eChapters

1.    Diffusivity of gases at atmospheric pressure is

(a) < 1 cm²/s

(b) >1 cm²/s

(c) > 10 cm²/s

(d) > 100 cm²/s

2.    Diffusivity of liquids is of the order of

(a) 0.1 cm²/s

(b) 10 cm²/s

(c) 100 cm²/s (d) 1 x 10^-5 cm²/s

3.1 MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY (AVERAGES)

When data are presented in raw form or in the form of frequency distribution, they fail to provide a general idea of the data under study. The general idea of statistical methods is to condense the raw data into a form that can convey some meaningful characteristic(s) of the data. Though classification simplifies the data and improves the understanding of the main characteristics in the data, it is still difficult to remember. In any distribution of data, values of a variable may tend to cluster (or concentrate) around a central value. The data must be condensed into a single value. Such presentation of data is called a Central Tendency and the measures devised to consider this tendency are known as Measures of Central Tendency.

An average condenses a frequency distribution or raw data and presents it in a single representative number. It is that single value which is considered as the most representative or typical value for a set of values. Such a value usually lies somewhere near the centre of the group. That is why, an average is usually referred to as a measure of central tendency. It is located at a point around which most of the other values tend to cluster and therefore it is also termed as a measure of central location.

 1. A mineral that forms an original component of rock is called

a. Primary         b. Secondary

c. Essential         d. Accessory

I. INTRODUCTION
The fruits and vegetables we eat and flowers and ornamentals we enjoy are biological entities. They breath, produce heat, perspire, are easily damaged, get diseases and finally die. These carry on processes characteristics of all living things before or after harvest to perform the metabolic activities:
1. to maintain cellular organization
2. to transport metabolites around the tissue and
3. to maintain membrane permeability.
The job of postharvest technologist is to understand life in fruits, vegetables and flowers and prolong their life as much as possible. The post harvest life of produce depends on the rate at which they use up their stored food reserves and their rate of water loss. The sugar and starches (carbohydrate derivatives) are stored in various parts of plants through a process known as photosynthesis occurring in growing plants and are used later to provide energy for further growth, development and to prolong post-harvest life. The process of photosynthesis in growing plants and respiration in harvested produce can be seen in Fig. 2.1. The released energy through process known as respiration occurs in plants before and after harvest. Thus, principal normal physiological processes leading to aging are respiration and transpiration.

Low rainfall or failure of monsoon rains is a recurring feature in India. This has been responsible for drought and famines. The word drought, generally, denotes scarcity of water in a region. Though, aridity and drought are due to insufficient water, aridity is a permanent climatic feature and is the culmination of a number of long term process. However, drought is a temporary condition that occurs for a short period due to deficient precipitation for vegetation, river flow, water supply and human consumption. Drought is due to anomaly in atmospheric circulation.

Digital technologies are transforming horticultural production by enabling data-driven crop management and precise decision-making. This chapter introduces agricultural informatics, sensors, Internet of Things, remote sensing, drones, artificial intelligence, machine learning, geographic information systems, robotics, and precision technologies. These tools can support crop monitoring, disease detection, irrigation scheduling, nutrient management, yield prediction, phenotyping, and resource optimization. AI-based image analysis can identify symptoms and assist in early crop diagnosis, while sensors provide continuous information about soil and plant conditions. The chapter emphasizes the integration of digital data with practical horticultural knowledge to improve productivity, profitability, sustainability, and resilience while reducing unnecessary inputs and improving decision-making.

Horticultural commodities are highly perishable because they remain physiologically active after harvest and are susceptible to moisture loss, respiration, microbial deterioration, mechanical injury, and physiological disorders. This chapter introduces principles of harvesting maturity, handling, grading, sorting, packaging, storage, transportation, and cold-chain management. Appropriate post-harvest practices help preserve freshness, nutritional quality, appearance, and market value while reducing losses. The chapter also examines value addition through processing, drying, preservation, packaging, and development of new horticultural products. Efficient post-harvest systems connect production with consumers and markets and are particularly important for high-value fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, and other perishable commodities. Together, improved technology, quality management, and value addition can significantly increase farmer income and strengthen horticultural value chains.

