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Family : Ebenaceae

Flowering: April-May

Fruiting: (Next Year) March-April

Botanical Description: The plant is a medium-sized tree growing up to 25 m, height and 1.9 m girth. The bark is black in colour, peeling in rectangular scales, which is an identifying feature. The leaves are eliptic-oblong, opposite or alternate, leathery, up to 35 cm long, velvety on both sides when young, becoming smooth above when fully grown. Male flowers are mauve in colour, sessile or nearly sessile in short peduncles, mostly 3-flowered. Female flowers mauve, mostly extra-axillary or sometimes solitary, axillary, opposite to each other, larger than the male flowers. Fruits olive green in colour, ovoid or globose 3-4 cm across, 1-8 seeded berries. Seeds are compressed, oblong and shiny.

1. Botanical Name: Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb.

2. Family: Ebenaceae

3. Common Name: East Indian ebony, Tendu

4. Name in Indian languages

Tendu, Timburni (Hindi), Kend, Kendu (Bengali), Abanasi, Balai (Kannada), Kari (Malayalam), Tendu, Temru, Timburni (Marathi), Dirghapatraka (Sanskrit), Karai, Karundumbi, Tumbi (Tamil), Tuniki, Beedi, Aaku (Telugu).

1. Botanical Name : Docynia indica Syn. Docynia hookeriana, Syn. Docynia rufifolia, Syn. Malus docynioides, Syn. Pyrus indica, Syn. Pyrus rufifolia

2. Family : Rosaceae (Pomeae)

3. Common Name : Mehal

4. Name in Indian languages

Sohphoh (Khasi), Mel, Mehal (Nepali), Tong, Thung kakpa (Bhutan).

5. Description

Docynia indica is deciduous tree found in India and South East Asia. The trees are medium to tall in height. It requires a well-drained soil in a sunny position. This species can tolerate temperatures down to about -5 to -10°C. Fruits are acidic and greenish with red tinged. Fruits are eaten as fresh or pickles as well used in jelly preparation. It is also used as rootstock for imparting semi-dwarf in apple.

Common name    :    English- Lucky bean tree 
        Hindi- Putija/Putranjiva
        Odia- Poitundia/Poichandia

Family    :    Euphorbiaceae

Habit & Distribution 
It is a tree (Fig. 46 a), growing in hills, in wild often planted and self shown. It is distributed throughout tropical India.

General Characters
The plant is a moderate sized evergreen tree growing up to 12 meter in height. Leaves are simple, alternately arranged, dark green and shiny in colour. There are two types of flowers with short stalk, in rounded axillary clusters; females are green and 4 mm across. Fruits are ellipsoid or rounded drupes, white velvetly, seed normally one, stone pointed and very hard. The plant flowers during March-April and bears fruits during January-March.

1. Botanical Name: Elaegnus parviflora Wall. Ex. Royle

2. Family: Elaeagnaceae

3. Common Name: Autumn Olive

4. Name in Indian languages

Giwain, Kankal (Hindi, Kumoani), Heiyai (Manipuri), Guenlee (Nepali).

5. Description

Autumn olive is a small tree or shrub, often spiny. The small white (fading to yellow) flowers have a sickly-sweet aroma.

6. Origin and distribution

Autumn olive is found in the Himalayas, from Kashmir to Bhutan, Assam and western China, at altitudes of 1300-3000 m.

1. Botanical Name : Elaeocarpus munronii (Wt.) mast)

2. Family : Elaeocarpaceae

3. Common Name : Kalarudraksha

4. Name in Indian languages

Idanji pan (Koodwa), Nari Bikki, Kal Bikki (Kannada), Rudraksham (Tamil), Kalarudraksham, Shirukodala (Malayalam).

5. Description

Elaeocarpus munronii is plant in the Elaeocarpaceae family. It is found only in India. It is threatened by habitat loss. Trees grows up to 15 m tall.Trunk is greyish, smooth and blaze cream. Leaves are simple, alternate, 4-9 cm long , ovate Flowers axillary in racemes, white. Fruit is Drupe, elliptic and 2 cm long, smooth with single seed

1. Botanical Name : Elaeocarpus tuberculatus Roxb.

2. Family : Elaeocarpaceae

3. Common Name : Warty Marble Tree

4. Name in Indian languages

Kooge pan (Kodwa), Dandale Mara, Kadambola, Kunge Mara (Kannada), Badraksham, Rudraksham, Pahumban, Kara, Ammakorum, Adraksham, Mukkanni, Vellathaanni, Thodayam (Malayalam), Malampinnai, Pathrachi, Ruthraksham (Tamil).

