Preface Vegetables are defined as fleshy reproductive organ of the plant consisting one or more seeds, which are mainly used for culinary purpose and play a vital role in human nutrition since they constitute an important component of a balanced diet for man by supplying important minerals, vitamins and fibers that are required by the human body for a healthy and active life. In addition, vegetables are also good appetizers and regarded as protective food since they play a vital role in human metabolic process. The added advantage of spice vegetables is their protective nature against several ailments. Most spice vegetables prevent cancer and the attack of harmful bacteria and fungi, while some reduce blood sugar levels, help in digestion and reduce cholesterol levels in the blood serum. Role of vegetables as source of antioxidants in prevention of diseases and delaying aging is also well recognized, and thus, making them important in Indian agricultural economy. India has made significant progress in the production of vegetables since independence because its diverse agro-climatic zones ranging from tropical to temperate allow the production of a wide spectrum of vegetables. At present, India is the second largest producer of vegetables in the world, after China. Though the country is leading in the production of vegetables, the average consumption per day per capita is very less when compared with other developed countries since the productivity of the vegetables is far less than the advanced countries. The productivity of vegetable crops is seriously influenced by several biotic and abiotic stresses, making the economic conditions of the Indian marginal farmers’ worst. The plant physiologists in association with plant biotechnologists have to focus their efforts to produce high yielding varieties having resistance against diseases and herbicides and tolerance against drought and salinity and the physical aspects of quality, i.e., shape, size, texture, colour, tenderness, etc. should be given due priority with emphasis to the biochemical and nutritional quality parameters, which include dry matter, proteins, vitamins, sugars, flavouring compounds, alkaloids, flavonoids, etc. However, under present set up of World Trade Organization, the country will have to compete with quality conscious European and developed countries, and with inferior quality product, it would not be possible to penetrate the foreign market. Therefore, breeding programme in a country like India with future-plans of globalization of agriculture produce must be aimed at achieving good nutritional quality. In different types of vegetable, a varied set of biochemical parameters determines the quality. Under Indian conditions, 25-40% of the total vegetable produce is going waste due to improper harvesting and inadequate post-harvest handling, transportation, storage and processing facilities in the country. However, in some vegetables, the post-harvest losses may be as high as 80-100%. Being highly perishable nature of the vegetables, the losses always increase as the produce moves from harvesting to the consumer. Vegetables with a loss of as little as 5% in fresh weight show shriveled, wilted and staled appearance, which makes the vegetable tissues tough, non-crispy and unpalatable, and eventually, lowers their salability and consumer acceptability considerably. In such situations, the reduction in post-harvest losses of perishables becomes more essential in countries like India. Vegetables are highly perishable when fresh but can be preserved by a number of processing methods. Owing to the perishable nature of fresh produce, the international trade in vegetables is mostly confined to the processed forms. Fermentation plays an important role in ensuring the food security of millions of people around the world, particularly marginalized and vulnerable groups. This is achieved through improved food preservation, increasing the range of raw materials that can be used to produce edible food products and removing anti-nutritional factors to make the food safe to eat. This book is aimed at providing systematic information on physiology, post-harvest technology, biochemistry, microbiology and biotechnology of vegetables at a single source. This book containing very concise and precise information on physio-biochemical and biotechnological aspects of vegetable crops has been written in a very simple language, which can be understandable to the postgraduate and doctorate students. It also contains the information on best possible solutions of problems faced by the students, scientists, growers and traders. The information given in this book is truly based on scientific records of scientists working on vegetables in various institutes. Considering the importance of physiology, post-harvest technology, biochemistry, microbiology and biotechnology of vegetables in view and making the students familiar about these technical aspects of vegetables, the author deemed requisite to prepare a book, which may sequentially help to its users to grasp the knowledge of these basic concepts of vegetable crops. Though a number of books on these individual aspects are available in the library, however, this book on physio-biochemical and biotechnological aspects of vegetable crops compiled for the students of postgraduate and postdoctoral programs is one such attempt to make them learn and understand the subject more precisely and motivate them to improve their knowledge in the field of physio-biochemistry and biotechnology of vegetable crops to meet the future needs. In addition, this book may be user-friendly to others who have the concern to expand basic knowledge in the field of physio-biochemistry and biotechnology of vegetable crops and wish to fetch more remuneration from vegetable crops. Earning scientific knowledge will undoubtedly be rewarding to its users and finally to the nation.