Weather is the integrated effect of the atmospheric conditions at any given instant. Climate is the collective state of the atmosphere at any given place or over an area within a specified period of time (usually over 30 years? period).The branch of meteorology that deals with the science of climate is known as Climatology. Primarly the elements of climate are sunshine (solar energy), temperature, moisture and winds. Climate elements vary regionally and temporally. The most fundamental control of weather and climate is the unequal heating and cooling of the atmosphere in different parts of the earth. The zone of maximum solar radiation shifts northward and southward during the year, thereby producing seasons. When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere and vice-versa. Broadly speaking, both the hemispheres have two distinct seasonal climates in a year namely, the summer or comparatively hot climate and the winter or the cold climate. The atmospheric circulation patterns over the two hemispheres also undergo changes during these two distinct seasons. The change is phenomenal in the tropical regions. In the summer monsoon region, there is reversal of wind flow in the lower troposhere, sudden increase of precipitation etc. Besides the change in the general circulation pattern with the season, the climate of a place is affected by variety of local features such as vegetation, nature of the surface, the slope of the land etc. On the basis of climate, the period of a year has been divided into four seasons in India. They are:

Cold weather season (Winter season) – December and January; Pre-monsoon or Hot weather season – March to May; Southwest or Summer Monsoon season – June to September and Post-monsoon season - October to December. Each of these seasons has its own characteristic features of pressure and temperature distributions, winds, precipitation, humidity etc. The major synoptic disturbances in the Indian region also differ with the season.

Agricultural food production is increased by adopting scientific farming methods and another way to increase the availability of food is preventing the food spoilage by adopting food preservation methods. The global agricultural and fish production accounts for 50% of perishable food, which requires preservation. Only half of the perishable foods are properly protected. Application of innovative technologies to promote the production of food is indispensable to meet the demand of emerging populations. It is equally important to protect the stored food from the invasion of pests and diseases. A food saved is a food produced.

Food Processing and Preservation, branch of manufacturing that transforms raw animal, vegetable, or marine materials into tasty, nutritious, and safe food products. The industry has its roots in ancient times, as humans have always needed to obtain food and store a portion for later use. Prehistoric humans may have dried fruits in the sun and stored meat in cold areas, such as ice caves. The modern food processing and preservation industry was born in 1809, when French chef and inventor Nicolas Appert, searching for a better way to provide food for Napoleon’s army, devised a method for sterilizing food in tightly sealed glass bottles.

Today a wide variety of methods are available to maintain and enhance the appearance and taste of food. Food processing and preservation methods also create products that are convenient for consumers, such as products that are ready to eat or require minimal preparation and cooking. Combining these methods with modern distribution networks makes seasonal crops available year-round in grocery stores all over the world.

Wings develop internally 

Metamorphosis complete 

Immature stages (larvae) differ from adults in structure, habitat and feeding habits 

Pupal stage present, e.g. all holometabolus insects

16.1 Balance and Weighing

16.1.1 Principle of Functioning of a Balance

It is one of the important tools used in the laboratory and one should have thorough knowledge aboutitsassembly, use and care,otherwise it may be the initialstep for introducing error in any physical or chemical analysis. Every balancehas its maximum load limit and sensitivity depending upon its construction.

Essentially balance may be regarded as a rigid beam, BC having a central fulcrum, O and two arms of equal length, d₁, d₂ (Fig.16.1). Theboth ends of beam have prism edges upon which the balance pans are suspendedby means of suitable suspension.

Introduction

Northeastern Region of India consists of eight States, viz., Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.  The northeastern states are located between geographical ordinates, 21° to 29°30' N and 89°46' to 97°30' E. The region, surrounded almost on all sides by Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh, which can be broadly divided into two characteristic zones viz., Mountainous and Plain. Although distinguished in the altitude differences, both the mountain and plain are closely interrelated in terms of natural resource sharing and economic flow. According to the physiographic characters this region is divided into five physiographic units, the Assam Himalayas, the Brahmaputra valley, the Shillong plateau, the Barak valley and the Southeastern hill region. Except the Brahmaputra and Barak valleys in Assam and the Imphal valley in Manipur, the terrain is hilly and mountainous, only making 65% of the northeast an undulating land with elevations ranging from 200 to 900 m above MSL

The R&D thrust in the pharmaceutical sector is focused on development of new drugs, innovative/indigenous processes for known drugs and development of plant based drugs through investigation of leads from the traditional systems of medicine. In addition, many nutraceuticals are being consumed from unregulated markets for their perceived benefits in health care and improvement of quality of life.

