eChapters

Introduction

Dough is a complex mixture of flour constituents, water, salt and other ingredients depending upon the requirements of end-products. It is the principal intermediate stage in the transformation of wheat into different end-use products. Rheological properties of dough determine the behaviour of dough during mixing, rounding and molding used in making different products and also effect on the quality of finished product. Therefore, understanding the various features of dough rheology and their relations with product quality is important. The importance is enhanced further because of mechanization and automation of baking industry. Dough is composed of continuous phase in which gas cells are dispersed. The continuous phase is called “dough phase”. It consists of starch granules embedded in protein matrix along with some lipids, cell remnants and yeast cells in fermented dough. Gas production and retention is the most comprehensive quality requirements of the dough for bread making. The ability of the wheat dough to retain gas during fermentation and oven rise is unique. This depends on the ability of the dough to be stretched into thin membranes because of protein phase.

Introduction

Wheat is the most important cereal crop to the human kind. It is the main source of energy and nutrition in human diet. Wheat is consumed in the form of large number of end products as chapati, bread, biscuit, cakes, pretzels, noodles and pasta products. Millions of people are involved in milling, baking and pasta products industry with huge turnover per annum. However, each end-use product of wheat has it’s own specific requirement for example basically hard wheats along with strong gluten and high protein content are used for bead making. Soft wheat with weak gluten and low protein content are required for biscuit making Souza et al. (1994). Durum (tetraploid) wheat is used for pasta products as macaroni, vermicelli and spheghatti and Dicoccum for therapeautic purposes. Often chemical improvers are used to improve the dough properties for these products. Most of these chemicals have been banned because of their toxic effects. Therefore, only alternative is to develop varieties suited to meet the requirements of these end-use products. This needs better understanding of molecular basis of grain quality to accelerate breeding for producing wheat varieties for each end-use product separately. Storage proteins are the major component of grain which determines end-product quality. In this chapter detailed structure, genetics and functionality of gluten proteins are described.

INTRODUCTION

Himachal Pradesh, the mountainous state is well known for its natural wealth. It is situated between 300 22’ 40"to 330 12’ 40" N latitude and 750 45’ 55" to 790 04’ 20" E longitude in the western Himalayas. The 12 districts viz., Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kinnaur, Kullu, Lahaul & Spiti, Mandi, Sirmaur, Shimla, Solan, and Una of the state covered 10.5 per cent of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) and 1.69 per cent of country’s geographic area. State experienced high variation in an elevation and climatic conditions. An elevation of the stateranged from 350 to 6975 metres above mean sea level (amsl.) that increases from west to east and south to north.On the basis of elevation and slope,the state is divided into fourdistinct topographical regions: (1) Shiwalik Hills, (2) Mountains-Lesser Himalaya, Greater Himalaya and Trans Himalaya, (3) Valleys-Shiwalik dun valleys, fluvial, and glacio-fluvial valleys, and (4) Mountain Passes (Singh and Kumar, 2014). Whereas, physiographically, state is divided into four agro-ecological zones: the Shivaliks’ low, mid and high-hills; and the cold and dry or the alpine zone (Table 1). The 70% of the state area is steep to very steep, about 19% is moderate to moderately steep, and 11% is gentle to nearly level slopes.

INTRODUCTION
 
A single teaspoon of soil has more organisms than the total number of people in this planet. Therefore measuring microbial population and their activity in soil is essential in order to measure the potential of a soil to mineralize nutrients. The rhizosphere is the biologically active zone of soil, where plant roots and microorganisms interact, and is of significant importance for plant performance as well as for nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning (Singh et al. 2004; Marschner et al. 2004., Bhaduri et al. 2015). The structure of rhizosphere microbial communities is the result of complex interactions between plant genotype and fertilization (Aira et al. 2010).

3.0 INTRODUCTION

There are two main types of plant reproduction / multiplication that are used and these include sexual reproduction known as seed propagation / multiplication and the asexual reproduction known as vegetative propagation / multiplication. Propagation is most often by seeds produced by plants or by plant parts like vines, roots, tubers, suckers, etc. Propagation is the natural mechanism by which plants regenerate. Seed is the organ of reproduction in flowering plants.

3.1 SEXUAL REPRODUCTION OR SEED PROPAGATION TECHNIQUES

Seed is the organ of reproduction in flowering plants. Sexual reproduction is propagation by seeds. This is the main method by which plants reproduced in nature as most plants produce seeds except in species that have separate male and female plants; e.g. Njansang (Ricinodendron heudelotii) and Black fruit (Canarium schweinfurthii)

Seed multiplication seems to be the most practicable technique by the farmers. Example Agroforestry Species that are mostly propagated by seeds are Sweet Bush mango [Irvingia garbonensis], Bitter Bush mango [Irvingia wombolo], Bitter kola, Kola nitida, Kola acuminata, Njansang [Ricinodendron heudelotii].

2.1 Introduction

Rain and snow are the two chief sources of water of the earth. In-situ conservation of rainwater helps the plants to meet some of their consumptive uses directly. Not all the amount of rainwater that falls at a point is conserved by the soil reservoir to support the plant growth. Some part of it flows over the soil surface as surface runoff and some seeps down as infiltration and finally adds to the under ground reservoir. Therefore, rain or snow, which is not used directly by the plants, becomes a potential source of either surface or ground water for irrigation. In areas with extreme low temperature, snow contributes major source of water supply wherever, in humid and sub humid regions, rain is the principal source. Precipitation, rain or snow, is the first stage of the continual cycle of water in its round from atmosphere to the earth and return by evaporation from water bodies, snow surfaces and land surfaces. The continual cycle of distribution of water is governed by the process called as hydrologic cycle. Thus, precipitation or atmospheric water is the first form of water above the earth’s surface, the second form being the surface water on earth and the third form is the subsurface water or underground water. The study of occurrence, distribution and circulation of precipitation through the unending hydrologic cycle forms the basic part of study of hydrology. As mentioned above, the part of precipitation that is not used by the plants in-situ flows over the soil surface as runoff and contributes to either surface or ground water supply.

