eBook Chapters

Introduction

Ficus carica is widely distributed in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The related genera with edible fruits are Artocarpus, Cudrania and Morus of the family Moraceae. Some important species are Ficus glomerata, Ficus bengalensis, Ficus religiosa, Ficus elastica, Ficus hispida and Ficus roxburghii. A fig is a large shrub or low-growing deciduous tree with a short and twisted trunk. Fruits are solitary, axillary green or yellow, pear-shaped.

Entrepreneurship involves seeking and exploiting opportunities available for the benefit of the society. The changing agro-economic conditions in our country have offered a prospective context for developing entrepreneurship in agri-business in the country. Agri-entrepreneurship has the prospect of social and economic development, for example, employment generation, poverty reduction, improvements in nutrition, health and overall food security in the national economy especially in rural areas. The task of promoting entrepreneurship was earlier given to different departments and government agencies. In 2014, the Prime Minister decided to dedicate an entire ministry to build this sector as he felt that skill development required greater push from the government’s side. The idea is to reach maximum people and startups through funding and skill development initiatives.

The key genetic parameters available with the animal breeder to attain improvement are heritability, repeatability and genetic correlation. This chapter will mainly deal with the theoretical considerations of these parameters.

The goal of an animal breeder is to bring about permanent improvement in different economic traits, either individually (univariate) or simultaneously in multiple traits (multitrait). The phenotypic value available from the animal is a combination of genotypic value and environmental deviation. By permanent improvement in a trait, we mean the improvement in genotypic value, which could be carried over to future generations. The environmental deviations are spatially and temporally specific, and thus will not be the same over generations. The genotypic value, itself is made up of additive effect, dominance deviation and interaction deviation. The additive effect is a value of genes (the sum of the average effect of genes) and hence is more important for the breeder as only the genes are passed on to the next generation.

Introduction

Grapes are a delicious, refreshing, and nourishing fruit. It was introduced into India by the in values of Iran and Afghanistan. 50% of the total production of fruits in the world is contributed by grapes. Cultivation of grapes is called “viticulture”. Easily digestible and rich in energy-giving sugars, certain minerals and vitamins. Grape juice is a refreshing drink a stimulant to kidenys and laxactive. In India, 80% of the production is used for table purposes, 10% for raisins and 10% for wine production, while in western countries 80% is used for winery, 10% for raisins, and 10% for table purposes. The area of the same is increasing fast in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Mizorum, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are grape growing.

Introduction

Guava ranks 4^th in area and production after mango, banana, and citrus. It is a very hardy sub-tropical plant, prolific bearer. It is known as the “poor man’s apple” in India and has spread widely throughout the country. Allahabad has the reputation of growing the best guava in the country as well as in the world. A native of tropical America, guava was spread rapidly throughout the world’s tropics by the Spanish and Portuguese. The major guava producing countries are India, China, Thailand, Indonesia and Pakistan. In India, it is grown in Uttar Pradesh (largest area and production), Bihar, M.P, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The fresh fruits are very rich in vitamin C (100-260 mg/100 g pulp). Vit-A, B and minerals like Calcium, P, acidity 2.4 per cent, carbohydrates 9-10 per cent, TSS-13 per cent, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, thiamin and niacin, also a rich source of pectin. The fresh ripe fruits are used as table/salad fruit. Fruits are rich in pectin. The best quality jelly can be prepared.

Introduction and Origin

It is typically a temperate zone nut crop and is mostly grown in Turkey, Italy, Spain, Germany, France and England. Turkish hazelnut production of 625,000 tons’ accounts for approximately 75 % of worldwide production. The common hazel (Corylus avellana) is native to Europe and Western Asia. In Himachal Pradesh, it is found growing wild in the Pangi region of Chamba district, where it is locally known as Thangi. Hazelnut is also known as cobnut and filbert. In the UK, a distinction is made between filbert, which has a husk longer than the nut, and cobnut, in which the husks are shorter than the nut. Hazelnuts are extensively used in confectionary to make praline and are also used in combination with chocolate truffles.

Climate and Agriculture

Soil, climate and water are three basic requirements of a crop to be grown in a particular region. Climate affects the temperature trends, seasons, length of the growing season, amount of sunlight and the seasonality of sunlight etc. A change in climate may cause recurrent droughts, floods and weather extremities that would affect the agricultural production, human livelihoods, health and biodiversity. The relationship between agriculture and climate is complex as it is dependent on climate and also plays a contributing role in emission of greenhouse gas (GHG). Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydro-chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydro-fluorocarbons (HFCs), per fluorocarbons (PFCs) etc. , which play a significant role in climate change.

