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Molecular markers, including DNA based genetic markers have found their applications in almost all areas of biology, more so in evolutionary biology, genetics and breeding in order to identify a particular sequence of DNA in a pool of unknown DNA. For many applications, DNA markers are preferred over other molecular markers since DNA is stable within an organism over time and among stages of development whereas other molecules are dynamic. A molecular marker is a DNA sequence that is readily detected and whose inheritance can be easily monitored. The uses of molecular markers are based on the naturally occurring DNA polymorphism. Most commonly used molecular markers in biological science include:

1. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP)

RFLP is the first molecular marker technique which was invented by Botstein et al. (1980). The technique is based on restriction fragment length polymorphism; a molecular marker based on the differential hybridization of cloned DNA to DNA fragments in a sample of restriction enzyme digested DNAs; the marker is specific to a single clone/restriction enzyme combination. It consists of the following steps:

Quantitative traits are governed by many genes or polygenes genes with small individual effects. They are often described by their gene action rather than by the number of genes by which they are governed. There are four types of gene action: additive, dominance, epistasis, and overdominance. Because gene effects do not always fall into clear-cut categories, and it should be pointed out that gene action is conceptually the same for major genes as well as minor genes, the essential difference being that the action of a minor gene is small and significantly influenced by the environment. A general way of distinguishing between these types of gene action based on interaction among alleles is as follows:

4.1 Introduction

The egg is made up of three primary components: the egg white, the egg yolk, and the egg shell. The calcite crystals of the shell are enmeshed in a protein and carbohydrate complex matrix. About 58% of the weight of an egg is made up of the viscous, colourless liquid termed egg white inside the shell. About 75% of the weight of an egg’s edible component is made up of water, although proteins and lipids make up the majority of its nutritional worth (Table 4.1). There are also trace quantities of minerals, often known as ash, and carbohydrates, which take the form of simple sugars including glucose, sucrose, fructose, lactose, maltose, and galactose.

? Cyanogenetic plants contain hydrocyanic acid or cyanogenic glycosides.

? Two forms of cyanide in plants- HCN( free form) and cyanogenic glycoside(bound form).HCN released from glycosides by physical disruption (mastication, trampling) , stress (drought, frost) or the action of an Hydrolyzing enzyme present in ruminal microflora beta glycosides and hydroxynitrile lyase.

? One of the most common plants poisoning among the grazing livestock.

? Cattle and buffaloes are most susceptible. Sheep and goats are less susceptible.

? Monogastric animals (pig, Horse) are relatively resistant due to destruction of the glycosides by the gastric activity.

? Poisoning occurs when HCN content in plants is high and ingestion of large amount of the plants in short period of time.

? Starved or underfed animal also ingest large amount of plants. Poisoning may also occur due to accidental ingestion of potassium cyanide.

Lighting is a fundamental aspect of filmmaking and photography, crucial for setting the mood and tone of a scene. Different lighting techniques can evoke various emotions and atmospheres, helping to tell the story visually. Here are some common lighting techniques and the moods they create:

Types of Lighting Techniques

1. Three-Point Lighting

• Key Light: The main source of light, providing the primary illumination.

• Fill Light: Reduces shadows created by the key light.

• Back Light: Adds depth by separating the subject from the background.

Term ‘Scientific research’ is too broad to be explained by using one or two definitions. One should go through the different expert views about scientific research in order to internalize the concept of scientific research. In essence a scientific research is characterized by its rigor, testability, replicability, precision, confidence, objectivity, generalizability and parsimony.

Research: Uma Sekaran (2006) defined research as an organized, systematic, data-based, critical, objective, scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem, undertaken with the purpose of finding answers or solutions to it.

Excretory system of an organism maintains its homeostasis i.e., a constant internal environment. Here in insects, the blood is haemolymph therefore it determines the excretion of an insect’s body. Excretion also eliminates the nitrogenous wastes and maintains the salt- water balance and also regulates the uniformily of haemolymph. The characteristic feature of insects is the presence of malpighian tubules to eliminate the metabolic wastes, whereas rectum walls carry out the function of reabsorption of salt and water. A minimum amount of water is excreted with nitrogen waste in order to conserve the water in body.

