrients, while Fe, Zn, Cu, Mo, Mn, B and Cl are called micronutrients. It is necessary to assess the capacity of a soil to supply nutrients in order to supply the remaining amounts of needed plant nutrients (total crop requirement - soil supply). Thus, soil testing laboratories are considered nerve centres for nutrient management in crop production systems and plantation forestry.

Soils may have large amounts of nutrient reserves in them. All or a part of these reserves may not be of any use to crops because they may not be in plant-available form. For the purpose of estimation or analysis of plant-available soil nutrients, such methods are to be used that have been tested/verified for the correlation of nutrients extracted and their plant availability. This book describes internationally accepted and widely used methods. Apart from nutrients, soil pH estimation is also critical in the assessment of soil health. Generally, plants prefer soils that are close to either side of neutrality. However, there are acid- loving plants and also plants that can withstand high soil alkalinity. Hence, good yields and economic returns from farming are possible in acid and alkali soils. With proper amendments, still higher yields can be obtained in acid and alkali soils. Soil pH also has a considerable influence on the activity of soil micro-flora and on the availability of soil nutrients to crops. It is also important to estimate physical properties such as soil texture, structure, bulk density, soil colour, water content and soil temperature.

Set 1

1. Match the followings:

1. (a & i), (b & ii), (c & iii), (d & vi)
2. (a & ii), (b & i), (c & iv), (d & iii)
3. (a & iii), (b & i), (c & iv), (d & ii)
4. (a & iv), (b & ii), (c & i), (d & iii)

Agri-nanotechnology is a new branch of biology that has originated due to the compatibility of nanosized inorganic and organic particles with biological functions. Based on enhanced effectiveness, the new age drugs are nanoparticles of polymers, metals, or ceramics, which can facilitate several biological applications. Plant diseases are caused by pathogens including fungi, bacteria, mycoplasma, viruses and viroids, nematodes, parasitic plants, and protozoa. 

3.1 Introduction

India is rich in biological diversity as revealed by its floristic diversity comprising 17,926 species of angiosperm, based on which it has been considered one among the 17 mega-biodiverse countries of the world. Also, it is the centre of some of the oldest civilizations of world, starting with Vedic civilization. Using modern day scientific tools and technology backed up with shashtra pramaana, Vedic civilization has been calculated to be as old as 25000 years (Oak, 2018). Because of its rich ecological and biological diversity, Indian Subcontinent has inhabited a large amount of ethnic diversity, consisting of both the indigenous races and those moved from other parts of the world as settlers looking for greener pastures for better living. The major ethnic races are Caucasoid (Aryan), Dravidians, Mongoloid, Negroid, and Australoid. Anthropological Survey of India has identified 461 tribal communities (Xaxa, 1999), belonging to 227 ethnic groups (Pushpangadan et al., 2018) spread over 5000 forest villages. According to the 2001 census of India, the country has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages. Figures from different sources vary, primarily due to differences in definition of the term’s “language” and “dialect”. The largest of the language families represented, in terms of speakers, is the Indo-Aryan language family followed by the Dravidian language family.

A. Case study: Breeding for disease resistance and yield improvement in Black pepper (Piper nigrum)
Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is one of the most important spice crops globally, often referred to as the “King of Spices.” However, its production is frequently threatened by various diseases, particularly Phytophthora foot rot, which can cause significant yield losses. Over the years, extensive breeding efforts have focused on developing disease-resistant and high-yielding varieties of black pepper.
1. Background
• Primary disease concern: Phytophthora foot rot (caused by Phytophthora capsici) is a major disease affecting black pepper, leading to root and stem rot, defoliation, and ultimately, plant death. Other diseases include slow
decline (caused by nematodes and fungal pathogens) and viral infections.
• Yield challenges: The average yield of black pepper is relatively low, primarily due to the susceptibility of many traditional varieties to diseases and pests, along with poor management practices and climatic challenges.
2. Objectives of breeding programs
• Disease resistance: To develop varieties resistant to Phytophthora foot rot and other significant diseases.
• Yield improvement: To increase the overall productivity of black pepper plants, focusing on higher berry yield, larger berries, and better quality.
• Quality enhancement: To maintain or improve the quality of black pepper in terms of essential oil content, piperine content, and other flavour components.
 

