eChapters

I. FILL UPS

1. _____ is required during raising of a seed crop to avoid contamination due to natural crossing.
2. _____ is another potent source of genetic contamination i.e., the plants differing in their characteristics from the seed variety.
3. Removal of off types is referred as _____.
4. _____ is the distance maintained between the seed crop and source of contaminant.
5. The isolation distance for cotton foundation seed production is _____.
6. The isolation distance for paddy is _____.

Varietal Seed Production Technology At a Glance

I. FILL UPS

1. _____ is the maintenance of high seed germination and vigour from harvest until planting.
2. _____ is important to get adequate plant stand in addition to healthy and vigours plants.
3. _____ seeds can be dried to 6-10% moisture depending upon the species.
4. _____ seeds cannot be dried below 30-35% moisture and should be maintained at this temperature.

1. Hallow heart in pea occurs due to

   a) Calcium deficiency

   b) Molybdenum deficiency

   c) Boron deficiency

   d) Zinc deficiency

2. Presence of pathogen on the surface of the seed is termed as

   a) Admixture

   b) Infestation

   c) Infection

   d) Contamination

1. Formal garden has a ———— layout.

   a) Odd

   b) Natural

   c) Symmetric

   d) Irregular

2. Foutain is located in —— of building.

   a) Backside

   b) Front

   c) Lateral side

   d) None of these

The term seed blending is nothing but seed mixing done based on certain principles. It is simply combining two or more seed lots of same variety or hybrid of specified quality. The blendingmayinvolve lots which mayhave different quality in terms of germination. Usually individual seed lots are much better compared to blended lots but from the point of efficient inventory management blending is advisable. The main purpose of blending is to pool all the variable lots in to a larger bulk and mix the constituents effectively so that each pocket of seed has a uniform quality.

Presently the farming situation urges need to develop farming techniques, which are sustainable from environmental, production, and socio-economic points of view. Modern agricultural production throughout the world does not appear to be sustainable in the long run. Sustainable agricultural development “is the management and conservation of the natural resource base and the orientation of technological and institutional change in such a manner to assure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for the present and future generations”. Such sustainable development in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors, conserves land, water, plant and animal genetic resources, is environmentally non-degrading, technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable. Such concerns imparted a way to organic farming. It is the need of the day to understand the prospects and problems of organic farming to launch a successful and flawless organic production programme in the farm of environment.

Organic farming

It is the most widely recognized alternative farming system to chemical agriculture evolved during 1940’s largely in response to the publication of J.I Rodale in the U.S., Lady Eve Balfour in England and Sir Albert Howard in India. In 1980, USDA released a landmark report on organic farming. The report defined organic farming as follows;

“Organic farming is a production system, which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. To the maximum extent feasible, organic farming systems rely upon crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green manures, off-farm organic wastes, mechanical cultivation, mineral bearing rocks, and aspects of biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and tilth to supply plant nutrients, and to control insects, weeds, and other pests”.

13 1. Rishi Krishi

Drawn from Vedas, the Rishi Krishi method of natural farming has been mastered by farmers of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. In this method, all on-farm sources of nutrients including composts, cattle dung manure, green leaf manure and crop biomass for mulching are exploited to their best potential with continuous soil enrichment through the use of Rishi Krishi formulation known as “Amritpani” and virgin soil. 15 kg of virgin rhizosperic soil collected from beneath of Banyan tree (Ficus bengalensis) is spread over one acre and the soil is enriched with 200 lit Amritpani.

It is prepared by mixing 250 g ghee into 10 kg of cow dung followed by 500 g honey and diluted with 200 lit of water. This formulation is utilized for seed treatment (beej sanskar), enrichment of soil (bhumi sanskar) and foliar spray on plants (padap sanskar). For soil treatment it needs to be applied through irrigation water as fertigation. The system has been demonstrated on a wide range of crops i.e. fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane and cotton.

15.1. IFS Components Tested for Wetlands

Area Allocation;

In 1 ha of land

75 % - Cropping

10 % - Fodder cultivation

3 % - Goat shed

12 % - Fish pond

Possible Integrations:

Paddy is cultivated about 45 m ha in India, less than 1% is under organic cultivation.

16.1. Varieties

Good quality fine varieties like Ponni, Super ponni, insect and disease resistant varities must be selected for getting higher yield and returns.

16.2. Seeds

Organically produced seeds only must be used.

