eChapters

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.

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.

The science of agrometeorology has great practical utility in protection against, or avoidance of adverse climate risks of crop production. Agrometeorological information can be used in efficient land use planning, determining suitable crops for a region, risk analysis of climate hazards and profit calculations in farming, production and harvest forecasts, and in adoption of farming methods and choice of farm machinery. Meteorological instruments are the equipments used to sample the state of the atmosphere at a given time. Meteorology does not use much laboratory equipments but relies more on field-mode in situ observation and remote sensing equipments. Rain was one of the first weather parameter to be measured historically. Two other accurately measured weather-related variables are wind and humidity.

An agrometeorological observatory or station is a place where all the necessary instruments and structures are installed and maintained to observe and record the weather parameters at stipulated time interval.

1.1. Mango

1.1.1. Mango squash

Step 1 : Selection of fruits

Step 2 : Washing

Step 3 : Pulping

Step 4 : Preparation of syrup (sugar + water + acid, heating just to dissolve)

Step 5 : Straining

Step 6 : Mixing with juice

Step 7 : Addition of preservative (0.6 g KMS (Potassium metabisulfite)/litre squash)

Step 8 : Bottling

Step 9 : Capping

Step 10 : Storage

1.1.2. Mango RTS (ready-to-serve)

Step 1 : Fruit (pulp/juice)

Step 2 : Mixing with strained juice

After having performed their function, pesticides in the parent form or in some converted form reach the soil, the ultimate sink for these moieties which are collectively termed as residues. According to FAO 1986, pesticide residue is defined as any substance or mixture of substances in food, agricultural commodities or animal feed resulting from the use of pesticides and includes any specified derivatives such as degradation products, metabolism, reaction products and impurities that are considered to be of toxicological significance. From the soil they move into other segments of the environment. The pesticide residues are absorbed by plants and enter the food chain, where they get concentrated in animal fat. Some residues are carried away by wind in the vapor form, which enables them to be transported to long distances from the source of application and then get collected by dust and rain before they are deposited on the ground again. Pesticide residues also move to aquatic environments through runoff, leaching, and atmosphere disposition.

A detention reservoir temporarily stores storm runoff and releases it gradually at a controlled rate, thereby reducing the peak discharge reaching downstream channels and communities. Unlike a conventional conservation reservoir, its principal function is short-term flood moderation rather than permanent water storage. Its performance depends on basin capacity, inlet and outlet arrangements, catchment response, design storm, allowable downstream discharge, and available drawdown time. This chapter explains the concept, purposes, and functioning of detention reservoirs and distinguishes them from ordinary storage reservoirs. It covers their classifications, site requirements, storage estimation, outlet design, routing principles, benefits, limitations, maintenance, and application in rural watersheds, urban drainage systems, and integrated flood-control programmes.

Introduction

Cowpea, {Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.} is an important food legume in the semi-arid tropics covering Asia, Africa, Southern Europe and Central and South America (Henriet et al., 1997; Mortimer et al., 1997; Van Ek et al., 1997). It is a drought tolerant and warm weather crop. Therefore, well adapted to the drier regions of the tropics where other food legumes do not perform as well. It fixes atmospheric nitrogen and grows well even in the poor soils with more than 85% sand and with less than 0.2% organic matter and low levels of phosphorus (Kolawale et al., 2000 and Sanginga et al., 2000). Also, it is shade tolerant and therefore, compatible as an intercrop with maize, millet, sorghum, sugarcane and cotton as well as with several plantation crops (Singh and Emechebe, 1998). Coupled with these attributes, its quick growth and rapid ground cover checks soils erosion and in situ decay of its roots and nitrogen rich residues improves soil fertility and structure which together have made cowpea an important component of cropping system in the dry savannas of the sub-Saharan Africa (Carsky et al., 2001 and Mortimer et al., 1997).

Cowpea is cultivated in about 14 million ha world wide with about 5 million tons annual production. However, a substantial part of the cowpea production comes only from few countries. Nigeria is the largest producer and consumer of cowpea with about 5 million ha area and about 3 million tons production annually. Niger Republic is the next largest producer with 3 million ha and over 1 million ton production. Northeast Brazil grows about 1.5 million ha of cowpea with about 500.000 tons production. In the southern USA about 40,000 ha of cowpea is grown with an estimated 45,000 tons annual production of dry cowpea seed and a large amount of frozen green cowpeas. Even though exact statistics are not available, India is the largest cowpea producer in Asia and together with Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia and other far eastern countries, there may be over 1.5 million hectares under cowpea in Asia.

Predictive modelling of plant growth can help farmers and researchers improve crop management, resource utilization and production planning. This chapter examines machine learning approaches for predicting important plant growth characteristics. It introduces plant growth fundamentals and the environmental and management factors that influence development. The chapter covers the machine learning workflow, including data acquisition, preprocessing, feature engineering, model development and evaluation. Supervised learning, unsupervised learning and deep learning approaches are considered for predicting plant height, biomass, canopy development, leaf area and yield-related characteristics. Data from IoT devices, drones and satellite imagery can strengthen prediction models. The chapter also discusses precision agriculture applications, limitations and emerging technologies such as explainable AI, digital twins and edge AI.

6.1. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Potato, Solanum tuberosum, is a starchy, tuberous crop belonging to the Solanaceae family. The name potato originally referred to a type of sweet potato, batata, in Spanish. Potatoes are occasionally referred to as “Irish potatoes” or “white potatoes” in the United States, to distinguish them from sweet potatoes. The potato was believed to be first domesticated in the region of southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia between 8000 to 5000 BC. The potato diffused widely after 1600, becoming a major food resource in Europe and East Asia. Greater geographic mobility of farmers led to the rapid spread of potato cultivation throughout China, and India. China is now the world’s largest potato producer and nearly one third of the world’s potatoes are produced in China and India.

Today potato is the fourth major food crop after rice, wheat and maize in the world. In India potato is a very important crop and are mainly produced in the states of Uttar

Cultivars/Varieties: Most of the improved potato varieties were developed by CPRI, Kufri, Shimla. Most of the earlier varieties released as clonal selections derived from foreign varieties have been replaced with high yielding new varieties from the same institute. The popular varieties under cultivation now are Kufri Sindhuri, Kufri Chandramukhi, Kufri Jyothi, Kufri Lauvkar, Kufri Muthu, Kufri Dewa, Kufri Badshah, Kufri Bahar, Kufri Lalima, Kufri Swarna, Kufri Jawahar, Kufri Ashoka, Kufri Megha, Kufri Sutlej, Kufri Pukhraj, Kufri Chipsona-1, Kufri Chipsona-2 and Kufri Giriraj.

Uses

Potatoes are used in different ways like boiled, fried, baked and roasted. Potatoes are used to brew alcoholic beverages such as vodka, potcheen, or akvavit.They are also used as food for domestic animals. Potato starch is used in the food industry as, for example, thickeners and binders of soups and sauces, in the textile industry, as adhesives, and for the manufacturing of papers and boards. Many companies are exploring the possibilities of using waste potatoes to obtain polylactic acid for use in bioplastic products; other research projects seek ways to use the starch as a base for biodegradable packaging. Potato skins, along with honey, are used in folk medicine for burns in India. Burn centers in India have experimented with the use of the thin outer skin layer to protect burns while healing. The potato is best known for its carbohydrate content, which is in the form of starch. Because of its high starch content, it is a staple food in several parts of world including in some parts of India. A small but significant portion of this starch is resistant to digestion by enzymes in the stomach and small intestine, and so reaches the large intestine essentially intact, thereby, increasing its physiological significance. Besides these the potato also provides various other nutritional constituents to the body. Potato is also processed into various products like chips, powder, pappad, savory items.