Nanotoxicity is the study of the toxicity of nanomaterials that focuses on how the size and unique properties of nanoparticles influences their impact on plant helath, human health and the environment. Plants are essential fundamental components of all ecosystems and the interaction between nanoparticles (NPs) and plants is an indispensable aspect of the risk assessment. NP phytotoxicity, an important precondition to promote the application of nanotechnology and to avoid the potential ecological risks was reviewed (Jie Yang et al., 2017). 

The wind blows over the water, changing its surface into ripples and then to waves. Thus most of the normal waves are wind-driven. As waves grow in height, the wind pushes them along faster and higher. Sometimes waves can become unexpectedly strong and destructive. As waves enter shallow water, they become taller and slow down, eventually break on the shore.

A. General
        
B. Leaves and Floral Terminologies
        
C. Diversity in the Flower
        
D. Diversity in Fruits
        
E. Terminologies Related to Seed

1. Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

‘Ginger’, which originated in Southeast Asia has a long history that goes back over 5000 years when the Indians and Ancient Chinese considered it as a tonic root for all ailments. At an early date it was exported to Ancient Rome from India and was used extensively by the Romans. Subsequently it was cultivated in several other countries for its medicinal value. Ginger is cultivated in most of the states of India. Kerala and Meghalaya are the major ginger growing states. India’s production of ginger constitutes about 50 per cent of the total world’s production.

Ginger is an erect, herbaceous , perennial, flowering plant, the rhizome of which is used as a spice. Ginger is an ancient spice and is a common ingredient in many Asian foods and is used in soups, curries, noodles, stews etc. It is widely used to flavor beverages, such as tea, coffee, lemonades, cocktails etc. In many places across the world ginger is used in sweets, alcoholic beverages, such as ginger beer and wine. Ginger has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Further it has many other health related benefits, such as ability to help with arthritis, osteoarthritis, relieves nausea and pain, prevents cancer, improves respiratory conditions and reduces flatulence. It also boosts bone health, strengthens the immune system and increases appetite.

6.1. Data Interpretation and Visualization of West Bengal

Any kind of production management system or decision-making process is being organised in social ecology. No variable cannot behave discrete or free without having any kind of influence as well as impact from the vary operating ecosystem. That is how it is imperative to know and visualize the basic features in terms of its distributive characters. The distribution of features in variables through this networking and interactions ultimately contribute to a holistic visualization of social ecologization under study.

Table 6.1.1 represents the distribution of variables in terms of range i.e. maximum and minimum values, mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation for Terai Zone, Old Alluvial Zone and New Alluvial Zone of West Bengal.

The average age (x1) of the respondent stands at 49.02. It denotes that so far as responsibility of agriculture and age base livelihood runs at the population so far as the respondent under study is peaks are at the hands of farmers approaching or passing through old ages. On the contrary the absence of young population or withdrawal of young age farmers from agriculture have got a serious implecation near and far. The cv value runs at 25.78 per cent to indicate that the distribution of variable is highly consistant.

The average of functional education (x2) of the respondent stands at 8.20.The variable education charecterization the social ecology speaks that the most of the respondents are having mid level school education.So, this has got spil over effect on the function and operation of other variables i.e. precisely the perception variables.The cv value stands at 43.69 per cent that’s good enough to infer that the distribution of the variable is highly consistent.