Family: Compositae

Flowering: Aug-December

Fruiting: January-April

Botanical description: The plant is an annual herb. The stems are weak, erect or often branched at the base, smooth or sparingly hairy with 10 to 60 cm tall. This species is recognized by the sow-thistle like leaves.

The family Enterobacteriaceae belongs to the order Enterobacterial. The family comprises 25 genera such as Escherichia, Salmonella, Klebsiella, Yersinia, Proteus, Providencia, Shigella, Enterobacter, Morganella, Edwardsiella, Budvicia, Cedecea, Citrobacter, Ewingella, Hafnia, Kluyvera, Leclercia, Leminorella, Moellerella, Pantoea, Rahnella, Tatumella, Trabulsiella, Serratia and Yokenella, out of which the first 10 genera are consistent pathogenic in humans, animals and birds.

Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli were first isolated by Theodor Escherich in 1885 from the faeces of infants. It was named in honour of the German pediatrician and its major natural habitat (colon). Previously it was also known as Bacillus coli or Bacterium coli (B. coli).

Family: Asteraceae

Flowering: December-January

Fruiting: January-February

Botanical description: The plant is a prostrate herb. The stem of the plant is succulent, with short ascending flowering hairy branches. The leaves are narrowly linear-oblong, acute or obtuse, entire or subcrenate with 2-5cm long. Heads yellow in colour, axillary and terminal, sessile with 7-18mm diameter.

8.1 The purpose of erosion research

The need for research

A soil conservation programme needs to be based on factual information about rates and quantities of erosion. For example some land obviously needs to be protected by mechanical works such as channel terraces, some land equally obviously does not need any protection, and a great deal of land lies somewhere between the two extremes. At some point the terraces become unnecessary or uneconomic, but a logical decision on where to draw the line can only be made if data are available on how much soil erosion is occurring and how much it would be reduced by terraces. Similarly, the effect of channel terraces should be compared with the effect of alternative measures, and the effect should also be measured on the different soils and crops which are likely to be encountered.

Nowadays there are excellent opportunities for research workers to exchange the results of their work. The national and iniernational journals are packed with accounts and results of research reports in their proceedings (as listed in Further reading). Some of the reported research results can be usefully applied in countries other than where the research was done, but care is required in any transfer of technology. If the local conditions of soil, climate, or land use, are different, the results may not apply. However, research in other situations can often serve as a pilot trial to show which factors should be studied locally. Even when local conditions are so different that the results do not apply at all, the techniques and apparatus developed by other workers can still be helpful.

Family: Apiaceae

Flowering: April-June

Fruiting: July-August

Botanical description: The plant is an perennial, erect, dichotomously branched, aromatic herb, growing up to 15-45 cm high. Leaves are sessile, oblanceolate-oblong, spinosely- serrate and glabrous. Inflorescence heads numerous, cylindric, about 10 x 5 mm with the involucral bracts exceeding the heads. Petals are white or greenish in colour. Fruits are greenish, subspherical and about 1.5 mm in diameter.

Common name    :    English- Indian Coral tree
        Hindi- Pangara 
        Odia- Paladhua

Family    :    Fabaceae

Habit & Distribution 
It is a small tree (Fig. 47 a), commonly planted and also found in wild in coastal regions of India.

General Characters
The plant is a prickley tree with smooth and greenish bark. Leaflets are rhomboid-ovate, 5-15cm×5.5-17 cm and acute or acuminate in shape. The flowers are deep red in colour, scarlet, 7 cm long, calyx split and spathaceous with very oblique mouth. Pods are many, subcylindric, narrowed with 15-25 cm long. It is 6-12 seeded, seeds are 1.5-1.8 cm in size with dark purple in colour. The plant flowers during March-April and bears fruits during April-July.

One of the integral components of human and animal liveli hood is food and water without which life cannot sustain on  earth. However, due to high nutritive value of foods and ubiquitous nature of microbes, it is always at risk of microbial spoilage and contamination. World Health Organization (WHO) defined “food-borne illnesses” as diseases, usually either infectious or toxic in nature, caused by agents that enter the body through the ingestion of food. Every consumer is at risk of food-borne illness but conversely every incidence of foodborne illness is potentially preventable. Several bacterial pathogens in particular are responsible for foodborne infections and intoxications.