Domestic livestock plays a major role in meeting the food requirement of human beings. Especially with dwindling resources, improvement in production efficiency is primary to meet the ever-increasing demand for animal protein. The role of an animal breeder is to bring about a sustained improvement in the quality and quantity of such products. Over the years, there has been an enormous improvement in the production ability of livestock and statistical analysis has played a predominant role in the application of principles of animal breeding to improve the productivity of animals. The combination of genetics and statistics developed into a separate branch of science called biometry.

Introduction

Jack fruit is indigenous to India and is commonly grown in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Brazil, Jamaica, Myanmar, Singapore, and India. In India, it grows in a wild and semi-wild state in Kerala, Assam, W.B, Tripura, Bihar, U.P. and Western Ghats. Jackfruit is a common and popular fruit crop in the low land tropics of the eastern and southern parts of India. It is the largest edible fruit (20–40 kg). In Sri Lanka, a fruit of about 120 kg was harvested and created the world record. The fruit is also called “poor man’s fruit” in the eastern and southern parts. In the Tamil literature, Jack has been given the important second position of the significant ‘three fruits’, viz., ‘Mukkani’. It is mainly distributed in the tropical humid belt. In India, Assam, Bihar, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are the main jackfruit growing states. In Tamil Nadu, the lower Palani hills of Dindigul Anna district and Panruti of South Arcot Vallalar district are known for the best quality jack fruit. India is considered to be the native home of jacks.

Introduction

It is a tall, handsome evergreen tree of tropical and subtropical regions and has its origin probably in India or the East Indies. It is one of the hardiest fruits and best suited for wastelands. It is drought tolerant and, at the same time, can tolerate water stagnation and marshlands, where other fruit crops cannot be grown successfully. It is more popular as an avenue tree and for wind breaks. The wood is used as timber in buildings and railway sleepers. It is often found growing as a wild and semi-wild in tropical and subtropical parts of India viz., Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Introduction

Karonda is an evergreen shrub or short stature tree. It grows naturally in the Himalayas and Western Ghats at elevations of 300 to 1800 meters. It is found grown in wild in India, Malaysia, South Africa. It is a well suitedto arid climate and grown well at higher temperature. It is commonly uses for making hedge for orchards. It is suitable for the arid tropics and subtropics and is grown for its attractive, edible fruits. It also grows successfully on marginal and wastelands. It thrives well as a rainfed crop; the plant hardly needs any care and gives yield with the minimum management. The plants can be trained as a strong hedge. Karonda is suitable for growing throughout the sub-tropical and tropical climatic zones of India. Major natural areas of occurrence of karonda have been observed in the states of Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and in the Western Ghats. In Maharashtra, the major area under this crop is scattered in sub-mountain areas like Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, and Pune district.

Introduction

This dioecious fruiting vine is native to the Yangtze River valley in south and central China. This dioecious fruiting vine. Seed requires stratification. Although this fruit vine is originated in China, yet its full economic potential was exploited by the New Zealand which accounts for over 70 per cent of world trade. In other countries of the world, its cultivation gained momentum after 1960, and now it is cultivated on a commercial scale in the China, New Zealand, Italy, USA, Japan, France, Germany and Australia. In India it is grown in mid hills of Himachal Pradesh, J& K, Uttarkhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Nilgiri hills of south India. It was first introduced at Lal Bagh garden, Banglore, but the plant did not come to bear due to a lack of chilling requirement during winter for its bud break. Later on, in 1963, it was introduced in the Shimla hills, where the plant came to bear in 1969. The kiwifruit is rusty brown with a hairy surface and looks like a sapota fruit. Fruit has a refreshing and delicate flavour, a pleasing aroma and high nutritive and medicinal value. It is high in vitamin C, has more potassium, phosphorus, and iron than any other food, and has a low calorie count.

Introduction

Kokum, is native of the Western. Ghats in India, and Malaysia. In India it mainly grows in the western parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Goa. It is found in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests and as a home garden tree. Kokum is an evergreen tree it is seldom planted in the form of an orchard and generally scattered trees are found in gardens and on waste lands.

Milk yield is one of the most important economic traits and modelling the lactation curve is important with respect to the unique shape with ascending, persistent and descending phases. The non-linear relationship of daily milk yield with days in milk has led to extensive research in modelling the lactation curve. The nature of the lactation curve, different models, identifying the best model of fit, factors affecting the curve parameters and orthogonal polynomials to model the curve are discussed in this chapter.