Good Practices for Drought Management
    7.1    Drought Planning and Preparedness
    7.1.1    Drought Planning in India
    7.2    Global Experiences in Drought Planning
    7.2.1    USA
    7.2.2    South Africa
    7.2.3    African Nations
    7.2.4    Namibia
    7.2.5    Ethiopia
    7.2.6    Botswana
Drought management plans in Europe
    7.2.7    Spain
    7.2.8    England and Wales
    7.2.9    Portugal
    7.2.10    Australia
    7.2.11    China
    7.2.12    Palestine
    7.2.13    Global Initiatives
    7.3    Drought Preparedness Action Plans in India
    7.3.1    Drought Preparedness Checklist
    7.4    Drought Preparedness Action Plans in Different Countries
    7.4.1    Arizona State in USA
    7.4.2    Texas State in USA
    7.4.3    Italy
    7.4.4    Mediterranean Region
    7.4.5    Pakistan
    7.4.6    Darfur in Sudan
    7.4.7    Bangladesh
    7.5    Indigenous Knowledge for Drought Management
    7.5.1    Astro Meteorological Methods
    7.5.2    Traditional Knowledge in Weather Prediction
     7.5.3    Traditional wisdom in Drought Risk Region (DRR)
        Rajasthan and Bundelkhand region in Uttar Pradesh
    7.5.4    Indigenous technologies for moisture conservation 
        in dry lands of semi-arid regions of India
    7.6    Traditional Wisdom for Drought Management in a few selected countries
    7.7    Role of Weather-based Agro-advisories
    7.7.1    Strategies for dissemination of advisories
    7.7.2    Role of ICAR and AICRPAM on Agromet Services
    7.7.3    Agromet Advisory services through mobile phone
    7.7.4    Status of Agromet Advisory Services in other Countries
    7.8    Value Addition to Agromet Information
    7.8.1    AICRP on Agrometeorology
    7.8.2    Thumb rules for weather-pest/diseases
    7.9    Contingency Crop Planning for Minimizing Risks
    7.9.1    Contingency Crop Planning for Rainfed Regions of India
    7.10    Drought Proofing Mechanisms
    7.10.1    Watershed Development for Drought Management
    7.10.2    Watershed Development in India
    7.10.3    The Success Stories of Watershed as a Drought Proofing Mechanism
    7.10.4    Watershed Policies and Recommendations
    7.10.5    Farm Ponds for Drought Management
    7.10.6    Success Stories of Farm Ponds
    7.11    Rainfed Technologies for the Drought Management in different agro climatic region
    7.12    Farmer’s Awareness on Climate Management
    7.12.1    India
    7.12.2    In other Countries
    7.13    Role of ICT in Climate Risk Management through AAS
    7.13.1    India
    7.13.2    Application of ICT in Providing Advisories in other Countries
    7.14    Integrated Drought Management Strategies through Farming Systems Approach
    7.14.1    Drought Adaptation Strategies in Rajasthan and in Maharashtra
    7.14.2    Improvement and Rural Livelihood
    7.15    Drought Mitigation Measures
    7.15.1    Drought Mitigation Plans
    7.15.2    Soil water Conservation and Recharging of Ground water Methods
    7.15.3    Traditional Water Harvesting and Conservation 
        Techniques
        References

7.1 Introduction

In this chapter, process, outcome and impact evaluation of the vegetable integrated pest management programme (IPM) implemented in the subtropical area of the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) state during 2008-09 and 2009-10 was studied. There are many research designs employed for impact evaluation. These include one group before and after comparison design, one group time-series design, non-equivalent control group design and ex-post facto research design. Social scientists most often used before and after IPM (longitudinal) comparisons, with and without IPM, and control group (latitudinal) comparisons, and a combination of the two (longitudinal and latitudinal). A robust measure of the impact of a programme, however, is the difference-in-differences (Ashenfelter and Card, 1985) quasi-experimental design, a statistical technique used in econometrics and quantitative sociology to determine the difference between the treatment (with) and control group (without) over time. The difference-in-differences quasi-experimental design, also called double difference (DD), used to compare the treatment (with IPM) and control group (without IPM) over time. The objective of our quasi-experimental empirical study was to determine the impact of the vegetable IPM programme on the adoption of non-chemical pest management practices, pesticide use, and field use environmental impact in the sub-tropical region of the J&K state. Difference-in-difference quasi-experimental control group design (with/without, before/after) was used to compare the changes before and after the IPM programme between the IPM trained farmers and the non-IPM farmers. The DD model was employed to identify the impact of the IPM programme on the adoption of non-pesticide IPM practices, pesticide use by weight (a.i.), pesticide use frequency, farmers’ knowledge regarding safe use and handling of the pesticides, and field use environmental impact to address the bias introduced by a non-random sampling procedure as the farmers from FFS were selected intentionally (Table 1). The DD model also eliminated the in-built, systematic or seasonal effects other than the training effect.

Distribution of Mangroves in India

Mangrove forests in India are found along the coastline of 9 States and 4 Union Territories (Fig. 5). The mangrove habitats are broadly classified into three namely, Deltaic (Eastern Coast Mangroves), Estuarine & Backwater (Western Coast Mangroves) and Insular mangroves (A & N Islands) (Mandal and Naskar 2008). India has a total mangrove cover of 4975 km²; of which, 57% is present along the east coast (Bay of Bengal); 31% along the west coast (Arabian Sea) and the remaining 12% in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (FSI 2019).

1.1 Write True/False

Q.1    The process of knowing all the relevant information from the known sample to the unknown population, is known as “Statistical Inference.”
Q.2    An enquier may be completely unknown to some feature of the population but he may want to guess completely about that feature based on a random sample drawn from the population. This type of problem is known as the “Problem of Estimation.”

In addition to cultivated oilseeds, many other seeds and related plant products serve as sources of vegetable oils. They are obtained from large trees, shrubs or from different crops and their products. It may be the seeds or the husk, or the germ or other parts of the fruit or seed which are rich in oil. These are in general, referred to as non-conventional vegetable oil sources. They are highly important for the food/feed and non-food industries. Non- food and industrial uses are plenty.

But for the availability of these non- traditional oilseeds and their products, there would have been great pressure on the cultivated seeds. The products, mainly oil, help run our machines and protect them from getting rusted. Some of them protect our crops from pests and deseases. They even serve as beauty aids in the form of cosmetics. Some of them serve as sources of medicine for men and animals.

In recent years, some non-conventional/ non-edible oilseeds have become the raw material for biofuel/bioenergy. They have gained prominence, due to shortage of conventional oils. Seeds of more than 100 species occurring in the wild or cultivated are known to contain oil in considerable quantities. There is a vast scope for production and utilization of oil from these sources (Ambasta, 1986, Bhattacharya, 2002 and Vimal and Naphade, 1980).

In this chapter, the major non-conventional oilseeds of tree origin, by product oilseeds or other minor sources, are being dealt with. They are ricebran, corn, sal, mahua, jatropha, kokum, melia, rubber, mango kernel, kusum, simarouba, neem, karanj, crambe, moringa, tumba, jojoba and tobacco seed etc. Emphasis is given to the composition and quality of oil, cake and other plant parts. Their food, non-food and medicinal uses are presented. Oil extraction and related post harvest technological aspects are also discussed.

5.1 Introduction

Quality is one of the major positioning tools of the commodity for marketability, profitability and for consumer satisfaction. The relative importance of each quality component depends upon the commodity and its intended use and varies among growers, handlers and consumers. To growers a given commodity must have high yield and good appearance and must withstand long distance transportation to market whereas, appearance of quality and longevity is important from the point of view of wholesale and retail marketers. Terms commonly used in measurement of keeping quality of cut flowers are longevity, shelf-life, vase-life, and lasting quality. In addition to these, several criteria have been used for evaluation of post harvest flower quality like: