eChapters

There is no plant in this world which is uneconomical/not useful. Medicinal plants have been considered as important therapeutic aid for alleviating aliments of human kind. The WHO estimates that 80% of people living in developing countries rely almost exclusively on traditional medicines for their primary health care needs. Aromatic plants are used for essential oils - volatile material extracted from plants or plant parts usually by stream distillation and used in flavours and fragrances for food, soap, detergents, perfumes, lotions etc. Spices are the dry part of a plant such as roots, leaves and seeds which impart to food a certain flavour and pungent stimuli. Spices contain variable amount of fat, protein, carbohydrates, fibres, minerals and vitamins.

All agroforestry systems are characterized by three basic sets of attributes; productivity, sustainability, and adoptability (Nair, 2008).

Productivity: The majority of agroforestry systems, if not all of them, strive to maintain or raise both land productivity and output (of desired commodities). In several aspects, agroforestry may raise production. These include higher yields of related crops, less input use in the cropping system, enhanced labour efficiency, and higher production of tree products.

Sustainability: Agroforestry can achieve and indefinitely maintain conservation and fertility goals by conserving the production potential of the resource base, mainly through the beneficial effects of woody perennials on soils.

Adoptability: Improved or new agroforestry technologies that are introduced into new areas should fit the social as well as environmental characteristics of the land use system for which it is designed and should also confirm to local farming system.

Textile and apparel defects are commonly classified according to their severity, effect on product performance and influence on visual appearance. Accurate classification supports inspection decisions, corrective action and cost management. Critical defects create safety hazards, breach legal or compliance requirements, or make a garment unusable; affected products must be rejected immediately. Major defects significantly reduce appearance, durability or functionality and ordinarily require correction before sale, although they may not endanger the wearer. Minor defects are small departures from specifications that do not substantially affect usability but may lower perceived quality. Consistent classification enables inspectors to apply AQL criteria objectively and communicate appropriate acceptance, rejection or rework decisions.

In addition to pathogenic diseases, numerous abiotic disorders may also arise during growth, development and post-harvest storage of solanaceous vegetables. The physiological disorders of vegetables that have been included in this chapter are directly or indirectly associated with genetic, cultural, nutritional, physiological and environmental factors, and in most of the cases, the definite cause of disorder is not well understood due to the association of numerous factors together. These disorders may be related to colour, shape and form/condition of the produce. The genesis of physiological maladies was earlier poorly understand due to complexity in their characteristic symptoms but at present is relatively more transparent. The characteristic symptoms of abiotic disorders discussed below have not been attributed solely to a single agent or to a single cultural or environmental factor. The environmental factors correlated with the incidence of these disorders include high light intensities and low or high temperature of that growing area. For many abiotic disorders, very limited research work has been done, and the causes are poorly understood both in terms of why cultivars differ in susceptibility and why certain environmental factors predispose the plants or parts of the plant to the disorder. The growers feel concerned with the incidence of abiotic disorders as these cause huge economic loss. Therefore, the control of these abiotic disorders is essential for profitable production of solanaceous vegetable crops. In this chapter, emphasis has been given on practical aspects of diagnosis and potential control measures.

The importance of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition is well known. Vegetables are a rich and comparatively cheaper source of minerals and vitamins. Besides, their consumption in sufficient quantities provides taste and palatability, increases appetite and provides a fair amount of fibers. These are currently reckoned as an important adjunct for the maintenance of good health and beneficial in protecting against some degenerative diseases, thus, they form a vital part of human diet. Besides, vegetables now a day are being considered as an asset for providing a good source of income to the growers.

Vegetables originated in different parts of the world, some came from tropical or subtropical countries and others from temperate zones, some from humid areas and others from climates that are more arid. Most of the countries in the world are gifted with varied agro-climatic environments for growing an array of vegetable crops to combat the present imbalanced diet of a vast population of the world, particularly in the developing countries. Production of vegetables in developed countries is much higher, for instance in Japan, nearly 40% of the diet of the people is vegetables. To meet out the full dietary needs of the common man, to eliminate malnutrition, deficiency of minerals and vitamins and also to relieve the stress for increased production of cereals, there is a greater need for growing vegetables on larger scale. As such, for increased production of nearly 247 known vegetable crops, a sound knowledge of the various aspects of vegetable production technology, environmental stresses and constraints, techniques of raising, pre- and post-harvest technology, marketing and seed production techniques is of utmost importance. Breeding and selection of new cultivars have allowed for a greater adaptability to less favourable growing conditions than was possible in the past but the inherent agroclimatic requirements of a specific kind of vegetable have not changed materially. Time or season of planting of a particular vegetable crop is determined by its environmental requirement. Knowledge of specific agroclimatic conditions required for a particular crop could enable the grower to select the best season of planting in any particular area (Singh et al., 1991).