11.1 Introduction

The entire amount of water that is diverted at the canal head regulator does not reach at the field for use of irrigation. Major amount of it is lost on way during its movement in the canal systems. During the passage of water from main canal to outlet at the head of the water course, water may be lost either by evaporation from the surface or by seepage through the peripheries of the channel. These losses are sometimes very high, and may go up to 50 % of the total water diverted into the main canal. Evaporation losses are low and may go to a maximum of about 7 percent.of total losses. The major loss of water in the conveyance system is the seepage loss. Seepage loss depends on the channel geometry and evaporation loss is proportional to the area of free surface. In determining the designed channel capacity, a provision of these water losses must be made. The provision for the water lost in the watercourses and in the field however, already made in the outlet discharge factor, and hence no extra provision is made on that account. However, excluding the above two losses, there is operational loss which when added to the evaporation and seepage losses, the total losses goes up the maximum 50 percent level. The operational loss includes spillage, over-toping, leakage through rodent holes, dead storage, initial infiltration and evapotranspiration from the vegetation along the watercourse. Evaporation and seepage losses of the canals are discussed below.

Introduction

The competition between human and livestock population for the existing animal and plant resources has been of great concern to the poultry nutritionists. Today the poultry industry has already challenged by the high price of the feed ingredients. Moreover in the next century there will be a shortage of conventional feed stuffs for use in poultry production. Efforts are on to look forward for the new feed resources and to evaluate them for their inclusion in the poultry ration. However many of the feed stuffs are characterized by the presence of certain incriminating factors. The incorporation of feed stuffs containing incriminating factors may adversely affect the performance of poultry. The nutritional strategy involving the use of feed enzymes offer immense potential to overcome the problems. The use of enzymes in feed mixtures of growing poultry particularly for young chicks has been the subject of much research activity in the recent decades. The interest in the feed enzymes is a reflection in changing the attitude of the society and the economic climate of the feed industry. It has been seen that approximately 187 million metric tons of cereal grains (FAO, 2011) and 26.02 million tons oil seeds as per the trade estimate for 2011-12 are produced in India which yield non starch polysaccharides (NSP) as a part of variety of products.

Pankaj Kumar Singh and Chandramoni

Introduction

The term “probiotic” is derived from Greek and means pro: for and bios: life (for life) in contradiction to antibiotic which means: against life. The term probiotic was first introduced by Lilly and Stillwel (1965) to describe growth-promoting factors produced by microorganisms. Parker (1974) first specified designation “probiotic”. He defined probiotics as microorganisms or substances, which contribute to the balance of the intestinal micro flora. Crawford (1979) defined probiotics as a culture of specific living microorganisms, primarily Lactobacillus spp. that are implanted in the organism and ensure the rapid and effective establishment of a beneficial intestinal population. Fuller (1989) discussed the definition given by Parker (1974) and considered it too broad, as cultures, cells, and metabolites are also included in antibiotic preparations. He redefined “probiotic” as a live microbial feed additive, which beneficially affects the animal by improving its microbial balance. Havenaar et al. (1992) pointed out that the definition of “probiotic” made by Fuller (1989) was restricted to feed supplements, animals, and their intestinal tract. Therefore, they generalized Fuller’s definition of “probiotic” as a mono or mixed culture of living microorganisms, which beneficially affect the host by improving the properties of the indigenous micro-flora. Through 1989, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) advised manufactures to use the term: “direct-fed microbial” (DFM) instead of “probiotic” (Miles and Bootwalla, 1991). The USFDA defined DFM as a source of live naturally occurring microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and yeast. Vanbelle et al. (1990) pointed out that most researchers considered “probiotic” for selected and concentrated viable counts of lactic acid bacteria. Koh et al. (1992) pointed out that as a biological product for newly hatched chicks a bacterial culture producing acetic acid could be used. Such a culture might be supplied to the chicks either through their drinking water or by the feed. For controlling the biological balance in the chicken’s intestinal tract different probiotics may be used. The US National Food Ingredient Association presented, probiotics (direct fed microbial) as a source of live naturally occurring microorganisms and this includes bacteria, fungi and yeast (Miles and Bootwalla, 1991). According to the currently adopted definition by FAO, probiotics are: “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host” (FAO/WHO, 2001). More precisely, probiotics are live microorganisms of nonpathogenic and nontoxic in nature, which when administered through the digestive route, are favorable to the host’s health (Guillot, et al., 1998; Thomke and Elwinger, 1998,).

Introduction

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has evolved over the last five decades since Stern et al. (1959) first gave the concept of integrated control. The basic tactics of IPM were developed and applied to reduce crop losses against the ravages of pests before the term IPM was coined (Jones, 1973; Smith et al.,1973). Entomologist at the university of California, United State of America (USA) played a pivotal role in developing IPM tactics (Perkins, 1982). Development of resistance to insecticides and the elimination of natural enemies by insecticides led to the development of ‘supervised control’. The publication of the book ‘Silent Spring’ written by Rachel Carson (1962) was a defining milestone for it brought the problems caused by pesticides to the attention of the public and the scientists. The term ‘integrated pest management’ was used for the first time by Smith and van dan Bosch (1967). In the last five decade many synthetic pesticides have been banned. In 1972, ’integrated pest management’ and its synonym were incorporated into English dictionary and accepted by the scientific community (Kogan, 1998). IPM is the main strategy accepted for pest management under agenda 21 of the United Nations conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, 1992).

