eChapters

1.    The term Horticulture is derived from two Latin words  Hortus meaning = Garden and Cultura meaning = Cultivation.

2.    In ancient days the gardens had protected enclosures with high walls or similar structures surrounding the houses.

3.    The enclosed places were used to grow fruit, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants. Therefore, in original sense “Horticulture refers to cultivation of garden plant within protected enclosures”.

Definition: Horticulture is the branch of science which deals the cultivation, utilization and management of horticultural crops eg. fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, plantations, medicinal and aromatic plants.

Precise collection and processing of soil sample is the first and foremost step for carrying out any soil study, therefore it is essential to collect the coil sample very accurately keeping in view the variations in slope, colour and texture of the soil management aspects. Soil sampling should be avoided from non-representative sites like recently fertilized plots, bunds, channels, marshy tracts and spots near trees, wells, compost piles etc. It should be kept in mind that erroneous samples will never yield accurate result in spite of very improved method of analysis. The depth of sampling may vary according to the need of soil study and extent of rhizosphere. However, in general the sampling depth for field crops is the plough layer (0 - 15 cm) but it could be up to one meter or as per the purpose of the study. Soil samples in dry farming areas should be taken depth wise as the roots of the crops in this conditions reaches to deeper layers in search of water and nutrients.

Mainly two types of soil samples (disturbed and undisturbed) are used for determining the physical properties of soil. The disturbed soil samples are used for determination of particle size distribution, particle density, aggregation, column studies for diffusion-dispersion coefficients and soil-water diffusivity. Whereas, undisturbed (core) soil samples are used for the estimation of bulk density, porosity, retention and transmission characteristics of air and water.

FOR GROUPED DATA

Objective: The following data shows the marks of students and their frequencies find the standard deviation and its coefficient.

Introduction

Biological nitrification is a two-phase process, which consists of the oxidation of ammonia-nitrogen to nitrite-nitrogen by species of genera Nitrosomonas, Nitrosospira and Nitrosogloea, and the subsequent oxidation of nitrite-nitrogen to nitrate-nitrogen by species of the genera Nitrobacter and Nitrocystis. The following equations explain the reaction.The importance of nitrifying organisms in soil is based on their capacity to produce nitrate, the major source of nitrogen assimilated by higher plants. The rate of nitrification is dependent on such factors as concentration of NH₄+, temperature, moisture, aeration and pH. Bacteria have their optimal activity at an alkaline reaction. Below pH 7.0 the process declines.

After independence, the Government of India realized the need of diversification in agriculture during the mid-eighties with an objective to make it more profitable through efficient land use. Due to diverse agro-climatic conditions, rich diversity in genetic resources of horticultural crops, sincere efforts through education and research, implementation of standardized technology by horticulturist in the field has achieved not only the production, productivity and export of horticultural produce but also the food and nutritional security. Such horticulture development in India is proudly said as “Golden Revolution”. Horticulture is also said to be a sunrise industry as it has potential to raise farm income, provide livelihood security and earn foreign exchange through export.

The horticulture industry is now expanding in many commercial sectors such as cultivation, production, post-harvest handling, processing, marketing, etc. Horticulture crops are grown on an area of 10% of India’s gross cropped area, as compared to over 50% of the area under food grains production. 

Estrus is referred to as the period of estrous cycle during which the female animal allows the male for mating. It is the period of estrous cycle during which insemination is done to female animal so that the animal will become pregnant. During estrus, cow usually seeks out the male and ’stands’ for him to mate her. In all domestic species, Ovulation occurs during this phase of the cycle but in case of cow, ovulation occurs about 12 hours after the end of estrus period.

Objective
After performing this experiment you will be able to learn:
Thermal Shock Resistance in Glass.