16.3. Seed Treatment

For 1 kg of seeds 20 g Azospirillum, Pseudomonas and 10 g Phospobacteria must be used with rice gruel.

Panchagavya spray @ 1% for treating the seeds.

The transition from conventional to organic farming requires numerous changes. One of the biggest changes is in the mindset of the farmer. Conventional approaches often involve the use of quick-fix remedies that, unfortunately, rarely address the cause of the problem. Transitioning farmers generally spend too much time worrying about replacing synthetic input with allowable organic product instead of considering management practices based on preventative strategies. Here are a few steps new entrants should follow when making the transition to organic farming:

20.1. Understand the Basics of Organic Agriculture and the Organic Farming Standards

Since organic production systems are knowledge based, new entrants and transitional producers must become familiar with sound and sustainable agricultural practices. Transitional producers should be prepared to read appropriate information, conduct their own trials and participate in formal and informal training events. As mentioned, switching from conventional to organic farming is more than substituting synthetic materials to organic allowed materials. Organic farming is a holistic system that relies on sound practices focused on preventative strategies. Since there are often few organic remedies available to organic producers for certain problems, prevention is the key element in organic production.

Plants make up the majority of the earth’s living environment as trees, grass, flowers, etc. Plants are the only higher organisms that can convert the energy of sunlight into stored, usable chemical energy in carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Directly or indirectly, plants make up all the food on which humans and all animals depend. Plants however also gets sick, grow and exhibit various types of symptoms and sometimes whole plant die. It is not known whether diseased plant feel pain or discomfort. If a plant is looking different from its community then it is equal to be disease one. Any biotic or abiotic agents which induce the disease in plant is referred as the cause of diseases.The causative agents of disease in plants are pathogenic such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, protozoa and nematodes and environmental conditions such as lack or excess of nutrients, moisture, light, etc to presence of toxic chemicals in air or soil. These biotic constraints can, at times, seriously compromise food security, For example, potato late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, struck Europe like ‘a bolt from the blue’ in the 1840s. In Ireland, about a million people died of starvation and more than a million attempted to emigrate. The reasons for this calamity were the arrival in Europe of a virulent strain of the pathogen, the high dependence of much of the Irish population on potato for sustenance, the lack of resistance in the plant to the pathogen, and weather conditions favorable to epidemic development. There have been other disasters caused by plant diseases such as the Great Bengal Famine of 1943 and the southern corn blight epidemic of 1970-71 in the USA, to name but two. In the former, an estimated 2 million people died owing to the high dependence of most of the population on a single crop, rice, which was attacked by the fungus Cochliobolus miyabeanus. In the USA, by contrast, although in some genus, Cochlobolus heterostrophus, alternative sources of nutrition were plentiful so no one died, although the effect on the agricultural economy was severe.

The first two of these heartbreaking examples demonstrate with brutal clarity that in areas of the world where a large proportion of the population is dependent on a single crop or a few crops, they are at risk should that crop fail owing to one or more devastating diseases. At the present time, the threat is partially great in developing countries, where populations are growing fastest, poverty is endemic , the population depends upon on locally produced staples, and the infrastructure of extension and R&D is often poorly resourced. The losses due to weeds, disease and insects have been estimated to around 40% in the developing and underdeveloped countries. If the post harvest losses (15-20%) are also added , the situation becomes even more alarming.

DEFINITION

The term Plant Pathology is derived from Greek words- pathos (suffering) + Logos (study) i.e. the study of the suffering plant. Plant Pathology has two phases broadly-

• Science- understanding of the disease i.e. the theoretical consideration of the suffering plants and how do pathogens invade, how do plants defend themselves, what causes symptoms etc.
• Art- the application of the science to the field problems i.e. Diagnosis and Control.

Plant pathology or phytopathology is the branch of agricultural, botanical or biological science which deals with the cause, etiology, resulting in losses and management methods of plant diseases.

Plant pathology can also be defined as the study of the nature, cause and prevention of plant diseases. Plant pathology is related to most of the old and new sciences like biology, physics, chemistry, physiology, mathematics, genetics, soil science, biochemistry, biotechnology etc.

Study of plant pathology includes the study of sciences viz, microbiology, bacteriology, virology, mycology, nematology, protozology, phycology, unfavorable environmental factors, nutritional deficiencies and flowering plant parasites.