New techniques and approaches to groundwater studies are always in deep concern with the hydrogeomorphologists. The designing of new techniques or adapting existing techniques with better enhancement to solve practical problems in the study of groundwater are of central concern. One of the recent technical developments include the mathematical model of groundwater flow that has become the most widely used computer-based model in the groundwater industry. Techniques to identify and date recently recharged water that is useful in characterizing the susceptibility of hydrogeologic environments to contamination are utilized by various research groups all over the world.

Geophysical methods for determining the hydraulic properties of fractured rocks gained the importance in the hydrogeomorphic studies. Predicting the movement of water and contaminants through fractured rocks has been one of the most challenging problems in hydrogeomorphology. Besides conventional and above mentioned techniques the techniques discussed in this chapter are Remote Sensing, Geographical Informational system (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS), Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Groundwater Information System (GWIS), Digital Surface Terrain Modelling (DSTM), Multicriteria evaluation (MCE) and Thermal Infra Red (TIR) Mapping and Microwave Data.

The British administration, with an intention of ruling over India, viewed Allahabad as a city of the future. They saw the prospect of a glorious future in Allahabad and planned the city in a manner to project it as a center of Education, Culture and Administration. With religious bearings already an established feature, this, added to its charm and growing potential. This chapter covers the crucial ninety years of development in the city before Independence. The observations and findings are recorded and commented upon, these help in analyzing the exact nature of rise and decline, this city faced in years to come.

ALLAHABAD : AN ESTABLISHED CENTER OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE (1858-1947)

In the following section the focus is on the Kumbh mela, its rising popularity and the presence of cultural institutes, their functioning and role in developing the city into a prominent urban centre. During the period 1858-1947, the importance of Kumbh grew, it is evident from the records that the number of pilgrims visiting Allahabad during the Magh increased.

Declining water table and degrading soil health are the major concerns for the current growth rate and sustainability of Indian Agriculture. Thus proper emphasis is being given on the management of irrigation water usage for adequate growth of agriculture. Keeping in view, the need for judicious use of our natural resources, concerted efforts are being made to enlighten the farmers for efficient use of irrigation water at farm level. Generally, in rice-wheat rotation farmers believed that their fields are levelled and needed no further levelling, but this is not true. Most of the fields are not adequately levelled and requires further precision land levelling. The enhancement of water use efficiency and farm productivity at field level is one of the best options to redress the problem of declining water level.

Levelling, smoothing and shaping the field surface is as important to the surface irrigation system and as the design of laterals, manifolds, risers and outlets for sprinkler drip irrigation systems. It is a process for ensuring that the depths and discharge variations over the field are relatively uniform and, as a result, that water distributions in the root zone are also uniform. These field operations are required nearly every cropping season, particularly where substantial cultivation following harvest disrupts the field surface. There are basically two types of land levelling viz. (i) to provide a slope which fits a water supply; and (ii) to level the field to its best possible condition with minimal earth movement. The second one is generally the most feasible one, because land levelling is expensive and large earth movements may leave significant areas of the field without fertile topsoil, and is the most economic approach also.

Biochemical tests are vital diagnostic tools in fish health laboratories across India, helping to accurately identify and differentiate bacterial pathogens responsible for aquatic diseases. These tests complement culture-based and morphological analyses by revealing the metabolic and enzymatic functions of bacterial isolates. Given India’s broad aquaculture landscape with varied species and environmental conditions, rapid biochemical diagnostics are crucial for effective disease control and reducing economic impact.
Indian labs, especially those near coastal regions, aquaculture ponds, and freshwater bodies, routinely use these tests to confirm bacterial species isolated from fish. After isolating colonies and performing Gram staining on samples from fish gills, fins, skin lesions, internal organs, or mucus, key colonies are subjected to standard biochemical assays. These assays examine traits like carbohydrate fermentation, enzyme production, and substrate utilization to pinpoint genus or species. Frequently encountered bacteria include Aeromonas, Vibrio, Edwardsiella, Streptococcus, Flavobacterium, and Pseudomonas.
The oxidase test detects cytochrome c oxidase; Aeromonas and Vibrio are oxidase-positive, while Edwardsiella is not. The catalase test identifies catalase enzyme production, distinguishing catalase-negative Streptococcus from other Gram-positive cocci.
The Triple Sugar Iron (TSI) agar test, widely used in Indian labs, checks glucose, lactose, and sucrose fermentation along with hydrogen sulfide (H?S) production. For example, Edwardsiella tarda from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh produces black precipitate and ferments glucose. The indole test identifies indole production from tryptophan—many Aeromonas isolates from West Bengal and Odisha are indole-positive.

ABSTRACT

Serious infections caused by bacteria that have become resistant to commonly used antibiotics have become a major global healthcare problem in the 21^st century. Antibiotic resistance, initially a problem of the hospital setting associated with an increased number of hospitals acquired infections usually in critically ill and immuno-suppressed patients, has now extended into the community causing severe infections difficult to diagnose and treat. In hospitals, most common resistant bacteria include methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci and gram-negative rods including Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Vancomycin intermediate and resistant S. aureus, represent a new treatment challenge. In the community, penicillin and macrolide-resistant pneumococci developed several decades ago and are now present all over the world. More recently, communityacquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus has become a problem in several countries causing skin infections but also severe diseases. The molecular mechanisms by which bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics are diverse and complex. Bacteria have developed resistance to all different classes of antibiotics discovered to date. The most frequent type of resistance is acquired and transmitted horizontally via the conjugation of a plasmid. In recent times new mechanisms of resistance have resulted in the simultaneous development of resistance to several antibiotic classes creating very dangerous multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial strains, some also known as ‘‘superbugs’’. In many cases the use of antibiotics is unnecessary or questionable. The indiscriminate and inappropriate use of antibiotics in outpatient clinics, hospitalized patients and in the food industry is the single largest factor leading to

8.1 Introduction

Contamination of drinking water supplies from industrial waste is a result of various types of industrial processes and disposal practices. Industries that use large amounts of fresh water for processing have the potential to pollute waterways through the discharge of their waste into streams and rivers, or by run-off and seepage of stored wastes into nearby water sources. Other disposal practices, which cause water contamination, include deep well injection and improper disposal of wastes in surface impoundments.

Industrial wastes consists of both organic and inorganic substances. Organic wastes include pesticide residues, solvents and cleaning fluids, dissolved residues from fruits and vegetables, and lignin from pulp and paper to name a few. Effluents can also contain inorganic wastes such as brine salts and metals. This is an incentive for industry to pre-treat their water by neutralizing the chemically active components, recycling, dilution or extraction and collection for proper disposal.

The waste disposal practices, which presently pose a threat to drinking water supplies, include deep well injection of wastes and wastes that are dumped and retained in surface impoundments or evaporation ponds. (Ministry of Industries, 1994).

In keeping with the functions delegated to the Central Pollution Control Board under the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, they covered a number of industries, their production and location with details of receiving water besides details on the raw material they used, the process they adopted to process them, inplant control systems, pollution control system provided and the future requirement with cost implications, monitoring system etc.

These documents are also aimed at developing standards for effluents and emissions as Minimal National Standards that can be adopted uniformly throughout the country. The State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) can tighten the standards, wherever the local situation demands.

While implementing these standards, the status of technologies adopted by the industries and further requirements to meet the overall objective of pollution control have been assessed. The technology requirement for pollution control industry wise has been presented in the following groups of industry categories.