7.1 The purpose and type of models

Sometimes the simplest way to estimate the effect of a physical process is to use an established equation, or formula, or charts and diagrams based on existing knowledge. The current fashion is to call such aids and solutions models, and they tend to become increasingly complicated and consequently dependent on computers to handle the mathematical processes.

It is important to identify the exact objective and purpose of models which are designed to estimate soil erosion. Two main divisions are models for prediction and models to assist with explanation. If the purpose is to predict amounts of erosion under alternative management practices then empirical models such as the USLE are efficient and effective. For an understanding of the processes of erosion it is necessary to turn to physically-based or deterministic models. The two objectives should not be cross-threaded onto the wrong kind of model, i.e. the USLE should not be seen as a vehicle for research studies on the mechanics of erosion. Neither should sophisticated simulation models be used as the basis for evaluating conservation practices which are better designed on the basis of experience, and evaluated by direct testing in the field.

The different kinds of models need a short explanation:

An empirical solution or model is one based on observation or experiment, and not derived from theory. It fits observed facts, and allows us to predict what will happen in certain circumstances, because we know what has happened before in those circumstances. The reliability of such methods depends on the database of experience: we might say This will certainly happen’ (because it always does), or “Will probably happen’ (because it usually does), or ‘it may happen’ (because it sometimes does). An empirical solution may be a simple approximate relationship or a complex multiple regression equation.

Common name    :    English- Blue gum
        Hindi- Nilgiri
        Odia- Eukalyptus/Nilgiri

Family    :    Myrtaceae

Habit & Distribution 
It is a tree (Fig. 48 a). The plant commonly planted in gardens and elsewhere and also widely cultivated as a plantation crop by forest department. It is commonly seen in most parts of India.

General Characters
The plant is a large, evergreen tree and reaches up to the height of 60 m. The leaves are commonly lanceolate, long-petiole, apperantly alternate and waxy green. The flowers have numerous fluffy stamens which may be white, cream, yellow, pink or red in colour. In the bud, the stamens are enclosed in a cap known as operculum, composed of fused sepals and petals. The plant bears flowers and fruits during January-August.

Exacum bicolor, Roxb. commonly known as country kreat is  endemic to Peninsular India. It is a herbaceous perennial with attractive flowers and posseses medicinal properties. Plant is endangered today due to large scale habitat destruction.  Non- lodging nature of plant, attractive bi-colored flower bunches with a long flowering period and good field life offer great future for this plant to be domesticated as an attractive garden flower. Its ornamental value and medicinal properties are yet to be fully exploited.

India is bestowed with a wide array of flowering plants. It represents two of the 18 hotspots of biodiversity in the world; one being the Western ghats and other the North Eastern Himalayas. Nature has also blessed our India with  uniqueness of endemism. Of the 17000 flowering herbs distributed in nine phyto geographical regions of the country, 5700 are endemic. Exacum  bicolor Roxb. is one of the endemic species to Peninsular India. Plant is popularly known as Bharachirata and Habshi chirata in Hindi, Kannamthali in Malayalam, Dodda  chirayuta in Kannada and ceti in Tamil.

1. Botanical Name : Feronia elephantum Correa syn. Limonia acidissima

2. Family : Rutaceae

3. Common Name : Elephant apple, Wood apple, monkey fruit, curd fruit

4. Name in Indian languages

Kathabel, Kainth (Hindi), Kapittha (Bengali), Kotha (Gujarati), Kavat (Marathi), Belda hanuu (Kannada), Velam, Velan, Vila, Vilanga (Tamil), Vilarmaram (Malayalam), Velaga (Telugu).

1. Botanical Name: Ficus auriculata Lour.

2. Family : Moraceae

3. Common Name : Elephant Ear Fig, Roxburgh fig

4. Name in Indian languages

Fagoora, Phagoora, (Hindi), Timla, Tirmal (Kumaoni), Heiba (Manipuri), Theibal (Mizo), Chanadumari (Nepali).

Family : Moraceae

Flowering: Round the year

Fruiting April - June

Botanical Description: The tree is very large, growing up to 30 m tall, with many aerial roots that develop in to new trunks, so that the tree goes on spreading laterally. Indefinitely a single tree can cover a very wide area. The leaves are leathery, entire, ovate or elliptic, which grow up to 20-30 cm long with prominent lateral veins. The fruits are 1 to 2 cm in diameter, rounded in shape, without stalks arranged in pairs at leaf axils and it changes to bright red colour when ripens. The plant flowers round the year and bears fruits during April-June.