Introduction

Information technology is set to become important in agriculture in the coming years. In the last few decades, the application of computers and communication technologies has led to the development of a plethora of information of all types in the area of plant protection science. These information bases are available on CD-ROM, on-line form in various hosts and via mail over internet, multimedia data bases, Decision-Support Systems (DSS)/Expert Systems (ES), Simulation Models (SM), etc.- to cite a few of the latest developments. Further, cyber space is fast emerging as an area of information technology, particularly in the field of crop pest management (Srivastava and Swain, 1998). The application of information technology in pest management has been one of the most exciting developments in the field over the last decade. From the 1960s, the entomologists began using computers for spray scheduling, population modeling, exploring control strategies and managing pest monitoring data. More recently, computers are being utilized in pest management delivery systems and decision support systems (DSS) designed to enhance decision making.

Introduction

Fruits, oldest forms of food known to man, are not only good source of nutrition to the body but also have medicinal property and treat ailments. Fruits like apple, lemon, orange and pomegranate aid in proper functioning of the heart. Nutrients in apple, date and mangoes sharpens memory, prevents exhaustion, hysteria, insomnia and mental tension. All berries are rich in iron, phosphorus and sodium which are essential minerals for blood building and nervous system strengthening. Liver ailments, indigestion and rheumatism can be cured by the use of Lemons. Watermelons are good kidney cleansers. Pineapple, pomegranates help in soothing inflammation of nose, throat, fever and other chronic or bronchial ailments. Grapefruit juice is an effective aid for common cold. Fresh and ripe fruits like grapes, apples, bananas and figs are good for all brain deficiencies. Even the kernel of walnut is a helpful remedy for weakness of the brain.

Delineating species boundaries correctly and also identifying species are crucial to the discovery of life’s diversity because it determines whether different individual organisms are members of the same entity or not (Dayrat, 2005). The identification of species depends on the knowledge held by taxonomists whose work cannot cover all taxon identification requested by non-specialists. To deal with these difficulties, the ‘DNA Barcode of Life’ project aims to develop a standardized, rapid and inexpensive species identification method accessible to non-taxonomists.

DNA barcoding is a technique in which species identification is performed by determining and comparing the sequences of several hundred base pairs of nucleotides from a small fragment of an identified gene, with the aim of contributing to a wide range of ecological and conservation studies in which traditional taxonomic identification is not practical (Krishnamurthy and Francis, 2012). The two main ambitions of DNA barcoding are to assign unknown specimens to species and to enhance the discovery of new species and facilitate identification, particularly in cryptic, microscopic and other organisms with complex or inaccessible morphology (Hebert et al., 2003a). Apart from these, identification of species previously defined by other criteria to also is an objective of barcoding. Another major objective could be the definition of operational units for ecological studies. This may also be used for forensic purposes by linking the specimens with already identified databases.

Spices are defined as a strongly flavored or aromatic substance of vegetable origin, obtained from tropical plants, commonly used as a condiment. India is known as ‘land of spices’. Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) also known as hot peppers and Capsicums also referred as bell peppers or sweet peppers belong to the genus Capsicum which is a member of the Solanaceae family. The native home of chilli is considered to New Mexico with secondary origin at Guatemala. They are known from pre-historic remains of Peru. Chilli was introduced into India by Portuguese in 16th century. Chilli is considered as one of the major commercial crops of the world. Both green and dried chillies are the important components of our routine diet. Chilli also contains vitamin A, C and E. It will give the required pungency, colour, taste and flavour to our dishes. The presence of capsaicin in chilli is responsible for its pungency and it has medicinal value. The extracted capsaicin is used in pain balms, cosmetics and medicines related to heart diseases. Capsanthin, a pigment in chilli is used for natural colouration to Jams, Jellies and squashes, since it is a natural pigment and no harmful or side effects on human health. Oleoresin is used in pain balms, vapours, etc. Hence, there is lot of demand for chilli oleoresin in the world market. The largest producer of chillies in the world is India contributing 52 per cent of world production, accounting for 11.67 lakh tonnes of production from an area of 7.5 lakh ha with 1550 kg/ha of productivity followed by Nigeria (17%), China (16%), Peru and Bangladesh (6%). India exported 1.8 million tonnes of chilli during 2009 (Reddy, 2010).

Borer pests cause significant yield losses and are one of the most serious production constraints in tropical vegetable production. For instance, eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB), Leucinodes orbonalis Guenée (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) reduces yield as much as 70% (Dhandapani et al., 2003). Tomato fruit borer, Helicoverpa armigera Hubner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) causes about 5 to 55% loss in almost all the tomato producing areas in the world (Kashyap and Batra, 1987). Up to 80% yield losses have been reported in various vegetable and grain legumes due to legume pod borer (LPB), Maruca vitrata F. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) damage (Singh et al., 1990; Sharma, 1998; Gressel et al., 2004; Hammig et al., 2008; Zahid et al., 2008). Due to higher yield losses, growers tend to apply extremely high quantities of chemical pesticides to control borer pests on vegetable crops. Because the borer larvae are exposed on external plant parts only for a brief time after hatching, the window for effective pesticide application is very brief; vegetable farmers spray throughout the growing season, but without satisfactory results. A survey of pesticide use in Bangladesh indicated that farmers spray up to 180 times with chemical insecticides during a year to protect their eggplant crop against EFSB (SUSVEGAsia, 2007). Pesticide application often exceeded 50 sprays per tomato crop season in south India (Nagaraju et al., 2002). In Bangladesh, country bean (Lablab purpureus) is being sprayed at weekly or biweekly intervals—sometimes every day—to control LPB (Hoque et al., 2001). On average, farmers used 10-24 kg/ha of pesticides in cabbage and cauliflower in India to manage the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) and other pests (Weinberger and Srinivasan, 2009).