Plant body consists of numerous microscopic box like components called cells. The word cell has been derived from the Latin word cellula, meaning a small room. The descriptive term for this smallest living biological structure was coined by Robert Hooke in a book he published in 1665. When he compared the cork cells, he saw through his microscope to the small rooms monks lived in. The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life, which is classified as a living thing and is often called the building block of life (Maton et al., 1997). It is defined as a mass of protoplasm surrounded by a membrane- the plasma membrane- within which complicated chemical reactions are going on.

The capacity to reproduce is one of the most important characteristics of all living beings. Reproduction is a process of producing offspring and is aimed to preserve individual species. This is known for self-perpetuation. There are several modes of reproduction, which vary from species to species, in available conditions. All the reproductive methods of plants are broadly classified into two types, i.e., (i) asexual reproduction (apomixis) and (ii) sexual reproduction (amphimixis). In asexual reproduction, the new individuals are produced by any means other than the fusion of sex gametes. In sexual reproduction, the gametes from male (androecium) and female organs (gynoecium) of the flower are fused to produce a zygote (Schranz et al., 2005; Rodrigues et al., 2008). Amphmixis and apomixis are the two sides of same coin (Curtis and Grossniklaus, 2007).

Photosynthesis- the word photo refers to light and synthesis means preparation. Thus, photosynthesis is the process by which the green plants use light energy of the sun to synthesize carbohydrates. Carbohydrates like simple sugars (glucose) can be stored as starch. The green plants are eaten by the herbivores, which in turn are consumed by carnivores. Ultimately, the decomposers derive their nutrition from the dead plants and animals. Thus, all organisms are dependent directly or indirectly on green plants, which synthesize food by photosynthesis. Thus, photosynthesis is the most important life sustaining process of nature (Calvin, 1976; Emerson and Arnold, 1932). Photosynthesis is a series of biochemical reactions, which can be essentially summarized as follows:

Respiration is the oxidative breakdown of complex substrate molecules such as starch, sugars, and organic acids normally present in plant cells to simpler molecules such as carbon dioxide and water. Concomitant with this catabolic reaction is the production of energy and intermediate molecules that are required to sustain the myriad of metabolic reactions essential for the maintenance of cellular organization and membrane integrity of living cells. Since respiration rate is so tightly coupled to the rate of metabolism, the measurements of respiration provide an easy non-destructive means of monitoring the metabolic and physiological state of tissues, e.g., the events of senescence and ripening are often signaled by abrupt changes in respiration. Maintaining a supply of high-energy compounds like adenosine triphosphate (ATP), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and pyrophosphate (PPi) is a primary function of respiration. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide plays very important role in mitochondrial matrix (Moller and Ramusson, 1998). The overall process of aerobic respiration involves regeneration of ATP from adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate (Pi) with the release of carbon dioxide and water. If glucose is used diphosphatas substrate, the overall equation for respiration can be written as follows:

The transition from vegetative to floral meristems in higher plants is programmed by the coincidence of internal and environmental signals. The timing of floral transition has a direct impact on reproductive success. One of the most important environmental factors that affect the transition is the change in day length (photoperiod). Classical experiments imply that plants monitor photoperiods in the leaf and transmit that information coded within an elusive signal dubbed florigen to the apex to reprogram development. Recent advances in Arabidopsis research indicate that the core of the day-length measurement mechanism lies in the circadian regulation of CONSTANS (CO) expression and the subsequent photoperiodic induction of the expression of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) gene, which might encode a major component of florigen. The florigen paradigm was conceived in photoperiod-sensitive plants; nevertheless, it implies that although it is activated by different stimuli in different flowering systems but the signal is common to all plants. Flowering time, the major regulatory transition of plant sequential development, is modulated by multiple endogenous and environmental factors.

