eChapters

Transgenic plants are those plants, in which a foreign gene(s) has/have been introduced and stably integrated into the genome. The inserted gene sequence is known as Transgene. Almost three decades ago, in early 1983, the first cloning of the recombinant genes in tobacco signified the beginning of plant molecular biology in its own right. Since then the number of genes transferred and studied in plants has increased exponentially and the first transgenic crop (‘FlavrSavr’ tomato) was commercialized on May 18, 1994. However, the impact of transgenic crops was perceptible only after 1995 when transgenic maize, soybean and cotton were released for cultivation in USA.

The potential yield levels in major crops have reached almost to a plateau. The current world population of 7 billion is likely to reach 9 billion by 2050 putting huge pressure to produce more from the available arable lands as acreage of major crops is predicted not to increase any further. The deficit of food requirements will have to be met partly by bridging the gap between farm yield (the average yield of the crop in a particular region/country/world) and the potential yield (the yield obtained usually in the breeders’ plots grown across the region of interest with the best yielding new varieties and without biotic stresses as diseases and pests, and abiotic stresses such as drought, flooding, salinity, heat and cold and partly by increasing potential yield per se.

Vedic literature indicates that the energy in the universe gets transmitted into the human body through star galaxies. The star galaxies of our universe are divided into 27 parts each signified by a particular star (nakshatra). Every human being is assigned to a particular star by virtue of his birth time.  Each star is associated with a tree. The tree associated with his star gives the universal energy to the human being. Thus astrology gives us a chance to identify the tree which is auspicious to us, being associated with our birth star. When one plants the tree associated with his birth star near his dwelling, it will bring good luck and prosperity to him.

Renewable energy sources, are the sources of power that quickly replenish and which can be used again and again. For this reason they are sometimes called energy resources. The main sources of renewable energy and their advantages and disadvantages are :

Solar
Energy from sunlight is captured in solar panels and converted into electricity.  Potentially it is an infinite source of energy supply, but the solar panels are costly.

Bonsai first appeared in China over a thousand years ago on a very basic scale, known as pun-sai, where it was the practice of growing single specimen trees in pots. These early specimens displayed sparse foliage and rugged gnarled trunks which often looked like animals, dragons and birds.

With Japan’s adoption of many cultural trademarks of China, bonsai was also introduced to Japan during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) by means of Zen Buddhism, which at that time was rapidly spreading around Asia. Once bonsai was introduced into Japan, the art was refined to an extent not yet approached in China. Over time, bonsai, which was confined to the Buddhist monks and their monasteries, were introduced as a symbol of prestige and honour. It became an important part of Japanese life by being displayed on specially designed shelves.  For the Japanese, bonsai represents a fusion of strong ancient beliefs with the Eastern philosophies of the harmony between man, the soul and nature.

Moniliformis means ‘like a string of beads’ signifying the arrangement of flowers on the spike. The tree is native of tropical Australia. It is valued for afforestation and beautification. It grows in warm climate under both dry and moist atmosphere. It is a medium-sized, thornless, quick growing, evergreen tree of 13 to 15 m height.

Leaves: True leaves are present only in early seedling stage. The apparent leaves are the modified midrib called phyllode, leathery, sickle-shaped, tapered at each end, up to 18 cm long and 6 cm broad; nerves parallel.

Trees are perennial in nature and are valuable elements in a landscape. Trees provide shade, privacy and beauty but a tree in a wrong place may create problem in years to come. To avoid this, care should be taken while selecting trees for landscape. The ultimate size and shape of the mature tree, how much annual maintenance it requires, location and purpose are major considerations while selecting a tree. Matured tree height and tree diameter should fit it into the space when tree is planted. Shape of canopy, colour of flower and season of flowering are also to be considered.

Urbanization coupled with industrial development creates problems of environment like air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution and civic ugliness. Of late, there is a greater awareness of environmental issues and increasing understanding of several attributes of vegetation. This led to an intensification of activity in the field of landscape horticulture to combat pollution and create an aesthetic environment for recreation and healthy living. Planning and execution of landscape projects for different urban locations should be done to meet both aesthetic and ecological requirements.

What is the use of several trees grown in the forest? A single tree by the way side is far better where under people can rest (Vrikshayurveda).

The towns and villages are made more healthy, more beautiful and more efficient by well planned streets with avenue planting. There is no doubt that, an impressive avenue gives any property the special distinction that it desires. In the past, Emperor Ashoka and Mughal rulers paid attention to roadside planting. Avenue trees primarily provide shade and act as windbreaks, weather conditioners-by purifying and humidifying the air, check radiation of heat and obstruct glare, limit noise and enhance the beauty of the street where they are planted. Roadside planting has two aspects; beauty and utility and both these aspects should be combined. This requires a thorough knowledge of plant material and imagination in planning.

What is the use of several trees grown in the forest? A single tree by the way side is far better where under people can rest (Vrikshayurveda).

The towns and villages are made more healthy, more beautiful and more efficient by well planned streets with avenue planting. There is no doubt that, an impressive avenue gives any property the special distinction that it desires. In the past, Emperor Ashoka and Mughal rulers paid attention to roadside planting. Avenue trees primarily provide shade and act as windbreaks, weather conditioners-by purifying and humidifying the air, check radiation of heat and obstruct glare, limit noise and enhance the beauty of the street where they are planted. Roadside planting has two aspects; beauty and utility and both these aspects should be combined. This requires a thorough knowledge of plant material and imagination in planning.

Trees alone on the earth give happiness both here and hereafter. Since they “save” from abject poverty they are named “taravah” (the saviors). Therefore, the trees should be carefully nurtured as through their shade, flowers and fruits they help immensely in the pursuit of dharma, artha, and kama (Vrikshayurveda).

The early inhabitants of our country were very conscious of the placement of their dwellings in beautiful surroundings. The best examples are from the West Coast, where the houses were traditionally constructed in the midst of gardens. The Arab traveller and historian, Ibn Batuta, in his itinerary in coastal Malabar recorded their picturesque beauty, as early as in the 10th century AD. The whole compound was planted with trees, which were useful and aesthetic in appeal. The scholarly elite used trees and shrubs mentioned in Kalidasa’s work in their planting schemes. Through the tree and foliage, a path is formed to the main village.

The cultural history of India is associated with religious believes and any emphasis on arguments dealing with plant-man-God relationship appeals to people even today. This attitude prevails throughout India and many places of worship have continued to preserve in situ biodiversity of specific species of plants.

Trees rise towards the sky, beautiful symbol of Nature’s aspiration for light. Sri Aurobindo writes “When the sun sets and all become silent, sit down under a tree for a moment and put yourself into communication with Nature: you will feel rising from the earth, from below roots of the trees and mounting upwards and coursing through their fibres upto the highest outstretching branches, the aspiration of an intense love and longing, - a longing for something that brings light and gives happiness. There is a yearning so pure and intense that if you can feel the movement in the trees, your own being too will go up in an ardent prayer for the peace and light and love that are unmanifested here”.

Rationale of the Study

Greens are the cheapest of all the vegetables within the reach of poor man, being richest in their nutritional value. The problem of malnutrition is assuming seriousness in the vulnerable groups viz., adolescents, pregnancy, lactation and school children, not because of poverty but because of ignorance, illiteracy and callousness of the people. The lack of knowledge especially on the nutritive value of these green leafy vegetables among the public in general is the main drawback in their lower consumption. (Jyoti, 2008)

The agricultural production is inherently a risky business characterized by seasonality; perishability and variability which make it susceptible to vagaries of climate and markets and thus farmers face a variety of agricultural risks. In response to these risks over a period of time, several risk management mechanisms have been evolved. Risk management strategies refer to ex-ante measures taken before such an event has taken place, whereas risk coping strategies are, ex-post strategies dealing with the consequences of the event (World Bank Report, 2005). Invariably, farmers use both ex-ante and ex-post strategies. It is interesting to note that so far agriculture risk management has been in terms of risk avoidance and risk reduction and mostly these risks are addressed at farm or production level. Currently there has been a shift in agriculture risk management from risk avoidance and risk reduction strategies to risk mitigation strategies. Similarly, there exist shifts from production to market orientation in agriculture. To understand this phenomenon involved, it is felt necessary to study the agricultural risk management behaviour farmers. Keeping this discussion as focal point, the study was conducted with an objective to assess risk management behaviour of farmers.

Livestock sector plays a vital role in the welfare of India’s rural population by acting as an important source of income and employment in the rural sector (Dastagiri, 2004). India possesses the largest livestock population in the world and ranks first with (520.6 million), and accounts for the largest number of cattle (world share 16.1%), buffaloes (57.9%), second largest number of goats (16.7%) and third highest number of sheep (5.7%) in the world (FAOSTAT) and sustaining all these in less than 5% of world’s and one-third of Asia’s agricultural land area (MOA, 2003).

In conventional agriculture, spatial variability over the landscape is ignored and fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides etc. are applied at a uniform rate throughout the crop field. Precision Farming emphasizes on the infield variability which is first recognized, located, quantified and recorded, then managed by applying farm inputs  in specific amounts at specific time and at specific locations.

Climate change referred as, a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods (IPCC, 2001). In other words, it is any long term conspicuous deviation from usual prevailing climate bringing variations in normal temperature, rainfall, atmospheric circulation with abnormal expression in extreme climate such as floods, droughts, extreme temperature etc.

Sustainability issues have infused sanity in utilizing interventions without much damage to the environment. The wisdom of the practitioners, who had over generations developed their own eco-friendly practices, is being appreciated. Recent researches have aimed at documenting, rationalizing, and blending the Indigenous Knowledge with the so called Scientific or Western knowledge so as to take care of the sustainability issues. Many researchers have contributed to this pool of knowledge by documenting many of the technologies, crop wise, area wise and operation wise and so on.