History in general reveals chronological account of important events, contribution of persons who significantly influenced the thinking of their era and the interpretations of the observed facts or phenomenon over the period of time. The progress in plant pathology leading to the major land mark in mycology, plant bacteriology, plant virology and plant disease control has been described in chronological order for easy and better understanding of the student in following sub-headings.

GENERAL CHARACTERS

• The Mastigomycotina includes all eumycota fungi which produce flagellated cells during their life cycle.
• Majority of them are with filamentous hyaline coenocytic mycelium.
• Cell wall contains cellulose.
• They show centric nuclear divison.
• The mode of nutrition is typically absorptive, because a majority of mastigomycotina contains some or other type of haustoria.
• They produce asexual spores called zoospores.
• Oospore is the sexual spores.
• Members of the class oomycetes are mostly aquatic but some are facultative or obligate parasites of vascular plants.

GENERAL CHARACTERS

• Ascomycotina includes only such fungi in which the zygospores are absent and the perfect state spores are the ascospores.
• The Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes are sometimes combindly called ‘higher fungi’.
• Cell wall is made up of chitin.
• Mycelium is well developed branched and septate.
• Asexual spores are non-motile conidia.
• Sexual spores are ascospores.
• Ascospores are usually 8 in an ascus.
• They are produced endogenously inside the ascus.
• The asci are usually grouped to form a definite type of multicellular fruiting body called ascocarp.
• The ascocarps are either cup or saucer shaped ( apothecium), flask shaped (perithecium), or closed, spherical and indehiscent (cleistothecium).
• The characteristic ascospores are present in sac- like body, called ascus and therefore these fungi are also commonly called ‘sac fungi’
• Yeast is single celled organism.

PHYTOPLASMA OR MYCOPLASMA

Definition

Phytoplasmas are unicellular, ultramicroscopic, walless, prokaryotic, self- replicating, highly pleomorphic, filterable organisms or entities.

Mycoplasma lack rigid cell wall, being surrounded only by single triple unit membrane which allows them to be highly plemorphic. They assume vast array of shapes and size. They require sterols (Lipoproteins) for growth. Mycoplasma cannot be grown on artificial media and they reproduce by budding and binary fissions.

VIROIDS

Defnition

Viroid is circular, encapsulated, low molecular weight (1.1-1.3x105), self replicating, highly infectious ssRNA molecules .

General Characters

1. The viroid exists in in vivo as unencapsulated RNA.
2. They never contain any protein coat (capsid).
3. Genome of the viriod naked, single stranded ( RNA) with 250-400 nucleotide, either linear or mostly circular. Viroids are smaller in size than viruses i.e 50 nm or 1.1 to 1.3 X 103 molecular weight.
4. Despite its small size, the infectious RNA is replicated autonomously in susceptible cells; that is, no helper virus is required for multiplication.
5. The infectious RNA consists of one molecular species only.
6. Viroids are notable to synthesize protein and replicase enzyme required for replication.
7. Viroids replicate by direct RNA, copying in which all components required for viroid multiplication including RNA polymerase are provided by the host.
8. They cause diseases only in plants.
9. Viroids concentration and translocation is higher in growing parts of the plants (up to 0.2 mm from the apex)
10. Most of the types of symptoms observed with viral diseases also occurs viroids like epinasty, leaf distortions, vein clearing, localized chlorotic or necrotic spots, mottling of leaves, necrosis of leaves, and death of the whole plants.

Fungi, nematodes, bacteria, and viruses are probably the first things that come to mind when thinking of plant pathogens. These organisms certainly do cause damage to plants of economic importance, but it may surprise you to know that parasitic flowering plants are also important pathogens.There are few seed plants, which are parasitic on living plants and are called parasitic higher plants or Phanerogamic parasites. These parasitic higher plants attack some valuable crops and trees causing considerable losses. They produce flowers and seeds and belongs to several widely separated botanical families they differ to each other on their dependency on host plants. These parasites have haustoria as absorbing organ, which sent deep into the vascular bundle of the host to draw water and nutrients. More than 2500 species of higher plants are known to live parasitically on other plants.

INTRODUCTION

Plant pathogens induce diverse reactions in the body of their hosts. This result in creation of abnormalities which become visible on the plants. A visible or otherwise detectable expression of abnormal physiology, development, or behaviour in a plant resulting from disease is called symptoms. Normally, a distinction is made between symptoms and signs A symptom of disease is expressed as a reaction of the host to a causal agent, where as, a sign is evidence of disease other than that expressed by the host. Signs are usually the structures of the pathogen.A disease is first noticed by the presence of symptoms and /or signs, and recognition of specific type of symptoms or sign aid in the eventual diagnosis of the disease.