Principle

Thermal shock occurs when different parts of an object expand at different rates due to a thermal gradient. This differential expansion creates stress or strain within the material. If this stress exceeds the material's strength, it can lead to the formation of cracks. If these cracks are not stopped from propagating, they can cause the material to fail structurally. Thermal shock is quantified by the temperature difference between the heated temperature T1 and the cold water bath temperature T2 to which the object is subsequently exposed, which can reveal any cracks or damage.

Purpose of Thermal Shock Test

Glass items often experience significant temperature changes during normal use, and the thermal shock test is designed to ensure their resistance to such conditions. For example, moving a casserole dish from a hot oven to a cool countertop might be enough to cause it to break. This test evaluates the quality, durability, and strength of glass packaging materials used for both solid and liquid food products.

The history of nanotechnology in the modern world dates back to 1959 when American physicist Richard Feynman inspired the scientific community in his lecture “There is a plenty of rooms at the bottom”. Research on nanosized particles dramatically developed into an important field of modern research with potential effects in electronics to medicine and recently in agriculture and food industry.

Nanoparticles exhibit unique properties in terms of chemical, physical, photoelectrochemical and electronic properties when compared to their respective bulk materials. The applications of these nanosized particles are defined in a bigger ways in the field of Biotechnology. All these applications require custom based synthesis methods for specific applications.

Objective: To check the integrity of isolated RNA on agarose gel.

Background information:

The most common method used to assess the integrity of total RNA is to run RNA sample on agarose gel (denaturing) stained with ethidium bromide (EtBr). While native (non-denaturing) gels can be used, the results can be difficult to interpret. The secondary structure of RNA alters its migration pattern in nativegels so that it will not migrate according to its true size. Nondenaturing conditions also result in bands that are not as sharp, and even multiple bands representing different structures of a single RNA species.

Intact total RNA run on a denaturing gel will have sharp, clear 28S and 18S rRNA bands (eukaryotic samples). The 28S rRNA band should be approximately twice as intense as the 18S rRNA band. This 2:1 ratio (28S:18S) is a good indication that the RNA is completely intact. Partially degraded RNA will have a smeared appearance, will lack the sharp rRNA bands, or will not exhibit the 2:1 ratio of high quality RNA. Completely degraded RNA will appear as a smear (having very low mw). Inclusion of RNA size markers on the gel will determine the band size or smears size and will also serve as a good control for ensuring proper gel run. Note: Poly selected samples will not contain strong rRNA bands and will appear as a smear from approximately 6 kb to 0.5 kb (resulting from the population of mRNAs, and depending on exposure times and conditions), with the area between 1.5 and 2 kb being the most intense (this smear is sometimes apparent in total RNA samples as well).

The various systems of training the vines adopted in the vine-growing centres in India are as follows:

1. Head system
2. Bower system
3. Kniffin system
4. Overhead trellis

COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION:

The most important of all the relative measure of dispersion is the coefficient of variation. This word is variation not variance. There is no such thing as coefficient of variance. The coefficient of variation( C.V.) is defined

Aim

To determine the area of the given field by radiation method using a prismatic compass.

Materials required

Prismatic Compass

Tripod

Measuring tape

Arrows

Ranging Rods

12.1. Women in Agriculture

Women are actively involved in various agricultural activities.

Introduction

Phosphate solubilising microorganisms include different groups of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes, which convert insoluble phosphatic compounds into soluble form. The species of Pseudomonas, Micrococcus, Bacillus, Flavobacterium, Penicillium, Fusarium, Sclerotium, Aspergillus and others have been reported to be active in bioconversion. Such bacteria and fungi can grow in media where Ca₃(PO₄) ₂, FePO₄, AlPO₄, apatite, bone meal, rock phosphate or similar insoluble phosphate compounds are the sole source of phosphate. Such microorganisms not only assimilate phosphorus but they also cause a large portion of soluble phosphate to be released in quantities in excess of their own requirements. The solubilisation is not restricted to calcium salts but iron

The profitability of poultry farming primarily depends on reduction in feed cost, which can be achieved by utilizing optimum concentrations of energy and crude protein (CP) from economically viable and nutritionally balanced feed ingredients. Soya bean meal (SBM) is conventionally used as a source of protein in poultry diet. However, the shortage and escalating cost of this prime protein source makes poultry farming uneconomical in many developing countries. Continuous efforts are, therefore, is on in search of viable alternate protein feed ingredients for SBM. 