Flowers are the reproductive structures of Angiosperms. The apical shoot meristem of the vegetative plant continues to produce new leaves and vegetative buds, which may develop into branches, but after sometime, the meristem, instead of producing leaves and branches, becomes transformed into specialized reproductive structures called flowers. The transformation of vegetative shoot apex into re-productive structure is called flowering. The process of flowering is controlled by two main important environmental factors, i.e., (i) the duration of light received by the plant called photoperiod and (ii) the low temperature treatment given to the seed or the plant referred to as vernalization (Figure 6.1).

Fruits provide a suitable environment for seed maturation and often a mechanism for the dispersal of mature seeds. By anatomical definition, fruit is a mature ovary, and therefore, includes carpel tissues in part or in whole. However, many fleshy fruit species develop mature fruit tissues by including extra-carpellary floral components. The examples include strawberry, pineapple, mulberry and pome fruit (apple, pear, etc.) in which the receptacle, bracts, calyx and floral tube (the fused base of floral organs), respectively constitute majority of mature fruit tissues. Even species with fruit derived from carpel tissue exclusively can display a range of developmental programs, spanning the relatively uniform single expanded carpel or drupe of stone fruit to the differentiated carpel tissues, giving rise to the peel (flavedo) and multi-carpel flesh as observed in citrus and banana. Although genetic selection of agriculturally valuable fruits is being done since centuries but most of the information about how fruits develop, how this development is coordinated with embryonic development and seed formation and the molecular, cellular and physiological events that control fruit growth and differentiation are still lacking. In the following sections, the various aspects controlling fruit setting and development have been discussed.

In addition to pathogenic diseases, numerous abiotic disorders may also arise during growth, development and post-harvest storage of solanaceous vegetables. The physiological disorders of vegetables that have been included in this chapter are directly or indirectly associated with genetic, cultural, nutritional, physiological and environmental factors, and in most of the cases, the definite cause of disorder is not well understood due to the association of numerous factors together. These disorders may be related to colour, shape and form/condition of the produce. The genesis of physiological maladies was earlier poorly understand due to complexity in their characteristic symptoms but at present is relatively more transparent. The characteristic symptoms of abiotic disorders discussed below have not been attributed solely to a single agent or to a single cultural or environmental factor. The environmental factors correlated with the incidence of these disorders include high light intensities and low or high temperature of that growing area. For many abiotic disorders, very limited research work has been done, and the causes are poorly understood both in terms of why cultivars differ in susceptibility and why certain environmental factors predispose the plants or parts of the plant to the disorder. The growers feel concerned with the incidence of abiotic disorders as these cause huge economic loss. Therefore, the control of these abiotic disorders is essential for profitable production of solanaceous vegetable crops. In this chapter, emphasis has been given on practical aspects of diagnosis and potential control measures.

Fresh fruits are an important component of our diet since they provide essential nutrients like minerals and vitamins and are often attractive to the consumer because of their taste, texture, colour, aroma and flavour. Fruits of different species are botanically different, and they may be derived from various parts of the flower, including the pericarp, mesocarp and receptacle. Growth of fruit tissues is initiated shortly after fertilization and accompanied by the accumulation of food reserves donated by the parent plant. Fruit ripening corresponds to a number of physiological, structural and biochemical changes, which make the fruit attractive to the consumers. These changes include physical changes, viz. the changes in colour, texture, taste, aroma and flavour, and the metabolic changes such as changes in the level of enzymes and gene expression. The varieties of mechanism, which exist in different fruits to bring about a series of these changes to make them attractive for consumption, have been summarized in Table 9.1. Because of the variety of ways in which these quality attributes are generated, there are significant differences existing in enzymes involved in ripening of different types of fruit. Once initiated, these physiological and biochemical modifications continue until the fruit is in peak condition for consumption. If the fruits are not harvested at appropriate stage of maturity, these changes continue and make them more susceptible to mechanical damage, infection and senescence. Since harvesting fruits at right stage of their maturity is critical, it is important to understand the biochemistry of fruit ripening process fully. This chapter will highlight the biochemical and metabolic changes involved during fruit ripening to make the fruit acceptable for potential consumers. Some of the possible genetic manipulations, which can be done to delay the onset of these ripening related changes, are given in later part of the chapter.