To make a healthy plant sick or diseased, primary requirement of a pathogen is spread of its inoculums from the source of survival to the susceptible host. The spread of a plant pathogen within the common area in which it is already established is called dispersal or dissemination. Moving the inoculum only a few inches and transporting it for hundreds of kilometers both represent its dispersal. Nevertheless, the pathogen dispersal is not necessarily only for spread of diseases but also for continuity of the life cycle and development of the pathogen. A detail knowledge of pathogen dispersal is necessary to find out effective control measures for diseases because the possibilities of preventing dispersal and thereby breaking the infection chain always exist.

Plant pathogen dispersal generally occurs through two key groups:

A parasitic must establish an intimate relationship with the host tissues to absorb the desired nutrients. Successful establishment of this relationship is called infection. The chain of events that takes place in the causation of disease is called pathogenesis or infection process. It encompasses the germination or multiplication of an infective propagule in or on a potential host through to the establishment of a parasitic relationship between the pathogen and the host. The process of infection is influenced by properties of the pathogen, the host and the external environment. If any of the stages of the infection process is inhibited by any of these factors, the pathogen will not cause disease in the host. While some parasites colonise the outside of the plant (ectoparasites), pathogens may also enter the host plant by penetration, through a natural opening (like a stomatal pore) or via a wound. The symptoms of the diseases produced by these pathogens result from the disruption of respiration, photosynthesis, translocation of nutrients, transpiration, and other aspects of growth and development. The “infection process”can be divided into three phases:

INTRODUCTION

Plant diseases have caused severe losses to humans in several ways. Starvation and uprooting of families resulted from the Irish famine caused by potato late blight . A valued resource was lost with the virtual elimination of the American chestnut by chestnut blight. And direct economic loss such as the estimated one billion dollars lost in one year to American corn growers from southern corn leaf blight . Many plant diseases cause less dramatic losses annually throughout the world but collectively constitute sizable losses to farmers and can reduce the aesthetic values of landscape plants and home gardens.

The goal of plant disease management is to reduce the economic and aesthetic damage caused by plant diseases. Conventionally, this has been called plant disease control, but current social and environmental values believe “control” as being absolute and the term too rigid. More multifaceted approaches to disease management, and integrated disease management, have resulted from this shift in attitude. However, single, often severe, measures, such as pesticide applications, soil fumigation or burning are no longer in common use. Further, disease management measures are often determined by disease forecasting or disease modeling rather than on either a calendar or prescription basis. Disease management might be viewed as proactive whereas disease control is reactive, although it is often difficult to distinguish between the two concepts, especially in the application of specific measures.

Plant disease management practices rely on anticipating occurrence of disease and attacking vulnerable points in the disease cycle (i.e., weak links in the infection chain). Therefore, correct diagnosis of a disease is necessary to identify the pathogen, which is the real target of any disease management program. A thorough understanding of the disease cycle, including climatic and other environmental factors that influence the cycle, and cultural requirements of the host plant, are essential to effective management of any disease.

Proper selection of a fungicide and its application at the correct dose and the proper time are highly essential for the management of plant diseases. The basic requirement of an application method is that it delivers the fungicide to the site where the active compound will prevent the fungus damaging the plant. The fungicidal application varies according to the nature of the host part diseased and nature of survival and spread of the pathogen. The method which are commonly adopted in the application of the fungicides are discussed

1. Foliar or vegetative application
2. Soil application

Growth represents overall performance of a plant under a particular environment. Generally, we restrict to the above ground plant parts for growth studies, however, a better understanding of plant growth and development would be achieved if total dry matter (including above ground shoot as well as underground root) were taken into consideration.

The basic principles behind growth analysis constitutes (i) data on plant height and (ii) leaf area. The quantitative analysis of growth is based upon several terms, which are described below (Hunt, 1978).

1. Growth

Growth is an irreversible increase in size which may or may not be accompanied by an increase in dry weight. It is the sum total of all the metabolic activities and normally results from the excess of anabolism over catabolism. In general, it refers to quantitative changes in the life cycle of plants. However, there are a few examples where growth is not accompanied by an increase in dry weight such as (i) germinating seeds and, (ii) etiolated plants.