Objective: To synthesize cDNA from isolated plant total RNA.

Background information:

Complementary DNA (cDNA) is double-stranded DNA made from template of single stranded RNA, [e.g., mRNA or microRNA] by reverse transcriptase enzyme. Mostly cDNA is used for cloning of eukaryotic genes in the prokaryotes. For the expression of a specific protein in a cell where the expression of that protein is not found (i.e., heterologous expression), the cDNA will be transferred that codes for the protein to the recipient cells. Retroviruses (e.g. HIV-1, HIV-2, simian immunodeficiency virus, etc.) also produce cDNA naturally and integrate in host's genome and further creates provirus (Croy, 1998). Major use of cDNA is in gene cloning or as gene probes or in the creation of a cDNA library. When scientists transfer a gene from one cell into another cell for the expression of new genetic material as a protein in the recipient cell, the cDNA will be added to the recipient (rather than the entire gene), because the DNA for an entire gene may have certain DNA that may not code for the protein or that interrupts the coding sequences of the protein (e.g., introns). Partial sequences of cDNAs are often obtained as expressed sequence tags.

The Indian subcontinent is bestowed with a great variety of climate and soil conditions. Broadly the country can be divided into tropical, subtropical and temperate regions, within each broad category there are differences due to rainfall, humidity, altitude etc. Considering these aspects six different horticultural zones have been identified so that appropriate choice of the crops can be made and development is planned. They are;

Temperate: Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, North Uttarakhand, Sikkim and part of Arunachal Pradesh.

N.W. Subtropical: Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Central Uttar Pradesh and North Madhya Pradesh.

N.E. Subtropical: Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur.

Central tropical: South Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa and West Bengal.

Southern tropical: Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Coastal tropical humid: Konkan, Goa, Kerala, Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.

Growth

Growth means quantitative increase in the planwt body e.g., increases in the length of stem, roots, number of leaves, fresh and dry weight of fruits etc.

Development

It refers to the qualitative changes from the initiation of growth to the death of a plant or plant parts like seed germination, formation of flowers, fruits and seeds, emergence of buds, leaves and falling of leaves and fruits.

Bulk density is the ratio of oven-dry mass of soil to its total volume before drying. Knowledge of bulk density is useful in calculating moisture content by volume, porosity using particle density, volume of a known weight of soil, and weight of a furrow-slice. Bulk density is a direct measure of soil compaction. Bulk density is highly dependent on any kind of physical manipulation, degree of wetness, and kind and arrangement of soil particles. For this reason, preservation of original structure in the sample is most essential aspect of the methodology for determination of bulk density. Common methods of determining soil bulk density use soil cores or clods in their natural state.

1. Botanical Name : Aesculus indica Colebr

2. Family : Sapindaceae

3. Common Name : Himalayan horse chestnut

4. Name in Indian languages: Khanor, Bankhor, Tatwakhar (Himachali), Bankhor, Kanor, (Hindi), Kakra, Hanudun (Kashmir), Kanur, Gun, Khanor (Punjabi). Pangar (Kumoani), Ghode Pangro(Nepali).

5. Description

Aesculus indica or Himalayan horse chestnut, is a spectacular tree with pinkish white blossoms. It is found growing in the Himalayan forests between 2,000 and 3,000 metres msl. It is an attractive tree, bearing beautiful, multi coloured blossoms during May and June. The leaves are also ornamental and form a beautiful canopy. The tree, therefore, is becoming popular as an avenue tree. The tree yield s which are eaten by the people.