eChapters

The concept of indigenous knowledge or indigenous knowledge system (IKS) delineates a cognitive structure in which theories and perceptions of nature and culture are conceptualized. Thus, it includes definitions, classifications and concepts of the physical, natural, social land economic environments. The dynamics of IKS takes places on two different levels, the cognitive and empirical. On the empirical levels, IKS is visible in institutions, artifacts and technologies.

Two-dimensional nanomaterials have expanded the possibilities for designing advanced green composites with tailored multifunctional properties. This chapter focuses on MXenes and nanosilicates, including laponite, montmorillonite, and halloysite, as important alternatives and complements to graphene-based nanomaterials. Their integration into green composite matrices can influence mechanical strength, thermal stability, barrier characteristics, surface functionality, and other performance parameters. The chapter examines the development of advanced green composites based on these nanomaterials and considers their potential for sustainable material design. Particular attention is given to the relationship between nanoscale structure, matrix interaction, and composite performance, highlighting opportunities for multifunctional and environmentally responsible material systems.

In whole of the world, about 6 to 7 m ha of agricultural land is becoming unproductive every year due to one or the other reasons (Gupta, 2018a). This is, however, more so in case of developing countries (Gupta, 2003). Productive lands are utmost important to meet the countryís growing needs for food, fodder, fuel wood, medicinal herbs and timber.

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful and versatile analytical technique through which mass of an atom, or a molecule is assessed. It helps for identification and structure elucidation of various complex compounds. The instrument used is known as Mass Spectrometer. It serves the purpose of qualitative identification, confirmation as well as the quantification of an atom or a molecule. MS identification is conclusive because the mass spectrum of each substance is unique. In general, MS instruments are composed of a sample inlet, an ionization source, a molecule accelerator, a detector, an amplifier, and a recorder (Figure 7.1)

Introduction 
The fundamental goal of agriculture is to harness the earth‘s resources to produce food, feed, fiber, and fuel to sustain a growing global population. At the heart of this endeavor lies the concept of crop production, a complex interplay of genetic potential, environmental factors, and human management. This chapter, Potential and Achievable Crop Production, delves into the crucial distinction between what a crop can produce under ideal circumstances and what it actually produces in the farmer‘s field. Understanding this dichotomy is paramount for addressing global food security challenges, optimizing resource utilization, and developing sustainable agricultural practices. We will begin by exploring the theoretical maximum yield, often termed "potential production," which represents the inherent capacity of a crop variety to produce biomass and yield when all limiting factors are eliminated. This potential is primarily dictated by a crop‘s genetic makeup and the prevailing climatic conditions, such as solar radiation, temperature, and carbon dioxide concentration. Subsequently, we will shift our focus to achievable production, the real-world yield obtained by farmers. This actual yield invariably falls short of the potential due to a myriad of biotic (pests, diseases, weeds), abiotic (water scarcity, nutrient deficiencies, extreme temperatures, poor soil health), and socio-economic (lack of access to inputs, knowledge, or markets) constraints. The disparity between potential and achievable yield, known as the "yield gap," represents a significant opportunity for enhancing agricultural output without necessarily expanding cultivated land. By meticulously examining the factors that contribute to this gap, we can identify targeted interventions and innovative strategies to bridge it, thereby moving closer to realizing the full productive capacity of our agricultural systems. This chapter will therefore provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the science behind crop yields and the practical approaches required to optimize them for a more food-secure future.

ABSTRACT

Expert Systems could be incorporated into extension education programmes to assist in solving problems using knowledge gathered from experts. During the process of problem solving, the Expert System becomes a source of educational material for the user. Hypertext may be incorporated into an Expert System as a means of providing the user with additional information. A hypertext approach to system development involves attaching information to specific phrases used in the system. The form of attached information can be textual, graphical or procedural. The methodology of developing expert system consists of two parts viz., developing computer-based Expert System and testing its effectiveness. The first part includes selection of most relevant subject matter area and procedure used in the development of an Expert System. The second part deals with the research design and technique adopted to test the effectiveness of computer-based Expert System versus human expert.