Most of the plants undergo a period of rest, and in this period, the growth activities temporarily halt. The whole plant looses its aerial parts and undergoes a rest period in the form of rhizome, corm, or tuber. Researchers who study fruit trees use the term rest for dormancy (Samish, 1954). This period is sometimes called as quiescence. The term rest and quiescence can be included under common category dormancy. Some workers differentiate the term dormancy and rest period (Burton, 1964). Wareing and Co-workers (Robinson and Wareing, 1964; Wareing et al., 1964) isolated dormancy inducing substance in sycamore seedlings (Acer pseudoplatanus) which was named as dormin. Further, analysis of this substance by Cornforth et al. (1965) reveals that dormin was identical to Abscisin-II (a substance speeding the abscission of the young flowers of Lupinus luteus and have antiauxin effect). Dormancy can be defined as an arrest in development of buds, seeds, embryos, or spores under conditions otherwise suited for growth (Taylorson and Hendricks, 1977). It is a survival strategy (exhibited by many plant species), which enables them to survive in climates where part of the year such as winter or dry seasons is unsuitable for growth. The dormancy may be due to the factors within the dormant organ or seed itself and it is called spontaneous dormancy. This type of dormancy is found in seeds, buds and perenating organs like tubers, bulbs, bulbils, corms and rhizomes. In some weeds, dormancy is caused by high or low temperature and this type of dormancy is called as imposed dormancy. Seeds normally germinate in darkness but are inhibited by light are considered to become dormant after exposure to light (Bewley and Black, 1982; 1985). Seeds that require light for germination are said to be photo dormant.

Plant hormone is an organic compound synthesized in one part of the plant body and translocated to another part where in very low concentration it causes a physiological response. However, this definition could not demarcate the vitamins and other growth influencing substances from hormones. For this reason, the term Phytohormone was introduced with included vitamins, growth hormones and flowering hormones. Phytohormone can be defined as an organic substance produced naturally in higher plants, controlling growth or other physiological functions at a site remote from its place of synthesis and active in minute amounts, whereas, an organic substance, which promotes growth, i.e., irreversible increase in height or volume, when applied in low concentration to the shoots of plant is known as growth hormone. The plant hormones are naturally occurring as they are synthesized by the plant. On the other hand, there are several manufactured chemicals, which often resemble the hormones in physiological action and molecular structures, are called growth regulators. Generally, there are five classes of phytohormones. The phytohormones universally present in all plants are classified as under:

Water is the most abundant compound on the earth but its sufficient availability is always a big constraint in crop production, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas since agriculture is the last priority for good quality water due to severe competition with public health and industrial demand, hence, the judicious and efficient use of water for irrigation in agriculture needs through knowledge of soil-plant-water relationship. The integrated approach for water management in rain fed areas or irrigated agriculture in soil-plant-atmosphere system helps in the selection of suitable crops and varieties and also helps in improving the crop yield and water use efficiency in relation to water supplying capacity of soil profile depending on its texture and rhizosphere depth. Similarly, atmospheric demand of evapotranspiration by various weather parameters via temperature, relative humidity, radiation, rainfall and wind speed is highly variable during the crop season depending on geographical location and is highly area specific. In irrigated area, the saving of irrigation water through improved management practices will further help in extending the irrigated areas with same amount of water, which will further boost agricultural production and sustainability. Most of the earth’s total water is contained in oceans (96%), a small portion (2%) as snow and ice and the rest (2%) in the water bodies of the continents. Oceans, lakes, rivers and other water bodies of the earth are called hydrosphere. Continuous circulation of water between hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere is known as hydrological cycle (Figure 12.1). Schematic diagram illustrating the earth’s water cycle– the hydrological cycle.

Measurement of soil moisture content is one of the most routinely done soil characterization. Knowledge of soil moisture is essential to understand the behaviour of soil as a medium for plant growth. Moreover, this property of soil helps to explain other processes of the soil. There are several methods of measuring soil moisture content. The most commonly used methods are gravimetric and tensiometric. The standard gravimetric method is quite accurate and simple but is time consuming, cumbersome and destructive. Furthermore, due to relatively small soil samples that are taken, the variability between replicates is great. Gravimetric Method Equipment needed includes zip-loc bags or aluminium moisture boxes and soil sampling tools. Soil sampling tools can be a soil probe, auger, or even a post-hole digger. Balance and scale should have accuracy to 0.1 gram. Proper sampling of the field is important to obtain a representative sample of the field. The soil sample should be collected from the field at a minimum of three locations, and the sample locations chosen should represent the entire field. Sampling from the small areas of low spots or ridges that do not represent majority of the field should be avoided. If there are major changes in soil classification within a field, the field should be divided into sub-sites and samples are collected accordingly.

Drought is one of the most frequent and widely spread stress factors that limit the production of vegetables in the world. Nearly every piece of cultivated land including those in the irrigated areas could be subjected to drought. However, the frequency, duration, severity, timing and extent of drought vary greatly from region to region. The stress caused by deficit water in the living plant system, which is capable of inducing a potential injury, is called drought stress. Drought can also be defined as scarcity of water for plants and can be due to soil, atmospheric and physiological factors. In our conditions, the great damage to the production of vegetables is brought about by soil drought, which occurs when rapidly available water is spent from zone of the active rhizosphere. That particular moment represents the beginning of drought and as the water reserves in the soil become closer to the lower limit of optimum moisture, the drought becomes more intensive. Under such conditions, plants survive on the limited water available in the active rhizosphere and deeper soil layers, and this water is used to maintain essential life processes at the expense of crop yield. The lack of precipitation causes drought; the area of cultivable soil in our country under irrigation is very small and so is the possibility to diminish the negative consequences of occasional shortage of precipitation. Aiming to reduce damage caused by drought, a huge number of research-experiments on drought, especially on tolerance has been conducted worldwide. Here, the attempts have been made to review the work done on drought tolerance by national and international centers.

Stress is usually defined as an external factor that exerts a disadvantageous influence on the plant. Under both natural and agricultural conditions, plants are exposed to unfavourable environments that result in some degree of stress. Water deficit, chilling and freezing, heat stress and heat shock, salinity, oxygen deficiency and air pollution are major stress factors restricting plant growth. Stress is measured in relation to plant survival, plant processes, growth and crop yield. An environment, which is stressful for one plant, may not be stressful for another, e.g., pea and soybean that grow best at 20 and 30°C, respectively. As the temperature increases, the pea shows sign of heat stress much sooner than soybean, thus, soybean has greater heat stress tolerance. To the farmers, the plants those survive in an adverse environment are called hardy plants and those, which do not survive under a particular adverse environment, are called susceptible or tender plants. So based on reactions of several plants to the environment, particular plants are selected for a region and also the farmers to suit the nature of a crop adopt different seasons of planting. Biologists have adopted the term stress for any environmental factor potentially unfavourable to a living organism. The ability of the plant to survive the unfavourable factor is due to its stress resistance. There is an equal and opposite reactions for every action. Stress is the action, whereas, strain is the reaction. A body of a plant subjected to stress is in a state of strain. External force of a particular stress causes disturbances in the body of the plant leading to a change in either shape or size and also may lead to internal disturbances, which affect physiological processes. Up to a point, a strain may be completely reversible. When the stress is released at this stage, the plant becomes normal without exhibiting any strain, which is known as elastic strain. Beyond this point, the strain will be partially elastic and irreversible partially, and then we say, it reaches permanent set and it is known as plastic strain.

Growth is a characteristic of life of any living being, and it continues until the end of organism. It is expressed in height, weight, volume, size, shape, number and area in every biological system. The shape and size of the plants are because of their continued cellular development and differentiation. Growth, which is quantified mathematically in terms of time, is termed as growth rate, and this gives a valuable information documenting growth as influenced by various abiotic, edaphic and biotic factors. Principles Various growth indices are better indicators of plant or crop performance under a specific treatment. Growth indices can be calculated from pot culture or field grown plants. Growth curve can be fitted using these values to predict productivity. Requirements Greenhouse or field-grown plants, scale, tags, hot air oven, electronic balance and leaf area meter are the basic requirements for recording the data on different parameters of growth.