1.1. Introduction

The green revolution has led our nation from the state of deficiency to the state of self-sufficiency in food production. The grain production has increased substantially from around 50 million tonnes to about 220 million tonnes per annum. As per the latest estimates, annual fruit production is 44 million tonnes from an area of 3.72million hectares.

Depletion of nutrients, from the soil is steadily increasing due to the adoption of modem agricultural technology through intensive and extensive cultivation of high yielding varieties with chemically pure, micronutrients free high analysis fertilizers. So in recent years, the potentiality of many crops could not be exploited owing to the widespread nutrient deficiency observed in many parts of our country. With nutrient removals by crops exceeding the additions, there exists a perpetual negative balance. Consequently, nutrient deficiencies have multiplied in Indian soils and crops.

Soil is shaken with 0.15 % CaCl2 solution. Chloride ions displace adsorbed sulphate during extraction. Calcium ions suppress the extraction of soil organic matter and hence eliminate the contamination caused by extractable organic S.

Illuminative evaluation: The primary concern of illuminative or holistic evaluation is a description and interpretation rather than measurement and prediction of the totality of a phenomenon. It fits with the social–anthropological paradigm. The aim is to study a programme in all its aspects: how it operates, how it is influenced by various contexts, how it is applied, how those directly involved view its strengths and weaknesses, and what the experiences are of those who are affected by it.

While dealing with polygenic traits and the continuous variation in plant breeding programs, it is important to know as to what extent the phenotype is decided by the genotype and to what extent by the environment. It is well known fact that what we observe i.e. phenotype is the result of genotype, environment and interaction between the genotype and the environment. The total variance is phenotypic variance or the variance of phenotypic values and various components of variance are as shown in Table 6.1.

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (dUTP) nick end labeling (TUNEL) is a method for detecting DNA fragmentation by labeling the terminal end of nucleic acids. TUNEL is a common method for detecting DNA fragmentation that results from apoptotic signaling cascades. The assay relies on the presence of nicks in DNA which can be identified by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase or TdT, an enzyme that will catalyze the addition of dUTPs that are secondarily labeled with a marker. Here we perform the apoptotic assay test by TUNEL assay kit to identify the apoptotic property of any agent or chemical after treatment of primary cells culture at different concentration as per protocol provided with TUNEL Assay Kit and apoptotic cells are identified by using fluorescent microscope. Detailed procedure of TUNEL assay is as follows:

1. Preparation of primary cells culture as described in earlier methods.

2. Induction of apoptosis in primary cells culture is done by treatment of primary cells culture with different concentration of xenobiotics and incubation in CO2 incubator for 12 h as mentioned in micronuclei assay method.

3. The positive and negative control cells provided with the kit are already f ixed. However, negative control cells are prepared from control sample with absence of inducing agent.

4. Cell Fixation: Cell fixation is a required step in the TUNEL assay and it is done according to the procedure mentioned in the supplied kit by using paraformaldehyde solution. Suspend 1–2 × 106 cells (treated) in 0.5 ml of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and the cell suspension into 5 ml of 1% (w/v) paraformaldehyde in PBS and place on ice for 15 minutes.

5. Centrifuge the cells for 5 minutes at 300 × g and discard the supernatant.

INTRODUCTION

? Nitrate poisoning is generally caused when animals eat too much forage that is high in nitrates not changed to protein in the plant.

? Poisoning can also happen when animals eat too much urea or nitrogen fertilizer spilled in the field or left where the animals can find it.

? Nitrate fertilizer is palatable, especially to cattle.

? Nitrates are relatively non-toxic.

? Reduction of nitrates depends on the supply of fermentable energy as carbohydrates supply hydrogen ions for reduction of nitrates and production of nitrite in rumen.

1. Catla prefers zooplankton.

2. Silver carp prefers phytoplankton.

3. The blooming of diatoms causes golden brown colour in the aquaculture system.

4. Light or bright green colour of pond is due Chlorella (Green algae).

5. Dark green or blackish green colour is due to BG algae (Oscillatoria, Phormidium, Microcoleus).

6. Dark brown colour or sauce like colour is due to eutrophication.

7. Yellowish colour of pond water is due to growth in Chrysophyta.

8. Foggy white colour of pond is denoted by the mixture of zooplankton, clay particles and detrirus.

9. Japan is the biggest producer of marine finfish fry of 200 million fry per year (Pagrus major, Paralichthys olivaceus makes up 70% of total production).