Cashew research in India dates back to 1950’s when Indian Council of Agricultural Research sanctioned ad-hoc schemes in the then composite Madras, Travancore, Cochin and Bombay States. Thus, Kottarakkara (Kerala) in 1952; Ullal (Karnataka in 1953 and Vengurla (Maharashtra) in 1957 came into being as pioneering cashew centres in the country. More research schemes were started with ICAR’s assistance in 1955 at Bapatla (Andhra Pradesh) and in 1956 at Deragaon (now shifted to Kothiali) in Assam. During the period, Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore and National Chemical Laboratory, Pune were also engaged in developing technologies for economic utilisation of cashew apple and Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL). In the second phase of strengthening cashew research in India, the ICAR started All India Spices and Cashewnut Improvement Project in 1971 linking countrywide network among different research centres. Collection, conservation and evaluation of germplasm, hybridization and selection, vegetative propagation, and nutritional studies were the primary areas under this programme.

Maharashtra, the first state was to release cashew variety under the name Vengurla-1 through Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli in the year 1974. So far, 8 varieties have been released from Regional Fruit Research Station, Vengurla (M.S.), of which, Vengurla-4, Vengurla-6, Vengurla-7 and Vengurla-8 are widely accepted for commercial plantation.

Cashew apple, a highly potential nutritional source, is almost entirely wasted now. In Goa, cashew apple juice is fermented and distilled for production of alcohol. Cashew apple is juicy and swollen. It is a rich reserve of vitamins and minerals. The cashew apple is the peduncle of the nut. Normally the apple is 8 to 10 fold large by weight compared to cashew nut, at ripe stage. Cashew apples can be of different size and shape. The ripe apple is very juicy and fibrous with thin skin. When fully ripe, it gets detached from the pedicel and falls down. In Brazil, cashew is a popular fresh fruit and dwarf types are being evaluated to fulfil the market requirements of fresh cashew apple in terms of red colour, high sugar, low tannin etc.

Water is indispensable for human, animal and plant life. Water is essential part of protoplasm. It is essential for photosynthesis. About 400 to 500 litres of water is necessary for the production of  a kilo of plant dry matter.
 
Irrigation

It is the human manipulation of hydrological cycle to improve crop production and quality and to decrease the economic effects of drought. Israelsen and Hansen (1962) defined irrigation as the artificial application of water for the purpose of supplying moisture to plant growth.

Introduction

Our national food security depends on our ability to conserve all our biological wealth.

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan (Biodiversity, Principle and Conservation, 2002)

Variation is the law of the nature. It occurs everywhere and every moment. The variety and variability of organisms and ecosystem is referred to as biological diversity. Biodiversity is the most significant asset and constitutes enduring resources for supporting the continued existence of human societies. The agricultural biological diversity more commonly referred to as agro-biodiversity, has been fast emerging as a strong, evolutionary divergent line from the biodiversity, which deals with life form at large (Kumar and Asija , 2002). Agro-biodiversity is basic to the farming system.

Introduction

Floriculture is the branch of horticulture concerning cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and floristry. It includes cut flowers, cut greens, bedding plant, houseplants, flowering garden and pot plants etc. It is a fast growing industry. Urbanization and rising living standards of the people has lead to steady increase in demand of flowers and flower products making floriculture as one of the most important commercial trades in Agriculture. It has been found that commercial floriculture has higher potential per unit area than most of the field crops and is therefore a lucrative business.

Introduction

Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy and helps the system as a whole for socio-economy development of the country. Despite 51 per cent of arable land of total geographical area and about 100 million hectares of potential irrigated area, the highest for any country in the world, unfortunately the contribution of agriculture to the grass domestic product is as low as 22 per cent. India is endowed with a wide spectrum of agro climatic conditions and a large variety of fruit crops ranging from tropical, sub­tropical and temperate are grown. In India, the area under fruit crops is 3.5 Mha with a production 45MT which accounts 9.6 % of total worlds production and ranks 2nd in fruit production (Anon., 2005). The country has become self-sufficient in food grains production, second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, but still the per capita consumption per day is hardly of the order of 70 g for fruits and 140 g for vegetables.

Abstract

The geochemical signature and vulnerability of groundwater of the East Coastal aquifers of  India from Pondicherry to Nagapattinam were determined. The coastal aquifers are fragile and this situation becomes more intense in aquifer systems like that of the Pondicherry to Nagapattinam region. A total of 136 water samples were collected during pre and post monsoon of 2008 and 2009 respectively. Out of which 45 samples for each pre and post monsoon from shallow groundwater and 23 samples for each pre and post monsoon from deeper groundwater.. The samples collected were analysed for major, minor cations and anions. Selected samples were also analysed for stable isotopes (d¹⁸O and dD). The analysed samples were studied for; their utility for different purpose, the nature of the geochemical classification, their variations in ion ratios, extent of sea water intrusion and the percentage of mixing, The study reveals that chief mechanism controlling shallow groundwater is the salts precipitated in the pore spaces during the Pre monsoon were leached and dissolved during the subsequent monsoon apart from sea water intrusion. Southern part of the study area  is more vulnerable than the Northern part of the study area.