The ultimate aim of production, handling and distribution of vegetables is to satisfy the consumers, and it is well known fact that consumer satisfaction depends on quality of the produce what he gets (Shewfelt et al., 1997). The term quality implies the degree of suitability of produce for a particular use. Quality can be expressed as an absence of defects or degree of excellence of the produce in respect to appearance, i.e., size, shape and colour. Quality is a bundle of attributes that are inherent in the produce and can readily be quantified throughout handling and distribution. It may also be defined as a series of attributes selected based on accuracy and precision of measurement. For grades and standards, the definition of quality is institutionalized so that it may have the same meaning for every one using it. Combination of characteristic features of the produce itself is termed as quality and that the consumer’s perception and response to those characteristic features should be referred to as acceptability. Quality of produce encompasses sensory properties, such as appearance, texture, odour, aroma, taste and flavour that are readily perceived by the human senses and hidden attributes, such as safety, chemical constituents, nutritive values, mechanical properties, functional property and defects that require sophisticated instruments to measure (Abbott, 1999). Combination of sensory and instrumental measurements of quality attributes provides an estimate of customer acceptability. In a long chain from producer to the actual consumer, each passes judgment and each has his own set of acceptability or quality criteria, often biased by personal expectations and preferences. The component attributes of quality vary with context. The choice of what to measure, how to measure it and what values acceptable to the consumer are determined by the person requiring the measurement, with consideration of the intended use of the produce. Quality can be measured, and it relates to consumer acceptability.

Vegetables form an important component of our daily diet as they provide necessary nutrients to the diet and they add colour, texture and flavour to it. Vegetables contain very high content of water (about 78 to 98%) and are reasonably good source of starch, sugar, cellulose, hemicellulose, pentosans and pectic substances. They also contribute minerals, vitamins and indigestible fibers to our diet. The yellow, orange and dark green leafy vegetables are rich source of carotenes- the precursors of vitamin A. Non-volatile acids, such as citric, malic, oxalic and succinic acids, contribute to their flavour. The very strong flavour characteristics of some vegetables like onion, garlic, cabbage, cauliflower, etc. are due to certain sulfur containing volatile compounds. However, vegetables, in general, are poor source of protein and amino acids. India has made significant progress in the production of vegetables since independence because its diverse agro-climatic zones ranging from tropical to temperate allow the production of a wide spectrum of vegetables.At present, the country is producing about 108 million tonnes of vegetables and considered the second largest producer in the world (Venkatesan et al., 2006). Currently, the plant breeders are focusing their efforts to produce high yielding varieties having resistance against diseases and herbicides and tolerance against drought and salinity. Therefore, the physical aspects of quality, i.e., shape, size, texture, colour, tenderness, etc. are given due priority in the breeding programme with no emphasis to the biochemical and nutritional quality parameters, which include dry matter, proteins, vitamins, sugars, flavouring compounds, alkaloids, flavonoids, etc. However, under present set up of World Trade Organization (WTO), the country will have to compete with quality conscious European and developed countries, and with inferior quality product, it would not be possible to penetrate the foreign market. Therefore, breeding programme in a country like India with future-plans of globalization of agriculture produce must be aimed at achieving good nutritional quality. In different types of vegetable, a varied set of biochemical parameters determines the quality. In this chapter, the methods for qualitative and quantitative determination of these parameters in vegetables have been described.

In India, the total losses of vegetables due to inadequate post-harvest handling, transportation and storage facilities have been estimated at least 25-40%. However, in some vegetables, the post-harvest losses may be as high as 80-100%. Being highly perishable nature of the vegetables, the losses always increase as the produce moves from harvesting to the consumer. Vegetables with a loss of as little as 5% in fresh weight show shrivelled, wilted and staled appearance, which makes the vegetable tissues tough, non-crispy and unpalatable, and eventually, lowers their saleability and consumer acceptability considerably. Improper harvesting, handling, transportation, storage and distribution of vegetables result in significant post-harvest losses. In such situations, the reduction in post-harvest losses of perishables becomes more essential in countries like India. If these losses are minimised by handling and storing the produce carefully, the following gains can be realised:

Vegetables consist of a large group of plants consumed as food. These represent complex commodities those include roots, stems, leaves, petioles, bulbs, tubers, corms, rhizomes, flowers buds, immature flowers, seedlings, immature and mature fruits and immature, partially mature and mature seeds of plants (Walker, 1988). Vegetables form an important part of human diet, providing essential minerals, vitamins, fibers and very special phytochemicals and they add a variety to the human diet (Singh, 2007). The consumption of vegetables has increased significantly since the consumers have now become more health-conscious (Cruess, 1958; Brackett, 1987a). Vegetables are cultivated in open fields, greenhouses and soil free hydroponic systems. In terms of retail, vegetables can be sold in a fresh or minimally processed form to provide a ready to eat product. Vegetables are derived from various parts of plants, and it is sometimes useful to associate different vegetables with the parts of plant they represent. The vegetables based on their parts used as food are given below in Table 20.1.