India is contributing about 10% of the world’s vegetables, and in terms of production, the country stands second after China. The existing area under vegetable cultivation in India is around 6.89 million hectare with a production of about 96.54 million tonnes. There will be a demand of 151-193 million tonnes of vegetables in India by 2030 (Dhaliwal et al., 2006). There are extensive crop losses in vegetable crops due to increased insect infestations. Since vegetables are grown round the year, there is carry over of insect-pests across the seasons and also from sowing until harvesting. Vegetables also invite more pest problems because of their cultivation under high fertility conditions leading to high plant succulence. High yielding varieties and hybrids are further more prone to the attack of insect-pests. Insect infestation affects the quality and market value of vegetables adversely and it is estimated that 30-40% of the total production is lost due to the attack of pests (Lal et al., 2004). A large number of pesticides are being used repeatedly to manage the insect-pests in India. Indiscriminate use of pesticides has led to many problems like toxic residues in edible parts of the vegetables, adverse effects on non-target organisms and beneficial insects, resurgence of secondary pests and development of resistance in major pests to pesticides and also environmental pollution. Therefore, latest approach has been to minimize the use of highly toxic insecticides by integrating different strategies of pest control like use of biological control agents, pesticides of plant origin, insect resistant varieties and other cultural practices. In this chapter, efforts have been made to highlight the distribution, host range, identifying characters, biology and nature of damage of important insect-pests of vegetables and also the methods of their management crop or pest wise.

Summary

Climate change (floods, droughts, rise of temperature and sea level) can directly impact the incidence of water related diseases through effects on water temperature and precipitation frequency and intensity. This chapter focuses on some common water quality related diseases that may enhance due to climate change such as arsenicosis, cholera, cyanobacterial toxins, dengue, diarrhoea and malaria. Arsenicosis is the disease caused by arsenic (As) contamination. As poisoning via groundwater has become a worldwide problem with 21 countries experiencing As groundwater contamination including Bangladesh, India, and China. In Bangladesh, out of 64 districts, As levels in 60 districts have exceeded WHO recommended guidelines of 10 µg/L and in 51 districts it exceeded Bangladesh recommended guidelines of above 50 µg/L. Chronic exposure to As has been linked to carcinogenic effects in both humans and animals. These include cancer of the various skins and internal organs (lung, bladder, liver and kidney) and reproductive and developmental effects; cardiovascular disease; reduced intellectual function in children and mortality. Alternate floods and droughts (due to climate change) have been found associated with the release of As and contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh, therefore may increase the risks of the disease due to rise of extreme events such as floods and droughts. Cholera is a diarrhoeal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. In 2012, WHO reported 245, 3931 cases of cholera in 48 countries, with more than 3,034 deaths with a case-fatality rate (CFR) of 1.2%. The highest cases were from Africa, followed by Latin America and Asia. The epidemic of cholera is reported to be linked strongly with climate change. Changes in temperature, salinity, rainfall and abundance of phytoplankton have been shown to cause an impact on distribution and survival of V. cholerae. In Bangladesh, cholera (cholera-toxin producing strain of V. cholerae) outbreaks are related to plankton blooms and rise of sea temperature.

Climate change and resource scarcity require farming systems that anticipate risks and make proactive decisions. This chapter explains how predictive modelling, artificial intelligence and IoT technologies can strengthen climate-smart agriculture. Statistical techniques, Convolutional Neural Networks, Long Short-Term Memory networks and Transformer models are examined for forecasting weather, crop performance and resource requirements. These tools can improve irrigation and fertilizer management, raise productivity and reduce environmental impact. Adoption remains constrained by poor-quality data, infrastructure deficiencies, cost, limited interpretability and unequal access to digital technology. Farmer-centred design, federated learning, gradual deployment and scalable systems are recommended for developing fair, practical and climate-resilient agricultural solutions.

S₁, S₂, S₃ : The symbols used to designate the first, second/third generation of selfing. S1 is obtained by sowing seeds of so plants and so on.
Saccharometer: A type of hydrometer used for finding the concentration of sugar solutions by determining their density; usually graduated to read the percentage direct.
Safari Park: Safaris are specialized zoos where the captive animals are housed in any large naturalistic enclosures and the visitors are allowed to enter the enclosure to view the animals in a mechanized vehicle or a predetermined route from close quarters.

Bio Control Agents explains how natural enemies can suppress agricultural pests and diseases through predators, parasitoids, and pathogens. It traces the historical development of biological control from traditional practices to major scientific successes and institutional development in India. The chapter describes introduction, augmentation, and conservation strategies, followed by detailed accounts of predators, parasitoids, and pathogenic microorganisms. Important bioagents, their characteristics, mechanisms, field applications, and mass-production methods are discussed, including Trichogramma, Chrysoperla, Cryptolaemus, Beauveria, Metarhizium, Trichoderma, Bacillus, and viral agents. The chapter provides a practical foundation for integrating biological control into environmentally responsible crop protection programs. across diverse farming environments and practical field implementation practically.

The chapter deals with the empirical findings and analyses in order to offer ample interpretation for a reliable conclusion to be drawn. In order to enhance and supplement the textual materials in this chapter, tables and models are frequently employed. Discussion is helpful in putting the study’s findings into proper perspective and connecting them to related research.

Table 6.1: Descriptive Statistics of Variable with respect to Minimum, Maximum, Mean, Standard Deviation of Values, Variance, and Coefficient of Variance

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS

Food Preservation 1782 ó Canning of vinegar was introduced by a Swedish chemist.

1810 ó Preservation of food by canning was patented by Appert in France. ó Peter Durand was issued a British patent to preserve food in ìglass, pottery, tin or other metals or fit materials.î The patent was later acquired by Hall, Gamble, and Donkin, possibly from Appert.

Example: Isolation and Characterization of Protease Inhibitor Gene and Promoter from Black gram (Vigna mungo L.) and Genetic Transformation and Molecular Analysis of Transgenic Tobacco

Plant parasitic nematodes cause serious problems in sustained crop production. For a successful management of nematodes, their morphology, biology and host - parasitic relationship should be thoroughly studied. A thorough study is achieved only when its taxonomical position is known. Thus, in a simple way taxonomy can be defined as the theroretical study of classification of an organism.

The systematic arrangement of organisms into groups on the basis of their relationship is termed as classification.

Nematodes are placed in the group invertebrate, Kingdom Animalia.

Hyman (1951) revised the phylum Aschelminthes and included six classes viz., Rotifera, Gastotricha, Echinodera, Priapulida, Nematoda and Nematomorpha.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that caused the global COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has claimed a considerable number of lives worldwide. The unanticipated global spread of SARS CoV-2 has resulted in serious issues within the medical systems and healthcare facilities. Creating efficient vaccines against the virus, even after all of efforts, has been on high priority and is time-taking due to the frequent mutations. A critical stage in vaccine development is figuring out the potential antigen. As a ground breaking technique introduced in 2000, Reverse vaccinology (RV) reduces the required time considerably from 5–15 years to 1–2 years in identifying antigens. Various RV tools are powered by big-data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques. AI and ML models have demonstrated their potentials in expediting the identification and refinement of novel antivirals or potent vaccination candidates. By utilising datasets available through several dedicated databases, it is more beneficial in identifying current medications that inhibit the human Coronavirus and next-gen healthcare possibilities.

Abstract: Ornamental hibiscus (shoe flower) is native of Asia, probably China, but now conspicuous in all warm countries. Hibiscus is cross pollinating, evergreen shrub and progeny can segregate widely for traits due to heterozygosity. High polyploid constitution of species predominant vegetative reproduction and rampant hybridization irrespective of chromosome number are features of this crop. The important traits for continuous crop improvement include plant with good growth habit, floriferous nature, desirable flower colour, size, shape and good keeping quality. A variety of flower forms, flower colours and growth forms exist. Very little genetic information and trait heritability has been established for this crop. Use of somatic hybridization, mutation breeding and marker assisted breeding are discussed. The continuous use of these techniques will ensure creation of new phenotypes for the market.

Plant hormone ethylene is involved in a number of physiological activities within the plant system, ranging from seed germination to fruit development. Ethylene acts as a key player in accelerating fruit ripening by regulating the activities of different enzymes, and is responsible for shortening the shelf life and associated post-harvest losses during the storage of fruit crops. However, all fruit crops have different ethylene production capacities and vary in their response to ethylene. Hence, effective management of post-harvest ethylene is imperative for addressing the global challenge of reducing fruit losses after harvesting. In recent periods, numerous technologies and compounds have been developed for the suppression of ethylene and for enhancing in-situ oxidation of ethylene or inhibiting its production at a receptor level. Among these emerging techniques, the use of sachets, fumigating agents, catalysis and composite films embedded with nanoparticles has been found to be trending, but the use of some of compounds has been limited due to health risks or consumer unacceptance. However, most of these technologies are very costly and are not affordable for marginal farmers and developing nations. In order to address these issues, long term breeding approaches for shelf-life improvement, targeting the tfs, ERFs have been involved. This manuscript fills the knowledge gap by encompassing all the recent progress made in enhancing the shelf life of fruits by managing ethylene during storage.

Important Points to Remember

• Microbiology is the study of living organisms of microscopic size majority of which are too small to be observed with naked eye, include bacteria, fungi, algae and protozoa and the infectious agents at the borderline of life that are called viruses.
• However, a few members of some microbial groups like algae and fungi are clearly visible without the aid of microscope.
• It is concerned with their form, structure, reproduction, physiology, metabolism and classification. It includes the study of their distribution in nature, their relationship to each other and other living organisms, their effects on human beings and on other animals and plants, their abilities to make physical and chemical changes in our environment and their reactions to physical and chemical agents.
• Most microorganisms are unicellular in which all the life processes are performed by a single cell. All living cells contain protoplasm which is a colloidal organic complex consisting of largely proteins, lipids and nucleic acids.
• The major groups of microorganisms include Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic microorganisms.