Abstract

Over the years, global climate change has negatively impacted the resources of western Himalayan region and the diversity of floral wealth has been endangered. The endangered livelihoods of agriculture based sector call for incorporating stress resistance by sustained effort that includes resort to infusion of new technologies. Biotechnology offers possible solutions to many of the intractable problems. Development and commercialization of transgenic crops have witnessed phenomenal growth in recent years. An array of traits viz. insect pest resistance, herbicide tolerance, abiotic stress tolerance, augmentation of nutritional qualities etc. have been targeted and successfully modified through plant genetic engineering. The global area of transgenic crops has seen a tremendous increase to attain 148 million hectares in 2010. Progress in understanding plant genome structure and function by high throughput characterization of genome, transcriptome, proteome and metabolome is providing new opportunities to deal with complex traits that result from interactions of a large number of genes. The other significant application of biotechnology in crop improvement has been “Marker Assisted Selection” (MAS). Development and integration of DNA based markers in the selection process has empowered the breeder to identify the desired genotypes without any interference of environmental effect or tissue specificity of expression. Cultivation of MAS derived crop varieties in the country bears testimony to the success of this technology.

Temperate horticulture in Himalayan States forms the backbone of states economy by providing livelihood to more than 10 million people and draws about 60% of its Gross Domestic product (GDP) from the surrounding ecological resources. Being an important sector it has been given priority in recent years through various developmental programmes to harness the vast potential of natural resources, the topography, soil, climate and horticulture crop diversity. The outburst in climate and over population have become a major concern challenging natural resources of the Himalayan region for sustainable development of agriculture and improving livelihood of the local inhabitants. Depleting natural resources and vagaries of weather are negatively affecting long-term sustainability of Himalayan agri-horti production system. In spite of several chal-lenges the horticulture in temperate region has made some progress. The area, production productivity, availability and export of horticulture products have increased manifolds leading to improvement in employment and farm income. But still the temperate fruit industry is far behind and is facing the problem of low productivity and high cost production due to lack of elite planting material, old and senile orchards, rainfed farming, lack of efficient water, nutrient and canopy management, high infestation of insect and pests, poor transport and communication coupled with weak post harvest infrastructure. The modern new high yielding varieties and technological interventions developed especially the high density plantations; canopy & pollination management; fertigation, INM and water harvesting; cost effective and eco-friendly protection technologies and post harvest management and value addition have shown great potential to revolutionize the horticulture sector to bring paradigm shift from existing low quality lower productivity sector to high quality-higher productivity sector. The farmers have an opportunity and can take the advantage of emerging technologies in temperate horticulture to improve their nutritional and livelihood security.

Northwestern Himalayan region is spread between 28°43^'-37°05^'N latitude and 72° 40^'-81°02^' E longitude covering an approximate area of 33 million ha. The major natural resources of western Himalayas are water, forests, floral, and faunal biodiversity. Although there is wide spectrum of farming systems diversity in the region, yet there are quite a few commonalities viz. crop diversity, including mixed cropping as well as crop rotation of subsistence nature rather than commercial nature of agriculture, maintenance of soil fertility through natural processes. The variability in agroclimatic conditions in the hilly regions of India due to geographical location and climatic conditions require micro planning for assuring sustainable agricultural production. Introduction of horticultural crops is more recent phenomenon and it has penetrated the traditional farming systems of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and central Himalayan region for commercial benefits than the local consumption. Climatic conditions are optimal for growth of many food, medicinal and other commercial crops and live stock occur in these hills and the need is to exploit these opportunities for economic upliftment of the region, without degradation of natural resource base, therefore a long term development approach for sustainable farming system in these hills must have an eye on conservation farming for developing various production systems since this is a highly fragile system. The agriculture including livestock continues to be the dominant sector despite the fact that the area is exposed to adverse and harsh geophysical and agri-silviculture conditions. Strategies by planting fodder trees or grasses in the waste/ degraded lands (representing 7.9, 9.8 and 11.5% of the geographical area in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, respectively), is needed for enhancing the fodder production. In addition, farm spaces on terrace risers and improved crop production technology coupled with integration of agroforestry will help in bridging the gap between demand and supply of the fodder. The indigenous agroforestry systems such as homestead (kyaroo), plantation crop combinations, scattered trees on farm lands/field bunds and bamboo grove are practiced by the farming community. The land management operations are predominated by different indigenous agroforestry practices which have proven potential and hold promise in alleviating the poverty among rural masses of this hilly region. The agroforestry systems provide unique opportunity for integration of different components in the farming systems, which help to optimize the ecosystem functioning and better management of land, water, and biological resources. These systems need to be further improved with suitable technological interventions considering the local population need, so that the socioeconomic status of the farming communities uplifted. Experiences gained in managing natural resources through well-tested agroforestry systems have been shared in this chapter.

Soil is a living entity having dynamic physico-chemical and biological properties. Besides supporting the growth of various biological communities, it also serves as a medium on which the organic residues, in the form of dead plant and animal or their excretions, are degraded and decomposed. The biological properties to soil are endowed through the interactive activities of plant root, soil microbes and soil animals. The soil organisms live in a constant state of competition and have to struggle hard for their survival. In this struggle some species become dominant and some remain sub-dominant and others perish or remain in very low profile. So a sort of dynamic equilibrium is the net result of wide range of interactions occurring both at organism and population levels amongst different components of soil biota. Many interactions are short-lived and sporadic and others are more stable.