Fatty acid esters of glycerol are known as fats or lipids. A fat, in its liquid state, is called ‘oil’. Oilseed plants such as castor, groundnut, sunflower, safflower, linseed etc. contain oil as reserve food in their seeds.

It must be noted that a small quantity of free fatty acid is usually present in oils along with the triglycerides. It increases during storage. The free fatty acid content of an oil is called as ‘acid number’ or ‘acid value’. The keeping quality of oil relies upon the free fatty acid content.

During germination of oilseeds, lipases play an important role in hydrolyzing the stored oils to fatty acid and glycerol. Fatty acid is metabolized to acetyl-COA, which may take part in glyoxylate cycle forming sugars from fatty acid involving the enzymes- Isocitritase and Malate Synthetase.

Respiration rate, irrespective of plant parts (viz. leaves, fruits or seeds), is considered to be an important parameter in plant physiological studies. Respiratory gas exchange is just reverse or opposite to that of photosynthesis and as the later is an energy building phenomenon where ATP is stored in the photosynthates produced; respiration involves breakdown of photosynthates for release of energy to be utilized for the performance of other activities of life. Respiration plays an important role during seed germination. A germinating seed requires a lot of energy which is derived from the breakdown of different types of food reserved in the cotyledons. On the basis of respiration a climacteric fruit can well be distinguished from a non climacteric one; as the former reveals a characteristic ‘Climacteric Burst’ in respiration, which is completely lacking in the later.

There are a few instruments used for the measurement of respiration in plants viz.:

Abstract

Food is basic need of human for its existence. Food is a source of nutrients needed for growth, energy and protection. There are number of chemical compounds not considered as nutrients but has positive effect on health. There is a need to look into the health benefits of the food components. Many lifestyle diseases are caused by the unhealthy food habits. Developments in science have led to establish the link between food intake and healthy living. Non-nutrient compounds of food are also called phyto-chemicals. Functional foods are prepared by increasing a particular nutrient or phyto-chemical to get health benefits. The increased cost of health care and drugs trigger the developments in this area. The approximate global market size is 30 billion US$ while Japan, United States, and Europe are the leaders in functional foods. FICCI has reported that functional food market in India is worth Rs 4,400 crore with growth rate of 21%per annum.

Introduction

The food has been considered as source of nutrients in the past but increasing evidences has proved that particular types of food can help in preventing the diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that deaths due to Non-Communicable diseases are increasing in South East Asian counties; where as CMPN (Communicable, Maternity, Prenatal, and Nutrition) are

Production: According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nation, the global production of fruits and vegetables including melons was 638 and 1090 million metric tons while India produced 75 and 106 million metric tons in 2011. In addition to this, the world production of roots and tuber was 810 million metric tons whereas India produced 51 million metric tons in 2011. It indicates that fruits and vegetables form an important part of the diet in the world including India. There is an ample opportunity to manufacture various health promoting products based on fruits and vegetables. A number of Fruits and Vegetable based functional food that can be prepared and presented in (Table 1) indicates the role of fruits and vegetables in the nutraceutical production for their health benefits.

Abstract

Mango pulp is high in prebiotic dietary fibers vitamin c, polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamins and dietary minerals. Mint leaves are known for its medicinal aromatic and flavorsome qualities. Mint act as powerful antioxidant, protecting the body against the formation of cancerous cells and is rich source of polyphenolic compounds. Tulsi also have antioxidant, adaptogenic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and immune-enhancing properties. Honey is natural sweetener and has antiseptic and antibacterial properties. Medicinally, honey is non irritant promote rapid growth of healthy tissue and is useful in purities value, bed spores, skin and intestinal disorder, etc. Keeping in mind the beneficial effects of these raw materials, attempt was made to prepare value added drink from it, which may have medicinal value and good sensory acceptability with objective to prepare and evaluate the recipe for value added green mango-mint-tulsi beverage and to study the shelf life of the developed value added beverage. The formulation prepared with partial substitution of honey was more acceptable. Throughout the storage period, the squash prepared with honey scored more in flavor, taste, mouth-feel and overall acceptability than without honey. The cost of production without including labour, bottling and other overhead charges came out to be Rs. 34.5/L for squash without honey and Rs. 59.0/L for squash without honey.