Fertilizer Requirement of Fruit Trees

Fertilizer requirement of the tree is determined by visual assessment of deficiencies soil nutrient status and plant tissue nutrient status. Among these methods, tissue nutrient analysis is gaining importance primariarily due to fact that it assesses the effective amount of nutrient utilized by the plant. It also detects the hidden deficiency of the nutrient before the symptoms appears on the tree. Standardised tissue nutrient norms for various elements are available for different crops.

Linear models have been extensively used in animal breeding. This chapter explains the basics of linear models including description; fixed, random and mixed models; model diagnostics and covariates. The concept of linear models in animal breeding is explained with representation and actual examples of use in different types of livestock.

Introduction to Linear Models

A model can be defined as a physical, mathematical or otherwise logical representation of a system, entity, phenomenon, or process. Linear models are a way of describing response variables in terms of a linear combination of the predictor variable. They provide a framework for a large set of models whose common goal is to explain or predict a quantitative dependent variable by a set of independent variables that can be categorical or quantitative.

Introduction

Litchi is a popular subtropical evergreen fruit; the white, translucent, flavoured aril is liked very much and is used for table purposes in India. The fruits are available during May-June in northern India. It is a native fruit of the warm subtropical zone of China and has excellent quality juice. Each fruit is a one-seeded nut. The pericarp is the skin, which has a papillate projection like a strawberry. Litchi is commonly consumed as a table fruit, but in China it is very popular in dried (litchi nut) or canned form, which is very popular among Chinese foods. A highly flavoured squash is also prepared from the fruits. The Chinese use the leaves for making poultices; the seeds are used for treating skin disorders. The fruits can be canned, made into squash, pickles, and wine, or dried to form litchi nuts. The tree is a medium sized evergreen with more branches. The fruits are borne in bunches. Flower bark and root decoction are used for gargling throat infections.

Introduction

Longan is a close relative of lychee, having similar growth and fruiting habits but being somewhat hardier than lychee. The fruits are smaller, smooth-surfaced with a yellow to brown colour. It originated in the subtropical region of China or in the area between Myanmar and India. Fruits contain 25.2% carbohydrate, 1% protein, 0.5% fat, vitamin A (28 IU/100G) and vitamin C. Longan contributes to the greatest fruit export of Thailand. Longan/Lungan, also known as “Dragon’s Eye” or “Little Brother of Lychee”, is an important sub-tropical fruit crop.

Traits such as growth, lactation test day yield, semen evaluation are longitudinal traits measured repeatedly on the animal and random regression models (RRM) have been found to be suitable for modeling these traits, The methodology used, data requirement, assumptions, validity, software available and application of RRM are explained in this chapter.

Growth, test-day milk yield, and semen traits are examples of longitudinal traits measured repeatedly on the animal and random regression models (RRM) have been found suitable for modeling such traits. RRM is based on a covariance function which could be defined as “a continuous function to give the variance and covariance of traits measured at different points on a trajectory” (van der Werf, 2001). Kirkpatrick et al. (1990) showed that variance components for longitudinal data can be modelled through covariance functions. Random regression models (RRM) and the resulting covariance function have been recognized as ideally suited for the analysis of longitudinal data (Hill, 1998; Meyer, 1998).

Introduction

Evergreen and subtropical fruit crop, used as an ornamental purpose. Japan is the largest producer, followed by China in the world. Loquat is a strictly subtropical evergreen pome fruit. Pome means consisting of 5 carpels united and covered by an edible portion of fruit. Loquat is a delicious summer fruit. Depending on the cultivar, it contains 60 to 70% pulp and 15-20% seed. The pulp is composed of 88% water, 0.6% proteins, 9.6% carbohydrates, 0.5% minerals, and 1.0% fibre. Fruit is a rich source of vitamin-A: 500–2300 IU/100g, potassium, and manganese. Seeds and peels contain amygdalin, which causes toxic symptoms in children when converted to HCN. Some preparations like jam, jelly, and squash are made from the pulp. It is consumed as a fresh fruit. The colour of epicarp usually ranges between yellow and red. The fruit tastes sweet and sour with good flavour.

Introduction

The macadamia nut (Macadamia ternifolia) is a fruit from Australia that was recently introduced into India. The macadamia nut is a unique, world’s finest dessert nut characterized by its creamy colour, delicate flavour and crunchy nature. Having two important species, M. integrifolia and M. tetraphylla where the former one is adapted to a subtropical climate and the latter to temperate regions. Another species, M. ternifolia, produces bitter, inedible nuts. Hawaii is the world’s largest producer, followed by Australia, South Africa, Guatemala and Kenya.

Introduction

Mahua is an indigenous tree of high economic value. A characteristic tree of the dry region. It is found in northern and central India. It is commonly grown in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The tree has been well known to rural folk for ages in India. Its flowers, fruits, and oil obtained from seeds are eaten in various ways. The corolla, commonly called mahua flowers, is a rich source of sugar, containing an appreciable amount of vitamins and minerals. Fruit, a berry, is eaten raw or cooked. Pulp is a good source of sugar, while dry husk makes a good source of absolute alcohol. Seed is a good source of oil. Linoleic acid, a major unsaturated fatty acid found in mahua oil, is used to lower cholesterol levels in blood serum, making it useful for heart patients. Madhuca is derived from the Sanskrit word madhu.

Maintaining the required type of information in the form of records is primary for any type of animal breeding analysis and this chapter explains the importance of records and ways to maintain them in the form of registers or computer databases. The formats for different types of registers to be maintained are also given as a template in appendix. Any breeding plan is formulated to improve the economic traits depending on the utility of species reared and the chapter lists important economic traits of livestock and poultry with definitions and formulae, where ever required.

Basic record maintenance is a must for any animal breeding program. Every farm or breeding program is expected to maintain records in the form of registers or computerized databases. The goal of animal breeding is to select mates with the objective to improve economically important traits. In this chapter, the most common economic traits in different species of livestock are described. Even though the list is not exhaustive the basic economic traits that have been worked for improvement are explained. Breeders also explore new composite traits which are a combination of these base traits.

Introduction

It is the national fruit of India. No other fruit can compete with mango in respect to area, production, nutritive value, and popularity. For this reason, the mango is known as the king of fruits. In India, mango cultivation is 40006000 years old. Growing states are U.P., followed by A.P. and to some extent in all the rest of the states. It is also grown in India, China, Thailand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Malaya, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Africa, Florida, Hawaii, Brazil, Mexico, etc. Unripe fruits are used for culinary purposes, such as pickles, powder, chutney, and sarbat. Ripe fruits are used for squash, jam, toffee, juice, slices, and canning of pulp and slices.

Introduction

The mangosteen is one of the finest fruits of the tropics. It is a sweet, soft, and delicious fruit with an exciting flavour. They are formed from the nucellar tissue in the ‘parthenocarpy’ fruits. broad-leaved evergreen tree. A natural staple food for man.

Maturity (commercial or horticultural): Refers to the stage at which the produce is optimally accepted to the consumer.

Maturity index: The maturity at harvest determines the quality and postharvest shelf-life of the fresh fruits. The study of maturity indices helps to harvest the crop at right time.

Judging maturity: There are various means of judging maturity but they vary according to the kind of fruits, local soil and climatic conditions, but generally farmers follow visual means (appearance). But this is not a perfect method, many a times it may mislead the farmers.

Meta-analyses has been used extensively to combine the results of existing studies and obtain powerful estimates of a parameter. In animal breeding, attempts have been made to obtain meta-analysis estimates for genetic parameters. This tool is more pertinent to animal breeding on account of heterogeneity in terms of location, sample size and other factors in the estimation of genetic parameters. This chapter explains the background, methodology, precautions and implications of meta-analysis with respect to genetic parameters.

A meta-analysis is a powerful tool of statistics that could combine several estimates from different studies for a parameter and the resulting weighted estimate could be used as a representative value for the particular parameter. However, not all the studies are similar with respect to location, sample size, and methodology used and thus various precautions are to be taken right from the selection of studies to incorporating of between-study heterogeneity in the models. In animal breeding, met-analysis is very much useful for obtaining meaningful estimates of genetic parameters and this chapter explains the methodology of meta-analysis in animal breeding.

Introduction For sustainability hill agriculture water conservation issues are of great concern. Water is a generally limiting factor for crop production in hills and further water scarcity is arising at alarming rate due to climate change, declining soil productivity and inefficient management factors. Global warming is also putting the serious impact on the intensity, frequency and distribution of the rainfall. Further hill soils are ecologically fragile with undulated steep soils with low water retentive capacity where irrigation is not available. Moreover scope of supplying water by developing new water resources is limited thus under these conditions there is an urgent need for development of recent advanced agrotechniques to conserve and harvest natural water resources and protect the fragile environment of hills.