Common name    :    English- Banyan tree
        Hindi- Barh
        Odia- Baro

Family    :    Moraceae

Habit & Distribution
It is a tree (Fig. 49 a), fairly common, seen, in wild and sometimes planted. The plant is widely distributed throughout the plains of India.

General Characters
The tree is very large, growing up to 30 m tall, with many aerial roots that develop in to new trunks, so that the tree goes on spreading laterally, indefinitely. A single tree can cover a very wide area. The leaves are leathery, entire, ovate or elliptic, which grow up to 20-30 cm long with prominent lateral viens. The fruits are 1 to 2 cm in diameter, rounded in shape, without stalks arranged in pairs at leaf axils and it changes to bright red colour when ripens. The plant flowers round the year and bears fruits during April-June.

1. Botanical Name : Ficus palmata Forsk.

2. Family: Moraceae

3. Common Name: Wild Himalayan fig

4. Name in Indian languages

Anjiri, Bedu, Khemri, Jangli-Anjir (Hindi), Pheru (Gardwali), Bedu (Kumauni), Phegra, Fagura, Khasra, Daghla, Anjir (Himachali), Phegwara, Phagoru, Fagu, Anjir (Punjabi), Heibam (Manipuri), Manjimedi (Telugu), Pepri (Gujarati).

Common name    :    English- Cluster fig tree
        Hindi- Goolar
        Odia- Dimiri

Family    :    Moraceae

Habit & Distribution 
The plant is a tree (Fig. 50 a), fairly common in valleys and village surroundings. It is widely distributed throughout India.

General Characters
It is a large sized tree with few short areal roots. Leaves are ovate or elliptic with 7-20×3.5-9 cm in size. The most distinctive aspect of this tree is the red, furry figs in short clusters, which grow directly out of the trunk of tree. The figs do carry hundred of flowers in it. The plant flowers during the month March-June and bears fruits during July-September.

Family : Moraceae

Flowering: March-June

Fruiting June-July

Botanical Description: It is a large sized tree with few short areal roots. Leaves are ovate or elliptic with 7-20×3.5-9 cm in size. The most distinctive aspect of this tree is the red, furry figs in short clusters, that grows directly out of the trunk of tree. The figs do carry hundred of flowers in it.

Common name    :    English- Pipal tree
        Hindi- Peepal 
        Odia- Aswatha

Family    :    Moraceae

Habit & Distribution 
The plant is a large tree (Fig. 51 a), found in common, wild or human setteled localities. The plant is widely distributed throughout India.

General Characters
It is a large tree with grey bark and numerous roots which have fused with stem. Leaves are leathery, 4-8 inches long by 3-5 inches width with tailed at the tip and heart shaped at the base. Fruit is a fig which is axilary, sessile, 1-1.5 cm diameter and turns into dark purple when ripens. The plant flowers during June to October.

1. Botanical Name : Flacourtia indica

2. Family : Flacourtiaceae

3. Common Name : Governor’s plum

4. Name in Indian languages: Bilangra (Hindi), Benchi (Bengali), Mulanninchil (Tamil), Athruna (Marathi), Karimulli (Malyalam), shruvavrikksha (Sanskrit), Nakka-neredu (Telugu).

5. Description

This is a bushy shrub or tree with a spiny trunk and branches. It may grow upto 10 metero. The drooping branches bear oval leaves. Governor’s plum is a common in tropical dry deciduous and thorn forests, though more abundant in the former. It also occurs in seasonally dry forest, woodland, bushland, thickets, wooded grassland, and often in riparian vegetation. The species is drought resistant though somewhat frost tender.

1. Botanical Name : Flacourtia montana J. Graham

2. Family : Flacourtiaceae

3. Common Name : Mountain Sweet Thorn

4. Name in Indian languages

Raan-tambut (Marathi), Caralvvazham (Malayalam), Attak, Hennu Sampige (Kannada), Atak, Chamfar(Konkani), Attak (Gujarati), Male Kakkade (Kodwa).