Natural pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals are of great importance as a reservoir of chemical diversity aimed at new drug discovery and can be explored as potential antimicrobial, cardiovascular, immunosuppressive, and anticancer drugs. Around 80% of all such products are of plant origin; their sales exceeded $ 65 billion in 2003. Examples of plant products and derivatives used by the pharmaceutical industry include Paclitaxel, Vincristine, Vinblastine, Artemisinin, Camptothecin, Podophyllotoxin and such.

The nutraceutical marketplace in Europe is estimated to be $ 9 billion, while the US marketplace, estimated to be $10-12 billion in 2003, is expanding at a compounded rate of more than 20% per year. US Congress has fueled the rapid growth of nutraceuticals with the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) in 1994. Globally, there have been efforts to monitor quality and regulate the growing business of herbal drugs and traditional medicine.

Theoretical orientation involves the scholarly and theoretical process that shapes the precise definition and written content of a complete research project. It involves incorporating conceptual ideas, logical discussions, and the quest for knowledge to develop a theory that aligns with the defined objectives and research design established during the research process.

3.1 Migration

Migration refers to the process of individuals or groups of people moving from one place to another with the intention of establishing a new permanent or semi permanent residence. It involves the relocation of people across geographical, political, or social boundaries, typically over long distances. Migration can occur within a country (internal migration) or involve crossing international borders (international migration).

People migrate for various reasons, including economic opportunities, seeking better living conditions, escaping persecution or conflict, joining family members, pursuing education or career opportunities, or being forced to leave their homes due to natural disasters or environmental factors. The motivations behind migration can be complex and multifaceted, influenced by a combination of push factors (negative circumstances in the home country) and pull factors (attractive opportunities in the destination country).Migration can take different forms, such as labour migration, where individuals move to another region or country for employment purposes, or refugee migration, where people flee their home countries due to fear of persecution or violence. It can be temporary or permanent, with some migrants returning to their home countries after a period of time, while others settle permanently in their new location and may eventually become citizens of that country.

The mango is one of the choicest fruit crops of tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Its popularity and importance can easily be realized by the fact that it is referred as ‘King of fruits’ in the tropical world. India ranks first, both in area (2.51 million hectares) and production (15.02 million tonnes) of mango and it contributes to 42.1 per cent of world’s mango production. Presently, India is home to more than 1000 mango cultivars differing in taste, aroma, size, fibre content and pulp characteristics.

Though more than 1000 mango cultivars are reported, only 25-30 are of commercial importance. Most of the important cultivars are not amendable to hi-tech cultivation practices and do not meet the requirements of modern horticultural production systems like precocity in bearing, dwarfing, regularity in bearing with high yield, resistant to diseases, pests, physiological disorders and good keeping quality. Hence, breeding attempts to develop an ideal mango variety would be dwarf, regular bearer with medium size fruits (250-300g). Additionally, it should be highly tolerant to various fungal and bacterial diseases. A variety suitable for pickling is also gaining the attention of the breeders. An ideal pickling type should have high acidity, high fibre, good texture and characteristic raw mango flavour.

The first and foremost step in developing an ideotype is to explore the vast diversity and systematic characterization for utilization in the breeding programme.

Considering the importance of conserving the available gene pool, systematic exploration works are being carried out by National Institute like Indian Institutes of Horticultural Research (IIHR, Bangalore), National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR, New Delhi) and others to collect and conserve the germplasm in Field Gene Banks. Recently, in addition to the traditional germplasm conservation methods, cryopreservation is also gaining importance especially in the conservation of nuclear gene (pollen parent) diversity for future breeding.

Utilizing the conserved germplasm in the breeding programme requires precise information on the genetic relationships within such germplasm. Information on the genetic distance among the germplasm accessions will also help to avoid the duplicates, widen the genetic base of the core collections and ultimately help in preserving the valuable diversity.

1.    Botanical Background/Classification
    
2.    Nutritive and Medicinal Values of Fruits
    
3.    Genetic Resources
    
4.    Plant Propagation
    
5.    Design and Orchard Management
    
6.    Physiology of Fruit Trees
        
References