THEORY
    ·    Father of Extension: James Stuart
    ·    Word Extension: Derived from Latin roots “ex”    - Out
                                                              tensio”    - Stretching
    ·    Extension term originated in England as University Extension in 1866.
    ·    The term Extension Education first used in 1873 by Cambridge University.
    ·    Philosophy of Extension (Kelsey and Hearne, 1967): How to think.
    ·    Binet test: Intelligence test (IQ).
    ·    Function of Extension: Change in Attitude, Skill and Knowledge of an individuals.
    ·    Extension Education Process:  Extension education is a participative and continuous process.
    ·    Learning Situation: It is a condition or environment in which all the elements necessary for promoting learning are present. 
    ·    Elements of effective learning situations in Extension are:

Theory

Statistics: Collection of methods for planning experiments, obtaining data, and then organizing, summarizing, presenting, analyzing, interpreting, and drawing conclusions.

Sir R.A.Fisher: Father of modern statistics.

Population: All subjects possessing a common characteristic that is being studied.

Sample: A subgroup or subset of the population.

Parameter: Characteristic or measure obtained from a population.

Statistic: Characteristic or measure obtained from a sample.

Karl Pearson: Study of correlation and chi-square test of goodness of fit.

W.S.Gosset: Student’s t-test for small sample

Francis Galton: Regression analysis.

9.1 Introduction

Cereal crops are of global importance and the lifeline of the human civilization. The four most important cereals grown for human food in the tropics are rice, maize, sorghum and pearl millet. There are other minor cereals of tropical origin which are of local importance in the tropics. These include finger millet (Eleusine coracana), a staple food in parts of East and Central Africa; barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea), cultivated in India and Southeast Asia; foxtail millet (Setaria italica), grown in parts of India; and teff (Eragrostis tef), which is confined to the Ethiopian highlands. The winter cereals wheat and barley are also grown to a limited extent in the tropics, largely at high altitudes: for example, wheat in Kenya and barley in Ethiopia. Wheat and barley are important crops in the Indian subcontinent, and are grown there in the cool season at low altitudes, but the bulk of the crop area lies outside the tropics.

13.1 Introduction

Citrus is one of the important fruit crops in India with the production of 111.47 lakh tons from 10.78 lakh hectares with the productivity of 10.34 tons/ha at national level as compared to 25-30 tons/ha in advanced citrus producing countries (NHB, 2013). The productivity and quality of citrus is severely affected by several factors; insect pests being one of them. More than 250 insect pests were reported to attack citrus in India. A total of  22 insect species  in Punjab (Atwal, 1976) ; 50  insect species  in  Karnataka;  42 insect species  in  North-Eastern Hilly region (Pathak and Rao, 1999);  20 insect species in West Bengal and  about a dozen  insect species  in central India have been reported on different citrus cultivars. Further, the pest occurrence and distribution in India indicated that about 21 species are common throughout the citrus growing areas and remaining species may occur in some areas either occasionally or rarely. Of the reported insect pests, Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama), citrus blackfly (Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby), whitefly (Aleurolobus marlatti (Quaintance) and Dialeurodes sp.), leaf-miner (Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton), lemon butterfly (Papilio demoleus Linn.), leaf folder (Psorosticha zizyphi Stainton), aphids (Aphis spp. and Toxoptera spp.), thrips (Scirtothrips spp.), mealy bugs (Planococcus citri Risso), scales (Coccus hesperidus Linn), fruit sucking moth (Eudocima spp.), fruitfly (Bactrocera sp.), citrus trunk borer (Anoplophora versteegi Ritsema), bark eating caterpillar, lndarbela spp.

INTRODUCTION

Food processing as a technological regime is undergoing a revolutionary change in terms of conception, product and process design and energetics. The conventional approach of a food processor is to develop products with a long shelf-life in user friendly packaging systems. Food processors are usually bothered about sensory attributes and microbiological profiles without much emphasis on the fate of heat labile nutritional and nutraceutical components. The changing consumer perception is slowly but steadily leading towards emergence of novel technologies without depending upon conventional thermal processing. A few years before, non-thermal techniques have emerged for food processing and preservation, but these techniques were restricted to framing of fundamentals with regard to the inactivation of vegetative and reproductive bodies of microbes and the deteriorative enzymes.

Abattoir : An establishment where animals are butchered is known as abattoir. It is also known as slaughterhouse. 
Abiotic : Abiotic means any factor which is not biological / abiological and especially there is no involvement of the organisms in synthesis of certain compounds.

Abstract

For 99% of our time on Earth, humans have been hunter-gatherers, intricately connected to and reliant upon our local lands and waters for food, materials, medicines and shelter. In this time we have evolved a unique and in-depth knowledge base, termed local ecological knowledge or ecoliteracy, which has been essential to sustaining human and ecosystem health over thousands of years. However with livelihood diversification towards non-resource dependent strategies, the emergence of local markets as a consequence of globalisation, and global patterns of economic development, our collective local knowledge is now being lost. With the loss of local livelihoods and knowledge comes a departure from traditional food systems as hunters, fishers, and gatherers and cultivators lose the skills needed to locate, collect, preserve, prepare, consume and manage indigenous foods. Traditional food systems have provided nutritional health and food security for indigenous and marginalised communities for generations, and play a critical role in cultural continuity, social systems and ecosystem biodiversity.