1. Botanical name : Fragaria indica Andr.

2. Family : Rosaceae

3. Common Name : Wild strawberry, Indian Strawberry, Mock strawberry

4. Name in Indian languages

Kiphaliya (Hindi), Kaphai (Kumaoni), Kakyen, Khujin, Laba, Linmahu (Manipuri), Sarpe Phool, Bhuin aiselu (Nepali), Bhuinaakhe, Kophal (Himachali).

5. Description

It is small perennial herb. It is found in cool and shady locations in wastelands as well as in the cultivated fields. The fruits are bright-red color, The plant resembles the strawberry to a great extent.

Most trees legumes thrive in tropical regions but N2 fixing non leguminous trees are prevalent in temperature conditions. Callatiam and coworkers from U.K. cultivated Frankia for the first time in 1978 in pure culture. A number of non-leguminous shrubs and trees as Alnus, Myrics, Hippophae, Casuarina and Elaeagnus are nodulated by N₂ fixing Actinomycetes, Frankia with Frankiaceae (Actinomycetes), the only acyinomycete reported to fix nitrogen to date. The so called actinorhizal plants include 7 orders, 8 families, 17 genera and 173 species of dicotyledons plants reported by Gaur, (2010), whereas 200 plants and 23 genera were reported by Diagne et al. (2013). Some of the important non-leguminous families and genera are given in Table 12.1.

Family: Asparagaceae

Flowering: October-January

Botanical description: The plant is an evergreen perennial shrub. It is stemless or with a short stem up to 1 m tall, producing a rosette of leaves of about 40 - 180cm long. The leaves are sword-shaped, 1-1.8 m long and 10-15 cm broad at their widest point, narrowing to 6-7 cm broad at the leaf base, and to a sharp spine tip at the apex. The flowers are greenish to creamy white, 4 cm long, and strongly scented.

1. Botanical name: Garcinia gummigutta L (Roxb).

2. Family: Clusiaceae

3. Common Name : Cambodge Tree, Malabar-tamarind

4. Name in Indian languages

Panapuli (Kodwa), Manda huli, Mantulli, Punara huli, Seeme hunnise, Upagi mara (Kannada), Gorakkapuli, Pinar, Kodampuli, Kudapuli, Marapuli, Meenpuli, Perumpuli, Pinampuli (Malayalam), Gorakkapuli, Heela, Kottukkappuli, Panampuli (Tamil).

1. Botanical name : Garcinia indica Chiocey

2. Family : Clusiaceae

3. Common Name : Kokum, Indian butter tree

4. Name in Indian languages

Kokum (Hindi), Bheranda, Bhiranda, Kokamba, Kokambi, Ratamba, Ratambi, Tambada Amba (Marathi), murgal, Murgal-mara(Tamil), Kaattampi, Kokkam(Malayalam), Murgina, Punarpuli, Devana huli (Kannada), Tintali (Oriya), Kokam(Gujarati), Bhirind, Kokam (Konkani), Vrikshamla, (Sanskrit).

1. Botanical Name : Garcinia xanthochymus Hook

2. Family : Clusiaceae

3. Common Name : Mysore Gamboge, Sour mangosteen, Yellow Mangosteen

4. Name in Indian languages

Jharambi, Tamal, Tumul (Hindi), Dampel, Tamal hindi tepor, Tepor tenga (Assamese), Chalata Bengali), Devajarige, Devagarike, Devangi, Gansargi, Hirekanigu (Kannada), Anavaya, Pinar, Samudrapacca (Malayalam), Tapinchha(Oriya), Bhavishya, Kalakhanda, Kusumodar (Sanskrit), Paccilai, Pachilai, Pacchilai (Tamil), Cikatimranu, Ivarumamidi, Memaditamalamu, Sikatimramu (Telugu), Beenakepuli (Kodwa).

1. Botanical Name : Garuga pinnata Roxb.

2. Family : Burseraceae

3. Common Name : Garuga, grey downy balsam

4. Name in Indian languages

Kharpat (Hindi), Kakad (Marathi), Arunelli (Tamil), Annakaara (Malayalam), Garuga (Telugu), Konda vepa (Kannada), Kapila (Bengali), Khusimb (Gujarati), Karnikar (Sanskrit), Pama (Assami).

Family: Molluginaceae

Flowering: March-June

Fruiting: July-October

Botanical description: The plant is a prostrate annual herb, growing upto to 50 cm long. Leaves are in pseudo-whorls of 3-6 or opposite; leaf blade is spoon-shaped or elliptic, obtuse or acute apex with short leaf stalks. Flowers are greenish white in colour and about 5mm to 8mm across. Capsule is ellipsoid, shorter than the sepals. Seeds are brown and finely granulate.