Plant tissue culture is the cultivation of plant cells, tissues, or organs on specially formulated nutrients media under the right environmental conditions. A whole plant can be regenerated from a single cell. The history of plant tissue culture has been long and started with Haberlandt in 1902 when he proposed the culture of single plant cells, his experimentation never resulted in success. White (1943) became successful in culturing plant cells for the first time, however, Morel (1960) at the Institut National Recherche Agronomique in Versailles near Paris was first to demonstrate meristem culture technology. He successfully introduced tissue culture technology to the orchid industry and produced disease-free plants of grape. By the 1970s, plant tissue culture had become a formidable technology. Plant tissue culture technique has been around for more than 30 years and considered as an important straightforward technology for the production of disease-free high quality planting material and the rapid production of many uniform plants. Its application requires a sterile workplace, nursery, greenhouse and trained manpower. Plant tissue culturing techniques have been especially important in the agricultural community over the past many years. During this time, plant tissue culture has effectively moved from the confines of small laboratories and has taken its place among broad scale techniques employed by agricultural industry.

Vegetables play an important role in human nutrition and health making them important in Indian agricultural economy. The productivity of vegetable crop is seriously affected by several biotic and abiotic stresses and makes the economic conditions of the Indian marginal farmers worst. Under Indian conditions, 25-40% of the total vegetable produce is going waste due to lack of post-harvest storage and processing facilities in the country. Conventional plant breeding methods have improved vegetable crop plants bringing together a wide array of genes responsible for novel productivity and quality traits. However, sometimes, genes needed for crop improvement are not available in the existing germplasm. In genetic engineering, individual genes affecting the traits of economic importance are introduced in commercial cultivars. It is a targeted approach to improve the crop plants, which attempts to avoid the transfer of large blocks of genetic material. It requires identification and cloning of desirable gene and its subsequent transfer in plant species for improvement. Transgenic technologies offer many scientific advantages in breeding for improved vegetable crop quality and performance. However, very few genetically engineered horticultural crops have been released to farmers. As of 2005, one thousand million acres of transgenic crops have been planted globally covering 40% of the United States land area out of which 75% of the area is devoted to cotton, 50% to corn and 85% to soybeans in the United States of America (ISAAA, 2006).

We live in a knowledge economy, where ideas generated by talented people and the inventions they make are the new currency. Research and innovation are now seen as the key differentiating factors determining the market value of a product or service. The emphasis today has graduated from cost arbitrage and quality deliverables to Intellectual property (IP) creation and research and development. Intellectual or Intangible property is the creation of human mind. An intellectual property under protection by law is intellectual property right (IPR). Intellectual property is an important business asset giving significant competitive advantages. Intellectual properties are protected by giving time bound restriction to inventor, owner, author, originator, or plant breeder to use, sell, share, or distribute intellectual asset. These are exclusive rights to the owner and give ability for a lawsuit against others for infringement of IP owner. It is also a marketable asset, which can be licensed out to a third party bringing income to the business in the form of license payments and royalties. Intellectual property rights are legal rights, which result from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields. These rights give statutory expression to the moral and economic rights of creators in their creations. Intellectual property rights safeguard the creators and other producers of intellectual goods and services by granting them certain time-limited rights to control the use made of those productions. These rights also promote creativity, dissemination, application of their results and encourage fair-trading, which contributes to economic and social development.

Index A Aberrations 439 Abiotic stress 391 Abrasions 487 ACC oxidase 481 ACC oxidase genes 567 ACC synthase gene 567 Acclimatization 543 Acid bacteria 531 Acid detergent fibre 475 Acidity 464 Advection frost 397 Advective freezing 446 Agrobacterium rhizogenes 551 Agrobacterium tumefaciens 556 Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer 557