Introduction

India (8^o-30^o N and 68-97.5^ºE) exhibits a wide range in topography and climate, which has a bearing on its vegetation and floristic composition. This subcontinent is one of the World’s 12 leading Biodiversity Centres, encompassing 16 different agro-climatic zones, 10 vegetation zones, 25 biotic provinces and about 426 habitats of specific species. It has been estimated that about 45,000 plant species (nearly 20% of the global species) occurs in the Indian Sub-continent. About 3,500 species of both higher and lower plant groups are of medicinal values. More than 80 per cent of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are collected from 17 million hectares of Indian forest land. However, many of these, due to over-exploitation have become rare (Rheum emodi, Aconitum deinorrhizum), threatened (Rauvolfia serpentina, Berberis artistata) or endangered ones (Sassurea lappa, Dioscorea deltoidea). Problems arising out of rapid genetic loss of medicinal plants forced the need for international co-operation and co-ordination to undertake programmes for conservation of medicinal plants to ensure that adequate quantities are available for future generations.

Current Trends in Fruit Exports from India

Fruit culture in the Indian subcontinent dates back to the Harappan civilization when datepalm, pomegranate and lemon were domesticated. Fruits such as aonla, bael, jackfruit, karonda, phalsa, mango, pomegranate, almond, walnut and pistachio are mentioned in Charaka Samhita (300 BC) and Sushruta Samhita (400 BC), the oldest known texts on ayurveda. Owing to diverse agro climatic conditions, India can produce a wide range of tropical, subtropical, arid and temperate fruits. In the past few decades, India had made rapid strides in fruit production and is currently the second largest producer of fruits in the world, next only to China. The annual production is estimated to be about 81 million tonnes for about 12.6% of the total world production. However, India’s share in the global export of fresh fruits is less than 5 per cent. The major fruits exported in terms of quantity are grape, mango, banana and pomegranate. In value terms, grapes and mango earn the maximum foreign exchange for India.

Commercial crops include a variety of high value plantation crops, which play a vital role in the agricultural economy and export trade of many developing and developed countries (Table 1). Tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, coconut, arecanut, oil palm, cashew, palmyra and cardamom are the major crops grown on a plantation scale. These crops are perennial in nature and the cultivation is labour intensive, generating considerable employment opportunity during on farm operations and off farm processing activities. The most obvious characteristic is that plantations are monocultures; the same species occupying large contiguous area usually in even aged stands. Exceptions are coconut, arecanut, cocoa and coffee, which are grown either as mono crop or as multiple crops. These crops are grown in humid tropics, mainly between 20°N and 20°S of equator in an area of 35.7 million ha yielding about 74.4 million tonnes of produce and contributing US $ 11 billion to global trade during 2002.

Palmyra (Borassus flabellifer L.) is a tropical dioecious palm adapted to arid zone tracts. Though it is a versatile plant which yields many edible and non-edible products it is a less exploited species. It is used for sap, fruit, seed, leaf and fiber and timber products. From nutritional point of view, fruit pulp and seed shoot flour are the most important.Successful promotion of these as foods for general consumption depends on subjecting the fruit pulp to a debittering process, and the seed shoot flour, to initial detoxification processes (Thabrew and Jansz, 2004). Palmyra palms are the most numerous palms in the world after coconut palm (Fox, 1977). Despite this, they are the least studied of all the palms.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The most significant factors distinguishing organic farming from eco-farming are the existence of production standards and certification procedures. Certification of organic farming is the procedure by which a written assurance is given by the certification agency that a clearly identified production or processing system has been methodically assessed and conforms to the specified requirements. It is a process certification rather than a product certification. Certification and labelling is usually done by an independent body to provide a guarantee that the production standards are met.  In case of organic products, certification is an acknowledgement that the products are produced according to organic production standards of certification bodies or associations or of the country. Organic production system is a land use system in accordance with set standards to the location specific conditions by integrating practices that foster cycling of resources, promoting ecological balance and conserve biodiversity. The prime principles of organic farming are,

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus Moench), otherwise known as Lady’s finger or Bhindi is an annual malvaceous plant and the sixth important vegetable crop cultivated throughout the country mostly in kharif and summer seasons. Though it is reported to be originated from tropical and sub-tropical Africa, but it has gained much importance in India as the secondary centre of origin. India ranked first in okra production in the World and major okra producing Indian states are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Assam (Anonymous, 2011).

Abstract

Seed is the most important input component for productive forestry. Large quantities of quality seed are needed every year to raise the nursery stock for propagating the desired plant species.  Commercially important species like Dalbergia sissoo, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Pinus roxburghii and Populus deltoides have become more important. Superior genetic qualities of seed have profound positive impact on growth rates and productivity of plantations and quality of the produce. To save and multiply the entire lot of valuable forest plants it is very essential to preserve and multiply those plants for which special type of nurseries are to be established. There is necessity to have special techniques and methods to meet the demand of seed and only hi-tech nurseries can satisfy this type of demand.

Abstract

In afforestation and reforestation programs, seed has become a valuable commodity and its collection, identification, handling, processing, testing, storage and certification requires prudent planning. The research and development in seed science and technology have made significant progress in recent years. The quality of seed has been the subject of increasing interest among Forest Managers and the Scientists. Not every seed is suitable for sowing. Sometimes, the seeds do not develop into normal plants or the plants produced do not produce the expected harvest. This manuscript reviews, the progress made to-date in the forest tree seed germination and highlights future line of action.

Introduction

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), generally found in legumes, is a valuable nature’s gift through which atmospheric nitrogen is fixed by symbiotically associated rhizobia that make it available to plants. Among cereals, rice (Oryza sativa) is an important staple food crop that feeds a large proportion of the world population [1]. There is tremendous pressure on agriculturists worldwide to increase the yield to meet growing consumption to feed a world population increasing day by day. However, unlike symbiotic plant–microbe interactions commonly observed in legumes, in several cereal crop plants including Oryza sativa, endophytic associations have been observed [2-8].