Introduction

Mulberry is one of the important minor fruits found to grow all over India from tropical to temperate regions. It is mainly cultivated in India for rearing silk worm. Silk worms feed on the leaves of the mulberry plant. Its sour-sweet taste of fruits is becoming very popular in India and abroad. It is cultivated in South eastern and Southern parts of Asia, whole Africa, Southern-Europe, Australia and some parts of North and South America. It is mainly found to grow in the sub-Himalayan tracts. It is grown in the states of Kashmir, Karnataka, Punjab, Uttra Pradesh and some parts of West Bengal. In Indian its cultivation was introduced from Persia. In India it is widely cultivated in about 40,000 hectares of area. Karnataka has the largest area of about 28,000 hectares and Kashmir occupies the second position.

This chapter describes various multivariate techniques which are useful in animal breeding. The genetic correlation with multiple response variables is already explained in the chapters on Correlation and Genetic Parameters. The other techniques including MANOVA, Principal Component Analysis, Factor Analysis, Cluster Analysis and Discriminant Analysis are explained.

Multivariate analysis is referred to a set of data with multiple response variables in general and such data is encountered often in animal breeding analysis. The simplest form of multivariate analysis is the genetic correlation where two or more traits are analysed together as response variables with factors affecting them on the right-hand side (RHS) and details of these are already explained in earlier chapters.

Animal breeding data is unique in terms of volume, statistical analysis, type of information required etc. The large volume of data extended spatially and temporally warrants additional tools in the form of databases to handle data and enable accuracy, retrieval, efficient utilization and adaptability to software. This chapter explains the nature of animal breeding data and the importance of databases with examples and explanations.

Animals are raised for some utility including meat, milk, hide, wool etc., and efforts are on to continuously improve the quality and quantity of these products. Some of the important economic traits in this regard were already discussed in earlier chapters. Record maintenance is primary for decision-making with respect to the selection of animals. The details of record maintenance including the format of registers are already explained in chapter 2. Apart from the actual information required for economic traits, pedigree information forms an important part of animal breeding data.

The number of people is expected to increase from 7.2 billion to 9.6 billion by 2050. (UN, 2013). This represents a 33% increase in population, but the demand for agricultural products will climb by approximately 70% during the same time period as the global quality of living rises (FAO, 2009). Livestock is essential for ensuring food security.

The term “communication media” describes the channels through which data or information is sent and received. These tools or channels for data storage and transmission are known as transmission and storage means in telecommunication.

It is the effective weapon in today’s environment that eliminates societal ills and anomalies.

Popular types of communication media

Television: Transmits and receives moving images that can be monochrome (black-and-white) or coloured, with or without accompanying sound. Audiovisual medium of communication

Radio: Uses electromagnetic waves with frequencies lower than visible light to modulate and transmit signals. Modulation in electronics is the process of changing one or more characteristics of the carrier signal, a high frequency periodic waveform, in relation to a modulating signal.

Introduction

Oil palm is recognized as the highest and cheapest edible oil-yielding crop. Palm oil is extracted from the fruit’s fleshy mesocarp, which contains 45-55 percent oil. The crop is unique in producing 2 distinct types of oil palm oil and palm kernel oil, which are used for culinary and industrial purposes. Being rich in beta carotene, palm oil contributes substantially to the nutritional and energy requirements of the masses. It is also grown in India Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Mizorum, Orissa.

Introduction

Olives are found growing wild in the Himalayan region comprising Kullu, Shimla, Solan, and Sirmour districts of Himachal Pradesh. It is extensively used for the extraction of oil from its fruits. Its oil is edible, possessing a valuable therapeutic character. About 92% of its production is used for oil extraction. The main producers of olive oil are Spain, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, and the adjoining gulf countries. Olive cultivation in India has been limited to the north Sub-Himalayan region, which includes Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.

Current scenario of Startups in India

India, currently is being evolved as a hub for Revolution, innovation and Startups as it holds 3^rd rank in global startup ecosystem worldwide after US and China. The flagship initiative of Government, Startup India, is intended to construct arobust eco-system for fostering innovations and startups in the country. Through this initiative, the Government aims to empower the growth of startups through new innovations and strategies. As per the reports of Startup India, the startup sector is expected to mark steady annual growth of 12-15% (startupindia.gov.in). By the year 2018, India already had a list of about 50,000 startups. As per the data, more than 800 technology startups are being established every year (NASSCOM, 2015). The annual growth has increased to 15% and the number of female entrepreneurs has also increased to 14% (startupindia.gov.in). As of December 2021, the country is home to 81 unicorns which has a total estimate of $ 274.17 Bn. Out of these unicorns, 44 unicorns came into existence in 2021 itself, which was a record year for the country. These Figures show that startups have exploded in the country in recent years.