10. Europe is a second biggest producer of marine fish fry for about 100 million fry per year.

Rationally selected and contextually defined research problem is the foundation to the successful research project. If the selected research problem is not in line with the interests of the researcher, available time, resources, infrastructure & knowledge base then achieving success in research process remains highly uncertain. Consequently, in addition to hindering of professional growth of the researcher, it also results in wastage of time, money and human effort. Most importantly, it may sometimes add up incorrect knowledge into scientific base, hindering the process of scientific progress. Hence the identification of the research problem and designing the problem statement is the most important step in the research process.

Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is the radiation in the 400-700 nm wave band. For plants, 400-700 nm wave band of the light spectrum is very useful because of photosynthesis activity in this band. A simple integral relationship exists between the number of molecules changed photo-chemically and the photons absorbed within the requisite wave bands regardless of photon energy. Net photosynthesis rates are found to be almost linearly proportional to the radiation intercepted, which can be measured by line quantum sensor.

The pressure of population on land is increasing and the average size of a farm holding is reducing, to below one hectare. Farmers are increasingly getting indebted and the temptation to sell prime land for non farm purposes is growing. If there are other opportunities, about 40 per cent of farmers want to quit farming, says a survey conducted by National Sample Survey Organization. We hear deplorable stories of farmers ending their life not being able to cope with the loss and indebtedness from agriculture.
 
On the closer examination, we find that agricultural land is still a great source of income. But it is the practice of unsustainable methods, improper resource management leading to successive crop failure that makes agriculture non-profitable and risky. As a result, many young farmers are leaving agriculture and migrating to cities. Under these conditions, how are we going to persuade educated youth, including farm graduates, to stay  in villages and take to agriculture as a profession? How can youth earn a decent living in villages and help shape the future of our agriculture? At the same time, we also hear the stories of highly educated persons wanting to move into agriculture as their profession.
 
It is a well known fact that the recession had hit the Information Technology sector and the professionals across the globe in a big way. Some of them were ‘sacked’ and even thrown to streets as ‘loss cutting’ measures by the companies. Many qualified software professionals were forced to find an alternative job. But software professional, Sri. Kondana Chandrashekara Gatty, who was in the Information Technology field for nearly 10 years, did not feel the pinch of recession since he had switched over his carrier field from IT to agriculture. 

Diagnosis is the art of recognizing diseases or deficiency symptoms manifested from their symptoms, a scientific determination of a disorder based on critical scrutiny.

2.1 Diagnosis and prognosis

Diagnosis is the estimation of nutritional status of a plant during sampling, while prognosis is the prediction of possibility of deficiency impairing plant growth at stages in the growth cycle after the sample is taken. Diagnosis is based on comparison of nutrient concentration in plant parts (mainly leaves) with standard values related to physiological requirements of the plants. In diagnosis, mainly plant analysis is used. Prognosis is also based on critical concentration of same plant parts. This sometimes has led to confusion between these two concepts, which have been used with the same meaning. In contrast, to diagnosis, prognosis may be based on their leaf or soil analysis. The main difference between prognosis and diagnosis lies in the time between sampling and appearance of the influence on plant growth.

Technique to collect fresh and hygienic inflorescence sap (Neera) from coconut

In the traditional method of collecting sap, the inflorescence to be tapped is connected with an earthen pot/bamboo receptacle for the sap collection. Spadix to be tapped is tied with plastic rope and a small portion is sliced off from the top. The spadix is gently stroked with a mallet in the morning and evening. After a period of 8 to 10 days, sufficient sap starts oozing out from the cut end. A type of clay soil, a gummy material or leaf extract is pasted on the surface and sides of the cut end. Since the sap is highly nutritious, both enzymatic and microbial fermentation takes place. The total sugar reduces progressively and it becomes more acidic and develops a harsh odour and becomes unpalatable. In order to prevent fermentation, lime is coated inside the pot. The above method is not hygienic and attracts lot of insects, ants and contaminates from pollen and dust particles. In order to collect the sap fresh and hygienic, a simple device was developed.