1.    Introduction
    
2.     Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
    
3.     Technologies for Responsible Fishing
    3.1     Technology for bycatch reduction in trawl fisheries
    3.2     Technology for by catch reduction in purse seine fisheries
    3.3     Technology for by catch reduction in gillnet fisheries
    3.4     Technology for by catch reduction in hook and line fisheries
    3.5     Technology for by catch reduction in trap fisheries
    
4.     Environment-Friendly Fishing Gears
    4.1     Reducing bottom impact of towed gears
    4.2     Semi-pelagic trawl system
    4.3     Benthic release panels
    4.4     Remote controlled otter boards (smart trawling)
    4.5     Ground gear modifications
    4.6     Otter boards bridles and sweeps
    
5.     Energy Conservation in Fishing
    5.1     Fishing gear and methods
    5.2     Vessel technology
    5.3    Engines
    5.4    Reduction gear, propeller and nozzle
    5.5     Sail-assisted propulsion
    5.6     Adoption of advanced technology
    5.7    Conservation, management and enhancement of fishery resources
    
6.     Conclusion
    
References

The noun vegetable means an edible plant or part of a plant, but usually excludes seeds and most sweet fruits. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant. Vegetables are eaten in a variety of ways, as part of main meals and as snacks. The nutritional content of vegetables varies considerably, though generally they contain little protein or fat (Woodruff,1995 and Whitaker, 2001) and varying proportions of vitamins such as Vitamin A, Vitamin K and Vitamin B6, provitamins, dietary minerals and carbohydrates. They contain a great variety of other phytochemicals, some of which have been claimed to have antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and anticarcinogenic properties (Gruda, 2005; Steinmetz and Potter,1996). Some vegetables also contain fiber, important for gastrointestinal function. Some contain important nutrients necessary for healthy hair and skin as well. However, vegetables often also contain toxins and antinutrients such as á-solanine, á-chaconine,(Science direct) enzyme inhibitors (of cholinesterase, protease, amylase, etc.), cyanide and cyanide precursors, oxalic acid, and more (Bad Bug Bock > BBB–Clostridium botulinum). Depending on the concentration, such compounds may reduce the edibility, nutritional value, and health benefits of dietary vegetables. Cooking and/or other processing may be necessary to eliminate or reduce them. Diets containing recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables may help to lower the risk of heart diseases and two type of diabetes. These diets may also protect against some cancers and decrease bone loss. The potassium provided by vegetables may help to prevent the formation of kidney stones.

1. Introduction

Jordan is an Arab country located in the heart of the Middle East. It is a highly centralized country in both political and economic terms, with a constitutional monarchy. The parliament consists of an upper-house appointed by the king and an elected lower-house. The king appoints the prime minister, who in turn, appoints a cabinet of ministers.

1.1. General Information

The country shares borders with Iraq to the east, Israel and the Palestinian Authority to the west, Syria to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south. In 2005, the population of Jordan was estimated at 5.5 million people with a population growth rate around 2.3 per cent, living in an area of about 89,300 sq. km. Most of the population is urbanized (82 per cent), with more than half living in the capital, Amman, and in the Zarqa governorate. About 60 per cent of the total population is under 25 and 38 per cent is under the age of 15 (United Nations, 2006). Jordan is classified as a lower-middle income country, with an economy that is severely affected by water scarcity and limited land resources. The capital Amman dominates over  80  per cent of the country’s economy.

1. Basic Information and Agrarian Status

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa covering 39,037,000 hectares. It is bordered by Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. It is situated between 15 and 22° south latitude and 26 and 34° east longitude. Climatic conditions are largely sub-tropical with one rainy season between November and March. In 1981, the country had 5 hectares per capita whilst it is estimated that the current population to land ratio has declined to 3.25 hectares per person and this is largely attributed to population increases that have taken place over the years. The national census conducted by the Central Statistics Office in 2002 showed that the country has a population of 1,20,00,000 people. About 80 per cent of the population resides in the rural areas, where they sustain their livelihoods through agriculture. When discussing agricultural production activities in the country, it is important to note that nearly all the soils (80 per cent) in the country are sandy from granite rocks or from schists.