eChapters

4.1 Principles of Economics

• ‘Economics’ word derived from two Greek words, oikos (a house) and

nemein (to manage) means ‘managing an household’

• Microeconomics: Study of the behavior of individual, small, isolated

and disaggregated units.

• Macroeconomics: Study of groups and broad aggregates of the economy.

• Adam Smith wrote the book- “An Enquire into the Nature and Causes of

Wealth of

• Nations” or in short “Wealth of Nations” in 1776.

• Adam Smith is known as father of modern economics.

4.2 Wealth Definition - Adam smith

• Adam smith (1723 - 1790), in his book “An Inquiry into Nature and

Causes of Wealth of Nations” (1776)

4.3 Welfare Definition - Alfred Marshall

• Alfred Marshall (1842 - 1924) wrote a book “Principles of Economics”

(1890)

• Alfred Marshall defined “Political Economy” or Economics is a study

of mankind in the ordinary business of life; it examines that part of

individual and social action which is most closely connected with the

attainment and with the use of the material requisites of well being”.

4.4 Scarcity Definition - Lionel Robbins

• Lionel Robbins published a book “An Essay on the Nature and

Significance of Economic Science” in 1932.

• Robbins defined, “economics is a science which studies human behaviour

as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative

uses”.

India has a very wealthy tradition of herbal medicines for the treatment of many health discomforts.The tradional healing practicese are common and popular among all the tribes and communities.It is evident that many communities have so much belief in their ethnobotanical knowledge that they often prefer a traditional medicineal practicener over any certified medical personality. Among all the plant species which have been already reported by many researchers for their ethno medicinal properties are getting very rare in their original habitat.These plants are obviously of great medicinal importance and immediate need of conservation.Some medicinal plants which are exclusively found in forest are getting lost due to habitat fragmentation and enormous deforestation.

The publication of “Flora of British India” by Hooker (1872-1897) was followed by a series of regional floras by Cooke (1901-08) for Bombay presidency; Prawn (1903) for Bengal: Duthie (completed by Parker & Turrill, 1905-29) for upper gangetic plains and adjacent Siwalik and of sub Himalayan tracts; Kanjilal (1966) for the forest flora of Uttar Pradesh; Gamble (completed by Fisher, 1915-1936) for Presidency of Madras; Haines (1921-1925) for Bihar and Orissa: and Kanji et al (1934-1940) for Assam. Duthie’s work was completed by Raizada and associates (Raizada, 1954, Raizada et al. 1961; 1983; Raizada & Jain, 1964, 1966). Later, Raizada (1976) brought together all additions made to Duthie Flora. However, the trends of additions has persisted afterwards and is hoped to continue onwards as well. Revision of old floras has become all the more important because the nomenclature of a large number of species has changed in accordance with International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (1956, 1961, 1966, 1972, 1978 & 1983).

Collection trips were organized in a planned manner so as to cover every locality in all three seasons. Rural and remote areas which were thus far practically unexplored were surveyed more intensively. Frequency of collection trips was twice a week during first year; once a fortnight in third and once a month in the last and forth years. During the field work, observations on the habit and habitat; flower colour; fragrance; fruiting, colour of the bark and blaze in case of trees and shrubs; dominance and sociability of the collected plants were entered into rough field book. In the mean time information regarding medicinal or other uses, if any, were gathered from local inhabitants, vaidyas and haquims. Plants of small size were uprooted carefully and pressed as such. In case of larger plants, care was taken so that specimens should have flowers, fruits, leaves and stems of young and old stages. At least four specimens, for making herbarium sheets, were pressed at spot after tagging; and a tagged bundle of a few plants was taken in a polythene bag for study in laboratory.

Dicotyledons
Ranunculaceae
Juss., Gen. 231. 1789. Type: Ranunculus L.
Ranunculus L., Sp. Pl. 548. 1753. Lectotype: R. auricomus L.
R. sceleratus ssp. sceleratus; Tutin in Fl. Eur. 1: 233. 1964. Ranunculus sceleratus L., Sp. Pl. 551. 1753; Fl. Alld. 1: 2.
Vernacular Name: Jaidhania., Kandira
Description: Annual herbs, erect up to 60-70cm tall. Stem, fistuler simple, glabrescent below, branched and pubescent Leaves 3-5-palmately lobed o partite, lower long-petioled, higher ones panicled. Flowers yellow, Sepals reflexed. Petals oblong. Stamens and carpels numerous. panicled. Achenes with an intramarginal rib. Receptacle pilose.
Distribution: North temperate.
Habitat: A Common-herb during winter near river and pond banks: in wet places in gardens.
 

1.1 Introduction

‘Cucurbits’ is a term coined by Liberty Hyde Bailey for cultivated species of the family Cucurbitacae. During this current century the term has been used not only for cultivated forms, but also for any species of the family Cucurbitacae. Cucurbits are frost sensitive, predominantly tendril-bearing vines which are found in subtropical regions around the globe. A few numbers of species those are native to or cultivated in temperate climate are prolific seed producing annuals or perennials that live for one season until killed by frost (Robinson and Decker-Walters 2004). Other vernaculars applied to the family Cucurbitacae and several of its members are ‘gourd’, ‘melon’, ‘cucumber’, ‘squash’ and ‘pumpkin’.

2.1 Insect Pests

Insects are often a major obstacle to the successful production of cucurbits (York, 1992). They can severely reduce yield, injure or kill plants, spread diseases and adversely affect fruit quality. A number of insect pests, mites and nematodes have been found to infest cucurbitaceous vegetables but fortunately, in India, fruit flies and a few species of beetles are of economic importance; aphids and blister beetles though of regular occurrence, seldom cause severe damage.
 
Other insect pests reported to infest the cucurbitaceous vegetables are pumpkin caterpillar, Diaphania indica (Sounders), snake gourd semilooper, Plusia peponis Fab., white fly, Bemisia tabaci Genn., stink bugs, Apspongopus spp. and flea beetle, Phyllotreta spp. etc. These biotic pressures on the crops are increasing day by day due to round-the-year intensive cultivation of photo and thermo insensitive cultivars as well as indiscriminate use of toxic agro-chemicals in the present era of chemicalized agriculture.

Tremendous genetic diversity occur within different crops of this family with respect to their adaptability. Some cucurbits are grown in tropical, subtropical or arid deserts whereas other prefer to grow in temperate conditions. Harvested fruits and vegetables can be potentially exposed to numerous abiotic stresses during production, handling, storage and distribution (Hodges, 2003). However, when the abiotic stress is moderate or severe, quality losses almost always are incurred at market (Toivonen, 2003). Annually about 42% of the crop productivity is lost owing to various abiotic stress factors (Oerke et al., 1994). One of the key factors for abiotic stress in crop plants is the ill effect of global warming which may cause reduced precipitation, less snow pack, and earlier snow melt, leading to drought conditions. In addition about 20% of the world’s irrigated lands are affected by salinity (Zhu, 2001), a situation worsened by climate changes.

A ‘spice’ is a seed, fruit, root, bark, bulb, corm, rhizome or any other part of a plant primarily used for enhancing the taste, flavor or color of food. Some spices serve as preservative of food substances. Many spices have antimicrobial properties. Spices are sometimes used in medicines, religious rituals, cosmetics, perfumes etc. Spices are more commonly used in countries having warmer climates, especially in meat preparations. Many spices have substantial antioxidant property due to the presence of phenol compounds, particularly flavanoids.

India is the major producer of spices and contributes about 75 per cent of world’s spice production. Developing and under developed countries of the world supply about 55 per cent of spices to the global markets and the major markets in global spice trade are the United States of America, The European Union, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

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.

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

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

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

Life cycle of Pythium

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

The active management of soil nutrients to ensure optimal plant nutrition has been a fundamental practice in agriculture since its inception. For centuries, production of agriculture depended on the organic materials recycling like manure and crop residues. Interest in plant nutrition dates back to ancient times, first captivating philosophers and later becoming a subject of rigorous scientific inquiry. The history of how plants obtain nutrients is marked by numerous misconceptions and incorrect theories. Exploring the long-standing efforts to uncover this essential agricultural process highlights the perseverance and brilliance of early thinkers and scientists. It also underscores that modern understanding, which may now seem straightforward, is the culmination of significant scientific endeavour. The concept of managing fertility of soil to boost yield of crops is far from new—its origins are intertwined with the earliest practices of agriculture. Ancient civilizations recognized the value of applying organic matter such as green manure, farmyard manure, night soil, bone, and wood ashes to enhance soil productivity.

Introduction

A total of 109 elements have been discovered and incorporated into the periodic table. Many of these elements are found in the earth’s mantle, crust, and soil, though their abundance varies. The chemical makeup of plants is, to some degree, influenced by the composition of the soil. However, since plants are active organisms, they exhibit selectivity in absorbing elements from the soil. Plants accumulate elements at different rates, absorbing some in large quantities, others in smaller amounts, and excluding most altogether. Before proceeding, it is important to familiarise with several key terms frequently used in this chapter.

Nutrient: A nutrient element is essential for an organism to complete its life cycle, and a deficiency in this element leads to specific deficiency symptoms. The negative effects can only be corrected by providing that particular element. Nutrient elements essential for plants may not be necessary for other organisms, and vice versa. Depending on availability, the nutrient levels in a plant can be deficient, sufficient, or toxic. A nutrient is considered deficient when its concentration is so low that it significantly limits growth and causes recognisable deficiency symptoms. If nutrient levels cause reduced growth without visible deficiency symptoms, they are termed insufficient. The nutrient content range in plants that supports optimal yield of crops is considered sufficient. When the concentration of a nutrient becomes high enough to significantly reduce growth, it is considered toxic.

While fertilizer injectors that mixes fertilizer solutions with the irrigation water flow in the micro irrigation systems, a scientifically prepared fertigation schedule is the software that farmers need to implement a successful fertigation plan.

Though water soluble fertilizers are a special grade of fertilizers manufactured for fertigation per se; I have been assisting farmers to do fertigation with conventional fertilizers, those are familiar to them; like Urea for N, white muriate of potash (MOP) for K. Only in the case of P source they need to acquire water soluble special fertilizers like Monoammonium Phosphate (MAP) or Phosphoric acid. Historically, fertigation by our small holder farmer began in India just by fertigating Urea alone. And applying P and K as direct dry application to the soil with Single Super Phosphate (SSP) or pink MOP, both are not water soluble. Gradually, when farmers realised that fertigation is giving them more yield of the crop and income they warmed up to the idea of full fertigation and demand for water soluble fertilizers like MAP, White Potash, SOP etc. grew.

A. CEREALS

1. Rice (Oryza sativa)

RD 60:20:20 kg/acre NPK

(Recommended by TNAU)

 

The cattle skeleton, like that of other mammals, is a complex structure that provides support, protection, and mobility. The skeleton for study purposes is divided into two main parts: the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton forms the central axis of the body and includes bones such as the skull, vertebral column, ribs, and sternum. The appendicular skeleton comprises the bones of the forelimb (scapula, humerus, radius-ulna, carpals, metacarpals and phalanges) and hindlimb (os coxae, femur, patella, tibia-fibula, tarsals, metatarsals and phalanges).

• The axial skeleton is comprised of several key structures that form the central core of the animal skeleton.

• This includes the bones of the skull, which encase and protect the brain, the vertebral column or spine, which provides support and houses the spinal cord, as well as the ribs and the sternum, which together form the rib cage, protecting vital organs such as the heart and lungs.

• These components work together to provide structural support and protection for the body’s central organs.

Skull Bones

The skull is a complex structure that varies greatly across different animal species, reflecting their unique evolutionary adaptations, dietary habits, and ecological niches.

Generally, the skull serves several critical functions: protecting the brain, supporting facial structures, and providing attachment points for muscles involved in feeding and expression.

About Northeast India

A serene land tucked up in the lap of mighty Himalayas, the North East regions in India is bestowed with picturesque locale and inexorable culture. The vast stretch of land located on the foothills of Himalayas, is a glorious heritage of art, culture and festivities. The tropical beauty of India, finds itself an all new meaning when we enter this paradise of tranquility. The serene ambience and salubrious climate of the region attracts people from all over the world. It almost feels like the valley casts a magical spell upon its visitors to replenish their soul making them feel rejuvenated. The widely scattered archeological specimens in the region speak aloud about the mythological significance of this part of the country, the North East region of our country bears testimony to our rich cultural heritage.

The forest cover in most tropical countries has been under severe pressure and is diminishing at an alarming speed; consequently, they are experiencing severe biodiversity losses, reverting to a mature state at a slower rate with low resiliency. These tropical countries are aware of the danger causing due to the loss of forests, and large afforestation programmes have been launched by forest departments, private companies, and donor-supported projects. Nevertheless, plantation activities have rarely been able to keep pace with the deforestation rate, not to mention replacing what has been lost during the past. Plantation programme through afforestation activity is not only the matter of the forest department alone but also the combined responsibility of all the foresters. The appeal of forest planting has changed over the years following the broader demand spectrum.

To some extent, the forest plantations fail to create the diversity of plants and wildlife that has been lost. Hitherto, large-scale plantations are still necessary both directly to cater to the needs of industrial wood and help to minimize the pressure on the remaining natural forests. During the past decades, many government programmes have emphasized using 

Seed handling ensures the potential utilization of seed material. Collection and utilization of quality seeds are indispensable in producing quality planting material and better seedling establishment. After selecting the quality seed source, collecting good quality seeds physiologically and genetically is considered the first step in seed handling, followed by processing seeds, testing, storage, and pre-treatment for germination. The main goal of seed handling is to attain an excellent seed survival rate. The chances of seeds getting damaged during any stages of seed handling because of careless or rough approaches are very high.

From the regeneration point of view, the quantity of seed production per tree correspondingly has a vital role to play. If considered virtually, only one successful seed (or two if the species is dioecious) would serve to replace the parent tree(s); hence the production of seeds during the lifetime of a tree is absurd. A full-grown Eucalyptus camaldulensis tree may produce a million or more seeds per year and live further, producing seeds for over a century. Each year’s production could help afforest