Ecology: It is commonly found in sandy soil, especially alone river banks, occasionally found in swampy localities, in dried-up pools and ditches and in rice-fields. The plant loves to grow on sandy soil.

1. Botanical Name : Glycosmis arborea Roxb.

2. Family : Rutaceae

3. Common Name : Orange berry

4. Name in Indian languages

Ban Nimbu (Hindi), Ban jamir (Bangali), Guruvade (Kannada), Menki (Konkani), Kuttippanal (Malayalam), Kirmira (Marathi), Chauladhua (Oriya), Vananimbuka (Sanskrit), Pumippalam(Tamil), Konda golugu (Telugu).

Properties

1. Bacteroides, Dichelobacter and Fusobacterium are major gram negative anaerobes isolated from human and animals. Other gram negative anaerobes are listed below (Table-1).

2. The bacteria are tolerant to oxygen in comparison to strict anaerobes. The bacteria do not die after oxygen exposure.

3. The bacteria naturally inhabit the intestine and mucosal surfaces of human and animals. Majority of them are opportunistic pathogens. Often they cause mixed bacterial infection along with aerobes. The aerobes remove oxygen and create an anaerobic condition favourable for their growth. The aerobes may also supply other growth requirements. For e.g. Porphyromonas asaccharolytica requires vitamin K for its growth, supplied by another aerobic bacterium, not the host.

1. Botanical Name : Grewia tiliifolia Vahl

2. Family : Tiliaceae

3. Common Name : Dhamani, Dhaman

4. Name in Indian languages

Dhamani, Dhaman (Hindi), Unu (Tamil), Unnam (Malayalam), Cahrachi (Telugu), Todsal (Kannada), Dhamin (Bengali), Dhanu vriksha (Sanskrit), Thadachi pan (Kodwa).

5. Description

Dhaman is a moderate-sized to large tree of family Tiliaceae. It is a very close relative of Phalsa. The yellow flower resembles the true Phalsa flower very much. The main difference is in the leaves. The main trunk can be 60cm or more in diameter. The leaves of Dhaman are oblique heart-shaped. Tree trunk is grey or dark brown. It flowers in April- May. The flowers are small, borne on thick axillary peduncles. Whole fruit expect seed are consumed at ripe stage. The tree is harvested from the wild for local use of its fibre, wood and edible fruit. 7. Morphology

Large trees, bark dark brown or greyish-brown, rough, vertically striated; blaze brownish-red, fibrous, streaked; branchlets stellate-tomentose. Leaves simple, alternate; stipules 7-10 mm, lateral, auricled; petiole 8-35 mm, stout, swollen tipped, pubescent; lamina 6-36 x 3-24 cm, broadly ovate or obliquely ovate to round, base obliquely cordate or subcordate, apex acute, margin double serrate or crenate-serrate, glabrescent above and hoary pubescent beneath, coriaceous, 5-7-ribbed from base, prominent, lateral nerves 3-6 pairs, pinnate, prominent, intercostae scalariform, prominent. Flowers bisexual, yellow, in axillary umbels; peduncle 1.5-2 cm long; sepals 5, pubescent; petals 5, yellow, half the length of sepals, entire or notched, densely tomentose outside; stamens many, free, inserted on a glandular torus; gland densely villous on the margin; ovary superior, globose, hirsute, 2-4-celled, ovules 2-many; style subulate; stigma obscurely lobed, recurved. Fruit a drupe, globose to subglobose, reddish-purple, 2-lobed, sparsely hairy.

12.1 The nature of gully erosion

Gully erosion is spectacular and widespread, and so it is often used by conservationists as a characteristic symptom of erosion. As a result there is a danger of its importance being over-emphasized. Certainly it is most important as a source of sediment in streams, but in terms of damage to agricultural land or reduction of agricultural production, it is usually not very important for the simple reason that most land subject to severe gully erosion is of little agricultural significance. The really spectacular erosion so popular in non-technical reports shows large areas cut up by deep interconnecting gullies, but this situation is usually found in semi-arid climates unsuitable for any serious agriculture, or on soils which have such adverse chemical or physical properties that their potential production is very low. Added to this is the fact that gully control is always difficult and expensive, so the cost of reclamation usually exceeds the value of the land. Certainly in the sense of reducing the amount of eroded soil choking the dams and rivers it may be highly desirable to do something about gully erosion, but it is very much a case of prevention being better than cure. Limited resources in manpower, money and materials can usually be better employed in preventing future gullies than in curing existing ones.