Abstract

The abiotic stresses viz. drought, high temperature, water stress, salinity, heavy metal contaminations etc. cause variable effect on nitrogen (N) mineralization, its uptake and transport, assimilation and remobilization, and subsequently the growth and productivity of plants. The affect is generally negative, however, the magnitude of decrease in various processes is dependent on genotype, age of the plant, tissue under investigation, type and extent of the stress and other agro-climatic conditions. Biological nitrogen fixation and nitrate assimilation appear to be more sensitive than the ammonium assimilation possibly because re-assimilation of ammonia released in the tissue due to catabolism of N molecules is essential for the survival of plants. In addition, synthesis of stress metabolites (proline, glycine betaine and poly amines) is directly dependent on the availability of primary amino acid, glutamic acid. There are few well coordinated and detailed studies, determining the key factors involved in regulating NUE under abiotic stresses.

Abstract

Increases in atmospheric concentrations of CO₂ are likely to have major physiological consequences for plants, due to the major effects of atmospheric CO₂ on photosynthetic rates and the centrality of photosynthesis to plant metabolism. We review what is known about the effects of growth at elevated levels of CO₂ on the protein and N concentrations of plants in general, and food crops in particular. Growth at elevated CO₂ typically reduces plant tissue N concentrations by 10-15%. The physiological mechanisms behind this decrease in tissue protein and N are likely complex, and include both dilution from increased tissue concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates and decreased root uptake of N.

Abstract

Microbes are endowed with a high and exploitable potential of being useful associates with their surrounding environment and host in case of symbiotic relationship. Most of the microbes live alone but many of them require association of other living system for its survival. Hence, the beneficial role of microbes is always correlated with growth promotion and survivability of other associated living system. Now it is established that microbes play an important and key role in plant growth and development, even its survivability in case of symbiotic mycorrhizal association with orchids. They are nothing but potential tool protecting plants from different adverse conditions like diseased state, environmental stress like cold temperature, drought, metal contamination, salt and acidic or alkaline stress.

Summary

Expressed sequence tags are small pieces of DNA sequence (usually 200 to 500 nucleotides long) that are generated by sequencing either one or both ends of an expressed gene. Currently various EST sequencing projects are underway for numerous organisms, generating millions of short, single-pass nucleotide sequence reads, accumulating in EST databases. Extensive computational strategies and various databases have been developed to organize and analyse both small- and large-scale EST data for gene discovery, functional annotation of putative gene products as well as transcript and single nucleotide polymorphism analysis. Present chapter provides an overview of the significance of ESTs, their properties, databases, analysis software and the applications of ESTs.

Summary

The indiscriminate use of pesticides and their persistence in the environment enhances the residue levels in meat, dairy products, eggs and food crops, consequently adversely affecting the human health (Akhtar, 1985). In India millions of tons of pesticides are applied to the agricultural fields to increase the productivity for compensation of the nutritional requirements of increasing population from the same land resources. It was the advent of green revolution that really spurred the growth of pesticide industry. Several reports published reveal that a large amount of organochlorine pesticides is present in vegetables, fruits and soft drinks besides other pesticides compared to World Health Organization (WHO) standards (Martin and Duggan, 1968; Corneliussen, 1969; Ulmann, 1972; Hildebrandt et al., 1986). Organochlorine pesticide persistence, biomagnification and toxicity adversely affect the ecological systems (Khanna et al., 2002). There are a large number of different types of pesticides which differ in their mechanisms of action. Some pesticides are very acutely toxic in humans, while others have low acute toxicity but may cause long term health effects in chronically exposed individuals. Each pesticide class has to be considered individually when predicting effects. Therefore, considering organochlorine pesticides induced disruption of body functions and possibly the involvement of free radicals is cardinal to present study.

Summary

Researchers face a series of similar-yet unique problems to isolate proteins. To solve these they must have dip knowledge to select an appropriate technique. The mechanism, to study the way in which a living system works, is necessary to dismantle the machine and to isolate the component parts so that they may be studied, separately and in their interaction with other parts. The knowledge that is gained in this way may be put to practical use, for example, in the design of medicines, diagnostics, pesticides, or industrial processes. In every case a pure protein is desirable as impurities may either be misleading, dangerous or unproductive, respectively. Protein isolation is, therefore, a very common, almost central, procedure in biotechnology. The purpose of this chapter is thus to fill the beginners with techniques relevant to protein isolation, hopefully to improve their knowledge.

Introduction

Biosensor technology is a powerful alternative to conventional analytical techniques, harnessing the specificity and sensitivity of biological systems in small, low cost devices. Despite the promising biosensors developed in research laboratories, there are not many reports of applications in agricultural monitoring. The authors review biosensor technology and discuss the different bio-receptor systems and methods of transduction. The difference between a biosensor and a truly integrated biosensor system are defined and the main reasons for the slow technology transfer of biosensors to the market place are reported. Biosensor research and development has been directed mainly towards health care, environmental applications and the food industry. The most commercially important application is the hand-held glucose meter used by diabetics. The agricultural / veterinary testing market has seen a number of diagnostic tests but no true biosensor systems have made an impact.

Summary

Food production starts with a good soil. No matter the kind of seed and good agronomic practices that are put in place without a good soil yields will be low and hence income. ISFM is a technology that helps to solve the problem of soil infertility and production.
 
Farmers only accept and adopt a technology if they see it to be superior to what they have been doing and it makes business sense. Farmers will not worry about the bigger picture of food security or increased production – they need to make a profit to support their household.