1.    Land Preparation
    
2.    Tillages
    
3.    Planting
    
4.    Field Maintenance
    
5.    Vegetation Control
    
6.    Animal/ Bird Control
    
7.    Insects and Diseases Management
    
8.    Irrigation
    
9.    Manuring
    
10.    Harvesting
    
11.    Collection and Transportation
    
12.    Integrated Mechanization
        
References

Process of life of an organism is defined, driven and depicted by its genetic constitution, or the genome. A genome is a collection of genetic material present in the cell as nuclear or organelle DNA. To be precise, it is the sum of all single copy genetic materials present in the cellular subcompartments. Thus a diploid organism having two copies of each chromosome contains genetic material constituting two copies of the genome, while a gamete of the same organism contains single copy of the same. Organelle genome is shared by chloroplast and mitochondria. In these two organelle genetic material is present in single copy per organelle, although many copies of organelle ensures that a cell harbours many copies of mitochondrial or plastid genome. Unraveling the structure and function of the genome is, therefore, the central objective of biological science. Technologies that would help to understand the basis of genetic, biochemical and physiological processes are pivotal to execute the knowledge for the betterment of mankind and environment.

Key facts

    
•    Arsenic (As) is a metalloid, with properties intermediate between those of a metal and a non-metal. Arsenic can exit in the environment and biological systems in various inorganic and organic forms (species). These are arsenite - AsIII, arsenate - AsV, monomethyl arsonic acid (MMAA), dimethyl arsinic acid (DMAA), arsenocholine, arsenobetaine and arsenosugars. 
    
•    Arsenicals have a wide range of toxicity. In general, inorganic arsenicals are more toxic than oragnoarsenicals to biota and trivalent arsenic (arsenite) is more acutely toxic than pentavalent (arsenate) form in the following orders:
    
    Arsenous acid (AsIII) ®  arsenic acid (AsV) ® MMAA ®DMAA ® arsenocholine ® arsenobetaine.
    
•    Under oxidizing and aerobic conditions, the predominant form of arsenic (As) in soil and water is arsenate (AsV), whereas under anaerobic and reducing/or waterlogged conditions, arsenite (AsIII) predominates.
    
•    Inorganic AsIII and AsV are the major As species in groundwater, soils, terrestrial plants, whereas the main species found in marine animals is Arsenobetaine (AsB), which is considered to be non-toxic.
    
•    The LD50 values of different arsenicals show that arsenite (AsIII) is most toxic (LD50 range 15-42 mg/kg) and arsenobetaine is least toxic (LD50 > 10,000 mg/kg).

Introduction

Cooking accounts for a major share of energy consumption in developing countries. Fifty per cent of the total energy consumed in India is for cooking (Fritz 1981). Most of the cooking energy requirement is met by non-commercial fuels such as firewood (75%), agricultural waste and cow dung cake (25%) in rural areas. The fuel wood requirement is 0.4 tons per person per year in India. In rural areas firewood crisis is far graver than that caused by a rise in oil prices. Marginal villagers have to forage 8 to 10 hours a day in search of firewood as compared to 1 to 2 hours ten years ago. One third of India’s fertilizer consumption can be met if cow dung is not burnt for cooking and instead is used as manure. The cutting of firewood causes deforestation that leads to desertification. Fortunately, India is blessed with abundant solar radiation (IMD, 1985). The arid parts of India receive maximum radiation i.e. 7600-8000 MJ m^-2 per annum, followed by semi-arid parts, 7200-7600 MJm^-2, per annum and least on hilly areas where solar radiation is still appreciable i.e. 6000 MJm^-2 per annum. Therefore, solar cookers seem to be a good substitute for cooking with firewood.

Principle of cooking

The different methods of cooking of food are boiling, frying, roasting, and baking. For boiling of rice, lentils etc. the temperature of food being cooked is about 100° C while for other methods, high temperatures are required. Heat is supplied at the bottom of the vessel for frying and boiling purposes in conventional cooking. Roasting and baking is generally performed on open fire or in ovens, wherein food is surrounded by hot surfaces and heat is transferred to the food by radiation and convection.

1.1. Introduction

Wildlife management often requires interventions to safely handle and transport animals. Chemical restraint, also known as immobilization or tranquilization, is a technique widely used to facilitate these processes (Hernandez, 2014). It involves the administration of drugs to temporarily immobilize wild animals, allowing for various procedures such as veterinary medical examinations, tagging, relocation, or rehabilitation. This chapter provides an overview of the principles, methods, drugs, and considerations involved in the chemical restraint of wild animals.

It has been often stated that the most important techniques required by the zoo veterinarian are those used in the capture and restraint of the patient. These techniques have developed into a highly technical science (Clarke et al., 2014). In the early days of zoos, the only practical method was to manually catch and hold the patient. Modern techniques, however, permit a veterinarian to shoot a CO2 powered gun, which discharges a projectile syringe at an animal resulting in complete immobilization of the animal (Jacques et al., 2009). This is accomplished without any physical contact between the patient and his captors.

Summary

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

Different diagnostic tools are designed to avert nutrient deficiency or sufficiency and if properly used both loss of yield and quality of crop can be minimized. Among several diagnostic tools, nutrient analysis of standing crop seems to be an efficient method in arriving at the need-based fertilizer scheduling for various crops.

Nutrient uptake by plants indicates the actual accessibility of nutrients in soil to the plants. Also, concentration of certain heavy metals in plant indicates their solubility in soil which leads to poor crop quality.Although, different plant species and even different varieties of same species may differ in their nutrient requirements, the concentration of nutrient element in plant can act as guide to support the soil test result in assessing nutrient supplying capacity of a soil and as a tool for correcting any deficiency if carried out early enough to prevent yield loss. However, analysis of harvested or mature crop is like a post mortem as this information only can help in nutrient management planning in subsequent years.

Like soil testingplant analysis also suffers from some limitations. Amongthem, the most important are the risk of sampling error as well as the chances of incorrect interpretation of test report in recommending fertilizers. Selection of right plant part and right stage of crop growth are very crucial for successful plant analysis.

1. INTRODUCTION

Admitably except for water and milk, no other beverage has earned such universal acceptance and esteem throughout the ages as wine. The aesthetic postures of wine can be gauged by the quotations like ‘wine is the most healthful and the most hygienic beverage (Louis Pasteur)’, ‘wine is a chemical symphony (Amerine). Man has been preparing and consuming since time immemorial a large variety of alcoholic beverages, ranging from mild stimulants to highly intoxicants liquors. Amongst the mild stimulants are the wines which have long association with human artistic, cultural and religious activities.

Grapes and wines are of immense importance to us and their sheer magnitude of production and associated investment, employment, enjoyment, tax revenue collected and the economic contribution is a justifiable. These play a major role in economics of major wine producing countries like Italy and France. Wine and brandy refer to the fermented by-products of grapes, member of genus Vitis notably the cultivars of V.vinifera L. as per the European definition. However, here these terms may also refer to the fermented by-products from any fleshy fruit or flower. Compared to the grapes, industry producing wine from other fruits is very small. Do these have any role to play especially in nutrition, health and economy of the horticulturally developed countries or are simply mild intoxicants consumed? Such queries at one or the other time may baffle the thinking of an inquisive reader. An attempt has been made here to discuss briefly the historical aspects, role of wine in the context of nutritive and therapeutic value, present status of Indian Wine Industry, research status and future strategies. Emphasis on its role in developing the horticultural industry would also be laid.