The worldwide occurrence and recognition is well demonstrated in the variety of names: in English and American - gully, in Egypt - wadi, in South Africa - donga, in French-speaking lands - ravine, in India - nulla, in South America - carcava, or arroyo, and many others. The definition is the same in any case, a steep-sided eroding watercourse which is subject to intermittent flash floods. They are more common in semi-arid climates with infertile soils and sparse vegetation, but some spectacular examples are found in tropical forests in deep soils with dense vegetation.

1.Botanical name : Haematocarpus validus (Miers) Bakh. f. ex Forman

2.Family : Menispermaceae

3.Common Name : Khoon Phal, Blood Fruit

4. Name in Indian languages

Khoon phal (Hindi), Roktogula/Lalgula (Bengali), Rosco (Chakma), Thoyphal (Tripura), Te.pattang (Garo), Theichhung-sen (Mizo), Ranguichi (Marma), Raktaphal (Tamil/Telugu/Malayalam), Sohsnam (Khasi & Pnar).

5. Description

Khoon Phal is a dicotyledonous plant species. It is an evergreen perennial creeping woody climber capable of growing under extreme conditions, from very dry environments to highly acidic soils. It grows up to 1000 m and more in height with dark green glabrous profusely branched stems. It creeps and grows on other big trees for support.

Family: Malvaceae

Flowering: July-October

Fruiting: October-February

Botanical description: The plant is a robust branched, annual herb that grows 4-7 ft tall and almost as broad. Leaves are dark green in colour, about 6 in across, deeply dissected into 3-5 narrow lobes. The stems, branches, leaf veins, and leaf stalks are reddish purple. The flowers of the plant are yellow with deep purple centre and about 3 inches across. The sepals of the flowers are prominent, fleshy, bright red in colour. Capsule is ovoid, 1.5 cm across with brownish seeds.

1. Botanical Name : Hippophae rhamnoides ssp. Turkestanica L. (Fam.)

2. Family : Elaeagnaceae

3. Common Name : Sea buckthorn,Leh berry

4. Name in Indian languages

Amesh, Khatai (Garhwali), Tarbu (Lahaul), Dhurchuk (Hindi), Chook/ Dhurchuk (Kumoani), Tseta lulu (Ladakh), Chharma, Tir guk (Spiti).

5. Description

Sea-buckthorn is a dioecious, usually spinescent deciduous shrub or a small tree of Elaeagnacae family. It grows up to a height of 10 m and found growing in the river beds of the drier ranges of the state at an altitude of 1600-3300 m in Himalayan ranges from Ladakh to Uttarakhand. Leaves are small and linear-lanceolate. Flowers are very small, greenish or yellowish. The fruit is acidic and is made into a jelly with sugar. A syrup is also prepared from it which is used in respiratory complaints. A decoction is used for cutaneous eruptions. The fruit is a rich source of vitamin C, carotene and also contains vitamin B. The leaves and flowers are used for treating arthritis, gastrointestinal ulcers, gout, skin rashes and lowering blood pressure.

19.1 INTRODUCTION

Indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals over the last five decades has adversely affected soil fertility, crop productivity, produce quality and particularly the environment. These degenerative effects of intensive agriculture have compelled to think for alternative and sustainable system of agriculture. As a result, number of alternative systems viz Biodynamic, Rishi Krishi, Panchagavya Krishi, Natueco Organic Farming, Homa Organic Farming, Natural Farming and Jaivik Krishi have emerged in different parts of the country. In organic farming production is achieved without use of chemical input (Singh, 2011 and Malik, 2000). In these systems, maximum reliance is placed on self-regulatory agro systems and locally available or farm derived renewable resources. Since the soil, water and environment have been contaminated, hence even organic production techniques once effective are now are not capable of mitigating these issues. This has created number of myths in the mind of policy makers and even large number of farmers.

Family: Violaceae

Flowering: Round the year

Fruiting: Round the year

Botanical description: The plant is a perennial herb The plant grows upto to 60 cm high, often branched and spreading. Leaves are sub-sessile, linear to lanceolate, 1-5 cm long with recurved to revolute margins or occasionally flat. The flowers are pink in colour with 5 petals. Capsule is subglobose, 4-9mm long with 5-12 seeds pitted between ribs.

Family: Hydroleaceae

Flowering: November-January

Fruiting: February-April

Botanical description: The plant is an annual, aquatic, ascending or prostrate herb, sparingly branched growing up to 1.2 meters in length, and rooting at the lower nodes. The leaves are lanceolate, 4-10 mm long, and pointed at both ends. The flowers are very numerous, bright blue in colour, 8-10 mm across and borne in racemes. The sepals are hairy, green, oblong-linear, and about 5 mm long. The capsule is ovoid, surrounded by the persistent sepals, and contains numerous, minute, oblong seeds.

Family: Acanthaceae

Flowering: October-December

Fruiting: January-February

Botanical description: The plant is a stout aquatic perennial herb growing up to 1-2 m high. The stems are erect, unbranched and hairy near swollen nodes. The leaves are sessile, linear- oblong, stalkless, 10-15 cm long, occur in whorls of 6 at each node on the stem. Straight, yellow, 4 cm long spines are present in the axil of each leaf. Flowers are purple in colour, occur in 4 pairs at each node and open in opposite pair.

Common name    :    English- Garden Balsam
        Hindi- Gul-mendi 
        Odia- Haragaura

Family    :    Balsaminaceae
 
Habit & Distribution
It is a herb (Fig. 52 a) commonly cultivated in gardens and also self-sown in waste lands, forest edges, roadsides. It is distributed throughout India.

General Characters
The plant is an erect annual herb, growing upto 30-80 cm in height with stilt roots from the lower nodes. The leaves are alternate, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate and 2.5-9 cm long and 1-2.5 cm broad. Flowers are pink, red and white in colour with 2.5-5 cm in diameter. Flower stalks are up to 1-5 cm long. Capsules are ovoid ellipsoid and 1.5-2.5 cm long. The plant flowers and bears fruits during August-December.

ABSTRACT

Phospholipase A₂ catalyzes the hydrolysis of glycerophospholipids at the sn-2 position and releases fatty acids and lysophospholipids. When the fatty acid is the arachidonic acid, a complementary metabolism leads to pro-inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandins, leukotrienes, thromboxanes and platelet activating factors. Thus, modulating pro-inflammatory lipid mediator production by inhibiting PLA₂ activity remains a potential target for the development of new drugs for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Medicinal plants have been explored therapeutically in traditional medicines and are a valuable source for drug discovery. Molecular docking studies were carried out for anti-inflammatory compounds from various plant sources with human non-pancreatic secretory phospholipase A₂.

Although in vitro rumen studies of digestibility determination simulates rumen fermentation to some extent, it is almost impossible to incorporate all dynamics of rumen environment in these techniques. Therefore, the in situ Dacron bag technique was developed as an alternative to the in vitro rumen studies (Ørskov and McDonald, 1979). This technique involves placement of feedstuffs in bags made of indigestible fabrics such as nylon, Dacron or silk, directly in the rumen. The loss of dry matter or of any feed component after specific incubation period are measured gravimetrically to determine the rate and extent of degradation.

This technique is widely used, but the procedure differ among the laboratories.Improved methods utilise bags of specific pore size and control the ratio of sample weight to surface area of the bag.Bags with a large ratio of surface area to sample size minimise the error.Optimum pore size is about 40 microns. Smaller pore size retards the entry of organisms and thus inhibit optimum fermentation while larger ones permit transit of lignified particles.

Genetic resources for food and agriculture are the biological basis of world food and nutrition security and they directly support the livelihood of people. Horticultural genetic resources are a few of biological assets available to resource-poor farmers to ensure sustainable production to improve livelihood options. Genetic diversity gives resource-poor farmers a low cost option to manage the shocks and vulnerability of production systems by its ability to adopt to changing environments. It is the foundation upon which plant breeding depends for the creation of new varieties and is, therefore, of critical public value for global food security. The rapid loss of genetic diversity (genetic erosion) is a worldwide concern and is particularly severe among crop landraces. Farmer’s varieties or landraces may contain co-adapted gene complexes that have evolved over decades and are the most valued genetic resources as they provide options for a range of climatic and edaphic stresses. Therefore, agricultural biodiversity has a critical public value for global food security (FAO, 1978).