Abstract

A functional food is defined as food that provides health benefit beyond the basic nutrition. Such foods reduce risk of high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer and dental caries. Consumers’ increasing interest for maintaining or improving their health by eating specific food items has led to the development of many new functional foods including dairy products. These functional dairy foods contain some functional ingredients that decrease the absorption of cholesterol, reduce blood pressure and play role in regulation of satiety and have antimicrobial effects. Milk is a good source of fat, protein and minerals. It also contains several intrinsic functional components like melatonin, conjugated linoleic acid etc. in amounts lower than the body requirements. Fermented dairy products contain probiotics with special health benefits. Functional dairy foods could be produced with the addition and/or generation of functional components. Some examples include milk, yogurts and cheese enriched with conjugated linoleic acid or plant stanols/sterols to help reduce the risk of heart disease. Fermented dairy foods possess various nutritional and therapeutic properties. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play a major role in determining the positive health effects of fermented milks and related products. Dairy products with probiotics and prebiotics enhance digestive health, prevent colon cancer, help in lowering blood pressure and improve immune functions. Melatonin is important in curing of sleep disturbance and enhancement of alertness. Milk derived peptides have immunological, antimicrobial, ACE-inhibitory activity/antihypertensive, anti-carcinogenic and antioxidant activity. The aspects of functional dairy foods will be presented in detail.

ABSTRACT

Hyperspectral image reduction processes use only information drawn from knowledge related to the surface reflectance properties. The chemical composition and crystal structure control the shape of spectral curve, position and amplitude of absorption bands. Spectral database provide a source of reference spectra useful in classification of hyperspectral images.

An attempt has been made to put all such available data on a structured database for easy access and visualization. A Web-based interface for reference spectra of natural surfaces facilitates data sharing and increases access to reference material for classification.

1. INTRODUCTION

Hyperspectral imaging refers to the imaging of a scene over a large number of discrete, narrow contiguous spectral bands in the visible through thermal infrared portion of the spectrum. Thus it is possible to construct a complete reflectance spectrum of every pixel in the scene.

Field spectroscopy is a nondestructive way to collect information on natural resources and is becoming a common exercise in remote sensing field campaigns. Specific absorption features of reflectance spectrum can be used to identify a number of important rock forming minerals, and have been used by geologists for geologic mapping and studies of volcanoes. Spectral database provide a source of reference spectra useful in classification of hyperspectral images.

Successful designing of new gardens needs proper planning besides consideration of several things like type of garden, purpose, theme, users etc. The next phase is examining all necessary physical inputs and assessing feasibility of developing the particular type of garden. Advantages and disadvantages of the site are also to be considered before finally deciding the kind of garden to be developed. Every type of garden has a set of requirements and one has to evaluate critically all those things in detail, once the conceptualization is over.

Before taking up planning, the designer or the landscape architect should consider following basic points.

In natural condition primary soil particles cohere to each other to form a cluster or an aggregate through the cementing action of various agents like organic matter, carbonates, oxides of iron and aluminium, etc. Aggregate analysis tells one about the structural status, pore geometry which in turn influences the movement of air and water in soil, amount of water stable secondary particles (aggregate) as well as the extent of finer particles aggregated to the coarser particles and the erodibility status of surface soil against wind and water.

Soil consistency is a term used to designate the manifestation of different physical forces acting within the soil at various moisture levels. The consistency limits, also known as ‘Atterberg Limits’ (Atterberg, 1911; 12) are defined by the water content of the soil to create specified degree of consistency. These limits are – (i) Liquid limit or upper plastic limit, (ii) Plastic limit or lower plastic limit and (iii) Sticky limit.

8.1 Determination of Liquid Limit or Upper Plastic Limit

Equipments and Materials

Liquid limit device (Casagrande, 1932) and accessories, spatula, dish, oven, moisture box, balance, desiccator

Temperature is a fundamental property of usually used to characterize the thermal condition of a system. The growth of any biological system is optimal within certain ranges of temperature and inhibited or ceased beyond this boundary. In addition to plant growth, the significance of temperature on agriculture can be ascertained by its role on physical, chemical and biological processes occurring in soil. Therefore, to study these soil properties intensively measurement of soil temperature is essential.

10.1 Measurement of Soil Temperature

Temperature of any system cannot be directly measured. It can only be estimated by its influence on some properties (thermometric properties) which respond to the variation in the intensity of heat of that system. These thermometric properties include volume, pressure, length, electrical resistance, thermal emf of the matter. Instruments built to take the advantage of any of these thermometric properties of the matter are called thermometer.

11.1 Determination of Penetrability of Soil

Penetrability of a soil is usually assessed by the penetration resistance, which a measure of soil strength and thereby the soil compaction. Penetration resistance is the capacity of the soil in its confined state to resist penetration by a rigid object. Besides soil strength, the penetration resistance also depends on the size, shape and orientation of the axis of the penetrating probe. The penetrating probe may be a finger, pencil, stick, root or any specially designed object having a specified geometric shape and a device to measure the resistance as it is pushed into the soil.

Soil penetrability is intimately related to agriculture because of its adverse impact on draught requirement during ploughing, root development and crop yield, to civil engineering due to its relation to settlement, stability and ground water flow.

Soil penetrability is a measure of the ease with which an object can be pushed or driven into the soil. Any device designed to measure the resistance to penetration may be called penetrometer. There are several types of penetrometers: (i) pocket penetrometer, (ii) proctor penetrometer, (iii) cone penetrometer, and (iv) split-spoon penetrometer. Here, we will discuss about two most commonly used penetrometers viz. pocket penetrometer and cone penetrometer used for agricultural purposes.

26.1 Plant Available Fraction of Nickel, Cadmium, Lead and Chromium

The DTPA method was originally developed to extract Mn, Cu, Fe and Zn from slightly acidic to alkaline soils (Lindsay and Norvell, 1978), but in some cases it can be used for other metals also, such as Nickel (Ni), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb) and Chromium (Cr). Among them Ni is considered as an essential micronutrient. The DTPA is used to extract soil metals by forming chelates with free metals in solution, which lowers their ionic activities so that additional quantities of metal are released from the soil colloids until equilibrium is attained. Triehanolamine (TEA) is used to buffer the extracting solution at pH 7.3 in an attempt to optimize the extraction of various metals. Calcium chloride is included in the extracting solution to minimize dissolution of CaCO₃.

Cereals and pulses are the staple food in India, thus it has to be stored by producers in their homes and by traders and government agencies. Variations in the season i.e., warm and high humidity weather is highly conducive to proper development and rapid multiplication of storage insect pests. Almost all insect pests of stored grains have a remarkably high rate of multiplication and within one season, they may destroy 9-10% of the grains and contaminate the rest with undesirable odors and flavors. The type of insects infesting grains vary and include weevils, moths and beetles. Apart from this it is necessary to control or kill egg, larval, pupal and adult stages of the insect. After proper cleaning and drying the produce is stored where damage can be caused due to cross-infestation or infestation already left in the produce. Grains are stored in different types of receptacles and to protect it, different protectants are being used since from the early days. The success in the use of these protectants (organic, inorganic or inert) depends upon the effect on the grain, killing of the insects, practicability, period of storage and lastly the physical and chemical state of treated seeds.

1. Inert dusts

Inert dusts are fine powders chemically inactive but cause considerable insecticidal activity by mechanical abrassing and physical absorption of moisture proofing layers of insect integument. The use of inert dust was initiated sometimes during World War II. Some common inert dusts are ashes, clays, gypsum, lime, magnesite, Nakki, silica, talk, phosphates, diatomaceous earth. It was reported that though most of the dust proved effective and convenient to use but it is difficult to remove it and clean as it goes inside the infested and damaged grains. The dust can only kill larvae and adults moving in between the grains. Once any stage of insects entered inside the grain, it is beyond the reach of the dust.

Telemedicine is a rapidly developing application of clinical medicine wherein medical information is transferred via telephone, the Internet or other networks for the purpose of consulting, and sometimes remote medical procedures or examinations. Telemedicine may be as simple as two health professionals discussing a case over the telephone, or as complex as using satellite technology and video-conferencing equipment to conduct a real-time consultation between medical specialists in two different countries. Telemedicine generally refers to the use of communications and information technologies for the delivery of clinical care.

Care at a distance (also called in absentia care), is an old practice which was often conducted via post; there has been a long and successful history of in absentia health care, which, thanks to modern communication technology, has metamorphosed into what we now know as modern telemedicine.

The terms e-health and tele-health are at times wrongly interchanged with telemedicine. Like the terms “medicine” and “health care”, telemedicine often refers only to the provision of clinical services while the term tele-health can refer to clinical and non-clinical services such as medical education, administration, and research. The term e-health is often, particularly in the UK and Europe, used as an umbrella term that includes tele-health, electronic medical records, and other components of health IT.