Genetics forms the basis of human life. All individuals have a physical and physiological self, determined by the interactions of genes and environment. Pharmacogenetics is the connotation used to study how heritability affects an individual’s response to drugs.494 The term ‘Pharmacogenomics’ represents systematic identification of all human genes, their products, interindividual variation and intraindividual variation in expression and function over time. It focuses on candidate genes and may include transcriptome and proteome information that affect drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics. It helps in predicting the patient’s response to a drug and to design new drugs495. Pharmacogenetics is study of single genes and the effects on drug response while pharmacogenomics is related to overall variation in genome. A gene is considered polymorphic when a mutation appears in more than 1% population, which may be present in the form of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), simple sequence length polymorphism (SSLP) and nucleotide addition or deletion. After the Human Genome Project, study in this field is accelerated dramatically. It was found that out of 1.4 million SNPs identified in the human genome, over 60,000 are present in the coding region496. These SNPs lead to miscoding of the various proteins that plays crucial role in the biological processes. If a point mutation is present in the gene coding region for various drug-metabolizing enzymes, drug target and drug transporters, it can lead to many non-therapeutic and unpredictable drug responses. In United States, over two million people suffer from severe adverse drug reactions per year and about 100,000 cases are life threatening497.

2.1. Introduction

There are few studies on the performance and efficiency of Indian commodity derivatives market. Despite a considerable amount of empirical literature, there is no general consensus on whether or not the markets are efficient. As far as the role of futures contract in agricultural commodity is concerned, several studies have been attempted to examine their contribution towards agricultural development of any state and/or country. This chapter presents the review of existing literature on the concerned topic based on interrelationship among the spot and futures market in agricultural sector, role of futures market in discovering spot prices, futures market and commodity price volatility etc.

1. Which portion of the sugarcane is the best for use as seed?

a) Top 1/3 to 1/2 portion

b) Top 2/3 to 3/4 portion

c) 2/3 portion of bottom

d) 3/4 portion of bottom

2. Flower drop and less fruit setting/fruit drop in chilli can be controlled by spraying

a) Sulphur (1.52%) at 10 days intervals at growing stage.

 b) Planofix (NAA) @ 2-3 ml per 10 litres water at flowering stage.

 c) Dicofol (0.25%) at flowering stage.

 d) Fipronil (5% SC) 1ml per litre at flowering stage.

Introduction

Fermented meat and fish products have been consumed all over the world since times immemorial and represent one of the most important groups of food. Meat offers its own natural microflora. Hence a wide variety of products have been prepared since ancient times by varying the mixture of meat and salt as well as by the addition of spices and seasonings. Thus, fermented meat products characterize a diversity of flavors and textures and are receiving increased interest from consumers all over the world. Most of these products still depend mainly on local, traditional manufacturing processes since little scientific information is available; but scientific knowledge is very important for consistent production of high quality and safe products.

Meat is an essential part of non-vegetarian diet. It is liked for its unique taste and is a rich source of nutrients like good quality animal proteins, essential amino acids and fatty acids, minerals, trace elements and particularly B-complex vitamins (Singh et al., 2013). The growing concern of consumers regarding health and safety issues has led to the development of functional meat products that promote health and well-being, beyond their nutritional benefits (Grasso, et al., 2014; Tyopponen et al., 2003). This has driven researches in the meat processing sector to increase their efforts in producing such functional meat products, which have incorporated functional ingredients, reduced salt, nitrates/nitrites, cholesterol and fat and modified product fatty acid profiles (Zhang et al., 2010). Fermentation of meat produces a wide range of physical, biochemical and microbial changes in the muscle-based product

Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and other one labelled as Reason (R).

 Assertion (A) : Ditch system of planting is common planting system in Diara land cultivation of cucurbitaceous crops.

 Reason (R) : To  manage   the  availability  of moisture  and higher temperature, the trenches are dug in North-West direction.

 In light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below: